“Yeah. Good money. Safe as fuck.”

I imagine Doc surrounded by beautiful naked women and prickly feelings mix into my panic. I bet he sleeps with the dancers. I bet he flirts with them all psychotically. I bet they like it.

“I’ll put you in white lingerie just like your wedding shit. Get you some angel wings and tell the clients you’re a virgin. They’ll go fucking crazy.”

I listen with the same disbelief as when Anita told me I could model. I can’t be a stripper. I’ve never worn a miniskirt before. And will I even be a virgin by the time I leave this cage?

Doc reads my mind. “I don’t know if I should fuck you or not. The smart thing would be to keep you pure. Let you work the pole, then auction you off. That way we’d pay for your kidnapping four times over.”

I try to pull my hand from him, but Doc holds me fast.

“Tempting,” he mutters. “Too fucking tempting. I’ve never been into virgins, but you…”

Without warning, he kisses me. Hard. My brain blurs as our mouths move together with far too much familiarity. The fluttering in my pussy becomes a throb.

Doc releases me. “You’re just a horny little hand grenade, aren’t you?”

“You’re disgusting.”

His teeth flash in the semi-darkness. “You’re like one of those Disney Channel girls, kept squeaky clean for way too long.”

His hand slides across my shoulders, making my skin spark. “I think the pendulum’s ready to swing the other way, don’t you?”

I open my mouth and he cuts me off with another kiss. This one is deeper, his tongue flashing expertly over mine as he shoves the blanket down, exposing my breasts. He palms them, rubbing roughly. “Fuck you’ve got great tits.”

“No…”

“Yes. Now, shhh.” He moves closer, his lips brushing my cheek. “I know you, Tesorina. Better than you know yourself. You want freedom.”

I struggle sideways. “I do not—”

“You were jealous of your friends for going on dates. Jealous of your sister for wearing clothes not made by grandmas. You wanted to be them so badly it cut you up inside.”

My protests die in my throat. I confessed to him. He already knows my darkest secrets.

He cups my breast, pressing them together. “Pretty little January stuck at home, engaged to some limp dick old man. Never getting to have fun. Never going out. It was so fucking unfair, wasn’t it, Tesorina?”

His words scratch some long-hidden itch in my brain. It feels good to hear someone say it out loud.

Doc rubs his stubble against my cheek. “Give yourself to me and you can do whatever you want. Wear whatever you want. You can get on stage and watch men bankrupt themselves just to look at you. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

I swallow. “If I did what you wanted, I’d still be trapped. I’d belong to you.”

Doc grips my arms, lifting me onto his lap. “You don’t want to be mine?”