Surrender Your Heart Read Online Free PDF

hurts, and then I
start to cry, big pathetic sobs. I’ll never see my family or friends ever
again. I have fallen into the reality of those romance novels, only it isn’t an
alpha male book boyfriend who came for me, but this gorgeous, troubled woman.
With some difficulty, I pull myself together, wash my face and head for the
closet. Shorts, a shirt, I look for what’s most casual. I quickly comb my hair,
brush my teeth and then return to the bedroom to wait.
    I don’t have to
wait long, and somewhere in the back of my mind a thought forms: There might be
cameras in here. How else does she always know? Something else comes to mind:
There is no clock. Another little thing obviously designed to keep me at her
mercy, off balance.
    Carter walks
inside, not the least bit troubled by the questions that haunt me. She’s
dressed casually as well, jeans that deliberately look worn and soft, and a
tank top. I am angry at her, and at myself for thinking she looks amazing.
    “Good morning,
Penelope,” she says, smiling, as if she’s happy to find me still here. Where
the hell would I go?
    “Only my
grandmother called me that.”
    “Well, I’m going
to call you that. Penny is for little girls, and you’re clearly all grown up.”
    “All right then,
it’s not like I can stop you, is it?”
    Her gaze
softens. “Are you all right?”
    “No, I’m not all
right!” I take a deep breath, forcing the emotions still simmering under the
surface, further down. “You owe me some answers. Somebody broke into my home
and took me, and I have no idea what else they did to me in the process.”
    There’s a stormy
look on her face I’m not sure how to interpret. Her words are clarification
enough though.
    “You don’t have
to worry. I wouldn’t hire anyone for a delicate job who doesn’t do exactly as I
tell them. I only work with people I can trust, but I can assure you, if anyone
had touched you inappropriately, they’d be punished.”
    “A lot of good that
would do me, after the fact,” I scoff. “You are spying on me in here, watching
me naked?”
    Carter’s gaze is
devoid of an apology which tells me the answer is yes, and no, she’s not sorry.
“It’s for your protection. You never know how someone reacts to—”
    “Taking away
their freedom? Imprisonment?”
    “People are
different,” she simply says. “You can’t predict everything.”
    “You don’t say. So you’ve done this before?”
    “I know we still
have some subjects to tackle, but I’m not willing to do that on an empty stomach.
Come on.”
    Just like that,
I’m robbed of the opportunity to have a meltdown or try to run away, bang my
fists against the door and demand of her to let me go. I am actually hungry. I
am worried about…everything, new issues springing up every moment. Will
everyone in my life accept that I ran away without telling them? Will they be
pissed…call the police?”
    I can’t help
being impressed by the small buffet that’s waiting for us in the dining room,
small if you were going to feed a dozen people, still far too much for two.
Rich people, abundance, and more than half of it is going to be wasted. People
like her don’t have a care in the world—why would I believe for a second she
could care for me? I’m a toy to her, an object, something she bought for her
entertainment. With the help of trusted employees. I’m not sure how much longer
I can take these mixed emotions, a wild kaleidoscope really, without going
insane.
    Her hand is on
my shoulder, warm and reassuring. “Take your time. There’s no rush with what we
have to discuss.”
    “Do you never
think about starving kids?” I blurt out.
    “Sure I do,”
Carter says, and I can’t find a trace of sarcasm in her voice. “If that makes
you feel better, I can show you my charity expenses. Meanwhile, everyone in
this house still needs to eat, including you and me.”
    There’s smoked
salmon, fresh fruit, fluffy pastries, eggs and bacon. Juice and champagne.