As I drove, I kept an eye on him through my rearview mirror. He slowly got control of himself and — while he was still shaking — managed to stop crying by the time we parked in front of my apartment building. I turned off the car and climbed out, taking a moment to stretch before opening his door.

He inched out of the car, looking around wearily. Once again, I placed my hand on the back of his neck and guided him through the parking lot up to my private entrance. I dropped my hand to grab my keys. As I turned to unlock the door, I sensed him take a few steps back. "Don't," I growled, "you'll regret it."

He froze and let out a whimper as a shiver ran through his body at my dark tone. "Y-Yes, sir," he whispered, quickly closing the distance between us again.

I opened the door and pushed him through. He let out a small gasp and stumbled forward into my house as he tried to regain his balance. There was a small foyer with a chaise lounge, some decor, and an elevator door. I hit the button for the elevator and waited in silence.

The elevator chimed and I stepped inside, turning back towards him expectantly. When he didn't immediately move, I rolled my eyes and waved him forward. Seth gulped audibly but obediently stepped onto the elevator. There were three buttons in my custom elevator: one for the floor the complex's pool was on, one for the gym, and the last for my penthouse. I hit the button for my penthouse and stepped back, leaning against the wall as the elevator smoothly took off.

Seth watched my every movement carefully. The elevator chimed again as the doors opened, and we stepped into my penthouse suite. He stood in the middle of the room looking extra small now that he was off the street.

"C'mon."

Seth didn't dare ask any questions, so I led him up to my bedroom and ushered him through the door. He gulped as he stared at my bed. He tried backing up, but his back collided with my bare chest. The boy lurched away from me with a squeak, backing farther into the room with round, frightened eyes. "Pl-Please, sir. Please let me leave."

I ignored his plea. "Go sit on the bed." I slid off my jacket, hanging it on the back of the door. When he still hadn't obeyed after another moment, I lowered my voice to a dangerous tone. "Don't make me tell you again."

Seth whimpered and shuffled over to sit on the bed.

I grabbed some first aid supplies from the attached bathroom and returned to the bed, setting them down next to him.

Seth's breathing hitched in his chest, and he watched me with a weary expression.

"Relax. Give me your arm."

He whined but held out his left arm.

I undid the impromptu bandage I had fashioned with my shirt. It was almost fully saturated with blood, so I tossed the ruined garment in the trash. "Hold still. This is going to hurt."

Seth whined and tried to pull his arm back as I picked up the bottle of rubbing alcohol, but I held on tightly to his wrist and shot him a stern glare. I opened the bottle with one hand and poured a generous amount onto the wound.

The boy hissed in pain and tried again to pull his arm away, but I only tightened my grip.

"Stay still, boy," I reminded, my voice deep and commanding.

He nodded and bit down on his lip as tears welled in his eyes.

I wiped off the excess blood and alcohol before sanitizing the wound a second time. "You're damn lucky you didn't get any dirt or gravel in this." I dried off the wound again and applied a large sterile dressing to it. "And if it was a hair deeper, you would've hit an artery and bled out."

I wrapped the dressing with a cloth bandage and secured the end with a metal clasp before I finally let go of his wrist.

He sighed in relief and tentatively flexed his arm. "Thank you, sir," he said softly. "Can, can I go now? Please, sir."

I gave him a stern look. "I told you to stop asking that. You're not going anywhere."

"Wh-Why not? Why can't I leave?" His eyes flickered between me and the door behind me.

I crossed my arms. "You have nowhere to go, and you clearly can't take care of yourself."

"I, I can take care of myself..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Is that why you were bleeding out? You didn't even try to bandage it. And obviously you can't protect yourself if you didn't even try to fight me off."

He simply whimpered and looked away, unable to meet my gaze.

I chuckled dryly. "I'll tell you what: if you can get out of my apartment in the next ten minutes, you're free to go and I won't hunt you down."

His posture straightened as a small glimmer of hope lit up his eyes. He slowly stood up off the bed.

Smirking in amusement, I tossed him his backpack, and he caught it then slung it over his shoulder.

Seth tried to just walk around me, but I caught his arm and flung him back onto the bed.

He gasped as he hit the bed, eyes widening in a mix of fear and frustration. "Pl-Please just let me go, sir."

"C'mon," I teased, "show me you can handle yourself."

He stood up again, though his legs were a bit shakier now. He glanced around the room and tried to dart past me, but I yanked him back yet again, letting him stumble backwards. He tried to regain his balance, but he was obviously weak and inexperienced.

I taunted him. "Give up yet? I'm not even putting in an effort here."

He clenched his jaw as his hands curled into fists. Though his expression was angry, there was still fear in his eyes. He must have decided he was no match for me because he backed up and slid down against the wall. He bowed his head in defeat.

I walked over to him, towering over the boy. My voice was low and grim as I tried to bring him back to reality. "See? You're totally helpless. You won't survive on the street."

He swallowed hard but nodded slowly. "I, I know," he whispered.

"You protested, but you didn't even try to get away from me in the alley. I could be a murderer or a rapist for all you know."

Seth kept his gaze on the floor.

"You will stay here."

He hesitated, and for a moment I thought he would try to argue with me. But, he slumped against the wall and nodded.

"Look at me."

He slowly raised his gaze to meet mine; his expression was conflicted — a mixture between submission and reluctance.

"Nothing in life is free. I'll keep you safe and fed, and in exchange you'll be my little maid and personal assistant. You'll cook, and clean, and do everything I say the moment I say it."

The boy tensed up, fear taking over his expression again. But, he nodded reluctantly.

I gestured to his bandaged arm. "When that heals up in a few weeks, we can re-evaluate our little arrangement and you can leave if you want. But considering how close you were to needing stitches, you won't be leaving before it's totally healed."

Seth glanced down at his arm as I gestured and grimaced at the thought. "Please..."

"Don't even try to argue."

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

I looked down at the boy; underneath the dirt and filthy, ripped clothes, he was pretty. Someone much worse than me would've made him their personal bitch — it was only a matter of time.

He shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, basically squirming on the bed.

"Stand up and strip."

Seth froze, his eyes going wide with shock and horror. He slowly stood up. His body trembled slightly as he whimpered, "Please. Pl-Please don't make me, sir..."

"What I say, when I say it," I reminded, my tone darkening. "Do I need to remind you who's in charge here?"

He shook his head rapidly, tears welling up in his eyes. He slowly lifted his shirt up and pulled it off over his head.

As he began to undress, I turned and headed to my closet. I pulled out one of my old t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants.

He finished undressing and stood in my bedroom fully nude. One hand cupped his groin and the other arm crossed over his stomach as he tried to hide as much of his exposed skin as possible. A few tears trailed down his face, leaving tracks in the dirt of his face. "Pl-Please, sir. Please, I'll do anything else..."

I tossed him the bundle of clothing and nodded towards the bathroom. "Go get cleaned up — a bath, not a shower. Don't get your bandage wet. There are towels in the closet."

He nodded, his eyes widening, and he hurried to the bathroom.

I changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and relaxed on the bed, scrolling through my phone.