CHAPTER 225: MARY-BETH

He stood from his chair and beckoned to Evalyn. "Come here."

At the same time, he released her from all controls so he could send her the soul bond offer.

She shuddered, then looked at him speculatively. Their eyes met, and he could feel her testing his resolve. He held her gaze calmly, and after a moment, she looked down.

She stood up from her chair and walked over to him, then asked, "Now what?"

"Turn, with your back to me."

When she did, he reached around with his left arm across her upper chest, just above her breasts and pulled her into him. Then he lightly gripped her throat with his right hand.

She tensed and started to pull away.

"Don’t," he said firmly. "This will make it easier for me to more precisely guide the soul bond formation. Without this contact, there’s a much higher risk I’ll end up turning you into a servant."

She shuddered at his words and stopped pulling away, but didn’t relax.

He just held her like that and waited, not moving, only maintaining a light grip on her throat.

When she relaxed, as he had hoped she would, he sent her the request.

[Soul Bond Accepted: Mary-Beth Jenkins]

There was a long pause before she accepted the soul bond.

Her name in the Genesis Heart notification was not what he was expecting. Though on reflection, realized it was common practice for Briarwood actors and actresses to choose screen names separate from their legal names.

With Samantha, Naoko, and Katie, physical contact had allowed him to understand their desires and inform his choices when deciding how to alter their soul bonds. It had also made it easier to make the modifications.

With Evalyn, the same was true, though unlike with the other girls, he was going to ignore what she wanted, because what she wanted was utter domination. Not him of her, but her of him.

He knew, even before gaining access to her mind, that deep down, she was hoping to turn things around to her advantage and even hoped she might flip the soul bond in her favor.

Without physical contact, he would have been forced to do to her what he did to Isabella. Not exactly an ideal outcome.

Using his hand on her neck as a subconscious guide, he focused on dominating her body and exposing her mind. Unlike with every other soul bond formation, she fought back.

The more she fought, the more he was tempted to just crush her under his grip. But part of him wanted her leashed, not crushed. So he persevered.

With his enhanced soul strength, her struggle was ultimately in vain, and soon he felt the soul bond formation complete.

He wasn’t sure but felt that he’d mostly accomplished what he wanted. Though he worried he might have also pushed her a little into zealot territory.

When he dove into her mind, what he found wasn’t exactly what he had expected. He’d assumed that Briarwood celebrities were mostly motivated by their insecurities and a craving for attention.

But this was not the case with Evalyn. Her mother had taught her that her virginity was a precious commodity that should be cherished and only spent when she found the right man.

Her mother’s death when she was nine scared her, and as a result, she held a pathological grip on her mother’s advice.

Her father and brothers had taken the only family vehicle to go see a monster truck rally and had left Mary-Beth and her mother at home. Then her mother had tripped over an incomplete kitchen floor repair, knocked over a glass jar and slashed her arm open.

Neither knew first-aid, and her mother bled to death before help could arrive.

Evalyn blamed her father and brothers for her mother’s death and developed a deep disdain for men as a result.

When puberty hit and she noticed men noticing her, she also learned that she could use her growing body to influence and manipulate the men around her.

The end result was that Evalyn had a generally low opinion of men and wished to dominate them wherever possible.

Except now, as a result of their soul bond, she could no longer make herself look down on Jack. Her thoughts were still in turmoil but were trending towards viewing him as someone she could respect.

She was a bit like Miranda in that they both viewed men as people to use, but where Miranda didn’t look down on men, Evalyn did. And unlike Miranda, Evalyn didn’t have any thoughts of finding "the one to get behind," or she didn’t until now.

He released Evalyn’s neck and climbed back onto his chair.

She turned and gave him a complicated look before returning to her own chair. Her thoughts were still in turmoil, and she was still grappling with the change in mindset her soul bond was having on her.

He terminated the simulation, and back in the physical world his physical self sat up and looked at Evalyn.

She had covered herself and was looking at him with trepidation.

He entered her mind and said, "You’re a good actress so I expect you to act like you’ve lost interest in me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Jack. I understand."

The rest of her thoughts turned to what comments to make to the spa staff to deflect any attention they might have had towards her interest in him.

Soon after, his and Madison’s pedicures were completed and the spa attendant came to lead them to a new room for their massages.

When he and Madison left the room, Evalyn said nothing and didn’t even look at them, instead seeming to be engrossed in something on her phone.

The room the attendant led them to was dimly lit and had two massage tables side by side in the center of the room.

There were two stout, middle-aged women standing next to the table when they entered.

"Hilde and Beth will attend to your needs," said the attendant before leaving.

One of the women stepped forward and said, "Is this your first time receiving a massage?"