Page 50 of Slave

He wanted to help me. It was strange, but I believed him. “Okay,” I said weakly.

Master sighed. “Why are you afraid of snakes? Can you tell me?”

His voice was gentle. I knew he was trying not to scare me, and that gave me courage.

“They crawl on you,” I whispered, trying to keep the shaking out of my voice.

He tightened his hold around me, and I felt safer than I’d ever felt before. “Why were they crawling on you?”

I swallowed. Could I tell him? Would he be mad at me? But then again, maybe he was the only one I could tell.

“I . . . I did a bad thing and Master Ian . . .”

He didn’t let me finish before asking. “What did you do, Brianna?”

I heard the extra inflection he placed on the word do, and I wasn’t sure why that was.

“I . . . I tried to get away.” And then I felt like I needed to apologize. “I know I shouldn’t have, but . . .”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said cutting me off sharply. I flinched, and his voice softened. “So you tried to get away and then what happened?”

“I . . .” I paused trying to find the right words. “He caught me . . . trying to squeeze through the gate,” I said in a hushed voice. “He said that if I was going to slither on the ground like a snake . . .”

And then I shivered as I remembered it. Ian grabbing a fistful of my hair in his hands and dragging me back to his house. Taking me downstairs. I felt the tears coming and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

“You’re doing fine, Brianna. Remember you are safe. What happened after he caught you?”

“He . . . he took me back. Ch . . . chained me . . . p . . . p . . . poured snakes . . .” I could feel them on me, and I couldn’t breathe again.

Suddenly I was moving. And then I was sitting on the floor with Master’s face right in front of mine.

“You are safe, Brianna,” he chanted. “You are safe.”

Finally I began to calm, remembering where I was. I was with Stephan, not Ian. I was okay. I was . . . safe.

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Brianna

I woke up Sunday morning without the sound of my alarm. Looking over at the clock, I saw it was already eight o’clock.

Sitting up, I searched my nightstand and even the floor looking for Master’s note, but there wasn’t one. I frowned. Did I do something wrong? He’d seemed okay last night when he’d said goodnight to me. After I’d calmed down, he’d carried me into my bedroom and had lain me down. He’d said he was proud of me.

I sat there in the middle of my bed for more than ten minutes before deciding to get up. Sooner or later I’d have to face him and deal with whatever consequences there might be. Going to my dresser, I selected a set of workout clothes and got dressed.

As I stepped out of my room to go to the living room, I almost tripped over something. Looking down I saw the two books he’d taken away from me last Sunday. On top of them was a note.

Remember the lesson.

I do not wish to take something you so treasure away from you again.

I read it twice. The tone didn’t sound angry, but it did hold a promise. He would take them away again if he had to.

Picking up the books, I cradled them to my chest. There was just something about the feel of books that could not be duplicated.

I walked back into my room and placed the books on my nightstand where they’d been only a week ago. Then I turned and went into the living room and up the stairs to the gym.

Stephan

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