Page 6 of Slave

I stood stunned. If I had not moved from my seat when I did, I would probably have been part of the collateral damage.

It was only Brianna’s movement that brought me out of my fog. She practically collapsed onto the floor. At first I thought she had fallen, but realized it was too controlled for that.

She was on her knees, forehead to the floor. Her entire form shook with what I finally realized were silent sobs.

I stood looking back and forth from the mess on the counter to the girl shaking on the floor before deciding to leave the mess and deal with Brianna first.

Squatting down, I kept my voice calm and even. “Look at me.” Her head slowly came up off the floor, but every muscle in her body tensed as if she was waiting for something awful to happen. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and I noticed that she needed some cleaning up. “Are you okay?” I asked, concerned.

For some reason this made her cry harder, but she nodded.

I reached out, trying to offer my assistance, but she stiffened more, so I pulled back again.

With a sigh, I pushed myself up to my full height, and asked, “Can you walk?”

“Y—Yesss, Master,” she stuttered.

“Follow me,” I said, knowing she wouldn’t move from her spot unless I told her. Leading her through the living room, I walked into the room next to mine.

This would be her bedroom. It was smaller than mine, but it had its own full bathroom. I showed her the bathroom. “Go clean yourself up. I’ll wait here,” I said, taking a position a few feet from the door. She lowered her head and walked inside.

I looked around the room. It had been empty for a while, since Tami. The bed was the dominant feature in the room along with a built-in dresser and closet along one wall. There were two end tables, one on either side of the bed, but other than a lamp and alarm clock they were empty. The only other piece of furniture was a plush leather chair that sat in the corner. All personal touches to the room had left with the person who used to occupy the space. Hard to believe that was six months ago.

Brianna didn’t take long. She was gone less than five minutes. Her face was slightly red where she’d obviously scrubbed it clean, as were her neck and shoulders. She stood with her head bowed, waiting.

As I watched her, I wondered briefly if I should try to find her something else to wear to bed besides her current attire, but figure it wouldn’t hurt her to wear them for another night. Tomorrow I’d be finding something else for her to wear anyway. “Come to bed,” I said, motioning toward the queen-size bed. “This is where you will sleep.”

She walked over beside the bed. But instead of getting into it, she lay down on the floor.

What the . . .?

Walking over, I knelt beside her and reached out slowly for her hands. It was the first time I’d touched her since leaving Ian’s, and she jumped slightly, not able to help herself. I saw her eyes widen in fear as she realized what she’d done.

“Brianna,” I said in a voice that brooked no argument. “You will sleep in the bed, not on the floor.”

I didn’t think her eyes could get any bigger, but they did. Then she got up and climbed onto the bed, lying flat on her back, her arms down at her sides.

Her face was set, waiting for something.

I studied her for a minute before it dawned on me what she was waiting for; she thought I wanted sex.

We would get to that, but not tonight, and not with her like this. Opening the dresser drawer, I pulled out a bottle of salve.

Her breathing picked up as I sat on the bed beside her, a telltale sign of her nervousness. Brianna’s eyes were closed now. She was mentally preparing herself for whatever I was going to do to her.

I lifted her skirt, once again revealing her bruises. They looked worse in the bright artificial light of this room, and I felt the pizza I’d just eaten threaten to come back up. Without waiting any more, I placed some of the salve on my fingers and began massaging it into her thighs.

When I finished and put her skirt back in place, she was looking at me. Then, realizing her mistake, she quickly looked away. I stood and put the bottle back in the drawer.

“You don’t have to fear me, Brianna. Goodnight.”

Turning off the light, I left her alone and went back out to the kitchen to clean up before heading to my own bedroom. Stripping down to my boxers, I fell into bed. The emotional strain of the day quickly pulled me into a deep sleep. And my last thoughts were of a fragile woman with brown hair and blue eyes.

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Stephan

A piercing scream tore me from sleep. Throwing the covers off, I ran to Brianna’s room to find her huddled against the headboard of her bed, looking wild with fright. Her hands were twisted in her hair, tangling it. At first she didn’t seem to notice me in the dim light from the window, but when she did, she closed her eyes, tilted her head down, and began to shake.

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