Page 10 of Bound By Longing

I stare down at the maid’s outfit. “If I say no?”

He shrugs. “Then I’ll shoot you.”

I quickly start to pull it on over my head, but he stops me.

“No. You have to get naked first.”

“But I thought you said you didn’t want to have sex with me.”

“I don’t.” His smile grosses me out as he sits back on the couch. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to watch you get naked.”

I shudder. “But why?”

“Why not? You’re a hot little slut, and I want to see you naked. So, take your clothes off and get in that outfit.”

I’m frozen in fear. I can’t even scream. There’s no one to help me. Not my sisters, not their husbands. I’m never safe when that’s all I want to be.

Vladimir cocks his gun. “Get in the outfit.”

With trembling fingers, I pull my pants and sweater off before quickly pulling on the maid’s uniform.

“Better. Now, get on your knees and start cleaning my floor.”

I glance down at the dust-covered floorboards and grimace. This place doesn’t look like it has been cleaned in months. “With what?” I ask.

“With your hands, stupid girl.”

I force myself to get on my knees and begin to pick up the piles of dust balls on the ground. I try not to think too hard about what I’m touching. Vladimir is quiet as he watches me.

But that’s the thing—I can feel him watching me. His slimy gaze. His power over me. If he wanted to, he could kill me right this second, and there would be nothing I could do about it.

I really am like a princess locked in a tower. It makes me miss Vik’s home and my garden view. I never should have taken it for granted.

I gasp when I feel Vladimir’s hand on my back. “What are you doing?” I don’t even dare glance at him.

“I just wanted a touch.”

“But you said?—”

“I know what I said,” he snaps, making me flinch. “But just because we’re not going to have sex doesn’t mean I don’t want to look or touch you.”

I don’t understand this man. If I were Vik, I would. She understands everything. Even Sofiya, before her marriage to Mikhail, understood these things.

But I don’t. Because I was kept in the dark. Because I was kept sheltered. Because my father wanted me to be his little angel and nothing else. My sisters faced competition and belittlement and hatred.

I never did.

And now, I’m lost without that knowledge.

Vladimir keeps touching my back, and something in me snaps. I can’t sit here and let him touch me. I can’t remain so passive.

With a scream, I jump up and run away from him.

“Little slut!” he shouts. His footsteps thunder on the wooden floors.

I keep running until I make it into a bathroom and shut the door behind me. I lock the door just in time. Vladimir bangs against the door, rattling the doorknob.

“Open up!” he shouts.

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