Page 34 of Master of My Heart

“I just should have.”

“Okay.” Sabrina didn’t understand what the big deal was. He was a man, she was a whore. That was what whores did. But she didn’t want to be that person anymore. Maybe she could pretend she wasn’t one. It wouldn’t change anything, but maybe she could be accepted here and not have to think about her past anymore.

“You’ve been told some really fucked-up things about sex.”

She looked down at his chest, feeling sick to her stomach. “I realize that now.”

“I wasn’t trying to shame you.” He cupped her chin. “I really, really enjoyed that. Probably more than I should have.”

“I liked it, too,” she admitted. “More than I ever recall enjoying it before.”

Jayson pressed his lips together. “This guy from your dreams... He hurt you in real life, too, huh?”

She nodded.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Sabrina.” Jayson sighed and pulled her close. “That’s why you ran away from him?”

She nodded again, resting her head on his bare chest.

“I’m glad.”

They lay quietly as he stroked her back. Her eyes drifted closed and she sighed, relishing in his kind touch.

“Sabrina?” Jayson said in a soft voice.

“Yes?”

“It’s not your job to please me, or any other man.”

Sabrina thought about his words. They made sense, to an extent. Part of her agreed with him. The other part wondered if it was even possible to say no.

Jayson suddenly grabbed her wrist and stretched out her arm. “What’s that?” he asked.

Sabrina frowned, confused, then noticed bruises on her inner arm. They were fresh, but she didn’t remember getting them. It probably happened on the train. It didn’t surprise her that she hadn’t seen them before. She almost always had some sort of bruising or cuts on her body. As soon as she was healed from one thing, Ramon or Khyan started all over again. They were very creative.

“N-nothing,” she said, trying to free her wrist from his grasp. She didn’t want to admit what she’d done on the train.

Jayson didn’t release her, staring at the bruises for a long moment, then looked back at her face. “What happened?”

“N-nothing,” she repeated. Nothing she could remember.

“These don’t look old enough to be from before your trip.” He frowned and released her wrist. “Did something happen on the train?”

She shook her head. “Of course not.”

“Don’t lie to me, Sabrina. Please.”

She stared at his defined chest and swallowed hard. “I don’t really remember what happened,” she admitted slowly.

He was silent. She wondered if he was thinking about doing the same thing to her. Yes, he was nice this morning, but in her experience, all men got off on being cruel at some point. “I’m okay now if you want to, you know, do whatever... You can...”

“What?”

She looked up at his shocked expression. Her body tingled at the disgust on his face. “Oh.” She pressed her lips together and stared at the bedspread.

“Sabrina, did some guy do this to you while you were having sex?”

“I... I don’t remember.”

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