Page 93 of Silver Fire

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Sophie studied her room closely.The windows had been boarded up—whether from wear or on purpose she didn’t know. It was a very old house; some of the floorboards were suspect. And the walls permeated with the smell of mold, mildew and tobacco. At least her bed had a new mattress with clean sheets. There were some clothes folded neatly in a corner. The attached bathroom had no running water, instead there was a big drum with an empty bucket beside it. Looked like someone had scrubbed the filth off before she arrived judging by the strong odor of bleach.

The door knob rattled. Sophie tensed as she watched it turn. Justin walked in. He smiled at her, but his smile did not reach his eyes. Sophie might call the smile charming but unfortunately, right now, it made her skin crawl. “How are you, my dear?”

“Look, I don’t know what you want from me,” Sophie said. “But I really need to know how my friend is.”

“Ms. Turner is fine. And she won’t be harmed if—”

“If?”

“If you do exactly as I tell you.”

Sophie sucked in a breath and trembled slightly. Justin frowned and moved into the room. When he raised a hand to touch her face, she flinched. His mouth tightened as he dropped his hand.

“I won’t hurt you, my sweet Sophie.”

“But you would hurt my friend.”

“To keep you in line.”

“What? What are you going to do to me?” Sophie was almost afraid to ask.

Justin eyes drifted to the bed behind her and she swallowed hard.No, please no, kill her now,Sophie prayed.

“You know what I want,” Justin murmured as he stepped closer.

Sophie tried a different tactic so she glared at him. “I think I know what you want,” she said icily. “But what if it’s not what I want.”

Justin’s face was impassive, but the the twitching in his jaw revealed his anger. He firmly grasped Sophie’s chin and said, “There is some mulishness about you I need to tame. This challenge you present will give me great pleasure.”

“I am not challenging you.”

He smirked as he walked to the door. “Morgan, you can bring it in.”

The big man called Morgan walked in, carrying two buckets of steaming water. He went to the bathroom and proceeded to pour them into a big rain bucket that stood in the shower.

“You’ll have to excuse the facilities, my dear,” Justin murmured as Morgan left the room. His eyes swept the length of her body. “Now, strip.”

“Not on your life,” Sophie said indignantly.

Justin stalked toward her and yanked her hair, causing her to yelp. He was only slightly taller than her, so they were almost eye to eye.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” Sophie whispered to him.

“I define the limits of what is considered ‘hurt.’ I am merely disciplining you,” Justin said and without another word, he tore off the front of her blouse, sending buttons flying everywhere. Sophie screamed, Justin released her. His face turned red, his fists balled at his sides.

“Now—Strip!” he roared.

Sophie started dry-sobbing, she was shaking so hard as she started to peel off her clothing. She left her bra and panties on.

“Everything,” Justin said and his eyes started flaring with lust. Sophie twisted a little and unhooked her bra. Before she knew it, Justin was before her as his gaze ran down the length of her body.

“You are beautiful,” he murmured. He ran the pad of his thumb against one nipple as he sucked in a breath. He kneeled in front of her, kissing her just below her belly button. Sophie squeezed her eyes shut as she felt him kiss lower and lower and then he stopped. He threaded his fingers through her panties and pulled them down, helping her step out of them.

He stood up and started nuzzling her neck, nipping her shoulder and inhaling her scent. He cupped her bare breasts and squeezed lightly. When his lips reached her ear, he kept them there for a while before exhaling deeply. “Go clean up, Sophie, before the water gets cold.”

Without another word, Justin turned around and left the room.

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