Page 63 of Clawed
Chapter Twenty-Four
A Good Brushing
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FUMBLING WITH THE PACKAGING, Hannah pulled the toothbrush out of the plastic, her gaze meeting Lawes’ in the mirror.She barely recognized herself.Her image was vaguely reminiscent of someone she knew, despite the chain running down between her breasts, but she couldn’t put her finger on who the woman staring back at them was.
He was right behind her then, his cock nudging at her lower back and reminding her they were both naked.As if she could forget, her cooling skin and sore ass constant reminders.Two naked strangers in the rundown bathroom.Two strangers caught in a web of both loathing and fascination...
Except they weren’t strangers, were they?
They knew each other.
They knew each other well.
“I’m going to watch you brush.”One of his hands rose to her shoulder and squeezed softly.She watched its progress in the mirror, trying to decide how she felt about his touch, but there were no clear answers were Lawes was concerned.She should hate him.Shedidhate him.So, why wasn’t she running for the door?“We need to make sure you’re doing it properly.”
If anyone else had made the demand, she’d have presumed they were joking, but not Lawes.The man with the hard, green eyes wasn’t one for saying things he didn’t mean.He’d been tormenting her for so long, she could scarcely remember what life had been like before him.
“Now.”He gestured toward the toothpaste sitting behind the basin.“I’m waiting, little girl.”
Shifting in what seemed like slow motion, she grabbed the paste and flicked open the cap.It wasn’t easy to move fluently with her hands still trapped by the leather and metal, but she didn’t even bother to ask if he’d remove the cuffs.Lawes would free her when he was ready, and until then, she’d been through enough to know there were considerably worse ways he could have contained her.
Throat drying as she moved on autopilot, she lined the bristles with a tiny portion of the toothpaste and ran the brush briefly under the cold tap.It was a task she’d performed hundreds of times before, but that time, she was naked, vulnerable, and being watched by the hawk-like gaze of her captor.
Reaching for the edge of the basin, she supported her weight.No matter how many times he compelled her to act on his will, the power he wielded over her was never lost on Hannah.She was without clothes because he’d determined she should be.Exhausted and bound, she’d given in to sleep because it had been her only option.Her focus flitted to his face in the glass.
My only option.
She’d tried to live without Lawes in her life, and after his conviction and several rounds of therapy, she’d believed she’d been successful, but in the end, where had that life led her?
Right back to him.
Despite her every rational impulse to get out of the horrible house, to get away from him and reclaim her freedom, the weight of his stare impaled her, suspending her there as their eyes locked.
He had her.
Like he’d had her many times before, but as the atmosphere in the bathroom thickened, she was conscious of something else.She stayed there—in that room, in that moment—not only because she feared the repercussions of fleeing, but because, deep down, she wanted to.She needed to know what would happen next.She sought the satisfaction of his smile if she pleased him.She craved the electricity of his touch.
It was wrong.
