Page 62 of Kidnapped By the Beast
Lexi curled on the moss-padded bed, clutching the leaf sheets in trembling fists. Her whole body felt raw, scraped hollow by humiliation and pain.
She should feel safe now—Brandt had come for her, had ripped the stocks apart with his bare hands—but shame sat like a stone in her chest. Everyone had seen her. Staring, jeering, pointing…and the thing inside her…
God, the thing inside her still hurt so much.
She shifted, a sharp ache lancing through to her core. She bit her lip to keep from whimpering. It was wedged deep, the rough nubs grinding every time she so much as breathed.
How will I ever get over this? How do I go back to normal after being displayed and tortured like that?
And how could she get the painful metal dildo out of herself? When Brandt had tried to pull it, she’d felt like he was yanking her insides out! She couldn’t take that kind of pain again—it was too much.
“Alexandra…sweetheart…” The big Kindred’s deep voice broke through her thoughts.
Lexi blinked and looked up to see him looming over her, his big frame tense, his eyes still faintly red from the Rage. But the fury was gone now, replaced with something that made her throat ache—worry.
He knelt beside the bed, brushing her damp hair back from her face with a tenderness that undid her.
“Sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice rough with anguish. “I’m so sorry—so fucking sorry I didn’t come for you in time. So sorry they hurt you.”
Her lips trembled. She wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but the words stuck in her throat. All she could manage was a shaky nod.
He bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead—so careful it was like he was afraid she might break apart under his touch. Then he stood and crossed the room. She heard water trickle and the sound of fabric being wrung out.
When he came back, Brandt held a cool, damp cloth. He laid it gently over her swollen eyes and hot forehead, his big hand cupping her cheek. The chill made her gasp, but then relief seeped into the burning skin around her eyes.
“Better?” he asked softly.
Lexi nodded again, a tear sliding free to dampen the cloth further.
But even the cool relief couldn’t block the constant, grinding ache low in her belly…in her ravaged pussy. She shifted, wincing.
“Please, it’s still in me. I…I can feel it. Hurts so much.”
Brandt’s jaw tightened. His hand flexed against her cheek.
“I know, baby. Don’t worry—we’re going to get that thing out of you,” he said at last, his voice low and controlled.
Lexi’s throat closed. Just the thought of the metal torture device inside her being pulled out made her want to curl up and disappear.
“I don’t know how you can,” she whispered, barely audible. “When you pulled on it…it was like someone pulling my insides out. Dr. Brandt, it’s stuck in me somehow!”
He stroked her hair again, his big hand incredibly gentle.
“I could tell it hurt—I’m so sorry, little Lexi. But I promise I’ll find a way to take it out without hurting you anymore.”
“I just don’t see how you can.”
Lexi shut her eyes tight, pressing her face into the cool cloth, fighting another wave of tears.
“I will—I promise,” he said again. “We just need to?—”
Just then, the door to the bedroom slid open with a soft hiss.
Lexi flinched, clutching the sheet tighter to her chest. But it was just Dr. TOo-loo and T’linga, both looking agitated and out of breath.
“Oh dear, oh dear!” Dr. TOo-loo wrung his hands in obvious distress. His dark purple skin had gone blotchy with agitation. “T’linga told me what happened! What a dreadful mistake—absolutely dreadful! I’m so terribly sorry, Dr. Brandt. I swear this kind of thing is most uncommon?—”
“Just tell me how to help her,” Brandt cut him off, his deep voice rough with command. He sat on the edge of the bed, one massive hand still stroking Lexi’s hair. His golden eyes blazed with controlled fury. “They put some kind of metal device inside her, and it’s stuck. She’s in a lot of pain.”
