fit perfectly around her nose and across her eyes, completely blocking her vision from the light.
Her tears soaked into the cloth, matting the blindfold to her skin.
He guided her with almost surprising gentleness to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Please, wait here,” he told her, as though she had any choice. “Sir will be coming to see you shortly.”
Her heart rate quickened. Who was this ‘sir’ he kept speaking of? No part of her could convince herself he would be a decent man. After all, what kind of person bought women, cuffed and blindfolded them, and had his staff call him nothing but ‘sir’?
She heard the click of the lock opening, and then quiet footsteps, and the door shutting again. This time, she didn’t hear the lock click into place.
He doesn’t need to lock it again, she told herself. You’re handcuffed and blindfolded. Where the hell would you go?
She waited. There was nothing else she could do. Her whole body was tensed and trembling with anticipation, her ears straining for any sound of someone approaching. Her mouth was painfully dry, her lips and tongue sticking to her teeth. She felt exposed and vulnerable, and though she wanted to be angry and snarky toward whoever had taken her—make him realize he hadn’t taken some weak, useless little girl—her fear overwhelmed everything else.
The sound of footsteps came from down the hall, and Lily froze.
The footsteps were different from the older man’s. Where his were lighter and more hurried, this new person walked with a heavier gait, slower and with purpose.
She felt the slight waft of air as the door opened, heard the click as the catch gave way. Her stomach turned, her entire body vibrating with the knowledge the man who owned her now stood in the room. She could sense his presence, a commanding force that drew her focus, even though she was unable to see him.
Could she hear his breathing? Catch the faint hint of some kind of aftershave or soap on the air? What type of man stood over her? The not knowing was the worst part.
She waited for him to speak, wanting to hear his voice to try to get an image of him in her mind.
His footsteps passed in front of her, and to the side. He paused, and then walked back the way he’d just come. She could sense him assessing her, looking her over from each side.
Even though she’d been expecting it, his voice made her jump. “You’re prettier than I expected.”
His voice was deep, gravelly, and with a slightly foreign accent. He sounded young, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You’re as much of a creep as I expected,” she snapped back.
To her surprise, he laughed. “I can understand that.”
She shook the cuffs around her wrists. “You need to let me go. People are going to be looking for me, and when they find me you’re going to prison for the rest of your life.”
He came to a standstill directly in front of her. “I think we both know no one is looking for you, Lily Drayton. That was one of the reasons you were chosen.”
The sound of her name on his lips was like an electric shock jolting through her system. Once again, the realization that she’d not been taken by accident, that it wasn’t the case of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time, hit her. Somehow, that made everything worse. If her abduction was so meticulously planned, there was less chance of them making a stupid mistake and her finding a way to escape.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Monster.”
Her breath caught, certain she had misheard him. “Master?” Mentally, she’d sought for the closest thing that tied in with the name she’d already heard him called—sir.
“No. You heard me,” he answered. “My name is Monster.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I can’t call you that!” Somehow, giving voice to what he was, to what he wanted her to call him, only served to make this whole thing more terrifying.
A sudden crack across her face sent her head rocking back
Her tears soaked into the cloth, matting the blindfold to her skin.
He guided her with almost surprising gentleness to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Please, wait here,” he told her, as though she had any choice. “Sir will be coming to see you shortly.”
Her heart rate quickened. Who was this ‘sir’ he kept speaking of? No part of her could convince herself he would be a decent man. After all, what kind of person bought women, cuffed and blindfolded them, and had his staff call him nothing but ‘sir’?
She heard the click of the lock opening, and then quiet footsteps, and the door shutting again. This time, she didn’t hear the lock click into place.
He doesn’t need to lock it again, she told herself. You’re handcuffed and blindfolded. Where the hell would you go?
She waited. There was nothing else she could do. Her whole body was tensed and trembling with anticipation, her ears straining for any sound of someone approaching. Her mouth was painfully dry, her lips and tongue sticking to her teeth. She felt exposed and vulnerable, and though she wanted to be angry and snarky toward whoever had taken her—make him realize he hadn’t taken some weak, useless little girl—her fear overwhelmed everything else.
The sound of footsteps came from down the hall, and Lily froze.
The footsteps were different from the older man’s. Where his were lighter and more hurried, this new person walked with a heavier gait, slower and with purpose.
She felt the slight waft of air as the door opened, heard the click as the catch gave way. Her stomach turned, her entire body vibrating with the knowledge the man who owned her now stood in the room. She could sense his presence, a commanding force that drew her focus, even though she was unable to see him.
Could she hear his breathing? Catch the faint hint of some kind of aftershave or soap on the air? What type of man stood over her? The not knowing was the worst part.
She waited for him to speak, wanting to hear his voice to try to get an image of him in her mind.
His footsteps passed in front of her, and to the side. He paused, and then walked back the way he’d just come. She could sense him assessing her, looking her over from each side.
Even though she’d been expecting it, his voice made her jump. “You’re prettier than I expected.”
His voice was deep, gravelly, and with a slightly foreign accent. He sounded young, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You’re as much of a creep as I expected,” she snapped back.
To her surprise, he laughed. “I can understand that.”
She shook the cuffs around her wrists. “You need to let me go. People are going to be looking for me, and when they find me you’re going to prison for the rest of your life.”
He came to a standstill directly in front of her. “I think we both know no one is looking for you, Lily Drayton. That was one of the reasons you were chosen.”
The sound of her name on his lips was like an electric shock jolting through her system. Once again, the realization that she’d not been taken by accident, that it wasn’t the case of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time, hit her. Somehow, that made everything worse. If her abduction was so meticulously planned, there was less chance of them making a stupid mistake and her finding a way to escape.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Monster.”
Her breath caught, certain she had misheard him. “Master?” Mentally, she’d sought for the closest thing that tied in with the name she’d already heard him called—sir.
“No. You heard me,” he answered. “My name is Monster.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I can’t call you that!” Somehow, giving voice to what he was, to what he wanted her to call him, only served to make this whole thing more terrifying.
A sudden crack across her face sent her head rocking back
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