by Sherri Hayes
I laid her down and tried to pull back, but she held tighter. I wasn’t sure what to do, but before I could make a decision her arms fell away.
After standing, I looked down at her lying there. Her eyes were looking down, not meeting mine.
Brianna had a fear of men in general, but especially predatory men, aggressive men. The man in the store had obviously found her attractive and had been expressing that want through his eyes. Sadly he didn’t know that his look of hungry appreciation would have the opposite effect with Brianna. It didn’t turn her on or make her feel wanted.
I knew Ian could have that predatory look. I’d see a little of it in his office. But how many other men had Brianna seen that look from?
She’d been so sure that I’d share her with Logan, so I had no doubt in my mind that she’d been shared in the past. The question was, how many men had she been shared with, and just what had they done to her to make her so fearful of being desired?
With that thought, I felt anger grow inside again. All those unknown men touching her against her wishes. I shook it off. Letting what happened in her past get to me would not help her.
Several minutes had passed, but she still wasn’t looking at me. I didn’t address her right away though. Instead I walked over to her dresser. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top for her before walking back over to her bed.
I debated whether or not I should proceed. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen her naked before, but I still hadn’t forgotten how the last time had ended.
But then again, maybe that was exactly why I should continue. She needed to know that I wouldn’t do anything she didn’t wish me to, even when I could look at her as I had in the other room.
Laying the clothes down on her nightstand, I extended my hand to her. “Sit up.”
She took a deep breath and then pushed herself into a sitting position while taking my hand. Her gaze fell to her lap as I twisted her around so that her feet were on the floor.
I released her hand and reached for the hem of her shirt. “Raise your arms above your head.”
Her entire body tensed again, but she did as instructed. I pulled her T-shirt up over her torso and over her head. She still wasn’t looking at me.
I reached behind her, unclasped her bra, and tossed it over to join her shirt at the end of the bed. My movements were unhurried as I took the tank top and placed it over her head. She didn’t fight me when I placed her arms through the straps and slid the garment into place.
Then I knelt before her and removed her shoes and socks. My hands gently slid up her ankles and wrapped around them as I looked up at her. She was watching me but she looked away again almost as soon as our eyes met.
I didn’t comment, but instead rose again, my hand outstretched. “Stand up,” I said softly.
Her body was close to mine as she stood. There was so little separating us, and I didn’t stop the impulse I had to kiss her. I took her face in my hands and brushed my lips against hers.
It was such a light touch, but I needed the contact. I hated to see her so scared even though I knew this process would uncover all her fears.
Her eyes fluttered open and met mine as I leaned back. “You never have to be afraid of me, Brianna.” She clamped her lips together, and I ran my thumb over them until I felt them relax and soften.
I released her face, brought my hands down to her waist, unbuttoned her jeans, and pushed the zipper down before sliding them down her legs. When they reached her ankles, she held onto my arms as she stepped out of them.
The bruises on the inside of her thighs had completely faded now, but the burn marks would always be a permanent reminder of what she’d gone through, what she’d survived. I longed to kiss each and every inch of her skin, but I held myself in check this time. Instead I took her shorts and bent down to help her put them on.
Once she was fully dressed for bed I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom. She nodded, and I stepped back, letting her know I wanted her to go ahead. I watched as she slowly walked across the room and disappeared into the attached bathroom.
While she was gone I waited patiently on her bed. Looking around the room I noticed that even though she had been living here for three weeks, the only evidence of her habitation, besides the slept-in bed, were the two books on her nightstand. Everything else was exactly as it had been before she’d arrived. It was like she would only occupy the space temporarily, a room, a place to sleep, not a home.
Brianna didn’t take long in the bathroom, but when she returned she looked uncertain again. I stood and motioned for her to come to me.
Her walk was slow, but eventually she made it back to my side. I pulled back the covers and helped her lie down. This time her eyes didn’t leave me.
Tucking the sheets around her, I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“Goodnight, Brianna,” I whispered against her flesh.
“Goodnight, Master,” she whispered back.
The next morning, I called Jamie and asked her to see if Brad could stop by my office around mid-day even though I knew he would come anytime I asked. That man was more than predictable. I honestly thought he’d jump off a cliff if I asked him to.
Sure enough, at twelve fifteen Jamie knocked on my door to let me know Brad had arrived. “Tell him I’ll meet him in the gym in five minutes.”
I changed quickly and headed down the hall. Brad was standing near the stack of weights against the wall but turned when he heard me come in. “Mr. Coleman,” he gushed.
Brad was a great personal trainer. He had a way of creating targeted workouts for his clients but changed things up often enough to keep it challenging. “Hello, Brad.”
He moved toward me. “Was there a problem with your workout, sir?”
It was no wonder he thought there was a problem. We normally met once every six weeks to go over and change things. I was two weeks early. “No. The workout is fine,” I said as I walked over to the mat to begin my routine. “I wanted to talk to you about how things are going with Brianna.”
“Ah,” he mused as he watched me move. It never escaped my notice that he paid a little too much attention to certain areas than others, but he’d never been inappropriate. I was a valued client and he treated me as such. “The beautiful Anna is doing very well. The treadmill has been hard for her to master, but everything else has been easy enough. Did you wish to step things up?”
Anna? Why did he call her Anna?
I shook my head, looking at him in the mirror. “No. Not exactly. I wanted to see what you thought about adding some self-defense moves to her program. Nothing too complicated, but something she can add to in the future.”
He nodded. “Some lunges and general agility would be a good starting point for her I think.”
I agreed. Anything more would overwhelm her.
Stepping onto the treadmill myself, I pressed the buttons and began my warm up. “Are you having any trouble getting her to communicate with you?”
My pace picked up to a run as he answered. “She doesn’t talk much, but if I ask her something, she answers. If I tell her to do something differently, she does her best to correct it.”
I nodded and continued my run while he watched. Brianna’s interaction with Brad hasn’t concerned me too much. Given he did not find females in the least bit attractive, I doubted Brianna would fear him as she did most males. He wasn’t a threat.
Brad didn’t comment until I slowed back down to a walk. “Looks like we are going to be increasing your cardio soon. That was way too easy for you,” he laughed.
“Speak for yourself,” I said, stepping off the machine.
He walked toward me and placed his fingers at my pulse point to check my heart rate. I noticed his pulse beat a little faster at the contact and had to suppress a laugh. After a few seconds, he lowered his hand and nodded. “It’s within the acceptable range, but I’d still like to increase it.”
I wouldn’t argue with him. Walking over to the wei
ghts, I said, “Have Jamie set up a two-hour block in two weeks, and we can rework the specifics for both Brianna and myself.”
“I’ll see you in two weeks,” he said as I saw him take one extra-long look at me in the mirror before turning to leave.
Shaking my head, I finished my workout. I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered or cringe at the fact that my personal trainer was very obviously attracted to me.
Thursday night I decided not to push things with Brianna. We’d already made such progress this week, and I wanted to reward her. After dinner we just sat in my chair and watched television while I held her. All the while my mind kept returning to what Brad had called her today. Anna. Why had he called her Anna?
One o’clock on Friday I received a call from my lawyer. Oscar informed me that his secretary received a call earlier that morning from someone claiming to be from the sheriff’s department, inquiring about a Brianna Reeves.
He assured me that no information had been given and that the person had been informed that no information could be released without a court order. Apparently the person on the other end of the line hadn’t liked that answer and had then become rather forceful in their requests to the point where Oscar himself had had to take the phone and inform the caller that he would file an official grievance should this persist.
The man had quickly ended the call after that. And after talking with his secretary, Oscar realized that they had not even gotten the man’s name.
I, however, had a pretty good suspicion as to who it had been. My only question was why now, after eleven months, was Jonathan Reeves looking for his daughter?
Brianna
This week was full of mixed emotions for me. It had been filled with so many ups and downs.
Master seemed to be happy with me, even though I had embarrassed him in both the restaurant and the store on Monday. He’d been kind to me Tuesday as we’d talked again about the man at the store and then again after he’d stalked toward me like some kind of animal.
But he’d been right. The look in his eyes had been the exact look that had been in that man’s. Master hadn’t said anything about it after that night, but I had no doubt that he would at some time. It seemed he liked to talk about things, especially the things that scared me.
Wednesday I’d had more time to myself than usual since both the house was cleaned and I didn’t have to work out. It left me a lot of time to think, and my mind wouldn’t stop returning to what Lily had said. No. I was never his slave. And neither are you.
So I decided I’d try to watch him closer than I had before. But by Friday night when he’d come home from work, I was still as confused and unsure as I had ever been.
A part of me just said to ask him. But what if Lily was wrong and I was his slave? I liked the way things were now. What if asking him changed things?
After dinner Friday he told me that we would be going over to his aunt and uncle’s house again on Sunday. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but of course it wasn’t my decision. We would go wherever Master wanted.
Saturday morning I woke up to find Master in the kitchen making eggs. I went to kneel, but he stopped me. “Set the table, please, Brianna.”
I moved to get the plates, silverware, and juice out on the table quickly. He brought the pan over with the eggs and divided them up on our plates. Then he walked back to the stove, bringing with him a plate full of bacon and another with four slices of toast.
Master lay everything down and took a seat. “Sit and eat,” he ordered.
Breakfast was very good. I noticed Master kept things simple when he cooked, but what he made was always tasty.
About halfway through, he spoke up. “It’s a beautiful day today, and we are going out. Make sure to wear shoes you can walk in. When you’re finished, do what you need to do and meet me by the door.”
That was all he said as we finished the rest of the meal in silence. He stayed seated until I was finished before getting up and removing our plates. I did as he’d instructed and went to my room to get ready.
My mind was racing as to what he might have in store for us today. Truthfully, I was both scared and excited. Would we go to a restaurant again, the mall, a store? Or would we go somewhere completely new?
Minneapolis was a big city, so it really could be anything. I just had to remember that he would take care of me. He would protect me. I would be fine.
When I came out of my room, Master was waiting for me. I walked to him with my head down, and he took my hand. We left our jackets at home and headed down in the elevator. This time, however, we didn’t go to the parking garage.
The elevator stopped and opened into a large lobby with marble floors. We walked down a short hallway toward a set of doors. But before we reached them, a man behind a large desk off to the right called out a greeting to Master. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”
“Good morning, Tom.” The man, Tom, smiled at my Master like he knew him well, and Master smiled back before leading me out the doors.
Master had been right. It was a beautiful start to a spring day. The sky was overcast, but it wasn’t raining, and the air felt warm against my skin.
We began walking briskly down the city streets. If I hadn’t been doing my workouts, I would never have been able to keep up with him.
There were people everywhere, but Master didn’t let go of my hand. We walked for over a mile before stopping in front of what looked like a bicycle shop. He pulled us both inside and after a few minutes we had a scooter and two helmets.
I’d never ridden a scooter before, but it turned out to be rather fun. My arms were wrapped around Master’s waist, and I was able to see so much of the city as he drove.
Soon we were driving out of the city. The number of buildings lessened, and the number of trees increased. I lost track of how long he’d been driving and just enjoyed the ride.
Once we left Minneapolis behind us it wasn’t too much farther before Master turned onto a side road that led to a park entrance. He followed a winding road through the trees that created a canopy above us. The road opened up ahead, and Master parked the scooter in one of the marked spots.
The scooter had a compartment under the seat where he placed the helmets before grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. We walked toward the trees, and I felt myself start to panic when I realized where we were going. The sign ahead gave little doubt as to what we were going to do. Hiking.
I was a horrible hiker. Trees literally came up from out of the ground just to trip me whenever I attempted it.
But even as the thought crossed my mind to tell him I couldn’t do this, I pushed it away. It didn’t matter where we were going any more now than it did before. This was what Master wanted, so this was what we would do. All I could attempt to do was not fall on my face.
It only took about fifty feet down the trail for me to trip over a root. Master was still holding my hand and felt me stumble. He made sure I was stable again before moving closer and placing his arm around my waist.
I still tripped a few times after that, even though I kept my eyes on my feet the entire time. But with Master’s arm around me, I never came close to falling.
We walked for what seemed like hours before he guided me off the path. The going was slower now. There were fallen trees and plants everywhere.
Suddenly the area opened up again and there was another trail before us. This one was different than the other. The overgrowth along the edges indicated it had not been used very often.
Then we stopped. He released me and reached into the back pocket of his jeans. When his hand reappeared he held a long black piece of fabric. I just stared and felt my panic begin to rise when he came to stand behind me.
Master’s arms appeared on either side of me. One hand held the black . . . scarf?
“I’m going to put this over your eyes, Brianna.” I swallowed and tried to remember to breathe. He didn’t say anything else as he took the free end of the material in his other hand and b
rought the middle level with my eyes.
And then there was nothing but black as he pulled the scarf and tied it securely behind my head. I was in total darkness.
Brianna
The utter lack of light was making me uneasy. It reminded me of being in Ian’s dungeon. But then I felt Master’s arms come around me, and I was able to calm myself. I was safe. With my Master.
Instead of wrapping around me, his arms only touched my sides. “Put your arms in front of you and take my hands, Brianna,” he instructed.
Blindly, I reached out using what I could feel as a guide. It took some work, but eventually I found his hands and laced my fingers with his.
Master’s hold was firm. “We’re going to walk together. It isn’t far, and I’ve got you so you won’t fall. Take your time and try to feel what is under your feet.”
I wasn’t sure I could do this, but I was willing to try. He wouldn’t let me fall.
I lifted my right foot and cautiously moved it forward. The ground was farther away than what it seemed without the blindfold.
My next step was just as unsure, as was the one following. I had no idea how long it was until he finally told me to stop. But even though we were no longer moving, he didn’t remove the covering from my eyes. Instead, I felt him move away from me.
As much as I tried to stop it, I felt the panic eating at me. Logic told me that he wouldn’t just leave me alone, but did I really know that for sure?
I did. Didn’t I?
Without being able to see, I could hear so many things. I knew we were still in the forest. There were birds everywhere, surrounding me. I could hear other noises, too, but I couldn’t quite define them.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I jumped when he spoke again.
“Today we are going to work on your focus,” he said. His voice was moving as if he was circling me. “I want you to walk forward. You may go as slowly as you need. Your hands are to remain at your sides,” he said, pausing as if to let that sink in. “I want you to tell me about your childhood. Your mother. Your pets. Your teachers.”