Saved By Him (The Monster Series Book 2) (8 page)

Sophia~

I wake up to a nice cool cloth brushing softly over my skin. Although, it hurts at first, the burning pain eases afterwards.

I open my eyes and at first I’m not sure I’m seeing right. Master Adam is busy cleaning me?

When he gets to my leg he frowns darkly. He must be disgusted with me. I look horrible. I’ll never be pretty again and that means no master will ever want me again.

He rinses the cloth and then his eyes land on mine. I lower them quickly, ashamed that he caught me staring.

“Are you okay?” he asks, “Do you want me to stop? We can clean your back later if the pain is too much.”

His words make my head hurt. I don’t know what the right way is to respond. I lick my dry lips and I so badly want to ask him why he’s doing all of this. I want to be prepared for what’s to come.

“You can talk freely, Sophia. You don’t need permission to talk to anyone.”

He keeps saying these weird things! I don’t understand any of it. I can speak freely? What does that mean?

It looks like he’s waiting for me to say something so I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Master doesn’t have to clean me, I can do it myself.”

He shakes his head and his face darkens with anger. My heart starts to beat faster and faster. Why can’t I do anything right? Why have I become so useless?

“Sophia, I know you can do everything yourself. I’d like to do this for you. Please, let me help you.”

Help me? “Why?” My voice is hoarse with fear for the punishment coming, but I risk asking anyway, “Forgive me for asking, Master, but why are you doing all of this?” I have to know what’s coming my way so I can at least prepare myself. “Am I going to be punished again for not satisfying Master?”

He drops the cloth and his hands go behind his neck. He’s holding his neck so tightly that his veins are showing. I’ve never seen a master so angry with me before!

Oh no! I should have kept quiet! Now I’m in more trouble. “I’m sorry, Master!” I start to beg. It never helps to beg but I try anyway. “I didn’t mean to anger you more.”

“What’s going on?” The Mistress asks.

He whispers to the Mistress and then she looks angry too. I’ve angered them both! My eyes flit to Jack. He’s still unconscious. I really hope I didn’t get him in trouble again. Jack doesn’t deserve to be beaten again, especially because of me.

Master Adam turns back to me and I can’t hide my fear. I know it will only anger him more, but I can’t help it – I’m so scared!

“Sweetheart.” He kneels next to me and takes my hand in his.

He’s kneeling. He’s holding my hand. No master has ever done that. For a split second I feel the anxiety in my chest lighten. “We are not your masters. You are free. You’re no longer a slave. You will never be punished again. You can ask us anything and talk when you want to. You can do what you want. You can stay here or leave and go make a life for yourself out there. You can stay here with us as a friend, Sophia, not a slave.”

They’re not my masters! I’m no longer a slave?

I’m no longer a slave, because they don’t want me. It’s just like Master David said it would be.

It feels as if my heart is cracking and I whisper, “I understand, Master. I’m ugly and master doesn’t want an ugly slave.”

I suck in some air and I try to breathe past the shame and disappointment I feel for myself.

Master Adam drops his forehead onto the back of my hand and I hear him take a deep breath.

I feel something wet drip onto my hand. Master Adam looks up and I see the tears. Oh no! I quickly scramble to my knees. Pain tears through my body, but I ignore it. I scoot close to Master Adam, I bow my head low and whisper, “Please, Master, I didn’t mean to upset you. Please … keep me as a slave. You can punish me, I don’t mind. I’ll do anything to satisfy you. Please, Master.” I bite my bottom lip and hope I can make this whole confused mess just go away.

His arms go around me. He sits on the bed and pulls me against his chest. “It’s okay, Sweetheart,” he whispers. “It will please me if you call me Adam and not Master. It will please me if you look at me and don’t drop your eyes. It will please me so much if you rest and get better. I just want you to get better. We can deal with the other stuff later.”

He holds me to his chest and all I can do is nod. I duck my head under his chin and curl into him. If this pleases him, then I will do it and I will do it well. I just want to please him. I want to belong again. I want to mean something to someone again.

With everything that’s been going wrong it feels comforting to be in Master Adam’s arms.

For a moment I almost feel safe.

Adam~

I hold her until her breathing evens out. Once she’s asleep, I lay her down and cover her with the sheet. I’ll clean her back later. I just need a moment to deal with everything that’s happened.

I leave the room and walk over to my place. It’s not massive, just a two bedroom, but it’s mine and that’s all that matters. It’s the one place I can be alone to gather my scattered thoughts and emotions.

I walk over to my couch and lie down on it. I cover my eyes with my arm and I rest my other hand on my chest.

I let the silence of my home calm me. I need to stop getting so swept up in Sophia. I can’t be of any help to her if I’m a mess inside.

She’s been through hell and she now needs someone who can be calm, someone she can lean on until she can stand on her own two feet.

I’m going to have to be stronger for her. I’ll take it one day at a time. I need to slow down. I can’t push her into healing, she has to do that at her own pace.

After I give myself a good talking to, I return to the house. It’s late afternoon already. This day has just slipped by.

When I walk back into the room, I give River a smile to let her know I’m good. A look of relief flashes across her face.

I sit down next to Sophia’s bed and I gently pick up her hand. I hold it in both of mine and then I wait for her to wake up again. This time round I won’t allow myself to lose it.

“Jack?” River whispers suddenly. I can hear the hope in her voice. I glance at them. He’s awake! That’s a good sign.

River leans over him. “Can you hear me, Jack?”

He closes his eyes again and turns his face the other way. River sits back and I see the same worry on her face that I’ve been feeling since Sophia woke up. Can we help them?

Nanna breaks the heavy silence when she comes into the room. She places a tray with two bowls of soup down on the table between their beds.

She gives us a smile before she leaves again. I know it’s hard for her to see people beaten like this. Nanna has the softest heart.

I feel Sophia’s hand move in mine and I lean closer to her. “Hey, Sweetheart,” I whisper. I brush some hair from her forehead. “It’s time to eat again. Can you sit up for me?”

She nods and struggles into a sitting position. I see the pain on her face. It’s going to hurt as the wounds start to heal.

I pick up the bowl of soup and sit down on the bed. She scoots close to me and it takes another blow at my heart. She’s like a beaten animal seeking love and it kills me to see it.

I scoop some soup into the spoon and then I start to feed her. She eats half of the soup which makes me feel better. I give her more painkillers with some lemonade.

When she’s all done I ask, “Do you want to sit or try to sleep again?” I’m testing the waters with an easy question, hoping she’ll make the decision herself.

Keeping her head down, she scoots closer until our bodies touch. This poor woman must be starving for any kind of affection. I take her hand again and let her sit close to me. If it makes her feel better, I’ll sit with her until she falls asleep again.

“Jack, would you like to eat something?” I hear River ask. “It’s Miss Ella’s famous recipe.”

I hear a slap and my head jerks to River. The bowl with the soup goes crashing onto the floor. Every muscle in my body tenses. My first priority is to keep River safe.

Jack’s gaze is dark on River. I can feel the anger coming off him in waves.

“You’re free, Jack,” she whispers to him. “You’re no longer a slave. You can stay here until you’re better and then leave, or you can stay and work here. You have a choice.”

I’m surprised when Jack gets up. His reaction is totally different from Sophia’s. He stumbles out of the room. Before I can go after him, Sophia slides past me and then gets up. My hand goes to her lower back as she sways for a moment. I steady her and then she limps after him. I’m the last one out of the room.

Sophia takes hold of Jack’s arm. Jack swings back and I rush a few steps forward. His eyes take her in and just her presence seems to calm him down.

“Come rest, Jack. Eat something, get clothes and then you can leave.” Her voice is soft as she talks with him, but it’s clear as daylight that they are comfortable with each other. “Not like this. You won’t make it like this.”

Taking his hand, she pulls his arm around her shoulder and her slender body takes some of his weight. She helps him back into bed and takes her bowl of soup. She feeds it all to him, the same way I fed her and then she gives him two painkillers.

“We will go get you some clothes today.” River suddenly says next to me. River leaves, clearly exhausted by today’s events.

I wait until Sophia is back in her bed before I ask, “What size clothes do you wear, Sophia?”

She frowns lightly and shakes her head. “I don’t wear clothes, but Jack usually wears jeans.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. It’s not easy staying calm when you hear something like that.

I reign in my emotions and then look at her. She’s a bit smaller than River so I’ll just get her once size smaller. Jack is taller than me. I leave hoping that I’ll get the sizes right.