Slave (24 page)

I felt her breathing begin to pick up and knew we must be nearing the part in her story where things went horribly wrong for her. My thumb rubbed softly over her knuckles trying to offer her what comfort I could.

“Then the car . . . stopped. The man, he opened my door and told me to get out.”

“I was so scared,” she whispered, her whole body trembling. “I moved as far away from him as I could. My back hit the other door . . . Then I was falling.”

She paused again, but this time she looked up at me. The look on her face was a strange one. “That was when I met Ian,” she whispered.

I was so very proud of her. She’d made it through the entire story without having a panic attack. A first.

My hands came up and cupped her face. “Brianna, you did so well today. I know it was difficult, but you stayed focused and didn’t let the panic overwhelm you. Next time it will be easier.”

Her eyes held mine with a look of pride. “Yes, Master.”

With a swift kiss to the top of her head, I asked, “Are you getting hungry?”

“Yes.”

I stood and offered her my hand. “Let’s get back into town and see what we can find, shall we?”

It took us a while to make our way back to the scooter I’d rented. The return trip was filled with just as much peril as going in. I’d had to hold onto her every second in fear of her falling.

We made our way back into Minneapolis and went straight for the bike shop to return the scooter. Once that was done, we walked two blocks to my favorite pizza place.

Tony looked up at the sound of the bell over the door and smiled when he saw me. “Ah, Stephan. How are you this evening?” he said, coming out from behind the counter.

“I’m good, Tony. How about you?”

“Ah, I can’t complain,” he said. Then he noticed Brianna. “And who is the lovely lady?”

I smiled and pulled Brianna closer so that she was standing directly beside me. “Tony, this is Brianna. Brianna, this is the owner of the best pizza shop in town.”

As expected, Tony blushed a bright red, and I chuckled. What I hadn’t expected was for him to turn his total attention to Brianna. “You have to watch out for this one. He’s quite the ladies’ man, you know,” he said winking.

Brianna just flushed and lowered her eyes while holding tighter to my hand. I squeezed it back. “Do you think you can spare a table for us, Tony?” I said, looking around at the near-empty restaurant.

“Of course,” he said and turned to direct us over to a table in the corner.

We took a seat, and this time I placed Brianna opposite me. I wanted to see how she’d do since there was only one other couple besides us here. It was a little early for dinner, although most of Tony’s business came from deliveries.

Tony disappeared for about thirty seconds and returned with menus. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Just water, Tony.”

“And for the lady?”

“She’ll take water as well,” I answered for her.

Brianna hadn’t moved since sitting down. I knew she was nervous, but I was hoping she’d be able to work through her fear.

Tony left us to get our waters. I glanced over my menu to look at Brianna. “Do you want pizza or something else?” Instead of answering me, I saw her swallow hard. I was not going to ask her again, so instead of commenting I raised my eyebrows and gave her a pointed stare.

It worked.

“Pizza’s fine,” she said cautiously.

“Very well,” I said putting my menu down.

Tony returned to the table and placed the glasses in front of us. “Just a large pizza with everything except onions, peppers, and anchovies tonight,” I said, smiling.

“Coming right up.” He winked at Brianna again.

I took a slow sip of my water before setting the glass back down. “You can calm down, Brianna. Tony is a big flirt, but he won’t hurt you.”

“Yes, Master,” she whispered.

“Brianna,” I said lowering my voice. “You will refrain from addressing me like that when we are in public.” Her eyes widened, but she nodded in understanding.

No other words were exchanged until the pizza arrived. After thanking Tony, I let Brianna know she could help herself.

I watched her take a few bites of her pizza before bringing up the subject I wanted to try and discuss with her. “Tomorrow we will be going to my aunt and uncle’s again. Do you have any questions for me?”

She shook her head. “No, M . . .” She caught herself. “No.”

After taking another bite, I pressed forward. “I will stay close to you tomorrow, but I may leave you alone once or twice.”

I saw her stop eating. At first I was concerned that she would begin to have another panic attack, but she just gripped her napkin tighter for a minute and then released it.

Once I was sure she was again in control of herself, I continued on. “Nothing has changed from the last time we were there. You’re safe within the house, and you are to speak freely with the exception of how you address me,” I said, meeting her eyes with that last part.

She just nodded instead of answering verbally.

Now that business was out of the way, I wanted to steer her to a more relaxing subject. “Have you been reading your books this week?”

“Yes.”

“And what do you think so far?”

All at once her shoulders relaxed, and her face lit up. For the rest of dinner we discussed characters, plots, and writing styles. It was the most I’d seen her open up outside of my home since she’d arrived.

Brianna

My eyes fluttered open to the soft light of the morning coming from the window, and I couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t know the last time I’d felt so relaxed.

With that thought, I felt a moment of panic and glanced over at my alarm clock. Seven fifty. I took a deep breath and let the tension leave my body. Somehow I’d managed to wake up before the alarm.

And the alarm was set. I’d watched as Master had done so last night just after I had climbed into bed.

I was still trying to wrap my mind around yesterday. When he’d had me talk about John and what had happened, all I’d wanted to do was to please him. And although I was nervous as to his reaction, I had known that I had to be honest. He’d made it very clear that he prized that above all else.

But, as something I was becoming more able to accept from my Master, he had comforted me. He hadn’t gotten upset that I’d tried to get away from my captors.

Master’s arms had held me tight as I’d told my story, grounding me to the present and not letting me fall into the past.

Master had kept his arm around me the entire time we walked back to the scooter, and it had calmed me. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall.

Once we’d gotten back into town and he’d returned the scooter, I thought we’d go home, so I’d been surprised when Master had led us into a restaurant. The man, Tony, had made me nervous as all men did, well except for Brad. I still didn’t understand that really, but he didn’t frighten me at all. With Tony, I tried to remember that Master was with me and that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt me.

As I remembered our dinner, I groaned. I couldn’t believe I’d slipped and called him Master. I was very lucky he didn’t punish me for it once we’d gotten back home.

Today was a new day, though, and we were going to have lunch with his aunt and uncle again. Diane was nice. I liked her.

Dr. Cooper—Richard—still made me nervous. Last time he and Master had gotten into an argument, and I knew it had been over me. For some reason he must not like me. Or maybe it was that he didn’t want Master to have me.

Before I could go further with that thought, the alarm went off. I turned it off and made my bed before getting dressed in the clothes Master had laid out.

After a quick clean up in the bathroom, I walked out into the main room. I’d expected Master to be upstairs in the gym waiting on me as he usually was, but instead he was standing in the living room talking to someone on the phone.

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I slowly walked into the room toward him. Thankfully, he saw the movement and looked up. My momentary good mood faltered when he didn’t return my smile.

Master asked the person on the other end of the line to hold on before addressing me. I was trying very hard not to let my nerves get away from me. “You can go on upstairs and get started, Brianna. I’ll be up shortly.”

He went back to his phone call, and I hurried past him and up the stairs to the gym. I had no idea who was on the phone, but Master was obviously not in a good mood this morning.

Almost twenty minutes passed before he joined me. The look on his face told me nothing. He walked over to the mats and began stretching without glancing at me.

It was another ten minutes before his eyes met mine. They were guarded but not angry. I took a deep breath and relaxed a little. Whatever it was, it didn’t appear to have anything to do with me.

We finished our workouts and went downstairs for breakfast. Master was quiet until we sat down at the table. “My aunt called this morning. That is who I was talking to when you came in.”

I didn’t comment or react in any way. I just waited. His mouth went hard as he said the next words. “Diane has invited some friends to join us.” At his words I dropped my fork, and it made an awful sound as it first hit my plate and then bounced to the floor.

Master picked up my fork, wiped it off, and then laid it on my plate as if nothing had happened. “Although I’m not thrilled about it, it’s not my decision. I’ve asked Diane if I may invite Logan and Lily along, and she has agreed.”

Then he stopped and reached for my hand. I hadn’t realized it was shaking until he held it in both of his. “You’ll be fine, Brianna. Nothing has changed. You will be perfectly safe inside the house.”

I didn’t move or even know how to respond. Today I would not only have to face his uncle again, his uncle who didn’t like me, who’d picked a fight with my Master, but I was also going to meet people I’d never met before.

The knowledge that Lily would be there was comforting, but what would these new people be like? Would they be nice? Or would they hate me? I was a slave after all. Or was I? Why did this have to be so confusing!

Suddenly I wasn’t in my seat anymore. I felt him pick me up, and then I was sitting in Master’s lap. As his arms surrounded me, my breathing became easier. I leaned into him and felt his lips brush against my hair.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes.”

His hand ran up my arm before coming up to cup my face. He turned my chin so that I was looking at him. “I know the news was unexpected, but why did you start to panic, Brianna?”

I swallowed. “What if they don’t like me?” I whispered.

Master’s eyes widened at my question. “Why do you think they won’t like you?”

Without thinking about it I looked down, and I immediately felt his hand tighten. My eyes snapped up to meet his again. Instantly his grip relaxed.

“Your uncle doesn’t like me,” I stated.

He closed his eyes briefly before meeting mine again with a sad look. “Richard doesn’t dislike you,” he sighed. “He’s worried about you.” Then his hand came up to brush through my hair. “He wants to make sure that I am taking care of you.”

My brow wrinkled in confusion. This didn’t make sense. Master was so very good to me. How could his uncle think that he wasn’t?

My thoughts came up short as he asked, “Would you be willing to talk to him? Without me in the room?”

I swallowed hard and knew my face had to show the apprehension I felt. “If that’s what you want me to do, Master.”

He sighed again, but this time it was in frustration. “Brianna, this is not an order or a command or even a request. It is a question. I think he might feel better about things if you were to talk to him, but I will not force you into that situation if you do not wish to do it.”

So many thoughts ran through my mind as I considered talking to his uncle. He had been nice when he’d examined me. But Master had been right outside the door then. Would he be the same if we were completely alone? Did I want that?

Master must have seen the confusion in my eyes because his hand found my chin again, and he made me look at him. “You don’t have to decide right now. Think about it, and you can tell me your decision once we reach the house, okay?”

I nodded. “Thank-you, Master.”

He smiled and patted my thigh. “Now get back in your chair and finish your breakfast.”

For the rest of the morning I couldn’t think of anything else. A part of me wanted to talk to Master’s uncle. I didn’t want to cause problems between the two of them.

But I couldn’t shake the fear. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that I shouldn’t be afraid, I couldn’t make it completely go away.

We pulled up to his aunt and uncle’s house at twelve forty-five. Master shut off the car but didn’t move to get out. Instead he continued to look ahead and asked, “Have you made your decision, Brianna?”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes as tightly as they would go, and said the words, “I will talk to him, Master.” I paused. “If . . . he wishes to speak to me.”

Master didn’t comment on what I’d said. He just nodded and got out of the car before walking around to open my door.

We walked inside just as we had two weeks before and headed straight for the kitchen. The only difference was this time a deep voice I didn’t recognize stopped me in my tracks halfway there.

Master noticed that I was no longer moving and walked back to me. His free arm circled my waist, and his lips brushed softly against my forehead.

“It’s fine,” he whispered and waited for some of the tension to leave my body.

I took a deep breath and let the scent of Master relax me. He didn’t move or say anything more until I had once again calmed down.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, remembering not to call him Master. He stepped back and squeezed my hand before walking again.

Once we entered the brightly lit kitchen, it took everything I had not to run from the room. There was a man standing by the counter a few feet away from Diane, and he was huge, at least twice the size of Master. He was laughing so hard it shook his entire body. It was only the smile on Diane’s face as she talked to the man that kept me from running in the other direction.

I stepped closer to Master and gripped his hand tighter. He seemed to know how nervous I was because he didn’t try to move away from me to greet his aunt. “It seems I’m missing out on a good joke,” Master said with a chuckle.

The large man turned his attention to us. A grin lit his face as he strolled over. I stepped back and angled myself behind Master.

Before I knew it, the man had Master wrapped in a hug.

Although Master was enveloped in an embrace that looked almost painful, he never let go of my hand. I was very grateful because the feel of his hand in mine was the only thing keeping the panic from taking control of me.

Then the man turned in my direction. He moved toward me. Master stopped him and the man looked puzzled.

Instead of answering his expression, however, Master said, “When Diane called to tell me they were inviting friends for dinner, I had no idea it would be you.”

The man laughed again, appearing to forget his confusion from a moment ago. “Good to know I can still keep you guessing, Stephan.”

Master laughed this time, too.

“So do I get an introduction to the girlfriend?”

That was when a blonde woman I hadn’t noticed walked toward us. She extended her hand to my Master. “Maybe if you weren’t so excited to see Stephan, you wouldn’t have scared the girl half to death, Jimmy.”

The man, Jimmy, looked hurt for just a moment and then laughed. The woman ignored him and turned to Master. “How have you been, Stephan?” she asked with an air of formality.

“Fine,” he answered her with the same overpoliteness. “And you?”

“Can’t complain,” she answered with a smirk. Then her eyes fell to me. “
Do
we get an introduction?”

He turned a little to look at me and tugged on my arm slightly, bringing me more to his side. “Brianna, I’d like for you to meet Jimmy and his wife, Samantha. We went to high school together.”

Be polite. Be polite. “Hello,” I said sheepishly.

“Oh and she’s shy,” Jimmy commented and then laughed, causing me to cringe against Master again.

Samantha just shook her head. “Please excuse my husband. He’s a little overexcited today. He’s not normally this . . .” She seemed to be searching for a word. “Insufferable.”

“Hey!” Jimmy acted offended, but just as quickly he pulled Samantha into his arms and kissed her soundly.

When they broke apart, the doorbell rang. “That must be Logan,” Jimmy said as his excitement from earlier returned. I watched as he hurried past us in order to greet the new arrivals.

Logan and Lily followed Jimmy into the room along with Richard. Logan greeted Stephan and me before turning his attention to Diane and Samantha.

Master kept hold of my hand as we all stood around talking for several minutes before Diane began handing plates and bowls to everyone for the dining room table. I was handed a beautiful bowl filled with mashed potatoes.

As we all took our seats, I realized what had been bothering me since Lily and Logan had arrived. Lily hadn’t said anything. Not one word. She’d smiled at me briefly when Logan and Master had been talking with Jimmy, but she wasn’t her normal energetic self.

Now, as I watched her take a seat beside Logan, I noticed that her demeanor hadn’t changed. Something was wrong.

The food was passed around the table, and I put food on my plate as Master handed me each dish. My eyes never left Lily, though. Twice Logan had not handed her something going around the table. Instead he had given the bowl to Jimmy who was sitting on the other side of her.