AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He peels the branding iron off my skin and I slump in relief, panting like a dog, cool sweat veiling my flesh.
The silence of pain. I want to scream some more but I can't.
“C?pMaksim,” I gasp his name, turning my head to the other side, wheezing for breath. “Why?”
“Why... it's the age old question, isn't it, my little pet?”
Quietness. I can hear sizzling and feel pure heat beside my face.
“Once my name is burnt into your flesh,” Maksim strokes wet lengths of hair back out of my face, “you'll know who you belong to.”
“Your name?” I gasp in horror. “You're burning the rest of your name into-Aargh!” I scream out desperately as he puts the hot iron to my skin again. It crackles, melting through layers of flesh. I beg him to stop. I beg him to forgive my disobedience. I have no idea where my vocal strength has come from but it's fucking useless. I'm drowning in my own pleas.
“I'll stop when I know you're loyal to me again, my little pet.” He holds the iron to my skin for longer this time, causing me to blackout from the pain...
...Cold droplets of water rain down on my skin and I sigh, relaxing, basking in the tenderness.
“C?pMaksim?” I croak out his name, wondering if it's him treating me.Please don't let it be him. Please, please don't let it be him.
“Yes, it's me,” he husks and I whimper, all hope of being free of him fading. He kisses between my shoulder blades, making me wince, then a cool waterfall washes over me. “It feels good, doesn't it, my little pet?”
I moan, wishing for more cold water.
He lays a heavy, cold piece of material over my back and my mind propels to where the darkness is.
33
The next time I wake up, the room is spinning.
I pant so hard to catch a breath, feeling my heart is pulsing on the outside of my ribcage.
I'm trembling uncontrollably.
What's wrong with me?
Closing my eyes, I try to center my world and focus on my breathing but I can't. If anything, I'm panting faster now, drying out my throat.
There's this hot sensation in me too. I am burning from the inside out, warm sweat trickling down the sides of my face, gathering near my eyes.
High temperature... abnormal breathing... abnormal heart rate... I'm in trouble. If I can't control my own body, I know I'm in trouble.
The first thing I do is push against the bed I'm lying on to rise on all fours. I'm no longer tied down. I pull up my knees to rest on them but my stomach throbs and my back is so raw and taut that I sob out in pain.
Hunched over on my palms, gasping through my nose, the torture comes back to me in flashes of white light.
The gun shot.
The beatings.
The branding.
Fuck.What has Maksim done to me?
Peering through hazy eyes, I glance about. I'm alone in a strange bedroom with gleaming white walls that won't still, and again I realize I'm not tied up.
I need to get out of here while I can. I need to get away from Maksim. He's never been so violent in such quick succession and I've never felt so disorientated.
Rolling onto my side, I fall off the bed and hit the floor.
