Saved By Him (The Monster Series Book 2) (7 page)

Sophia~

I wake up and the first thing that registers is pain. All kinds of pain – too much pain! I try to breathe past it but I can’t, it’s becoming worse with every breath. I can’t hold back the lump that’s pushing up my throat and a strange noise escapes my lips.

I hear movement in the room and I realize a couple of things all at once; I’m not in my room, or any room that’s familiar to me, and there is someone in the room with me – and then I remember.

I remember being beaten by Master David and Master Sven.

I remember not being able to please Master Adam.

I remember not being good enough anymore.

I remember that I’m ugly now, and that no one will ever want me again. I’m a failure. I’m nothing.

Movement catches my eye and then I see Master Adam. I quickly drop my eyes away from him. Is he going to finish the punishment now? It would only be the right thing to do. I did fail him after all.

“Morning,” he says softly.

I have to get up. I can’t be lazy and stay in bed, no matter the pain. I move, and pain sears through my body. My skin hurts, my insides hurt, my face hurts – every single part of me is alive and throbbing with pain.

I force myself into a sitting position and for a moment the world goes black. I can’t faint! I blink a couple of times and breathe through the darkness threatening to drag me under.

I lift my legs from the bed and then let my body slide to the floor. I bite my bottom lip hard as a whimper bubbles up my throat. I hope I didn’t take too long! I don’t want to be in more trouble than I already am!

“No!” Master Adam shouts. I cringe, waiting for the kick or punch to come. I don’t think I’ll survive another beating.

His hands take hold of my arms, and although it hurts, it’s nothing compared to what a kick or punch would’ve felt like.

He pulls me up and the movement makes my body tremble from all the pain.

“No kneeling, Sophia. I never want to see you kneel again.” What? No kneeling? But that would be disobedient!

He helps me to sit on the bed and then he asks, “Do you need the bathroom?”

“No, Master.” My voice trembles from the pain, and I feel shame for not being able to hide it better. You never show a master that he’s caused you pain. They punish you for the pleasure it brings them to be your master.

“Please lie down again,” his voice is hoarse, and there’s an emotion I can’t place. It’s not anger.

I lie back down. If that will please him then I will keep lying here until he tells me to get up. I just want to please someone!

“Uhh …” He doesn’t say anything else and I wonder if he’s okay. I start to worry about him just as he says, “I’m going to go get you some food.” He moves but then he says, “Don’t leave the bed. Just lie like that and rest.”

He leaves the room and I feel confusion swamp me. He’s almost being … nice? A master has never told me to stay in bed! A master has never brought me food!

My thoughts and emotions are a mess. I feel my eyes start to burn and now I know that tears will follow. I don’t like crying, it makes me feel worse. I try to swallow it back. I really have nothing to cry about. I’m alive. Master Adam is being nice to me. I have to be thankful!

He comes back into the room and instantly a pleasant smell fills the room. I don’t know if I’ll be able to swallow anything, but I’ll try my best.

He places a tray next to the bed. I watch as he brings a chair closer and then he sits down. When he looks at me, I quickly lower my eyes.

“Can you manage to sit up just a little bit? Sorry, I should have thought of that.”

Sorry? No master has ever said those words to me. Why is he sorry? I don’t understand any of this but I pull myself up again. He leans forward and instantly my heart starts to race with fear. This is it! I brace myself for a blow but nothing comes. I peek through my eyelashes and then feel his arms go around me. He places the pillows behind my back and the gesture is the kindest thing that’s ever been done for me. I lower my head, scared that he will see the tears that I’m struggling to hold back.

He takes hold of some of my hair. It’s not as pretty as it used to be, but he still touches it. “You’re safe now, Sophia. I won’t let anyone hurt you again. You’re safe here.” He said the same thing to me the night he wouldn’t let me satisfy him and then I got beaten. I got replaced.

His words make my insides churn and my heart squeezes painfully. I now understand, his nice words are just another way to say that I’m going to be punished. I don’t know when he will punish me, but I have to ready myself for it.

He sits back and picks up a bowl. He scoops some of the broth into a spoon and then he brings it to my mouth.

Oh, he likes to feed a slave. I haven’t had a master that likes to do that in a while.

When the spoon reaches my lips, I open my mouth. Some of the broth spills and it dribbles down my chin.

“Shit, sorry,” he mumbles. He takes a napkin and then I watch with huge eyes as he pats my chin dry. My lips part in stunned surprise as he then gets up and comes to sit on the side of the bed. “Let’s try this again.”

He scoops some broth into the spoon again and brings it to my lips. I open my mouth and he gently feeds me. I swallow hard, and there’s a sharp pain in my throat, but the liquid goes down and that’s all that matters.

With each spoonful of broth he feeds me, my throat starts to feel better. When he’s done feeding me I almost smile with pride – I managed to eat it all!

He picks up two tablets and a cup of coffee. “This should be cold enough for you to swallow the painkillers down with.”

I watch him take a sip of the coffee. “Yes, it’s cold enough.” He smiles and then he brings the tablets to my mouth. I open and he places them on my tongue. They taste bitter after the nice broth. He brings the cup of coffee to my lips and I take a few sips to swallow the tablets down with … and then he takes a sip himself.

My lips part again in stunned wonder. He just drank from the same mug. He let me drink first! That’s never happened before.

He places the cup down and then leans over me. “Let’s get you settled. You need to try and sleep some more. The more you rest the sooner you’ll be back to your normal self.”

I scoot down and he slips his hand in under my head. He adjusts the pillows again and then he gently eases my head on to the pillows. Before he pulls back he whispers, “Look at me.” My eyes flit to his not knowing what to expect. I don’t see anger. They look almost soft. “All you have to focus on is getting better, Sophia. There will be no more kneeling, no looking at the floor, and no calling us master or mistress.” I frown, not sure I’m understanding. He leans his head closer to mine and slightly tilts it as if he’s going to kiss me. Not once does he take his eyes away from mine. He has a very intense look, and it makes me want to squirm. “You’ll call me Adam, just Adam. Now stop frowning and sleep.” He kisses my forehead and then he pulls away. I watch as he picks up the tray and then he leaves the room.

I’m not sure about anything anymore! I feel anxious and totally out of place. I’ve heard of slaves being traded, but I never thought it would happen to me! I don’t know what to do to please my new masters. I want to please Master Adam, but I can’t call him by his name! I have to kneel! I can’t look into his eyes!

Being a new slave is so hard, I’ve forgotten how hard. Will they train me again? I don’t understand any of this!

Adam~

When I get back to the room River is there. She’s busy cleaning Jack’s wounds. He stirs and she freezes. Her eyes scan his face and when it doesn’t look like he’s waking up, she carries on cleaning him.

My eyes are pulled to Sophia and I’m relieved when I see she’s sleeping.

“I brought you some water, too, if you’d like to clean her. I can if you’re not up to it,” River says, not once taking her eyes of Jack.

“Thanks. I’ll clean her quickly.” I rinse out the cloth and then pull the sheet back from Sophia’s body. I really hope the painkillers knocked her out cold. I’d hate for her to be in more pain.

I start to wipe down her left arm. “She woke up. I got some soup into her and some painkillers.” I let River know. “I’m sure Jack will wake up soon.”

“I hope so,” River whispers. “At least it looks like they’ll pull through.”

We work in silence and it’s the first time that I get a good look at Sophia’s wounds. She has red welts and angry-looking gashes all over her body. The gash on her leg is the worst. I don’t even know what they used on her to cause the wound.

When I’m done with her front, I rinse the cloth again. I’m just about to reach for her so I can roll her onto her side, when I see her eyes are open. She’s watching me with a confused look on her face.

“Are you okay?” I ask, not sure how long she’s been awake. “Do you want me to stop? We can clean your back later if the pain is too much.”

She licks her lips nervously and it looks like she wants to say something.

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

For a moment she looks dumbstruck and then she whispers, “Master doesn’t have to clean me, I can do it myself.”

I shake my head and a cloud of frustration and anger crashes over me. “Sophia, I know you can do everything yourself. I’d like to do this for you. Please, let me help you.” I hope none of the anger shimmers through in my voice.

“Why?” she almost croaks the words out. “Forgive me for asking, Master, but why are you doing all of this? Am I going to be punished again for not satisfying Master?”

I recoil from her words. I drop the cloth and my hands go behind my neck because I have to hold onto something or I’ll lose it and punch a hole in something!

“I’m sorry, Master!” she says desperately. “I didn’t mean to anger you more.”

“What’s going on?” River asks and she comes to stand next to me.

I turn half into her and hiss, “Those fuckers. I’m going to kill them, River. God help me, I’m going to kill them!” I turn my back on Sophia so she can’t see my anger, but I’m sure that’s a waste of time. I’ve already upset her. “She thinks she was punished because I wouldn’t have sex with her.”

River pales and she swings around to look at Jack. “No! They think we’re responsible? That’s going to make it so much harder to win their trust!”

I rub my hands over my face and fight to regain control over my emotions. I take a few deep breaths, force a smile to my face and then only do I turn back to Sophia. Her eyes are huge and filled with fear.

“Sweetheart,” I kneel next to her bed and take her hand in mine, “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.”

Her breathing speeds up and she whispers distraughtly, “I understand, Master. I’m ugly and master doesn’t want an ugly slave.” She sucks in a few shaky breaths and it all becomes too much for me. I drop my forehead on our joined hands and a tear slips free.

What if she’s broken? How do I fix her?