Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Had it been that long? What was wrong with her? Time seemed to be telescoping somehow—moving in and out in a strange way. Sonya felt another spike of panic—the damn spreader was still inside her! Was it coated in some kind of glue or what? She had to get it out!
“Just a minute!” she called, trying to make her voice cheerful and unconcerned. “I think maybe something I ate for dinner disagreed with me, but I promise I’ll be out soon.”
Of course, it wasn’t optimal to hint to her client that she was having stomach trouble, but it was a hell of a lot better than letting him see her like this! Gritting her teeth, she gripped the spreader by the base and yanked with all her might.
Pulling the damn thing out was incredibly painful—it felt like she was pulling out her guts with it! Sonya winced and panted in agony as she tugged the metal dildo out one slow, agonizing inch at a time.
Please! she prayed as she twisted and tugged. Oh, please let me get it out! Don’t let Davrik see me like this! Don’t let him know what that horrible Trollox did to me! Please, please, please!
She didn’t know if anyone had heard her prayer, but finally the enormous metal dildo came loose and fell to the floor with a loud thunk!
Immensely glad to be rid of it, Sonya wrapped it up in a towel and pushed it as far down into the trash disposal unit as she could. Then she hopped back in the shower for a moment and rinsed between her legs. The water that ran down the drain was pink and bloody but the situation could have been worse.
Yes, she was raw inside, but at least she’d managed to get the damn thing out—something she was now almost certain the Trollox had intended to be impossible. There must have been some kind of chemical on the spreader that made it stick inside her so tenaciously. Whatever happened, she never intended to put anything like that inside herself again!
But how can you help it if Grox buys you? whispered a worried little voice in her head. If he tells you to put another spreader inside yourself, how can you refuse if he owns you?
Sonya didn’t have an answer for that particular question.
I won’t think about that right now, she told herself desperately. I just have to go out there and please Davrik—I have to convince him to buy me before the sale with Grox is final.
If it wasn’t final already. But again, Sonya couldn’t let herself think about that.
Pasting a smile on her face, she wrapped a long white bathrobe around her body and stepped out into the bedroom. Whatever happened, she must not let Davrik know what the Trollox had done to her. The big Kindred wouldn’t want her if he knew about the disgusting scenario that had taken place and he was her only chance of getting out of here.
THIRTY-TWO
DAVRIK
There was something wrong with Sonya. Davrik didn’t know what it was, but she was different somehow. Her laughter had a brittle edge to it and the wide smile she gave him didn’t reach her eyes. She laughed too hard at his jokes and she kept her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as though she was trying to hold herself together through sheer force of will alone.
There were marks on her face and the top of her chest as though she’d scrubbed herself raw in the extra-long shower he’d heard her taking. But when he asked about them, Sonya quickly changed the subject.
“What’s wrong?” he wanted to ask her. “What did that fucking Xeba-shla do to you?” but he didn’t want to make her even more upset. He wanted her to tell him what had happened on her own without having to pry it out of her. But so far, that didn’t seem likely, since she kept on smiling and laughing and putting on an act, pretending everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t.
It was obvious to Davrik she’d been traumatized somehow, but unless she told him the details, he felt unable to help her.
He blamed himself. He knew he shouldn’t have let her be taken from him. He should have fought harder, refused to let her go. But he’d been afraid that the fucking Sluggorn would take her away entirely and refuse to let him have her back. And while he would fight to the death to keep her, he couldn’t overcome the entire security staff of The House of a Thousand Flowers.
So he had let her go for what he thought was a harmless couple of hours…but something or someone had clearly harmed her. The very thought made him curl his fists in impotent rage.
All through the evening, Sonya kept up a light, casual banter, which was clearly meant to mask her turbulent emotions. Davrik knew exactly what she was doing—his own Sonya had acted the same way before she trusted him enough to tell him what was bothering her. He also knew there was nothing he could do until she finally broke down and told him. So he hung on to his patience as they got ready for bed.