Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 74

A collar graced her neck, made of a material I still hadn’t identified. It was comfortable to the touch but firm. It displayed the words ‘breed me.’

I hadn’t changed them before I left, which meant Erin had done it.

What did she get up to while I was away?

And then that’s when I noticed another detail—stripes of faint pink across most of her body. They were barely evident, fading into nonexistence in many places as they criss-crossed each other—a testament to how thoroughly Astrid’s cruelty.

I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

“Damn,” I breathed. “She really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

Bobbi blinked. “What?” Then quickly followed up with, “Sir?”

She was still wrestling with her rebellious nature. There were some serious holdovers from her old attitude clawing for space, but she was getting more adept at burying her natural tendencies in favor of her training.

“C’mere,” I said.

She didn’t move.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad. Come here.”

Bobbi hesitated a moment longer before slowly crawling toward me. Her catlike grace and the collar around her neck made her look incredibly sexy.

“Turn around,” I said, patting my thigh.

She did, settling her ass between my knees. I brushed her hair off her back to get a better look at the pink remnants of Astrid’s handiwork.

“Sorry about landing on you. I thought I was in here by myself,” I said as I traced my fingertips over the faded lines. She looked a little like a tigress, which fit her personality well—not to mention the adopted moniker, ‘kitten.’

As soon as I started speaking, she stiffened. Then she slowly settled back into my touch.

“It’s okay,” she said, her tone conversational.

“Did I wake you up?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Bobbi said, ‘but I guess I was kind of waiting for you or something.”

I hadn’t seen Bobbi much after we landed at Astrid’s house. I’d been too distracted with some of the other girls, checking my phone, and making arrangements for the plane ride back. I barely acknowledged Bobbi’s presence yesterday and ignored her all morning.

***

Flashback to previous evening

As soon as the chopper touched down, one of our mercenaries threw open the cargo door, and the two who had pulled Astrid out of the wreckage hauled her through the opening on a gurney. It was one of those old-style ones with no wheels, made to take up minimal space.

“Her personal physician is already here?” I asked.

“Yes,” Psalter said. “An unnecessary precaution. My medic says it’s a miracle that Astrid won’t lose the foot, but it’s a small miracle. She’ll be fine.”

“That’s what Chloe said.”

I stepped off the chopper and turned just in time to nearly be knocked off my feet by my sister. Emily was a tall woman with a lot of mass compared to someone like Erin or Bobbi, so it took an effort to remain on my feet.

Emily squealed as she tried to squeeze the breath out of me. She kissed me on the cheek and then pulled back, grinning ear-to-ear. “Marcus! Thank God you’re alive!”

She was close—really close. Her fingers were pressed into my back as if she were trying to do everything she could to keep me from slipping away. Her big, silvery-gray eyes flickered back and forth between mine. They were liquid and bright in the evening light… like she was on the verge of crying.

“It’s good to be back, sis,” I said, wrapping my arms around her for a fierce hug.

I felt another body press against me; someone’s face buried itself in the middle of my back between Emily’s hands. “We were so worried!”

I twisted and threw an arm over Natashya, hugging them close and kissing them both—Emily on the forehead and Natashya on top of her messy dreads. “So was I, Tash.”

Natashya squinted up at me. “Tash. That is new.”

“Hate it?”

She broke out in a wide smile. “No. No one has called me that before. I like it.”

I squeezed them both and looked up to see Erin standing there, watching me with unmistakable tears in her eyes. She had a sweet, serene smile on her face, and she was clutching a phone to her chest.

Extracting myself from my sister and her girlfriend, I approached my assistant. The grin on my face was almost painful, but I couldn’t help it. After days in the forest, Erin was a vision.

“Welcome home, sir,” she said, looking up at me through her thick eyelashes.

I didn’t say anything. I cupped her face in my hand, running a thumb over her smooth skin and admiring her perfect face. Then I kissed her.

With mercenaries unloading gear and people chattering all around us, we engaged in a fierce liplock. She threw her arms around my neck, and my other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into me, causing her to gasp in my mouth. I invaded her mouth with my tongue, seeking hers out to begin that all-too-familiar dance.

Eventually, we pulled back. She was standing on her toes with her arms still draped around me. “I take it you’re happy to see me?”

“There are no words,” I husked.

“I’ll ask for a demonstration then,” she said.

“Count on it.”

“Can’t wait!” She pulled back and then presented me with a phone. “Since I couldn’t reach you, I assumed you lost yours.”

“What would I do without you?” I asked, covering her hand with mine and giving it a light squeeze before slipping the phone from her grasp.

“Probably never have a phone.”

I pulled her back into me and enveloped her in my arms for another hug, kissing her head and inhaling the familiar scent of lilacs and lavender. I peered around and spotted Bobbi, watching me with an expression that was impossible to read, and even felt a twinge of brief joy at seeing her face. I gave her a small, tight-lipped smile and turned my attention back to Erin, drinking her in and forgetting about the little submissive.

***

Present

“Sorry, I haven’t paid you much attention since I got back,” I said. She stiffened under me again for a moment as I ran my fingertips down her spine, painting an invisible picture that connected the lines along her silky back. Again with the stiffness… was I doing something to put her off?

“It’s… yeah. It’s fine.”

“These look good,” I said. “Have you been using some kind of ointment on them?”

Bobbi gave me a glance over her shoulder. “Emily got some. She put it on me… where I couldn't reach.”

That scanned. Emily was a nurturer, and it was obvious that she’d taken a motherly interest in Bobbi.

My fingertips ran across her upper back and down an arm, trailing to her elbow and transferring to her side. I felt her shiver as soon as I touched her ribs, and gooseflesh erupted on her skin.

“What did she do to you?” I asked.

“Emily?”

“Astrid.”

Bobbi gave me another glance, looking a little confused. “She beat me.”

“I can see that,” I said. “Can you tell me a bit more?”

“It was with a cane,” Bobbi said.

“Shit, Bobbi,” I said, tracing some of the lines that crossed her ribs. Given how well they were healing, they would probably fade into nonexistence over time. Astrid knew what she was doing when it came to administering punishment—another reason to not trust that crazy bitch. She made Helen look like a puppy by comparison.

“I’m sorry, Bobbi,” I finally said, looking back up at her. She was still watching me from over her shoulder, her look a mixture of accusation and… fear.

I guess I couldn’t blame her for that. I hadn’t exactly treated her in the most dignified way. I’d blackmailed, coerced, and goaded her into things. Then, I did a one-eighty and decided to let her go, which completely freaked her out. I handed her over to Helen for training, and Helen had taken her to the very edge of sanity to break her, only to rebuild her from the ashes of her pain.

It had been a painstaking process that had taken time and attention to detail.

Now, I’d handed her over to a monster who carried things to a level I couldn’t even imagine, with no regard for consequences. Of course Bobbi seemed a little cowed—more hesitant than I’d ever seen her.

When Emily went off on me, she had come to my defense, but… did she really not blame me? Or was she just too scared to say otherwise?

“I didn’t know.”

***