BLAKE: Captive to the Dark by Alaska Angelini Read Free Book Online Page A

slavery, for crying out loud, and here I was, wanting him to reach out and touch me? Well, at least I knew I was still normal. Somewhat.
    I turned and untied the sweatpants, letting them drop to the floor. Maybe I should have been self-conscious, but I’d been modeling for so long, nudity didn’t even phase me anymore. Especially when I felt comfortable around someone. With Blake, I did. His fingers tossed my hair over my shoulder and I tensed for the briefest moment. Not from the fact that it was him, but more from the unconscious reaction of pain I associated with that part of my body.
    “I just want to look at the cuts.” Lightly, his touch brushed along my skin. “Yeah, they’re definitely the reason you’re sick. How long have you had these?”
    Fogginess took over, taking away from the fact that I was standing here nude in front of a man who already muddled my thoughts. “Two days, maybe three. I can’t remember. I might have slept the first one, so…four ?” My head shook. “I don’t know.”
    “Calm. You’re getting all worked up.” Blake led me into the shower and the water wasn’t nearly as warm as I needed. I turned it up and basked in the sensation. Although slightly on the verge of feeling like needles, to be clean was worth it. My captor had allowed only a few opportunities to wash, nowhere near as many as I would have liked.
    My eyes traveled to him standing in the doorway, waiting for me to fall so he could catch me. And for some reason , I knew he would. I trusted this stranger. If my track record was worth anything, he might just let me fall right into the marble covering the floor. “Where are we going?” I braced my hand against the wall. Lightheadedness still plagued me and the nausea was coming back. Damn pills. I never took any medicine, and on an empty stomach, they were kicking my ass.
    “ Houston.”
    “ Texas?”
    A smile came to his face. “I take it you don’t remember me talking to you.”
    I searched my memories and came up empty.
    “You don’t remember saying, fuck L.A.?”
    Somewhere deep within , I did recall that. Why I’d said it was a mystery. “Maybe.” I shook my head. “No, not really.” I grabbed the soap and turned back to Blake. “What were you saying?” The way he was looking everywhere but at me suddenly reminded me of my scars. For so long I had never worried about the way I looked. Even without make-up, men stared, but now…I wasn’t that person anymore. Reality hit me like a bag of bricks. Maybe I was reading the situation wrong. Here I thought he was possibly attracted to me, but how could I have been so stupid? The train wreck that was now my appearance was not to be admired. Hell, he felt sorry for me. No wonder he kissed my tears when I was telling him about looking at myself. Blake saved slaves for a reason. Probably because he had a tenderness for their situation. I had been one. All the girls more than likely ended up getting treated this way by him.
    “Here. Do you want me to help you? You’re not looking so well all of a sudden.”
    “You didn’t answer my question.” I poured the soap on my palm and lathered the front of my body, cringing when liquid fire seared my side where one of the lashes from the whip had torn into my rib.
    Blake had returned to looking at the floor. “It’s not important. Just mindless talk about how there were probably a lot more things to do in L.A. versus Texas. That’s all.”
    “Oh.” I rinsed off my body and braced myself for the agony I knew would follow.
    Hot water poured over my back as I turned and I couldn’t stop the sound that fell out. Fuck, it hurt wonderfully. The nearly crippling sensation felt like coming home. Especially after what I’d gone through for the last month.
    “Okay, you’re good. I think your wounds are clean.”
    I smiled and reached for the wall in front of me, continuing to let the release work its magic. My body was feeling lighter from the constant sporadic