Captive Bride by Bonnie Dee Read Free Book Online

doll, Huiann was stripped and guided into the bath.
    Strangers’ hands scrubbed her body and washed her hair, dried her and perfumed her. They dressed her hair in an elaborate coiffure and clothed her in the same white gown.
    Huiann’s stomach dropped. The choice of garment could only mean the Westerner was her buyer.
    During all these preparations, Madam continued to remind her of her duties. “You must be aware of the man’s expectations from every tiny signal he gives you.
    Some men want a virgin to cry out in pain as he enters her. The ravaging of her untouched body is what gives him pleasure. Others might want you to react with joy, as if this is the moment you’ve been waiting for all your life. You must ignore any discomfort you experience and concentrate solely on what he wants you to be.”
    As the tirade of advice went on, Huiann’s clean, scented body grew increasingly tense. Her muscles quivered with the fear she held inside. Her mouth was so dry she couldn’t swallow, and her mind felt like a flock of wood pigeons bursting up from the ground to disperse in all directions. She had to center herself and start thinking of a way to use this situation to her advantage. For the first time in almost a week she would be taken outside of the house. If there was ever a time to escape, this would be it.
    Huiann prayed for strength and guidance to her departed ancestors, especially her favorite Bonnie Dee
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    grandmother, Mei, for whom her sister was named.
    Grandmother Mei had been a smart woman who ruled her husband and household with a velvet glove over an iron hand. Huiann had the utmost respect for her and knew her grandmother’s spirit would help her survive this ordeal whatever the outcome.
    Liu Dai accompanied Huiann and Madam Teng to Xie Fuhua’s office, where the man sat behind his desk, studying a ledger. He rose and came around the desk to stand before her, then reached out to touch a curled lock of hair resting against her cheek.
    “Mr. Johnston will be pleased, although you’re a bit older than the girls he usually chooses. Chua Huiann, you’ve pleased me too. You’re a very self-possessed young woman. You’ve been obedient, haven’t tried to kill yourself or given Madam Teng any trouble since you arrived, and now you’re about to make me a good sum of money.” Huiann inclined her head slightly, her teeth clenched together and her jaw rigid.
    Xie’s fingers tightened on the lock of hair and he tugged hard. “Today, however, it’s time for you to lose some of that composure. Mr. Johnston is a man who will want tears and protests and struggle. Be sure to give that to him or your punishment when you return here will be severe. Do you understand?”
    “Yes, Master Xie,” she murmured, and it was easy to sound weakly submissive. Waves of helplessness swept over her. There was no way out of this. She would never get free. She was about be raped by a stranger and officially become a whore.
    Liu Dai took her arm and escorted her to the front of the house. The shiny black carriage waited outside.

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    Captive Bride
    Huiann and Madam Teng sat on one seat and Liu Dai sat across from them. The driver mounted the box and urged the pair of horses forward. Wheels clattered over pavement and the vehicle creaked and swayed.
    The doors on either side of the carriage each had a window. Huiann looked through the smeary glass at the buildings and people and fought the hopelessness that seized her. She’d hoped there would be a moment between the house and the carriage when she could run, but Liu Dai had never released her arm from his hard grip. Maybe there would be a chance at the other end of the journey, when she left the carriage to go into the foreigner’s house.
    Although she sat as still as a statue, her body hummed with energy. Blood rushed through her veins, leaving her hot and shaky. She felt as if she would suddenly burst into flame, leaving ashes behind that would blow away on a breeze. It had