Mentor (An Impossible Novella) by Julia Sykes Read Free Book Online Page B

give it up so easily.
    Lifting my chin, I stared directly into his glowing amber eyes.
    I will not scream for him.  Not this time.  
    My challenging glare elicited a grin from my tormentor.  He chuckled down at me almost affectionately.
    “You won’t break any time soon, will you?”  He tapped his finger against my forehead.  “My clever pet.”
    The words made my stomach turn, but I realized that I had learned something else about him.  He might have taken me because I was convenient, but I was important to him in some capacity.  If I didn’t know better, I would say he was growing… fond of me.
    If He enjoyed my defiance, then I would give it to him.  That suited my tastes just fine.  If he truly was feeling some affection for me, I needed to foster that.  If he cared, he might feel guilty about what he was doing to me.  He might let me go.
    Suddenly, He grabbed my breasts with punishing force.  I bit my tongue to keep from crying out.  I was becoming immune to the shame of his touch upon my naked flesh, but he hadn’t truly hurt me since I had asked him why he was doing this to me.
    “Has anyone ever touched you here, pet?”  His long drawl was a low rumble.  He released one of my breasts, and his hand closed roughly around my sex.  “How about here?”
    I might have been fooling myself, but I imagined that his grip was a touch possessive.  Another point in my favor.
    Despite the tiny spark of triumph within me, my cheeks flamed with my embarrassment.  When He had washed me, his touches had been impersonal.  This was entirely different.  He wanted to know my secrets. He wanted to take ownership of these forbidden parts of me.
    He threw back his head and laughed, reading me easily.  The sound was one of pure, perverse glee.  It was a tangible force, clinging to my skin with toxic joy.
    “Is my pet a virgin?”
    Two fingers teased between my lower lips, threatening to push into my opening.  I clenched against the invasion, and a twinge of pain hit me when He met the barrier of my tightened muscles.
    For a moment, his ruthless expression made me fear that He would force his way in, tearing into me.  Instead, he retreated slightly, his touch playing through my folds.
    “I asked you a question,” He said on a low growl, his grip tightening threateningly.
    I clenched my jaw, refusing to allow the affirmation of his suspicions to pass through my lips.  It was too personal, too humiliating.  I wasn’t ashamed of the fact that I was untouched.  But it was a part of my identity.  I was Kathleen Marie White, and I had denied men again and again in my dedication to my independence.
    The monster wanted to take that from me, and if I allowed that, He would take another piece of my self, my soul.
    I had a moment to register his frown at my reticence before the pain hit.  Fire bloomed between my legs, turning to a harsh sting on my labia.  My legs closed tightly, instinct driving me to apply pressure to alleviate the fire.
    He clucked his tongue as though at a disobedient child and settled his weight over my knees, stretching me open.  My muscles quivered, futilely straining to escape his hold.
    “Answer me.”  The order was a calm demand.  “Are you a virgin?”
    His hand came down again.
    “Yes!”  The word left my lips on a strangled shout.  This was far worse than when He had slapped my legs.  It was as though my intimate flesh was ten times more sensitive than my tender thighs.  The stinging barbs of hundreds of bees pierced my skin.
    Another hit.  “Address me properly, pet.”
    “Yes, Master!  Please.  Please stop!”
    I tensed when his hand moved toward my sex once again, then sobbed in relief when He did nothing more than firmly press his palm against me.  I couldn’t help pushing up into him, desperate for the pressure and heat that would help override the cruel sting.
    “I’m going to learn your body, pet.  And I suspect I’ll teach you a few things in the