Tenants and Tyrants (Book 5 of The Warden series) by Felicia Jedlicka Read Free Book Online Page A

to release it. Her eyes were tearing from the pain, and she could hear herself whimpering for mercy.
    Belus pressed a little harder with his foot and she screamed. When he eased the pressure he spoke. “Am I weak?”
    “No!” She yelled.
    “Do you pity my size?”
    “No!”
    “Do you think I should pity you for yours?”
    “No!”
    “Do you promise to never use your size or your sex as an excuse again?”
    “Yes, sir.” She ground out trying to sound in control of her emotions, even though all she wanted to do was cry.
    He released her, and she pulled her arm back into a more comfortable position. She took a moment to bawl quietly, hoping that he would not begrudge her a moment to recover. She felt hands on her, and she looked back. Duke and guardsman Chuck had rushed over to help her up. The sympathy on their faces was more than from just witnessing the scene. They almost seemed to understand what she had been through. Belus must have trained them as well.
    “Leave her!” Belus barked when they tried to get her to her feet. “Go back to your posts.” They didn’t object, but Duke did hesitate. She imagined that asking Duke to leave a damsel in distress was like asking him to shoot himself in the foot. Sure he would do it, if ordered, but it might take a little mental preparation, and he’d regret it.
    When they were gone, she used her legs to stand up. A little more difficult, but it got her up. Her arm was still searing with pain, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t dislocated. She did her best to not cry, but the tears just fell from her eyes, whether she instigated them or not.
    Belus watched her sit down on the bench, careful not to disturb her arm. “Lift your arm.”
    She couldn’t help, but cry then. He was just being cruel. She lifted it, but the pain was too much and she let it down. He moved to her. “You probably have a pinched nerve.” He stopped in front of her and reached for her shoulder.
    She grabbed his shirt with her shaking left hand. “Please, don’t.” She was sobbing so ridiculously hard, she was starting to remember what it was like to be a little girl flooded with emotions she didn’t know how to deal with. Though at that age it was usually in regards to a broken toy, now it was in regards to a broken ego. “Please.” She let her hand slip away.
    It was pointless. He was already reaching for her arm. He raised the arm which was painful enough, but after it was up, he palpitated the shoulder joint and pressed firmly into it. She screamed as the pain peeked and released. She took in a few gasping breaths as he let the arm drop. “Now raise it.”
    “I hate you.” She mumbled so quietly she wasn’t sure he would hear it. She didn’t hate him. He knew she didn’t hate him, but the statement was the only spectrum of their love-hate relationship he was comfortable with hearing from her.
    “Raise your arm.” He prompted again. She did and it didn’t hurt. It was sore and would be for a few days she imagined, but whatever had been pinched, was un-pinched. “Better?” She nodded. “Do you still hate me?” She looked up at him to see his smirking smile, that he had only recently started to afford her. She smiled and nodded. “Good girl.” He squeezed her shoulder and let his hand drop away. “Come on, I’ll buy you a cup of coffee. I know a good coffee shop.”
     
     
     
     
     
    9
    The coffee shop was just the cafeteria, and there was no payment since money was a nonissue, but Belus did bring her coffee to the table for her. Not before flirting with the hair-netted attendant behind the counter. She was not very tall, and not very slim, but even with the hair net, Cori could tell she was cute as a button; especially when she blushed at whatever Belus said to her.
    Cori eyed Belus as he strutted back to the table with their coffees and a tiny tin pitcher of cold cream that he finagled for her, instead of the powder packets she usually settled for. He set it before her