The Decimation of Mae (The Blue Butterfly) by D H Sidebottom Read Free Book Online

intensely.
    “You have a lot to learn, Mae,” he said, his tone calm
but controlled. I stared at him, unable to give him any response. “But you
will,” he finished with a sigh before he stood back up and tilted his head as
though waiting for something. “Let’s make this simpler for you.”
    I squealed when he bent and gripped my hair then yanked
me upright, my legs splayed out by the side of me as he supported my weary body
with his hold. “When I enter, you will kneel with your knees apart and your
hands on your thighs. Do you understand?”
    I squinted, bewilderment and confusion now an enemy when
his words jumbled in my head. I shook my head as much as I could. Why the fuck
would he want me to kneel?
    He sighed faintly and pulled on my hair, lifting me
further off the ground as pain shot through my scalp and into my brain. I
yelped when he kicked at my legs. Instinct drew them into my body as I tried to
tuck them underneath me to protect them.
    He tutted and sighed when I obviously didn’t meet his
satisfaction. “Look at me, Mae.”
    I blinked furiously when my eyes still refused to
accommodate the light, the pain torturing me until I gave in and left them
closed. I cried out when the back of his hand shot across my cheek, firing a
deep burn through the flesh as my head knocked against the ground once more.
    “Look – at – me.”
    I squeezed my eyes shut then attempted to open them,
furiously trying to ignore the pain and focus on him.
    “Better.” He pulled in a breath and crouched low again,
his hard eyes on mine, daring me to close them again. I whimpered when he
lifted up a bottle of water and waggled it in his fingers. “You want this,
lamb? Are you thirsty?”
    I gave him a simple nod as I begged him with my eyes.
    “Speak.”
    I swallowed against the dryness and clog in my throat
that had settled there hours ago. “Yes,” I managed to croak out, gulping again
at the soreness in my throat.
    “Then kneel.”
    I stared at him for a moment, checking for any humour on
his face but there was none. This man was deadly serious. If I didn’t want to
die of dehydration then I needed to kneel.
    I shifted slowly, palming the floor as I tried to push
myself up. My knees screamed at the bent position after being vertical for so
long, however I managed to manoeuvre until I resembled some sort of kneeling
position before him.
    “Chin up.”
    I sighed in frustration and lifted my face until I was
staring straight at him in his crouched position. His eyes pierced mine, the
rich brown melting before my eyes as a blaze fired in them. He propped my chin
a little higher with a finger until my eyes were on his forehead. “You will
never make eye contact with me again.”
    What was with him? He needn’t worry though, I never
wanted to look at him again. Those eyes had haunted my nightmares for years.
    He stood and slipped a foot between my knees. “Open your
legs slightly.”
    I was too tired and thirsty to argue, in addition to the
extreme pain over-ruling every single thought in my head so I did as he asked
and shuffled my knees apart. “Further,” he whispered. I gulped at the throb
that fired in the pit of my gut with his soft tone, fear and terror controlling
my blood system and surging dread into every nerve ending with his tender tone.
    I sank my teeth into my bottom lip as I held onto my new
found temper. It festered inside me, allowing me to nurture it and give me
strength. I’d make sure to get the water before he got my wrath.
    He took a step back to study me. My eyes closed as
humiliation burnt in me. “Open your eyes, Mae. Straighten your back and put
your hands on your thighs.” His words were clear and meticulous, firing my deep-seated
anger higher and higher but I did what he expected, pulling myself into his
required pose.
    “Better.”
    He crouched before me again and took hold of my chin,
tilting my head back slowly. “Open your mouth, little lamb.” His soft tone made
me shiver.
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