Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

are mine and that I am al you wil ever need or want. I can make you happy and bring you more pleasure than you’ve ever imagined.†The warm water poured over her body, helping to numb the terrible pain of the raw wounds crisscrossing her back and buttocks and thighs. “You were born for me, to please me, to bear my children, strengthen my line. I wouldn’t have to punish you like this if you would simply obey me, Sheena.â€
    His hand continued to gently wash her wounds, the warm water and caressing fingers providing a balm to her tortured body. She closed her eyes again, shuddering, shaking, completely dependent on him for his help. Her arms began to col apse and he had to wrap his arm around her waist to keep her from fal ing. Very gently he rinsed off the rest of her body and then pul ed the plug in the ornate, sunken tub.
    Wrapping her in a soft, fluffy towel, he lifted her into his arms, cradling her as if she was the most precious woman in the world. El e’s head fel back against his shoulder, and then she turned to bury her face against his neck. It was her first act of submission and it frightened her. She needed comfort, needed someone to hold and soothe her, rock her as he was doing. He took her to her bed and laid her gently on her stomach, massaging an ointment into the thin stripes covering her body.
    She knew he had noticed her slip, that little drop of her head; she’d felt his heart jump and her eyes burned with tears. Her teeth chattered uncontrol ably, but her brain was beginning to kick in again. This couldn’t go on. She was going to be lost, or maybe she already was. There was no way out. Stavros was too powerful, his private island too isolated. No one knew where she was. She was tied or chained most of the time, locked in a room, and she couldn’t use even the smal est psychic talent. Her body hurt every minute of the day. She was exhausted and worn from fighting him.
    He turned her over and rubbed the ointment into her breasts and bel y, lower stil , fol owing the thin stripes inside her thighs and across her painful bare He turned her over and rubbed the ointment into her breasts and bel y, lower stil , fol owing the thin stripes inside her thighs and across her painful bare mound. Unbidden came the humiliating memory of him shaving her clean, right before he took her virginity. She bit at her lip to keep from crying out, but tears squeezed between her lashes. He leaned down to lick them away.
    â€œYou look so beautiful, sweetness.†His tongue traced a path to the edge of her mouth, down to one stripe across the swel of her breasts.
    â€œYour body wil know only mine, and you’l always crave my touch.â€
    She opened her eyes then to look at him. He seemed invincible. Al powerful. She tried to make a sound, but her mouth was too dry and he immediately held a glass of water to her lips, helping her drink. He looked so caring she could almost believe him, but he had been the one to inflict the damage on her.
    â€œWhy do you keep hurting me?†She could barely form the words.
    â€œYou must learn obedience, Sheena. You are to serve me, at my pleasure. When I tel you to do something, you must never argue. You must obey without question.†He lowered her back to the bed and stroked his fingers over her shivering body. “Sometimes it may please me to hurt you and you wil learn to be happy to do this.†He bent his head to her breast, his tongue flicking her nipple.
    She hurt so much she couldn’t stop the little shudder that went through her, but stil , he had been training her body to accept pain and find pleasure there as wel . Already his fingers were probing between her legs, and, ignoring her wince and smal cry, he pushed his head between her thighs, letting the dark shadowed jaw slide across the whip marks.
    Oh God, she couldn’t do this anymore. She didn’t have the strength to fight him. Her fingers clutched at the silken sheet, bunching it into her fists while tears poured down her face. There had to be a way out. She just had to think. To find it. To stop feeling helpless like the victim he’d made her.
    Elle. Baby. Stay alive for me. Any way you have to, stay alive for me. I’m coming for you.
    Her breath caught in her throat. Was Stavros playing a trick on her? The voice was so familiar, so warm and caring—so achingly familiar. She went very stil , trying not to respond,