Brenda climbed off the girl and rolled her to her back. She slapped Jane across the face again and again, leaving red, angry handprints on her pale cheeks.
Jane, eyes squeezed shut, whimpered like a little puppy.
“Don’t you dare move from the bed, cunt. You hear me?” Brenda shouted. She reached for a silk robe from the hook near the door and pulled it on.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jane croaked, her voice hoarse and weak. She turned her head to the side. Tears trickled from beneath her closed eyelids.
Robert felt almost sorry for her. If Brenda hadn’t been standing there, he would have taken her into his arms and kissed away those tears. Then he’d lay her gently down and fuck the shit out of her. A big, hard cock would help her forget her woes.
Instead, he followed Brenda up the stairs, closing the cabin door behind them.
“Let’s get back to shore,” Brenda said curtly. “I knew it was mistake to take her out of the house. I shouldn’t have listened to you.” She followed Robert as he moved toward the front of the craft to start the engine. “Lucky for you that you caught up with the cunt. I can’t believe you dropped the fucking ropes.”
“Me?” Robert retorted, outraged. “You were supposed to be holding on, too. Instead, you were too busy guzzling your vodka sodas.”
“Watch it, buster,” Brenda replied, her green eyes narrowing dangerously. “Just get us back to the dock.”
Once back in the car, they drove along in silence for a while, Jane again on the backseat floor, the blanket over her. They stopped for takeout on the way home and Robert ate his hamburger with one hand while steering with the other. Jane, of course, didn’t share in the meal. While he wouldn’t have minded tossing bits of food back to her, trussed and gagged as she was, she’d have a pretty hard time eating it.
As they neared their property, Brenda said, “It’s time, Robert. She’s becoming more trouble than she’s worth. I’m not going to wait until the end of the month. I’m going to call Ivan and move up the date.”
Though he knew it was inevitable, Robert balked at its being so soon. “Come on,” he wheedled. “It’s not that dire. What she did was just instinctive, that’s all. If you fell into the water, wouldn’t you try to swim?”
“Not the point,” Brenda snapped. She turned to stare at him for a long while, giving him the uncanny and unpleasant feeling that she could read his mind. “You’re getting too close to her. I don’t like it. You’re too soft on her. And anyway, I’m getting tired of her. We’ll call Ivan and then head out for a nice little vacation. When we get back, we can look for a new toy.”
Robert sighed but said nothing in protest. Maybe Brenda was right. Maybe he was getting too close to this one. There was just something so vulnerable about her—it brought out his tender side. If he had a tender side, he thought with an inward grin. Shit—he was getting soft. Yes—Brenda was right, as always. It was time to cut this one loose.
When they finally pulled into the garage, Robert said, “I’ll just take her down and lock her in her cage. Then I want a long, hot shower.”
“She’s not going in her cage yet,” Brenda replied, as Robert had suspected she might. “First she’s going to be punished for her ludicrous attempt at escape.”
Robert knew from Brenda’s tone that she was determined. Too tired to argue, he hauled Jane from the car. She felt light and frail in his arms, her skin clammy. He carried her down the basement stairs. At Brenda’s direction, he secured Jane’s wrist cuffs to the chains hanging from the suspension rig while Brenda went to the wall rack.
He glanced at Jane’s face as he worked. The duct tape was still over her mouth. She was conscious but terribly pale. She fixed Robert with an imploring gaze that made him feel uncomfortable. Annoyed, he turned away. Brenda would put some color in her cheeks—at least her ass cheeks, he thought with a grin.
“Take off the tape,” Brenda said, coming up beside him, a long, whippy cane in her hand. “I want to hear her scream.”
Moving closer, Robert pried up a corner of the sticky tape and yanked it free, leaving another red rectangle around Jane’s mouth. Her hair had dried in a tangled mess and there were streaks of salt along her skin. Just looking at her made him itchy. He really didn’t feel like standing there to watch Brenda take out her fury on the girl.
Not caring if it led to an argument or not, he announced abruptly, “You’ve got this under control. I’m going to take a shower.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and sprinted up the stairs.