Page 18 of Monster

I did a double-take in his direction before I plucked the glass of water from his hand. I tipped it up to my lips, felt the icy burn as the cold water went down, and that was the last thing I remembered. Darkness overcame me almost immediately and the hole it plunged me into held me hostage for the entire night.

But, when I woke up, I found myself in a much worse predicament.

“Are you kidding me?” I hissed.

I tugged at the restraints against my ankles and my wrists. The mattress beneath me bucked and swayed as I pulled at the rope, trying my hardest to free myself. But, the more I struggled, the tighter the binds became.

And pretty soon, I couldn't feel my fingers or my toes.

“Hello? Anyone here?” I yelled.

I looked to my left and found a mirror leaned against the wall, and when I saw what I was wearing my jaw dropped open.

“Help! Someone help me!” I roared.

No longer was I in my torn dress. Oh, no. I was in some oversized t-shirt, and nothing else. I didn’t have on a bra. Or panties. Or even socks, for that matter.

That bastard had completely stripped me down and put me in something else.

“Heeeeeelp!” I shrieked.

Panic gripped my heart as my lungs started to pant for air. I felt it coming on. The anxiety attacks that I’d been struggling with for a couple of years now. I arched my back and closed my eyes, trying to get the most out of my diaphragm and my lungs. It was no use, though. I felt like I was breathing through a straw.

And with every move I made, the fucking shirt kept hiking up my legs.

“Someone, please,” I said breathlessly.

Finally, a door swung open, revealing a shirtless man with precarious brown eyes that simply stared at me. His formal pants hung low around his hips, giving me an optimum glance at the chiseled lines disappearing beyond the hem of his boxers. I tried my best to regulate my breathing as my eyes scanned up and down his body. He was tall, and lean. Muscles chiseled with intention, but loose and ready for action. I licked my lips as my breathing slowly settled. I felt my heart rate coming down from the heavens as the man approached me.

And when he sat on the edge of the bed, it finally hit me.

The man from the auction.

I tried to control my breathing. “Good morning, Mr. Ten Mil.”

He grinned. “Morning, Number Four.”

“Miss Pettigrew, please.”

“No, I think I’m all right.”

I glared at him. “Well. Are you going to let me go so I can take a piss?”

He cocked his head. “You’re a fighter, aren’t you?”

“Why don’t you untie me and you can figure it out for yourself.”

He chuckled. “It’s cute that you think you’d even get out of this room before being gunned down.”

My nostrils flared with fury. “What the hell do you want from me?”

“For starters, I want you to calm that screaming. Not that anyone can hear you. But, it is a jarring way to wake up in the morning.”

“Something tells me you’re used to it.”

He winked at me. “Can’t say I haven’t led an exciting life.”

“You’re disgusting.”

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