Read Online Circle of Desire by Carla Swafford - Free Book Online

voice, he said, “You’re too old to play with dolls. Come with me, child. I got a more interesting toy for you to play with.”
    He grabbed her arm and lifted her until only her toes reached the floor as he marched toward a door with bluish light emitting around the edges. She knew if she let him take her into the room, he would hurt her. But no matter how much she screamed, scratched, or kicked, he still opened the door and threw her inside. His high-pitched laughter bounced against the walls. She could beg him not to hurt her again but she knew he would.
    Please don’t. Please. Please stop.
    “Olivia, wake up.”
    Her eyes popped open at the same time her right hand shot out, lower palm forward, stopping an inch from shoving Collin’s nose into his skull. He’d grabbed her wrist.
    “Careful. You were asking someone to stop.” The concern in his voice she didn’t need or want.
    “You know, you’re no prince charming, but I would hate to accidentally kill you. I have a feeling Big Foot would object and then I would have to kick his fat ass.”
    One eyebrow lifted. “Fat ass, uh?”
    She wiggled to a sitting position after he released his hold. When a little sting on her arm caught her attention, she looked down. A new red dot on her skin explained why her headache had faded away. They’d shot her up with something. She hoped that was all they’d done while she’d been out. “By the way, you’ve got a bad habit of waking me up.”
    Though he didn’t smile, a little crinkle at the corners of his eyes told her he liked her spunk. That was interesting. No concern about her almost killing him or threatening his buddy. Was he already so sure of her? Maybe she could use that to her advantage.
    “What do you want?” she asked. Had he stayed with her the whole time she slept? “How long was I out?”
    She stretched, lifting her arms above her head and pressing her toes against the covers.
    His eyes flared amber. She liked that. Responding to her was good. Hell, it was only fair. He was quite aware of her response to him.
    “You’ve been asleep for a couple hours.” He folded his arms. “And not a restful sleep at all.” One dark eyebrow lifted.
    So he wanted to know what she’d dreamed. No way. How often had she tried to forget after waking? She wasn’t like most people, forgetting as soon as she opened her eyes. Boy, that would be nice. Considering she’d actually lived the nightmare that made it harder to forget.
    Finally coming to the conclusion she wasn’t about to explain, he picked up a large camo bag and handed it to her.
    “Get dressed. Time for you to start earning your keep.”
    “How about a shower? Toothbrush? Hair brush? You get the idea.” Her mouth tasted like an old shoe and she bet her hair looked like a stack of straw.
    “You’ll find everything you need in your room. I’ll take you there as soon as you get your clothes on.”
    Before she could say anything about privacy, he walked into the hall, closing the door behind him.
    Well, that was easy. Of course, she was stuck in a room without windows, and she had a good feeling the next room he placed her in would be no different. The bag had a pair of her sweatpants she used to exercise in and a sports bra for running. No thong. His choices were rather fascinating. Or was she over-examining everything?
    She glanced at the door and jumped off the bed. A wave of dizziness forced her to hold the footboard until she regained her balance. Then she slithered into the sweatpants, jerked off the hospital gown—ugly thing—and pulled on the bra. She wasn’t surprised to see him walk in no sooner than she finished. In vain, she ran her fingers through her hair, patting down the strands.
    “Lead the way, master,” she quipped.
    “I prefer sir.” He looked serious, not a grin or flare of amber to tell her different.
    Sir, huh? Yeah, right, like that would ever happen.
    She watched his tight ass move down the hallway. Tight and uptight. Did