Read Online Burn for You by Annabel Joseph - Free Book Online

figure out. He wouldn’t be as controlling and heavy-handed as Clayton, but he’d control her enough to comfort her. He’d give her occasional orders to keep her engaged, to give her a sense of protection. He’d give her a few light responsibilities around the house to earn her keep.
    That night, he also gave her a bedtime, and she didn’t fight it. When the hour rolled around Mephisto locked her in her room, with her consent, of course. Her room became then, essentially, a cage, with walls instead of bars.
    He, too, would be a cage for her. He hoped it would help. He hoped it would be enough.
    *** *** ***
     
    Molly settled comfortably into Mephisto’s care, not that it was easy. When did he ever make things easy? Finding ways to help others, for instance, was a terrifying experience. She’d been focused so long on serving only one person, she’d never really thought about all the other people in the world who needed help, and all the countless types of help they needed.
    The first day, she walked around opening doors for people, and picking up litter on the street. As she did, she watched people. Club Mephisto wasn’t in a terrible part of town, but it wasn’t in the most affluent area either. She saw a lot of people who looked troubled, but she was too shy to ask how she could help. Mephisto acknowledged her efforts, but encouraged her to be more proactive the next day. Proactive. What a concept. Again, the only thing she’d ever been proactive about was anticipating her Master’s wants and needs.
    Mephisto pointed her to websites listing non-profit organizations in the area. She made some calls and met some people, and found right away that there was always something to do. Molly was hands-on in the beginning. She liked working on projects, helping people directly, but she knew there was more she could do. She started using some of Clayton’s money. That involved meetings with his financial planners, but the money was there, earmarked for charity. It had to be given away for tax purposes. She wasn’t sure about all the details of it, but the amount he had donated yearly to charity took her breath away. Now that she was working “down in the trenches,” as one of her new friends said, she understood the importance of carrying on his legacy.
    The afternoons were more difficult. She couldn’t really concentrate on improving herself until she fixed all the things she’d messed up during her wild few weeks. Mephisto agreed, and directed her to go to a doctor first, to be sure she hadn’t done anything to her health during her month-long bender. He required STD testing too, which embarrassed her. But it was a relief to learn she’d managed to stay clean. Honestly, she’d been so out of her mind she couldn’t remember if she’d fucked anyone or not. Humiliating.
    When her personal health was all squared away, the next step was putting Clayton’s house back to rights. She cleaned and polished every wall, floor, and surface, and hired people to repair any damage she couldn’t. She sorted through Clayton’s things, donating nearly everything to charity. All his thousand dollar suits, his designer shoes. His books, his electronics, crying the whole while. His family took his cars and watches, and other extremely valuable things she didn’t want.
    Molly kept some things too. A belt she knew well, a pair of cufflinks, a delicate silver leash. His wedding ring and his pillow. It still smelled faintly of him. She put it in an airtight bag in her closet at Mephisto’s place, to hug sometimes when she missed him badly. She couldn’t bear to sleep on it at night. When Mephisto returned her old collar she slipped it down inside the pillowcase. That too she couldn’t bear to look at or wear, although she kept on her wedding rings.
    Yes, she missed her old Master. She wasn’t angry at him anymore, or at herself. She was simply unsettled, lonely, and unsure what to do next. When Clayton’s house was empty and