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set her in the bathtub on her hands and knees, the warm water lapping at her body. El e managed to open her eyes to narrow slits. Blood turned the water to a pale pink. Her skin burned and stung, causing her to shiver uncontrol ably.
    â€œIt’s antiseptic, my sweet. It wil help numb you.†Very gently he wrang a warm cloth over her back. “Let me take care of you.â€
    But he had done this to her. She remembered now. Al of it. He’d been so angry, although he hadn’t shown it, never raising his voice, but she knew him now, knew when she displeased him. He wanted obedience from her. She was his to do whatever he wanted. She knew that the weeks spent in his company, forced to turn to him for comfort, for companionship, food and water, even permission to go to the bathroom, was al designed to mold her and break her spirit. And God help her, sometimes she couldn’t remember who she was anymore.
    The island had some kind of energy field that prevented her from defending herself using her psychic abilities. She’d tried testing it over the weeks, looking for weaknesses, trying different levels of strengths against it, but every single time, she’d been defeated, her headaches instantaneous and so painful she would vomit. Sometimes the pain was so severe she bled from her nose or mouth. Each time he’d forced her to have sex, usual y daily, she’d tried to stop him, fighting physical y and with her psychic talents. And each time had been a disaster for her.
    First there was the pain in her head driving her to the floor where she could only writhe and weep. And then his retaliation, whipping her or beating her with whatever he chose, and he had a variety of instruments at his disposal, each worse than the other.
    Her first time with a man had been with him. Shockingly, he had been gentle with her. He’d actual y tried to make it pleasurable for her, and that was his way to break her. One moment he would offer comfort, taking care of her, seeing to her every need, and the next, if she in any way defied him, he would be ruthlessly frightening, punishing her swiftly and without mercy. She could never relax, never know what was coming next, fixing her attention on him the moment he entered the room, thinking about him when he wasn’t with her, so that he was her entire world and nothing else mattered.
    He washed her body gently. “Don’t make me do this to you, Sheena. Accept that you 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