Claimed by Her Web Master (Web Master #3) by Normandie Alleman Page A

opportunity to be alone with you, to plead my case. After all we had together, Sophie, I believe we owe ourselves a chance to at least try to find some common ground.”
    “All right, I’ll stay,” she said through gritted teeth.“ But I won’t be your submissive,” she spat.
    She was so cute when she was mad. “With time, you might change your mind.” I said before I left the room, closing the door behind me.

16

Sophie
    W hen Quentin left me alone , a part of me wanted to lie down on the bed and take a nap. As I sat down on it, it felt like I was sinking into a cloud. The linens were soft as could be, and the pillows were heavenly. I lay down, got comfortable and for a minute I forgot what I was supposed to be doing—finding a way out of this bizarre situation.
    My former Master had basically just kidnapped me and now he was holding me captive somewhere. Oh, he presented as very civilized the way he did it, but essentially he’d brought me here without permission.
    My hand slid protectively over my belly. No, this wasn’t acceptable. I had to find a way out of here. Maybe if I could get out of here, I could walk to the next house over and call a car from there. I wondered if they had Uber in Honolulu or wherever the heck I was now. This place seemed quite out of the way. I also hadn’t seen any neighbors …
    I’d deal with that once I got out of here. Surely if I walked far enough I’d find some help somewhere.
    Reluctantly I made myself climb out of that comfy bed. There would be plenty of time for resting once I got out of here and back to the hotel. I crossed the room and stood by the door listening. There were no signs of Quentin’s presence so now was as good a time as any to make my escape.
    Not wanting to alert Quentin I was leaving, I turned the doorknob as quietly as I could. Tossing my purse over my shoulder, I tiptoed down the hallway. It would help if I had a clue where Quentin was. It would be much better if he came to find me hours from now and I was long gone than if I ran into him now.
    When I reached the stairs I went down a few then peeked into rooms below. The kitchen was on the left, and the living room on the right. Quentin didn’t appear to be in either one so I kept going down the stairs, taking care to tread as lightly as possible. When I got to the landing I realized I was facing the back of the house. Straight ahead was a swimming pool in a beautiful back yard. For a split second I reconsidered. I imagined Quentin and me lounging out there, making plans for our baby, making love in that pool.
    Then just as quickly I shook those thoughts aside. I needed to get to the front door, because I had no idea if there was an exit out the back. My heart beat in my throat as I made my way around to the front of the house through the living room, which is the way I’d come in.
    There it was—the front door.
    I prayed it wasn’t locked.
    No sign of Quentin.
    My hand went to open it and to my surprise it was unlocked.
    Hallelujah! A voice inside me cheered. I opened it and crossed over the threshold.
    I was free.
    It was a long driveway, and I didn’t see any other houses. Only trees and bushes. But it was the only possible path so I started down it.
    I hadn’t even gotten to the road before I heard his voice. That voice that had brought me so much pleasure, and so much pain, since I first heard it. “Where do you think you’re going?”

17

Sophie
    I froze . Dread flooded me.
    “Come back into the house,” he said sternly.
    Caught, I slowly turned toward him. There was no sense in trying to run. I wasn’t very fast anyway, plus I was pregnant and where would I even go? I didn’t have much of an escape plan to begin with, but whatever it had been, it was foiled now.
    Avoiding Quentin’s gaze, I stared at the ground and walked slowly with him back to the house.
    Once we were inside he made a big show of locking the front door with a key that he then put in his pocket.
    “I’m