Save Riley by Yolanda Olson Page B

down on the counter and pushed myself up to a standing position. My head hurt from where he held me down and my legs were unsteady. As I felt him running down my inner thigh and I took a few steadying breaths before answering.
    “Messy. Painful.”
    “Riley, if you think that was painful, then you really won’t be able to deal with what I have in store for you. But go up to your room, the one you woke up in, and change your clothes. Because we are now acquaintances for the rest of the day, I’ll clean this up,” he said with a grin.
    “I need you to unlock the doors, remember?” I asked quietly.
    He laughed and reached down for his pants, pulling them up along with his boxers. He went over to the sink and grabbed a dishcloth, ran it under the water, and pulled out a bucket from under the sink.
    “You’re right. Change of plans then. You clean this up and I’ll be back with something for you,” he said tossing the rag at me as he left the kitchen.
    I looked at the side of the island and at the floor and sighed heavily. The faster I got this over with the faster I’d be able to put clothes on again and maybe take control of something for once. I wiped down the side of the counter, then got on my knees to make sure that nothing had pooled on the floor. When I was done with the task that had been given to me, I took the bucket to the sink and filled it halfway with hot water, before tossing the soiled rag into it.
    “You look damn sexy when you clean,” he said from the doorway. I jumped because I was startled; I never heard him reenter the kitchen.
    “I wouldn’t imagine it has anything to do with my ass on full display?” I quipped rolling my eyes.
    He laughed good-naturedly and came over to inspect what I had done. I watched him nod in approval before handing me clothes. I took them gratefully and held them against my chest.
    “I’ll lead you to the shower down here. That way you can clean yourself up properly, while I go upstairs and do the same,” he said putting his hands on my shoulders and guiding me out of the kitchen.
    Shower? I don’t ever recall even seeing a bathroom on this floor.
    Jax lead me through the living room and down the only hall I had never been in on the main floor.
    “Close your eyes,” he said and I did. He let go of my shoulders and stepped around me. I heard the familiar beep of a code being punched into a door, not even realizing there had been a door there to begin with.
    “You can open them now,” he said, taking my hand and leading me into a smaller room. “Shower’s in there. These doors aren’t coded, only the one in and out. So once you’re done, just wait for me on the stairs and I’ll be down when I’m ready, alright?”
    I nodded and watched him leave. He left the door cracked slightly open so that it wouldn’t lock me in and I pushed open the door to the bathroom. It was pretty; medium sized with glass doors on the shower, a big vanity mirror, and everything seemed to be made of marble or porcelain.
    Smiling, I set my clothes on the edge of the pretty sink and leaned into the shower to turn the water on. I ran my hands under the faucet making sure that the temperature was just right before I stepped in and washed myself. I spent about half an hour in the shower, mostly just standing under the shower head and letting the hot water pour over me.
    I slid one of the glass doors open when I was done and reached for the towel that was sitting, folded neatly, on top of a closed hamper. I wrapped it around myself and went to the mirror. I used my hand to wipe a diagonal clearing so that I could look at myself.
    I took a deep breath and wondered what I was becoming. It was obvious by all of his “equal” talk, he was training me; grooming me for something terrible and in the kitchen, I enjoyed it.
    Get a grip Riley. He’s using you and you’re letting him. You need to start fighting back and you need to start now.
    She was right. My inner heroine was trying to