His Slave

18. Plans

The sting of the cold hardwood against my skin wakes me and I pull myself up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My back is still sore but the pain has subsided a little.

Everything is cast in shades of grey and blue and I look out the window to find dark, gloomy clouds outside. The sun hasn't risen yet, and I glance at the bed, expecting to find James still asleep, but he's not there and it doesn't even look like he slept in his room last night. The bed is still made.

A little confused, I get up and head to the bathroom, deciding that a shower would be nice. The hot water feels good against the bruises on my back and I stand there for a while, thinking. If I'm going to win our deal and earn my freedom, I'm going to have to do what James says.

But I have to be more than that too. I need to be enough to make him fall in love with me. If he wants submission, that's what he'll get. Sure, it might be humiliating, but it will be worth it in three hundred and sixty-three days when I finally get to see the expression on his face as he realizes he's completely been played.

A bit of guilt wells up inside of me. I don't want to hurt him. But I can't let my feelings keep me from gaining my freedom. I won't.

And besides, this isn't really about hurting him. It's about gaining my freedom.

I finally shut the shower off, drying off before putting my ratty clothes back on. My new ones are supposed to come today and I'll honestly be glad to get out of these rags.

I step out of the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel to find James seated on the sofa, looking absolutely exhausted. I realize he's on the phone and I make it a point to be quiet.

I run a brush through my tangle of wet hair, watching out of the corner of my eye as James' jaw tightens.

"We're not doing that," he states, his words clipped. There's a pause before he violently shakes his head.

"No. No, I don't care!" He snaps, interrupting the person on the other end of the line. He pauses a moment to listen to what they're saying.

"That's not going to happen," he replies, trying to sound calm.

"Are you in charge? No? Then you should shut the fuck up and listen to what I'm telling you. Because I am in charge," he spits at them dangerously.

Another pause as the person on the other end speaks. James shakes his head. "That won't be happening either," he spits in frustration. His gaze falls on me and he smirks a little, sending my heart fluttering.

"Now, if you'll quit wasting my time, I have more important things to attend to." Before the other person can get the chance to argue James hangs up, tossing his phone on the sofa beside him.

He runs his fingers through his hair before he turns his attention back to me. He stares me down for a moment before his mouth twitches with that sinister smile of his. "Good morning, Erin," he greets casually.

"Good morning, Master," I reply, feeling a little awkward as I stand there with the brush in my hand.

He pats the seat next to him and I hesitate for only a moment before setting the brush back on the counter and going to join him on the sofa.

"Did you sleep well?" He asks as I sit next to him. James scoots a little closer so our thighs are touching. I force myself not to flinch away from him.

I shrug. "I slept as well as anyone sleeping on hardwood floors," I remark with a bit of a laugh. "You look like you haven't slept at all," I add, noticing the bags under his eyes and the red blood vessels in the corners.