Page 84 of Red Fury

“What is wrong with you?”

She makes a sound of pure frustration, laced with a good dose of anger. “You’ve been with another man. You slept with someone else last night. I smell him on you.” Her eyes blaze with anger.

Fury.

She can smell Fury on my skin.

“Well, you should have sent me a memo warning me about this abduction. You could have mentioned all the dos and don’ts attached. Maybe included a handy little checklist of approved activities before being kidnapped.” I level her with a glare. “Your master can go to hell, for all I care.”

The words are out before I can stop them, fueled by fear and anger and the complete absurdity of this situation.

Neilina’s face darkens. “You have quite the mouth on you,” she says, her voice deadly quiet. “That might get you into serious trouble one of these days.”

“One of these days? I’m pretty sure that day has already arrived.” I roll my eyes.

She doesn’t respond to my sarcasm. Instead, she gestures sharply toward the tub.

“Get in. Now. And you’d better wash very thoroughly.” Her earlier cheerfulness has evaporated, replaced by something cold. “You need to scrub every trace of that man off your skin; do you understand me? If the master catches even the slightest hint of another male’s scent on you, you’ll be sorry. Do you understand?”

I want to ask her what exactly this master would do, but something in her expression tells me I don’t want to know the answer.

Without another word, I walk to the edge of the massive tub and step over the rim. The water is almost too hot, but I force myself to sink into it anyway. The bubbles rise around me.

“There are soaps and shampoos on the shelf behind you,” Neilina says, her voice still tight. “Use all of them, especially between your legs. I mean it.”

I reach for the nearest bottle; it’s body wash. The scent is floral and not altogether unpleasant.

“Can I have some water to drink?” I ask, squirting the body wash onto a loofah. “My mouth feels like sandpaper.”

“No.” The response is immediate and firm. “I don’t trust you enough to leave you alone, even for a few minutes. Water can wait. I am sure that the master will offer you something to drink.”

I start scrubbing my skin, working the soap into a lather.

“You need to wash more thoroughly,” Neilina commands from her position near the door.

I grit my teeth and comply, scrubbing until my skin turns pink. I wash my hair twice, then condition it with something that smells like jasmine.

She finally nods her approval. “Good. Now get out.”

I stand in the tub, water cascading off my body as I reach for the fluffy white towel hanging nearby. I step out and wrap the towel around myself.

“Here.” Neilina holds up a dress.

It’s white and made of some kind of clingy material. There’s barely enough fabric to cover the essentials.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter, but I take the scrap of fabric anyway.

“There are panties, too,” she adds, holding up a pair of white lace underwear that’s equally skimpy.

“No bra, I take it?” She doesn’t answer, but I didn’t expect her to.

I drop the towel and pull on the underwear first, then shimmy into the dress. Thankfully, it isn’t see-through. The hem barely covers my ass. Thank goodness for the lace panties.

I feel like a piece of meat being prepared for display.

“Oh, my goodness,” Neilina says, her earlier anger forgotten as she takes in my appearance. “Absolutely perfect.”

She produces a pair of white strappy sandals with stiletto heels that look like they could be used as weapons.