Is it so hard to believe? I mean, c'mon, Chad, you're not that awful, as men go! She said she knew she'd been pretty hard on you, about the investigat...on into her past, and all." Anything else?" Oh, yeah, quite a lot else, really. She's a lively girl. And you're right -- she's damned intelligent. She's going to make a really good college student! And all the professors are going to be wishing they could get into her pants. Of course, you know all about that already, don't you?" I don't know why. But he left her *everything*. How I came to live here is adifferent story that I might tell later.By the time I'd gotten inside she was sitting in the middle of theliving room floor with the still-closed book in front of her, staring atit. Without looking up she addressed me as I walked in."Should I open it?" You should most definitely *not* open it." The question of what kind ofmagical wonder could exist inside that book tickled the back of my mind,but my cautious side was getting the better. Blood was dripping from several spots where the belting was so severe that it tore through her delicate flesh. The young girl closed her eyes and wished death upon herself for an instant before she decided to keep fighting.“Look at me, Katie,” Madame X commanded. The battered slave managed to open her eyes for her mistress. “You’re very strong. You’ve certainly proven that to me. But do you really think you can win this way? If you keep this up long enough, you’ll die down here. Don’t be. ” “Was it worth it?” I asked. “No,” he said to my surprise. “It wasn’t. I mean, you’ve been nothing but nice to me, and I took advantage of that.” I smiled and said, “Yes, you did. Now you see the error of your ways. So, you owe me.” “Name it!” he said, “I’ll do anything you say.” I smiled. I knew exactly what to do to my young friend. “Right now, I want you to come back to bed. You’ll learn your fate tomorrow.” He came back to bed with me, wrapped his arms around me, and went we went to.