. badly.I drove like a man possessed and ran every stop sign and red light on the way and got to her house in less than ten minutes. I began to ring t...e doorbell and just about broke the door beating on it. In a few minutes Erin shuffled slowly to answer the door, and I barely recognized her. She had been beaten all over and her face and arms were a solid mass of bleeding welts and swelling bruises. She was bleeding seemingly from everywhere and the blue terrycloth robe she was clutching around. ‘You are still young and innocent,’ she said slowly and evenly. ‘I had as little choice of accepting you as my apprentice as you had of refusing the role. I’ve always wanted to make love to you as I’ve often observed you in the village and much admired your beauty. Whether you would ever love me in return was another matter, though I have enough faith in my skills of seduction never to doubt it much. But however much you love me is immaterial. The Chief commands and he must be obeyed.’ ‘It’s. He pulled her to him, his hands touching her all over, as if wanting to memorize every aspect of her body. He stood, once again kissing her deeply, then shed his clothing quickly. Dane knew he looked good. As a wealthy and influential man, he always strived to look his best, which meant a lot of working out. His body was lean, taught, and fit. At 38, he looked at least 10 years younger. Mandy’s eyes drank in the sight of him gloriously naked, her fingers touching him lightly enough to drive. As soon as Randy wasn’t looking, she dashed off a couple of quick texts to Karen. *************************************Karen felt her phone vibrate in her purse, but was in no mood to answer it. She could tell that Chris had something on his mind, and she certainly had something on hers. They drove in silence to her apartment, and walked in silence to her door. She unlocked the door and began opening it, intentionally not giving him the chance to give her a goodnight kiss. She was surprised.