Free Slave by Sherri Hayes Page A

much alone. Releasing her face, I watched as her head once again bowed. She’d retreated into herself again. It was like one step forward and two steps back.
    Sighing, I looked down at my watch and noticed it was almost noon. “Are you hungry?” I asked her.
    I noticed her pressing her lips together, a sure sign she was nervous. My guess was she was trying to guess what I wanted her answer to be again. Like I said, one step forward, two steps back. “This is not a test, Brianna. It is a simple question. Are you hungry? Yes or no?” She nodded but didn’t ease the pressure on her lips.
    Standing, I held out my hand. I wanted to see if she would take it freely. After only a moment’s hesitation, she put her hand in mine and stood up beside me. I gently squeezed her fingers in reassurance and approval, both of which I knew she needed from me.
    Walking to the food court, I could only imagine what passersby were thinking, especially if they’d been privy to her meltdown. Her head was lowered with her eyes to the ground for our entire walk to the center of the zoo. I thought about stopping and trying to get her to focus on something but reconsidered. My assertion had been to go get food, and more than anything, I needed to be consistent with her; so food it was.
    The small food court held four options: burgers, hotdogs, pizza, or chicken. There was also a selection of french fries, nachos, pretzels, and ice cream.
    Switching the hand that was holding hers, I moved behind her, placing my mouth at her ear. “What would you like?”
    She stiffened for just a second and then relaxed again before raising her head. I watched as she scanned the small menu. Then she was pressing her lips together again. Did she really think there was a wrong answer here?
    I moved around to stand in front of her, and her gaze immediately shot downward. I suppressed a sigh. But just as I was getting ready to ask my question again while keeping the frustration out of my voice, she answered, “A hamburger, please.” She paused and then added Master in a low whisper so that no one could hear around us.
    That had been the reason she’d been pressing her lips together. Although that was still a subject we needed to address, this was not the place. I was just happy she seemed to be making choices faster, easier. Reaching down, I linked our hands once again, and we walked up to place our order.
    Brianna
    I was . . . confused. That was the best word I could come up with. My new Master didn’t make any sense to me. Or his actions didn’t.
    Once I’d calmed down and realized where we were and whom I was with, I was embarrassed. And a little scared. I was sure I’d drawn attention to us, embarrassed him, but when I’d looked up, his eyes had only held concern. For me.
    And then I’d quickly averted my eyes, remembering my place and still unsure how he’d react to my very obvious tears; and as was habit to me now, I started to beg forgiveness. He’d surprised me yet again, though, by stopping my apology, reminding me of his earlier words, and adding that he did not want me to say I’m sorry for the rest of the day.
    I . . . just . . . didn’t . . . understand.
    He was so different from Ian, in a good way. I’d been with him for over a week now, and so far, he’d given me my own bed, clothes, and had even taken me to the zoo. My new Master had been kind and gentle to me, only reprimanding me this morning after my stupid mistake.
    I kept waiting for reality to set in, for the nightmare I’d lived in for the last ten months to come back. It had to come back, right? This man had bought me, just like Ian had. He was handsome and clearly wealthy. There was no reason he couldn’t have any woman he wanted, so why buy a slave unless you wanted to do things no normal woman would allow?
    It was stupid for me to think of those things. This was my life. This was what I was and nothing would ever change that. I already knew my new Master could be much nicer