Free Defaced: A Dark Romance Novel by Marissa Farrar

here!”
    What sort of freak had had her kidnapped? A man who never let people see him?
    Eventually, she gave up. No longer caring about the quality of the water, she stumbled to the bathroom to place her mouth beneath the faucet and gulp down mouthful after mouthful of cold water. The water soothed her throat, but sloshed around in her stomach, making her nauseated. She’d eaten the bread hours ago now, and had no idea when she’d get her next meal.
    The thought of the man—Monster—touching her increased her sickness. The memory of his hand pressing against the inside of her thigh, his fingers brushing her nipple. No one touched her like that, not anymore. But the worst part was how her body had reacted to him, her nipple tightening, a pulse of excitement through her most private part. It was as though her body still craved what her mind and heart had worked so hard to keep at a distance.
    Her stomach churned again and saliva flooded her mouth. Losing her battle to hang onto the water, she dropped to her knees and clutched the rim of the white porcelain bowl. She heaved, and acidic tasting water gushed from her mouth, spattering against the bowl. She heaved and heaved again, ridding herself of the last of her stomach’s contents. Small pieces of partially digested bread floated in the bowl. Her eyes and nose streamed.
    Panting, she sat back and used a piece of toilet tissue to wipe her mouth and nose. She shivered uncontrollably.
    Even weaker now, she crawled out of the bathroom and to the bed. Exhaustion weighed her down, but she didn’t want to sleep on the bed. The thought of lying on the mattress, asleep and vulnerable, made her feel like she was giving the bastards who held her captive the wrong idea, as though she was somehow inviting them in. She knew her worries were ridiculous—if they wanted her, they would just come and take her. Where she slept would make no difference to them, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.
    Still determined not to sleep on it, she pulled the comforter from the bed to the floor, and then reached up for the pillow. Creating a small nest around herself, she curled up into a ball and fell into a deep, nightmare-filled sleep she couldn’t escape.
     
     

 

    Monster (Twelve Years Earlier)
     
     
     
     
     
    His father’s heavy footsteps once more came down the hallway.
    He was older now, matured, with coarse hair on his chin and chest. He’d grown tall, and his incarceration in the room with the gym equipment his father supplied had given him time to become strong and thick with muscle.
    The time of his lesson had arrived, but, as the bedroom door opened, he saw his father was not alone. Following close behind was a young woman. Her dark hair was worn straight and smooth so it fell down over her shoulders. She wore a red dress in material as silky as her hair, which clung to her curves. Her breasts appeared to be too high on her chest, the globes too round and pushed together—though he was sure this had been done on purpose to draw the eye. Her heels were so high he was amazed she could walk. Her dark eyes were thick with mascara, her lips shiny with gloss.
    Though, from the way she was dressed, he’d have thought her to be someone who knew her place in the world, her confidence didn’t shine. Instead, she hid behind his father, fiddling with the clingy material of her dress. She bit her lower lip, her small white teeth pressing into the pink gloss.
    “Your lesson will be different today,” his father said. “Someone else will be teaching you.”
    Monster’s eyes widened, wondering what the young woman could possibly teach him. “But ...” He didn’t know what to say.
    “Teresa is used to working with people ... like you,” he finished. “She knows what to do.”
    And with that, his father stepped back, allowing the young woman to move past him and enter the room. His father moved into the hall and shut the door behind him, enclosing both Monster and the young