Tender Mercies - By Kitty Thomas Page 0,41

a banana and a hard-boiled egg that must have been sitting in the fridge overnight. And some juice.

“I don’t deserve . . . ”

“I take care of what’s mine. Remember? I’m not having you missing meals. You’ll get sick. Eat.” When she started to eat, he got up and crossed the hall to her room. She looked up when he came back to see he had a brush in his hand. Grace couldn’t stop the little shudder, as if he might beat her with it. Instead he sat behind her and brushed her hair while she ate.

“I understand this is all hard for you. Whatever I tell you to do, I expect you to do. I will punish you, and eventually punishments will involve a cane. But not today. Don’t try my patience, Grace. I won’t ever allow myself to be weak with you. If you start to view my mercy as weakness, then we’re going to have a serious problem. And I don’t want to cause you further damage, do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.” Every time he said something like this she just felt worse. Like such an ingrate. If this was real . . . if she could manage not to do anything to sway him away from the way he was being with her, she owed him everything. And she was disobeying him left and right already.

“I know I’m pushing hard with your friend, but I want you to have your friendship back. I insist on it.”

By this time she’d finished her breakfast and he’d stopped brushing. “Go stand in the corner.”

He helped her to her feet and she moved to where he’d pointed, fighting the tremble in her body as she went, wondering what was coming next. She stood, tensed for a few minutes, waiting for . . . something. But whatever she’d thought was coming never arrived.

“Don’t move from that spot. I want you to spend this time thinking. I’ll come get you when it’s time for lunch. We’ll talk further about the rules in this house at that time.”

Eight

Asher descended the stairs, clicking the most recently dialed number on his cell as he went. “Hello?” a guarded voice answered.

“Is this Lainey?”

“Yes, who is this?” But she knew. He could tell from her voice that she knew.

“This is Asher. Grace is with me.”

A long silence. When she spoke, her voice cracked. “Please let her go. She needs to come home where she’ll be safe.”

He sighed. “I need you to listen to me, Lainey. The things she’s been through . . . you don’t just recover from them. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

There was more silence, except for the sound of soft crying. Perhaps he was justifying keeping what he wanted, what he’d paid so much money to acquire.

No. He was right. Even the way she’d reacted to calling Lainey, like he was somehow punishing her by trying to get her to speak to someone who loved her. She couldn’t live in that world. Not anymore. But he could give her a small piece of it.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“Why would I do anything to help you?” Her voice was like acid.

“It’s for Grace. I’m not the one who hurt her.”

“But you’re the one keeping her now.”

He sighed. “I’m not going to debate this with you. You can think I’m the bad guy all you want. There is nothing you can do to alter the course of her life. What you can do is help her by doing what I say. I want her to be able to maintain a friendship, so I need you to agree to not bring up anything about her current or past situation on the island. It’s too upsetting for her. If she chooses to talk about it, let her come to you. Can you do that for me?”

“Fine. But I don’t like you.”

He chuckled. “I can’t imagine what you must feel about Lucas, then. And Lainey?”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

He stared at the phone, unsure why it mattered so much to him that Grace be able to connect with this friend. It made her so uncomfortable.

Even so, he couldn’t let her erase it all. He wanted to give her every chance possible to heal as much as she could. Rekindling a close friendship seemed like a step in that direction.

A few hours later he returned to the bedroom to find Grace standing naked in the corner, just as he’d left her. His cock hardened at the sight of her