Savage Cinderella Read Free Page B

mean I will untie
you.”
    Whoever she was, she was not a simple
mountain person. She spoke with a clear and distinctly educated
vocabulary. Her use of words seemed almost too formal and her
speech had an awkward accent. More than her tone, the cadence of
her words bothered him. It was as if she had to force herself to
form the words properly—as if she didn’t speak often.
    Justin ignored the questions that formed the
ongoing commentary in his mind and glared back at the ceiling “I
get it. You don’t trust me. Given the circumstances, I wouldn’t
either if I were you.”
    Persuading this girl to open up was not going
to be easy. What could he say to reassure her? His eyes found hers
across the room. “I know I haven’t given you reason yet to trust
me, but I've not personally given you reason to distrust me
either."
    She remained silent, apparently pondering the
logic and truth of his statement, observing him with a curious
glare. “Why did you come after me?” she asked after a moment.
    “ I wanted your picture for
my magazine...” Justin hesitated and then smiled faintly into the
shadows, "and because I thought you looked beautiful in the stream
today.” He couldn’t see her response, but felt her become very
still. A long minute of silence made the air thick.
    “ Would you like some
water?" she asked, her tone softening.
    Gravel scratched his throat as he swallowed.
“That would be good. Thank you.”
    After a few minutes hesitation, she rose
slowly, filled a dented tin cup with water from a rain barrel—which
was collecting steadily beneath a leak in the roof—and came to the
bedside, warily helping him to drink.
    Every movement sent shocks of pain through
his head, but the water felt cool and soothing on his throat. He
studied her features, capturing the bright blue eyes that tilted up
slightly at the edges and now peered suspiciously down at him
beneath long, dark lashes. Her face was the shape of an upside-down
teardrop, her chin delicate beneath high cheekbones. Her cheeks
were touched with a rosy glow from the fire, and her plump lips
pursed in concentration as she tried not to spill water down his
neck. Failing that, she wiped the water from his chin with her hand
and then froze in place, staring down at him with an expression of
wide-eyed panic.
    She jerked her hand back from his face as if
recoiling from hot coals. Hastily rising from the edge of the bed,
she resumed her place on the chest across the room, huddled in her
blanket. Her response to him, unnerving as it was, gave Justin hope
that she was not out to torture him. But her obvious fear of him
didn’t bode well for persuading her to free him either.
    While the rain beat heavily on the roof,
drips plopping sporadically onto the floor, he surveyed the stacks
of books that he had noticed earlier. In the flickering light he
could barely make out the titles, but the piles included everything
from romance novels to classics to educational texts and how-to
books. At least she was well-read. Attempting to outwit her was not
a likely option given the keen expression of curiosity that lit her
features.
    Behind all her wariness was a spark of
intellect that intrigued him. How could he gain her trust? He’d
always been a lousy liar, so deception was out of the question.
Possibly his only hope for escape would be to charm the girl. He
studied her in the candlelight. Judging from the glower on her face
and her rigid posture, even charm held slim hope.
    “ Can you please untie me?”
He had to make the effort, but the silent scowl that met his plea
was answer enough.
    Resigned to a long night ahead, he stretched
as best he could, settling his swollen foot in its sling and
letting out a groan that caused the girl to squirm. He’d have given
anything for an ice pack and an aspirin just then, but didn’t
bother asking, certain she wouldn’t have access to such
amenities.
    A candle on the table lit the room in
shadows. A few pots and pans and an unlit