50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Torn: Chapter Forty-Four

    "I'm sorry I'm late," Destiny apologized.

    Aubrey looked her up and down, his eyes hovering on her soaking wet hoodie, then lowering to the water that was dripping on his floor. "You told me that you missed the red room."

    "I did tell you that," she confirmed.

    "Then you missed me giving you orders, everything else that was involved with that?"

    Her eyes dropped back down to the paddle. "Yes."

    "Good. What I want you to do is, go into the bathroom and undress. Once you have finished undressing, return to me."

    She only hesitated for the briefest moment before turning on her heel and leaving the room. She walked into the master bedroom, then the master bathroom, and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a complete mess, still damp with rain. She could see the moisture that was making her hoodie feel impossibly heavy. After setting her purse on the bathroom counter, she grabbed the bottom of her hoodie and drew the bulky garment up over her torso and over the top of her head. She placed the hoodie in the tub, then kicked off her sneakers and unbuttoned her jeans.

    She pushed her jeans down her legs. In her bra, panties, and socks, she studied her reflection again. An image of the little boy from her dream sprang to her mind, and she ran a hand down her stomach. If she focused hard enough, she could still hear the song the little boy had been playing on the piano. And depending on which man I choose, I might not get to experience being a mother, she thought sadly, opening her purse and withdrawing a small compact from it. She flipped the compact open and looked at the tiny pills inside.

    "Tick, tock," came a deep voice from the doorway to the bathroom.

    "I'm...I'm sorry," she apologized to Aubrey's reflection.

    His eyes lowered to the compact in her hands.

    She hurriedly popped out a pill and grabbed the small cup near the water faucet handle. Then, she filled the small cup with water.

    Aubrey turned and walked away.

    After swallowing the pill and rinsing the cup out with steaming hot water, she finished undressing. With her eyes on the mirror, she lifted her hands and removed the hair tie from her damp hair. 

    When she returned to the red room, Aubrey was seated on the platform with the paddle on his lap. It was as if he'd never moved.

    "Close the door behind you," he instructed, rolling up one of his dress shirt sleeves.

    She did as she was told.

    "Come to me," he ordered, rolling up the other sleeve.

    Her body didn't know whether to feel excited or frightened. There was a mixture of both emotions mingling within her as she walked towards him.

    He lowered his eyes and didn't raise them when she came to stand in front of him. "Why did it take you so long to come home?"

    "I felt like I needed to clear my head," she answered. "I needed time to think about things. So I decided to take a drive."

    "So you were driving the entire time?"

    She dropped her gaze. "I stopped at the marina."

    "You stopped at the marina," he repeated. "And?"

    "I just wound up there. I...I wanted to look at the lake."

    "You wanted to look at the lake and think," he recapped.