Her Captive Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance (Arranged to Love Book 4) by Alexa Woods

Author:Alexa Woods [Woods, Alexa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Briar

It was strange waking up to darkness. It made it nearly impossible to tell what time it was, and her circadian rhythm was getting completely out of sync because there was no sunlight to rely on. She gauged the time by the ache in her stomach, which intensified when she allowed herself a deep breath. The dark, slightly bitter, mouth-watering aroma of coffee crept through the dark room, mingling with the notes of meat and salt. The scent was unmistakably bacon, and her stomach gave an answering groan.

When she shifted from her side onto her back, she got a full jarring reminder that she’d tugged her blankets and pillow onto the floor to lay beside Veda last night. The jarring part of that memory was her backside coming into contact with hard floorboards. Even if it had been a soft surface, she still would have gasped. She could feel every single one of those welts that Veda had given her when she’d been bent over the car’s hood. She’d felt them all through their discussion the night before, and her body ached when she’d tried to fall asleep. She’d been too tired to let her keep it up, but now she was raw all over.

She curled up from the floor, standing slowly. Her back ached and the shoulder she’d slept on felt ground to mush. Her hair was a knotted wreck. She could use another dip in the cool, refreshing waters of the dugout to clean up. Maybe it would help the sore heat in her backside as well. Briar reached around, sticking her hand under the waistband of her leggings. Her fingers smoothed over the skin in question, but she felt only the soreness in her muscles. There was no dried blood or welts or anything scary like that. Veda knew what she was doing and she’d been careful.

Briar took her time with the flashlight, searching through the duffel for a fresh set of clothes. She’d slept in the shirt and leggings from the day before. She abandoned the idea of changing until after a swim. She should be clean when she put on fresh clothes at least. She had no idea how much longer they’d be there.

She used the light to guide her way. She took her time going down the ancient staircase, the wood treads warm and worn against her toes.

Last night, Veda had opened up in a completely unexpected way. Briar really had no idea what it was like to live alone, to have to forge a path completely independent of family. She’d never had to build thick walls or shutter herself away. It gave new meaning to the privileged life she’d led.

She’d seen Veda for over a year, but she hadn’t really known anything about her. Veda hadn’t changed, but the way Briar thought of her had. She wasn’t sorry for her, not in that pitying kind of way. She was sorry that the world could take so much and be so cruel and that some people took the brunt of it far more than others.

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