Six Masters Island - The Cinderella Syndrome by Candace Smith Page A

when they received special requirements for training a slave for her buyer.   Usually, just the sight of the strange furnishings frightened girls to a degree that made them impossible to work with.   Alexander immediately understood that Cynthia knew this girl was strong, and that the anticipation of following the circuit of increasing pain each new device promised would be its own torture for her new stepdaughter.   Alexander felt his cock thickening at the thought of the time that he would be spending with the girl, preparing her for his wife’s training.
    Marissa might have torn the clamps herself, if not for Alexander stepping quickly behind her to keep her from pulling back in horror.   Whatever Marissa had anticipated had not been this… not this terrifying room with no refuge… no place that did not promise pain.
    “You named her Orchid?” Alexander confirmed.
    “Yes, the special one in the back by the cherry tree,” Cynthia answered.   “I need to get the collar after I get her secured.”
    Alexander thought for a moment.   “The dark one with the flecks that you’ve worked so hard on.”
    “Next to the calla lilies, it was my mother’s favorite,” Cynthia said.   “I was afraid I had forgotten the mix she used to produce it.”
    “Well, you only managed the colors you wanted from the blossom this year.   Perhaps your new flower is a sign of fate for you,” Alexander suggested.
    The boys had been raised with her obsession and did not think it to be unusual.   Alexander adored her for her attention to the gardens and the serious nature she applied when creating her beautiful hybrid blossoms.   All except three, he remembered with a smile.
    It had taken Cynthia five years to produce the ugliest designs imaginable.   The color was dull and mottled, the stems thorned in irregular burrs, and the petals themselves weak and stringy.   She sent the three plants to Ava and her daughters a month before their house was foreclosed on.   Cynthia included the certificates from some minor society that had finally agreed to catalog the plants, indicating the hideous designs had actually been named after the women.   To Cynthia, it was the greatest insult she could personally offer.   She considered their fall to poverty something they should have anticipated.
    Cynthia guided the girl to the middle of the floor and tied the leash to a bolt on the ground.   Alexander dropped the chain from the ceiling and hooked the back of the girl’s collar to it.   Marissa was effectively immobilized.   Cynthia gave her husband’s hand an affectionate squeeze and swept out of the room to collect the box of Orchid’s restraints from her bedroom.
    Alexander walked in front of the girl and stared down into her terrified eyes.   “You do understand, don’t you girl?   My wife is everything to me, and she wants you.   This is quite an honor, though it may take a while for you to understand this.   You will do exactly as she orders.   Cynthia can be quite cruel, though I promise you that I have methods even she is unaware of.   I will see her happy, girl.”
    Marissa tried to look away from the captivating black gaze.   Everywhere she looked there were frightening devices or equipment she did not understand.   What kind of nightmare is this?   Daddy… daddy, please come find me, she begged silently.
    The woman returned and secured the new cuffs and collar on the girl.   “Orchid,” she sighed, and Cynthia stepped back to admire her new stepdaughter.   She cleared her throat and said, “You will refer to me as ‘stepmother’, and whenever I enter the room you will ask if you may attend me.   Those are the first words I expect to hear when I remove this gag.”
    Alexander did not miss the added edge of anticipation in her voice when she issued her usual first order.   He gripped the girl’s jaw and forced her to look into his eyes while he removed the foam plug.   Just as the soaked sponge cleared