The Bound Bride Read Online Free Page A

mouth and smiled again.
    “Take a deep breath, Trixie . I’m Shay.”
    Of course she was. Cassandra tried to quickly figure out what Shay was short for. Could be Sharon. Or Shannon. Or possibly Sheila. More likely it was a pet name, and she didn’t have the time for an origin story. Cassandra just nodded and tried to catch her breath.
    “Hi… Shay.”
    Shay took her hand.
    “A little nervous?” she asked.
    Cassandra no longer feared that she was surrendering to a kind of prostitution. What scared her now was that she wouldn’t be good enough for the clients awaiting every promised pleasure. Who was she compared to the Shays who looked like models and smelled like lavender?
    “A lot .”
    Shay patted her knee. She returned to her desk and announced the stripper name .
    “Ms. Masters? Ms. Carol to see you.”
    Cassandra waited for the call to enter. It soon came with a soft yes , and Shay rose again to guide Cassandra deeper into the LeaseALady world.
    She was inside an office of white walls and abstract art. Cassandra caught a hint of Kandinsky all around her. She thought of sharing this bit of insight with Ms. Masters.
    Another woman emerged from a private washroom, blonder and tanner and thinner than Shay, Cassandra forgot everything she thought she ever knew about art.
    Ms. Masters waved Shay back to her desk. Shay squeezed Cassandra’s arm. It was a vote for luck. Cassandra took it and watched Shay fade from her sight.
    “Sit. Ms. Carol .”
    Cassandra did as she was told. She crossed and uncrossed her legs as Ms. Masters scanned a printout, still warm. She read through it, slowly, then gazed over the page at Cassandra.
    “ Trixie Carol ? And here I thought you wanted to keep it real .”
    She had lost the chance before it even started. She was only here to be mocked by prettier girls who were wanted by LeaseALady regulars. She started to her feet when Ms. Masters whistled for her to wait. Cassandra clutched the arms of her chair.
    She waited.
    Ms. Masters looked through the pages again. Cassandra feared an insult. It was coming. Any minute now.
    Ms. Masters dropped the printout and smiled at Cassandra.
    “So you want a chance ?”
    “I… yes. Please.”
    Ms. Masters opened an unseen drawer and steadied a small camera before Cassandra’s nervous face.
    So still life wasn’t enough. They needed her living, breathing. Sweating.
    “I… I didn’t know I’d have to be filmed…”
    “Our clients like a taste of what they’re about to get themselves into.”
    Cassandra could say the same thing.
    “You ready, Trixie?”
    Ready enough to be real.
    “It’s… it’s Cassandra. Cassandra Dodd”
    Ms. Masters smiled.
    “Prettier. It suits you. But the username is fun. Keep it until you’re with your first guy. Care to answer a few more questions?”
    Why not? She had already come this far.
    Cassandra crossed her legs again and steadied herself where she sat.
    “Shoot, Ms. Masters.”
    Cassandra saw her eyes grow warmer.
    “Don’t be so formal. It’s Mary Lynn. Okay?”
    Already everything seemed easier.
    “Fire away, Mary Lynn.”
    The camera rolled.
    “Great,” Mary Lynn said. “Cassandra?”
    She felt ready for any question.
    “Yes?”
    “What do you look for in a man?”
    What was the right answer? Wasn’t this all about pleasing the customer ? What did it matter what she thought?
    “I… I didn’t think…”
    Mary Lynn looked away from the lens.
    “Didn’t think what?”
    “That it mattered what I wanted.”
    Mary Lynn laughed.
    “We traffic in all that’s mutually enjoyable. Everyone wins, Cassandra.”
    She relaxed against the statement. It would be more than money. She’d have her own good time when all was said and done.
    Cassandra smoothed her face with her hands and prepared her answer.
    “What do I look for?”
    But she’d ask the question one more time.
    Mary Lynn returned to the lens. Cassandra couldn’t see her eyes as she smiled and nodded.
    “Go on,