Burn for You Read Online Free PDF Page A

service? Molly’s...love? Mephisto had never been in a romantic-love relationship that wasn’t connected to power exchange or sex. What made him think he could fulfill Molly, with a history like that?
    It all came down to worthiness, something he’d never questioned in himself. Well, no, he’d questioned it before, during the one week Molly had stayed with him two years ago. That week had forced him to face many truths about himself, not all of them pleasant.
    That was the week he’d fallen for her like a boulder off a cliff.
    But boulders could smash people. He’d tried very hard, in a way, to smash her that week, and she remembered. Of course she remembered. Her Master’s wishes aside, it was very possible she dreaded nothing more than ending up in Mephisto’s hands.
    After the graveside service, everyone drifted away from the yawning hole in the ground, but Molly lingered, and so did Mephisto. For a while he kept his distance, watching her, trying to gauge if he was welcome. She stared down into the earth, thinking about God knew what. The man she loved, probably, cold now in the ground.
    “Molly.” Mephisto approached her, feeling very much like a supplicant. Her eyes traveled over him, over his suit and wool overcoat.
    “Hello. Thanks for coming today.” She bit her lip. “Thank you for the flowers. Tulips were his favorite.”
    “I know.” She was trying too hard to sound cheerful. It unsettled him. “How are you?”
    “Oh....” She shrugged, still in that fake-cheerful tone. “I’ve been better. I was actually going to call you after the funeral. I’ve been thinking.”
    Mephisto stepped closer, feeling nervousness snake up his spine at her unfamiliar briskness, her closed expression. “Thinking about what?”
    She let out a long, shuddery sigh. “About my life.”
    “Molly!” One of Clayton’s sisters called out to her. “Are you okay? Shall we hold the car?”
    Mephisto looked at the woman, then back at Molly. “I’ll drive you back if you like. If you want to stay and talk.”
    “Well... Okay.”
    “I mean, if you’ve been thinking about your life, this might be a long conversation.”
    Molly turned to Clayton’s sister and waved. “I’m going to stay a little while longer.”
    The woman looked between him and Molly. Sure, his clothes were spiffy, but he still had dreadlocks and a stud in his nose. He smiled and walked over. “I’m Jay Tennant. An old friend of Clayton’s.”
    “Oh?” Her
oh?
was clearly a request for more information.
    Mephisto gave a short glance at Molly. “I used to do security for one of Clay’s properties.” The woman wouldn’t understand the real meaning of that, but it was more or less the truth. Security work would also explain his build and appearance. She offered him a lackluster handshake.
    “I’m Margaret Kearney. One of Clayton’s sisters.”
    “I see the resemblance,” Mephisto said.
    Margaret Kearney looked like she had plenty more questions, but she didn’t ask them. Instead she turned to Molly, wearing a tight smile. “Don’t be too long. We’ll be receiving visitors back at the house.”
    Molly didn’t answer, only stared down into Clayton’s grave. With one last look at Mephisto, the woman turned and stalked across the grass to a waiting car. Mephisto swallowed down unkind cracks about Mrs. Kearney, in deference to Molly’s pensive mood. “We can stay here as long as you like,” he said. “As long as it takes to say goodbye.”
    “To you?” She looked confused.
    “No. To Clayton. To your Master.”
    “I’ve already said goodbye.” She frowned and gave another little shrug. “He’s not there anyway. I know that. All of this is just for show.”
    Mephisto waited. He knew there was more. Molly brushed aside the black tulle shielding her face and held her forehead like she had an ache there.
    “Okay, listen,” she said. “I know you and my...Mr. Copeland had an agreement. That, you know, after he died I would go to