Excerpt: Plus Size Model 4: Love Revealed

Just a quick taster of the beginning of Plus Size Model 4: Love Revealed to whet the appetite before I release it :) I'm hoping to have it out by the end of this week...

Plus Size Model 4: Love Revealed

The smell of sweat and blood mingling together drifted up Erica's nose. She coughed and a metallic taste flooded her mouth making her cringe. Slowly she opened her eyes and squinted hard at her surroundings. Wherever she was she certainly didn't recognise it.

She closed her eyes again and tried to reign in the pain that throbbed inside her head. To her it felt as though someone had hit her with a brick. Slowly a memory came back to her, the man on the path who had slapped her. His hand had certainly been large enough to qualify to be a brick.

She whimpered as she moved her head forward as she tried to pull her body into an upright position. Being slumped on the small chair was far from comfortable. She quickly realised that she was tied to the chair, the ropes were rough and bit into her soft skin with each wriggle she made.

"Jared..." She whimpered his name. Another memory slapped her in the face. The sight of him on the ground bleeding and unmoving as she screamed his name. Jared was strong but he was no match for a surprise attack from several burly guys intent on doing him harm.

Tears trailed down Erica's cheeks as her mind filled with panicked thoughts. What if she never saw him again? What if he was still lying there on the ground right now, hurt or bleeding... Or worse... The thought popped into her head and Erica immediately tried to dismiss it. He couldn't be dead. She would feel it... Or was that something that only happened in the movies?

Opening her eyes once more she stared at her surroundings. The dirty cement floor felt cold beneath her feet. And the smell of chemicals and dirt made her want to gag. If she was right then she guessed that she was in the back office of some sort of warehouse. The desk in the corner piled high with grubby stacks of paper confirmed her thoughts. That and the hammering coming from the main warehouse area...

The door opened and a tall man stepped through the opening. His face was covered in dirt and Erica could see the trails of sweat that glistened on his skin. He seemed surprised to see her awake and hurried over to her. He held a clear glass of water in his hand and Erica longed to taste it. Her mouth felt as though a family of furry animals had taken up residence in there.

"Please let me go." Erica pleaded, her voice was hoarse and cracked and made her cough.

The man crouched down beside her, the look he gave her seemed to be filled with pity but it was also quickly swallowed by something else. Fear trembled in Erica's gut making her shake. She had seen that look once before. It was the look Rick had given her before he had pounced on her...

He trailed one grubby finger down along her neck to where the strap of her dress hung broken and useless. "Pretty lady..." His voice was low as he uttered the words and slowly began to move his hand lower.

"Please don't." Erica pleaded as she wriggled in the chair to move away from him.

"If you want the water you'll stay quiet and let me play..." He taunted her by holding the glass up to her face and letting a few small drops trickle down onto her chin.

Although she was thirsty there was no way Erica was going to willingly allow this monster to touch her. Pulling away from him she turned her face and shrugged away his touch on her shoulder.

With a growl he grabbed her chin roughly and tilted her head back to look at him. "I can make things very difficult for you here or I can make them nice. It's your choice but I'll do what I want whether you agree or not..." He lowered his face towards Erica's and she spat at him.

He recoiled away from her and a look of pure anger crossed his grubby features. "You'll be sorry for that bitch. I hope you're a screamer." He drew back with his hand and slapped Erica full into the face.

Her head snapped back and pain exploded inside her cheek. The metallic taste flooded her mouth once more and she let out a strangled cry as the man grabbed at her.

The door burst open and another man exploded into the room. "The police are coming! The boss said the police are coming! We have to clear out."

The man who had hit Erica stood back from her and turned to the newcomer. "Are they here, or how far off are they?"

Erica let her head loll forward in an attempt to stop the pain from increasing. Even the light in the room was making her eyes ache. The new pain that was slowly spreading a burning pain down across her jaw and neck wasn't helping.

The sound of sirens filled the air and Erica's abuser turned his greedy eyes to her. "Help me get her up, we need to go."

The new guy shook his head and looked at Erica with sorrow. "No time. Boss said to kill her and get out."

The sound of sirens drew closer and Erica's heart thundered in her chest. How could she be so close to salvation and yet so far? It didn't make sense and it wasn't fair.

"What?" The other man sounded incredulous and shot Erica a look of desperation. "But it's a waste. Couldn't he have left her to us if that was the case?" With an angry sigh he stormed from the room. "Kill her." He threw his orders back over his shoulder to the other man still standing in the room.

A look of panic and fear crossed the newcomers face. "This isn't what I signed up for..." He grabbed a knife from the top of a barrel and slowly crossed the floor to where Erica sat. Pain was making her brain hazy and the more she tried to focus on the man approaching her the harder it became.

Bright flashes of orange exploded beyond the glass of the office window and Erica winced. She didn't want to die and she struggled against her bonds but it was useless, she was tied tight and there was no escaping them.

Her captor stood before her as the heat of the fire outside in the main warehouse began to filter into the small office. It made the beads of sweat on his face stand out even more.

"Please don't..." Erica pleaded. He eyes were beginning to sting with the smoke that drifted through the air.

"The smoke will get you anyway... I didn't sign up to kill people..." The look of fear on his face gave Erica hope. He flung the knife on the ground and ran from the room. His feet pounding over the hard cement.