She hated housework. “Oh, has my little pet had a hard day?” he asked. Xxx At the sight of her he smiled in genuine amusement. There had to be more to the story. She didn’t know if he had a family, when his birthday was—hell, she didn’t even know his last name, Marie realized. Feeling more determined, she eased her way into the room, hardly daring to breathe lest she somehow disturb his things, leaving a clue she’d been here. She grasped as many clothes as she could with one hand, then realized it would take forever if she had to pick up a few items at a time, stagger to her feet and drop them into the machine. And this probably wasn’t all of it, Marie thought, suddenly putting two and two together. Then he jerked her out by the hair and dropped her back
