“I slept.”
I cringed when she parroted my response.
The false pleasantry was killing me, and I braced for the inevitable.
Torture, rape, and degradation were taking their sweet ass time getting to this party.
Snowden paused and shifted his attention to Paul. “What happened to your face?”
What would our fight cost me?
I mulled the question over in my head, detaching myself from whatever Snowden had planned for the day.
“I tripped.” Paul’s curt reply offered no details.
“You tripped?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Hmm.” Snowden grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. He scrutinized my face and pressed his thumb against the bruise on my jaw. “Did you trip as well?”
“Yes.” I ground out my response, giving as little incriminating evidence as possible.
“And the doors? They’re off their hinges. Why is that?”
“They were squeaky,” Paul said. “I removed them.” Paul placed his hands behind his back and broadened his stance.
“Is that so?”
“It is. We discussed leaving the doors open, but it seemed easiest to remove them, given the squeaky hinges.”
“Squeaky hinges, is it?”
Paul rocked back on his heels. “Yes, sir.”
“Is this true, Forest?”
Fuck. Way to work me into a corner, Paul.
“Not really.” My sullen reply had Snowden cranking my neck painfully back.
“How’s that?”
“He told me the doors had to stay open. I closed the bedroom door. We had words. He tripped, and then he removed the doors from their hinges.”
Snowden threw his head back and laughed.
“Words? I’m assuming with your fists?”
“Words,” I said, “and fists.”
“And who won that little fight?”
“Forest did,” Paul answered for me, surprising me with his honesty.
“Hah!” Snowden pointed his finger at Paul. “And you said he wouldn’t be honest with me. It looks like I won that bet.”
What the fuck?
That had been a test?
Shit, of course, it had. Snowden wanted to know where my loyalties would fall. But if he thought…
He pulled at his belt. “But of course, you said you tripped. I do believe that qualifies as a lie.”
“If you say so.” I wasn’t going to argue with him.
It didn’t matter what happened. I could be the perfect little pet, and he would still find something to use against me.
“I do say so.” He slowly drew his belt from the belt loops. “I say this calls for ten strikes. Not the most stellar way to begin your day.”
I held back a gulp and braced for a whipping. Snowden always had a twitchy arm. He gestured for me to bend down.
I complied immediately.
Whatever it took.
The leather creaked as he wrapped it around his wrist. It whistled as it swung through the air. And it cracked against my ass with an ear-splitting retort. I bit my lower lip and grunted as pain bit at me.
“That’s one, my boy. Let’s see how red we can turn your ass.”
One turned to two. Two to ten. But he didn’t stop there.
Snowden was having too much damn fun and striped my ass until I huffed with pain. He wanted me to cave and beg him to stop, but I held my ground. I soaked it all in and repeated my mantra over and over again.
When he took me, a different pain seared my flesh. My eyes glazed over as I retreated into myself and let the darkness consume me.
It was only a body, but it was a body filled with pain.
I focused on surviving.
The day grew long as Snowden paraded me around his fortress. I never asked where we were. That would become clear with time, and frankly, I enjoyed the walk.
Snowden marched by my side, a master of manipulation, he poked and prodded, trying to find a chink in my armor. He’d already won because my most glaring weakness walked behind us.
Paul kept to Sara’s side. I wasn’t sure what his guard duties entailed, but he seemed to keep an eye on her. Once, he pushed a man aside who decided to get a little too close.
I didn’t like the man but appreciated him watching over Sara.
He deferred to Snowden in all things but seemed to have a degree of freedom I didn’t see in the other men. My gut told me this might be true, and if so, it would prove beneficial. I counted on Paul having free access to the facilities.
We wandered to a banquet hall where Snowden gorged himself, feeding me scraps. Paul and Sara joined us at the long table. Or rather, they joined Snowden. I was on hands and knees at his feet.
He choked me often, yanking on the collar until spots danced in my eyes. An expert at torture, he knew exactly how far he could tease the edge.
I toppled several times, pushed past the brink of physical exhaustion, which only encouraged Snowden to see how far he could push the envelope.
When he took me to the dungeon, I balked.
“What’s this, my boy?”
One glance inside that room convinced me this was not a place I wanted Sara to see. Not that I could keep her from looking inside. Her gasp turned my insides, and I hesitated.
I cracked.
“Please…” I choked on the word, but I would beg.
“Please, what?” Scorn lit through his voice.
“Please don’t make her watch.”
“What if that’s what I want?”
If it was what he wanted, there would be nothing I could do about it. My shoulders slumped, and I blew out a breath.
“If it’s your will, then it’s mine too.”
Snowden’s smug laughter speared my gut, twisting and ripping with his filth.
“It seems we’re learning important lessons today.” He’d debased me more ways than I could count, making Sara witness every degradation.
I knew what he was up to, how his mind worked, and hoped Sara would find her way through and past the manipulation.
It was only a body.
I prayed this didn’t change her feelings about me. We’d only just found each other, and I couldn’t bear to lose her.
The disgust she must feel seeing me cave to this monster’s will had to be intense. I wouldn’t be able to stomach it. It killed me to think I would lose her while desperately trying to protect her.
“Of course…” Snowden practically cooed. “If you want, Paul can take her back to your rooms. She’ll be safe there, but not alone. Tell me, do you trust me to keep your girl safe?”
He was testing me. This was the game we played.
Give me two impossible options and force me to choose between them.
Sara could watch Snowden tear me apart in his dungeon, or I could choose to be separated from her, sparing both her and me the degradation of what would happen in that room. But if she wasn’t with me, I couldn’t protect her. I had to place my trust in Snowden to uphold his part of our bargain.
It was devious perfection.
I turned on him, rage filling my being. “Do you trust me not to bite off your dick the next time you ram it down my throat?” Or snap your neck the next time you force me in your bed?
Snowden’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. Real fear filled his face. It didn’t last long.
His face turned beet red, and he retook that step, getting as much in my face as he could. I had eight inches on the man, so he had to look up at me.
All it would take to reverse our positions was a simple yank of the damn leash. I’d be on my knees looking up at him and praying he kept our uneasy truce.
“See, that’s going to cost you, but I’ll answer your question. You’re going to be a good boy and suck my dick with a smile on your face. You’re going to let me fuck you whenever I want, and you’re going to do so much more. Do you know how I know?”
A red haze covered my vision, and I bucked a
gainst my restraints. But I gave a shaky nod.
“Tell me. Tell me how I know.” He sneered.
“Because I’ll do anything for her.”
“Ah, now that’s true. Not the answer I expected but sums things up pretty nice. Yes, you’ll do all that and more because you know one thing about me. I’ll keep her safe until you don’t do as I want. And if you think about hurting me or killing me, my men will take her out immediately. It’ll start with Paul, who will fuck her until she bleeds. Then my men will have their way with her one by one, then two by two, then—”
“Enough.” My heart raced inside my chest with images of what he said.
Sara’s eyes widened, and she took a step back. Paul caught her and forced her back with a sharp shake of his head, warning her not to bring any attention to herself.
Snowden had his back to them. He didn’t see their exchange. He shoved his pinched face in mine as he tested the limits of my will.
Shaken to my core, I swallowed back a sob. This man had me over the barrel of a gun. There was nothing I could do but play his game and bide my time.
I swallowed my shame. It burned like a hot, white poker and pierced my heart, searing my insides with a howl of pain I had no choice but to endure.
Snowden gripped the collar and gave it a little shake. His mouth curled into a satisfied grin.
“That’s right. You’ll do anything for the girl. I wonder if she would do the same for you?”
“If you touch her, our deal is off. I will kill you.”
He gave a shake of his head. “See, I don’t think you will. I think you’ll realize she’ll grow sick of watching you grovel. She’ll put distance between you and cringe when you touch her. You think you’re keeping her safe, but you’re really giving me everything I need to bring you down.”
“Then why bother with this game?”
“Because I know something you do not.” He slapped my cheek, a soft tap instead of a hard strike. “You never forget your first love. You never forget the man who showed you what love could be like. You resist me, but you know a sobering truth deep down inside of you.”
“And what is that?”
His eyes softened, and he gazed at me with affection. “You missed me.”
The man was certifiable if he believed that.
Snowden clicked his fingers with a sharp snap. “Now, let’s have some fun and stir up some memories. I have a place for your girl to sit. She’ll have a perfect view while you and I get reacquainted.”
“Send her away.”
“I promised not to separate you.”
“I don’t want her to watch.” I couldn’t stand to have her see what he planned on doing to me.
“But what about our arrangement?” Snowden was having fun at my expense, the little prick. He was eating this up. My pain aroused him, both physical and mental.
Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed it down. “Send him with her.”
“Paul?”
I gave a sharp shake of my head.
“You trust Paul?”
“No.” I fixed Snowden with a fierce stare. “I trust you and our deal.” I made a snapping motion with my teeth.
“You’ll pay for that.” He gave another pat to my cheek. “And now we understand each other.” He snapped his fingers again. “Paul, take Miss Sara back to her rooms. Keep her comfortable. Forest and I will be a while.”
The muscles of Paul’s jaw bunched. He looked like he was about to argue, but Snowden snapped his fingers again.
“I said you could have him, and you will, but today is for Forest and me. We have much to celebrate.”
My attention shifted to the dungeon, and I huffed a breath.
Snowden had recreated the basement from Clark Preston’s house, the basement where he defiled me for an entire summer when I’d been a boy.
PTSD had nothing on the emotions careening through my body. A skillful and devious master of manipulation, Snowden executed the perfect psychological torture.
He intended to take me back to my darkest moments.
“Welcome home, my boy.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sara
"Come." Paul drew me away from the door.
"Don't touch me." I jerked out of his grip.
How could Forest send me away like this? The house of horrors inside that room would drive any man insane. He needed me. I was the light that would see him through.
While Snowden led a defeated Forest down the steps and into a room made for nightmares, Paul grabbed at my arm. His grip was tight, and I couldn't shake him.
"I said, let me go." I tried to rip my arm free, but he was too strong.
Forest descended the stairs and didn't look back. Snowden walked with an exaggerated swagger and puffed out his chest.
My heart broke for Forest.
"You can't help him." Paul kept his tone level but firm.
"He needs me." My voice cracked, distressed, and helpless.
"No man needs the woman he loves watching what's going to happen in there." His words drew me up short.
"Why do you care?"
"Didn't say I cared, just stating a fact." His attention shifted to Forest's back, and he exhaled a long sigh. "He's saving you."
"He needs me."
Forest went to stand before a large wooden X in the center of the room. There was an iron cage—two of them. One was big enough for a man. The other looked barely large enough to hold a large dog.
Holy shit!
My throat contracted against the horrors in that room. All manner of whips, crops, canes, and other things lined the walls. It was enough to make me sick to my stomach.
Who could do that to another person?
A sick fuck, that's who.
Snowden released the cuffs restraining Forest's wrists. Without any resistance, Forest meekly lifted his hands over his head and allowed Snowden to secure his wrists to the wood using the sturdy D-rings.
Paul pulled me away from the door. "Trust me when I say this is for the best."
"What's he going to do to him?" I didn't want to leave Forest with a madman.
Look at me, dammit!
As if he heard my plea, Forest's gaze lifted and met mine. His arctic eyes bore into me, and then he gave a slow shake of his head, followed by a chin bump telling me to go. His eyes closed, and he took in a deep fortifying breath as Snowden bent to secure his feet.
He was helpless.
"You don't want to know. That's why Forest sent you away. The best thing you can do right now is honor his wish and leave. He doesn't want you to watch this. Support him when he's with you, he'll need your strength, and don't ask about what happens in there."
Forest was in the hands of a psychopath, and there was nothing I could do.
Honor his wish and leave.
Paul's words spoke with far too much knowledge. I hated that he was right.
What happened to Forest wanting me to stay with him to protect me?
The truth?
He was the helpless one.
My presence only made things that much harder on him.
"Don't touch me." I pried Paul's fingers off my arm. "You're all monsters." It hadn't escaped my notice that Paul had been upset he wasn't joining Snowden. "You're just like Snowden."
"I'm nothing like him." Paul released me and took a step back. He lifted his hands as if in surrender. I didn't know if he was mocking me or something else.
"Really? Because from where I'm standing, you're exactly like Snowden. The way you talk to Forest, the things you say to him—"
"Are things he needs. You don't know your boss at all, do you, little girl?"
"I think I know him pretty damn well. Much better than you."
"He's a complicated man with complicated needs."
"And you're an expert? You've known him what? A day?" I fisted my hands on my hips. "I've known him over a decade. I think I know Forest."
"Do you know he's submissive?"
I took a step ba
ck.
"Yeah. I knew you didn't. That big monster of a man is deeply submissive, but only to the right man. I bet he fucks a lot of random strangers, and I'm pretty sure he's never been in a committed relationship. What's the longest anyone's hung around? One night? One week? I'd bet a million bucks no one has lasted more than a couple months. Forest is the kind of man who tests his lovers. When they fail, he kicks them to the curb."
"You're wrong."
"Am I?"
I took a step back, confused, and concerned. I didn't believe Paul, but he sure hit a lot of things square on the head when it came to Forest.
Paul closed the distance between us. "Forest is complex. His needs are complicated."
"You know nothing about him."
"I know he's been in love with you for years, but never touched you until this morning. That little display in the shower was a first for the two of you. It was cute, sentimental, and full of all the feels."
"How…?"
He lifted a dismissive hand. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. You two finally connected the dots this morning, and he'll be thanking me later for giving you that moment and not breaking it up. I encourage you to continue exploring what you have with Forest. He's going to need the comfort only you can provide. You're soft and yielding. He's going to need that. I'm hard and demanding. He craves what I offer but isn't ready to embrace it."
"You're crazy."
"Not really. You and I—We—are the perfect union of what he needs."
"You talk about we when there is no us. You're disgusting. Despicable…"
"And Devastatingly handsome, you left that out."
"You're a prick. Did you know that?"
"I have a big dick if that's what you mean, but sorry little girl, I don't swing your way. I have eyes for only one man. You're right about there being no us—I'm not interested in fucking you—but we are the perfect pair to take care of Forest."
"Asshole."
"Such filthy words today. Should I feel special you've been saving them all for me?"
"You're a pile of filth. No better than Snowden."
"I'm nothing like Snowden."
"Really? You want to beat Forest. Destroy him—"
"Yes, I want to beat him, but only because he needs it. I want to whip him until he bleeds, but only to free him from his internal bonds. I want to force him to his knees and accept that surrendering to me, serving me, is what makes him whole. As for destroying him? I want no part in that."
Forest's Fall (Captive Hearts Book 3) Page 22