Tamed: (A Dark Romance Kidnap Thriller) (The Dark Necessities Trilogy Book 2)

by Felicity Brandon

  She yelped as the sting vibrated throughout her aching body. The hours and days of punishment she’d endured at his hands flashing through her mind with the pain.

  “I won’t,” she gasped.

  Her response was more of a reflex than a logical thought process. She wanted to appease him, she needed to. The last thing she needed was the other Connor re-emerging – the one who had taunted and tortured her for fun. Sure, she’d enjoyed his attention before in the past, but since the woods, he’d been different. His need to punish her, to degrade and cage her in the basement had been intense. It was more powerful than she’d ever known it, and on some level, that had genuinely frightened her.

  And then there was something else. Something even more scary which she hadn’t wanted to admit since Connor had brought her back here. She’d missed the other guy - this guy – the one who held her, the one who bestowed the most astonishing pleasure upon her overwrought body. This was the man she’d initially been attracted to, before he’d taken her from the streets in London. This version of Connor was strong, charming and protective, and when she gazed into his large green eyes, she really started to wonder if she wasn’t falling for him.

  “Good girl,” he whispered, lowering his mouth to the top of her forehead, and pressing a soft kiss into her skin.

  Good girl… something about those words made her tingle inside. It sounded ridiculous, but it was true. He so rarely viewed her as a person these days, just the fact he had done so excited her, but it was more than that. His words sounded genuine, sincere. It was almost as if he meant them, and even though she had been burnt by that promise before, the thought still warmed her.

  They were still for the longest time, the heat of his body lulling her into another fitful doze after all of that pleasure. At some point, she roused again and found herself still wrapped up in the security of his embrace.

  “Do you feel better?” he asked her, his voice low and sleepy.

  Molly twisted in his arms, grazing his chin with her mouth as she moved toward his face. She guessed Connor’s stubble was a few days old, and the hairs were soft against her flesh. “Yes, Master, thank you,” she murmured in response.

  He sighed, the sound somehow resonating directly with her clit. He was so sexy like this; all dark, brooding protector, like a regular hero in an old-fashioned romance novel. Something about the act produced a primal response in her, making her feminine and compliant, as though she actually wanted to submit to him. The thought startled her, making her shift in his arms. Did she want to submit? Was that even something she could do in real life?

  “What is it?” he asked softly, moving his body to accommodate her.

  Molly knew she was flushing as she replied. “I was just thinking,” she began. “I much prefer this version of you, Master.”

  Connor’s dark chuckle greeted her in reply. “Oh, I’m sure that you do,” he said as he laughed. “And I love this, too, but it doesn’t mean you get to forget your place.”

  Molly’s mind reeled. Her place? At his feet, on her hands and knees? She doubted she could ever forget that, even if she did want to. And did he just say he loved this interaction between them? Love?

  “I won’t forget, Master,” she assured him. “I just…” Molly hesitated, the words impossible to push past her lips all of a sudden.

  “You just what, kitten?” he prompted in a soft, goading tone.

  “I just like having time like this with you,” she mumbled in reply. Molly could feel her face burning at the admission. “I mean, after everything you’ve done to me, we barely know each other.”

  There was a moment when dark clouds gathered in his eyes, making her belly tense painfully. Just as the panic began to rise in her throat, Connor laughed out loud again, his green eyes sparkling at her statement. She’d never been amusing before, but apparently, she was today.

  “You sound sentimental.” He chuckled, and all at once he moved, spinning her body beneath him and straddling her hips.

  She gasped, although she didn’t know why it surprised her. Molly was well aware of his strength and agility by now.

  “Sentimental?” she breathed as she blinked up at him.

  He was half smirking as he smiled down at her, his muscular forearms pinned either side of her head. “Mmmm,” he agreed with a nod of the head. “I see sentiment in your eyes, kitten. A reminder of the lady I knew once, the writer who penned the most incredible erotic novels.”

  She drew in a shaky breath at his words. He was right. What had happened to that woman? Did Molly even have it in her to be that person anymore?

  “It’s alright,” he told her with a smile. “I know what you’re thinking, and yes – that lady is still in there, and yes – I am fiercely attracted to her.”

  She shifted beneath him, her eyes wide as his words reverberated around her. “You don’t even know her, Master,” she replied at length. “I mean, you only know one part of her.”

  Connor lowered himself down over her body. Resting on his elbows, he was now just a few inches over her face. “I know what a wonderful writer she is,” he began, grazing his lips over her cheek.

  A small whimper left her lips at the intimacy. She just couldn’t help it. “Was,” she corrected him in a small voice. “You haven’t let me write for days, Master.”

  “You haven’t been good enough for that luxury,” he reminded her, sensually. “But now that you have taken your last penance, and been so thoroughly rewarded, I think you can start writing again.”

  Molly was beaming, and she knew it. “Thank you, Master,” she exclaimed.

  It was so crazy to be thanking him for something she’d been doing since she could physically hold a pen, but there it was. She was grateful. She needed to write. It was as much a part of her as her soul. She didn’t realize she’d closed her eyes until his soft voice broke her train of thought, and she opened her lids to see him literally in front of her.

  “You’re welcome, beautiful,” he murmured.

  There was something else in his eyes as he replied, a dark fragment which should have made Molly panic again, but somehow, she was so happy at that moment that she just ignored it. Allowing herself to overlook his flaws was becoming easier and easier, a fact which should have scared her in its own right, but all Molly felt now was an odd serenity.

  Chapter Twenty

  Beautiful. The word fell away from his lips with ease, and in that moment, Connor knew he meant it. She was beautiful. Actually, she was fucking hot, and whether she was sitting behind a table signing books, or naked on all fours, that reality never ceased. Staring down into her excited eyes, he was reminded once again of Lydia, and the way she used to gaze at him like an eager puppy.

  Stop drawing the fucking comparison, his mind grumbled, and yet it seemed impossible to take his own advice. Molly was the first woman he’d been drawn to since Lydia, and while he’d fucked plenty of other beautiful girls between the two women, Molly was the first to make the experiences feel intimate again.

  Connor liked beautiful women, alright. Maybe too much? He liked to watch them, to observe their actions without them noticing him. He studied every moment. The way a blouse shifted against a skirt, or the way stray locks of hair were tucked behind ears as she talked. He’d always been fascinated by those things, earning him the nickname, Stalker, amongst his powerful old friends at The Syndicate. And all the while he learned the routines of various women, he was imagining the way they would look wearing one of his collars. The way they would look leashed, and how that leash would sit between their breasts. Would it fit snugly between two large mounds, or would it hang lose between two much smaller tits? It made no difference to him, but the imagery could keep him hard for hours.

  That was how he had spent his time since Lydia’s death. Once the mess had been cleaned up by his friends, the house had become a vacuum. Connor had refused to retake his place at The Syndicate. He wasn’t ready for that commitment yet, so instead he’d begun to scheme, to read, and
to reach out to Molly. The first time he’d seen Molly on social media he’d known he had to have her, and from there the obsession had taken hold.

  Obsession.

  That was about right with Connor. He was always obsessing and destroying the things he enjoyed. Just like he did with Lydia. The thought of his little blonde lover plunged him into another powerful memory…

  It had been three years since Lydia, or maybe more? Bizarrely, it seemed he had lost track of the time since his wildfire had been snubbed out, but he knew it was some time ago. The first few hours after her final breath had been like living in a surreal nightmare. He supposed he should have felt panic and remorse, but in truth, he was just pissed off with himself for killing the only woman he’d ever felt anything for. Annoyed with himself in the same way he’d be irritated if he burst a tire and needed to purchase a spare.

  And then there was the problem of her body. He had to dispose of her, and carefully, to ensure her death could never be traced back to him. That had been tricky. Fortunately, it helped that Lydia’s life had been totally immersed in Connor for months, and she had no real contact with any friends and family anymore. Living as his full-time submissive, the young blonde had become more of a consensual slave than a girlfriend, an arrangement which had seemed to suit them both at the time, and it had more than a few advantages. Namely, after Connor had made the call to his influential peers at The Syndicate, wrapped her body in bin liners and smuggled it in the trunk of his car, no one else had asked any questions. In fact, it had been some four months until her sister had gotten in touch, inquiring about Lydia. By that time, with a little help from his friends, he had managed to dispose of any evidence. Her body had been hidden in a grave near the cabin, and he’d spent days scrubbing away her DNA from the inside of both his car and house until his fingers had bled.

  By that time Lydia’s sister had shown up at his home, Connor could honestly tell the tear-stained woman in the large reception room that he hadn’t seen Lydia since May, and he didn’t know when he would see her again.

  “We broke up,” he told her calmly as he sipped from his steaming mug of tea.

  Her bloodshot eyes had shown her surprise. “Broke up?” she repeated, her voice cracking as the realization washed over her. “But-but, she was in love with you. Obsessed with you, in fact. If you broke up, then where the hell is she?”

  She slammed her own cup down against the coffee table as she concluded, and he watched the dark liquid inside spill all over the expensive furniture. For a moment, he considered overpowering the young woman and making her take Lydia’s place. Fuck knows he’d missed having a woman around, especially one who was compelled to suck his cock three times a day and parade around naked for his pleasure. As he glanced back to her though, the notion had flitted away, like a balloon on the wind. She was not his type, and she was nowhere near as attractive as her sister.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her, his tone even. “I can’t help you. She moved out right away after we split. Said it was just too painful to be around me anymore.”

  “I… I need to contact the police,” stammered the young woman, the concept seemingly more worrying to her than it was to Connor. “Something’s happened to her. I just know it.”

  “Please do,” he reassured her as he set down his mug, and shifted from his place on the sofa. Wandering to the chair she sat in, he crouched down beside her, offering her a concerned expression. “If something has happened to Lydia, then I want to help, but honestly, I’m sure she’s just gone to see friends or something. She was always talking about visiting Julia in… where was it now?” He paused, allowing his gaze to wander around his cob-webbed ceiling. He’d need to clean those away soon. “Switzerland, I think. Or maybe Sweden? I’m sure she mentioned her to you?”

  “Julia?” The woman’s face was vacant. “I… I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Julia.”

  “Really?” he replied, acting as though the news had totally stunned him. “But she was always on the phone to her. Surely, she mentioned Julia to you?”

  He threw her a shocked visage, and waited, knowing instinctively that his words would have the desired effect. Little sister would be surprised and ashamed that she’d never heard of this great friend, Julia, and by the time she had followed up that dead end, he would have had time to cover his tracks. The Syndicate had plenty of friends on the police force, and one in particular owed Connor a massive favor from some years back. Back in 2011, he’d been Carson’s alibi in a rape case, even taking the stand for him to ensure his acquittal. Carson owed him big time, and he could make sure any missing person’s case she filed would go no further than the office filing cabinet.

  “No,” the woman beside him mumbled quietly. “No, she didn’t.”

  There was silence as she pondered the notion in her head. Perhaps she didn’t know her big sister as well as she thought she did, after all?

  “Okay,” he murmured, intentionally sounding unimpressed at her lack of knowledge on the subject. “Well, that’s the first place I’d start looking. I mean, do you want me to help you? Perhaps I’ll have more luck tracking Julia down, since you don’t seem to have heard of her?”

  That did it, and her stunned exterior cracked under the weight of his emotional manipulation. “No, thank you,” she whispered, clearly fighting to contain the tears which were threatening to come. “I’ll do it. She’s my sister, and you’re not even together anymore.” She hesitated as she spoke, her large brown eyes raising to take in the look of her sister’s killer. “Why did you split up, anyway?” she probed, “Lydia was always so crazy about you.”

  He sighed, rising to stand as the fingers of his right hand reached for his temple. “I fucked up,” he admitted in a weary tone. “I just wasn’t good enough for her. I kept taking her for granted and letting her down, and I guess in the end, she just had enough.”

  Connor glanced down at the young woman, hoping his expression was suitably contrite.

  “But fuck, honestly, I had no idea she’d gone missing,” he continued, pressing the advantage he sensed. “She told me not to contact her when she left, so I had no idea. I…” His words dried up as he ramped up the emotion in his voice, blinking away the tears which weren’t coming as he acted the part of the bereft ex-boyfriend.

  She rose from her place at the table, opening her arms and then wrapping them around his body in a tight hug. The act surprised him, though he was pleased to see she’d apparently taken his bait.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” she murmured, evidently trying to be reassuring despite the pain in her voice. “You’re probably right. Maybe she’s with this Julia person, and she’s fine. I’ll find out, Connor, and I’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you,” he’d whispered as he gazed down at the mop of blonde hair at his chest. “She has to be fine. She just has to be.”

  The head shifted, revealing a face and those two large tear-filled eyes. “I know,” she agreed. “I don’t know what I’ll do if anything’s happened to her. If anyone has hurt her.”

  He gulped, pretending to be momentarily overwrought with emotion. “Don’t worry,” he told her softly. “I’ll kill anyone who hurts her.”

  The intensity of the memory faded all of a sudden. Molly’s excited face coming back into view beneath his own. Connor smiled. She certainly was fucking beautiful. Every inch as much as Lydia.

  “It’s true, and you know it,” he told Molly with a smile, as though he had just read her mind. “And let me tell you what else you are. You’re a bright little pet, who is going to make your Master insanely happy.”

  He saw her chest rise and fall at his words, her eyes wide as she listened to him.

  “And my happiness, Master,” she murmured. “Does that matter to you?”

  His body tensed at her query, and he fought the urge to punish her impulsively. Her question was a legitimate one, and he had known sooner or later, she would seek an answer to it. “Yes, it matters,” he answered her. “Your Master wants you to
be happy, and I will make you happy, so long as you continue to obey me.”

  That made her stop. He saw her physically reflect upon his words.

  “Do I have a choice?” she whispered, her mouth almost pouting at his ultimatum.

  He wanted to chortle again. She was just too fucking adorable.

  “Not really.” He chuckled. “I’m assuming you don’t want to see the inside of my cage again?”

  He felt her tremble below him. “No, Master!” she almost yelled. “Please don’t put me back in there.”

  “So, you’re going to be a good girl, then?” he probed, intentionally skimming her parted lips with his demanding mouth.

  She groaned at the caresses, her knees splaying as her body came to life below him.

  “You’ll do as you’re told?” he asked, pulling back a little to permit her room to answer him.

  Molly mewled at the loss of his lips, her whole body seemingly attuned to his. “Yes,” she whispered as she gazed up at him. “Yes, I will try, Master, but I’m not always good at obedience.”

  That really did make him laugh. “That’s the understatement of the year, kitten,” he snorted, “but you can be good, when you want to be…”

  “I do want to be,” she answered without hesitation. “Being here with you has changed me. It’s changed everything. It’s like I’m finally getting to live out all those dark fantasies I’ve locked away in my head for years.”

  Connor’s grin met her confession. “There’s no more locking them away,” he told her firmly. “There will be no secrets from me, have you got that?”

  “I’ve got it,” she breathed to him in response.

  Something about her low, husky tone made his cock throb with urgent need. It was so obvious what she wanted, what they both wanted, and it was his job to make it a reality. Without overthinking the point, his mouth found Molly’s again. The kiss began as a brief brush of lips, before he probed further, demanding her capitulation as she melted beneath him.