by Riley Ashby
“Where are you going?” There was still a wild look in his eyes. Was he worried about getting in trouble for letting me up here? I hadn’t seen any cameras in the rest of the house in the short time I’d been conscious. Surely, Vin wasn’t watching him as well as me?
He held an arm out to stop me, but I ducked under it and walked out of the room, trying not to swing my hips too much. “I’m getting some food, then I’m going to lock myself in here, and you’re gonna leave me the fuck alone.” He picked up his pace to match mine, and our shoulders brushed as we walked down the stairs even though I tried as hard as possible not to touch him. His next words brought me up short.
“I made you food.”
Not just any food. A full meal. Pancakes stacked high next to a bottle of real maple syrup, a carafe of coffee, and bowls of oatmeal topped with fruit.
My mouth watered at the sight and smell of so much delicious food, and my stomach audibly growled. I was too hungry to turn this down, but something held me back from running for the table. “There are two place settings.”
He coughed. “Yeah.”
I shook my head. He was crazy if he thought I was eating with him. I would have refused it outright, but I was too hungry to fight. Now that I was close, the smell of the sugary syrup and rich coffee mingled in the air, calling me to the table.
“I don’t want this.”
“Yes, you do. You’re practically drooling.” He stepped around me, giving me a wide berth, and pulled out one of the chairs. “Sit down. We don’t have to talk. I can tell you’re hungry. You’ll feel better once you have some food in your stomach.”
I bristled. “Don’t tell me what’s good for me.”
“You can’t starve yourself just to spite me. Eat.”
“I’m not doing anything to spite you!”
He grabbed the back of my neck and made me face him. “Then it won’t be a problem for you to sit down and eat. Some. Fucking. Food.”
“Let go of me, now.” I grabbed his wrist, but my hand wasn’t wide enough to get a good grip.
“Someone ought to fuck that attitude out of you.”
“It won’t be you.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
I trembled as he leaned closer. Was it normal to feel intoxicated by a person’s touch? And what if that person was your kidnapper? I was on my tiptoes as he held me up, completely in his control. I had no opportunity to try to break his hold.
“Give me a kiss, and I’ll let you go.”
My lips parted briefly before I caught myself. “Absolutely not. I’m not bargaining for my freedom.”
“You already have and will continue to do so. You rely on me for everything. The sooner you come to realize that, the easier your life will be.” His other hand grazed my butt, my hip, my back. “I will give you just as good as I get, Quinn. You want more pleasure? I can give it to you every night. More than once if you want. I’ll go down on you until you’re numb. Until your brain is so flooded with pleasure you can’t remember your own name.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “But you won’t forget mine. You’ll be screaming it too much.”
My knees were shaking, but not from the exhaustion of holding myself up. I held my legs together as tightly as I could, but nothing could stop the effect his words had on me.
“You’re cruel.”
“But I can be kind. To you. If you give in.” Every word caused our lips to touch again, sending fire through my veins. “Just one kiss.”
Just one night. Just one kiss. How many times could I do something just once before it became a habit? Before I found myself inextricably linked with this man and fell into his arms again as easily as I did the first time?
I didn’t need to move much to bring our mouths together because he was already so close. I tilted my head, pushed onto the very tips of my toes, and met him where he was.
And then he took over.
His tongue parted my lips without hesitation as if he’d known I would give in. I moaned as he finally placed me flat on my feet only to grab my neck with both hands, holding me immobile while he traced the roof of my mouth with his tongue. My grip on his wrists shifted, no longer pushing him away.
I dared to bite his lip. He growled in response, pulling me closer, hands pressing too hard on my neck. I whimpered.
When he finally broke the kiss, we stared at each other for a few long seconds. Every muscle was tense, but whether to flee or kiss him again, I didn’t know. One finger at a time, he started to release me, and when my neck was fully free of his hands, I dropped his wrists and stepped back.
“I’m eating upstairs.” I stepped past him and grabbed the plate opposite mine, the one intended for him, and turned back toward the stairs. “Are you going to stop me?”
He was already stepping toward me, hand partially outstretched, but stepped back and let it fall as I spoke. “No. Go where you want.” He quickly corrected himself. “I mean, within the house.”
I glared at him and ran upstairs.
Get ahold of yourself! It wasn’t him I had to be mad at; I knew he was playing games with me, trying to make me give in. I was the one who should know better, do better than to kiss him back. Damp underwear clung to my skin beneath my jeans. God, I was going to have to change, and we didn’t even mess around. I absolutely couldn’t be around him more than necessary, or we would end up doing a lot more than kissing. The door to my room had a lock, but I didn’t think for a second it would keep him out. There was nothing in the room I could use as a barricade, only a small nightstand next to the bed with one of those push lamps. I guessed I’d lost my chance at real furniture when I’d tried to escape earlier.
My stomach growled. Man, I was hungry. The only window in the room was nailed shut, but I sat beneath it so I could at least look at the trees while I ate. I missed the outside.
Damn, I left my coffee downstairs. I considered going back down for it but changed my mind. I didn’t want to see him again. It wouldn’t do to end up making out with him again just for some caffeine.
There was a knock on the door, and I froze, but no one spoke. After a moment, the shadow beneath the door moved away, but I could still see something set outside. I crept to the door on my hands and knees and peered beneath it, looking for any sign he was still out there, but it wasn’t his feet I saw.
When I opened the door, waiting for me on a tray was a latte glass along with the pot of coffee, sugar, and cream. The glass was already filled with caramel-colored coffee and sweetened the way I liked it.
She barely came out for two days. I made food, she kissed me, and she went back upstairs to eat. Though each time I left her trembling and red-faced, she always ran off the second I let her go. Maybe you need to stop giving her a choice. That’s what it was going to come down to, eventually.
I rarely heard any sound beyond her footsteps or the shower. I should have put a camera in her room. She tested the door a few times to see if it would open but must have decided I probably wasn’t going to lock her in. She couldn’t have missed the lock attached to the outside, but I hadn’t felt the need to use it yet. Once she saw our surroundings, she would realize that running would be a futile exercise. Fresh snow fell every night, and the wind through the trees was audible throughout the day. If she got outside, she wouldn’t last more than half an hour.
I fixed the toilet in the basement. She’d really only clogged it with those sheets, so it was nothing too difficult to rectify. Mopping the water took up most of my time. The dogs whined at the door, eager for a walk, but no way in hell was I leaving her alone in my house. They did their rounds alone and barked when they wanted to be let back in.
On the third day, I’d had enough. I waited downstairs for as long as I thought was reasonable, but by 10 AM I was going stir-crazy. She couldn’t stay up there all day. I began to twist the handle and then stopped myself. She would just give me trouble if I barged in there. Better to be nice about it.
“Open the door, Quinn
,” I shouted, pounding my fist against the wall.
When she spoke, it was closer than I expected. She must have been waiting for me.
“Why should I?”
“Because I’m fucking bored. Come talk to me.”
She scoffed. “I don’t want to converse with you.”
I should have seen that coming. “Well, then come sit in the same room. You have to be bored, too. Has there been anything new out that window?”
“Are you watching me?” There was an edge of panic to her voice. Perhaps the possibility I had hidden cameras around her bedroom had occurred to her; that I was watching her undress and sleep just as I’d been able to do while she was downstairs.
“It’s the only thing you could be doing. There’s nothing else.”
She was quiet for a long time. I was about to wrench open the door and drag her out when she spoke. “You have to give me something.”
My patience was wearing thin. She was trying to bargain with me? I’d been the picture of manners despite the fact she nearly killed me, and she was acting like she was still under lock and key.
I’ll give you your fucking food so you don’t starve. How about that? I growled under my breath, sounding more like a dog than a human. I took a breath and tried to smooth out my tone. “What is it?”
“I want my homework.”
For a moment, I was so shocked I couldn’t speak. “Homework?”
I imagined her eyes rolling as she leaned against the door. “Yes. I’m not going to fall behind in school because of this.”
This was insane. She was currently being held for ransom, and she wanted classwork? I turned the knob and pushed on the door, but she threw her weight against the door to hold it closed.
“Don’t come in here.”
“You’re being absurd. There’s no way you actually want to do homework.”
“I have a life, Gunner.” I shivered a little at the sound of my name on her lips. “Whatever you have planned for me”—her voice cracked, and she paused to clear her throat—“I’m going to finish college so I can go into business with my dad. I had a paper due yesterday. I need to turn it in the second I get out of here.”
I blew out a long breath. “I can’t get you schoolwork. Even if I had a way to, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
She yanked open the door, and I jumped back to avoid falling into her. “Why the hell not?”
“What normal person thinks about doing schoolwork while they’re kidnapped?”
“Well, I’m not normal. I have responsibilities and ambitions.” She sneered. “Not that you would know anything about that, I guess.”
I stepped into the room and pushed her back a couple of steps with my body before I grabbed her around the throat, my hand the only thing keeping her from falling backward. “Don’t fucking pretend you know me. You have no idea about my life.”
In her bare feet, she barely came up to my chin. She was wearing flannel pants and a long-sleeved shirt, the makeup gone and her hair brushed out. The purple bruise Colby had given her flared on the side of her face, already turning to yellow around the edges.
She was still so fucking gorgeous.
Her pulse raced beneath my fingers, but her face showed no sign of trepidation. “And I don’t want to,” she snapped. “Get me my work.”
My heart was beating too fast. I had to get back in control of this situation. “Forget it. You need to come out and eat.”
“I’m not eating to appease you.”
“You’re going to starve yourself over schoolwork?”
“Yes!” Her voice rang with a sharp edge of panic. I needed to back her off that ledge. There was only so much Xanax I could force-feed her.
I stepped back and let her regain her balance, then released my hold on her neck one finger at a time. Her skin flushed. “Come out and talk to me. That will keep you entertained. I’ll even let you off without a kiss today.”
She flushed but rushed past the mention of kissing. “I have no desire to continue our current conversation, much less discuss anything else.”
My patience was running thin. “You’re not in charge of this situation. I’m the one with the bargaining chip. Not you.”
“You’re the one at my door begging me to come out. You know what I want, now get it for me.”
Not even here for a week and she was ordering me around. “I can get in there any time I want and force you to eat.” Force you to do anything.
“Then do it,” she challenged. “I’m not locking the door. You weigh more than me. Do your best to threaten me into subservience, but I’m not going to make it easy for you. Either all your talk about the favors you’ve been doing me is a smokescreen, and you’re a monster like the rest of them, or you can bring me what I ask for.”
“I should beat your ass red for talking to me like this.”
“Then DO IT!” Her neck strained as she yelled, and it snapped the last of my self-control.
“Bend over the bed,” I snapped. I didn’t give her a chance to respond or react before turning her around and throwing her onto the mattress.
“What—”
“You think you can just keep pushing me, and I won’t fight back?” With one hand in the middle of her back holding her down, I yanked her pants down around her thighs. Fuck, she was wearing a thong. “I’ve tried to be nice to you.”
“Be nice now. Let me up.”
“Oh, no, sweetie. We’re past that.” Still holding her down with one hand, I brought the other down on her right cheek.
“Gunner! Please!”
I covered her body with mine, pinning her to the bed with my chest. “You asked for this,” I whispered in her ear. “Practically begged me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
I kissed her cheek and tasted the tears falling down her face. “Not as sorry as you’re going to be.” I shifted my hips to the side and slapped her on the left side while still holding her down. It wasn’t as effectual as a strike, but I wanted to keep my cock pushed against her while I hit her. When she yelped in pain, it twitched. “Food and pills aren’t the only things I could force down your throat.”
“I’ll be better. I swear. Please don’t hit me anymore. I promise.”
“Are you sure you want me to stop?” I slid one hand between her legs. “There’s a lot of heat coming from your little pussy.”
“Oh God,” she moaned and tightened her legs on my hand.
Oh hell no. I wiggled my hand past her underwear. “You are wet, baby girl.” My fingers slid across her skin, spreading it around. “Jesus, you’re soaking. All that from two little slaps? What would happen if I kept going?”
“I said yes once. That doesn’t mean forever.”
I nuzzled her neck as my fingers found her clit. “What makes you think I give a shit about your consent? I miss your warmth so much.” She jumped as I circled one way, then the other, playing her body as easily now as I did the first night. “You felt better than I ever could have imagined. I’m addicted.” With one finger still on her clit, I slid another inside her smooth walls slick with arousal. “Seems like you are too.”
She wasn’t fighting anymore. Though her eyes were shut tight against the bed, her hips moved in time with my hand, pressing down on my finger as I added another.
I bit her earlobe gently. “I bet I could get you off right now.”
She bit her lower lip. “You don’t own me.”
“Your pussy begs to differ.” I bit her shoulder, and she moaned softly. “You’re practically breaking my fingers, you’re holding me so tight.”
Her breath was ragged and irregular, stopping and starting at random as I stroked her, changed directions, applying pressure from different angles until she finally released a moan. “This isn’t right.”
“But you can’t make me stop, can you? Even though you’re scared, you want this. You want me.” I added a third finger, and she pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle her moan. “I like those noises you
make against your hand. It’s what I imagine you sound like choking on my dick.” My free hand undid my own button and pulled myself out. We both groaned as I pressed directly against her warm skin.
“Gunner—”
“I’m not gonna fuck you like this,” I said. “I promised you’d beg me for that. But I’m not leaving this room without getting off.”
I yanked her thong to the side and slid my cock between her cheeks, pressing harder as she yelped and tried to move away.
“Oh, keep doing that.” I wiggled my fingers and sent her pushing into me. “I’m gonna douse your ass in my cum.”
I grabbed her neck with my other hand and held her in place while I thrust my hips against her, grinding the heel of my palm into her clit while my fingers worked inside. “Goddamn, baby, fucking you for real is going to be a dream.”
This time, there was no protest. Her ass clenched around my cock, and a moment later, her pussy walls rippled around my fingers. I put my lips against her ear and groaned as I came, my cum rubbing between my stomach and her back. She moaned too, a high mewling sound that made me spurt even harder.
Neither of us moved for several minutes. When I finally pulled my fingers out, she gasped again, twisting as I trailed my wet hand across her stomach. I licked my fingers clean and kissed her cheek.
“You’re delicious, baby.” Her eyes were closed, but she grasped the blanket in response to my words. “I think I could eat your pussy for hours.”
I stood, pulling her with me, pants awkwardly around her thighs. Her ass and back were dripping from my cum. “Come on. Let’s go look at this.”
“Please don’t,” she begged.
“You have to see it. To know what you did to me.”
In the bathroom, I twisted her head as she stood with her back to the mirror so she could see the mess on her skin. Her cheeks flushed red, and she buried her face in my shoulder.
“You did that, baby.” I kissed her ear. “You and that tight pussy, and your pretty little moans, and—” I bit her ear. “The way my cock slipped between your ass cheeks like it belonged there. You’ve never let anyone touch you there, have you, baby?”