They lived deep in the city, which was ideal for Rushe because he liked to blend in, or at the very least be invisible in the jumble. On various occasions, Flick had told him that he’d never be invisible but he explained that there were enough distractions elsewhere; all they needed to be was still. Flick had rolled her eyes and told him that being “still” didn’t make him invisible. But he got where he was by mastering it.
As Flick lay in their bed now she cursed herself. She should have realised as soon as he started with the seduction that he had an ulterior motive. Rushe wasn’t soft; he took what he wanted. If he’d wanted sex while they had company, it would have been quick and messy.
Flick was still learning a lot about sex, but Rushe was still learning a lot about love. Sex he was great at, but the relationship part was a mystery, and a wonder, to him. After what they’d been through, both of them needed a break. So getting lost in sex was a vacation for them both.
But Rushe was getting restless. She’d noticed it more and more. She too was getting bored with a lack of direction. So much so that Rushe was working out like a machine. He was running at least fifteen miles a day. Flick busied herself at the Public Library. It wasn’t as large as the National Library where she’d previously worked, but it was on the city and college network and was housed behind City Hall.
Every day for a month she’d woken up and gone there, familiarising herself with the layout and immersing herself in topics she’d been interested in but never had the time to properly investigate.
Liam Hutten was the IT support manager from the complex, and she’d gotten to know him very well. Often he would help her out with technological issues. He’d directed her to the new software lab in a corner of the basement floor, which had more up to date systems.
Whoever the men in the living room were, Flick knew one thing. Rushe would be going back to work; something had to have piqued his interest to have the men here this long.
Knowing Rushe as she did, Flick knew that if he’d heard enough he wouldn’t have let them in at all. Also, Flick had to encourage him because if he didn’t get back out there now he never would, and she wouldn’t want him to resent her for that.
Again, she was restricted in Rushe’s bed and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it until he chose to come and free her.
Chapter Three
Another hour passed, and Flick was just slipping toward slumber when the noise of movement awakened her. Though it was dark, she sensed Rushe in the space and so she braced herself for whatever would come next.
His jeans hit the floor, the bed moved, and then he took hold of her calf to part it from the other. Flick felt the bulk of his penis against her thigh after he scooped her body under his.
‘I’m gonna fuck you.’
‘I’m pissed off,’ she said.
‘When are you not?’ Rushe grumbled. ‘Are you gonna give me shit?’
‘Yes,’ Flick said, but sighed. ‘After we have sex.’
‘You’re easy, Kitten.’
‘Are you going to fuck me, or are we going to lie here all night shooting the breeze?’
‘You gonna do what you’re told?’
‘No, probably not,’ she said. ‘Who were those guys?’
‘We’re gonna have to have another conversation about your obedience.’
‘I don’t see why—’ With one thrust he surged up into her and Flick gasped for oxygen at the sudden intrusion. ‘Oh, Rushe!’ she chided.
‘You love it when he takes you by surprise,’ he said, groping one breast, then the other. ‘The girls seem to approve.’
‘Don’t make me laugh,’ she said.
‘You’re wet... What were you doing in here?’
‘I can’t touch myself,’ Flick said, remembering belatedly that she was still cuffed. ‘Are you going to release me?’
‘I’m feeling nostalgic.’
‘Do you remember the first time we had sex?’
‘I remember what came before it,’ he said.
To get her breasts into his preferred position, for his maximum gratification, Rushe elevated her body and snatched up a pillow to stuff under her waist. Driving into her half a dozen times, he coated himself with her nectar. When he dipped his head to suck each nipple he slid out of her, but Rushe took his languorous time containing one peak in his teeth and orbiting it with his tongue. One then the other, then back again.
Flick’s sense of purpose was circling the drain, so she tried to hold on to the pertinent details of the night’s events.
‘I remember what came after it. I thought you used me.’
‘I did,’ he said, still with his mouth full.
‘You still don’t let yourself believe it, do you? I love you.’
‘Enough talking,’ he said.
Sitting up, Rushe took the neck of her tee-shirt and with little effort he ripped it apart, shredding the fabric from her torso he let it languish around her restricted arms.
‘Did you take the job?’
‘What did I just say?’
Seeing him through the shadows of the room was difficult. The blinds over the windows blacked out light and noise from the street a dozen floors below.
‘Rushe—‘
‘Enough!’
It had been a while since she’d seen this Rushe. The black-eyed, soulless man who had thrown her to the ground and told her he felt nothing. Thus far they’d avoided having anything more than the odd superficial argument. But it was easy to get along when they expected nothing from each other.
Flick had known all along that this Rushe resided in him. This was the Rushe who was numb to everything, who cared about nothing, the Rushe who could hold himself away from anything.
Seeing what she could of him now, and her instinctive perception of him, told Flick that he’d distanced himself from her. What that meant, she didn’t know. Perhaps he had taken the job, so the role of this blank, emotionless person was, in his view, required again. Or maybe Rushe hadn’t taken the job at all, and in turning it down he realised what he’d sacrificed to be with her.
‘What do you want?’ she whispered.
Taking himself up to his knees Rushe took his time looking her over, her legs spread around his form, her centre swollen and damp.
‘I’m gonna fuck your tits,’ he said.
‘Ok,’ she responded; it had been a couple of weeks since he’d done that.
‘And your face, and your pussy, and anywhere else I fucking well please.’
‘Ok.’
‘You comply,’ he snarled. ‘Every fucking time, you are a fucking whore.’
‘I thought you were done talking.’
She didn’t see his eyes but Flick did feel the spasm of his body tensing. ‘You’re in my bed. You’re my thing. My possession. I do with you anything I damn well please.’
‘Right now you’re doing nothing. You’ve got the words but not the balls.’
‘Flick.’ That rumble was so low she knew his lips were static, his chest was still, and his teeth were clenched in his frozen jaw.
‘I’ll push as hard as I want,’ she said, hearing his warning without him voicing it. Lifting a foot, she shoved his shoulder, and with her other she kicked at his waist. ‘You man enough to check me?’
With a few more shoves and prods he snatched both her ankles and pinned her feet to the bed. ‘You’re crazy,’ he hissed.
‘Yeah, what you gonna do about it? Huh? You think I’m scared of you? Do your worst, Lover, I dare you.’
Rushe roared forward, prying her legs apart and up, he compelled them against her torso and charged into her. The pillow underneath her made the pose more awkward but gave him primo position to fuck her hard. His depth and angle seemed to hit her everywhere all at once, and she called out, trying to arch into him but he kept her in place. He made the rules.
When Rushe did release her legs it was only to take hold of her breasts. He squeezed, embossing his fingerprints into her skin, but she wanted more. Calling
out his name, Flick started to taunt, to beg for more. When he shoved in deep Flick opened to scream, but his hand came over her mouth, sealing her voice inside.
Rushe came out of her, slung her legs out of his path, and then his body was over hers. He straddled her chest, keeping his weight up and off of her. Still in the darkness, it was difficult to see anything except his outline, but she felt his moist penis in her cleavage. He really loved her breasts, and she knew how much he liked having his dick right there, in the place it was now.
‘Open your mouth.’
He wasn’t there to play with her breasts tonight. Rushe’s hand left her mouth and Flick did exactly as she was told. This was how he made sense of the world. So many of his emotions came out in sex, and she was there to help him work through things in whatever way he needed to.
His dick rammed between her lips, and Flick’s own taste saturated the organ, which made her suck hard. ‘That’s what your mouth is for,’ he growled. ‘It’s for my cock, nothing else, you understand me? You’re gonna do what you’re told. You’re gonna suck it all better.’
Shoving a second pillow behind her head, Rushe slid in and out between her lips. ‘You taste your pussy? How wet you were for me? You didn’t even like me when I walked in here and your pussy was dripping. That all you want? Sex, it’s all you’re for, your body knows it. You crave it, don’t you? You’re desperate to be fucked good and hard.’
His words trailed into a roaring groan and he snatched the top rail of the headboard, pulling the bed down as he pushed forward. But as he spurted his release Rushe drew back, ensuring to leave a trail of liquid from her throat to her incisors.
Flick swallowed him down and closed her lips around his head; with a slurping kiss, she took the last of him.
Rushe climbed off her, but he didn’t leave the bed. ‘Do you think you could go back?’
‘To where?’
‘To your life.’
‘This is my life, Rushe,’ she said. ‘You can’t get rid of me.’
‘Right.’
Rushe leaned over her; with a huff, he released the cuffs, and put them away in the drawer. Flick lengthened her arms, circling her wrists.
‘Did you expect me to say yes?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘That’s exactly what I thought you’d say.’
Rushe lay down and plucked her body up to spread her over him, just like they always slept. But his hand squirmed between them to massage her clit, so she knew they weren’t quite ready for sleep yet. He’d play with whatever was in his mind, but he’d bring it to her eventually. Flick knew it because she trusted him; it was just a shame he didn’t trust her yet.
During the next new day, Flick had been preoccupied. Waking up alone wasn’t unusual for her, but Rushe had a weight on his shoulders today that he didn’t share with her, that he wouldn’t share.
Long nights filled with deep emotional discussions and heart to hearts would never be a part of their relationship agenda. But she would always know Rushe’s feelings. He conveyed them in the way he touched her. Their sexual escapades always clued Flick in to what was behind the mask he cultivated.
Fully aware that Rushe would go for an extended run then spend most of the day out at the gym, Flick had spent her day at the library. Tonight would be when she would pin him down.
Stuffing her books back into her bag, Flick tossed it over her head to cross her body.
‘Heading out?’
Flick turned to see Liam Hutten, IT wonder, coming up beside her desk. ‘Yeah, you haven’t been around today.’
‘There was a freak out with the new systems in Life Sciences.’
‘Sure,’ Flick smiled. ‘Get it sorted out?’
‘I did,’ he said. ‘Think I’m ready for my superhero cape now.’
Liam stood at five eleven; he had mucky brown hair, glowing blue eyes, and an easy smile that put her, and everyone else, at ease. Liam was everyone’s friend, warm and funny; he was the most approachable person she’d ever met.
‘Glad you’ve had a productive day, and that the casualties were minimal,’ she said.
‘Was touch and go for a while.’
‘But you only use your powers for good, right?’
‘During daylight, sure,’ he said, propping himself against the desk she’d used that day. ‘Got time for dinner?’
‘If my boyfriend heard you ask that—‘
‘Big and scary, you’ve said already. We have lunch together all the time, no biggie. I’ve got a coupon for buy one get one free for The Grill, it’s right across the street.’
‘No, thanks,’ Flick said. ‘I have to get home.’
‘Everything ok? You’re a fan of The Grill, not that I get your obsession myself.’
‘Says the guy who ate three cheeseburgers last Tuesday.’
‘I lost the bet,’ Liam said.
‘You lost the bet on purpose. You knew I would get the IP in less than twenty minutes, it took me less than five.’
‘You’re a quick study, and I’m an excellent teacher,’ he said. ‘You want to tell me about the off-the-book questions on information access yet?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I told you, I’m writing a book.’
‘Sure you are. Anyway, dinner?’
‘I have to get home, but thanks.’
Liam accepted her rejection with a nod. Flick patted his shoulder as she passed and went straight for the stairs.
The sky was dark when Flick got out onto the street, meaning it was later than she had thought. Rushe didn’t have a cell phone, and she didn’t communicate with her family, so she had never gotten around to replacing hers.
Setting up a free email account at the library had been sufficient to send her family an email to let them know she was alive. They’d been estranged for more than a year. Flick had told herself to be in touch with them again but she hadn’t gotten around to it.
Rushe would have noticed her lengthy absence, because he noticed everything. It hadn’t been her wish or intention to worry him, and Flick didn’t want him to think she was playing reckless games.
The only place games were welcome was when it came to sex. Since they’d been imprisoned together, and confessed the truth of their feelings, she’d been honest; they’d been honest with each other. But last night shook the foundations of that, and whether their openness would continue beyond tonight... only time would be able to tell.
Flick had run down the library stairs, got across the busy stretch of road, and to the corner where The Grill was situated, when a man ran up beside her.
‘You know him,’ the man said.
‘What?’ Flick kept walking.
‘I saw you come out of his building this morning, Scott told me you were with him last night.’
‘I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Excuse me.’
Flick tried to pick up the pace, but the stranger grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. She wrenched her arm free, but he snatched for the other one.
‘Please, I don’t mean you any harm. I need you to listen.’
‘Listen to what?’ she demanded. ‘If you keep hassling—‘
‘Rushe. I need Rushe.’ The guy was about five eight, blonde, and very obviously desperate. ‘Eric, he spoke to Rushe last night, but when he came out Eric said Rushe wasn’t taking the case.’
‘Whatever,’ Flick said, and tried to round the assailant, but he got in front of her. ‘Get out of my way.’
‘It’s my sister! She’s in trouble! I need help! What the fuck does this guy want? Is it money?’
‘No—‘
‘I’ve tried everything! I’ve been everywhere. She’s nineteen, she’s a kid, and she’s in over her head, please.’
‘Why do you think I could help? Why would I?’
‘You know Rushe,’ the guy said. ‘We were watching this morning, Scott and I, when you came out of his building. Scott told me not to come near you, but... You were there. You know Rushe. You were sleeping with him—‘
> ‘That’s none of your business.’
Rushe had been right about people knowing that they had a relationship. If she’d been a faceless hooker neither of the men last night would have noticed her.
‘Do you know how long it took me to find someone who could help? Eric and Scott found me; they said they knew someone who could help. I gave them a fortune, a finder’s fee. They said they would get him on board. But he said no, why did he say no?’
‘I have no idea,’ Flick said, trying to side-step, but she was thwarted again.
‘What’s it going to take? What does he want? What does he need? What does he care about?’
‘You better be careful talking that way. Rushe—‘
‘You do know him, you can help, please,’ he begged.
‘I can’t help you.’
‘Listen to me; all you have to do is listen.’
‘I really can’t—‘
‘My sister got this job, in a bar at the Waterside Casino Private Lounge, and she lied about her age. It’s a private, exclusive, members-only deal; I can’t get in! God knows what they... She got mixed up with this guy... have you heard of the King Club?’
‘What?’
‘She got... she thinks she’s in love with him. They took her in, and she vanished. Please, she’s my baby sister. My family is devastated that she’s gone. How can you...? She’s young. That gang swallow people up; they devour them from the inside. She could be on drugs, or tied down to a mattress. God knows what! It took me weeks to get this far! A month ago I hadn’t heard of the King Club, and now... I’m scared for her life.’
‘I’m sure there are other people who can help—‘
‘We went to the police, they did nothing. I went private, trailed the streets myself but no one can find her, least they don’t tell me anything. Someone gave me one name, then I got another, I don’t even know what guy she’s seeing! One name I got, Joey Galante, his family is tied to the Club, but... I can’t even get into the Lounge. I can’t find anyone in the King Club! I don’t know what I’m doing! I was out of hope, out of... When Eric and Scott said they knew someone... he was my last hope. Then they tell me he won’t take the case.’
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