He slides the tip of the knife from my temple down my jaw and up to trace the curve of my left ear. “I'll give you one last chance.” He whispers, drawing a slithering pattern down my neck with the knife. “Open your mouth.”
I close my eyes and feel the point of the blade press against my throat. “Open. Your. Mouth.”
I try to force down the sob that is threatening to explode from my chest. As I am forced down on my knees, his hand grabs my chin and fingers dig painfully into the hollow of my cheeks. “Open your fucking mouth, bitch! Open wide!”
My lips part as I struggle to breath, and immediately the tip of his cock pushes against my mouth. I gasp and he pushes deeper in. “Good girl,” he smiles, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Take it all in. Now suck it, and lick every inch of it. Mmmm...” He closes his eyes as he starts to thrust into my mouth.
I choke and gag at the pungent scent and salty taste of his cock. My eyes fill with tears but I blink them back, refusing to let them fall. He grips the back of my head and starts to fuck my mouth. “I want you to swallow, you hear me?” he grits out above me. “Swallow every last drop of Big Ben.”
With a savage shout, he shudders violently and shoots into my mouth. My vision clouds over and I feel his hot, bitter semen spurt towards the back of my throat. I retch uncontrollably, and I have to wrench my face away to breathe, to prevent myself from passing out. He swears at me, and tries to shove his cock back into my mouth, but I am already throwing up. He finishes himself off with his hand, spurting all over my face and hair. I look up as he puts his flaccid cock away and spits. He lifts his foot to my face and wipes the vomit from his boot on my collar and down the front of my blouse. I stare down at the blouse and slacks that I had hurriedly put on before rushing down the stairs to Julian's office. Julian...his image swims before my eyes, and my heart constricts painfully. I recall the look on his face, the sound of his anguished voice calling after me as I turned and ran from his house. Why did I run? Where is Julian now?
A sharp kick in the ribs and I come crashing back down to the dirty, concrete floor.
“I'll be back.” I force my face up to see him scowl at me. “And if you do this again...” He wrinkles his nose at the pool of vomit at his feet. “I'll cut your nose off and shove my dick into your hole in your face.”
Flinging expletives over his shoulder, he leaves me alone at last and storms out of the room. The door slams shut and I listen to the reverberating echo for the longest time.
Keeping my eyes on the door, I struggle up and push myself to the corner of the room farthest from the door. I am shaking horribly, and I feel like throwing up again, but there is nothing left in me.
I squeeze my eyes shut to block out the hellish sight, the puddle of my own vomit and the horrendous image of what has just happened in this room. The sound of Big Ben's voice and his leering threats and laughter seem to seep from the walls to pollute the foul air that I am forcing myself to breathe. But even as I try to shut out his repulsive voice, bits and pieces of our conversation pierce through the fog in my brain. I lean my head against the wall, trying to staunch the throbbing pain, and try to make sense of his words.
He had mentioned Julian and a ransom. And...he also mentioned Aleisha. What is the connection between them? Big Ben and Aleisha, they must be in this together.
It's no wonder the doctor is so taken with you. Aleisha said that he's gone quite mad when he heard that you've been kidnapped.
My eyes fly open. Aleisha and Big Ben are holding me hostage and demanding that Julian pay a ransom to free me. How much are they demanding from him?
And that woman, Aleisha, there is more to her than meets the eye. I'd had my doubts about her, yet...
Why did I not listen to my own instincts? Why didn't I trust Julian? Why didn't I trust myself?
I knock my head against the wall, trying to quieten the scolding voice in my head. I take a shaky breath, forcing myself to breathe in the rancid smell of his sweat and semen and my own vomit.
As I close my eyes to shut out my surroundings, I whisper his name. Julian. Julian, Julian, Julian. I will do anything to see him again. Anything, I repeat, steeling my resolve and staunching my revulsion.
He'll do anything to get you back safe and sound. He will meet all our demands, cut off an arm and a leg too if we asked.
My eyes blaze with tears as I stare hard at the door. I've run from Julian's house straight into hell, and it seems that I have dragged Julian down with me. I curl up as tightly as I can, as if that would afford me some protection, and finally allow myself to cry. Letting out great wrenching heaving sobs, I cry noisily, messily, unabashedly until there are no more tears.
I cry until there is nothing left in me. With no more confused, conflicted feelings left to cloud my mind, my thoughts take on a starker, clearer, colder direction. My survival is the only thing that matters right now.
Empty and exhausted, I let the darkness claim me. Sleeping a fitful, horrible sleep.
But even the darkness is short lived.
Chapter Five
The pain and pressure on my chest increases and I am jolted out of my nightmare—into my waking reality, which is even worse than my nightmare. Big Ben is smirking down at me, his boot grinding down on my chest. “Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead,” he says in a singsong voice. “Feeding time.”
I struggle up as he shoves a plate of stale bread at me. “Eat.” He flicks out a knife and cuts the ropes around my wrists and ankles. I stretch out my arms and legs with relief. For an instant, I contemplate making a run for it, but the knife is too near. Gingerly, I pick up a piece of bread and raise it to my mouth. The bread is hard and thinly buttered but I am too hungry. I break off chunks of the bread and shove it in my mouth, trying to swallow quickly. As I cough and choke, Big Ben rolls a bottle of water towards me. I unscrew the cap and drink greedily.
He stares down my body as I eat. His eyes linger at my chest, and he licks his lips.
I force myself to take a deep breath and keep eating. His erection is bulging grotesquely against his dirty, black jeans. From our last encounter, I I know that my fear is a turn on for him. The more frightened I am, the more fun he has. I can't succumb to him. I won't.
“Where is Aleisha?” I ask, hoping to steer his mind in a different direction and get some information out of him.
He frowns. “She's working.”
“Working? She...she should rest. You know she's pregnant right?” I say, trying to sound nonchalant as I gulp down the water.
Big Ben snorts loudly. “Pregnant? Yeah, right. That must be a freaking miracle. She had her tubes tied years ago.”
A hacking cough ensues as I spew the water from my mouth.
“Yeah, she's good right? I told her she should be an actress,” he sneers.
“She just wanted to...to get some money from Julian,” I say slowly.
“Yeah. That guy's loaded. In his online ad, he stated his full name and occupation, and even gave his address. Such a sweet, trusting guy. She checked him out and saw his place, and smelt all that money on him. So of course when he offered her that contract to test that kinky toy of his, she jumped at the chance. She told me she just faked everything in the machine. What she wanted was the man. Getting him drunk, and getting him to screw her—piece of cake, she's an expert at that.” He lets out a sardonic laugh. “The fool even wrote out a five-figure check the next morning. Like he was trying to compensate her or something. We figured, five figures is nothing to him. Why not go for six? The guy is so trusting and stupidly sweet.” He screws up his face and spits like he has just tasted something foul in his mouth.
“You were waiting for Aleisha outside the gates,” I begin slowly. “She went in to get the money from Julian, and she was so close to getting it. So...why did you grab me? How did you know...”
“Aleisha sent me a text message to grab the golden goose. I was to bundle you into the car, and when she ran out, we'll take off. She said he'll pay much more for you, than
for her concocted pregnancy. As it turns out, she's right.”
“Why?” My voice drops to a whisper.
“It seems the fool really cares for you. Or maybe he just wants to shag you. You look like a really sweet fuck.”
I ball my fists to keep my hands from trembling as Big Ben comes up to me, kicking away the empty plastic bottle in front of me. “Okay, enough of all this chitchat. Looking at you sitting there, so demure and scared and worried, is just making me all horny. I need to get a piece of that sweet, demure ass. Come on. Get up! Take off your clothes.”
Even in my horror, I manage to get to my knees and stutter, “Can you...just...I promise I'll swallow. I'll swallow every drop. I'll do it...well.”
He arches one eyebrow and pretends to consider my proposal. “Nah. Your mouth's not good enough. I want your ass and your cunt this time. Now, strip!”
I shake my head, and open my mouth to plead again but he cuts me off. “Just do as you're told, doll. You are testing my patience. Now, strip.”
When I shake my head, he pulls me up and slams me against the wall. The impact stuns me and everything goes white. When the blinding pain starts to recede and my senses come back to me, I am aware of Big Ben's rough hands all over me. He is feeling me up and down, kneading and squeezing my breasts, my thighs, my buttocks and between my legs. His mouth and tongue ravages my mouth, sucking, biting, thrusting until I cry out in pain. The taste of blood awakens my fear and I thrash wildly and try to push him away. My struggle infuriates him and he strikes me across the face repeatedly. I am so numb that I cannot feel the tears streaming down my cheeks.
His hands are already ripping and clawing at my blouse. I feel the fabric fall from my shoulders and a fierce sob erupts from my throat when he yanks my bra down and shoves my breast into his mouth. I scream and yank at his greasy hair to try to pull him off me but he pins my wrists to the wall and continues attacking my breast. His teeth are all over my bare flesh, biting down so hard that my skin breaks. He pinches my nipple between his fingers and twists hard. “You like that?” he snarls into my face. “You like that, don't you? Bitches always like it rough. I love it when they struggle. Come on. Tell me. Tell me how much you like it.”
I shake my head mutely, tears spurting from my eyes.
“You want this. I'm going to make you want it.” He tears at my slacks, and when I kick out and pummel him, he shoves me to the ground and pins me down with his weight. I scream and punch him, but he only laughs as he wrenches my pants down my legs. He pulls my panties down and his fingers press down hard on my clit. “Nice,” he smirks. “Hot. Hot and wet.”
Forcing my legs apart with his body, he unzips his pants to release his swollen, dripping cock. I claw at him, but he catches both my wrists in his hands and twists them viciously. I scream in agony and he releases my wrists. I press my arms to my belly, almost doubling up in pain. Ignoring my groans and sobs, he presses his body down on me and pushes the tip of his cock against my opening. Grunting and growling, he jerks about wildly, trying to force himself into me. I clench hard, hoping to squeeze my vagina shut.
“No, no!” I scream. “Get off me! No!”
I twist and writhe and kick and scream. Wild with terror, I snap my jaws viciously and my teeth clamp down hard on something, anything within reach. The ferrous taste of blood fills my mouth just before I hear a string of expletives. A blow is leveled at my temple and my jaws slacken as my eyes roll back in my head. Darkness that is tinged with red floods my vision. The pressing weight lifts off my body and instinctively, I curl myself into a ball. Forcing my eyes open, I see the room spin and wobble, before finally righting itself. I see blood dripping from Big Ben's hand, and I almost smile. I should have bitten harder, and bitten his finger right off.
The door slams open and a female voice shrieks, “What the fuck do you think you're doing?”
I lift my head to see Aleisha grab Big Ben by the collar. “What the fuck have you done? I told you not to touch her. If she's hurt, we're not gonna get paid. You heard him! He's serious as hell.” She turns to me and sniffs, “It looks like he's serious about her. Now, get the hell out of here!”
He curses and spits before kicking the door open to make a dramatic exit. Aleisha glances over her shoulder at me and is about to walk out the door when I call out, “Wait! Please. Aleisha...”
She pivots round slowly to face me, closing the door silently. She takes a few steps towards me and squints down at my less than half-clothed body. What is left of my clothes is hanging in shreds from my shoulders and I am naked from the waist down. There are nail and teeth marks on my neck and arms and I am bruised all over. She wrinkles her nose at the pathetic sight of me, and stoops down slowly.
“Th-thank you” I rasp. “You...you saved me.”
Aleisha regards me dispassionately before looking away. “I'll get you some ice. And some clothes. Stupid dickhead shouldn't have touched you,” she mutters, glaring at the wall. “He was so desperate to have you safe, he was going to pay us double. But now, if he sees you like this...”
“I...I'll tell Julian you saved me, and you can get your money,” I speak rapidly. “I just want to get out of here, and get the money that Julian owes me as well. I tested that blasted machine for weeks, so...I'm going to make sure he pays me my due. We just need the money, you and I. It's just all about the money.”
She gives me a long, hard look and stands. “Not for you it isn't,” she says.
I lower my eyes. “Did you sleep with him?” I mumble at last.
Aleisha snorts out a mocking laugh. “Of course. Sex is a weapon.”
“But...you're not pregnant.”
“No.”
“So—how are you going to...”
She rolls her eyes. “After I get the money, I'll just tell him I suffered a miscarriage, blah blah blah. And depression, and so on and so forth. He's a gentle, trusting man. That's easy to see. I can read men like a book. And it's pretty obvious that you...” She frowns at me, a trace of hostility flashing in her eyes. “What is it about you? You're not much to look at, pretty weak and gullible, and judging from your reaction in his office, rather insecure and stupid.”
I force myself not to break eye contact, not to let any emotion show on my face. Ugly though they are, I recognize the truth in her words.
At the door, she stops abruptly. “Let me give you some advice. Don't be weak and stupid. There's only one person worth loving—and that's yourself.” With that, she bangs the door shut.
I collapse on the ground, succumbing to the pain in my body and my heart. I stare at the tattered remnants of my clothes, and blink back the hot tears in my eyes. Pulling myself up, I grab the pieces of torn clothing off the floor and use them to dab away the lines of blood down my arms and legs. Clean myself up. Take care of myself. Don't be weak and stupid. I wince and try to swallow the lump in my throat.
The door opens and some clothes are thrown into the room. A small bag lands beside the clothes and the door snaps shut again. I shuffle to pick up the faded, baggy jeans and t-shirt. Pulling them on hurriedly, I turn my attention to the discolored pouch lying on the floor. It looks like a make-up pouch. Carefully, I open it to find a lipstick and some powder and foundation. They look old and used and only a little of everything is left.
It seems Aleisha has taken heed of my words. It's all about the money, so—I am to make myself presentable for Julian.
There's no mirror so I can't see how skilfully or badly I am applying the make-up to my face. Doesn't matter. There are worse things to do at this time than to play with make-up. And if I appear to be on her side, helping her secure that ransom, perhaps she would keep that Big Brute from coming back in.
With trembling hands, I uncap the lipstick and raise the chipped tube of red to my broken lips.
Chapter Six
There is a sudden impact against the door and my eyes snap open. There are shouts and voices and the door shudders as something is thrown against it on the other side. In a
heartbeat, I scramble up and tense for whatever violence is coming my way.
Right on cue, the door swings open and Big Ben comes stumbling towards me, his eyes wild with fear and rage. There is trouble written all over his face. I try to dodge him, but he is extraordinarily fast and strong. His terror and desperation propels him towards me like a tornado.
With a roar that belies his fury and his fear, he lurches forward and grabs me by the throat. He drags me in front of him, using me as a human shield. I freeze, as the sharp blade of a knife presses against my neck. “Don't come any closer, or I'll slit her throat,” he bellows.
There is a shadow at the door. The figure moves closer and I gasp, “Julian!” Behind him, I glimpse dark uniforms moving and guns being trained on us.
Julian's eyes flick to me, and the anguish and anger immediately deepen on his face. His eyes are dark and sunken. He looks like he hasn't shaved or slept in days yet there is a dangerous, determined glint in his eye. “Don't hurt her,” Julian says quietly. “I'll give you what you want. I'll give you everything.”
“You called the cops!” Big Ben screeches, tightening his hold on me. “We told you not to call the cops! No cops, or she dies! Isn't that what we said? Well, it looks like you've made your choice, Dr. James. She...dies!”
I feel the knife press deeper into my skin and that small stab of pain jolts me into action. Maybe it is the pain, or the fury, or the panic, or the sudden memory of what this brute did to me, but I don't hesitate. A potent, powerful mix of emotions surges through me and I lash out. I don't stop. I can't afford to.
In a flurry of movement, I sink my teeth hard into his arm, at the same time elbowing him in the ribs and twisting out of his arms. I hear Julian's voice and I raise my eyes to him as he shoves me out of the way. I careen towards a wall and a sharp pain blinds me momentarily as my shoulder slams hard into the wall. When I regain my focus, I see Julian wrestling with Big Ben on the floor. Julian is pinned down but he manages to roll out of the way as the blade stabs down with blinding speed. Big Ben's attacks are merciless and relentless. Locked in a lethal embrace, the two men roll and writhe on the dirty floor, the knife glinting menacingly between them.
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