“I don’t want it.”
“Open it!” His hair-trigger anger kicked in and I jumped.
I opened it. At first I didn’t recognize what it was, simple gold wires about three inches long. I lifted the cardboard insert and saw the solid gold letters, two of them, both Js, both about an inch long. Liquid fire flowed through my veins and short-circuited everything as I realized what these were. He confirmed it.
“They’re nipple wires. I brought the equipment I need to install them home. I want my initials hanging from your pretty titties. So, now that you’re finished eating, that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Over my dead body!”
“If need be. But I am putting them on you, make no mistake, and I am putting them on you, tonight.”
“Jared No! No! I don’t want them!”
“Again, and I’m getting pretty tired of saying this, I don’t care what you want anymore. From now on, it’s only about what I want!” I saw his fuse was getting short and that he was becoming very angry but I was not going to allow him to do this to me!
“Now, you have a choice, you cooperate or I drug you. Oh, excuse me, I already did that, it was in the spaghetti sauce.”
I reached across to smack the smug smile off his face but he grabbed my wrist before I could make contact. He squeezed my hand so hard I thought he was going to break it.
“Ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that, I’m the one who feeds you, remember? And this time I fed you really well. In about twenty minutes you’ll be out cold. I’ll heat the gold wires until they’re red hot, almost blue really and then they’ll push right through the tip of your nipple like a . . . well like a hot wire going through butter. I’ll attach my initials and then solder the ends together so you can’t remove them. You’ll look majestic, just like a harem girl wearing sexy dangles for her Sheik. You’ll have to learn how to dance with them so they sway together, so you can arouse me.” His matter of fact attitude, along with his leering, confident smile scared me. He was really going to do this and I would be powerless to prevent it. I had to try another tack.
“Jared, this is really going to hurt and won’t it ruin the sensitivity in my nipples? How will you be able to give me pleasure? Give him what he wants, I said to myself, see if that helps any.
“Nah, the wires are very thin and they go through the skin just under the tip, if anything, you’ll be more sensitive. The weight of the dangles constantly pulling on your nipples is a great turn on I’m told. Plus, pleasuring you is no longer on my agenda.”
No way out there. Another tack was called for but suddenly I couldn’t hold my eyes open, my head jerked forward to my chest. “Oh! Jared, please don’t!” I whimpered as I slumped back against the sofa cushions and slid to one side. “Please Jared if you ever cared for me, don’t do this. Please. I’m begging you, please, please . . . don’t.”
He came over and lifted me, then propped me in the corner of the sofa. “I’ll need you sitting up for this. I don’t want them to be crooked.” One hand was on my neck, easing it back and the other began fondling my breasts, stroking the undersides, hefting them, then pinching the tips and pulling them out. Over and over, he tugged on them. I saw him bend and examine the underside while holding the nipple taut. “Piece of cake, you’ll be wearing my adornments when you wake up and after you get used to them, I’ll bet you’ll love them. Not that I care, mind you.” He leaned in closer and took my nipple into his mouth and suckled it. My head lolled back as his hand released it. I was unconscious and unable to stop this insanity.
Chapter Forty-three
I heard the door open and footsteps coming down the carpeted stairs. Jared was taking care to be quiet; not coming down the stairs as he usually did—thumping down the steps as if wearing combat boots. Occasionally he liked to sneak up on me and scare me, especially if I was asleep, but this slow, drawn out descent was unusual. But he needn’t fear that I was sleeping. Who could sleep like this, strapped naked and spread-eagled over a pommel horse, my reddened behind glowing like a cinder? God it hurt, down to the bone it hurt.
For the tenth time in so many days, I regretted my decision to come back into this house, the house that had once been mine that was now my personal chamber of horrors.
My ears pricked; there was more than one set of footfalls. Oh dear God, please don’t tell me that he’s invited voyeurs to watch my humiliation. Tonight he was installing the Gateway in my nether lips and it hadn’t occurred to me until now that he might need an assistant or a piercing professional. My ears strained for any sound that would forewarn me, not that I could do anything about it with my limbs chained to each other through the legs of the pommel horse. I was bent over, my abdomen up against the unyielding leather with my wrists attached to my ankles. I could inch up and slide down but I could not separate myself from the heavy contraption that was commonly used for floor vaulting. There was enough slack that I could stand, but not enough to allow me to sit—as if I wanted to put any pressure, whatsoever, on my tender backside. It had healed from my original “punishment,” but he was finding new reasons to punish me again almost daily.
I did not hear Jared’s key in the inner door, the one that led to this hidden room under the house. Instead I heard the handle rattle and then the deafening sound of gunfire. I looked over my shoulder just as the door was kicked open and sobbed my relief when I recognized Brick in full tactical gear, gun drawn and eyes wildly searching. Six men followed and although my mortification at being seen this way should have been complete, I was beside myself with joy that they had found me, and found me in time.
Brick was instantly behind me, cradling me in his arms and barking out orders accompanied by furious hand gestures. He blocked my nakedness from the others with his body while he shrugged out of his flak jacket.
“Dear God, what has that bastard done to you?” The anguish in his voice broke with a sob as he looked at my shiny, crimson cheeks. You didn’t have to see the assortment of paddles on a nearby table to know what had been done to me and how liberally they’d been used. Heat from my skin radiated in waves and each pulse of blood brought fresh pain. When just the slightest brush of his pants against my bottom caused me to whimper, I saw tears flood his eyes.
He leaned over my shoulder and gently tried to take the tape off my mouth. Jared no longer seemed to enjoy my screams and instead wanted muffled moans, plus, I think he was getting concerned that despite the soundproofing, I might find a way to alert the staff that came in and out at various times of the day.
“I need some glycerin here!” His hand ran repeatedly along my naked shoulder, caressing and lightly squeezing in an unspoken gesture of support. I could tell he was afraid to touch me anywhere, afraid he’d hurt me more. He rattled the chains that were attached to my wrists, trying to see how they were attached. “Bolt cutter! I need some bolt cutters!” He covered me with his jacket as gently as he could, careful not to let it drag against my skin, but just the weight of it caused me to slump and the hem to rub against my tender ravaged skin. I let out a hoarse moan through my gag.
“Jesus Christ! Get the E.M.T.s down here right away. You two, get pictures of the scene, but do not get any pictures of her!”
A woman appeared with a bottle of glycerin and together she and Brick used saturated cloths to ease the tape and gag from my mouth. As soon as it was off, I started coughing and Brick waited until I stopped before holding water to my lips. I coughed some more, having one spasm after another before settling into a regular pattern of breathing. While Brick cooed against my ear, telling me that everything was going to be all right now, two officers showed up at my side carrying huge bolt cutters. I was soon liberated from the sturdy iron legs of the pommel horse but I would not let them pull it away from me. I slid to my knees and wrapped Brick’s jacket around me, trying to cover as much of my body as I could while being very careful not to put any pressure whatsoever on my backside. “It hurts,” I whispered to Brick as I clutched his shoulders and he nodded with his
eyes closed.
“I know it does baby, I know. We’re going to get you something for the pain. Just hold on.” He hollered again for the E.M.T.s just as they came bounding down the steps. Then I looked up and my tear-filled eyes met his. I sobbed and then wailed into his chest so only he could hear, “He pierced my nipples. I can hardly stand the pain. Can you take the wires out? Now, right now? Please, Brick.”
I saw his eyes widen and then fall to the area of my chest. I was still holding the lapels of his coat together, close to my chest. I had been holding them tightly closed as something to anchor me against the pain. Now I let them fall open between us and Brick stared down at my breasts, at the nipples that were swollen and bruised and covered with dried blood. Slim gold wires were threaded through them, locked in place at the ends with diamond-studded pendants. On each wire a large J was suspended and within each J, the name Jared was etched. Hanging from the very tips of each breast was that monster’s name and I could not stand it to be there. More than the pain, I couldn’t stand the ornate jewelry that was meant to brand me, to remind me that I belonged to him.
I doubt that I will ever see so much anger in Brick’s face ever again. At least, I sure hope not. I watched as his jaw clenched and a vein throbbed in his temple. He rammed his fist into the pommel horse sending it crashing into the cinderblock wall. He pulled the jacket closed, then he stood and walked over to where the bolt cutters lay on the floor. They were way too big for the job, but he used them anyway. As they shielded me, the female officer held each breast in her hand, away from the cutting jaws of the blade and then I held the wire out for Brick. Brick snipped the wires and then demolished the gold pins and settings with the bolt cutter, sending the precious diamonds flying. With infinite care, he pulled the remnants of each wire out of the tips of my breasts. There was a look of satisfaction in his eyes but I knew he was no where near satisfied, heat was now coming off him in waves.
Antiseptic swabs were pressed to my bleeding nipples and even though I had to suck in air to endure the stinging, I was so happy the piercings were out that I didn’t care.
I was prone, leaning on my elbows, holding big pieces of gauze to my breasts while the E.M.T.s were securing me to a gurney. I was covered from my waist down with a sheet. Every minute or so, I was told to check to make sure I had stopped bleeding. After a pillow was placed under my breasts, I dropped my head onto my folded arms and I was covered from my shoulders down with a blanket in preparation for the men to take me up the stairs to the ambulance.
Brick was stroking my cheek, rubbing my shoulders, kissing my temple and murmuring so many things that I couldn’t absorb them all, when we heard a loud commotion upstairs. Then we heard feet running above us. Brick stood and grabbed his gun and we all watched as Jared, being chased by officers, tumbled down the steps and into the room.
At the door he took in the scene. No one spoke while his eyes searched for me and found me on the cot, covered, my head resting on my hands. I couldn’t help myself, despite all the men piling into the room with their guns drawn, I had to show him. I forced myself up on my arms as high as I could, allowing my breasts to sway. I pulled the gauze pads from my chest and showed him my nipples. “As you can see, your jewelry has been removed.”
His eyes became hard shards and his shoulders lifted. I noticed his fists clench as he stepped closer. I didn’t know if he was getting ready to erupt because I’d removed his jewelry or because all these men were looking at my breasts. Brick moved to stand in his way, barring his way to me.
“She’s my wife! This is private property, what we do here is private!”
“Yeah, and this is private, too!” Brick’s fist slammed into the center of his face. Blood from his nose sprayed out in a flume and he crumpled to the floor. Brick reached down and lifted him by his throat, propping him against the wall. Then he hit him again, and again, and again. Each contact of his fist to Jared’s face and body was solid and brutal, as he pounded into his flesh over and over. I heard cracking noises and knew that either his cheekbone or his jaw was broken. It sounded like one or two ribs snapped also. No one moved to stop Brick until it became evident that he was not going to stop on his own. It took four men to pull him off.
I eased myself back down onto the gurney and felt the woman officer pulling the sheet up over my shoulders. I put my head on my hands and closed my eyes. It was over. I was safe. And I would never have to run and hide again.
Brick sat beside me in the ambulance. He kept kissing my forehead and generally blubbering about how brave I was; how he had been afraid he wouldn’t find me in time, how everything was going to be all right now. He promised that I would never have to worry about that sick bastard ever again.
“He’s going to prison. Now you can get a divorce without any problem. You can move back into that fine mansion if you want, he certainly won’t have any need for it; we’ll see to his room and board.”
“I don’t want that. I don’t want to ever live there again.”
“Then sell it and buy something you do want.”
“I just want my Dolphin. I feel safe and I’m happy there. I just want to go home to my RV.”
“Well, that may take a few days, you’re gonna need some lookin’ after. Good God, if you’re not the most troublesome woman I have ever met! Does it ever get easier loving you?”
I laughed before I realized what it was that he’d said. “Love? You love me?”
“Well yeah. Not the you-have-to-wear-my-name-on-your-chest kind, but the really good kind.”
“The really good kind?”
“Yeah, the white picket fence kind.”
“How does one do that on a motorhome, paint it?” I chuckled. “You know that I’m not ready to settle down and marry.”
“I know. You’re not divorced yet.”
“Even when I am, I won’t be ready, at least not initially. It’s going to take some time to heal over this and then to make sure that marriage is what I truly want.”
“How could I not be what you want? Look at me, I’m prime husband material.”
“That may be, but I am no longer interested in being someone’s wife, at least not now. I want to be plain ol’
Jenny . . .”
“Carrie . . .”
“Actually, it’s Debbie . . . “
“No more hiding, you can be whoever you want to be.”
“I just want to be your girlfriend for now. Let’s see how that goes before we draw white pickets on the Dolphin.”
“Let’s get you better and resettled and then we’ll talk.”
“Talk?”
“Okay, that’s not the word I’m really thinking but we do have an audience here, you know. And, it appears you’re out of action for a little while at least.” He’d read the initial report taken by the E.M.T.s, he knew I’d been raped and sodomized.
I looked over at the E.M.T. who was checking my blood pressure for the umpteenth time. From the shade of red her face had turned, I knew he was right about the audience part. “You need to have your hands looked after,” I said holding one up for inspection. “You were brutal to them.”
“Not as brutal as I wanted to be to him, believe me. I think that’s the closest I’ve ever been to being totally out of control. I really could have killed him.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I wouldn’t want to have to visit my boyfriend in jail.” There was silence as we just looked into each other’s eyes. “How did you know to rescue me?”
“Your friend Connor tracked me down. He said you hadn’t been returning his e-mails or phone calls and that you missed being there for his wedding. He said you had hinted at going back to your house to get your passport, if you could verify that your husband was still experiencing memory loss. I asked a friend of mine who owns a jewelry store in D.C. to call Jared at his office. They spoke at length and my friend said he didn’t detect anything other than a savvy businessman. He had no problem recalling specific antique estate pieces that had recently been a
uctioned at Sotheby’s. I smelled a trap. The one you apparently fell into.”
I grimaced. Indeed I had. “It was so stupid of me. I guess I should have figured he’d have no problem getting his assistant to lie for him. Women are always falling over themselves to please him.”
“Well, there’ll be no more of that, unless they’re prison guards.”
“How long do you think he’ll get, what can he really be charged with—after all, I am still his wife.”
“We’ll let the D.A. figure that out but you just can’t chain your wife up in your basement and rape and beat her. And if I’m not mistaken, some of the toys he had were designed specifically for sodomy, which is illegal in the state of Virginia. He’ll get jail time.”
“He has a whole slew of prominent lawyers.”
“So do we. He’ll do time, trust me. And the media will crucify him.”
“What if he charges you for beating him up?”
“Everybody saw him fall down the steps, no one saw him getting beat up.”
The vehicle stopped and the doors were opened. As I was being lifted out and the gurney raised for transport into the center, I heard someone call Brick’s name. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. Don’t moon anybody.”
“Ha ha.”
The next time I saw him I was so deep into my pain medication that I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. Something about Jillie, and him having to go, but that he’d be back and we’d talk, a lot, because he was a good talker and he knew I would be a good talker, too.
“You’re all talk,” I managed to whisper.
The nurse checking the IVs over my shoulder must’ve thought we were crazy.
“I’ll call you. Go to sleep now. Dream about me.”
“I’ll dream about you all right. I’ll dream about you painting white pickets on my Dolphin.”
The nurse quirked her head and then shook it. Surely she wasn’t hearing things right.
“I thought you didn’t want that?”
“I’ve decided I want a cradle with a tiny Angelina in it one day, so we’ll have to work on the pickets sooner or later.”
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