Countered: A Dark Suspenseful Gothic Romance (The Rule of Lawes Series Book 2)

by Felicity Brandon

  Eight

  Hannah

  Fuller’s malevolent tone echoed around the hall as though whatever waited beyond the door was so horrific, Hannah should brace herself. On reflex, she tightened her muscles, holding her breath as he pushed the wooden door into the next room. Pale light flooded the hallway, but rather than offering hope, this light only tore at the bubbling trepidation in her tummy.

  April was through there, and something awful was happening to her, something Hannah hadn’t seen yet. Something Fuller wanted to show off to Hannah. A wave of nausea rose to her throat, and she fought to keep it down.

  “Come on.” Fuller was impatient, evidently keen for the show to begin.

  With a deep breath, Hannah crawled toward his left leg. A part of her was terrified to see what was beyond the boundary, but another part was compelled to know the truth. What was this legendary punishment he was so desperate for her to see? Her insides churned at the question.

  They wouldn’t do anything to really hurt April, would they? Fuller and Lawes might be crazy—men who got off on inflicting pain on their unsuspecting victims—but they weren’t killers. A shudder ran along her back, her left palm frozen to the spot beyond her face.

  “Hannah.” Fuller’s voice had dropped to that growled whisper, which had made her so hot and bothered the night before. “Is there a problem?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Fuller, sir.” She was breathless, but this time it wasn’t arousal that tainted her voice but utter dread. “I-I don’t know if I can.” Hannah lifted her chin to assess his unimpressed expression.

  “Do you seriously need another round of punishment as well, young lady?”

  His query sucked the oxygen from the corridor, and Hannah could barely catch her breath.

  “No, sir.” However, the threat didn’t seem to be enough for the adrenaline coursing around her body to push her body forward.

  “I thought we had reached a new understanding, you and I?” Fuller crouched in front of her once more, the wooden door swinging closed behind him. “I thought the pleasure I offered you last night meant something?”

  His brow rose with the inquiry, and Hannah was lost for breath for quite another reason. There was an intensity in his blue gaze—a power the pillory had denied her the force of the prior evening, and its effects were immediate. Hannah’s head was foggy with the lust that swirled inside her, the memory of the way he’d ripped the orgasm from her weary body last night, threatening to swallow her up altogether.

  Oh God!

  She managed to hold in the words, but her throat dried as though she’d spoken them aloud.

  “It did mean something.” Hannah’s words echoed around her. “Sir.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” she gasped, watching as his face neared another couple of inches.

  Fuller lowered his body even closer still. “So, why am I waiting for you to obey, Hannah?”

  Her lips parted as though she intended to reply, and she was certain she intended to, but there were no words at first. Instead, there was only the ferocity of his stare and the hypnotic way his purr seemed to draw her toward him.

  “I’m scared, sir.”

  There. She had said it.

  Fuller’s lips curled. “Now, you’re scared?” His tone was amused. “I never saw fear in you yesterday when I dragged your cute little ass back to be paddled.”

  Hannah swallowed at his reasoning. Fuller was right. She hadn’t been afraid then, just seething and gut-wrenchingly disappointed with herself for running straight into his clutches.

  “No, sir.”

  “So?” There was the eyebrow again, that one gesture tightening the heat at her core.

  “I’m not scared for me.” The truth was rolling from Hannah as though Fuller’s expression alone could extract it from her. “It’s April.”

  Fuller sniggered. “April?” His tone was full of disbelief. “Why would you be worried about her?”

  That was more difficult to answer. Hannah wasn’t exactly sure. All she knew about the woman was from the way Lucy and the others had spoken about her and the fact she alone had brought Hannah her chance to flee. Even though she hadn’t been successful, Hannah owed April.

  “I just…” Hannah hesitated. “I’m just dreading what I’ll find, Mr. Fuller.” She lowered her gaze to her hands at the admission. That was at least the truth.

  Fuller laughed gently. “As you should be.” His tone was coaxing now, the soft goading voice that could lull her with such apparent ease. Her face rose at its resonance. “But what’s done is done, and it’s time you faced the reality, Hannah.” He smiled, moving his face to within a few inches of Hannah.

  “You really only have one decision to make, Miss Bowman. Are you going to be our good girl and obey, or are you going to do things the hard way—like April?”

  Christ. Hannah didn’t know what was transpiring in that shitty little hallway, but somehow, Fuller was crawling his way back into her head again, making the awful seem reasonable, and the immoral seem like her greatest hedonistic desire.

  It was what he did.

  It was what they both did.

  “Hannah?” he whispered, the warmth of his breath, causing her eyes to flutter closed. “What’s your choice?”

  Hannah sighed. She wanted to be stronger. Jesus, how she wanted to be stronger, but even without the mysterious allure of the man, she knew she wasn’t. The paddle had been difficult enough to bear. Hannah wasn’t sure she could cope with whatever penance they’d concocted for April.

  “I’ll be good, Mr. Fuller.”

  “You will.”

  It was more a statement than a question, but she nodded anyway. “Yes, sir.”

  “There’s my good girl.” Fuller inched toward her, his lips grazing across her half-open mouth for one heart-stopping moment. “That was a smart choice.”

  He drew away and stood. Hannah was forced to crane her neck to even catch sight of his smile as he turned back in the direction of the door.

  “Are you ready?”

  She gulped, no more ready than she had been moments before, yet conscious of the threat Fuller implied—either she complied and did as he asked, or Hannah would be next, and whatever this terrible fate of April’s was would soon become hers as well. The quandary was excruciating, but in the end, there was no choice. Hannah couldn’t condemn herself to an even greater predicament—not if she ever wanted a chance to escape again.

  “Yes, sir.”

  One small nod from Fuller, and he pushed the door open for a second time, the index finger of his left hand summoning her to his side. Hannah’s head pounded as she crawled toward him, her palms sweating when she pressed them against the cold tiles. They pushed past the boundary of the room, the flooring switching from dark tile to hard wood, and the daylight blinded her. Hannah could hear the thud of Fuller’s tread, so she knew she should continue, but as she scurried to keep up with his pace, she was temporarily robbed of the ability to decipher anything in the room beyond them.

  “Ah, there you are, Mr. Fuller.”

  Hannah sucked in a breath at Lawes’ voice, but couldn’t make him out in the sudden light of the large room.

  “We were beginning to wonder if you were joining us.”

  “Apologies.” Fuller was ahead of her. He crossed in front of her path, his shadow briefly blocking the effects of the sun. “Hannah and I had to have a few words before she was ready to see Ms. Page.”

  “I see.” Lawes stepped forward, and for the first time, Hannah was able to see his dark, grinning face. “Well, better late than never. I’m sure you don’t want to miss all of April’s fabulous reactions.”

  She tilted her face to meet Lawes’ gaze, but his smirk ensured her eyes flitted elsewhere his smug response too much to bear.

  “How is she doing?” Fuller asked.

  “Take a look for yourself, my friend.” Lawes stepped to the left, revealing the space behind him to Hannah’s gaze.

  She took in
the scene, her gaze drinking in the space she’d seen too many times before. Some things were the same—she recognized the stage to her right and the awful punishment closet with disturbing ease—but something was different. As Hannah’s gaze fell back to Lawes, she finally acknowledged what it was. A large metal contraption with straps hanging from it loomed from the left, and as Hannah’s focus fell lower, she noticed something even more perturbing—there was something dangling from those straps.

  Something large.

  Something that looked like a woman…

  Nine

  April

  They’d hoisted her up in the web of harnesses and straps, her body suspended from the rigging with frustrating ease. The leather at her ankles, hips, and chest meant the weight was evenly distributed, the pressure on no single part of her too intense to bear. April could only imagine what the overall effect was. Her body was lifted until it was a few feet from the blanket, and there she remained, literally dangling from the ceiling like a perverted decoration. That was the point where Fuller and the others had left to collect her fellow captives. Apparently, they were going to bear witness to April’s latest humiliation. She was to act as a deterrent to the group, though that thought made her want to snort. Apart from the latest recruit, Hannah, none of the others were as bold as April. Sure, they bitched and moaned about being held prisoner, loathed the treatment they experienced at the hands of Lawes and Fuller, and paid lip service to the idea of fleeing, but when push had come to shove, none of them had ever tried.

  Hell, none of them dared to put so much as even a toe out of place.

  Even Lucy had grown timid and fearful, her initial spirit suppressed after their scratching post had been replaced and extinguished by repeated punishments. It was only April who seemed prepared to rock the boat, test the limits, and ultimately, try to escape. Yesterday’s venture hadn’t been her first attempt, and it wouldn’t be her last. However much April enjoyed the bondage, there was no way she would willingly cede to men like this. There was no way they were going to keep her.

  “Just look at you.” Lawes’ tone revealed how pleased he was with April’s current predicament. “This is even better than I’d envisioned.”

  He wandered around April’s left shoulder until her gaze was level with his groin. Her pussy clenched at the realization. It was suddenly clear why the men had chosen this height to suspend her. Her throat dried at the prospect.

  “I suppose you have no clue how appealing you are, trussed up like this?” Lawes fell to his haunches before her face, the usual arrogant smirk painting a face which might otherwise have been attractive.

  He reached forward with both hands, massaging the sides of her breasts from the rigid leather straps which cupped them on both sides, his digits slowly snaking a line to her vulnerable nipples. Right on cue, they beaded into painful knots under his fingertips, and April’s eyes closed. It was one thing to endure this excruciating treatment, but when her body continually betrayed her with its carnal responses, it became unbearable. Men like Lawes didn’t care about consent, and the last thing she needed was to send any signal his deeds were turning her on.

  Even if they were.

  “April.” Lawes’ voice was a mocking purr. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

  He tugged harder at her nipples, and although April bit her bottom lip and tried to hold the response in, she couldn’t resist the groan that escaped her lips. Her eyes flew open at her body’s own verdict, a hot blush engulfing her cheeks.

  “I understand your bravado, April, I really do.” Lawes’ green gaze blinked at her, just the faintest hint of that infuriating smirk there to taunt her. “You’re a woman with a hard exterior. You have a reputation to maintain among the other patients. I can see why it’s difficult for you.” Lawes edged closer, his fingers pinching her sensitive teats. “But you have to remember something. We know you better than that now, April. I know you. And I know that exterior is all for show.”

  He tilted his head, presumably for dramatic effect, and April swallowed back the rising emotion in her body. As if it wasn’t hard enough being strung up like this for nothing more than his and Fuller’s amusement. As if the tie which held her hair to the bondage at her wrists and ankles wasn’t already yanking her dark tresses from her scalp, causing shoots of complaint from her weary neck muscles. As if all that physicality wasn’t terrible enough, now there was this. Those first potent shoots of arousal as his digits teased and tormented her helpless nipples. The feel of the ropes at her wrists and the utter powerlessness of her new situation. April was overwhelmed by it all—exhausted and giddy in equal measure.

  “Do you hear me?” One hand abandoned her breast and rose to her face. Lawes tipped her chin toward his gaze, despite the complaint from her neck.

  “Yes, sir.” She forced the words out… somehow.

  “I know the real you, April Page.” The soft lilt of his accent washed over her. In all this time, she still hadn’t ascertained its origin, but it stirred her every time. “I recognize the woman you have chosen to ignore all these years. The one you’ve suppressed and denied.”

  April’s heart raced at his words, her eyes fluttering in response.

  “Isn’t that right?”

  She inhaled, wanting to push his fucking hands away and avert her gaze. She’d take anything but this incessant scrutiny. Suspend her higher, paddle her ass until she screamed for mercy—she didn’t care. This was too much. She was more exposed by the way Lawes stared at her now than any amount of stripping and probing. It was as if the man was looking into her soul.

  “I-I don’t know.”

  Was that her voice? April blinked at the sound. She scarcely recognized its husky, desperate tone.

  “Yes, you do.” The hand supporting her chin was gone, falling to her left breast again, and both of Lawes’ hands began to fondle her nipples. They began by lengthening and pulling the teats, the sensation making April heady.

  “Please,” she whispered before her brain had even had time to acknowledge the instruction to speak. Lawes’ smile widened.

  “Tell. Me.”

  His tone was lower, harder, the resonance sending adrenaline coursing through April’s body, and at the same time, the fingers which had been providing such exquisite torment shifted and began to twist her nipples, rather than tug them.

  Shoots of pain rose, and she gasped at the hurt. How could the pinching and the pulling be so hot, then with that one subtle shift, the twisting be so hard to tolerate? Her head spun with the question, just as Lawes began to manipulate her sensitive flesh once more.

  “April,” Lawes growled, his jaw tensing as his hands inflicted the fresh hurt.

  He got off on it. April knew he did, and that was why she gulped it back. That was why she wasn’t begging him to stop. She wasn’t going to give him what he wanted.

  No fucking way.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say. Sir.” She pushed the words out with venom, raising her gaze to stare into his dark green gaze despite the insistent ache in her neck.

  “Oh, you are exquisite.” Lawes ran his tongue over his teeth with the alleged compliment. “I know how much that hurts, I can see the pain in your eyes, pet.”

  A surge of defiance shot through April. Fuck him and his mind games. Fuck the unrelenting power he and Fuller had over her. One day, she would be free, and she would enjoy watching them locked in cells of their own for the entirety of their miserable lives. Shame the state couldn’t make them animal boxes, but still—the thought of Lawes incarcerated breathed life into her tired body.

  “All you have to do is tell me I’m right, April. Tell me I know you better than anyone else. Tell the truth. Admit you love this, the pain, the subjugation—all of it.” He paused, leaning in to her while his fingers twisted harder.

  She lost her breath at the power of the pain. At that moment, it seemed larger than anything she’d had to deal with before. More than the leashes and the training yard. More than the fee
ding bowls and the cages. It was such a simple thing, such a small thing, yet for all its minimalism, the burn of his digits at her teats was debilitating. Pulling in a deep breath, April fought for composure.

  Just say it. She could hear the argument playing out in her head. Just tell him what he wants to hear. Make it stop. Make all this stop.

  April’s toes curled at her internal monologue, and ignoring the tears welling in her eyes, she gritted her teeth. There was no way she was admitting anything to this sadistic son of a bitch. There was no way she was going to tell him that he knew a side of her no other man had ever known before.

  Even though it was killing her not to.

  Even though it was true.

  “Fuck you!”

  She practically spat the words at Lawes, closing her eyes in an attempt to manage the pain. Her closing lids sent the first tears falling south, but even in her embarrassed state, April was insolent. He’d have to knock her out with the pain before she’d give Lawes what he wanted, but he wouldn’t do that—an unconscious April just wouldn’t be as much fun.

  Not half so much.

  Her eyes opened when Lawes gave her ravaged nipples one last twist, the extent to which he meant the deed obvious from the sneer on his face and the steely look in his gaze.

  “Fine.”

  Just for a second, she saw the frustration in his eyes—how vexed he was at not being able to break her—but in another instant, it was gone, and his lips curled into the smirk she knew so well.

  “Have it your way, April. Suffer rather than cede.” Lawes leaned into her mouth, eyeing her closely as he twirled her helpless tissue cruelly. “I know you love the pain, whether or not you care to admit it.”

  Her lips parted on instinct, her body needing to draw in another lungful of air to help manage the soaring hurt. Lawes seized the gesture, and before she could even take that breath, his lips were on hers. Lawes’ mouth covered April’s, robbing her of that oxygen just as surely as his fingers afflicted her, then when she thought she could take no more, he pounced. His hands were gone from the agonizing dance at her nipples and back at her face, one at her chin while the other laced in her hair, and he claimed her.