For a moment, I stood there watching him through the window. He walked to a darkened SUV and climbed inside. Why wasn’t he driving Lucius’ Jaguar? Perhaps Lucius preferred the SUV in the stormy weather that was brewing outside again. I shrugged.
“Gretchen, will you be okay if I leave early?”
The elderly woman looked up from her book. “Oh, of course, honey. You go on. I’ll be just fine.”
“Thank you, Gretchen. You’re a lifesaver. And Georgia’ll be here in less than an hour, so it’s not like you’ll be stuck here ‘til closing.” I slipped on my parka, zipped it up, and wrapped a scarf around my neck.
As I headed out the door, I heard what sounded like Zeus’ howling, coming from the back room. The noise bothered me; Zeus was usually such a placid old boy. I decided to call the vet in the morning to check him out.
I crossed the lot to the SUV, the wind hurling dancing leaves around my face. A strong gust of wind came up, blowing me sideways, and as I veered back on course toward the vehicle, I saw what appeared to be Lucius driving his Jaguar up the street.
“Fausto, is that not Lucius driving toward us?”
No sooner had the words left my mouth, than my head exploded with pain as it slammed against the door of the SUV. I heard glass smash, tires screeching, and then before the darkness took over, I heard savage growling.
Chapter Eight
I woke up and gingerly tried to reach the side of my head that was pounding, but nausea prevented me from my objective. Instead, I rolled onto my knees and threw up. Gasping for breath, overwhelmed by the pain, I shook from head to toe. Suddenly, I realized with absolute clarity that I was in mortal danger. I tried to open my eyes wide and see where I was, but my they felt dry and raw. I reached up and rubbed them, and my vision cleared enough for me to see my surroundings. I had no clue where I was or what time it was. I tried to stand up, but legs wouldn’t hold me, so I sat back and stared, horrified at what I saw. A concrete room—no windows, no flooring, no furnishings just concrete. The only non-concrete item in the room was the door, and it was made of a thick metal. I pushed myself up on to my protesting feet and sluggishly shuffled over to the check the knob. I did not really believe it would open, but I had to try.
Of course, the door would not budge; I laid my head against it and listened for any sound from beyond, something to indicate where I was, but I heard nothing. I remembered I had my phone in my pocket and hoped there was enough of a charge for me to make a call. Surely, Lucius would be missing me. Then, what he’d told me earlier hit me, and I fell to the ground, cowering in fear. Was this to do with the king? What was going to happen to me? I absently rubbed my wrist, although it wasn’t throbbing. Surely, with me being in this much danger, it should have me screaming? Maybe my ward didn’t work anymore. Did that mean I would die? I sat for a moment, wondering who I would call. Gretchen? Was she still at The Humane Society? I hit the speed dial button I had pre-assigned to my work and waited. Nothing happened. No ringing, no busy signal. Nothing. I tried Gretchen’s number with the same results. What was going on? Why wouldn’t my phone work?
As I closed my phone and was about to put it back in my coat pocket, I noticed scratches on the back cover. I lifted up for closer inspection, pulled off the backing, and saw the chip had been removed. That would explain why it didn’t work. I froze. While I was out cold, what else had been done to me? Apart from the pain in my head, I didn’t really any different. I had a few bruises on my wrists, and I noted my ankles felt sore. Opening the zip on one of my boots, I saw the beginnings of a wicked bruise. Who’d done this? Fausto? But he was supposedly Lucius’ trusted friend. As I sat there trying to piece things together, with the makings of a ferocious migraine forming behind my eyes, I heard footsteps approaching. I hastily retreated farther back into the room against the wall. The few martial arts classes I took suggested if you were in the line of attack and couldn’t run away to back yourself to a wall. I never did finish the course. Cursing my stupidity, I sat like a duck with a target on its head. The lock clicked, and the door slowly opened.
Expecting Fausto, I looked up in surprise as four men in ornate uniforms entered, and moments later, a man who took my breath away for all the wrong reasons entered the tiny room—the king. Claustrophobia made my lungs ache, preventing me from drawing a full breath. I shivered wildly, and began hyperventilating. Dots appeared in my line of vision.
“Woman, snap out of it or I will put you down like the creature you are should be.”
His shocking words pulled me back to the present. Feeling completely out of my league and fearing for my life, I stayed mute. Nothing in my life could have ever prepared me for this moment. I was in a room of vampires, and I had no chance of getting out of there alive. The king stood there, towering over me. He had eyes the color of a cold winter sky, and hair so white blond, it looked like snow. There was nothing warm about this man. Shivering, I glanced down at my wrist, wondering why nothing was happening. I thought Lucius said I had a safety ward, that the scar protected me; perhaps, it only worked when he was with me?
“Silly child; that ward will not protect you from me. Maria may have cast a spell of protection, but I am the king of all, and as the king, my spells and enchantments are far mightier than any mere witch’s.”
I couldn’t speak; no words would form, and my brain felt totally addled. Too much was happening too fast me to think coherently. The king chuckled, leaned down, and lifted my chin.
“I do not know what Lucius sees in you. Perhaps I will later.”
His gaze travelled down my body, and I felt completely naked. Shivering, I tried to wriggle free, only to have the king clutch my chin harder.
“Ivy, I have not finished with you. I will get to know you intimately yet. After that, your life will be worthless to me.”
As if the king silently commanded them, the men in the room turned and left us alone.
I scrambled to my feet, but I had nowhere to go, so I cowered against the back wall of the room, tears threatening to fall. Violently, I brushed my eyes with my fist.
“So brave, little one. Alas, resistance is futile. And as soon as I get what I want, you will cease to exist.”
With that, the king stormed out of the room. The door slammed shut and locked again behind him. Falling to the hard concrete floor, I lay there, letting the tears finally fall freely. How did I ever get into this situation? Why me? I lay there crying, and eventually, sleep came to me. Slowly, my world of terror faded for a few moments. Sweet moments, during which Lucius came to visit me. As sleep closed her arms around me, I felt his presence, his arms around me, his mouth upon mine, and passion ignited my body once more.
My limbs felt heavy with desire, my eyes too leaden to open. I lay there imagining Lucius beside me. I moved my hand down my stomach until I reached my scarred pelvis, which Lucius had showered with love. Gingerly, I slid my fingers over my scars. Butterflies spread through my tummy as I remembered Lucius using his skilled mouth. My nipples hardened at the very thought of his tender ministrations. No longer able to hold off, I slid my fingers under my skirt and found my wet panties. Slowly, I started rubbing my pussy, hardly able to breathe. I found myself grinding into my fingers, harder and faster, and I became so wet, my finger slid into my tight pussy. I gasped at how good it felt as passion spread throughout my body, and all the while, I thought of Lucius, thought of his naked body.
“Ivy, little one, slide a second fingers inside, now. For me.”
My eyes shot open, and I looked around. Horrified at myself, I quickly pulled my skirt back down and fixed my panties. What was wrong with me? Why was I hearing voices? Had I finally crossed the line from sanity to lunacy? Considering all I was going through, I wouldn’t be surprised. There was only so much a person could take before their mind checked out, once and for all.
Suddenly, the scar on my wrist few fiery hot. I looked down at it and gasped. The blood red teardrop was enflamed and looked ready to burst. Desperately, I blew on
the mark, trying to cool it down. I glanced around solemnly. I was alone—completely, utterly alone. The situation reminded of the horrors I’d faced as a teen, and yet again, I was alone to face my worst nightmare. Driven by a wave of hysteria, I ran to the door and started hammering on it with my fists, screaming for someone—anyone—to hear me and let me out. I could not bear this. I could not bear being alone, facing my fears once again. Lucius promised I would never be alone again, but he’d lied. I hitting the door over and over again, screaming until my voice went hoarse, and still no one came. Finally, exhausted, I collapsed to the ground once again.
My dragged air in and out of my lungs. My mind barely holding onto a thread of sanity, I raged inside. This was not going to happen. I would get out of this. I had to, and Lucius was somewhere waiting on me. The king must have me hidden away somewhere, but I knew Lucius would try to find me. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t just sit here; I had to figure out a way to get out of there. In that moment, something happened to me. Not only did I come to the realization that I would have to pick up the pieces of my shattered, tormented heart and heal it, but it also dawned on me that I would have to help myself escape. Lucius was right; I had the power in me to get through this. I and I alone could heal myself; no one else could. Just as I had this epiphany, my scar stopped throbbing. I looked down to see it had sunken into my wrist, a pale pink drop no longer blood red. Perhaps Maria’s gift had served two purposes—not only warning me of grave danger, but also helping me realize I had the strength inside me to carry on. I stood straight, took a few deep breaths, and waited. No matter how long it took, I would wait it out, and I would find a way to get out of there alive.
I paced the concrete floor, rubbing my shoulders from the cold. Hours passed, and I pulled out my phone, mulling over the fact I could not use it. Pissed and despondent, I threw it across the room; it clattered to the ground and broke into pieces. Immediately, I regreted my actions. As I stooped to pick up the shattered remains, I heard footsteps quickly approaching. I screamed and hollered, banging my fists on the door. The steps kept coming, and I backed away, up against the far wall, and waited. I cowered like a caged animal, but I was ready to take flight. If given half a chance to escape, I had to take it, even if I died taking the risk. I had to get out, I had to find Lucius. The door lock clunked and swung open, and one of the guards walked in and looked at me, smiling like a Cheshire cat. He threw a tray of food down beside me, and when he turned to walk out, I charged. With everything I had, I jumped on him, but it was like hitting the concrete wall beside me. He laughed cruelly and grabbed my pummeling fists, squeezing them so hard I had tears in my eyes. I could hear bones crunch, and I screamed. I kicked him and kicked him, tried to scrape his face, but he grabbed my wrists and flung me up and straight over his head. I landed on the cold, hard ground. The guard stepped over me, then kicked me in the ribs. I curled up into a ball. The pain was horrendous, but I’d managed to block his aim with my arm, avoiding any lasting damage to my ribcage. Maybe I couldn’t do this on my own, I thought, as I lay there with my hands over my face. Where was Lucius?
Not here. He’s not here, and if you don’t get up, you’re going to die. As the gravity of my situation fully sank in, I reached inside myself for the last bit of my strength. And then, with everything I had, I jumped up and charged once again. The man apparently had not expected me to move, and I took him by surprise. I sprang at him with a flying kick and sent him falling back into the side of the open door. I heard a cracking sound but did not wait to see what had happened. I was out the door and running as fast as my legs would carry me, clutching my aching ribs. I raced down the corridor with the lunatic guard chasing behind me, fast approaching, his roaring obscenities burning my ears. I turned the corner, saw a flight of stairs, and kept going, taking them two at a time. My breaths were laborious and pained, but still I kept on. Up ahead, I saw a door. Chances were high there were more guards out there, but I also knew it might be the door to freedom, so I kept going. Pressing the long metal bar, I threw my weight against the door and pushed. An unsuspecting guard had been standing on the other side, and I knocked him down. I dug deep to find more strength and speed, and as I flew past him, the fallen guard reached for my ankle, but I jumped like a gazelle and raced ahead. Both men charged after me now, and as I glanced over my shoulder, I saw one shouting into a cell phone.
I rounded another corner in the hall and saw a window, As I raced by, I saw it was daylight. Good. Most of the guards were probably sleeping. With renewed courage, I pushed through my exhaustion, pressing myself to new extremes. I raced ahead and found a huge front door. Without pausing for a second to think, I grabbed hold of the handle and pulled. The door swung open. I could hear more approaching guards closing in as raced down the front steps into the sunlight. Faster I flew, across the lawn toward the tree line. I felt like a rabbit chased by a fox, and terror lived inside me, making my stomach roll over and feeding my fear and my imagination. Every sound I heard had me looking over my shoulder, thinking they’d caught up with me.
“Ivy, hurry. Don’t stop yet. Keep running to the river. You must cross it before I can reach you.”
Lucius? Where had his voice come from? I swung around, but the only people in sight were the guards, and they were closing in fast. I turned and resumed running, charging ahead through the woods. My lungs screamed at me, my heart hammered, and every step felt like it would be my last. My feet felt raw and blistered from my boots, but still I ran on, pushing myself to my absolute limit. Branches smacked my face, and the ground became slippery and dangerous, the leaves hiding the undergrowth of snarled roots and fallen twigs that seemed to want to grab me and pull me to the ground. I could hear noises behind me, knew they were still after me, but suddenly I heard noise ahead, as well. The river? I raced around behind a large oak tree and stood there for a moment, gasping for breath and feeling dizzy and weakened as I tried to listen. The noise sounded like water rushing by. Yes! I’d reached the river! It lay just up ahead, and with a new sense of purpose, I started off again. My legs were killing me now, my stomach heaving, but I kept going. Almost there. Almost there. And somehow, I would get across.
I rounded two more large oak trees and stopped dead. There before me was a wide, swirling river. I nearly fell to me knees in despair. How would I get across?
“Ivy, you must swim. You can do this. Look how far you’ve already come. It’s almost over; I promise you.”
Laughing at myself and at the futility of the situation, I decided I had no choice. I would rather die trying than be beaten or raped by those bastards who I could still hear behind me. In a few moments, they’d be on me, and my life would be over, anyway. Between the two, the river was the better option. After ripping the laces open on my boots, I pulled them off and flung them aside. My feet screamed at me in protest, but I had no time to rest them. I drew off my socks, yanked open the zipper on my parka, and shrugged out of the heavy garment. I left everything behind, as I took a deep breath and then hurled myself into the frigid waters. The icy coldness momentarily confused me, but I bobbed up to the surface and tried to get sense of my direction. I could hear tree branches cracking off to the left, so I swung to the right and began swimming with quick, strong strokes. The cold stiffened my limbs, and I thanked the gods that my parents had insisted I take swimming lessons as a child. Despite my skill, my arms still ached, my breaths were pained and small, and the frigid water made my thoughts jumble into a state of confusion. But I kept going, and slowly, the other side drew closer, until finally I looked up and saw him. Lucius, standing there in the clearing, waiting for me. His lips moved, and I sensed him shouting something, but I couldn’t hear him above the choppy waves. On I swam, forcing myself to keep going, telling myself that soon—very soon—I could stop. Lucius would take care of me. Lucius would protect me. I risked a glance behind me and nearly drowned, for there, on the bank, stood the king and Fausto, grim-faced and obviously indignant over the fact that I appeared to have escaped h
im. I turned back, and with renewed vigor, I pushed myself ahead, kicking with everything I had. Lucius crouched down and placed his hands out toward me. I grabbed on and held tight, and he pulled me from the river as if I weighed no more than a small child. Lifting me into his arms, he kissed me with punishing lips. I turned my face, gasping for air, but I stayed safely in his grasp.
“Ivy, I am in awe of what you just did. Never for a second did the King think a human woman could escape him, but you did. You are amazing.”
The dawning realization of what I did hit me like a freight train, and I started to sob, making silly, hiccupping noises. Lucius lowered us both to the ground, and I curled up in his arms as he rocked me gently. He wrapped his coat around the two of us, and we sat like this for the longest time. Slowly, my breathing returned to normal, and my hiccupping grew softer. Lucius lifted my chin, and I gazed into his molten eyes with their red-rimmed pupils. I stroked his face, loving the feel of his velvet skin. With a sigh, I reached up and kissed him, savoring the taste that is Lucius. I inhaled his woodsy scent, so uniquely him, and snuggled closer in his arms. I felt as if I’d come home.
“Ivy, you nearly killed me, and that truly is quite a feat.”
Laughing dryly, I looked up at him, shocked to see a single red tear fall from his eyes.
“I would have found a way to kill myself had I lost you,” he said. “Nothing is worth living for if you are not here to share it with me.”
I laid my head on his chest, questions swarming my confused brain. I wanted answers, but my eyes started to close, and I gave up the good fight. I was safe, I was in Lucius’ arms, and that’s all I cared about right then. Leaning against him, I sighed and asked him to take us home.
Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) Page 48