Hidden Heat: Hauberk Protection, Book 4

by Leah Braemel

  His breathing ragged from his own climax, Troy traced the outline of her mask. “You are beautiful, sunshine. I am the envy of every man here.”

  “They’re still watching?” It was hard to form the words, her body was so loose and languid.

  “They can’t take their eyes off of you.” His lips caressed hers. “But they can’t touch you. Because you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours,” she whispered. She reached up until her hand touched his chest; his heart beat a rapid tattoo against her palm. “And you’re mine.” For tonight.

  “Always.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Her feet dragging as she trudged across the parking lot, Jazz nearly missed the dark blue Beemer parked near the entrance. The rectangular shape of a laptop’s screen lit the interior, illuminating the driver’s face. Shit. Had she made a date with Mitch for tonight? She was too freaking tired to go out. Hell, she was too freaking tired to talk to him right now. Hopefully if he wanted to come up, he wouldn’t mind if she fell asleep while he fucked her. After all, she didn’t have to be awake. Really. Did she?

  Maybe she could sneak past—nope, too late. The driver’s side door swung open. “Hey, Jazz baby. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Hi.” She mustered as much enthusiasm as she could for his kiss. “Did we have a date?”

  “Yeah, baby. You told me about your roommate going away for the weekend and how we could hang out here together with no interruptions.”

  Had she? “Look, I totally forgot about it. And I’m really exhausted.”

  “It’s all right, we can order in tonight. Pop in a movie, chill out in front of the TV with a beer or two.” He grabbed his laptop and shoved it in his case.

  Jazz zoned out as he talked about his plans for the weekend. From the way he jabbered, her “uh-huh’s” and “hmm’s” must have been at the right spots.

  After disarming the security system that had been installed upon Troy’s insistence, she dumped her coat over the back of the chair and kicked off her shoes.

  Mitch followed her into the bedroom, dumped his laptop case by the door. “So what do you want to do? There’s only the late-night shows on, but maybe we could find a good movie. Oh, do you like that new vampire show? I downloaded it, if you want to watch it from the beginning.”

  “I don’t think I have much of an attention span tonight.” She stripped off her top and ditched her jeans. God, all she wanted to do was crawl in bed and fall asleep.

  At least Mitch followed her into the bedroom and didn’t press her for sex. He turned on his laptop and checked his email before turning to her. “What movie do you want to watch?”

  “Whatever. Come on, Xander, off you go.” She picked the cat up off the middle of her bed and deposited him on the floor. The cat meowed and tried to jump back up only to be nudged out the door by Mitch.

  “Do you want to order pizza now or later?”

  “I don’t care. I’m easy.” For now all she wanted to do was crash and zone out.

  “Maybe later then.” Mitch queued up the movie then removed the remote from its compartment in the side of the laptop. “I hope the genius who designed these got paid a fortune.”

  He bounded over to the bed, dropping his clothes to the floor as he stripped naked then crawled onto the bed beside her. The movie was some action flick that had bombed at the movies and involved lots of car chases. Jazz wasn’t sure but she must have fallen asleep because when she roused, Mitch was playing with her breasts and he’d moved the laptop to her dresser.

  “Wake up, Jazz baby. It’s time to play.”

  Though she wanted to stay asleep, the warmth of his hands was sort of nice. And she liked having him beside her. Without Sandy in the apartment, she liked the idea that she wasn’t alone. Without fully opening her eyes, she pressed her breast into his palm. She’d learned early that Mitch didn’t need her to be fully awake to have sex.

  He moved the remote from the comforter between them and put it on the nightstand before turning back to tweak her nipples harder than he’d ever done before.

  Her breast throbbing, she turned her head to see if he’d meant to hurt her. He didn’t look angry or anything. More excited, and his cock was rigid against her thigh. He lowered his head and licked then bit the side of her breast. “Yeah, you like that, don’t you?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Okay, so she liked a little pain with her pleasure, so sue her.

  His smile widened. If he’d been anyone else, his smile might have scared her. “Yeah, I knew you were a dirty girl that first night I met you.”

  Whatever. She let her eyes close and concentrated on the attention he was giving her breasts.

  “You like me talking dirty too, my little slut? You like me talking about how I’m going to fuck your cunt? How I’m going to make you scream as I ram my cock into you?”

  She didn’t particularly care for the slut comment, but the rest of it? Yeah, okay, whatever floated his boat.

  “Can I tie you up like we did last time?” His excitement rippled through his tightening grasp on her wrists.

  “Sure why not?” Besides if she were tied up, he’d have to do all the work.

  “Where’d you put the cuffs, baby? They with the rest of your toys?” At her nod, he dug around in the bottom drawer of her night table and held them up, the steel glinting. “I love that they’re real and not those stupid plastic ones or the ones with the quick release you get at a sex store. You used to date a cop or something?”

  “One of my old boyfriends used to be an MP with the Navy.” He was the one who had introduced her to bondage. Pity he’d been the stereotypical sailor with a girl in every port. Not that it had bothered her at first, but then he’d decided they shouldn’t use condoms and she’d shown him the door.

  Once Mitch secured her, he rummaged through the rest of her drawers and pulled out one of her scarves. “Can I gag you?”

  “Sure but we should—”

  He slapped it over her mouth before she could suggest they set up some sort of safety signal. “We’re going to have so much fun tonight.”

  Fun? Without a safe word? She tried to speak but the gag muffled her words until they were little more than gurgles. Apprehension curled and wormed its way up her spine to settle in the pit of her stomach.

  Without any foreplay, Mitch rolled on top of her, his weight pressing heavy on her belly, making it hard to breathe through only her nose. After he’d positioned himself between her thighs, he shoved himself into her hilt deep. Shit, he hadn’t used a condom.

  Humping over her like she was a damned dog, sweat dripped from his forehead into her eyes. His teeth latched onto the tender skin of her breasts and bit hard enough to break the skin. With a yelp, she attempted to buck him off, only to be stymied by his weight. The wild look in his eyes as he bit the other breast even harder.

  He pulled out before he finished and sat back on his heels. The smug look on his face did nothing to alleviate her concern. The apprehension clawed her conscience when he flipped her over on her stomach, forcing her to cross her arms. The discomfort in her arms was soon forgotten when he smacked her behind with his belt. “I wish I’d known you liked it rough before, Jazz baby. I can’t tell you how much I love dirty girls.”

  Her “no” disappeared into the fabric, so she tried to turn over, only to have him put his knee at the base of her spine.

  “That’s it. Fight me, baby.”

  Fight? She was tied up, gagged. Unable to move, unable to scream. Totally at his mercy. Fight, he’d said. Fine, she’d fight, and when she got free, she’d tie him up. Gag him. See how he liked being totally helpless.

  You’re not helpless. Keeping fighting.

  She rubbed her face against the sheets in a futile attempt to dislodge the gag. Shit. That wasn’t working. She had to get his attention somehow. Gathering all her strength, she heaved up off the mattress, thrashed her legs to try to keep him away.

  “Stop it, bitch.” His playful tone changed to irritatio
n, but he left the side of the bed, giving her hope that he’d stop completely. Until he grabbed her right leg and tied it to the foot of the bed with a scarf. Her left leg was similarly tied, leaving her spread-eagled.

  Oh God, now she was helpless. He could do anything he wanted and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

  “You said you liked pain, so here’s a little pain for you, Jazz baby.”

  The sound of leather cracked through the silence, making her jump, but she felt no corresponding pain on her back. Mitch laughed, a twisted menacing sound. “Ha, psyched you out with that one, didn’t I?”

  The belt once again appeared in her view—the bastard had doubled it up on itself. He flexed it and let it snap again. “I love that sound. But do you know what I love more? How you flinched. Yeah, look at that fear in your eyes. We’re going to have fun tonight, Jazz baby.”

  The next time the belt struck her. She’d had worse. It struck again, this time the prong dug into her hip. Shit, he was using the end with the buckle? This was going to get bad.

  Again and again and again, it hit her ass, the buckle biting into her tender, abused flesh until she felt her skin would hang off in raw strips.

  Sandy, come home. Please come home. Please.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he shifted his angle. The next strike caught the knobs of her spine.

  You told me about your roommate going away for the weekend.

  He could rape her for days. Torture her.

  Kill her?

  Oh Fuck! Panic raced through her veins like wildfire as her imagination supplied images of Sandy finding her dead when she returned. Imagined what else he might do to her. A scream welled in her throat, once again trapped by the fabric.

  She fought the handcuffs until her wrists were raw and bloody. Nausea roiled and she panicked even more, fearing she’d choke if she vomited into the gag.

  Stop it. You have to stay calm if you’re going to get through this. Focus on controlling your breathing. Just get through it. You can survive.

  God, she’d liked him. Even trusted him. What was it with her choice in guys? Her vision clouded with tears, she buried her face in the bedding and concentrated on just getting through the ordeal.

  How many minutes had passed since she’d been so warm, so comfortable with the covers pulled over her? Ten minutes? Twenty? An hour? The room was so cold now. So cold. Her flesh crawled as warmth leaked from her, in slow trickles over her skin to pool under her belly.

  Whether it was his sweat or her blood, she couldn’t tell.

  When he finally set down the bloodied strap, every nerve ending in her back and ass had been touched by the fires of hell. He swiped a finger over her hip and made a feral sound of approval. Fear changed to hatred when his fingers closed around the leather belt and it again disappeared from view.

  Fuck him. There was no way she was going to be a statistic on a police blotter. She had to get free. She had to do it herself.

  How?

  The security system. She had to get free and push the panic button hidden beside her bedside table.

  How? repeated through her head. She was tied hand and foot. Unable to move. Unable to speak.

  You have to make him want to release you.

  “Take the gag off me, baby,” she mouthed through the fabric, her throat raw. “Let me blow you.”

  If he understood her, he didn’t fall for her ploy. Instead, he started poking around in her toy drawer. With his back turned, she clawed at the metal links, hoping to find a release like Sandy’s pair had even though she knew there was none. Her repeated attempts to kick away the bindings at her ankles only served to snarl the knots tighter.

  Her muscles seized when he straddled her and his fingers parted her ass crack. Oh God, no. She’d done anal with him once and vowed never again. Apparently he’d forgotten that night. Her ass clenched around the intrusion, the memory of the pain he’d caused before a virulent entity.

  Fight him!

  Her repeated attempts to buck him off failing miserably, she tried to tell him to use more lube, to use the whole damned tube, to fuck her pussy, anything else. The tissues at her opening burned when he shoved his dick in without waiting for her body to adjust. While he’d used some lube, just like last time he hadn’t used enough.

  As he pounded into her abused flesh, he whispered a stream of filth into her ear. The control she’d so desperately clung to shattered and the sobs she’d tried to choke back exploded. She screamed until her lungs burned and her throat seized. Unable to draw a proper breath, her vision greyed and she prayed for unconsciousness. A prayer that wasn’t answered.

  By the time he pulled out of her, she’d lost all track of time, trapped in a morass of pain and loathing, for him and for her. A smidgen of hope flickered that he’d finally untie her. Its tiny ray wavered and died when he wandered out of the room without a word.

  From the flickering light, she could only guess he’d turned on the television but the lack of sound confused her until she recognized the familiar click of a keyboard and realized he’d taken his laptop from her dresser. He’d fucking raped her and now was sitting on her couch checking his email or playing some goddamned computer game?

  She slammed her head into the pillow, cursing Mitch, herself and even Sandy for going away, for having fun while she was here, trussed up, helpless.

  Despair replaced anger, leaching all the fight from her body. She was alone. Totally and completely alone. All because she’d been too tired, too stupid, to tell him to go home. To break it off right then and there.

  “Yeah, I told you I’d get it for you. Trust me.” Mitch’s voice startled her. She lifted her head only to realize he hadn’t returned. That he wasn’t speaking to her. So who was he talking to? Chills wracked her at the thought he might have invited others to participate tonight.

  There was a pause, then he started speaking again. “I understand, but you have to give me some time here. I’m so damned close I can almost taste it.” Another pause. Thank God, he’d not invited someone else; he was on the phone. “No, I couldn’t get it that way but I found another way in that’ll work just as good. Don’t worry. I’ll get the address. Once I find her, I’ll get you the money. I promise.”

  The room went silent again except for more tapping. Exhausted, she closed her eyes, trying to marshal her thoughts off her pain, focus on devising a plan to escape. She had no idea if she’d slept or fallen unconscious, but she awoke to him untying her right ankle.

  She tested her left leg and found it already unbound. Before she could react, he flipped her onto her back. Her breath hissed from her and she arched at the agony of the fabric touching her wounds.

  “Jazz baby, you may not have been the woman I intended to pick up at Rusty’s that night, but you’ve worked out pretty good too.”

  When he started to crawl between her thighs she kicked out at him, catching him in the side of his face with her heel. With a curse, he sat on her legs and swiped his hand over his mouth. He stared at the blood on his fingers. “What the fuck? Why’d you do that?”

  She tried to spit out the gag and once again failed so resorted to cursing him out through the fabric.

  “Aw, Jazz baby, you’re mad at me for leaving you tied up and gagged?” He leaned over and pulled down the gag.

  Afraid he might leave her tied up, or worse, if she cursed him the way she wanted to, she forced herself to stay calm. “Undo the cuffs so I can touch you. The key’s in the top drawer.”

  He rummaged around for what seemed like forever before finding the key. Instead of immediately unlocking the cuff, he took his time dragging the metal over her midriff and up her cleavage. “I gotta tell you, you’re sexy as hell all tied up like this.”

  Jazz started trembling when his cock grew half-hard. No way was he going to get another chance to fuck her. To hurt her. “Come on, Mitch honey. Unlock me so I can take care of that bad boy for you.”

  “I don’t know. I think I’ll
let you suck me off right where you are.”

  “I’ll make it good for you. I’ll get on my knees in front of you, be your slave, just the way you like.” Tell him whatever he wants to hear to get out of this. “I’ll deep-throat you. You know I give good head, baby. You’ve told me I’m good at it. And it’s less tiring for you that way. You could sit in the chair if you want.”

  Come on, let me go. Do it.

  After a moment’s hesitation, he relented. But he was standing between her and the damned panic button. Fine. There was one out in the living room.

  As soon as he freed her, she dragged herself to the edge of the bed and stood. Her legs felt like there were no bones within them, her back as if it were on fire, but she forced herself not to sag to the floor. She staggered to the living room, ignoring his calls asking where she was going.

  Just another four steps, maybe five. She could do this. She had to. Her arm trembling, she lifted her hand to press the panic button. Mitch grabbed her arm, spun her around. “What the fuck are you doing? You hit that button you’ll have half of Hauberk as well as the police here. What’s your fucking problem?”

  “My problem? My problem? You fucking raped me, you asshole, and you ask me what my problem is?” God, she couldn’t stop shaking.

  “Rape?” He shoved her against the wall, using his weight to once again hold her in place. “No way. Uh-uh. You said you were into rough stuff. You’re the one who suggested being tied up. You could have said no any time. You can’t deny you were moaning and writhing and everything. You were into it as much as me.”

  “How could I say no when you’d fucking gagged me? I never said you could whip me like a fucking racehorse. My back hurts like hell and my ass…” Holy fuck, she was so fucking sore. It felt like he’d damaged something deep inside. “I told you last time, I never wanted anal from you again.”

  His expression hardened and he released her. “Isn’t that typical. Say yes one minute and then when you’ve had your fun you scream your head off and cry rape. Fucking bitch.” He pressed on her shoulders, forcing her to her knees. “You were the one with the handcuffs, not me. You’re the one who let me gag you. Face it, you wanted my cock in your ass. So it hurt a little. Big fucking deal. You told me before you like a little pain when we have sex, you just don’t want to admit you got off.”