by Dani René
The blindfold is ripped away from my eyes and I stare into the gray eyes of the monster from my nightmares. “Such a pretty little girl,” he utters in a low, gravelly tone. The whisky on his breath is harsh to my nostrils, causing my body to convulse. “You have been on my mind for a long time. I watched you. Seen how beautiful you are. And of course, when I told your boss to send you to London, I knew my nephew would find you utterly alluring.” A sinister smirk forms on his face, making him scarier than I remember. He planned this.
“What do you mean?”
“You are working for Ainsworth International. It was my divine plan, Snowflake. And I knew my nephew and his best friend would lay claim to your pretty little ass.”
Realization dawns on me that I sent Carter away for the wrong reasons. I believed he was trying to hurt me when all the while, he had no idea. I was stupid. Every part of my body hurts. There isn’t anything I can do but hang from the chains above my head. My gaze flits around, taking in the large empty room we’re in. It’s dark, the only light coming from a small window near the ceiling.
It’s cold and I can’t stop shivering. As if it’s seeped into my sinew and bone. I’ll never be warm again.
“Did you think you could hide from me? I knew I’d find you fucking my nephew. He’s always been known for sticking his dick in anything with tits.” His chuckle is slightly demented, which sets me on edge. He’s drunk, angry, and he’s going to hurt me.
He takes two steps toward me, till his body is flush with mine. The stench of his breath has my stomach rolling and I taste the acidic bile in my throat.
“Just let me go. You don’t have to do this.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, Snowflake. I need to do this. I’m about to make sure that not even my nephew wants you.” His words tighten the ache in my chest and I realize it’s my heart breaking, bit by bit. Not having Carter or Bennett in my life would shatter me. In this short time, I felt connected to them on so many levels. Maybe it’s because they healed me. Made me realize I’m a beautiful woman.
“There isn’t anything you can do that will make him hate me.” Fire flares in my gut as rage takes over and I spit the words at him. I’m not giving up so easily. He’ll have to kill me before he breaks me.
“Well, I think there is. You see, I’ve been watching you. Keeping close tabs on your coming and going. And I know for a fact you’re ready for me to finally take what’s mine.”
“What?”
“I know you’ve been seeing a doctor to get your injection. However, my little Snowflake, you’re no longer protected. You’re primed to be taken and given a little…” He pats my stomach, gently. “Bun in the oven. Aren’t you?”
His words send me barreling into darkness. I realize he’s right. I should have gone this week for my shot. But since the move, I haven’t had a moment to find a doctor yet. My arms strain as I fight to pull them free, only hurting myself in the process.
“No. You’re wrong.” My words are weaker than I wanted them to be, and he knows it.
“Like fuck I am.” His hand rises and I feel the sting of the thick gold ring on my cheek. Blood spurts from my mouth.
I am strong. I am strong. I am strong.
I refuse to cry.
I steel myself, hiding inside my mind. My safe place. But it’s changed and morphed. It’s become something new and different. Something I recognize as emotion. As feeling. I see it for what it is. Love. The love of Bennett and Carter. Their touches, their kisses, their love.
“Look at me, bitch!”
My eyes open, but I’m cold. Closed off. There’s nothing there anymore. No feeling or emotion. I’ll never give this man anything again. His hand reaches up and grips my neck, tightening, choking me.
“You’ll remember my face until you die. One day, when you’re on your death bed, you’ll close those pretty eyes and you’ll remember my fucking face.” His hate fueled words don’t hurt me anymore because I know I’m no longer under his control. It’s over.
“No, I won’t. You know why? Because you’re a sick fuck who’ll never control me again. I’ll never succumb to you, ever again,” I spit in his face and I welcome death. I welcome the end because if this is the way I have to go then so be it.
I’m not a whore. I’m not broken. I’m a fucking woman.
His grip tightens and my vision blurs with little white lights. Stars. The sleepiness takes over, but before it can completely drag me from this life he loosens his hold on me. My lungs fill with air and I take long, choking breaths.
He steps away, pulling a small trolley over to where I’m hanging. My vision clears and the tears I refused to shed spill. Implements. Steel glinting in the dim light has me retching.
I am strong. I am strong. I am strong.
“Now we’ll play with my toys. My little fuck doll is going to get fixed today, so I can ensure she always remembers me.”
He lifts a silver chain with what look like metal pegs on either end. When he turns to me I recognize what he’s holding. Clamps.
He leans in, laving his tongue at my bare breasts, biting down on my nipples till I’m yelping in pain. He straightens and clamps each of them between the tiny metal teeth of the clamps and I can’t stop the scream that escapes my lips. “Mmm, I love hearing you scream. It makes me so fucking hard. You’ve always made my cock hard, Snowflake. Especially in your little school uniform. It took all my restraint to wait until you grew some tits.”
Another painful bite rips through my body as he clamps my clit. When he steps back he surveys his work with an evil smirk. “Beautiful.” Picking up his next torture device, he turns it on. The buzz of the thick plastic vibrator echoes through the empty room. “I remember watching you in the bath, your smooth soft skin,” he informs me and I can’t shut it out. “Every night I fucked your bitch of a mother picturing that tight bald little hole.”
I’m shaking my head so fast to stop his words from solidifying in my head. Dizziness takes over and I finally break. Tears spill and I allow them to bathe me.
“I recall how pretty your virtue looked on my thick cock when I stole it,” he continues. Placing the vibrator on my clit, he turns it on high, sending painful electric shocks through my body, and I realize it’s made to hurt me. “Are you getting wet for me, little one?” he questions and shoves the thick plastic inside me so deep I can feel it hit my womb.
“Fuck you!” My anger flares and I don’t know where I’m finding my strength, but I do as I bite back my retort. His laugh frightens me when he pulls the device from my raw sex and walks around me. I know what he’s about to do and I brace myself for the pain that comes all too soon and blackness surrounds me.
Carter
The warehouse in front of us looms in the darkness and I know he’s there. He has to be. This derelict part of Canary Wharf has been abandoned for months. Another SUV pulls up, and two men exit. Bennett’s team as he likes to call them.
Both men are dressed in black and they’re large, broad, and rock fucking solid. My girl is in there and before they can do anything more, I push forward.
“Carter.”
Ignoring Bennett, I race inside and find everything in darkness. The moon’s dim light filters through a small window, but other than that, we’re bathed in murky shadows. I can’t see much, but I realize there’s nobody here. Frustration boils inside of me and I’m about to punch a wall when I hear whimpering. Soft, sweet, female. Fuck.
A sliver of light shines from behind me and I realize one of the men must have brought a flashlight with them. The sight before me has me dropping to my knees. My girl. My woman. My love. Hanging from metal chains. Her body is bloody and her head hangs like a limp doll.
My vision blurs. Tears sting my eyes. Rushing forward, I reach for her face and see her flinch. “No.” The word is so soft I would have missed it if I wasn’t so close to her.
“Baby, it’s me. Please, Ella?” I plead with her to open her eyes and when she does I see every emotion I fe
el inside flit across those gray orbs. He must’ve taken her contacts out, because for the first time, I see her real eye color and it’s as alluring at the amethyst. I’ve fucking missed her looking at me. Making me feel like a man. Making me whole.
“Carter?” Her eyebrows crease in confusion and I nod. Her face is bloody and there are bruises that have swollen over one eye, which is almost shut. Her long, dark hair is matted and dirty, but it’s the rest of her body that’s got me more concerned. The two men manage to undo the chains holding her up and her body falls into my grasp, causing a painful cry to fall from her cracked lips.
“Come on, Princess, you’re going home with us.”
Bennett hands me the blanket and we wrap it around her. She feels so fragile in my arms and I’m so scared I’m hurting her.
“Get the doc to come to my place,” I ask my best friend. Before we can leave we hear a car door slamming from outside somewhere. He’s back.
Glancing at Bennett, I can see the anger burning like a wild fire in his eyes. “Let them take care of him. They’ll hold him until we can come back,” he growls. “Let’s get her out of here.”
We rush to the door and come face-to-face with the man I share blood with. The monster who not only violated my sister but the woman I love.
“What the fuck is going on here?” He’s not even afraid that we found him. He has no concern on his face. “You’re taking that dirty little whore?” A sinister laugh escapes his lips.
“How about you get out of the fucking way before I kill you, old man?” I spit at him as the two thugs my best friend brought along make their way to him. His eyes fall on them and he shrinks before my eyes. The evil fucker will get what’s coming to him.
My girl murmurs and her hands fist my shirt. It’s time to go.
“We’ll deal with this,” one of the men growls as I pass the monster. “Let us know when you need a location,” Sarge utters to Bennett and me.
I wish I could finish this now, but Ella comes first. I can’t have her in pain while I deal with him.
“We’ll be back.”
* * *
It’s been two hours since we arrived at my apartment. The doctor has been and gone. He’s given Ella some medication to let her sleep, but the screams she woke up to each time her eyes even fluttered closed have my body alert.
“She’s strong. Don’t worry so much.”
I drag my eyes up to meet those of my best friend. I nod. It’s all I can do. Not being there for her bothers me. I should have stayed with her, at her side. Both our phones beep and when I swipe the screen on mine I find a message with a photo attached.
Charles is hanging by those same metal chains. His body is bloody and bruised. I wanted to go there and do it myself, but Bennett said we needed to be here. I agreed. I couldn’t leave her, not right now. They’ve gotten orders to keep him alive as long as possible. From the looks of it, though, he’s bleeding out.
I want to hear him take his final breath. I wanted to say things to him that have been on my tongue for days, but as I stare at the image on my phone, I know he’s getting what he deserves and so am I. Ella and Bennett are here. We’re all three together and nothing will rip us apart this time. I’ll make sure of it.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out and sit back. “It’s over.” Relief washes over me then. Knowing one less predator is out there makes me feel better. The fact he was related to me makes me sick to my stomach.
“Carter, you need to get out of your head,” Bennett tells me, settling on the sofa beside me. It’s been a long while since we’ve really talked. Our emotions have been all over the place, but when I look at him, I realize we’ll all be together soon enough.
“Once Ella has healed, I want us to propose. Both of us. We can either each get her a ring or some token. She’s not alone anymore and neither are we,” I tell him. Taking in my best friend, I can’t help smiling. He nods in agreement.
“What do you think she’ll want us to do?” I ask him.
His brow creases in confusion as he regards me. I made my decision the moment I saw how he fought to find her. To save the woman we love.
“Do you think she’ll be able to give this a chance?”
My best friend stares at me for a moment before taking my hand in his. “We will have her. She’s ours. Ever since she walked into my office I knew. The thing is, I never expected to love her so much. It’s consuming.”
“It is.” Our pact was always in the back of my mind, but when Bennett leans in, his lips crash onto mine. The heat of him, his tongue fighting for dominance, which I don’t relinquish. I never thought of myself as bisexual. Not at all, but with him, I feel it down to my bones. We’ve tried to keep our friendship platonic, but there are moments we slip. Like right now as he pushes me onto the sofa. His body looms over mine.
“I love her. I love you. It makes sense,” he tells me. His hand is on the bulge in my trousers. My cock agrees. It wants them both. I know Ella doesn’t just love me, she loves him too. I’m not going to allow her to lose stability, when she needs it now more than ever.
I grasp his face in my hands, pulling him closer. I need this. I want her and I want him. I lean up to kiss him. Our tongues duel. His erection presses into my thigh and mine throbs in his hold.
“Are you sure?” His smile is wide and I know there’s no stopping this. There’s love that simmers through the three of us and it won’t stop now, and I hope it never stops.
“We do this and there’s no turning back. You hurt her—”
“I know. There’s no chance I’ll ever hurt her or you. If she chooses us both, then I’ll give her everything. She’ll smile every day. I love her, Carter.” His promise cements what I wanted to hear, what I already knew.
“She’s our priority now,” I utter. My body is alight with need. I want to be with them right now. I’m hungry for intimacy.
“There’s nothing that will take away those feelings, mate. We’ve finally found our girl and all I want to do is fuck you both until you’re screaming my name,” Bennett mumbles quietly. His voice is laced with need and desire I feel to my bones. Silence falls between us and for the first time in a long while I’m not sure what to say to him. My mind wanders to the first time I met Bennett.
* * *
“Who are you?” I question the new boy. I’m sitting in detention and Mr. Douche who’s supposed to be watching us fucked off. Leaving five seventeen-year-olds alone in a classroom is not going to bode well for him.
“Ainsworth,” he grumbles.
I can tell he wants to come off as a hard arse, but he’s not. His eyes are a deep green, which reminds me of the fresh new leaves on a tree in spring. Nothing like I’ve ever seen before. Bright and almost see-through.
“What kind of name is that?” I chuckle, but he stares at me deadpan. Fuck, he’s going to be fun to be around. He watches me for a moment longer before sliding into the seat beside me.
“Bennett Ainsworth. It’s my last name, wanker.” He curses in his accent, which sounds like he’s from up North. His shirt is wrinkled and his tie is undone. I think we could be great friends.
“Hamilton, Carter Hamilton.” I reach out my hand and he stares at it like I’ve got the fucking plague. Another beat, but I don’t move. In the end, he grips my hand in a firm shake.
“So, we’re friends now, Cart?” he questions, shortening my name like we’ve known each other for years. No other person ever calls me that, they know better, but for some reason, I allow Bennett to use that nickname.
Shrugging, I respond, “Yeah, I guess so.”
The bell rings at that moment and we shoot up from the small desks. I head down the steps, with my new friend beside me. I stop suddenly, remembering I need to get my sister.
“What the fuck?” He glares at me.
“I need to get Kat.” I motion toward the sports field. She had her piano practice after school and I can see all the girls huddled outside the classroom.
“Who’s Kat? Y
our girl?”
“No, my sister.” As we reach the girls, Katherine runs up to us. Her curly brown hair bops behind her and her amber eyes shine with mischief. She’s a handful and I have to keep her in line. If I don’t, I’m sure my sister will get herself into so much shit.
“Hi, I’m Kat.” She offers her hand to Bennett and he chuckles and I’m sure I see her blush.
Oh, fuck no!
“Yeah, this is Bennett. Let’s go,” I grumble in response to her flirting. I tug her along and we head out to the parking lot. I turn to him and take in the look he gives my sister. This is going to be a fucking pain in the arse. “Do you need a lift?” I ask.
He nods. “Aye, that will be good. Thanks.”
I watch my sister flop onto the backseat before I tug him by the collar. “Don’t you lay a fucking hand on her or I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you while the whole school watches. Do you understand me?” I growl under my breath, but all it earns me is a chuckle.
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.”
* * *
When I open my mouth the words just come to me. “I think I loved you since the moment I met you in detention. I may have hidden those feelings for a long time, but they were there. Now, we’ve got the perfect life. The perfect girl. And I have you. Ultimately, though, it is her choice.”
His gaze snaps to mine with affection in it and I know it’s something he’s thought of all the times we’ve been together. “You sure you want the world to know you’re into dick and pussy?” he questions with a chuckle, watching me for any uncertainty.
I nod. “I do.” This is something I want to do for her, for me, and for him.
Hopefully over time we can erase Ella’s pain. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
There’s love between us.
A triad of hearts, love, and devotion.