Stockholm Syndrome

by Brooks, JB

  “Brother, what the fuck took you so long? I’ve been here for almost an hour!”

  Mason arched an eyebrow at the van. A loud ticking noise was emanating from the general vicinity of the engine. “Need you ask?”

  “It’s just cooling off. You obviously don’t have the touch for driving my old girl.”

  “No I don’t. And I hope that I never have enough experience to acquire it. The driver’s seat’s given me a backache!”

  “My heart bleeds for you. Where’s Evelyn?”

  “Tied up in the back. I’ll get her now.”

  “She’s tied up in the back of my sleeper van?” Owen groaned. “I’m not gonna fucking sleep tonight, picturing that!”

  “Bugger off, you little perv!” snapped Mason, going ’round to the back of the van. Owen had clearly recovered from his fright of the night before and was back to his typical irreverent manner. “You will treat her with nothing but respect. Make yourself useful and go ask Edna to put out some snacks. All we’ve eaten is the junk you put in that Esky.”

  “It’s already laid out on the deck,” said Owen smugly. “I also told Edna and George they were done for the day and could go. Thought you might like some privacy when you bring home the girl you kidnapped.”

  “Piss off, Owen! This is not a joking matter.” Mason glared ferociously and Owen retreated into the house.

  “Caveman!” he taunted as he disappeared from view.

  Muttering curses, Mason opened the doors.

  “Let’s get you out of there.” He pulled Evelyn closer and released the rope that bound her hands to her feet.

  “About bloody well time!” With a pained groan, she slowly straightened out. He started unraveling the restraints from her feet, relieved that there was no bruising, just some dark-pink compression marks. He rubbed her ankles and she kicked weakly at him.

  “Get your hands off me, damn it! Untie my wrists.”

  He undid the remaining bonds rapidly then stepped back to allow her to get out of the van.

  Her legs quaked. He took her arm to support her, tightening his grip when she tried to shake off his hand.

  “Don’t, you’ll fall.” He moved closer, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her against his side. “Come through to the deck. You can sit down and have something to eat.”

  They squeezed clumsily through the kitchen door in tandem, and he led her across an enormous country-style kitchen and down a long, wide hall with polished wooden floors and a lofty ceiling. She peered into rooms as they passed on the left and right, getting a fleeting impression of a spacious and comfortable home.

  They crossed a large sitting room and went through some wide-flung sliding doors onto an expansive deck. Evelyn gasped at the view.

  Positioned on the brink of a hill, the house overlooked a sweeping panorama of nature. A large lake, lined with trees, spread up to the lawn turf, and horses grazed on the banks. Behind the lake, forested hills stretched away as far as the eye could see.

  “Welcome to Brady Ranch.”

  Chapter Four

  As far as prisons went, this was pretty classy, thought Evelyn as Mason pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down. Everything was so huge—the view, the house, the deck, even this table! It was long enough to seat a dozen people. One end was laden with food, and plates were set out invitingly. Her mouth watered at the sight of the cheese selection and crackers. There was also fruit salad, a cold meat platter, salmon spread, and crusty white bread with butter. A jug of iced orange juice shed beads of condensation, and a bottle of white wine wallowed in an ice bucket alongside some glasses.

  “Wine or juice, Evelyn?” asked Mason, handing her a plate.

  “Both, please.”

  He chuckled, and poured her drinks while she piled her plate with food, then he and Owen dished up. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

  She took a deep breath. There were things she needed to know. Some of them she wanted to discuss with Mason in private, but there was at least one thing that she could ask with Owen present.

  “Mason, will you please explain what happened last night at the university? You said that you were playing a game and you mistook me for somebody else. I think I have the right to know how I ended up in this situation.”

  The brothers exchanged glances.

  “Yeah, you do,” said Mason. He paused for a moment.

  “Well, are you gonna tell her, or should I?” prompted Owen.

  “You should go away!”

  “Fuck that! I haven’t finished eating. Besides, I was there!”

  Mason sighed and turned away from Owen. “Have you ever had a rape fantasy, Evelyn?”

  She choked and spluttered into her orange juice. “That’s none of your business!”

  He eyed her keenly. “Well, I think you have. I think you know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t look so shocked! It’s more common than you’d think. And it doesn’t mean that you really want it to happen. It’s only a fantasy, but it can be a very exciting and arousing one.”

  Evelyn felt her cheeks blazing. She didn’t know what to say. This was dangerous ground.

  “Well, I… I’m taking postgrad psychology. I’ve encountered the concept, of course.” She was babbling, and they both knew it. “There are studies, you know. Statistics. But there are problems—”

  Mason cut her off. “Let me put it in terms you might find a little more…palatable, Evelyn. Maybe you’ve had fantasies about a man being so crazy for your body, so out of his mind with desire for you, and you alone, that he can’t restrain himself. Can’t hold himself back. So he takes what he wants. He surrenders to the undeniable craving. To you…” His voice trailed off in a low whisper. She stared at him, her heart pounding. Owen watched them with an amused expression on his face.

  Mason blinked and cleared his throat. “Anyway, every September break, a game called The Chase is played at the university. It’s been going on for years. A group of men and women get together and act out a rape fantasy.”

  Evelyn gasped. “There were rumors about that! When I was doing my undergrad studies there was a lot of talk about students getting together to play some sex game, but we could never find out if it was true. I never believed it personally.”

  “Well, it is true. It’s a very well-kept secret, and I’m surprised to hear that there were so much as rumors about it.”

  “It was more like an urban legend. But nobody knew anything solid. I haven’t even heard about it since I came back to study postgrad, but then I don’t really socialize with the students.”

  “Participation is highly exclusive. You have to be invited, and the organizers are very careful about whom they ask. You’re not the type who would have received an invitation.”

  “Why not? What’s wrong with me?” She realized that she sounded indignant and blushed.

  “Nothing at all, but it’s obvious you’re an innocent.”

  “I’m not innocent! I’ve been married, for goodness’ sake! I’m not some blushing virgin!”

  “Really? Then you won’t get embarrassed if I remind you how I made you come with my mouth?”

  Her wineglass went flying and shattered on the deck. She wasn’t embarrassed. She was appalled. Her face burned and to her horror, her pussy spasmed violently.

  “I… I’ve had too much wine!” she blurted, distressed.

  “No, you haven’t. You’re just a good girl. Has anyone ever made you come like that before?”

  She looked around in dismay, seeking an escape. Owen was gone. She hadn’t noticed when he’d left, but she was profoundly grateful that he had. Mason pursued the subject with the tenacity of a starving dog hanging on to a bone.

  “Tell me, Evelyn! Has anybody ever spread you open and sucked and licked you ’til you came apart? Has any other man ever tasted you there, and swallowed your juices? Has anyone ever told you how sweet you taste—sweet and tangy? You’re completely addictive …”

  “Stop! Oh god, please just st
op!”

  He hadn’t moved, but his eyes burned into hers across the corner of the table. He was doing something to her, reminding her of the one thing she’d resolved never to think about—her moment of greatest shame…and greatest pleasure. She sank back into the cushion of her chair, shaking.

  “That’s why you wouldn’t have been approached, Evelyn. Whatever private fantasies you might have, you wouldn’t dream of really letting a strange man hold you down and fuck you.” His voice dropped again, roughened. “That’s what they do when they play The Chase. What we do. The men wear masks and the women wear veils, at least until the game is underway. There’s no pairing up with boyfriends and girlfriends. You might end up with somebody that you know, but you probably won’t. And that’s what we want.”

  “What do they do?” she whispered, repelled and fascinated at the same time and wet between her legs. The combination of arousal and embarrassment confused her.

  “Do? Anything. Everything! The women run away, but they want to be caught. They walk into dark places. They hide and scream, and sometimes they fight us, but they want us to take control. It’s our will, our way.” He held her pinned in his gaze.

  “What I did to you was just a beginning, Evelyn. I could sense your fear. I wondered if you were a first timer. I took it easy on you.”

  She plunged back into the memory. He had been gentle, with all the massaging and touching, and his lips on her breasts. Her nipples tightened, and there was no way to hide it from him, braless as she was. His eyes flicked down and back to hers, darkening. The air between them sizzled with intensity.

  She looked away first, unable to bear it. “Isn’t it risky? What about STDs?” The tension was broken, replaced with an edgy sense of stress.

  “All right,” he said. “I’ll let you change the subject since I wanted to talk to you about that anyway. From my side, you’ve got nothing to worry about. I get tested often, and I’m healthy. You have my absolute assurance.”

  As if she’d been holding her breath for hours, Evelyn exhaled in a long sigh.

  His eyes were sympathetic. “You were worried about that?”

  “Very. When I got divorced, it was because I caught my husband cheating on me, with two women. He’d never been tested, and I was so terrified that he might have passed something on to me that I had a test every month for six months after we split. I was worried about window periods and every time was awful, waiting in suspense for the results. I thought I was going to have to go through it all again. You are sure…?”

  “I’m not in a window period, Evelyn,” he said gently. “I’m sorry you were so frightened. Until last night, I’ve only been with one person for the last four years, and I always used condoms. It really is okay.”

  “So you’ve got a girlfriend?”

  “No. It’s just an arrangement. There are no strings attached.”

  “A four-year arrangement?”

  “Yes, she’s married. And before you judge me, let me assure you that I’m not in any danger of breaking up that family. If anything, I’m helping. But I can walk away at any time.”

  “Oh. So why didn’t you use a condom last night with me?”

  “Believe me, I wish I had. But before any of the players can join The Chase, they have to produce evidence that they tested clear for STDs and the women have to be on birth control, so it’s a safe environment for play. But those rules don’t apply to you, so I have to ask…could you be pregnant?”

  She was tempted to keep him in suspense, to pay him back for some of the anxiety he’d caused her, but his handsome face was tired and concerned. She just didn’t have the heart.

  “I won’t be pregnant. I’m on the pill.”

  He leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes with his forearm.

  “Thank god,” he whispered. “I was more worried about that than anything else.”

  A moment later, he sat forward again. “Why are you on the pill? Earlier you told me that you’re not having sex with anybody. Is there something that you forgot to mention?”

  “No. I’m on the pill because I travel a lot.”

  He shrugged. “What’s traveling got to do with being on the pill?”

  She sighed. This was such a personal thing to discuss. In all respects but one, Mason was a stranger to her. But he’d been honest with her. She closed her eyes so that she didn’t have to look at him while she explained.

  “I use it to control when I get my period. I can delay it, or even skip it if I’ve got a trip planned. I do a lot of hiking and physical stuff, and I don’t want the inconvenience.”

  “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “You’re not supposed to. It’s probably not great for my health, but it’s just occasionally.”

  “Well, whatever your reasons, I’m damn glad you’re on it. But who do you do all this traveling with?”

  “I go alone.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “What, always?”

  “I got married too young. I never had a chance to travel, or do any of the things that I wanted to do, so after I got divorced, I decided to remedy the situation.” She shouldn’t be telling him so much about herself, but after the other intimate subjects they’d broached, it seemed pointless to be cagey over discussing travel.

  “Don’t you get lonely, or frightened?

  “Yes, of course, sometimes. But I manage, and it’s always been worth it. I’ve had some amazing experiences.”

  The expression in his eyes resembled respect, or she hoped it did, but he said no more. The silence grew uncomfortable.

  He stood up abruptly, and she jumped at the scraping of his chair on the wooden deck. “Shall I show you to your room now, Evelyn? You might like to have a rest or a shower.”

  She got to her feet. “Thank you, I’d like that.”

  He led her through the cool interior of the house to a beautiful bedroom with polished wood floors and a high, wood-beamed ceiling. A fan stirred the air lazily above a green-quilted king-sized bed, and a pale-green armchair stood in the corner next to the window, alongside a bookshelf crammed with books, magazines, and interesting ornaments. A television mounted on the wall opposite the bed, a chest of wooden drawers with a mirror, and a plush woven rug on the floor completed the furnishings. Peering through another door on the far side, she discovered a small en-suite bathroom with a shower.

  “This is charming.”

  “Good,” he said. “You should find everything you need in here. Your backpack is over there, next to the bed. Dinner will be at seven. I’ll see you then.”

  “Okay.”

  He paused at the door and removed the key. Then he closed it behind him, and she heard him lock it. Her heart sank. They might be out in the middle of nowhere, but he was taking no chances.

  She checked the window to see if it offered any possibilities for escape, but the house was raised high on wooden stumps on that side. The ground fell sharply away toward the lake in a two-story drop. The bathroom window was the same. There was no way to get out. She ran her fingers through her hair, rubbing her scalp and neck, trying to ease the tension in her muscles. It was looking more and more likely that she’d have to resort to the desperate plan she’d thought of earlier, but she wasn’t quite ready to give up on other avenues of escape yet.

  She showered and washed her hair. She helped herself liberally to wonderful, indulgent toiletries packed in the bathroom cupboard. She dressed in another floppy white t-shirt and soft, gray leggings from her backpack, comfortable clothes that she’d intended to sleep in on her trip. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders in a mass of dark curls. The only shoes she had were her trainers and hiking boots, and they were much too hot, so she stayed barefoot.

  Mason knocked on her door at precisely seven o’clock. “Are you ready, Evelyn? Can I open the door?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  He turned the key in the lock and swung the door wide. They stared at each other. He’d also showered, and his hair was still damp.
It looked as if he’d tried to brush it back out of his eyes, but it flopped over his forehead already, obviously annoying him. Dark stubble shaded his cheeks and framed his taut, sexy lips. He wore board shorts, black with white scribbles all over them, and a black vest that revealed his powerful arms. Just visible above the neckline of the vest, she saw the start of the line between his pecs below the sinewy muscles of his neck. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

  He was barefoot, like her, and his calves were powerful and well developed. She couldn’t help but compare him to her ex-husband, Joel, who had such spindly legs because he only worked on his upper body at the gym. There was nothing disproportional about Mason Brady. He was big, strong, and muscular everywhere.

  She flushed hotly. Damn, she’d been gaping at him like an idiot for at least a minute. And she just hated how she blushed so easily!

  ***

  Mason grinned at Evelyn. There was the adorable blush again. She had that fair, almost translucent skin tone that glowed when the slightest bit of heat brought the blood to the surface, making her look as if someone had slapped her cheeks.

  Of course, that made him think about bringing the blood to the surface on other parts of her. The cheeks of her ass would turn such a hot shade of pink if he spanked her, and just the lightest flogging would make her amazing breasts swell and glow. His cock sprang from semi-erect to rigid as the intense visual flashed into his mind. Luckily she was now looking everywhere except at him, so she probably wouldn’t spot it, though he might have to rethink his wardrobe while she was around. The light fabric of the board shorts tented rather easily.

  His nostrils flared, picking up the scent of warm, freshly showered female. She looked so clean and scrubbed, all natural and youthful in that oversized t-shirt that couldn’t possibly hide her tits. Her legs were surprisingly muscular and shapely, probably from all the hiking, and the toenails of her tidy little feet gleamed with clear nail polish.

  Oh, how he wanted to dirty her and muss her up, ravish her ’til she unraveled and came apart under him! He was shocked at his compulsion to mark her. The need to cover her skin with his sweat and his saliva, to shoot his come deep inside her so that she could never be rid of him, was overwhelming. Right now, when he looked at the slender, vulnerable column of her throat rising from the wide neck of her shirt, he wanted to clamp his lips down over that smooth skin and give her a big purple hickey for the entire world to see! And he hadn’t done that to a girl since he was a teenager!