by Melissa Jane
He stalked closer, deftly unclipping his belt buckle. I knew from the moment our eyes connected that fatal day at the café there was something inexplicably sinister and dangerous about him. Hindsight taunted me from its safe place within my head and yet again I found myself wishing I had listened to my intuition that sounded its alarm bells loud enough for the whole of San Diego to hear.
Unthreading the leather belt through his trouser loops, he tossed it onto the bed before slowly unbuttoned his shirt, each movement calculated, designed to intimidate me. Pulling the shirt off to reveal his finely sculptured tanned body, it was obvious he was a proud and confident man.
“You like what you see, mamasita,” Juan smiled shamelessly. He wasn’t asking and I wasn’t interested in responding to his assumption. Pulling me to my feet with relative ease, Juan found little resistance, just my dead weight. He maintained his grip, drawing me in close, his body heat radiating between us.
We stood face to face, my aggressor's molten lava eyes burning into mine, his jet black brows creasing slightly with a determination I would struggle to fight. He snaked his hand around the cusp of my neck, his long fingers digging into my sensitive skin as he pulled my face closer to his. Panic soared within me when our mouths became only a hair width apart, a faint scent of alcohol on his breath. We were both breathing heavily, but for completely separate reasons. Terror racked my body and uncontrollable lust consumed his.
Before I could blink, Juan’s lips pressed forcibly down on mine, trapping me between his unforgiving hand and demanding mouth. My split lip screamed in agony but he paid no concern to any hurt he was causing me. His tongue, in desperate search of mine persisted in trying to break through my tightly sealed lips until finally he forced entry.
Groaning with pleasure at the sudden access, Juan’s tongue found mine despite my best efforts to evade him. He licked and stroked with a rhythmic pressure, adding force when he felt my resistance against his hand. Pushing against his chest for reprieve, I only met rock hard muscle that wasn’t going to budge. Juan breathed heavily through his nose, the warm air hitting my face throughout the struggle. Finally relenting, he pulled his mouth away from mine, his expression primal and predatory. Juan wasn’t going to leave it at a kiss. He wanted more and I dreaded to think what that might mean for me.
“What a treat you are,” Juan began in a husky whisper, his index finger caressing my jaw bone. “My thoughts are only of you and how much I need to have you.”
Still holding me firmly in position, his lips met mine again, but this time they were much softer and gentle, the intimate tenderness of his touch catching me completely unawares.
After a few moments, Juan relinquished my mouth and with his thumb swiped the stray tear falling down my cheek.
“You are my greatest find yet, mamasita. And you just walked straight up to me, out of nowhere as if it were fate. Our worlds were meant to collide that day.”
His words almost sounded sincere, as if he truly believed what he was saying. In any other context, they would be considered romantic, but now in this moment, every word he spoke made me sick to the core. Just like someone flicked the light switch on and off I watched nervously as the seriousness faded from his expression and was instantly replaced with the sinister look I had become so accustomed too.
“A beautiful girl like you surely would have had many men sharing her bed. Am I correct in my assumption?”
Juan’s grazing finger stilled on my jaw as he assessed my demeanor. “I bet I know what you would enjoy having done to you, what excites and gets you off.”
I cast my gaze over his shoulder avoiding his lustfully driven suggestion. “Perhaps after I finish pleasuring you, the favor could be returned… you see I have certain needs I know you would be able to fulfill.”
My mouth opened slightly in protest over his assertions, but he was quick to place a finger over my lips to hush me. I took it as a warning and decided against openly demonstrating my repulsion. Instead, my teeth clenched shut to the point of aching and I knew I had to keep my cool and ignore the baiting.
A low chuckle reverberated from Juan’s throat as his hand left my arm and slipped down the front of my panties to cup my sex. He rubbed hard before pinching my clit between his fingers then laughed at my attempts to buck away from him.
My hand rose to his cheek, connecting with a loud, angry slap, his barely surprised face snapping sharply to the side. I froze with horror at what I had done, his darkened, tempestuous eyes unnerving me. I was oblivious to his actions that followed until I felt the sharp pull of my hair. He swung me around until our bodies connected with my back against his chest.
Pulling me closer, I could feel his erection pressing against my lower back, his spicy cologne filling my nostrils. It wasn’t an unpleasant fragrance, but it was extremely overpowering and only added to the nausea I was already experiencing. Juan jerked my head back to see my face, his lips twisting into a snarl as he spoke.
“You shouldn’t do that, carina, it turns me on. But let’s not kid ourselves, you’re a girl who likes it a little rough, I can tell.”
He didn’t wait for my response, instead pushing me toward the bed, forcing me down until my body bent over the edge of the mattress. Juan’s hand pushed the side of my face into the softness of the comforter, his erection between my ass cheeks threatening me with gentle thrusting movements.
My muffled pleas broke the silence, but they fell on deaf ears as Juan tore the thin material that was my panties from my body.
“Please stop, please! Don’t do this.”
Paying no attention to my pleas, Juan wedged his knee in-between my legs to prize them open.
As his hand moved between my thighs, Juan’s throaty groans of pleasure mixed with my gentle sobbing, filling the space around us and highlighting the brutal fact I was alone with a monster. There were people here under the same roof, but no one who was concerned for my safety or willing to set me free.
With a sharp pull, my bra suffered the same fate as the panties. His hand seized my shoulder, flipping me roughly onto my back and moved me further onto the bed. A louder groan escaped Juan’s lips as he took in my nakedness, his eyes hooded over with undisguised lust.
When his eyes met mine, danger flashed its warning signals like a beacon through his chocolate brown irises. My stomach dropped with the dreaded realization of what was about to occur. A sense of foreboding plagued my thoughts. Was this really my destiny? Had my once structured and independent life been broken down to become nothing more than a possession, a novelty for someone else’s amusement?
When Juan began unzipping his trousers and lowering them to the floor, I stole the opportunity to scurry to the far side of the bed, a futile act that would only spare me a few brief moments. As anticipated, my efforts were in vain. I made it no further than halfway across the mattress before his vice-like grip circled my ankle, pulling me screaming back toward him. Kicking wildly with my free leg, I aimed for his smug face, but like a pro footballer he caught my flailing limb with one hand in a matter of seconds to effortlessly regain control.
Climbing on top to straddle me, Juan clasped my tear-stained face in one hand, his fingers ruthlessly digging into my skin. I pushed forcefully at his arms in an effort to throw him off balance, only to find determined muscles bulging under my resistance. Without skipping a beat, I moved to claw at his face. My nails were long enough to do significant damage to his handsomely groomed features, but again he outpaced me. I did not doubt that Juan had come into this room having already pre-empted my every move.
In one swift action, he collected both my hands, his long fingers wrapping around my wrists before pinning them above my head.
His eyes were alight with the thrill of this sick game he was playing and a cruel smile twisted his lips. My every struggle and whimper only egged him on like a school yard bully until I buried my face into my right arm as a futile means of escape.
“Don’t hide your face,” he warned. Reluctant
ly, I turned back to face him. “I want to see the fear in your beautiful eyes.”
As he kneed between my thighs again, spreading me open and leaving me vulnerable, I twisted and contorted my body to buck him off.
With my chest heaving with exertion, Juan lowered himself onto me, pressing eagerly against my opening. My body responded by trembling with terror, a sight that only widened his smile. Through blurry vision, I saw Juan wink at me a microsecond before pain seared through my groin and a scream escaped my lips.
He eyed me such sickening delight I knew I was in for a long night of pain and humiliation.
“From now on you’re going to be my little whore!”
***
With his belt in hand, Juan straddled me, a sated look on his proud face. After he finished his deed, I was too weak and sore to protest, giving him the perfect opportunity to continue his abuse. Gathering and binding my wrists together with the leather belt, Juan pulled me off the bed only to have my legs collapse beneath me.
“Move,” he demanded, yanking me toward him.
“You don’t have to tie me up. I won’t try anything.”
I was so uncomfortably tender, all I wanted was to sleep.
“It’s only for a short while until I return for more,” he smirked once again as he noted my failing breath. I was exhausted, destroyed… and unwilling to move.
It didn’t seem to matter as Juan dragged me over to the window, pulling the curtain aside to reveal the security bars. Wrapping the rest of the belt around the iron, I found I had no leeway with length. It was too short for me to stand or to sit comfortably. The horizontal bar that cut across the window prevented me from moving the belt higher or lower.
His hand pushed down upon my shoulder, forcing my legs to fold underneath, leaving my arms partially raised. With the patterned wallpaper confronting me, I rested my forehead against it in defeat.
Juan’s hand gripped my hair, tilting my head back to stare down at me from above.
“Have you ever been to a circus, bonita?”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. More to the point, I didn’t care to.
“I visited Vazquez Hermanos Circus as a child in Guadalajara.”
My neck was aching from being bent backwards and my eyes felt heavy in my head. Focusing on Juan’s narrative was growing intensely difficult despite knowing there would be consequences for 'insubordinate' behavior.
“I loved it. I recall marveling at the enormous colored tents erected across the grassy field and the majestic vibe of the circus entertainers in costume and painted faces as they mingled around the guests before and after the show. But what struck me as the most magnificent sight of all was the lion. This enormous beautiful creature who in the wild would carry more majesty than a thousand Kings and Queens combined, yet in the ring, under the colorful dome, it was nothing more than a slave to those who controlled its every move. Ringleaders, who as a child, I had held in such high regard, had tamed this regal beast of an animal and stripped it of all its natural spirit and self-worth.”
Juan pushed my head back down, easing the ache in my neck and shoulders. Cupping my chin, he turned my face gently to meet his as he squatted down next to me.
“You see, after the show had finished and the crowd had disappeared, I stood in front of the cage that held this lion. It was dark inside, but I could see his eyes glistening in the shadows. When I approached the metal bars separating us, the beast let out an almighty roar, baring his blunted teeth. You see, what I am trying to tell you, Laila, is that night changed my life. I realized that control didn’t just exist in one’s mind, there was a process of breaking the spirit of something so strong. It wasn’t impossible after all and even though the lion tried to frighten me, at the end of the day it was captive, behind bars, only released under strict control and punished if it ever did wrong.”
Juan’s eyes glistened now with amusement as he waited for his words to sink in. “You my love, are that creature. My own personal toy to bring out whenever I want you to entertain me. If you disobey, then I will beat you until you break and learn your place. Your days of freedom are no longer. I am your ringmaster.”
Juan ran his thumb over my quivering chin in a show of mock affection.
“Shhhh,” he soothed. “You make a beautiful caged animal.” He stood but not before delivering the final blow. “Now don’t you go anywhere,” he taunted, laughing. “I’m not done for tonight.”
Moments later, I heard the welcome sound of the door clicking shut. Unable to rein in the emotion, my shoulders shook violently with each sob and tear that fell. Gulping air between wails, cramps seized my sides as if I had been winded. The nausea I tried desperately to suppress returned with a vengeance and the contents of my stomach lurched from my mouth and onto the carpet in front of me. Only when my arms began to lose feeling did my cries cease and my mind become consumed with freeing myself from the belt.
I pulled against the bar, hoping to loosen the leather or to find a weak spot, but my efforts worked against me as the belt tightened mercilessly around my purpling skin. There truly was no escape.
I hung my head in defeat. My life may not be over, but my universe had shifted. I would never be the same after what Juan did to me.
I truly was a captured animal.
That poor lion.
Chapter Twelve
Laila
Time passed. How long exactly, I didn’t know. I no longer cared to know.
The door clicked open and I was immediately filled with dread. Instantly my body tensed, but I refused to turn around to acknowledge his arrival.
His body leaned over mine and determined hands worked to untie the belt, his imposing physique casting a shadow over my defeated form. After some effort, the leather finally gave way from the bar and my wrists were freed. The pent up blood began to once again flow through my limbs, but my arms had lost all feeling. They fell limp at my legs, landing with a heavy thud, my body falling sideward onto the carpet like a tossed aside rag doll. I didn’t even flinch when a hand circled my upper arm pulling me to my feet.
His hand let go and wrapped around my waist to balance and hold me from falling. Something felt different. Juan left this room having assaulted my body and now he returned to treat me with a foreign tenderness I wasn’t accustomed to from him.
“Hold on to my arm,” spoke a voice that wasn’t Juan’s.
In an instant, my head shot up to see Aiden’s concerned face, his chiseled jaw set in a strong line, the veins in his neck exposed with explosive tension.
We remained rooted to the ground, caught in this strange embrace, the twitch in Aiden’s jaw the only movement. “What did he do to you?” he asked gently but his eyes seemed ablaze with fury.
No part of me wanted to divulge the awful events to him or anyone else. Acknowledging it to others would make it become a different type of real. I wasn’t ready to deal with that yet. In fact, possibly never in this lifetime –the shame was too great.
That didn’t stop my body from trembling and in response Aiden’s hold grew tighter. He held me steady for a few moments before reaching down the inside of my thigh. He ran his index finger upward then rubbed his two fingers together before I realized what he was doing.
As I had been hoisted to my feet, Juan’s evidence of being in me ran down my inner thigh, leaving a trail of clear stickiness.
This was humiliation at its inexplicable worst.
Aiden’s shoulders straightened and his muscular body grew tense. His capable arms lifted my languid and numb form off the floor into a gentle cradle. I knew I should be wary, on guard and show a degree of resistance, but I was overwhelmed with fatigue and this man who didn’t exude danger was wanting to care for me. At what cost, I didn’t want to know so I cast my suspicions to the deepest corner of my thoughts.
“Stay here,” he ordered, his voice robotic as he lowered me to the bed.
I heard the sound of water running in the bathroom, and not long after that, Aiden return
ed, his dominating, statuesque form silhouetted by the light behind him. It was a mean feat not to be awestruck by his presence, despite all that had transpired throughout the night. He just looked so… capable!
Aiden closed the few steps between us, his features now gently illuminated by the soft lighting. Again, he lifted my limp body so that I nestled against his broad chest. That familiar scent was intoxicating, like a citrus orchard, and in a strange way it was comforting.
I was lowered into the bath, the warm water that engulfed my body and the soap suds combined caressed my tender skin and stung the parts that had been dealt with roughly. A hand rose to my chin, but I pulled away quickly from his grasp. Juan had dug his fingers so deep into my skin I feared Aiden would do the same.
“It’s ok,” he soothed. “I won’t hurt you. I’m not him.” There was disdain in his cutting tone, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me.
Again he reached for my face, the gentle touch of his fingertips against my skin sending electrons to every nerve ending in my body. This time I allowed Aiden to turn my head to meet his stony gaze.
“Did Juan do this to your face?”
“No, Hector. Then Juan…” I just couldn’t bring myself to say it.
Aiden’s hand sank beneath the bubbles, his fingers lacing around my tender wrist. He studied the deep red marks the belt had left and gently attempted to massage the evidence away. I took this chance of distraction to study the man before me. While his touch was considerate and attentive, his face illustrated that of pure fury.
Aiden was beyond just being a handsome man. He looked powerful in all of his features, with big, strong, broad shoulders, bulging biceps, and large hands that looked capable of almost anything. He wasn’t a muscle man, he was too lean for that, but it was obvious physical strength was a priority for him. I had no doubt other men eyed him with envy and women with salacious lust. Aiden certainly did not present himself as a threat like Juan did and, for that very reason, my own muscles began to relax and my mind grew calm as his kneading thumbs worked their magic.