The Raven

by Terri Pray

  “Anyone else?”

  “No master.” She couldn't think straight enough to expand on her words, not unless he ordered to her.

  “What of Davien Blood.”

  “I belong to you, Master.” She sobbed, answering in the only way she could.

  “Not good enough, slave.” He growled, lifting the flogger up once more.

  What did he want from her? She could barely think at all. Now, as the flogger rained down on her body, she lost even that small ability to think. All she knew how to do was scream. And sink into depths of shame as her hips rolled, pressing against the pillow in a dark hunger that he had forced open the flood gates to.

  Welts. Endless welts.

  Pain that knew no end.

  Heat that rippled into her body, claiming her core, giving her no choice but to feel, to react, her inner thighs coated with her arousal. She couldn't stop it now. She'd never be able to again.

  “Who do you belong to, slave?”

  “You— you master. Only you.” She screamed the words out.

  “And Davien Blood, what of him?”

  “I— I know no such man, Master. Only you.” She grasped a the straw her mind threw at her. A slender hope. He wanted to wipe Davien out of her mind— please God, let that be what he wants to hear.

  “Answer me again, slut. Who is he? Who is Davien Blood to you?” His words were growled, nothing more than anger and jealousy wrapped up in human form.

  “No one, Master. He's no one to me.” She sobbed out the words, her breath burning in her lungs, her body trembling as she lay there on the bed, her cheek pressed to the pillow and bedding. She didn't know what else to tell him. She couldn't think straight, her back and buttocks burned from the strokes of the cane and flogger both. Tears stung in her eyes, her cheeks wet with her sorrow, she couldn't get the pain under control.

  He leaned down, tracing his fingers over her back, following her spine until he stroked his fingers into her hair, pulled her head back, until her back arched fully. “Yes, you belong to me. And don't you ever forget it. I'll never let you go little slut. You'll be mine until your dying day.”

  The cold hand of fear wrapped about her heart as she lay there on the bed. His. For all time. Until the day that she died.

  No.

  It couldn't be that way.

  Davien. He had to find her, she had to be free of this man, this animal who thought he could control her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Tearlach eased onto the bed and she tensed, feeling it move beneath her. What did he want of her now? Her back still hurt, her buttocks burned from the cane, and she didn't know what she could do now. He'd already made her cry out, scream in pain, beg for mercy and now the flogger lay, tossed to one side, on the floor of his bedroom.

  Brute. Ignorant brute. He doesn't even care if he breaks his toys.

  Yet her inner walls clenched with the need to be filled. What had Davien done to her in the time she'd belonged to him?

  Opened the door into a type of pleasure she had never known could exist and now— now this animal took advantage of it. How could she have ever been in love with a man who was little more than a brute and a thug? He was little more than a thief in the night and a coward who lacked the courage to even face her true owner.

  Clothing. She could hear him taking off his clothing. His boots hitting the floor as he settled onto his knees behind her. Just what did he think he was...

  The head of his cock pressed between her lower lips. She groaned, lifting her hips toward him. She couldn't control this. She had no way of shutting down her body's reactions. Not after what she had been through.

  “Hot, and so very wet.” He groaned behind her. Her thighs clenched. Her body trembled under his touch as he slipped into her body fully, her core rippling about his length, his cock pressing against her walls until she had no choice but to roll her hips and welcome him deep within her being.

  “That's it, give into your nature.” He pulled back, then thrust into her body until she cried out in pain and hunger both.

  She didn't want to be this way, but she had no choice now. Davien had seen to that, and Tearlach took advantage of the way she had been trained. Her breasts felt heavy, the skin too tight across their full mounds. Her nipples throbbed with the need to be touched, her clit burned for something, his touch, another's, it didn't matter right now. Just as long as something filled her body and claimed her for all time.

  She bit into her bottom lip, her hips lifted, arching to each deep thrust into her being. Her core clenched, released, then grasped him again, over and over again. She lost herself in the deep thrusts into her being. She couldn't fight, she didn't want to fight, she belonged here, a slave, to be used, pushed through the boundaries between pain and pleasure.

  “God. Should have grabbed you in Ireland. How wet cunt, tight hole, made for sex.” His words rang through her mind, her fingers curled back into the bedding as she tried to keep from losing what little she had left in the way of her senses. “It's a pity that man got you first. But I'm going to brand him from your senses, burn away his touch until you only think of me. Your every breath, thought and craving will be mine. Nothing of him will remain.”

  The welts, every time he thrust into her body it jarred the welts that were marked across her body. Pressure built across her body, burying down into her core, she couldn't stop it. His fingers dug into her hips. His nails bit deep. New pain rocked through her being and still her hips rolled, still she felt the depths of pleasure surge through her being. She was lost to the way it controlled her body, taking her higher with each passing moment.

  “Give it to me.”

  She blinked, not understanding what was going on at first. Her core rippled, sweat coated her inner thighs. Her body thrumming with hunger and need. The shame she felt now vanished under the waves of pleasure she dealt with. The ability to think lost in the maelstrom.

  “Now, slut. Cum for me now!”

  She arched, lights dancing in front of her vision, her breath burning. Time slowed down and sped up at the same time, her head spun as she thrust back against him, feeling him fill her completely. Her thighs tightened, body an instrument to his pain and pleasure.

  Sweat dripped from her face, her lips coated with salt and shame alike and yet her body obeyed his command. Pleasure ripped through her until she screamed in delight, her back tightly arched, his body thrusting into hers, the pain of his contact against her welt covered ass almost too much to cope with.

  “Mine. You'll always be mine!”

  Those were the last words she heard as she fell into the darkness.

  * * * *

  “She's bruised.” The soft voice of a woman filtered into her thoughts, tugging her from the darkness. “I've never seen anything like this on a woman before. He really hurt her. She has to be black and blue.”

  “So would you be if you'd been in his hands like this.” Jason's voice tugged her closer to the surface of consciousness. “He's not gentle. You know that. He prides himself on leaving them like this.”

  “I've heard it, the way he's used women. I just hadn't seen it first hand until today. She's a mess.” The maid whimpered. “I can't imagine she's going to want to move all that much today, she has to be in horrible pain.”

  “She enjoyed it. I heard her screams as she came. Means that would have helped her a little, but right now? Yes, when she wakes up she's going to be in a lot of pain.”

  Celeste slowly opened her eyes, her focus unsteady, her body a mess of pain, sharp in some places, dull in others. She couldn't ignore it. Her body wouldn't let her, but she had no way of knowing just how bad it was.

  Yet.

  “Are you awake, lass?” Jason brushed his fingers against her cheek. “Can you speak yet? You've been put through the wringer this time, make no mistake about it.”

  “Thi-think so.” Her voice sounded odd, even to her own ears. Just how badly off was she?

  “Need to get you up and moving. He's gone fo
r a day, maybe more. It will give you time to heal. But I can't let you stay here. You're a mess, but he'll throw a fit if you're found here. So up you get girl. Brace yourself, this is going to hurt.” He curled his hands under her, turning her onto her back.

  Pain burned a horrifying path across her body as she arched. The welts touching the bedding reminded her of every cruel caress that he had inflicted on her body.

  “I can't watch this.” The woman sobbed and turned away even as Celeste felt Jason lift her up into his arms. “You're hurting her. Please. Be careful with her.”

  “I'm trying to be but I'll need your help. Get the door then run down to the bathing chamber. She's going to need some very careful care. I've never seen him treat anyone so badly before. I'm just grateful she enjoyed it, even to some small degree. It will have made it a little easier on her body.” Jason grunted, shifting her in his arms, until her head rested against his shoulder. “She's going to hurt like hell even in the tub.”

  “I think she already does.” The woman, who had to be the maid she had met briefly earlier on in the day, scurried ahead, opening the door for Jason. “Those welts on her bottom... ”

  “A cane. I've seen those types of marks before. The cane is a favorite of his.”

  She remembered the cane. The fire of its bite across her flesh. The way she had screamed and arched on the bed. The bed. The chains had been removed, she wasn't lying on it anymore. At least that was one thing. She was safe right now. Away from Tearlach and the horrible things he'd used on her body.

  Each step jolted her body as she was carried away from bedroom. She tried to keep silent, but it didn't work. She cried out in pain, her back and ass protesting violently. Her inner thighs shook, tears seeped down her face. She'd promised herself so often that she would not cry, and now she'd given into tears again.

  “You have every reason to cry, girl. Don't be ashamed of those tears. You've been through a lot.” Jason murmured, his voice gentle compared to everything she'd been through in the past few hours. “You're sore, no— beaten to a pulp would be a better description. A good long soak in the tub will help, then some ointment on those welts. It's going to take you some time to heal up, but just give it a few hours and you'll feel better.”

  A few days would be closer to reality. A few days without him touching her, reach for her, or trying to bring the flogger down on her back. She wasn't ready to be used again, not with such force and she was more than a little grateful to know he wouldn't be around for a while. But would it be long enough to heal. It had to be, she doubted he would leave her alone for long enough that her body would fully be able to recover.

  “Where is he?” Her voice sounded weak, almost like a child's as she was carried down the stairs.

  “With the woman he's been hanging ‘round with. Wouldn't let her see you though. She got most upset about it. He wouldn't even tell her your name. He seemed to think she didn't need to know at all.”

  Relief washed through her body at those words. Good. She didn't need Blue knowing just where she was. Or what had happened to her. The woman would have gloated, or worse. She couldn't be certain of what perversions her sister was now capable of indulging in, neither did she want first hand knowledge of them. The woman she had grown up with was— without a doubt— evil in many ways. The way she had twisted their father about her fingers, whatever the woman had wanted, she had been granted, in one form or another.

  “We're almost there.” Jason spoke softly as he carried her to the bottom of the stairs. “There are salts in the bathwater for you, they'll sting against the welts, but it will also speed the healing process for you.”

  She tensed at his words, but understood all too well that the salt would help her body heal. It didn't mean she had to like the idea though. She tried to calm herself down and not let the fear of the coming pain strike too deeply into her heart and soul. She'd already been through too much.

  The maid opened the door to the bathing chamber, and stepped back out of the way as Jason carried her into the room. It hadn't changed that much since her last visit here, but her ability to focus had all but ceased to exist, at least for now, with the pain that rippled along her back.

  “Get the towels ready and the salve.” Jason carried Celeste to the tub and slowly lowered her into the water. “Once she's out of the bath I'm going to have to rub the salve on these welts or she's not going to have a chance at healing.”

  She hissed in pain, closing her eyes, fighting not to struggle her way out of the tub. She had to endure it. To help her body heal. Sweat dripped down over her face, her hands tightly clenched, a low whimper ringing out from the back of her throat. It hurt, waves of pain rolled along her back, it seared into her ass, her body protesting at the fresh shock that she was now subjected to.

  But this, at least, would do her good in the long run.

  “That's it, ride it out girl. You'll do fine. You've been through a lot.” Jason sat down on the stool, watching her closely.

  “Jason, she's going to need something to eat and drink, isn't she?” The maid took a step closer, her gaze focused away from the tub. “She's going to want something in her stomach. Isn't she?”

  “Yes, good wholesome food though. Go to the cook, fetch tea and bread. Cheese also. Nothing overly fancy. Things she can eat and sip in small portions.”

  “Yes, sir.” The maid bobbed a quick curtsey and darted out of the door, leaving Jason and Celeste alone in the bathing chamber.

  “She doesn't mean any harm, girl. Susan is a decent sort. But he has something on her. Petty theft. He could turn her in and she'd be in trouble.”

  “He has something on all of you, doesn't he, sir?” Her voice still shook. When would it return to normal?

  “Yes, he does, but you already knew that after this morning. That's how he works. He holds threats over people, and forgets that sooner or later that could backfire on him.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “He's a strange man, the Raven. There are not that many willing to go up against him. Most know he'll find a way to get back at them.”

  “Like a thief in the night, sneaking up on them when least expected.” She all but whispered, not entirely trusting herself with the words. She shifted a little in the bath, trying not to rub the welts against the tub.

  “Yes, something like that. It's why he went after you, I think. He didn't like being denied access to you and took steps to get his hooks into you. If he hadn't found you on the street he'd have hunted for a way to get you, he wasn't going to just let the matter rest.”

  “And now I'm trapped.”

  “Yes.” He didn't even look at her when he said that word.

  “I will cope and adapt.” She had to, doing anything else would leave her at the risk of being punished, again, by Tearlach. “Master will not allow me to do anything else.”

  “I've no doubt about that.” He leaned forward and traced his fingers across her shoulders. “It would be a pity to see this back of yours marked with scars, so you must find a way to please him, little Celeste. Far more than just giving into his wishes. You must learn who and what he is. If you don't— well the results will be less than pretty as I'm sure you can imagine.”

  He actually cared? Only a few hours ago he was saying how he wouldn't fall for her ways, nor would he trust her. And now?

  What had changed?

  Did she dare to ask him?

  Celeste glanced at the man, trying to see what was going on behind his eyes, but his emotions were hidden. “You— you've changed toward me, sir.”

  He shrugged and turned away from her, reaching for a towel to hold in his lap. He twisted it in his grasp, shifting his feet a little over the floor, but made no move to stand. “I've never seen him treat a woman as badly as he did you, that's all. It's like he's addicted, and he needed to make sure you'd be his. In all ways. He might have even mentioned something like that. He's not the sort that hides his need to possess others that well.”

  She nodded, knowing that all too we
ll that Jason was correct. “I am— I am his.” For now I am. It will change. It has to. I can't imagine Davien will leave me here.

  “Soak for a little longer, you need it. I'll return shortly.”

  “You're not worried that I'll try and run?”

  “Hm, running when you're naked and in your current state? No, somehow I don't see that as a risk.” He chuckled, shaking his head even as he vanished from the room, leaving her to soak in the still warm water. He didn't trust her yet, not fully, but the start of something was there. And that would be something she could lean on as the days progressed.

  Or so she hoped.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Two days of peace, quiet and the chance to heal, and he still hadn't returned to the house, nor had word been sent that she had been made aware of. The worst of the welts had faded and Celeste had settled into a comfortable routine of bathing, having the salve rubbed onto her back, eating and chatting with Jason and the other servants. She still flinched every time she thought she heard the sound of a horse, or the main door opening, but some of the stress had eased from her system

  Sooner or later he'd return, but when that happened she'd be ready for him. Or that was the plan. For the most part Jason didn't mention Tearlach any more unless he had to, or unless she asked him a specific question and she was careful to avoid doing that as much as possible. She'd quickly learned that, despite the fact he worked for the man, he truly didn't like Tearlach at all.

  Not one member of the household appeared to be serving him out of love, devotion or in truth, out of any reason except fear. And now she'd been trapped in this household run by fear, held together out of terror, and without even a slender thread of hope just as long as The Raven was in charge of the house.

  He was a bitter, twisted man.

  How could she ever have been in love with him?

  Because she had been naive and hadn't known better, well that was over and done with. She'd never make that mistake again.