by Lily White
Every day I asked Lucas what he’d found regarding the person who’d actually committed those crimes. Each day he responded that he was looking into it, that he’d find something, that his private investigators worked diligently to make sweeps over the town, interviewing people and trying to find some small hint as to who was responsible. At first, I hadn’t believed him, and like usual, he could see through me, could see that I didn’t quite trust what he was telling me. He’d grown to know me almost better than I thought I knew myself over the time we’d spent together, through the nightmares and the dream that seemed to follow in its wake. On one night in particular, he’d brought out the daily reports that were provided to him, each one indicating something different, but none that could fully explain what exactly had been done to me.
After he’d proven the work he put into solving the crimes, my hard feelings towards him softened. I would spend nights with him, cuddled up to his naked chest talking to him about subjects that I’d never discussed with other people. Just like the person I’d known prior to the complicated nightmare I’d been cast into, Lucas could speak intelligently about any subject, enlightening me as to the subtle connections and nuances of the topics we discussed. My guard came down slowly, the wall I’d constructed around me falling apart due to the weariness of my spirit, mixed with the odd feelings I had for a man that had taken advantage of me – had abused me – but ultimately through his kindness, had set me free.
I was a different person than before I came here, more open-minded and understanding of the things you’ll find in dark corners. There is beauty inside. It’s the people who will allow themselves to look, that are able to find the rare bits of light inside the madness. I realized that to open your mind to the things you don’t understand is to be strong. When you face what you fear, you stop fearing it. And, ultimately, when you take the time to examine things that don’t make sense, you truly see them for what they are. You begin to understand.
I thought I understood Lucas. I didn’t agree completely with what he’d done to me, but I found that when I stopped fighting, I finally saw him. He wasn’t the sadist I once believed. He had redemption inside him. His anger was born when his rules were broken; however, if you didn’t struggle, if you didn’t go against the things he demanded, his kindness far outshone any evil he could commit.
Despite all of that, the thing that knocked the final brick from my stubborn wall was the fact that Lucas had sent Sarah away. I’d noticed her absence in the first day, but found myself still listening for the front door to open, for her heels to click across the floors, for her tinkling laughter to echo through the large open spaces, reminding me that the dream Lucas was now weaving had never been real at all.
But she never arrived and by day seven, I was comfortable in my life in his house, happy to spend my days surrounded in luxury and peace, at ease to find myself a willing prisoner to a brilliant man.
Opening my closet, I found a black garment bag hung to the side, a pair of crystal-inlaid heels placed below it. Grabbing both, I moved back into the room, throwing the bag on my bed and quickly stripping off the button up blouse and pencil skirt I’d been wearing during the day. When I opened it, I noticed a smaller bag tucked inside that contained a lace bra with matching underwear, a garter belt and a pair of silk stockings. Laughter bubbled out of me to finally have underwear to call my own. Slipping on the delicate pieces of material, I turned to look at myself in the mirror, shocked that the sight of myself could turn me on.
It’s odd, but in the endless hours under Lucas’ control, in the moments where he worshipped my body while he dominated my mind, I found more pleasure in the way he looked at me or the way he touched me, than the sexual act that followed. He made me feel desirable and feminine. He made me feel like he couldn’t exist without me. My already tired mind stood no chance against the beauty that existed inside him, hidden, but not extinguished by the darkness within his soul.
Pulling the dress from the bag, I lifted it to find that it was pure silk in a light shade of blue. It glimmered beneath the lights in my room. Slipping the material over my body, I smiled at how it fit like it had been made for me, the sweeping material moving like liquid sapphires across my skin. The shoes strapped around my feet with no problem and, after tucking my hair up to expose my neck, I raced downstairs to find Lucas already standing in the doorway to the dining room. Candlelight flickered softly behind him and he held a bouquet of calla lilies in his hand.
As I approached, he reached out with the flowers, placing them in my arms before offering me his elbow to escort me inside. Bending down, he whispered softly in my ear, “Once again, I apologize. I thought for once, I’d found something that could hold a candle to your beauty. But now, to see them next to you, I wonder how I could have been so foolish as to think there could be anything that compared.”
His stride was almost fluid when he led me to my chair, handing me a napkin to place in my lap and filling my glass with a white wine once I was settled. I picked it up, enjoying the crisp, cool taste flowing over my tongue – the warmth of the alcohol working through my veins and adding to the lightheadedness I already had in Lucas’ company.
We spoke softly to each other as we ate and classical music played in the background. After a few glasses, I found myself mesmerized by the gentleman that had suddenly appeared in Lucas and I was easily taken in by his charm.
When we’d finished, he cleared the table, refusing to allow me to assist, before taking my hand and pulling me from my chair.
“Are you ready?”
Blinking up at him from beneath the curtain of my lashes, I laughed before asking, “For what?”
“Dessert.” He winked and a grin pushed at his lips that brought out the boyish dimples in his cheeks. Before I could formulate a response, I was being spun through the room in time to the music, and he led me into a dance that was as classy as it was erotic. His hand would touch my leg as he dipped me down, the silk softly sliding up so that the top of my garter belt showed from beneath the material. He’d growl when bits of my skin had been exposed and he would kiss me so sweetly that I’d melt in his arms.
He was an expert at everything he did: a brilliant author, a fluid dancer and a man that could take on the world if only he didn’t have his personal demons that haunted him.
Once he’d exhausted me with the twists and turns, the spins that left me dizzy and clinging to his strong body, he lifted me in his arms, clutching me to his chest as he walked me from the dining room and into a room I’d never seen before.
Placing me down, he allowed my eyes time to take in the glory of the room. A bed was positioned in the middle, white silk sheets covering its surface. A large crystal chandelier hung from the center of the room, the lights casting iridescent light, rainbow colored spectrums that glittered along the walls and bed. A fire burned in a large, stone hearth on the side of the room and music, sweet and seductive, added to the almost magical ambience.
Looking up at him, I had an obvious question in my eyes. He laughed, taking my hands to pull me beside the bed. With his lips running down my neck, he reached behind me and unfastened the small pearl button the held the dress on my body. It puddled at me feet and I kicked it off to allow him to look at the lingerie he’d purchased for me.
“You are …”
His words trailed off as his hands unhooked my bra and made quick work of my panties. When he was finished I stood in my heels and stockings, the garters still wrapped around my hips. His eyes took me in, the look of amazement making my knees weak as he looked me over. Finally, when his eyes met mine once more, he smiled, taking my hands and placing them in front of my body, before locking on the same set of leather cuffs he’d used on me when I was punished.
My heart leapt into my throat and my pulse began to hammer. Unable to drag my gaze away from the cuffs, my mind frozen in fear that it had all been a dream, his finger hooked beneath my chin and he tilted my face up to his.
“It doesn’t al
l have to be punishment, Autumn. Sometimes, a little bit of pain can be what’s needed to set a woman off. Let me show you what I can do for you. All I ask is that you trust me not to hurt you.”
My body trembled with memories of the spanking I’d endured before, my legs wanting to give out and my breath coming in quick gasps, but I nodded my head, hoping that I could believe the man that he’d become over the past week.
Stepping on the opposite side of the bed from me, he reached out for my arms, pulling them across and locking them into place with a tether that had previously been hidden. When he moved back to my side, he grabbed my legs, spreading them apart slowly so as not to cause me to fall. I hesitate only momentarily and was met with a light slap on my ass in response. Glancing at him from over my shoulder, I noticed the wicked grin that pulled at his lips as he fastened what looked like shackles over my ankles.
I was held in place, not able to move my body, but still able to see him from the way my head was positioned on the bed. He smiled as he pulled the belt from around his waist, bringing the two ends together in his hand. His arm pulled back and I buried my face in the mattress, fear suddenly slithering along my spine.
The slap against my skin stung, but it wasn’t the all-consuming bite that I’d experienced previously. Once he’d worked the leather against my ass, he ran his hands along the skin, easing the burn. His fingers played within the slick skin between my legs and he’d tap them over my clit. It felt like I was purring, the repeated pattern of pain and then his soothing hand taking me to a place where I felt like I floated above the bed.
“Do you like that, pet?”
A soft chuckle rolled over his lips and before I knew what I was saying, I answered, “Yes Master.”
After he’d struck me ten times with the belt, he moved away. When he returned, his hands rubbed across my skin, but were covered with a gel that helped cool the inflamed skin. I moaned, my body relaxing into the mattress. His finger slipped between the cheeks of my ass, and I felt him smooth the gel over my hole. Opening my eyes, I looked back at him in confusion. He smiled, mischief burning in his eyes.
“Turn your head, beautiful. I want this to be a surprise.”
I didn’t trust him, but I knew he’d only get angry if I didn’t do as he said. When I’d turned and my chin rested against the sheets, he moved again.
My jaw dropped when he slipped something metal inside my ass. Struggling against the restraints, I attempted to roll over. It was no use. His hands fell on the cheeks of my ass and he leaned over me.
“Stop, Autumn. You need to fucking relax.”
I shook my head, my fear returning in crashing waves.
“I said ‘stop’.” His hand slapped against my ass and when my muscles clenched over the plug, I cried out.
“Stop now, or I’ll make this hurt.”
It was the only warning I needed. When I finally calmed down, he said nothing when he pushed up from the bed and stood silently behind me.
I heard his pants fall the floor and I felt him enter me, stretching me to a point where I gasped from his size. With the plug in my ass, I felt stretched too far and my body was trembling beneath him. His strokes were like slow lightening, the resultant hum through my body like thunder as the blood rushed my head.
However, something amazing started to happen. After a few minutes, and when I’d allowed myself to adjust to the sensation of the plug combined with his cock, I felt something build in me that I’d not experienced before. I was a slow assault, but one that soon had me panting and begging for more.
His hands reached down to grip my breasts and he pulled me up so that my ass was still presented to him as my chest was lifted from the silk on the bed. Slowly at first, his cock broke me apart, driving in and out until I couldn’t hold back my cries. I was an animal suddenly, starving and ravenous for him to continue harder, to go faster.
It was like he knew what I was thinking.
Speeding suddenly, the chains at my arms and legs rattled when he pounded into me. The muscles of my core milked him, desperate for the violence he could inflict. It was a beautiful pain, one that allowed my body to release its frustration, its fear, all the anger that had been built up in me since the events that led me into Lucas’ waiting arms.
When he finished and had filled me, he unhooked me from the tethers, releasing my hands and laying me down on the bed to be held against his chest. I drifted off and I heard his voice whisper softly, the warmth of his breath gliding over my skin.
“Thank you, Autumn, for your inspiration. Because of you, my novel is finally complete.”
I fell asleep listening to the beating of his heart – fast and deep – while my mind thought there was nothing that existed any longer that could destroy me.
Autumn
When I woke the next morning, I opened my eyes to find the room, once again, filled with roses. This time, however, there were multiple colors, every single one freshly plucked from his large garden. Dew still dripped from the delicate petals.
It took some time for me to sit up fully, but once I did, I looked around for a note stuck within one of the bouquets. Not finding one, I shrugged it off, deciding that Lucas must have been busy with whatever work-related matters he had to attend to. Pushing myself up from the mattress, I stretched my body and remembered that he told me his book was finished.
When I’d dressed and gone downstairs, he was nowhere to be found so I ate breakfast in the kitchen before moving to the library to find the novel he’d chosen for me to read that day. It wasn’t in its normal place and I wondered what could have come over him to forget.
Perhaps once the book was done, the real work took over. I was sure there were endless nights spent editing and perfecting the manuscript, and even more hours marketing to let readers know of the impending release. The note and book must have been an oversight, so I selected one for myself and set out to take my normal place, lost within the luscious backyard.
The day moved along as usual and I fell asleep once a light rain began to sprinkle over the tent under which I sat. Dreams filled my head as I remembered the events over the past few days, but they were suddenly switched when memories of Adam Marx resurfaced.
We were in a room with no walls, a place where only shadows existed, and my mind remembered what his body had looked like in that mirrored room. I remembered the lash marks across his back that I must have seen in the mirrors but forgotten once his hands were placed on my body. My body remembered his touch, the way his rough hands slid along my skin and the size of his cock when it filled me. When I reached behind to touch him in the dream, I pulled away when I felt sticky liquid, and turned him around to see the true damage that Sarah had caused.
At the exact moment my eyes met with the blood that dripped from the strips of ripped flesh, I woke up startled, my pulse pounding and my lungs desperately attempting to pull in enough oxygen to calm my body. The beginning of a headache threatened my head and I jumped when lightning flashed and thunder sounded in the distance. Shaking my head of the thoughts of the detective, I sat up from the chaise lounge and noticed that the sun had set hours before and that night had settled in, casting shadows across the ground.
Setting out across the grass, my heels kept pushing into the soft ground. When I kicked them off, the mud slipped up through my toes. I ran through, not caring when I felt dirt flick up on my back from my steps.
None of the house lights were visible and I was surprised to find that they hadn’t yet been turned on. Approaching the back, I rounded the corner to take the front door when a set of hands reached out to pull me away from the structure.
My breath was forced from my lungs due to my sudden fear, but I forced myself to turn around and face whoever had grabbed me. There was nobody in sight. Narrowing my eyes, I peered into the darkness, not seeing even the shadow of a person moving across. My pulse picked up suddenly and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Spinning again, I attempted to run to the front, only to slip in the mu
d, falling forward and barely catching myself with my hands. My knee must have hit against a rock from the fall because pain splintered up my leg and I looked down to see blood mixing with rain as it ran down my leg.
Shoving my hands against the ground, I attempted to push myself back up when my hair was caught from behind. Wrenched back by another unseen attacker, I landed on the ground with such force that it knocked the air from my lungs. I gasped, my chest burning with its desperation to breathe. Mud had splashed in my face and I was blinded.
I struggled to push up to my feet, my arms trembling with the fear that was coursing through my veins. Just as I was on my knees, a large object hit the side of my head. Falling back into the rain soaked and muddy ground, my hand reached up to touch where I’d been struck, pulling away with blood turning from red to pink as the rain washed it away.
“Help!”
Barely able to scream, I forced my burning lungs to bellow out the word. With my breath newly returned, I wasn’t able to scream again and I sucked in air in quick gasps. There was no way I was going to give up. There was no way I was going to die because of some unseen person. Opening my eyes wide, I peered through the pouring rain desperate to know where they would come from next.
My knee was throbbing and my head pounded hard I thought my skull had been cracked from whatever they’d used to hit me. Lightning flashed in the background – a large crack being answered by a thundering boom that shook the ground beneath me.
“Lucas!”
I screamed out again only to have cloth shoved into my mouth and wrapped around my head. I looked up to see a thin person dressed in a plain black hoodie – the hood pulled up so that it covered their face. Struggling against them, I couldn’t catch hold and they started to drag me by the cloth they had wrapped around my mouth. My jaw felt like it would split and my feet dug into the mud. Reaching up I attempted to grab the cloth, if for nothing more than to take the weight of my body off my face.
Once I’d been dragged back into the dense greenery of the garden, the cloth was released just before the tip of my attacker’s shoe struck me in the side of the head. My vision went blurry and I cried out, reaching out with my hands to block the next blow I knew would come.