by Abby Gale
Holding me in his arms, he walked toward the shallow part of the pool, setting me down on the pool ledge, my feet dangled in the water. Reflexively, I spread my legs, so he could come close to me, waiting to see what he’d do after my request. But when his eyes focused on my thighs, I knew something was wrong.
“Maya,” he breathed out before gritting his teeth so hard I could hear the screeching sound they made. “What the fuck are these lines?!”
CHAPTER 25
ZEKE
She tried to cover her thighs, but I didn’t let her. My hold on her legs was tight, and it must’ve hurt her, but I couldn’t loosen my grasp. I was transfixed with the lines on her thighs, lines that were still angry looking.
“Maya. Explain,” I gritted out.
“I did it, okay?” she snapped, but I could feel her shaking under my touch. She was scared.
“Why?” I breathed out.
She shrugged. Her eyes welled up with tears, and I pulled her into my arms again.
“If you want pain, I’ll be the one who gives it to you. On my terms,” I said with certainty in my voice.
She pushed herself away from me, and I let her, so she could see how serious I was by looking into my eyes.
“If you ever feel the urge to hurt yourself, you’ll tell me.”
She lifted her chin with defiance. “Why?”
“Because at least I know what I’m doing.”
She snorted. “Right. You’re good at hurting me.”
I watched as she stood up and walked away from the pool in her wet t-shirt. I stared at her heading to the stairs to go back to the loft. When she disappeared from my view, I let my head hang down on my shoulders.
Her words stung, but they also aroused me. The idea of disciplining her, turning her pale skin pink, breaking her walls until she gives me the rawest version of her love and hate was like a handmade heaven for me.
I didn’t know when the changes started. I always told myself that it was the weekend when we were in the warehouse, but maybe it was when I started to imagine Maya as I fucked Mandy, or maybe I was just fucked up and it was even before that. Lately, there was no moment I wasn’t thinking of her, some thoughts were innocent like making her laugh, seeing the way she enjoyed her meal, watching her sleep, but most of them were thoughts I shouldn’t even acknowledge. Their presence should have been banned from my mind. She was so young and worse than that she was my fucking niece.
I tried to stay away from her, but it was a hard thing to do in this house, especially when Carl passed out on the couch I usually slept on and Amanda was in the bedroom. I either had to go and crush into Mandy’s house or sleep on the floor in Maya’s room. So here I was, sleeping on the floor. I could feel Maya’s presence all around me. She was like the sun, invading every space, my every thought even when I tried to put a wall between us.
“I can’t sleep,” she murmured. It was the same problem every night, I was trying to do everything in my power not to hold her in my arms before she slept since that weekend when I had a huge fucking hard-on just by holding her, but she was always complaining. I couldn’t blame her, she needed to feel safe whenever she closed her eyes, and I made her get used to being in my arms all these years.
“I’m here, just close your eyes,” I whispered, turning my back to her. I pretended like I was sleeping, but my body was focused on hers, her soft breath was like an aphrodisiac to my twisted, traitor body and I was already hard under the covers.
I held my breath when I felt her soft touch on my back. “Maya, go to your bed,” I gritted out.
“Zeke, please. I’m sorry, okay? Don’t hate me, you’re the only one I have.” Her voice was weaker than I’d ever heard her, and it ended with a sob, I didn’t have another choice but to turn around and hug her tight to my chest.
“Maya, I don’t hate you. That’s impossible. It’s just… it’s dangerous when we’re close, baby girl.”
She lifted her head from my chest, looking deep into my eyes with determination in her gaze. “I don’t care.”
I frowned. Was she talking about what I was thinking?
Her hand on my chest slowly moved down to my abs. I wanted to stop her hand, but her touch was feeling so good I wanted to be selfish.
“You like me, don’t you?” she whispered. I wish she stopped whispering, her soft breath was messing with my mind. “Like, not as your niece…” she said as if daring me.
“Maya.” The warning was evident in my voice, but in reality, all I was thinking was to hover over her petite body and devour her.
“I love you, Zeke. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. Can’t you just love me back?” she whispered-sobbed, and her warmth soaked into me, I just gave in to my heart’s desire and grabbed her neck to kiss her the way I wanted to.
Oh, how much I loved her. If she’d known how intense my love was for her, she would’ve been scared. I didn’t even know when I started to love her. Was it when she turned into a woman in front of my eyes or was it before that? I didn’t have an answer to that. And I didn’t know if I would like the answer to that question. All I knew was since she was born I just wanted to be whatever she needed me to be. And if she needed me to deliver her some pain, well, I was going to give it to her.
CHAPTER 26
MAYA
Next day, things were different, but I didn’t know how to explain it. Something felt different with the way Zeke looked at me, the way he tried to make excuses to touch me.
I was shocked. I didn’t know what caused him to look relaxed and almost happy. He seemed… hopeful? And I couldn’t find a reason why he’d be. After last night, I was expecting him to be grumpy, angry, and distant to me. Especially when I spit out those last words at him.
With questions in my head, I ate my pancake. He was always a good cook, but with unlimited resources under his hands he became magical.
“Could you sleep last night?” he asked, spreading chocolate syrup on a pancake before putting it onto my plate.
“I...” I trailed off, looking at the pancake and back at him before answering him, “No, I couldn’t.”
He nodded, reaching for my hand to squeeze.
What was he doing?
I pulled back my hand, but he didn’t seem offended.
Leaning back in his chair, he sipped from his coffee. “What’s your plan for today?”
I frowned and shrugged. What could I do? I didn’t have any plans for the day. I was probably going to sketch and listen to music like I always did.
“Would you wear something if I buy you something?” he asked.
“What?”
“A piece of clothing,” he added.
Looking down at my yoga pants and t-shirt, I shrugged again. “I’m already wearing what you buy.”
“This is a little different. I’ll take you somewhere tonight and I want you to wear it,” he said, putting on his suit jacket.
“Okay. Yeah, whatever,” I murmured, standing up to take care of the dishes. After seeing his body last night, I didn’t trust myself not to drool over him in that tailored suit. It was always such a tease when he had clothes on, like a Christmas gift you couldn’t wait to unwrap. Not that I had lots of Christmas gifts, but the few times I had, it was how I felt.
“I need to go to work. Do you need anything?” he said. His voice came close, and I turned around to face him, but he was so much closer than I thought. I could see the stubble on his cheeks, small wrinkles around his eyes, the soft crook of his otherwise perfect nose.
I hated how much resembles we shared, but I pushed it away. I shook my head to answer his question.
I gasped when his hand snaked around my neck, lifting my head to make me look at him. His thumb softly caressed the sensitive skin under my ear, and I had to bite my lip. When his other hand reached my face his hold on my neck didn’t let me put any distance, I watched him with anticipation and a little bit of panic. Panic for my own reaction at whatever he was about to do. He caressed my cheekbone with his knuckles
before tracing my lip.
“What are you doing?” I whispered. Finally the fog in my mind lifted a little.
He gave me a small smile, before bringing his face closer to mine.
Would he… was he going to kiss me?
But before I could entertain that idea, he slowly whispered, “Don’t hurt yourself.”
I blinked, parted my lips. I blinked again. Swallowed and licked my lips.
“Did you hear me, baby? Do. Not. Hurt. Yourself.” His voice was soft but also strong.
Being overwhelmed with this moment, I just nodded.
He smirked.
I watched.
And I was still watching as he left the house and closed the door behind him.
***
It was dark, and I could see the mansions dotted both sides of the road, but as we kept driving, the houses became less and less frequent. Finally, we were far away from the houses. The only thing that accompanied us was the forest.
I frowned when Zeke turned onto a road between the trees. There was nothing I could see around but the periodically placed lights. If someone lighted the road, there must be something at the end of this path. Leaning back on my seat, I breathed softly and tried to calm my nerves. Being in a closed space with Zeke was a good reason for me to get anxious, but we were both dressed well like this was a kind of date.
I pulled down the hem of the dress he made me wear. It was a little black dress. The fabric wrapped my body so well it flattered my skinny figure. The mid-thigh length of it was stressing but wearing a pair of boots made me feel more comfortable.
Zeke was in dark jeans and black shirt with a black blazer. I had to make my hand into a fist not to stare at him during the drive. He was too beautiful for my stupid heart to deal with.
Finally, my fight against my will-power didn’t have to continue any longer, because we slowed down at a big gate. Zeke hit a button on a small controller, and the gate opened in front of us, slowly, almost sensually, I felt my heart beat faster.
We drove past a garden and came to a stop in front of a mansion. It was glowing with soft lights, looking almost haunting with the dim red lights. The lights gave an illusion of flames like the mansion was on fire.
I had a hard time taking my eyes away from the two-story building in front of me when Zeke opened my door and outstretched his hand to help me out. Hesitantly, I placed my hand in his, trying to be confident, but he wrapped his hand around mine, swallowing my small hand in his big and strong one.
He pushed the small button on the wall I hadn’t noticed, and a man opened the door. He was so big he almost covered the entire door.
“Goodnight, Master Wyatt,” he said with a curt nod.
“Goodnight, Dean,” Zeke answered him.
Master?
Maybe I heard wrong, I thought as I let Zeke guide me inside.
Dean opened another door for us, and a blonde with an outfit that reminded me of my bar outfit greeted us. Looking at her see-through shirt and a black skirt that hardly cover her ass, I thought hers looked classier, even though it was more revealing.
“Master Wyatt?” she said excitedly. “Welcome, sir,” she added. She had the hots for Zeke. It was too obvious, I almost pitied the girl, but then I snorted at my own thoughts. No one would’ve been as obvious and pathetic as me. I scared him away for fuck’s sake.
“Hello, Suzie. You look great,” he said, and I felt the burning jealousy in my heart. It was too bad I couldn’t hold onto the sweet numbness around him for more than a few days. But at least, my mask didn’t slip when he said those words.
After I handed my leather jacket to Suzie, we went through another door.
This door led us into a hallway. On the right there was a staircase that looked like the steps were floating. There were no bars to hold onto. On the left, a hallway with doors on both sides. I heard sounds, sounds that were like moans, but my heartbeat was in my ears so I couldn’t be sure. Zeke pressed my back to make me keep walking, and I read the labels on the doors: Circle 2, Circle 3, Circle 4, and so on.
What was this?
I looked up at Zeke when we stood in front of the biggest door in the hallway, Circle 1 was written on its label.
“Are you ready?” he asked, but if his voice was any indication I knew he wasn’t asking me, he was asking himself. I didn’t know what was behind that door, but I knew it was big, I knew it was going to change things.
“No,” I said.
“I don’t have anything to do to prepare you for this. Whatever I say, you’ll still give a reaction. I just hope it will be a good one,” he said and opened the door before giving me a chance to prepare myself for whatever was behind this door.
I gasped and took a step back.
Then, my eyes grew wide, and I take a step closer.
I don’t remember if I breathed as Zeke walked me to the bar in the middle of the salon. The impulses on my nerves were too much to make any sense of them. I didn’t know what to focus on or what to look at first. I looked at everything but didn’t see. I heard everything but didn’t understand. I was aware of everything but didn’t feel a thing.
Zeke helped me to sit on a barstool, and he pushed a big glass of water in front of me. When I didn’t drink, he stepped closer, filling my vision I didn’t have another choice but to look at me.
“Drink,” he said, wrapping my hands around the glass.
I took a sip, but when I noticed how dry my mouth was, I drank the rest of the water as fast as I could.
Pleased, Zeke stepped away from me and the overwhelming view in front of me.
Taking a deep breathe, I started to study the room one stop at a time. I focused on to the room first, the design and all those materialistic things. The room was dark and simple. The walls were designed like cave walls. Rocky and dark surface, but the glitters and LED lights on the paint made it look like we were in a diamond mine. The dominant color in the room was a gradient from grey to black with shining silver splashed around enough to make the room look classy. Armchairs and loveseats were placed around the room randomly, but in a way, they made sense where they were.
The bar I was sitting at was placed right in the middle of the big, round saloon. It was surrounded with led lights, like the core of the room.
Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself to finally acknowledge the scene or more likely the scenes in front of me.
There were people, lots of them.
Most of them were naked, some of them weren’t patient enough to take off their clothes, and the rest of them were about to join the naked population.
There were woman being spanked, there were men tied up or tied down.
There were moans, groans, screams.
There was the sound of skin slapping against skin.
The scent of the room was musky but elegant and permeated with the strange perfume of sex.
This… this was a sex party right in front of my eyes, but people were in their own bubbles, oblivious of my studying gaze.
I focused on one of the scenes. A woman was tied down on a bench like thing, and the guy was hitting her with something like a whip, but it was shorter and with more strands. I watched every blow he gave her, the way those strands graze her skin and make her jump, but I could see her arousal from where I was. He caressed her back, her ass for a while, making her squirm against the cuffs. I felt myself leaning closer like I could hear what he whispered to her. With a hard-on in his jeans and a smirk on his face, he hit her again. I jumped in my stool, I was so into the scene I almost felt the impact on my own ass, but he didn’t stop. He gave her blow after blow, and I watched her ass turn a dark shade of pink. I was squirming in my seat just like she was on that bench. When the guy threw the thing, he hit her and unbuttoned his jeans, I held my breath. I waited for his next move, and I gasped when he thrust into her with force to move her on the bench.
Pressing my thighs together, I tried to stop watching, but my gaze kept turning back to them. Their voices got louder, en
ough for me to hear. The groans of pleasure caused goosebumps to erupt on my skin. When they slowed down, and their bodies shook, I could finally take my eyes away from them… only to be ensnared in Zeke’s heated gaze.
I was panting, and I could see how his body was tense and vibrating with power. The throb between my legs intensified.
“What is this place?” I asked, just to distract myself from the thoughts running through my head.
“It’s a sex club, baby,” he murmured. His voice was husky, hungry, and desperate. His voice was exactly how it was when we crossed the line.
I woke up in Zeke’s arms. It was strange. When he held me in his arms I slept all night, something must’ve woken me up. That was when I heard his voice, silent as a breath and desperate as a plea. Only one word…
“Maya.”
I slowly turned in his arms, was surprised when I saw he was still asleep.
“Maya,” he said again. His voice was needy.
I swallowed, trying to decide if I should wake him up or keep listening to understand what he was dreaming about.
“We shouldn’t,” he whispered. His forehead wrinkled with concentration or pain.
“Fuck. I want you,” he groaned. His body tried to move in that sleepy state, impatient to touch. “Maya.” He was almost begging now.
My heart was hammering in my chest. I’d been dying to hear those words from him, and I finally did. Even though he was asleep, I felt like he gave me the best gift.
I moved closer to him. Slowly. Hesitant. Scared. Nervous. Excited.
Lifting my hand, I touched his hair, caressed his cheek. We were close enough to exchange breathe. Just one more inch and we would be kissing. I moved my fingers to his neck. He shivered but didn’t open his eyes. Feeling bold and too needy to stop, I closed the small distance between each other and let my lips touch his. The sigh he let out was like gasoline to the fire inside me.
Pressing my body against his, I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth.