Twisted Desire

by Laura Dunaway

  He lunged for me and pressed a bruising and violent kiss to my lips. I was shaken out of my numbness for a moment and tried to move my head away, giving a cry. His hands grabbed my face and shook my head, holding tight as he continued to kiss me with his grotesque tongue trying to get in.

  Hot tears streamed down my face as I suddenly opened my mouth and bit down hard on his tongue, making him cry out in shock and pain as his head flew back from the pain.

  CRACK!

  Another blow to my cheek, and another, and another. I was once again drifting out of my own body, watching this man hit and smack me in rage, my head tossing from side to side with each of his blows. What was so odd about this was I’d rather he continue hitting me than continue his sexual assault on my body.

  “You stupid bitch!” he screeched. “I’m bleeding now, and I can’t stand the taste of blood. You will pay for this! I know you want my cock, so why are you being so difficult about it?”

  He stopped hitting and started to poke his cock at my entrance. “I’m not going to play nice anymore, whore,” he said, his jaw clenched. “I was going to give you your pleasure first then go for mine, but not anymore. You are going to get a piece of my cock now, and trust me, I’m going to enjoy watching you as I slide in and out, in and out, making you come.”

  As I felt him continue to poke at me, I closed my eyes as tight as possible and turned my burning face to the side.

  “Look at me as I ram into you, you slut!” he cried.

  “Please,” I whispered, finding what little strength I had to beg him to stop. “Please let me go.”

  Suddenly there was pounding at the door.

  “Rico, you son of a bitch, open the door!”

  TAG!

  Before Rico could move off of me, the door burst open, and Tag’s face was all I could see. Rico was suddenly lifted off of me, and I heard his body being slammed against the wall. The sound of flesh connecting with flesh was repeated over and over, along with Tag’s spewing words of threats of torture and death.

  Roman rushed into the room, another man right behind him. His eyes bulged when he saw the scene before him, going back and forth between Tag and Rico, and me. He ordered the man with him to do something, then rushed over to me, covering my body with the sheet.

  “GO!” he roared at the guy, who ran from the room. He sat next to me, not making any move to stop Tag from beating the shit out of Rico.

  “Are you okay, Ms. Santoro? Did he succeed in raping you?”

  Screeching started sounding off in my head at his question, and the world was spinning. My face was still on fire from Rico’s blows, and all I could hear was Roman repeating his question. Suddenly my arms were being thrust into a robe, and the guy was back.

  I watched silently as Tag pummeled a lifeless Rico and didn’t even care. Roman tilted his head toward me, then the man picked me up in his arms. I cried out, and Tag was suddenly beside me.

  “Give her to me,” he demanded of him.

  “Tag, you need to stay here with me,” Roman told him. “Let Theo take her to my doctor on board.”

  Tag didn’t even look at him when he answered. “No, give her to me. I’ll take her.”

  His voice must have told Roman not to argue. “All right, but as soon as you are done with the doctor, we are going to talk. Give her to Tag, Theo.”

  I felt myself being shifted into Tag’s arms and couldn’t help but feel the softness of his T-shirt against my stinging cheek and his warm scent surround me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes, still not able to quite believe my nightmare was over. As Tag turned to walk out the door, I opened my eyes and didn’t feel a thing when I saw Rico slumped against the wall, unconscious. His face had ballooned to twice its size from Tag’s blows, making him unrecognizable. The last thing I saw before Tag turned down the hall was Roman telling Theo something as he bent down to check Rico’s pulse.

  Chapter 9

  I sat beside her as the doctor asked her questions and examined her. When I started to leave the room after the doctor said he was going to start, thinking she’d want the privacy, she cried out for me to stay. She was sitting on that damn examination table shaking, tears falling down her battered face, holding her hand out for me. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere after seeing that.

  It was all I could do to stay sane listening to her answer the doctor’s questions. My foot was tapping the floor a mile a minute, and my head was in my hands. I could feel the anger vibrating throughout my whole body, my blood literally boiling. I was going to find Rico and beat the shit out of him again after hearing the details of what he’d done.

  Finally the doctor was finished, declaring she would be okay after the wounds on her face healed. He handed her two bottles of pills, one for the pain and the other to help her sleep. Hearing him tell her she was fortunate I’d made it before he’d succeeded in the raping her made me growl and sit at the end of my chair. Penny just nodded and whispered she knew that. I wanted to slam the doctor against the wall for reminding her of what had almost happened. She’d been through hell already.

  The doctor excused himself and told her to take all the time she needed. She didn’t look at me, just sat there in that damn robe staring straight ahead. The bruises on her face had me absolutely fuming. I was barely hanging on by a thread to the little sanity I had, knowing Rico had caused them and knowing everything that Rico had done to her.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  The question had my head turning her way so fast, I thought it’d give me whiplash.

  “What did you say?” I asked her, not believing she’d really just asked me that.

  She put her face in her hands, her shoulders slumping. “Are you mad at me?”

  I was instantly up and kneeling in front of her. The urge to touch her was great, but I didn’t, not knowing if she’d welcome it after all she’d just been through. Instead, I just spoke.

  “That’s what I thought you said, yet I can’t understand why the hell you’d even think it. No, querida, I’m not mad at you. I’m out for more of Rico’s blood, but no, I’m not mad at you.”

  Her shoulders started to shake, telling me she was crying, and I couldn’t take it. I stood up and reached out my hand to her, then pulled it back, worried it would frighten her. Seeing her like that, my heart slammed in my chest. She didn’t deserve any of this—being kidnapped and now that bastard’s attack on her. I was pissed at Roman.

  “Will you hold me?”

  That request shook me out of my thoughts. “What?” I had to make sure I heard her correctly.

  Her face still in her hands, she asked again. “Will you hold me? Please?” She raised her face a little to look at me, her salty tears leaving a path down her cheeks. I gave a little groan and sat up on the table next to her, taking her gently in my arms. I ran my hand up and down her back, trying in any way I could to help calm her down. I didn’t know if it was helping, but unless she told me to stop, I’d keep going. Her hot tears soaked my shirt, but I didn’t care; all that mattered was the girl in my arms and helping her recover.

  “I thought you’d be mad at me for leaving the cabin,” she suddenly said, her face still buried in my chest.

  I continued stroking her back. “Well, yeah, I wasn’t happy but was more worried than anything. I’m just sorry it took me so long to finally find you.” I clenched my jaw, berating myself.

  “Don’t blame yourself, Tag,” she said with a sniff. “What happened was totally my fault.”

  Oh, hell, no. No way was she going to blame herself for that bastard’s action. I forced myself to stay calm as I replied.

  “Listen to me, Penny,” I started. “In no way, no way whatsoever is what happened your fault. It is one hundred percent Rico’s fault, and no one else’s. Don’t you ever blame yourself again for what he did.”

  She looked up then, and the sight almost brought me to my knees. Her big almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears and…desolation? Whatever it was, I
didn’t like it. Rico would pay for what he did to her.

  “But if I had only stayed in the cabin, none of this would have happened,” she whispered, her breaths coming out uneven after her tears.

  I framed my hands around her face and pressed my forehead to hers. “I don’t care if you had marched straight to his cabin and knocked on his door, querida. This was not. Your. Fault.”

  She looked uncertain but didn’t argue. “He was going to rape me,” she said instead, piercing my soul with her tortured words.

  I pulled her face back to my chest, setting my chin on top of her head. “I know.”

  “I fought him, but then my whole body went numb,” she started, and I knew she didn’t expect me to reply; she just needed to get it out. “I felt like I had floated to the ceiling and was watching it from above. It was like my mind took me away from reality.”

  I just nodded and waited for her to continue.

  “He was saying all these weird things, like telling me he knew I wanted it and why was I being a bitch resisting. I asked him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He was just about to do it when you came in.” Her sobs started again, and I swear if she wasn’t in my arms, I’d be storming out to find that son of a bitch again and kill him.

  “You’re safe now. You’re with me,” I told her, holding her close to me as she continued to cry. “He won’t ever touch you again. I promise.”

  “I’m so stupid,” she suddenly cried out. “You always told me not to leave the cabin without you, that I was safe with you, but I didn’t listen. I left the cabin, and that happened. I’m so stupid!”

  Hearing her words made me even more enraged. Part of me wanted to go finish Rico off, and the other to hold her and never let go. Instead, I put my finger under her chin and lifted so she’d look at me. “I told you I never wanted to hear you blame yourself for what happened, and I meant it. What happened is not your fault, Penny. I’m not going to say any more on this. You’re safe with me, okay?”

  Her beautiful eyes looked at me as she nodded, and I felt myself exhale. I would never tell her now that she never should have left the cabin without me; she already knew. I also understood why she left, even though it had pissed me off. Once I’d gotten back and saw she wasn’t there, I knew she was in trouble. Rico had become obsessed with her, and while he swore up and down he wouldn’t touch her, I knew better. Having no idea how much time had elapsed since she’d left and I’d come back, I hurried and called Roman on my cell to alert him she was missing and my suspicions that if Rico had come across her, they were in his cabin. Roman had instructed me to head there right away, that he and his main bodyguard, Theo, were right behind me.

  Swearing when I remembered Rico’s room was on the other side of the yacht, I ran faster than I ever had in my life. When I rounded the corner of his hallway and heard her cries, I started pounding the hell out of his door. I broke through easily, and when I saw him on top of her and Penny crying, I lost it on him. For all I knew, I’d killed him. For his sake, he better hope I did.

  “Will you please take me back to the cabin?” she asked, wiping her nose on her sleeve. I reached over and got her a tissue, then nodded.

  “Yes.”

  I slid off the table and held out my hand for her. She took it and got down, tightening her robe. Her face was covered in bruises, once again making me seethe with pure hatred.

  I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, opening the door of the examination room. The doctor was standing at the main desk and looked up when he heard us walking out. His eyes warmed when he saw Penny, which made me feel slightly better toward him.

  “Ms. Santoro,” he began as he approached us. Penny stepped closer to me, making me hold her even tighter to my side.

  “Please don’t hesitate to come to me if you have any questions or if you need more medical attention,” the doctor continued.

  Penny just nodded.

  “I’ll make sure she contacts you if something comes up,” I told him. He just nodded and stepped aside, allowing us to walk out.

  I led Penny down the hall to the elevator. She was shaking, and nothing I did eased her trembling body. I clenched my jaw as we waited for the elevator to arrive, with me looking around making sure no one was near her.

  We finally made it back to her cabin, and I opened the door to let us in. She broke away from my hold and headed straight to her bed, flopping herself down and turning away from me. I stood against the closed door, wondering what I should do.

  “Please don’t leave me,” she said softly from her pillow. Hearing the catch in her voice, and the fear, almost broke me. This girl had been kidnapped and now almost raped. An innocent thrown into a dirty game. Taking a few breaths to keep calm, I nodded. Breaking away from the door, I walked toward her and sat on that stupid chair. The sea was calm and a striking blue, completely opposite of how it was on the yacht. I wondered what Roman and Theo did with Rico, and I was going to find out. But for now, this girl didn’t want me to leave her, so I wouldn’t. I was going to do everything within my power to help her recover from this.

  “I’m right here,” I told her. “I think it would be good if you took one of the sleeping pills the doc gave you.”

  She rolled over slowly and looked at me. Again, my heart slammed in my chest at the look on her face. She was so vulnerable, so scared. “Yes,” she agreed. “I’d like to just sleep.”

  I grabbed a pill and a glass of water and gave them to her. She sat up and gulped it down, then set the glass on the table by her bed. Lying back down on the bed, she looked out the window and sighed.

  “Where do you think he is?” she asked me in a shaky voice.

  I knew who she was referring to.

  Him.

  Rico.

  Just hearing the fear in her voice had me clenching my fists. He damaged her more than physically. The scars from his attack would remain with her for a long time, and that had me mad as hell.

  “I don’t know, Penny, but you can bet I’m going to find out.”

  “Do you think Roman will still keep him around?”

  I wish I could tell her no, but I honestly didn’t know. I massaged the back of my neck as I contemplated what to say. “If he knows what’s best for him, he won’t.”

  She whipped her head to me, her eyes open wide. “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything,” I assured her. “I just meant that he hopefully realizes what a fool Rico is and gets rid of him—fires him, so to speak.”

  Her eyes relaxed, and she turned to the window again. “I hope so.”

  We stayed there quietly, and soon enough her eyes were fluttering, indicating the pill was taking effect. I reached over and moved some of her hair off her forehead, looking into her eyes. “Sleep, querida. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  She gave a feeble nod, then snuggled down further into her bed and was fast asleep.

  When her breathing turned deep and I knew she was completely out, I stood and stepped out into the hallway, my phone to my ear.

  “We’re back in her cabin,” I said to the other end of the phone. “Where is he?”

  Chapter 10

  “I know you came to find me so I could touch you like this. You’ve been starved for my cock ever since you saw me in the hallway.”

  I woke up screaming, convinced I was still with Rico and he was on top of me. I clawed at the covers, twisting and turning, trying to get him off me. “NOOOOOOOO!”

  Instantly I was pushed into a hard chest, and a voice was in my ear.