by Brook Wilder
When I grabbed her wrists in my hand, she began to plead.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I’ll behave.”
I let her words go. I didn’t even bother listening to them. I couldn’t be dissuaded now. She had to know that I wouldn’t tolerate her behavior.
Perhaps she was right. Maybe I did love her. Maybe...
Fuck, I did love her. I shouldn’t though, and this would be a good cure for both of us. There would be no way back after what I was going to do to her.
Once I had her wrists tied, I hauled her up onto her feet. I took her out into the cold night. I had left her clothes on because they were easily enough taken off. She whimpered and pleaded as I dragged her along with my arm around her waist. She even fought some, but she found the ropes too tight to break free from.
By the time I reached the old clothesline, Cassie was sobbing quietly. I tuned out the sound of it. She would remember this. That was good. It would be a good lesson for her about the world, and one she’d be better off learning now.
I lifted her arms up. She whimpered as she struggled to stand on her tiptoes. I strung her hands over the pole. It had a cross-section that served well enough when you wanted to string someone up for a bit of fun.
Her breasts pressed against the wooden pole and her ass wiggled most delightfully as she struggled to get out of the ropes.
“Now that’s a pretty sight,” I said in appreciation.
“Fuck you,” Cassie spat over her shoulder.
She definitely still had fire.
I reached around in front of her and released the button on her jeans. She gasped at the shock of the cold air as I pushed her jeans down past her thighs.
“Let’s see how wet you are this time,” I whispered in her ear.
I chuckled at the way she tried to shift away as I held her in place. I slid my hand between her thighs and into that warm wetness of hers.
Cassie gasped and clenched her teeth.
“Mason,” she hissed.
“You told me to fuck you, sweetheart,” I reminded her. “I think that’s a good plan. So, good and wet. You really do like it rough.”
Cassie shook her head.
“Take me inside. You can fuck me any way you want, inside.”
“Nope. I’m in charge, and you’re going to have to remember that.” I said firmly.
I unzipped my pants. I pulled her back to her tiptoes. Her ass rose in such a sweet way, offering itself up to me. I smiled as I thrust into her without any warning.
Cassie groaned. She might fight me, but she couldn’t deny that I turned her on as much as she turned me on. It took only a few strokes of my dick for her to be panting.
As much as it pleased me that I’d had that effect on her, my pleasure wasn’t what this was about. I pulled almost all the way out and slammed into her as hard as I could. She sobbed. Over and over, I plunged into her with all the force I could muster. This was not about pleasure. It was about ownership, and she would know exactly what that meant by the time I was done.
If she could have formed words between my brutal strokes, she probably would have been pleading. As it was, Cassie could only manage to gasp incoherent sobs and whimpers in response to the brutal punishment of my cock.
If she’d thought I’d been rough with her the first time we had fucked…
She would not cross me again.
Cassie suddenly sagged on the ropes and pressed her face against the wooden pole. I grinned in triumph. She was broken, defeated.
She submitted to my violation of her. She had to. There was not a real choice for her. Her choices were all made for her. It was best she learned to accept that, I reasoned, as I plunged into her again and again. It was better for both of us, I told myself, as I abused her mercilessly.
The sight of her so defeated, pulled at my heart. I hadn’t wanted this. My anger was leaving me, but the damage was done.
I slowed my thrusting. I reached around in front of her and stroked her face gently.
Cassie whimpered softly. She groaned and resisted me weakly. But, in the end, she came on my dick. I’d allowed her that pleasure to make up for the harshness of it all. But, even then, the look in her eyes told me she found it humiliating that she’d come after I’d so degraded her.
I closed my eyes and jerked a few final strokes, blocking out the look of shame on the girl’s face as I released inside of her.
I stepped back and pulled up my jeans. She hung limply on the rope.
Was she crying?
I looked away, but my eyes kept sliding back to her.
I’d never felt sorry for how I treated girls. They were there to be fucked. But I’d gone too far with Cassie. I loved her. She was right about that. But she’d never love me again. I’d made sure of that.
It had been for the best, I told myself. It was better that she hated me. She’d harden up and be able to tell the world to fuck off. Cassie had needed that.
I pulled up her pants. I cut the girl down and carried her inside. She was limp, broken.
I put her on the bed. She lay where I placed her, not moving even a little. Her breath came in soft ragged bursts.
I stared down at her.
“It’s better this way,” I whispered to her unconscious form.
Chapter 15
Cassie
I looked over at Mason in bed. He was sleeping.
I’d only managed to sleep a little. The memory of what had happened seared through my mind, jolting me awake every time I fell over.
He doesn’t love me. Did he ever? He had made it clear that, if he ever had, it was at an end. No one could do what he had done to someone they love.
I sat up stiffly and eased off the bed. The soreness I suffered made me clench my teeth with every move I made. I was desperate not to make a sound. I couldn’t risk waking the man and having to face his wrath again. I had to get out of there. Staying would only lead to greater hurt. I winced at the sting between my legs as I walked.
Once I was out in the kitchen, I looked around in the darkness for anything that might help me escape. I spotted Mason’s keys on the table. He must have put them there at some point during…
I shut down my recollection,. He never loved me. Maybe I had Stockholm Syndrome? I shook my head. I just tried to see the best in people. Well, never again…
Mason was just like Ruiz. I had to get away from both of them.
I snatched the keys and made my way outside with faltering painful steps. It was all I could do to walk around the house. I was terrified someone would be lurking, waiting to snatch me away. I had lost my childlike trust in the world.
In that respect, I guess Mason had taught me a lot. Life was not all about looking for the best in people. It was about seeing the worst that people could do to you and being prepared for it.
The motorcycle was in a small shed behind the house. It was heavy. So heavy I feared it might fall on me. I barely managed to roll it out of the shed. I’d never driven a motorcycle before. But honestly, I thought; how hard could it be? I looked at the controls and quickly figured them out. Just like a car, only smaller – and more dangerous.
“Fun,” I whispered as I slid across the seat.
The stinging between my legs reminded me that this was necessary. I nodded to myself. Let’s do this! Chances were I’d wake Mason up when I cranked the engine, so I’d have to be fast.
I took a deep breath and kicked the starter. The motorcycle roared to life. I breathed a small ‘thank you’ when it moved forward. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I’d thought it would be, so long as I kept in moving forward at a good pace. It was like riding a pedal bicycle in that respect. And if the noise had awoken Mason, then it hadn’t brought him outside while I was still in view of the house.
The winding dirt road seemed to stretch on forever. My earlier thoughts sprang back to mind, about it being a good place to go if you never wanted to be seen again,. If I crashed, the chances that anyone other than Mason would find me were pr
etty slim. I’d no idea what I was going to do once I’d actually got out of there either.
The feeling of being alone settled over me. I faltered as I looked beyond the motorcycle’s headlight. Nothing but darkness waited for me out there. Even the stars seemed to be hiding.
Eventually, the scrub began to open up and I caught a glimpse of the highway. My heart leaped with optimism. I was going to make it. Mason couldn’t catch me on foot. This time I was going to get away.
I stopped the bike at the edge of the highway. Which way had we come from? I bit my lip and chose to go right. Eden had to be in that direction. What I was going to do when I got back to Eden was unclear, but I just wanted to be where other people were. I needed big crowds. They couldn’t hurt me in big crowds. Could they?
The highway was scary. I’d never ridden a motorcycle anywhere before, let alone on a highway. The idea of heading into town on it was daunting. I decided I’d ditch it just before I got to town. I’d probably be less noticeable on foot anyway. I reckoned the chances that someone would recognize the motorcycle of the leader of the GRMC were pretty high.
I took a deep breath. I was going to make it. I just had to be smart about it.
No one was going to scare me into submission ever again. Fuck, Mason. Fuck the GRMC. Fuck this whole damn life. Josh might have been an asshole, but that betrayal had taught me nothing in comparison to the last few weeks with Mason. The world was a lot shittier than the petty crap I’d had going on.
I blinked tears. The wind caught them and whipped then away.
“I don’t need anyone,” I whispered into the night.
Chapter 16
Cassie
I heard the engines behind me just as I saw the lights of the city rise in the distance.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw headlights. Lots of them. Mason had called the Ghost Riders on me.
Fear lanced through me and I sped up. My fear of crashing was outweighed by fear of the reprisals I’d suffer for stealing from the GRMC, let alone for slighting their leader by running off. Mason didn’t strike me as someone who’d forgive and forget.
The wind tore through my hair as I gulped oxygen. I just kept chanting, I’m going to make it, I’m going to make it.
I didn’t know what the loud sound was when I heard the first gunshot. I’d never expected them to shoot at me. Was Diesel among them? The brash man with a joke for any occasion ever-ready on his lips?
A second gunshot sounded, and the motorcycle jerked wildly.
I looked down to find that they’d shot the back tire out. I instinctively tried to slow down, but the motorcycle was impossible to control. It bucked once and slewed off the road. I crashed into some scrub. I cried out as thorns snagged my skin and clothing.
“Grab the bitch before she runs off,” a voice barked from up on the road.
Some of the motorcycles had already pulled up and their riders had dismounted and were jogging towards me. I tugged frantically at my sleeves, to free them from the scrub. In desperation, I slipped out of my jacket and took off into the desert.
There were shouts behind me. I looked back and caught sight of the insignia on their vests and jackets. They weren’t Ghost Riders. That left only one possibility. They were the Cartel’s men.
I cursed under my breath and ran blindly on, out into the desert.
There wasn’t much in the way of cover, and it was freezing. Luckily, running made up for the coolness of the night-air.
My breath came in short bursts. Sweat stung my eyes as I dropped down out of sight to catch my wind. I heard boots stomping towards me over the desert sand.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“Come out,” a voice shouted. “It isn’t like there’s anywhere to go!”
He was right. I was pretty much stuck.
I rose and, keeping low, slowly made my way toward the city lights in the distance. I was cold and sore and exhausted. I couldn’t keep this up, I realized. Eventually, I’d have to make a run for it, and they’d spot me instantly. A beam of light swept over the desert, and I just managed to duck out of its way in time.
“Oh god,” I muttered.
“We aren’t here to hurt you,” the voice called out again. “If you don’t come out though, I can’t vouch for my men’s good humor.”
I sucked a breath between my teeth. If I went with them, there was no telling what Ruiz would do to me. If I stayed where I was, it was likely they’d find me anyway. I was only delaying the inevitable. The hope that the GRMC and Mason might be looking for me strayed into the back of my mind, but I knew I couldn’t depend on anyone anymore.
I took a deep breath and took off running.
The shouts of the men behind me let me know they’d spotted me. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. Just as I thought I’d pass out, a hand grabbed my hair and I was falling. Dust swirled up around my face as I landed hard with a body on top of me. The man’s knee was in my mid-back.
“Get off me, you jackass,” I spat.
He pushed me down into the desert sand. I could feel the grit against my face. Boots crunched past my head. I closed my eyes against the dust they kicked up.
A voice I very clearly recognized spoke to the man holding me.
“Let her up, Charlie.”
The man holding me dragged me up with my arms pinned behind my back. Ruiz gave me a smile that made my skin crawl.
“Let me go,” I said.
I hoped I sounded unimpressed. The truth was the man scared the hell out of me.
Ruiz shook his finger at me.
“Now, now. I think you owe me.”
I snarled at the man.
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“Well, actually you do,” Ruiz said.
He looked like he was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by one of his underlings as he handed him a coil of rope.
“Ah, just what I needed.”
Ruiz uncurled some of the rope and wrapped it around his hand as he spoke.
“See, Cassie, you and Mason have cost me a lot of money. Money that you are going to earn back for me.”
I shook my head in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
He smiled at me and motioned for Charlie to hold me. Charlie forced me around, and I felt rope against my wrists.
Panic built inside me as Ruiz leisurely wrapped the rope around my wrists. He yanked it tight, and I grimaced at the burn of the rope across my skin.
“Those warehouse raids,” Ruiz continued, “cost me a lot of good merchandise.”
I ground my teeth together.
“Those were women, not merchandise,” I hissed.
“You run with a known sex-trafficker. Do you honestly expect me to be impressed by the righteous indignation of a hypocrite?”
Ruiz laughed, and I felt the rope being tied around my feet.
“No, Cassie, you are going to earn every dime back for me, even if I have to make you fuck every single person who’s willing to pay for a piece of your ass until you are dead.”
I trembled. I was going to take the place of one of his girls. Punish me, punish Mason. I shook my head.
“If it’s revenge you’re after, then you need to find a new girl. Mason doesn’t give a fuck about me. We’ve parted ways.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true,” Ruiz chuckled. “Give yourself some credit, love.”
Charlie turned me around after Ruiz had pulled the rope tight around my feet. I couldn’t move my arms. I stumbled. Moving with your legs and arms tied together is hard. Ruiz grabbed me roughly and hauled me over his shoulder.
“Get the men out looking for the GRMC. They have to be somewhere nearby. That’s Mason’s bike.”
“We’re on it, sir,” Charlie said.
As Ruiz threw me over the back of his motorcycle, the last thing I saw was five or six of the other men heading back up the road the way I had come.
I felt a stab of fear that they’d find Mason.
I blinked through my tears as Ruiz revved up his motorcycle. The ground began to rush by as the motorcycle sped forward and I wished I could take back my last few decisions.
I closed my eyes against the sight of the speeding asphalt a few feet below my head.