by Avery Duncan
In only thirty minutes, she had a room, her clothes for later spread out on the bed, and the shower running with room service on the way. Her heart was turning in her chest, matching the actions of her stomach, as she looked out of the shaded window. The room was adorned with creamy curtains to match the walls, a thick green bedspread with vector swirls rimming the bottom.
The kitchen was not as grand as it had been at Chris’s house, yet she doubted she was going to use it on her one night stay. She started taking off her clothes, trying not to look at the bruises covering her body, and entered the bathroom. Steam was rising from the large tub as hot water sprinkled from above.
A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as she stepped inside. Before, at Chris’s house, she had taken less than five minute showers, afraid that he would try to take advantage of her. Now, though, she had a whole room to herself with a hot bath to top it off.
The water level had risen enough that it filled half the tub. Jamie sat down slowly, hating the tenderness in her back and shoulder. Refusing to look anywhere but the water, she settled on closing her eyes and relaxing. It felt so good, she thought, to be as free as she felt. She grabbed her shampoo from the side, the conditioner already set out from when she had started the water along with her favorite scented soap.
Jamie knew she wouldn’t be able to take her shampoo and conditioner with her, so she was going to relish her use of it right then. With the biggest smile she had given in a long time, she started lathering her hair. The hot water flowed around her slim legs, her long black hair washed in ten minutes. The conditioning took just as long, and she could have cared less.
Feeling rejuvenated, fresh, and finally like a woman, she stepped from the shower and began blow drying her hair. She might not have anyone to dress up for, Jamie thought as the brush slid through her long tresses, but she didn’t care. For once, it was just about her.
She glanced at the clock, flipping her hair over her shoulders as she started on the other side. In only a couple of minutes, room service would be there. She started smiling again, running her hand through her now fluffed hair. Wrapping the towel tighter around her body, she turned off the blow dryer and started getting dressed.
The tender bruises on her arms failed to bother her. If anything, they made her more aware that she was finally free. Exhaling excitedly as the doorbell rang, she practically skipped to the door. She had on sweatpants, the rest of her money shoved in the pockets so that she could pay the food upfront, and a soft short sleeve shirt with a Columbia jacket loose around her body. It had been forever since she had been able to dress so comfortably. Chris liked it when she looked at least neat, and sweat pants were an abomination to him.
She forgot to look out of the peephole. With her good mood came unawareness, her guard dropped completely. She opened the door quickly, excited for a burger and some freshly baked fries.
Except that wasn’t what she got. Two men stood on the other side, looking like convicts. Large hands wrapped around her upper arms, yanking. She cried out, shocked, feeling her shoulder wrench. A man came up behind the other two, a thinner, more frailer image. Feeling her face start to pale, she thought that maybe Chris was behind this.
At least, until, she saw the red eyes.
Then she started screaming.
Lyne waved his hand, signaling the man holding her to silence her. By the look on his face, the man could have cared less as his hand came down hard on the small woman’s head. In less than a second, the echoing scream ended and Lyne was making them haul her down the hall.
All day long he had been waiting, waiting for the chance to grab her. Of course, as soon as he realized the situation she was in, it had become slightly more complicated. He had left last night, intending to just take her and go. But then, he had heard shouting.
Looking into the window, it had become apparent that her current situation was going to be no different than her new one. That saddened him, he thought, watching the man lift a hand to her already yellow-with-bruises face. The sharp sound of the strong hit had made Lyne angry.
He should have been the one to harm her, he thought, lip curling. As he had observed the modern times, it had become apparent to him that it was rare for a woman to suffer from abuse as this one so obviously did. The blond man’s hand came down rather hard, he thought.
The woman, Jamie, had sobbed and turned away, making him catch her shoulder. Shortly after that bout of violence the man had left. Later, he had come back inebriated and falling all over himself. The small woman’s strength as she had attempted to drag him to the couch had impressed him, as much as he wished otherwise.
Lyne had felt a token of mercy for the woman, one that he would make up for at a later time. She had gone to sleep shortly, and he had waited with his men till she woke. The men that worked for him were escaped convicts, men who took pleasure in dealing pain as much as Lyne and Auro did. It had been these men that he had sent on trips to find information, and he was quite proud of their work.
He looked down the hallway to make sure no one would see them depart with the woman. She looked so delicate, he thought, glancing at her. Overnight her fading bruises must have healed because they were no longer there. Although, if he were to pull back her shirt, he was sure to find a dark print in the size of a male’s hand.
Lyne snorted, a jealous action. It was one thing to hear the pained shouts of a man—it was another to hear the terrified cries of a woman. He smiled toothily, waiting for when he could feel her soft hair between his hands as he took over her.
She was limp in his man’s arms, head lolling to the side. As an elderly couple came around the side, his man shifted her in his arms to make like he was cradling her lovingly, giving a convincing smile as he touched her cheek.
They might have glanced at him and his other man suspiciously, but they smiled nonetheless and walked on, holding hands. Lyne’s lip curled as he looked at his man with a raised brow. He said nothing in reply, just shifted back to where she was flopped over his arm.
They were just inside the car when she started to awaken, hands fisting and eyelashes fluttering. Lyne narrowed his eyes on her, smelling the slow drip of blood as she awoke. Her small movement had caused her a wound, he realized. A smile graced his cracked lips.
Jamie’s eyes opened as clarity reigned in, a scream bubbling in her throat. A car door slammed right near her head and she jerked, arms wrapping around her waist as she struggled to sit up. Looking around herself, horrified, she realized that she was in a car, two men on either side of her, with two others in the front.
Her heart stopped in her chest, then quickly rose to her throat. Tears welled in her eyes as fear started to course through her, the feeling almost making her faint. “What…” Oh, god… “What’s happening?” Her frail voice cracked, earning the indifferent gazes of several men at once.
She shrunk back as the smallest of the lot turned to look at her. Jamie gasped, the unearthly eyes scarring her worse than a gun could have. Just staring at them, Jamie knew that her life would never be the same. Her face paled dramatically, another scream rising as terror overcame her.
“Silence her!” the thin creature commanded, glaring at her as if her terror annoyed him. “Her screams are annoying in this small confinement—I would much rather listen to them as they ricocheted off of our bloody walls.”
The cry escaped her before she could stop it. The way he spoke, the accent, the wording…she knew that this was not Chris’s doing, knew that this was real and she was in true danger. The blood seemed to quickly leave her body, or at least fall to her feet. The scream and fear seemed to make her lightheaded. Slapping a hand over her mouth, her body hunched as a hard hand connected with her already pulsing shoulder.
Pain exploded, the hot rush as burning as a volcano, not only in her shoulder, but in the back of her mind. Feeling the breath rush out of her body, her scream was nothing but air as she fell limply with pain. A dark aura shrouded them. The car turned deathly silent, as
if the slightest sound would emit the largest of catastrophes.
Frightened, she shoved her hand in her mouth to keep from making a sound as tears rained down her cheeks. Her body trembled with heavy jerks, heart stilling as his next words penetrated her mind.
“The woman would make a good addition, wouldn’t she? My toys have been needing some new material to play with,” he murmured to the man beside her. His dark head bobbed, yet no words came from him.
Shrinking against the seat, her mind screamed at her to escape, to flee from them. Her soul was doing the exact thing, the knowledge that she was going to die deeply ingrained in her mind. What had she done? she thought frantically, mind racing for a way to solve the question.
The brief thought that her mother had planned this made her heart jerk. She denied the thought, shoving it away from her. Her mind mulled it over with intense turmoil and panic. Jamie forced herself to reason, even as the men around her radiated menace. She was being incoherent, she told herself, forcing a shuddering breath past her lips. Her mind was full of nonsense that didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered was escaping and getting to her mother.
Surely, she told herself, looking at the dark men that crowded around her, she was not behind this. It was a dumb thought--her mother loved her, wanted the best for her. Her father was long gone and she had no use in staying away from Jamie anymore--her mother just wouldn’t do that.
Pale blue eyes looked around frantically. The door was locked, the small button pushed down all the way. The man next to her had a scar down his cheek that led to his chin and wrapped around his jaw. She shuddered, the tattoo on his arm revealed by the short sleeved shirt he wore. Inanely, she thought, shouldn't he be cold? A nervous laugh bubbled in her throat, sounding more like a cackle.
Jamie bit hard on her hand, drawing blood. She was so terrified, she barely noticed the new pain.
The man on the other side of her was bald, a tattoo on the back of his head. Did all thugs have tattoos? she asked mentally. Jamie knew that if she tried to talk, it would only turn in a close-throated squeak. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as soulless black eyes turned to look at her.
“What are you looking at?” he growled, his hand fisting in his lap. Jamie’s face paled worse, her life flashing before her eyes.
Jamie shoved her shaking hands in the pockets of her Columbia, trying to hide that she was about to piss herself. A chilling numbness settled in her bones, sliding down her back, and penetrating her stomach.
Jamie gasped, leaning over.
The vomit she spewed landed all over the man on her left.
Chapter 4
The car ride was long and tense. A blizzard soon started, blocking her sight from anything past the men beside her. Snow melted against the car windows, the soft flakes dissolving into liquid drops that slid down the pane, just as tears were sliding down her cheeks. The need to escape had quickly turned to despair.
They had stopped briefly to clean up the mess that she had made. A new bruise was showing up on her jaw, the fist that had connected with her face a deadly reminder of how ruthless these men were. Unlike Chris, they packed heavy muscles and it had felt like a hammer connecting with her cheek. Eyes downcast, trying to get past the sickness in her stomach, she watched from the corner of her eye as men piled out of the car.
The bald one, the one she had puked on, grabbed her shoulder in a tight grip. She gasped, pain coiling in her shoulder and neck. His look of appeasement had her hands curling with the urge to tear his face off. Jamie held back from making another sound, and as he let go, the final squeeze he gave her made her shoulder throb worse.
“Come, dear one. I shall introduce you to your new cohort after a short meal and a meeting with my brother,” the thin man said, his voice a rasp. His crimson eyes burned into her, bidding her to follow. She did just that, the panic draining from her body.
A sigh whispered past her lips as her mind filled with soft praises. Everything seemed to swirl around her, a type of delirium filling her mind. The floating voice that held her blank, held her silent, captured her. With a new sadistic beauty, the man held his hand out for her. Jamie obediently put her hand in his.
Serenity filled her. Nothing would happen to her, she thought as she followed him. The coldness of his hand tingles up her arm, perceived as the touch of an angel. Jamie wished to reach out, to place her hand on his neck, to feel the heartbeat of purity. As he pulled her to the house, a grand estate that was suited for a king, she felt boneless.
This ethereal creature would let no harm come to her, she was certain of it. A smile graced her full lips, and she followed closer behind. She didn’t want to displease him, she thought, gazing up at him with adoration.
Lyne smiled down at her, the glowing happiness of her face a pleasant sight—and only because he knew she wanted to please him. The entrancement she was under would last for as long as he wished, and he planned to use it to his fullest abilities. Lyne felt revulsion slide down his spine as her delicate hand held even tighter on to his.
He almost pulled away, but decided against it. So soon was the glamor placed, it would surely break if he stopped guiding her now. The threads between them bound tighter, sturdier. Invisible hands wove between them, tying them together as surely as a knot. Her warmth, the feel of her soul, poured into his body.
Like the woman, his men were bound to him the same way. It was a pleasure, to have such doubtless loyalty. If only he could place it on Talon, too, he thought with bitterness. At the frown covering his face, Jamie made a plaintive sound, pressing her forehead against his arm.
He stared at her, shocked. Then he started to chuckle. He took his hand from hers, the binding complete. The utter look of devastation that covered her features made him smile mentally. It was a cruel, salacious smile, one that his men were wearing openly on their faces.
Lyne pulled her behind him, the muted crunch of the newly falling snow echoing around them along with the soft sounds of distress that Jamie was making as she caught up to him. He should have done this earlier, he thought as he dodged her reaching hands, nodding toward the man closest to her. As his huge arms wrapped around her to keep her back, Lyne recalled why he hadn’t with a shudder.
A high keen emitted from her throat, the sound grating on his nerves. Silencing her, he turned on his heel and strode hurriedly to the large house. His brother was waiting inside, he thought with pleasure. Maybe, after the meal, Auro would like to spend some time in his room, alone…
The thought had him smiling even wider, his sharp teeth yellow as they flashed. He could hear Jamie struggling behind him, but chose to ignore it. Soon enough, she would be pleading for Talon and that, too, in a whole other way, ultimately bringing him power.
A surprising thought occurred to him, and he turned to look at Jamie curiously. Since Talon was immune to his enthrallment, could it be that once Jamie touched him, or kissed him or took him into her body that the lure for Lyne would be gone? The thought left him bereft, brooding. He prayed not—with the power of the lure that he held over her, he could tell her to take Talon and she would, no if, ands, or buts about it.
But without the lure… He growled, angered. Auro would be displeased by the delay, but not more so than Lyne. He could only imagine the disappointment Auro would show him if the lure failed to stay. He had studied the humans, had once been one, and knew that it took time for a coupling—no matter the circumstance. And after witnessing what Jamie had been through, he could only imagine how vehement she would be about coupling with the aggressive monster that stayed below their house.
An irritated sigh escaped his thin lips as he opened the door of the house. Auro was waiting beside the door, arms crossed over his chest, eyes looking over him and his men as they entered. Lyne took his coat off and hung it on the rack, gesturing behind him.
“I’ve brought her to you, brother,” he said, facing his brother. Auro knew, though. He always knew. His heeled shoes clicked on the lin
oleum as he came forward, twining his arm around Lyne’s. He cast no judgment, simply looked disparagingly over his shoulder at the now limp woman and nodded, eyes cool and unreadable.
“Take her to the left wing chamber so she may prepare herself. Lyne, remove the enchantment so she may think enough to cleanse herself without the assistance of our men. The goods may not be spoiled,” he said, the chuckle that came from him forced.
Lyne nodded, retracting the small haze that was filling her mind even now. The man holding her set her down, and they watched with disinterest as she swayed on her feet. Lyne turned from her carelessly, waving a hand. “Take her, before she comes out of the haze and makes a scene in front of my brother.”
Ivan, a name that Lyne found most repulsive, nodded and turned abruptly. Lyne smiled at Auro and led him down the hall, inquiring, “Do you believe that the coupling will go sooner if Talon is groomed?”
Auro considered his brother’s question, grimacing over his thoughts. “Do you plan to keep a trance on the woman?”
“I believe that the moment Talon touches her, it will be dropped. I would not be worried, for it is only a minor fear. It would be only a precaution to make him as becoming as possible,” he said, lip curling with distaste as Ivan’s thumping footsteps faded. The hall was quiet, except for the soft sound of a breeze rustling the curtains next to them. Lyne stopped near the open window, pushing the thick velvet material aside.
“It would be too much of a reward for him,” Auro hissed, eyes following Lyne’s movement. Lyne nodded slowly, giving a sharp smile to his brother.
“Agreed.”
“What is with that smile, brother?” Auro asked, a knowing look entering his crimson eyes. “Have you got some plans for our pets?”
Lyne nodded slowly, letting the curtain fall back into place as the chill of the air settled on his pale skin. “It would bring us much pleasure,” he murmured, mind racing with thoughts of what he could do to Talon.