The door opened and I pulled the blanket up to cover myself. When Lake’s eyes found mine, heat flooded my face, my cheeks burning at the memory of what had happened between us. But that wasn’t all. My body reacted, too, and I became very aware of how my sex seemed to come to attention at his entrance. I dropped my gaze and tugged the blanket closer when he closed the door, only looking up when I heard him locking it again. He carried a mug and the scent of freshly brewed coffee made my mouth water.
“Good morning, princess,” he said.
“Is it a good morning? I wouldn’t know. I’m locked up in this dusty old shed.”
Lake’s eyes narrowed but he grinned and took a step closer. “There’s my girl,” he said. “Slow learner and stubborn as hell, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I looked away.
“Coffee?” he asked, coming to stand before me.
The mug was steaming and my mouth watered. I nodded, reaching up.
“Ask nicely,” he said, holding it just out of reach.
I met his gaze and it took all I had not to think about what he’d done to me, how he’d felt inside me, how many times he’d made me come. “May I have some coffee, please?” I asked, remembering the opened suitcase in the closet, thinking how he’d punish me if he found it, wondering at the clothes there, wondering if there had been others before me, considering what he was capable of doing.
He held the mug out to me and I took it, our fingers touching when I did, my mind recalling where those fingers had been hours before. “Just drink it, no shenanigans,” he said, his tone serious, his gaze moving to the strap hanging on the wall.
I nodded but had no intention of throwing it at him if that’s what he thought. And I had already seen the strap and had no interest in having another session with it. I brought the mug to my lips but hesitated, looking at him. “You take a sip first,” I said.
He laughed but took the mug, sat down next to me and drank. “I have no need to drug you,” he said.
He hadn’t added any sugar or cream and the taste was bitter. I drank it anyway and the room remained silent until I was finished and handed the mug back to him.
“What now?” I asked, looking at him. My body felt like tiny needles were pricking it all over with him sitting so close.
“I was thinking you’d want a shower and breakfast,” he said.
“How long do I have to stay here? I mean…” Why did you kidnap me?
“After your shower, you’ll come back to the bad girl’s room, and you’ll stay until I’m satisfied you’ve learned your lesson. How long will depend on you.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. What happened to the US Marshal?” I finally asked the question.
“Ah,” he said. “DeSalvo. Randall paid him to deliver you to him.”
I processed this slowly while Lake continued.
“He’s probably out looking for you now,” Lake continued. “In fact, I’m sure there are a whole army of men out looking for both of us.”
“I don’t understand. Did my dad hire you or was that a lie?”
“Your dad hired me. So did Randall.”
“So why am I here and not there? You’d have to be stupid to double cross them both.”
Lake rubbed his face and stood. He inhaled a deep breath and looked at me, then exhaled. “Get up, Lily. If you want that shower that is.”
“What, did you kidnap me to save me from them? From DeSalvo? Randall?” I paused. “Or were you looking for more money?” He didn’t answer, and my gaze moved lower. “And while you were at it, thought you’d get your rocks off?” I snorted, eyes narrowed, ready for a battle, at least a verbal one.
In the silence that followed, I questioned how wise it was to provoke this man.
“Lily girl, you can’t help yourself, can you?” he said, shaking his head and walking to the door. “Try to imagine where you might be if it weren’t for me. Think what would have happened to you in the custody of the man your father can put away for life. Can you visualize the type of welcome you’d have received there?” he said. “They’d make yesterday’s strapping look like a fucking walk in the park.” He shook his head and walked toward the door.
“You can’t keep me here!” I called out, running after him, one hand clutching the blanket to me as I grabbed his arm.
He turned, grabbing mine hard. “You screwed up your chance to have a shower.” Too fast for me to react, he tore the blanket from me and held me there, naked. His eyes raked over my body before returning to meet my gaze. “You don’t listen very well,” he said, slapping my hip hard. “What are the rules, Lily?” he asked, smacking again as he walked me back to the bed. “Tell me the rules,” he said, easily grabbing hold of my other arm when I swung at him, all the while dragging me toward the bed. “Rules,” he repeated, holding both of my wrists at my back in one hand, placing one booted foot on the frame of the bed and leaning me over his thigh, smacking my bottom hard as he spoke. “I asked you for the rules. Do you want to recite them while I spank you with my hand or do you prefer the strap?”
“I hate you!” I yelled, trying to get free or at least to avoid the volley of spanks. He struck the same spot over and over again, making my bottom burn in a very short amount of time especially as it was still sore after yesterday’s strapping.
“I guess you want the strap then,” he said, reaching for it.
“No, no strap! I’m not to cover myself and I’m only to speak when you ask me a question. I’m sorry, please don’t punish me!” I begged, looking back at him over my shoulder.
“Please don’t punish me, what?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Sir. Please don’t punish me, Sir.”
He dropped me on the bed then and I caught myself before reaching to cover my breasts and set my arms at my sides instead.
He stood looking at me for a minute before replacing the strap on its hook along the wall. Without another word, he turned and walked away, picking up the discarded mug as well as the blanket, and walked out the door, locking it behind him.
“Fuck!”
My stomach growled, and I stood. I’d screwed up a chance at a shower and food and instead managed to piss him off. Again.
* * *
He left me alone for what I assumed were a few hours. In that time, I repacked the suitcase as best as I could and put it back where I’d found it.
I went to the dresser I’d not been able to look at earlier and opened the first drawer to find it full of wires and other accessories for various electronics, I assumed. The second one held two thick binders. I opened one and looked through some of the pages. Just random paperwork. I moved on to the last drawer to find picture frames wrapped neatly in packing paper. I unwrapped one but set it aside; it was a boring, standard print, something you’d find at the Ikea. The next two were the same. It was when I got to the fourth one that I was surprised. It was the only personal photograph in the drawer. I looked at it closely, almost not recognizing the man who now held me captive. I stood and walked to the bed, studying it as I sat on the edge of the bed. It was a photo taken in the summertime in San Francisco. I recognized the place, a popular tourist spot along the Wharf. Lake looked relaxed and happy. He was laughing, and he had his arm around a woman. She was staring up at him, and she, too, was laughing. I looked more closely. She was pretty, with light brown hair and blue eyes. She had her hand on his chest and was leaning into him, into his embrace. Lake’s hand was wrapped around her waist possessively, and there, on one finger, shone a band of gold.
Was he married, or had he been once? He looked younger in the photo, but that could have been because he was smiling too. It’s not like I saw him doing that very often. Regardless, I didn’t care about Lake’s personal life. I couldn’t imagine he was married anymore, even if he had been once. He didn’t wear a wedding band now, and he certainly couldn’t have time to keep a wife and kidnap me. I got up to put the photo away, but when I did, I managed to drop the damn thing.
I quickly picked it up, noticing how the glass had cracked right between the happy couple. I touched the spot then put the photograph away and closed the drawer, hoping he wouldn’t find it.
It was when I was standing on one of the boxes I’d moved beneath the window to look outside that I heard the door again. I panicked for a moment but it was too late to put the box away, so I stood there instead, my back to the wall as he came inside carrying a bucket, a towel under his arm, and two water bottles. When he saw me, he raised an eyebrow. “Redecorating?” he asked, setting the bucket down. It splashed sudsy water onto the floor when he did. He then locked the door before turning to me.
I, meanwhile, kept my hands at my sides, remembering the rules. This next part was going to kill me, but I took a deep breath and forced myself to speak. “Sir?” I asked, trying hard to keep the sarcasm from my voice.
His face told me how surprised he was at my tone. He nodded, which I assumed meant for me to go on.
“I’m sorry about earlier. It’s only that…I don’t understand.”
He looked at me. “Come here,” he said.
I hesitated briefly, glancing at the strap on the wall, but walked to him. He held out one of the water bottles, and I took it.
“It’s a protein shake. Drink it.”
I sniffed the bottle — fake chocolate. “I don’t like protein sh—” I began but the look on his face told me to stop talking, and I did. He waited and watched while I drank the gritty shake down. When it was finished, I wiped my mouth off and handed the empty bottle back to him.
“This is not a fucking resort, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he said, taking it back. “Drinking water is there.” He pointed to the other bottle. “And this,” he began, hauling the bucket to where the bathroom would have been. “Is your bath.” He reached into the bucket and picked up the sponge, holding it out to me. “I’ll be back to inspect you in ten minutes.”
“Inspect me?”
“Yes. I’ve decided we’ll make it a regular thing. It will be good for you, I think. For your pride. Ten minutes. Be a good girl, Lily,” he said as he unlocked the door.
This wasn’t anything I was expecting. “How long will you keep me here? What you said earlier…”
“Nine minutes,” he said and walked out the door.
I hated the sound of that door locking. Rubbing my forehead, I went to the unfinished bathroom and picked up the sponge. The water was only lukewarm, but I washed myself, not sure when I would get a proper shower or even another bucket of water. I needed to wash my hair too, but that wasn’t going to work.
Part of me wanted to pretend I didn’t understand what he meant by an inspection, but I knew full well. He would humiliate me again, rape me again.
Rape. Could what had happened be called rape? How many times had I come? How many times had I tried to fight? Too many on the former and not even once on the latter. But I was afraid and I hadn’t known what he would do. How far he would go. I wondered if he knew it himself.
After scrubbing myself clean, I dumped the sponge back into the bucket and picked up the towel to dry off. I was not about to give that final thought a moment of attention. Lake Freeman knew exactly what he was doing. He had probably been planning on kidnapping me all along.
As for DeSalvo and Randall and saving me from them? I shook my head, thinking. It didn’t make sense. As long as Lake kept me, he’d be a wanted man. And a dead one if either the US Marshal or Randall caught up with him. So why keep me? He wasn’t a bad-looking guy and if he were, he could pay any whore for sex. This wasn’t about sex.
Money? I shook my head again as the lock turned and Lake walked in. I looked at him, holding tight to the towel. This wasn’t about money either.
Maybe I just like to keep pretty girls chained to my bed. Why didn’t the memory of those words repel me?
He locked the door. I remained standing where I was without saying a word, waiting. My sex tightened as I looked back at him, knowing what he expected. I was in the bad girl’s room. I’d have to be a good girl to leave it.
Holding his gaze, I unwrapped the towel, dropped it to the floor, and stood before him naked with my arms at my sides, waiting for my inspection.
Lake’s gaze traveled up and down my body, causing a shiver to run along my spine. “Good girl,” he said. “You’re learning. Up against the wall facing me now, hands on top of your head, legs shoulder width.”
My belly quivered, and although it wasn’t resistance I felt, neither was it a desire to please. I wanted him to make me. It would be easier if he made me.
No words came while we stood there and I hoped he could read not defiance but an inability to speak or move in my eyes.
“Up against the wall, Lily.”
I tried to open my mouth but couldn’t. Instead, I pulled my arms tighter to my sides, my shoulders rounding a little. That prickling feeling was back and it was all over. I stood there staring at him, watching his expression change as I shook my head no.
“That’s not how good girls behave,” he said calmly. “Shame.” He walked over to me and somehow, I didn’t move away. His eyes weren’t angry, not like they had been when I’d tried to stab him with those ridiculous clippers. They looked as though he wasn’t entirely surprised by my non-action.
“You’re not shy all of a sudden, are you?” he asked, gripping me by the back of my neck. “I’ve seen and touched every inch of you and, if I recall,” he continued, walking me toward the bed, “you liked it,” he said. He looked at me with a wicked grin on his face, his hand squeezing hard.
“You’re hurting me,” I managed, still not fighting but not quite compliant either.
“Get the strap and hand it to me,” he said.
I tried to pull away at that but when I did, he shifted his grip to take a fistful of my hair instead.
“Ow!” I clamped my hand around his wrist, trying to pull him off.
“And then get on your hands and knees on the bed. Ass to me, your face buried in the mattress.”
“No.”
He carried on as if I’d not said a word. “If I have to get it myself and hold you down to punish you, you’ll take twenty strokes, but if you can show me you can obey, it’ll only be ten,” he said, shaking me once, forcing me to look at him. “What will it be?”
“I’m sorry. Please, I don’t want that strap…”
He tugged again.
“I’ll do what you say. I’ll stand at the wall like you said.”
“You keep missing the opportunities I give you, Lily. First the shower and a decent breakfast, and now a simple order to stand at the wall for inspection. Am I holding you down or are you bending over and offering your ass for your strokes?” he asked. “That’s the choice we’re working with now. I’ll count to three, and if you haven’t decided, I’ll assume you want the twenty. One.”
“Wait. No.”
“Two”
“Lake…”
He opened his mouth.
“Ten! I want ten! Please!”
“Please, what?”
“Please, Sir!”
He released me instantly and gestured to the strap. Tears of panic filled my eyes. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced a deep breath in before opening them again. “Please Lake, I’m sorry. Can we just start again? Please?”
“Strap, Lily.”
I was already crying by the time I took the strap from the wall. The leather felt strange in my trembling hands, thick and flexible, frightening. I handed it to him, wanting to get rid of it. He took it and gestured to the bed. My tears came faster, but I obeyed. I was getting strapped; that was a certainty. All I had control over was whether I was getting ten or twenty strokes.
I knelt on the bed with my back to him, wiped my face, and planted my hands, waiting.
“Almost there. Get down on your elbows and get your face down on the bed. Ass up in the air and don’t move.”
I did it, somehow, moved into the position he
wanted me in. The palm of his hand came to my low back and pressed so my hips lifted higher.
“Just like that,” he said, stepping back. Then, a few moments later, while I waited, unable to breathe, to blink, to think, “I like your ass, Lily.”
I gasped when he struck.
“I like looking at it, and I like punishing it.” Another lash had me crying out and breaking position so he had to wait until I was once again ready to take the next stroke.
“I’m going to like fucking it, too.” Another stroke. “And I most definitely”—two more stripes burned into me—”prefer it striped red to pristine white.”
He didn’t speak after that but laid each stroke with hardly a break between them, concentrating on my sit spots. Ten strokes that felt like a hundred and I wasn’t sure how I had taken the punishment of the previous night. Or was it the previous day? I didn’t even know anymore.
When the ten were over, I remained in position on the bed, shaking. Lake hung the strap up and came back to me, sitting down on the bed and petting my hair.
“Shh, it’s over now. You think you can get into position for that inspection now?” he asked almost kindly, even though we both knew he wasn’t asking at all.
I wiped my face and nodded even while I still cried. The skin of my ass felt tight and hot and he had to help me off the bed, my legs were shaking so badly. I managed to move though, managed to get to the wall where he stood me. Managed to get my hands on top of my head and my legs spread to shoulder width, sniffling while Lake looked me over.
“You could have avoided all of that, you know,” he said, taking a tissue and wiping my eyes and nose while I nodded. “Remember it the next time you’re told to do something, Lily.”
I sucked in a shaky breath and nodded again, lowering my gaze, but he took hold of my chin gently and lifted my face to look up at him.
“What do you say, Lily?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.”
He smiled and some part of me felt almost proud at that. “Good girl. Now let’s have a look at you.”
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