by Lora Ann
I turned my head into his neck. “I just came,” I acknowledged with amazement.
“That you did, sweetness,” he chuckled. “Would you like to know how you taste?”
What did he mean? I didn’t wonder for long. His tongue invaded my mouth, and, sure enough, I could taste something tangy, yet sweet. That was me! As I kissed him back, exploring his mouth with my tongue, I remembered what the little nub was called that’d caused my orgasm—clitoris. And it was a magical place I wanted him to visit again and again.
Chapter Eight
E
What the fuck?! Just how did I think I could avoid her after tasting such sweetness? I had only thought she was addicting before. Now I was certain: the more I had of her the more I would want. Hell’s bells, I needed distance. Cautiously I eased her off of my lap, knowing full well she’d felt my erection against her ass. Yup, her eyes were glued to my saluting dick. As casually as I could I stood up and walked over to the bar, pouring myself another drink. I should’ve offered her one, but dammit, my nerves were rattled. The woman did things to me that I didn’t quite understand. My eyes were on her as she pulled the robe around her delectable body. I fought the urge to tell her to keep it off. Shit! I wanted to pin her against that wall and fuck her, hard. After that, I wanted to ease her down and make love to her. What the hell is that about? You never make love! No, I didn’t. But there was a first time for everything. As I watched her begin to hunch her shoulders, I inquired, “Are you okay?”
She bobbed her head once. For what reason, I didn’t know, but I planned on finding out. I strode towards her until we stood face to face, then tucked her long hair behind her ear and assured, “I like you, too.”
Her gaze held mine. “That doesn’t make what I let you do to me right.”
“What?!” I roared, causing her to back away. I gentled my voice. “Listen, we’re consenting adults, Lacey. I could lie to you and tell you I won’t touch you again until you ask.” My brow arched at her. “But we both know I need to know your body if we’re going to pull this off.” I grinned. “Plus, in case you’ve missed something, I’m in to you.” Closing the distance between us, I snaked my arm around her waist and kissed her.
After a beat, her hands came up and she pushed me away. “I can’t do this, E.”
“Do what, exactly?” While I wanted to stop this insane plan of searching for her sister in sleazy locations, I didn’t want her to close herself off from me. How crazy was that? I should be jumping for joy at the thought. I didn’t do commitment. Hell, I didn’t do relationships. Period. Though there was something about her that made me want to tell the old me to fuck off.
“I can’t give you my heart,” she confessed. “My body’s already yours. It’s only a matter of time before I hand it completely to you on the proverbial silver platter.” Now that shocked the hell out of me, my eyes widened. She continued, “But I don’t know how to disengage my emotions like you do.”
Ouch! Talk about a verbal bitch slap. Crucial that I be honest with her, I asked, “Lacey…Would it help if I told you I’m in over my head too?”
She bit her lip. “Don’t play me, Even,” she snapped.
Excuse me?! “I did not just feed you a line! Matter of fact, I’m insulted that you think so little of me. What the hell have I done to deserve such censure?”
I knew the answer, but I wanted her to confirm my suspicions. She didn’t let me down. “You’re a sex master, for Pete’s sake. It’s pretty obvious you don’t want anything else.”
And there it is folks—the elephant in the room.
“Nice. Appreciate your low opinion of me. Definitely makes things easier.”
With that, I stormed out of the room and went straight to my home gym. I needed something to take my anger out on. Always came down to what I did for a living. Not women usually; because I only associated with those that knew what I was and wanted what I could provide. No, it was others: my peers, old friends, occasionally my brothers. All of these people seemed to think they had me summed up—a man who only offered and took carnal pleasure.
For the record, they didn’t know jack!
*****
I gave the dummy no quarter as I struck its plastic body over and over again. So focused on annihilating my imaginary opponent, I didn’t hear anyone enter the gym until Nik’s deep, raspy voice carried over Eminem’s “Till I Collapse.” “What did he ever do to you?”
“The hell?” I muttered as I turned towards my oldest brother.
He inclined his head towards the dummy. I shot him a self-deprecating smile. “Imagining it’s me.”
“Now, why would you do that?”
“Because…” I mocked, “Didn’t you know I only want to fuck women? I have no interest in what they think or feel.”
He smirked. Asshole. “Yes, you are rather well-known for objectifying women.”
Stupid idiot. Wasn’t he aware that that was the wrong damn thing to say to me? I went into a tiger stance and swung my leg out, sweeping him across the ankles. An average guy would’ve gone down in a tumble of arms and legs, but Nik was once a professional UFC heavy-weight champ and knew how to counter the move. Gracefully arching his body away, he then struck a well-placed round house to my solar plexus. My breath left me in a whoosh. After recovering, I stood in a strike position and waited for his next move. “Just because I like pleasure—”
“And pain,” he interrupted. “Don’t forget you like pain as much as you do pleasure.”
“What the hell do you think I am?” I scoffed, “A monster?” I shook my head in disgust. This was always where I lost people. Unless you understood the fine line between the two, it was assumed they couldn’t go hand in hand. Huge misnomer!
“Not at all,” he replied. “But you have to admit you like them both.”
I countered, “For the thousandth time, I only cause pain to achieve pleasure.” His brows rose in a so-that’s-what-you-call-it manner. Dickhead! “Let me try again.” With that, I landed a solid side kick to his ribs. He didn’t even flinch, which pissed me off more. Next, I delivered a jump kick to his chest. He took it like the pro he was, shaking off the pain and delivering his own round house to my quad. Damn that hurt! I repositioned as we continued our violent dance on the mats. “I only bring pain, so in return, she experiences pure pleasure. I never do anything with a woman she doesn’t permit me to do. And I don’t get off on torture of any kind. I bet you and Aimee have done most of the things I have.”
He barked out a laugh. “I don’t chain up my wife to some damnable table and spank her.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “If she was into that, you would in a heartbeat. Don’t deny it.”
His left hook caught me along the jaw. Ouch! I dodged the next and then delivered an upper cut to his chin. Since we hadn’t put on protective gear, blood oozed out of his mouth, effectively ending our spar. “Shit, Nik. Are you alright?” I grabbed a towel and helped dab the wound I’d caused.
He chuckled, “Not bad, little brother. And you’re right, I would do anything Aimee wanted me to do for her to have the best orgasms ever.”
“Thanks.” I appreciated his praise. Nik always thought I should fight for the UFC as well. Instead, I had gotten into BDSM at seventeen and learned I liked dominating a woman for pleasure, not dominating in the octagon. “That’s my point, it’s all for the ultimate O.”
“I get that, really I do. Just like fuckin’ with you every now and then.” He ruffled my hair in a brotherly way and then added, “So…is the woman that has you tied up in knots the beauty in your living room?”
“You saw her?”
“Well yeah, of course we did.”
He looked at me like I had lost my mind. Truth: I was about to do just that. “We?”
“Yes, dumbass, ‘we,’ as in Aimee and I.”
He threw the bloody towel in the hamper and then grabbed a bottle of water. I stared at him dumbfounded and then inquired, “Is Aimee with Lacey right now?”
&n
bsp; He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he answered, “I assume so. That’s where I left her.”
“Shit!” I dropped a few more swear words in Norwegian. He gave me a sidelong glance as he queried, “Her name’s Lacey. This is the woman you want to know better?”
“Drop it, Nik.” I picked up my pace as I headed towards the door.
He smirked, “In a hurry, E?”
Over my shoulder I shot back, “You know damn well your wife is interrogating her as we speak. Now shut the fuck up and move it.”
Jerkoff actually threw back his head and laughed, which of course, reopened the split in his lip. On my way out the door, I tossed him another towel. “Clean that shit up. Aimee’s going to hand me my ass over that.”
That made him laugh harder. If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I’d have laid him out. Later. I had to rescue Lacey.
Chapter Nine
Keeley
Cold…no, freezing was more like it. Unsure of how long I had been in this cell. I hurt all over. The vomiting had finally stopped, but not the horrific shakes. Took me a while to realize I was detoxing. God, what kind of place practiced detoxification in such a torturous way. Beyond barbaric. My body was filthy. At the moment, I would do just about anything for a shower. After I had thrown up a few times all over my clothes, they had been stripped from me and the cot I had soiled more than once. Hence, why I sat in the corner, on the concrete floor, trying to make sense of where I was. Though, as I looked around, I could see the humongous bugs crawling over the floor and walls. Wait…that’s not right. Effin’ hallucinations. To clear the images, I blinked rapidly. There, that was better. Except…it wasn’t. From what I could see in the dim light, I was in what appeared to be a dungeon. Of course I knew this wasn’t a castle, so where else would a dungeon be located? Before I had time to figure it out, I heard footsteps. Dear Lord, please don’t let it be him.
The lock gave way as he stepped into the cell with me. There was no denying the man was handsome, but he was also scary as hell. If I bought into mythology, I would say I was staring at Hades himself, minus the beard. Tall, with a nice athletic body that filled out his designer, heather gray trousers and fine-knit, black V-neck sweater nicely. I had to wonder how defined his muscles were beneath the clothes. Insane much! This man had kidnapped me—that, I did remember. As the air around him simmered with sadistic power, I couldn’t deny I was attracted. Didn’t this have some kind of name? You know, where you were grateful to the person who had taken you and held you captive. Stockholm syndrome, I think it was called. Shit! Aware I needed away from this guy, yet part of me wanted to be with him. I shook my head to clear reality from make-believe. Fully cognizant there couldn’t be snakes slithering around his Hugo Boss loafers.
He got down on his haunches and tugged my head up by my hair. “Still seeing things?”
I tried nodding but he held me too tightly, so I responded, “Yes, Sir.”
“That’s nice.” He affirmed, “I didn’t even have to tell you the proper way to address me.”
All of a sudden we weren’t alone, as a very attractive woman joined us. Without releasing me or turning to look her way, he greeted, “Hello, Viviane.”
“Master,” she deferentially answered.
Wait! This couldn’t be the Master Even Strand, could it? I glanced at the man holding my hair. No, this guy had dark brown hair with matching eyes. If memory served me correctly, Even had almost platinum hair and silver eyes. Although I could be mistaken, I didn’t think I was. Once before, I had seen Master Strand from a distance. Nonetheless, I had been too strung out on Jones to remember completely. Besides, I’d always been attracted to tall, dark and handsome men. That was how I ended up in this clusterfuck to begin with.
The man finally released me and stood, turning towards the pretty woman named Viviane. “I thought I was clear that you don’t ever refer to me as Master.” His tone was full of derisive disgust.
I had to wonder why that was.
“My apologies, Mr. R,” she stated with chagrin in her voice.
“Better. If you forget again, Joe will deal with your punishment.”
“Understood,” Viviane acknowledged, “She’s almost ready for you. It may be another couple of days or so.”
He shook his head. “I want her to watch today.” As he walked towards the doorway, he ordered, “Get her cleaned up and on the wall in an hour.”
“Yes, Mr. R,” she replied while he took his leave.
Good Lord, what was ‘the wall’ all about?
*****
Viviane escorted me down the dank corridor. “Why didn’t you restrain me?” Not that I wanted to be cuffed or anything, just found it odd that she would trust me. She snorted, “You couldn’t escape if you wanted to.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked indignantly.
She nonsensically replied, “You’re too weak.” Really?! “Besides, you don’t even know where you are. Plus, this labyrinth has some nasty and deadly drop-offs. So if I were you, I wouldn’t just take off.”
Well, that was some valuable information. I tried to obtain more. “Where are we, exactly?”
She shot me an exasperated look. “I’m not stupid. There’s no way I would ever tell you that.”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” I mumbled.
She chortled, “I like you. For your sake, I hope you’re resilient.”
What the hell did that mean? We finally arrived inside a cave with a natural hot spring. If I hadn’t been so sick and weary, I would’ve dived in. Instead, she helped ease me down into the water. An actual groan escaped from me while she proceeded to wash my hair and assist me with bathing. Once I was squeaky clean, she helped me out and wrapped me in a black silk robe. “Why don’t I get clothes?”
She shrugged. “No need for them.”
I placed my hand on her forearm. “Again with the cryptic talk,” I pointed out. “Please, tell me what you mean?”
Gently she patted my hand and answered, “You’re his slave now.”
I suppressed a scream as I inquired, “Slave? Are you telling me I’m now part of the sex slave trade?”
“No, honey, you’re not.” She released her arm from my hold. “That would imply money, lots of it.” She held my gaze intently. “You belong to him now. And I really hope you can survive his form of entertainment.”
I swallowed back the bile that threatened to spew. “Have there been others?”
She stepped behind me and began to comb out my hair. The knots and tangles hurt as she tugged through them. Grateful I kept it cut in a chin length bob and not down to my waist like my sister’s. The thought of my twin sister, Lacey, brought out a moan of despair. Viviane misunderstood and cajoled, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’ve already beaten the odds.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Well, most girls don’t survive that form of detox.”
No surprise there! It had been beyond unkind, not even an aspirin for the pain. And trust me, I did beg for that and death on more than one occasion—all to no avail. Now I knew why: Mr. R was into torture. Dear God, how did I end up in this mess? Oh yeah, that’s right, I did this to myself. Or did I? Trying to avoid painful memories, I queried, “How long have I been here?”
With no inflection in her voice she acknowledged, “About a month.”
“Oh my God.”
She smiled. “Like I said, most don’t survive that part.”
I realized then that I was thinner. I’m barely five foot tall and naturally petite. Pixie like to the point most thought I was still a child. I wasn’t sure I even weighed eighty pounds at the moment. “How long has it been since I ate?” At the mention of food, my stomach rumbled.
She tugged on my hand. “Let’s go get you something to eat.”
She avoided my question—I hadn’t missed that—which gave me my answer. Odds were, I hadn’t had any sustenance since I had arrived. A month! “Are you telling
me you tried to starve me to death?”
Her eyes widened as her nostrils flared. Crap! I had pissed her off. She towered over me as she spat out, “You couldn’t keep a damn thing down. From time to time we hooked you up to an IV, but for the most part, your body had to come down off that shit you had pumped into your veins. Don’t get all high and mighty with me.” As she pointed her finger at me, she yelled, “You did this to yourself.”
Now I was incensed. “How dare you? By no means, did I kidnap myself.” Hello, that was obvious.
“This is true.” She countered, “But you did pollute your body, which led you to the situation at hand.”
I knew she was right; still, I didn’t want to hear it. I had royally fucked up and now the universe decided I needed to pay it forward. Karma’s a bitch!
*****
Once I’d been safely returned to the dark cell, she affirmed, “Mr. R will send someone for you in a little while.”
Wary that I might lose what I had just ate, I queried, “You won’t be with me?”
A sad smile crossed her lips. “No, honey. I’m usually not present for any of that.”
I fell onto the now clean cot and gasped, “Oh, hell. He’s gonna hurt me, isn’t he?”
“Eventually,” she stated matter-of-factly. “But not yet. Today you just watch and learn.”
After that, Viviane took her leave.
Memories began to flood of how I ended up in this living nightmare. The Escalade pulling up beside me in front of the hotel/casino on the South side of Lake Tahoe just over the California/Nevada Stateline. The gorgeous dark haired man, with a hypnotic yet charming demeanor, invited me inside. There had been no resistance whatsoever on my end. My only thought at the time: how much should I charge him? Little did I know the last time I’d shot up would literally be my final high. Shivers overtook me once again. Yeah, I was clean now, but for what reason exactly? So, I could feel the pain? Would my screams of agony be more profound that way? Then, with acute clarity, it hit me: so he could get off. Shit! I had to get out of here. Yet, there was nowhere to go. And the could’ve, would’ve, should’ve game wasn’t gonna help me either. A shadow suddenly appeared in the doorway and announced, “Mr. R is ready for you.”