by Liz Crowe
“And I was worried that you wouldn’t have learned your place. So fresh.” He cupped my ass with both hands, drawing me against him. Then, his lofty voice suddenly turned rough. “So problematic.”
“I’ve learned, Master,” I cooed, fighting my body for enough control to keep my voice from shaking, “If you like, I can show you.” I’ll show you straight to Hell.
He chuckled and stepped back. “We’ve moved dinner up an hour. We’ll see both of you soon.” He eyed me again, a smirk accentuating his olive face then he and Ross left.
“Where’d that bravado come from?” Kirk mumbled.
I shrugged and collapsed on the couch. Between the sex and the confrontation, I wanted a nap. “One of us had to draw his attention, and since you were about to blow your top, I figured it should be me.”
Kirk leaned against the armrest and lifted my chin. “I was not—”
“No point in arguing.” I glared back at him. “I thought you wanted me to play the loyal and obedient slave.”
He rubbed his hand over his face. “I need to shave.”
I scoffed; score one for the obedient slave. Reaching up, I took his face between my palms. He’d let his appearance go over the last two weeks, but I liked it when he looked rough, loved feeling it across my skin. Something was happening to me on a much deeper level than I had expected.
He’d captured my mind and body, making me his—giving me his protection. But, the more I saw the controlled bits chip away, the more I wanted to know. The more he captivated me. And scared me.
He would have been better off without me, without the extra burden I brought him in this place, but I wondered how he survived all of those months before I came along. How he lived with everything he watched and participated in.
I thought he’d broken me with the whip in the basement, but really, it had shattered him.
“What’s going to happen tonight?” I whispered, catching his fingers before he could walk away. Instead of stopping, he tugged me to my feet and pulled me into the bathroom with him.
“Not what Milo expects,” his voice was even, but empty. We were at the end of the façade. Soon, we’d have to face everything we’d done in the real world.
“So this is it?” I slid onto the counter, looping my fingers through the top of his jeans as he pulled his shaving supplies out of the cabinet.
Kirk nodded, “Whatever happens, stay with the girls.”
“You say that like you expect—“
“Silver, I mean it.” I finally heard a crack of emotion in his voice. “I don’t want to have to watch you, there’s going to be a lot going on. Stay with the girls, you all will be safe. And if we end up separated, find Trent.”
“How are they planning on taking this whole place? We’ll be on the top fucking floor.”
“That’s not our problem.” He splashed water over his face and started spreading the shaving cream. “We just stay the fuck out of the way.”
“It’s going to be a bloodbath! What about all of the girls?”
“Quiet,” he hissed. “Ross has been making arrangements for this. There aren’t even any guests on the grounds. He’s paranoid about something going wrong.”
“Rightfully so, if we’re honest. But doesn’t that also mean he’s going to have increased security?”
Kirk shook his head. “Not too much, he doesn’t want Milo to think he’s incompetent. Most of the recent problems have revolved around the security team, mainly Alan fucking with our records and security cams. Ross won’t have too many hanging out, and they certainly won’t be expecting a raid.”
*****
I swallowed down the bitter taste in my mouth as Kirk and I made what I expected to be our final walk to the Outlook. He’d certainly been right about the lack of guests, and I almost wondered if there was even a point to us all gathering in the swanky den of iniquity if there wasn’t going to be anyone around, but as soon as the doors opened on the twelfth floor, I gasped.
There may not have been guests, but every resident of the building had gathered in the lounge. A dysfunctional work dinner—at least more dysfunctional than most. And if everyone was here, trying to make sure that Milo was happy, Kirk was right in assuming that the main defenses would be down.
Seemed like a stupid security policy to me, but that was because I knew what was coming. They had lived in their own untouchable world for so long that they expected any threat to be minor and they definitely didn’t expect it to come from the outside.
Indulgence had made them short-sighted, or so I hoped.
The team would still have to get past the guarded perimeter, through the front doors, and up twelve stories to reach us.
And with all of that on my mind, I had to play the detached and obedient slave.
Inside the main room of the Outlook, Alley sat on her knees on the table with her back to the entrance. My shoulders tensed, and I struggled for oxygen when we crossed the threshold.
As soon as Milo saw us, he smiled and reached past Kirk to take my arm and pull me away.
“You’ll make a nice addition to tonight’s artwork.” He cupped my cheek and slid a hand down the top of my dress. Then, he ushered me to the table. “Back to back.”
“Yes, Master.”
He held my elbow as he lifted me up to sit on the table.
“Closer,” Milo yelled, slapping Alley’s leg and we both scrambled to arrange our feet so that we could press our backs together.
He pulled my left arm back and twisted it over Alley’s right arm, so we were linked at the elbows. Then, he pushed aside the material of my dress to grab my nipple and I grunted. Alley’s back pressed against mine, and I guessed she was getting the same treatment. He pulled and pinched then, concentrating on me, he attached a nipple clamp, pulled the chain around my arm and connected the other side to Alley. The chain pulled straight across my arm so anytime either of us moved—even to breathe, it tugged.
I glanced up and saw Kirk sitting in his usual seat at the table. His expression was clouded; both of his hands were below the table. Not only did he have to watch, he had to enjoy. I imagined that wasn’t as hard to fake for a man, even if he got to keep his pants on.
Milo moved to the other side of the table, this time linking Alley’s arm over mine and smacking us both over the breast a few times. My nipple tightened and hardened from the abuse and he attached another clamp. His hand rubbed over my stomach and legs.
“Spread your legs.”
Alley and I tightened our arms together and used the leverage, attempting to spread our knees apart without moving our upper bodies. It wasn’t graceful, but it also wasn’t as bad as I anticipated.
He pushed the hem of my dress up and his hand dipped between my legs.
Fuck. I knew I was dry, and I silently pleaded for him not to be going there. He pinched my clit then brought up another clamp, and attached it there, tightening until I gasped for air. I pressed against Alley, trying to negate the impact of my heavy breathing on the pull of the chains.
As he drew the chain up, I noticed that it split into a Y and he dropped one part over each of my shoulders then pulled it tight, but I couldn’t tell what he’d attached it to.
Hopefully not around Alley’s throat. My heart jumped and he disappeared from my periphery, repeating the process behind me.
When he appeared again, he slipped what resembled a bit for a horse in my mouth and attached a chain on either side. At least it gave me something to bite down on because every little twitch meant one of us was going to be in even more agony.
Milo took Ross’ usual spot at the head of the table—right in front of me, and Ross sat down somewhere behind me. I wanted to glare and sneer at all of them, but I dropped my eyes to the table and concentrated on breathing.
Someone had better buy me a damn good feast when this is over, I thought as three naked women began serving platters of food to the men. Even with the hot dinners surrounding us, it suddenly felt like the air conditioning kicke
d on, and as the goosebumps took over my body, I struggled not to shiver.
Fucking bastards.
My legs tingled as they started going numb, but I couldn’t adjust to get any relief. I counted my breaths, it had gotten me through the butt plug, but it wasn’t as effective against the full body assault Milo had planned.
At least it forced me to take slow, steady breaths.
Alley suddenly jerked and I whined as the chains pulled against all of my sensitive parts. My breaths turned into sharp gasps, but that only exacerbated the problem. Just as I got my breathing under control, the man sitting across from Kirk reached up and squeezed my breast. I grunted, trying my best not to move, but as his thumb moved over my tender, pinched nipple my head pressed backward, and the chain traveling down my stomach jerked on my clit.
I clamped down on the rod in my mouth, breathing through my clenched teeth.
Kirk sat down his fork and stood, rubbing his hand up my leg and then dipping it and pressing against my opening.
What the hell? I would have shot daggers with my eyes if I let them rise off the table. I was dry. I was in pain and not the least bit aroused, but he kissed my shoulder, glancing over the chain and nipping at my ear. He didn’t do anything to force me to move—much—but all of his touching meant my breathing increased, yet the pain faded. His hands and lips explored my exposed skin.
I wanted to thank him and curse him in the same breath. The man across the table started to rise, but I saw Kirk’s head lifted, and the other man thought again.
Behind me, Alley moaned, and I had to assume she was getting the same treatment from Miles.
Kirk tugged on the chain attacked to my clit, and this time I felt a pang of arousal mixed with the pain. I couldn’t tell if he was saving me from misery or making it worse.
He was definitely putting on a show for Milo, though. Playing his dastardly part and showing his claim over my body all at once. He kissed my forehead then returned to his seat and his dinner.
I felt flushed, and slowly the pain overthrew the pleasure again, but the burst of endorphins helped me get through dinner.
After dinner, Kirk and Miles flanked me and Alley. They removed the chains from the bits in our mouths first but left the clamp in place. Then, gently Kirk loosened one of the nipple clamps. The second of numbness wore off and I screamed as blood rushed back to the offended skin. Alley jerked behind me, but since Miles held the other end of my remaining nipple clamp, we were free from worrying whether our movements would hurt the other.
But fuck the removal hurt worse than anything that had happened during dinner.
I drew in a deep breath as Miles prepared to remove my second clamp. The wave of pain pulled at my core. I separated my arms from Alley’s and leaned forward against the table.
One more to go. Fucking hell.
My chest jerked with uneven breaths as Kirk sat me back up, and reached for the final clamp between my legs. Behind me, Alley screamed, and within a second, my voice joined hers in a deafening chorus. I wanted to flop back on the table, but as the stinging core-twisting pain faded, Kirk pulled me to the edge of the table and righted my clothes, holding me as I stepped down with numb legs. I nearly collapsed at his feet immediately, but he held me upright as the blood rushed through my legs.
I felt his phone vibrate against my hip, and he shifted me to pull it out of his pocket long enough to press a single button.
“Important call?” Ross asked.
“Just an alarm I forgot to turn off.”
Alarm. The one on his door, which meant the forces had arrived. I felt my eyes widen, but Kirk pulled my face to his, capturing my lips in a heated kiss. He paused for a minute before letting me go, shaking his head, just a twitch that told me to keep my reactions under control.
When the worst had passed, he sat down and pulled me into his lap. My head dropped against his shoulder, and I inhaled his scent.
It was all I could do.
My body was already exhausted from the strain.
As I came out of my headspace, Kirk fed me some of the leftover food from his plate, before the girls came to collect the dishes. Around the table, the other men either had slaves between their legs or in their laps. Alley and I seemed to be the only ones not involved in some kind of sexual act, apparently we’d earned our brief reprieve.
Until Milo’s gaze fell on me. “Silver,” he drew out the sound of each letter as he held out his hand.
Fuck. I mentally pleaded for the team to hurry up and get to the twelfth floor. I wondered what was taking them so long, why no one had noticed yet. And worst of all, I feared what would happen once they reached us.
Kirk lifted me to my feet, his silent encouragement to help buy us time, but I was afraid either my heart or brain would explode as soon as Milo touched me. Despite the waves of fear and discomfort, I had to paste an easy smile to my face as I dropped my hand into his warm palm.
As the chorus of groans rose around us, a man rushed into the room and blew past us to the back end of the table.
I heard Ross mutter a curse and my gut tightened again. Something flew across the room and smashed against a window, and I ducked next to the table, afraid the next flying object would be aimed at me.
“Raid,” was all Ross could say before the men jumped from their seats, cursing and shouting.
It had begun. All I wanted to do was curl up against Kirk, or in a corner somewhere. Kirk jumped up, pulling me to my feet, and pushing me toward Alley, who was gathering all of the girls on one side of the room.
“Someone must have tipped them off,” Ross said and my feet slowed.
I couldn’t look back, I’d give too much away, but a hand grabbed the back of my dress and threw me onto the table, I slid across it and fell to the other side. My back burned, and my body uselessly refused to move.
“We don’t have time for this,” Milo hissed, grabbing one of the men and whispering in his ear, before shoving him to the door.
Ross ignored them all and stepped around the table, pointing a gun at me. “Looks like we should have listened to Kat.”
“It was me,” Kirk yelled. “She’s innocent.”
A chorus of gasps and murmurs moved through the room then someone yelled for the rest of the girls to get out of the room.
No. Fucking idiot, I silently screamed.
“Why?” Miles asked his voice barely more than a gasp of air.
“They offered me a deal. I wanted out.”
Ross raised the gun, pointing it over the table at Kirk. I lurched, slamming into his gut as the gun went off. When I spun, I saw Kirk on the floor, a puddle of red growing around him. I dove under the table, putting my body over his. Holding my hands over the gaping hole as warm sticky liquid flowed out. I didn’t care about anything but stopping the blood. I felt the people moving around me, murmuring, cursing. Someone in the corner crying.
“Don’t…Silver—” Kirk whispered.
I looked up to see Miles pointing a gun at us, and I assumed there were others doing the same.
“Let her watch him,” Milo chuckled. “A slow death is what he deserves. Knowing he can’t do a damn thing to protect her now.”
Milo took off out of the room, with a few members of the security team on his tail. No wonder the rat bastard had managed to survive so long, he didn’t care about anyone except himself.
“You should go, Ross,” Miles said. “Follow him to the chopper and get out of here.”
The room went silent. Please listen. I hoped I could at least reason with Miles, beg for his understanding.
“No,” Ross said and my heart dropped out of my chest. “They’ve cost me everything, I’m making sure they’re both dead.”
A gun went off and I jerked, waiting for the pain, for more blood. Something thudded against the floor, and I finally dared to open my eyes.
Ross lay next to us, in a puddle of blood that poured out of his head. I raised my head and stared at Miles. Even he looked like he didn’t know wh
at had happened. His eyes were glazed over, his mouth flat.
When his gaze settled on me, he shook his head. He dropped the gun onto the floor and rubbed his hands over his face. “It’s on you now.”
He ran toward the door, leaving me with the two bleeding bodies on the floor. The copper scent burned at my nostrils, but I pressed against Kirk’s wound. “Please, don’t die, Kirk. Don’t die.”
Chanting the words over and over, I just wanted him to wake up.
“James, please.”
His eyes fluttered for a second then his face went slack.
I could still feel his shallow breaths, the faint pulse as blood seeped around my hand.
Then, I heard more noises, voices. Feet charged into the room. I kept my head down, terrified that it was only more members of Ross’s crew. Hands pulled at my shoulders and I yelled out.
“Leave me alone. He’s bleeding.”
I fought them off, until I heard my name.
“Rose?” I looked up, a blond man stood above me in a SWAT uniform. “We’re going to help him.”
The blond gently pulled me away from Kirk as two of the others knelt around him, keeping pressure on the wound. I watched, suddenly finding myself seated at the table with no recollection of sitting down. “Please, don’t let him die.”
“We’re going to do everything we can—”
“No,” I yelled. “Do more.”
“Davis,” a man from across the room yelled and the blond next to me nodded in acknowledgment.
Outsiders. I felt them watching me. They saw the girl dressed up like a slut and used as a toy. I wanted to curl up and hide under the table.
“Rose,” the blond next to me patted my cheek. “Do you know where they went?”
“Helicopter,” I pointed in the direction they’d gone when they left. “That way.”
“Do you know how to get to the roof?”
I shook my head, why would anyone let a slave on the roof?
“James is going to be okay,” he whispered. “He’s tough shit; you don’t get rid of that so easily.”
I pulled my eyes away from the mess on the floor, they’d packed his wound, but he still hadn’t moved again. Hadn’t made a sound.