Anna squinted. That didn’t seem right either. Plonk was many shades of scumbag, but a rapist? Certainly not. She could see him keeping her chained for a little longer than she wanted as a tease. Kidnapping her didn’t fit the memory of the man.
“If you are having second thoughts about us, Anna… You should not feel obligated.” He held her hands and smiled. “It would pain me to lose you to that Arsenal bloke, but if that is where your heart lies…”
“You didn’t make me love you?” She looked up into his eyes.
“Of course not, my dear. I use my gift to help people, not harm them. Forcing a person to love someone they do not is the greatest trespass I could imagine.”
Anna let her head lay against his shoulder. “I am confused.”
He swayed side to side, comforting her with an arm around her back. “This world has no place for our kind, Anna. There is no excuse for the way you have been treated. I would do anything to bring your mum back, but it is far beyond me. All I can do is offer you the stability you have always deserved, but never had.”
She slipped her arms around him, feeling no less confused about everything going on. The promise of stability called her like a siren song. James did have a point. Alexi would be better off forgetting everything about his horrible life. If all James had taken from her was the worst memories of being a drug-abusing exotic dancer, how could she hold that against him?
Anna leaned up on tiptoe, and kissed him.
James closed his eyes and pressed his lips tight to hers. She didn’t resist as he walked her to the edge of the large Comforgel pad.
He leaned back long enough to whisper, “Are you certain this is what you want?”
“Mm-hmm.” She stretched out on the bed, tugging the knot out of the robe’s belt.
Anna’s dream of being a captive princess chained by the wrists to a dungeon wall while watching an armored knight slay faceless beasts on his way to save her faded out to her lounging in bed with her arms over her head. Sunlight at the side of her eyes pushed sleep farther away. Cologne and the ambiance of a recent shower scented the cool air caressing her bare skin, except for her left leg tucked under a sheet up to her thigh. The Comforgel pad radiated heat from below. Anna let out a soft moan of protest at being awake. To her right, the sound of a belt buckle rattling hinted at the reason for her consciousness.
When she reached to wipe her eyes, her arm stopped short after an inch with a metallic rattle. She opened her eyes and tugged, finding her wrists fixed together around a post in the headboard by blue, furry handcuffs. That explains my dream. Pink-furred cuffs with longer chains attached her ankles to the far corners, keeping her legs wide. Anna remembered the previous night and grinned. She stretched, shuddering with the wonderful feeling of tension evaporating. Afterward, she went limp, glancing to the side at James in the middle of getting dressed.
“You fell asleep rather fast. Did I wear you out?” She bit her lower lip.
He smiled over his shoulder at her and took a necktie from the shelf. “I am getting old, and you are impossible to resist.”
“You’re not old. You’re forty-five. Blimey, I can’t believe you left me like this all bloody night.” She swished her feet back and forth. “Planning on having another round?”
“I do not understand your fascination with being restrained.” He knotted the necktie and strolled to his desk. Imitation leather creaked as it absorbed his weight. “For a woman who loathes feeling helpless, it defies logic you derive pleasure from it.”
“Not a clue.” She absentmindedly pulled at her wrists. “I used to hate it when clients did it to me at Bristol’s. Maybe I always hoped someone would save me or something.”
“Could be.” Holo-panels popped open in front of him, forming a curtain of light. “Some think that people in positions of power secretly crave submission.”
Anna laughed. “I wasn’t exactly in a ‘position of power’ when you found me.”
“Indeed, but it is still who you are. You protect yourself when you have the presence of mind to do so. Bloody CSB. I cannot see why you let them frighten you into ruin.”
“Probably because they’re the military, James. Not to mention sneaky. I might be deadly, but I’m not much of a spy. I had to hide.” She stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about her life before James. The handcuffs proved distracting. She writhed and squirmed, wanting but unable to touch herself. After several frustrating minutes, she craned her neck to peer at him. “Care to go again?”
“Perhaps.”
Anna tried not to think about sex. The plain metal cuffs had no electronics. It had been her idea since it would not have given her the same sense of excitement if she could let herself out whenever she chose. The longer he left her there, the more she grumbled about that decision. Was he teasing her? James didn’t seem fond of that sort of play; in fact, the entire handcuff thing had made him uneasy at first. He found it strange she enjoyed it, and it had taken a few weeks of asking to get him to agree to it. A twinge of shame followed the memory of Constable Brown. How broken had she been that she’d felt a thrill even there?
“James, do you think it odd how things happened in London?”
Beeping from the terminals paused. “How do you mean?”
“Well, Ol’ Jack, Spawny… and even Penny seemed so hostile out of the blue.” Anna stared at the pink fur around her pale ankle. Like the way Melissa’s mother had been ‘adjusted.’ She couldn’t bring herself to mention that to him yet. “It doesn’t feel right.”
“You know how things are over there. The whole bloody country wets their knickers at the smallest mention of psionics. Once the reality of what you were sank in, it got to them. Even dear friends may not be willing to suffer a military interrogation.” He leaned to the right to peer at her between two floating screens. “Did you forget those children from Orkney? The boys’ own parents handed them over to the CSB because they didn’t want to be arrested.”
Anna’s sense of vulnerability slipped from arousal to unease. She twisted and pulled at her arms and legs. “I think I’ve ‘ad enough for now. Do you think the CSB threatened them?”
James waved his hand over the terminals, shutting all the screens down. “Possible, but they are perfectly safe now. Before we left, I made some adjustments. You need not worry your pretty little head about it.”
She watched him cross the room to the bookshelf-turned-wardrobe, from which he took his suit jacket. “I’d like to bring them with us. Penny and Spawny. It’s bad enough being across the ocean. I don’t like the thought of never seeing them again.”
He fixed three buttons closed and adjusted his tie. “I imagine that would be their choice, yes?” James walked to the exit. “Sorry to pop off like this, but something urgent has come up. I shall return soon.”
The door slid closed behind him.
“James!” She rattled the cuffs. “Where are you going? Let me out! This isn’t funny anymore. What if someone walks in?” After a second to listen for his return, she shouted, “At least cover me up!”
Footsteps in the hallway outside grew faint.
“James!”
Anna stared down the length of her body, past her toes, at the door. For five or so minutes, she made faces at the ceiling, whistled, tapped her foot on air, and tried to remain calm. The handcuff key on the nightstand to her left mocked her with a glint of sunlight. So close, but so far. What’s he getting on about? Does he think I enjoy this? She grabbed and pulled on the metal strut in the headboard, but couldn’t break it. Despite knowing she lacked the strength to snap the chains, she tried. The Comforgel pad sensed a rise in her body temperature and automatically backed off the heat. Is he angry with me? Oh, no. She shivered. What if he was looking at my thoughts? Does he know how much I doubted him? He did seem cold this morning; what if he’s going after Aaron?
She glared at the restraints, which seemed to grow tighter the more she fought them. If I get out of these, I’m going to drop them in the rubb
ish.
“You win, James. This isn’t fun anymore.”
Anna blinked as a sense of relief washed over her. That’s it! He never cared for kink; he must be trying to make me loathe it. If he read her mind and saw the depth of her doubts, he would not have left it unmentioned. Anna shivered. He’d not batted an eyelash at impaling her hand with a chopstick for a simple demonstration; what might he do to her if he thought her loyalty faltered? His attempting some manner of reverse conditioning made the most sense. He could just say he doesn’t like it.
A child’s voice giggled out of the air vents.
Oh, no. Please, no. Don’t let someone walk in here now, especially not a little kid. How the devil would I explain this to a child? Buzzing came from Archon’s desk terminal as her embarrassment peaked.
Anna bit back the urge to scream for James, fearing someone she’d rather not find her in such a predicament might hear and come to see. Minutes passed in silence until the urge to relieve herself became hard to ignore. Shit. I will never forgive him if he makes me wet the bed. She struggled, kicking at her legs in hopes of breaking whatever James had locked the other end around. Despite the rattle of the solid bed frame offering little hope, she fought until she ran out of breath.
Angry, she flopped limp and panting.
Yeah, captive princess, right.
Anna ticked off a list of people who she could tolerate finding her tethered starkers to a bed. Alas, her first choice was in England, Penny. Aurora would laugh, but wouldn’t make a big deal of it. However, she would tease the hell out of her in private. Anna grumbled. Aaron would make a huge deal of it and probably work in some lame Manchester joke… but the more urgent her need became, the less she cared. Some of the security people might not be too bad, but they never went up to the tenth floor unless called.
“Fuck… Fuck… Fuck…” She thrashed. “He’s going to be gone all bloody day.”
Staccato pops in the distance signaled the usual turf wars between black zone gangs. Muted whirrs from distant hovercar traffic leaked past the din of the younger psionics playing their version of Frictionless in the courtyard. Warmth crept over her face at the thought of any of them finding her. Anna leaned her head up and stared at the door, growing angrier by the minute. No amount of squirming or struggling helped. She could only wait, or risk shouting and making things worse.
Buzzing came from the Comforgel pad, startling her from furious to nervous.
“Oh, bloody… if this thing catches fire, I’m…”
She closed her eyes and tried to meditate away her anger as well as the intolerable discomfort in her bladder. The game outside provided a mild distraction, but after the third set of cheers went up for a goal scored, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Lauren?” she yelled and banged the cuffs on the headboard to make noise. “Lauren? Anyone? Can anyone hear me?”
After a moment of silence, she let her head flop back on the pillow and sighed at the ceiling.
“Shit.”
22
A Choice That's Not
Althea
Warm sunlight lit up the opaque white panels of the garden’s dome. Althea reclined in the grass with her head on Den’s shoulder, ankles crossed, and a blue-winged moth perched on her big toe. He’d not wanted to go swimming with the other older kids since the mood he’d been in since the attack hadn’t changed much. Aside from his duties with the Watch, he had kept to himself. She reached over and held his hand in the grass at her side. Birds gathered among the orange trees, tweeting and darting about in pairs. She gazed up through the crisscrossing vines, watching birds flit about.
His emotions remained dark, and she couldn’t understand why he felt embarrassed and ashamed. She thought back to the moment they shared in the seed room when she had snuck away from the tribe to warn him. He’d done that awkward thing where he pressed his lips to hers; it would’ve been strange if not for the love radiating from him at the time. Officer Ahmed thought her too young to even touch lips with a boy, though Karina and Father thought it cute. She still didn’t grasp the point of it, but it made Den feel happiness and love. Maybe the city police man had been right and it made no sense because she hadn’t become old enough to understand.
Althea picked at the grass with her free right hand, trying to untangle her feelings. Being with Den here in Querq didn’t nag at her with the same worry she’d felt back with his tribe. The idea he had only pretended to like her to gain more power as chief by joining with The Prophet wouldn’t matter here.
He liked her for… because.
She smiled. Few people besides Father and Karina treated her like a person. Even in Querq, most kept her at arm’s length like a goddess they feared offending—except for the smaller kids who never heard the stories of the Prophet. Perhaps that explained why she spent so much time with hem. Her sister said the day would come when Althea would rather share a bed with Den. She squinted at him, making a face as though she’d tasted something sour. No way would she ever want to be with a boy more than her own family. Besides, she didn’t want to abandon her sister. Nothing made her feel as safe or as happy as having Karina’s arm around her at night.
Of course, if Karina thought that way about her and Den, the day may come she wanted to have a man in her bed. Would her sister choose a boy over her? Althea smirked, jealous over a person who didn’t yet exist. Worry played games with her stomach, and she swished her feet side to side. The moth ignored her motion, its wings twitching as it adjusted its balance. She grinned, remembering how happy she had been to see Den when the Watch found him. Zhar thought he’d forget her, but he hadn’t. He gave up his home, his status as Chief Braga’s son, and walked across the Badlands to find her.
Althea squeezed his hand; the moth flew away when she scooted a little closer to him.
She suspected Den wanted to spend time with her here in the Garden since the green plants reminded him of home, where there had been forest. Real forest, not the same unnatural growth of trees in the desert around here. She smiled at the memory of when they’d had a moment together, leaning against the wall while Jake recovered from the bonedog attack. She liked being with Den. She stared at the moth, corkscrewing off over the grass, wondering what the boy might be doing now. Most of the people in the old tribe had been afraid of her, and Palik’s jealousy had been far from subtle.
Den shot upright, left hand on the grass behind him, poised to leap to his feet. He cast a hard glare at the trees while reaching for the handle of a knife on his belt. Althea sat up as well, searching around for what had spooked him. She fidgeted, uneasy at how the bad man always seemed to torment her whenever she came to the Garden.
Althea glanced at him. After a second, he shifted his eyes toward her. His dour expression softened but remained dim. Worry chased her grin away. When her concerned expression had no effect, she tickled under his arm. He grunted and pushed her hand down. At that, she reached up and used two fingers to force his mouth into a smile.
He grasped her by the wrists and pulled her hands to his chest.
“What’s wrong?” She tilted her head.
“You don’t need me.”
She furrowed her brow. “Need you?”
He turned his gaze to the plants overhead. Althea wanted to make him look at her, but he kept her hands trapped. She emitted a playful snarl like an angry, tiny dog and pulled at her arms. The corner of his mouth curled, though he still avoided eye contact.
“Den, please.” She whined. “Don’t quiet me. Your feelings are bad. Please talk.”
“Thea…” He sighed. The sense of shame surrounding him grew.
“I’m sorry.” She sniffled. “Did I do the bad?”
“Don’t cry.” Den finally looked at her.
An overwhelming sense of humiliation radiated from him. He let go of her hands and folded his arms over his chest. She moved to sit cross-legged, but her white dress didn’t offer the same freedom her old skirt did, so she wound up tucking both legs to her rig
ht.
Her lip quivered. “Why do I make you have shame? Do you not like me now?”
“I do like you. A lot.” He threw some small bit of plant matter he’d been twisting between his thumb and forefinger off into the grass.
She bit her lower lip. “Why are you having angry? I thought it was my fault.”
“You didn’t look in my dreams?”
Althea shook her head. “Karina says it’s not nice to listen to the thinking of people unless I don’t trust them.” She stared at the ground between them. “I don’t wanna do the bad.”
He kept quiet a moment, his mood twisting to anger. “When that man tried to hurt you, I wanted to protect you, but all I did was get hurt. If I had done nothing but watch, it would not have mattered.”
“You saved my life. If you only watched, he would have killed me.” She shivered. “The evil was inside him. He threw Shepherd like a little boy. He was no man.”
“The many-man?” Den calmed, a trickle of fear dampened his rage. “The chamán spoke of such things, but I thought it a story to scare small children… Like you.”
Althea’s head popped up to glare at him. “I’m not small children.”
“You’re a kid. And you’re small.”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
He chuckled. “You believe those stories.”
She gave him a raspberry. “You saw those stories. The big wolf that bit you. It was The Many.”
“You didn’t really kill it. It got up and dragged itself away when no one was looking.” He frowned.
“No.” Althea scooted closer and clung to him. “It turned into dark and flew away.”
His fear grew as he squinted into the distance, searching his memory. “I… didn’t see tracks.”
Angel Descended (The Awakened Book 6) Page 25