by Abbi Cook
“Okay. I’ll pay close attention to what everyone’s up to.”
Not that I think what happened with that ambush was because of a rat. If anything, it happened because of how sloppy Duke tends to be with his business instead of one of us turning on him.
“Let me know if you see anything suspicious. But for tonight, you need to get some more sleep. Take tomorrow off. I need to deal with Angelo and his family, so nothing’s going on tomorrow. Stay in bed and rest up. I’ll see you two days from now.”
I’m not unhappy with getting time off to nurse my ribs, so I stand up and give him a smile as I carefully turn to leave. “If you insist.”
As I’m walking toward the door, Duke says, “And don’t spend your whole time fucking that girl. By the looks of you, what you need is sleep, not pussy.”
I turn my head and give him one last look. “No worries on that. I’m beat.”
His office door closes behind me, and I can finally let out a sigh of relief. If Sophie hasn’t been caught yet, maybe she did find a way to escape. She’s smart. If any woman can find their way off this estate, it would be her.
I can only hope that’s the case and she hasn’t been grabbed by Tap for good this time.
Chapter Fourteen
Sophie
My heart races as I struggle to catch my breath. For three hours, I’ve tried to find a place to make a run for it. Mostly, I’ve run from bush to bush and prayed to God those terrible dogs King talked about won’t really devour me if they catch up to me.
I scan the grounds in front of me for any sign of where the estate ends. All I see are trees. Shouldn’t there be some evidence of a wall or fence or something? Is it possible that all those things King told me about guards and rabid dogs were lies?
Stepping out from behind a large hedge, I think I see a break in the tree line. Clouds obscure the moon, making it far darker than last night when there was enough moonlight pouring in through his bedroom window. I just need to take a chance. I can’t stay crawling among bushes and hedges until morning or they’ll surely find me.
No guards have passed by the entire time I’ve been out here, so I take a deep breath and make a break for that hole in the trees. The feel of the damp grass brushing against my feet and ankles as I run toward my goal makes me realize how long it’s been since I was free. Free to run. Free to leave that apartment. Free to do anything.
I see where I want to run to and my hope soars that after hours of hesitating, I’ve finally got a chance to make it off this goddamned estate and back to my life. With each time my feet hit the ground, I rejoice, sure I’ll be free tonight.
And then just as I believe that with all my heart, I hear a man’s voice shouting in the distance. “Hey! Who are you? Get back here!”
With every fiber of my being, I silently answer him. “No fucking way, pal!”
But then I hear him yell to a second man, and suddenly, all my hope disappears. The hole in the trees shows me there’s a stone wall. I’m trapped.
I look around like a frightened animal, desperate for a way out and finding none. My mind races. I can’t let that man get me. He’ll take me to that boss of King’s, and he’ll give me to Tap.
No! I’d rather die.
Turning back toward the apartment buildings, I run as fast as I can, sprinting like I’ve never done before. At best, I’m a jogger, but that won’t be enough to outrun the guard rushing across the grass toward me.
I hear him get closer as panic rises in me. I can’t let him catch me! I have to get back to King’s apartment!
My thighs burn, as if the muscles in each one want to explode out through the skin. Adrenaline pumps through me, thankfully, making it possible for me to keep going. In the distance, maybe a little over a hundred yards in front of me, I see the stairs that lead up to King’s. If only I can get back there, I’ll be safe.
But my feet can’t move fast enough to beat the man getting closer and closer with each step. He keeps yelling, but my heartbeat pounding in my ears makes it impossible to hear exactly what he’s saying.
Not that it matters. Nothing he has to say to me is anything good. He’s like everyone else here, no doubt. Cruel and vicious.
Not everyone.
As the thought of King fills my mind, I reach the stairs and my foot slips off the first one. My shin bashes off the metal step, and I cry out in pain, but there’s no time for that. I have to reach his apartment or this guard will take me away to someplace far worse.
I hear his heavy breathing right behind me as I fight for that last bit of strength to climb those stairs to my only safety on this entire estate. My eyes fill with tears from the pain in my legs and the fear that I won’t make it in time, but I look up and through the blurriness, I see King standing at his apartment door.
“King! Wait!” I yell to him as he opens the door to go inside.
Don’t shut me out here with this man! Please!
“Stop! Get back here!” the man behind me barks.
My foot lands on the top step just as I feel the guard’s hot breath on the back of my neck. He almost caught me. King stands staring at me, and for a moment, I’m not sure he’s going to save me.
Gasping, the guard says, “I caught this woman running toward the back of the property. I need to take her to Duke right away.”
King looks at me with utter disgust and shakes his head at the man. “No need to bother him. She’s mine. I sent her out on an errand and she must have fucked up. Leave it to this one. Stupid cunt. I told you to go to the kitchen in the main house. Can’t you do anything right?”
I don’t know what to make of the revulsion in his voice. Is he just talking like this for the guard’s benefit so he doesn’t take me, or does he really think so little of me? Either way, his words sting.
I search his expression for any hint of the kindness I’ve seen in him before, but I find none of it now. All I see is rage.
He grabs me by the hair and pushes me toward the door. “I got this. Have a good night, man.”
Behind me, the man starts to say something, but King forces me into the apartment and slams the door closed before he can finish. I wait for him to say something, but all he does is release his hold on my hair.
Now that I’m alone with him, I’m suddenly terrified. He pushes me away from him like he can’t stand to be near me and walks away without saying a word.
He slams the bathroom door shut, leaving me standing alone in the living room. What will he do when he comes out? Will he hit me? He’s never been violent with me when we’ve been alone, but the way he looked at me outside makes me wonder. I’ve never seen him so angry. He looked more like Tap than himself out there.
God, why did I try to escape? I didn’t even try to figure out how the place was laid out beforehand. I had no plan, and once I got even a few yards away from the apartment buildings, it was so dark that I couldn’t see where I was going.
I run through my reaction once that guard saw me and hate how stupid I was. I heard him yell, and what did I do? I ran around like a scared mouse in a maze, foolishly thinking I could outrun him. If King’s apartment building hadn’t been as close as it was, that man would have caught up with me.
The bathroom door opens with a creak, startling me, and my heart beats wildly as I brace for what he’s going to do to me. Will he just scream at me and berate me for being so foolish, or will he hit me? He’s going to make me pay for my mistake. Just the way he spoke to me in front of that guard tells me that.
As all of these ideas race through my mind, he walks by me without even glancing over toward where I sit. His mouth is set in a thin, straight line. Neither a smile nor a frown, it’s a look of tightness that frightens me.
I wait for him to bark my name or order me to follow him, but there’s nothing but silence. It terrifies me, and I sit frozen in place on the couch for the moment when he decides to finally say the words he’s holding inside.
After nearly five minutes, I can’t wait any longer and slowly make my w
ay to his room. I don’t want to hear him yell at me, but even worse is waiting for what’s about to come next. Stopping in the doorway, I don’t know what to say.
He’s standing in just a pair of jeans next to the bed, the glow from nightstand light illuminating his shirtless back. He doesn’t look beaten and broken like he had in the bathtub hours ago.
Now he looks powerful and strong, his emotions caged for the moment but like someone I should fear.
He doesn’t turn around when I step into the room. Maybe he doesn’t want me there. I’m not sure I should want him to turn around, but not knowing what will happen next bothers me too much.
My foot makes the floor creak, but he doesn’t flinch. I wait a few more seconds and clear my throat, but still, he doesn’t turn around.
Finally, it’s too much. I can’t stop myself from saying something.
“I…I know I made a mistake. It was stupid of me. I’m sorry.”
Even now, he doesn’t respond or turn around, and suddenly I feel defensive. “It’s not like you care about me, King. I’m nothing to you. You showed that out there with that guard.”
Suddenly, he spins around to face me and I see in his expression he’s even angrier that I thought. Then he begins to speak, and my stomach drops.
I’ve pushed him too far.
“You obviously want me to treat you like I did outside. I’ve let you sleep in my bed. I made sure you were fed and comfortable, but still you tried to run away.”
I wait for him to call me by his nickname for me or my name, but he just stops talking. I thought I hated hearing him say little one, but now I miss it, strangely.
He slowly walks toward me, and with each step I see the rage in his eyes. When he stops just inches away from me, he stares down at me and shakes his head. “You know, my boss is probably going to give you to Tap now because your running away is proof I can’t control you. I can promise you none of your sulky apologies are going to help you with that fuck.”
The way he looks at me so full of hate forces me to look away. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to go home.”
“I tried to protect you, Sophie. Now you’ll be at the mercy of someone who likes hurting people.”
King caresses my cheek with his fingertips, and I turn to look at him as his hand slides down to encircle my neck. Slowly, he squeezes it and says, “Maybe that’s what you like, little one. You like it when men treat you rough?”
I swallow hard, frightened by him now. Shaking my head, I feel his hand continue to tighten around my throat.
“No.”
His hand doesn’t leave me, his fingertips pressing into my skin just below my ears, and he leans down so his lips are close to mine. My heartbeat races as my emotions unspool inside me.
“I can smell the fear coming off you, but just like that first day, there’s something even more delicious underneath. What’s that, little one?”
I don’t know how to answer because I know he’s right. I’m terrified, but being this close to him makes me want him more than I’ve ever wanted a man in my life.
“Maybe I should give you a taste of what it’s going to be like for you once Tap gets his hands on your body,” he whispers against my lips.
“Please don’t let him take me, King,” I whisper back, barely able to hold back my tears.
Leaning back, he grins like this is funny to him. “I’ll get to hear all about it since he loves to brag about how rough he likes it. We had to take some poor little thing to the hospital so she didn’t die after he got through with her. Ready for that, Sophie?”
“You promised me you’d protect me,” I say, shaken by the reality that he’s going to just hand me over to that pig.
King’s eyes open in rage, and he pushes me up against the wall. They’re filled with a wildness I’ve never seen in him until now.
“You decided to take advantage of my weakness, little one. Now you’ll suffer the consequences of that choice, and I can guarantee you Tap won’t treat you like I did.”
I feel his hard cock press against my hip. He’s enjoying seeing me terrified.
Suddenly, my own anger explodes inside me, and I spit in his face. “Fuck you! You’re the same as him if you let him take me!”
I wait for his rage to match mine, but he merely smiles at me as he wipes his chin. “Let’s see then.”
He grips my shoulders, and before I know it, spins me around and pins me to the wall. His forearm presses against my shoulders, immobilizing me. Unable to move my upper body, I try to turn my hips away, but he pushes against my ass to hold me still.
“Thought you’d get to have some control, little one? Think again. Just wait until that asshole ties you up or chains you to the wall so he can fuck you. I’ll do my best to show you, though.”
“King, please…I’m sorry,” I cry to the wall in front of me.
I feel his hand tug my shorts and underwear down off my legs, and then he jams his knee between my thighs to open them. The next thing I feel is his hard cock against my ass.
“Mmmm…that’s the delicious scent I smelled.”
He moves his hand around my hip and runs his finger through my pussy. I hate that I’m drenched and he knows how much I want him, but just one touch on my clit makes me moan softly.
I prepare for him to push hard into me, each second that passes more terrifying than the last, but instead, he spins me around to face him. In his eyes, the anger and hate is gone now, replaced by pure need. His hands tear at my shirt and bra, ripping them from my body as I shake in fear that his rage will reappear at any second.
For a moment, our eyes meet, and then he kisses me hard, his tongue sliding into my mouth to tease me and make me remember what he’s capable of doing with it. A mixture of fear and longing courses through my body, and I cling to his neck, desperate to feel his body against mine.
My head swims from the most intense kiss I’ve ever experienced, and I rake my fingernails over the back of his neck. He growls my name near my ear, sending a rush of need through me.
“Sophie…”
The way he says it, like it means something to him, makes holding back my tears impossible. Being with him hasn’t been perfect by any means, but now that I’m losing that, I can’t control my emotions.
He lifts me off the floor, and a second later, he lowers me onto his cock. The feel of those metal studs is cool against the delicate skin between my legs, and as he slides his cock into me, they touch nerve endings that make it nearly impossible to think of anything but how much I want this.
When he’s completely nested inside me, King stops and looks down at me. “Fuck, little one. You feel so good.”
Before I can form words to tell him how good he feels inside me, he rears his hips back and slams into my body hard. He’s thick and long and every thrust into me takes my breath away.
He fucks like an animal, moaning and grunting low and deep into my ear. His left hand holds me by the ass while his right hand tugs my hair. A mixture of pain and pleasure rolls over me, ratcheting up my need for him even more.
“Do you feel my piercings every time my cock fills your cunt, little one?” he groans and then pumps hard into me balls deep.
“God…yes…” I answer as I push my heels into his lower back to keep him inside me.
“You belong to me.”
“But Tap…”
King leans back and wraps his hand around my neck. Shaking his head, he looks deep into my eyes. “You’re mine. He touches you, and I’ll kill him.”
His mouth crushes against mine, and he goes back to fucking me like every thrust is meant to tattoo him onto my body. My release comes over me like a wave of pure ecstasy, and I come hard, clinging to him as the orgasm he’s given me rocks my body.
My thighs quiver against his sides, and a few seconds later, he pushes into me one final time before flooding my body with all he has. Drenched in sweat and exhausted, the two of us sag against one another.
Breathing raggedly, he whispers in
my ear, “You’re safe. I promise. Just promise you won’t run away again, Sophie.”
I hate being in this place more than I can explain. I want to be free again. I want to return to my home and my life.
But when I look up at him, I see care in his eyes I’ve never seen before in them.
So I say the words I know should be a lie. They aren’t, though.
“I promise. I won’t try it again.”
He slides out of me, leaving me feeling empty and missing him. Lowering me to the floor, he pulls me to him and presses a kiss to the top of my head.
My cheek against his chest, I listen to his heartbeat still racing from our time together as the reality of what I’ve done sinks in for real, finally. “What’s going to happen, King? Your boss is going to find out from that guard that I tried to get away.”
“Shhh. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“But that man is going to tell him what I did.”
King tilts my head back and leans down to kiss me softly on the lips. “I told you I’d take care of it. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Sophie.”
The way he says that, like it’s something definite he has complete control over, makes me want to believe he’ll be able to keep his word and protect me. The very idea of Tap terrifies me more than I even want King to know. But if his boss wants to take me away, how can he stop him?
I open my mouth to ask that very question, but I decide to believe in King. Whatever this is between the two of us, he’s never shown me he can’t be trusted.
Even if I’ve shown him the opposite.
He winces and sits on the edge of the bed in obvious pain. I’d forgotten how hurt he was until now.
“We shouldn’t have done that. Now your ribs are going to hurt more.”
Turning to look at me, he smiles sweetly. “I knew what my ribs would feel like after. I still wanted you.”
“I don’t understand you. You’re hurt, and yet you do things that will make you feel bad. That makes no sense.”
He chuckles and shrugs like what I said is funny to him. “But it feels so good while I’m fucking you, so why wouldn’t I take some pain for that pleasure?”