TogetherinCyn

by Jennifer Kacey

  He let go, picking up the penlight that had fallen to the floor.

  “Don’t touch me,” I spat at him.

  “Guess you didn’t learn your lesson last time. Don’t worry. We’ll fix that. Good girls don’t scream. Not if they’re getting exactly what they’ve been asking for.” He wrapped his hands around my throat and I froze. His meat hooks cut off my air flow, and with a snap my collar broke apart and fell away.

  A severe pain filled my lungs and the world became a bit clearer in my sudden anger. “Give. It. Back,” echoed throughout the space. I hadn’t realized how proud wearing my collar made me, or the security I drew from it, until he tossed it across the floor.

  “You didn’t actually expect me to fuck you while you wore their shit, did you?”

  Comprehension slammed into my fuzzy brain. Jenna and Nick wouldn’t be able to see me. There wasn’t enough light to illuminate either of us on the cameras. With the soundproof walls, no one walking by would be able to hear me. I didn’t know where the guys were. The reality of being truly on my own focused my mind better than the growing rage.

  “They’ll come for me. And God help you when they do because you’ll regret ever meeting me.” I glared at him. I couldn’t quit shaking. I’d been so stupid to believe that note had come from Chris or Jared. I’d never talked to them but they knew I was scared. They never would have pushed me this far this fast.

  The closet door swung open and I blinked rapidly as light spilled out. “They aren’t coming, Cyn,” he said with a chuckle. “I made sure they had something to deal with so we’d have time to…play.”

  Not coming? Well…fuck.

  The sound of a thick plastic package being ripped open turned my blood cold. I yanked on the leather restraints. I wasn’t going anywhere until someone released me. Shivers racked my spine but I refused to let him see how afraid I was.

  Bryce stepped out of the closet. He sneered at me, stalking forward. He shoved my jaw aside and crowded in to lick my neck. “I know what all you bitches want. You want to be hurt. You can’t think for yourselves. So don’t worry. I’ll give you plenty to think about.”

  “And who’s going to help you with the thinking, Bryce? You can’t rub two brain cells together, you ass.”

  He glared and his lips curled up. “Who do you think has been sabotaging everything here? Who do you think’s been learning their patterns and schedules? Testing them to see how they delegate things? Me. Because I’m smarter than your two cocksuckers put together. Right now they’re waiting for a security firm at a meeting I canceled. Who knows how long it’ll take them to realize what happened. No matter—I’ll be long gone by then. First I’m going to take care of that filthy yap of yours.”

  He wrenched my jaw open. I tried to bite off his stubby fingers but bile rose in my throat. I had to concentrate on not choking when he shoved in a bitter-tasting gag. He latched it behind my head and began humping his junk against my hip bone like a dog.

  “About all Matt did right last time was bring the ball gag. He told me you were a screamer. Damn, I like that in my women. If you’re lucky, I’ll take it off so you can blow me. Then I’ll take what’s mine. I loved it last time when you begged.”

  He backed off but that’s when I saw it. A long, black-leather handle clutched in his fist and a bullwhip wriggling in front of him like a snake.

  “Any apologies you want to offer before I teach you a lesson in respect?” He yanked the whip up, preparing to strike, and all I could think was one thing. Fuck You.

  “Huck Hugh!” I forced the words past the gag. He brought the whip down but it only moved the air next to my stomach.

  “Apparently I’m out of practice.” He taunted, “I’ve been waiting for you, Cynthia. I didn’t get to have you last time because Matt was too much of a pussy. I always get what I want.” I shook my head. “‘No’ shouldn’t be a word in a woman’s vocabulary. That’s why the gags come in so handy. You are drooling a bit though. Can’t you do anything right?”

  He struck again but I shifted the tiniest bit so it hit the wall beside my stomach. I didn’t cower. I glared at him.

  “Didn’t take long to figure out you were panting after the two Kennedy boys. Matt said you used to call their names when you were fucking him. That shit isn’t going to be tolerated when I’m balls-deep inside you. Took me quite a bit longer to find out about this place. Finally found the right questions to ask of the right people though.” He lashed the stinging end of the whip along my thigh and the oddest thing happened.

  My mind floated free of the pain.

  I’d feared confronting him. He’d ripped the ability to feel safe in my own skin out from under me, cloaking my mind in what-ifs. On the darkest nights when I couldn’t forget, his features still haunted me. Dragging me into the cesspool of dread he lived in.

  But I realized something in the void where my consciousness floated. That’s all he was.

  A man.

  Nothing more than a weak loser who preyed on people he could bully. I wasn’t going to let him victimize me ever again.

  By God, he might punish my body but I’d die before he raped my mind again. What happened before was not my fault. And this time…this time I’d make him pay.

  It took all my concentration to face my attacker but after a few failed attempts, the concrete floor swam into focus.

  “You were the one that got away. Until they hired me.” He let the whip fall. “I was an off-duty cop making side money as a bouncer. That’s all I needed to gain access to the building. Turns out, I didn’t need full access. Eavesdropping at Jenna’s door and listening to those fuckers talk about you was all it took.”

  Warmth at my wrists registered in my foggy head, but no pain. Nor the welts on my thighs. I tipped my head against the wall and stared him down.

  I focused on keeping my breathing steady. When my limbs were free, I was going to rip his dick off if he tried to get it anywhere close to me.

  “Drool, Cyn? If you knew how to be a proper submissive, you’d learn how to take punishment with better grace. But don’t worry, we’ve got hours to practice.” He ripped my panties, the material slicing at the flesh of my hip, and tossed them aside. My entire frame shook with rage and fear. When I didn’t cower, the sadistic asshole looked so pleased. “I’m gonna show you what a real man can do.”

  “What the fuck?” Jared’s voice was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.

  Lights filled the room just as Bryce reached for one of my wrists. I caught sight of Jared rushing in and my chin fell forward in gratitude. I tried desperately to focus while another man shot past Jared. My knees buckled before I got a good look at who it was. I could only hope it was Chris and I was safe.

  Jared removed the gag and threw it in disgust on the floor. He released the cuffs and held me close. A rhythmic pounding beat inside my head and I wanted to collapse.

  “Are you okay? Say something, sweetheart.” He lifted my chin and cringed.

  “I’m…” I swallowed convulsively and blinked hard. Everything remained out of focus. “Glad—see you. Chris?”

  Chris buried his fist in Bryce’s abdomen. The spineless dickwad tried to fight. He didn’t stand a chance.

  “How many times did you hit her, you cocksucker? How many times did you mar her flesh? I’m going to rip you apart, so help me.” Chris landed another punch every few words.

  “She asked for it,” Bryce wheezed, wiping blood from his mouth. “Both times.”

  I shook my head to refute it but all three guys had gone still. “What…do…you …mean…both…times?” It sounded nothing like Chris. He sounded deadly.

  “She…didn’t tell you?” he exhaled shallowly and coughed. “Had her…tied up…bed.” Everything came out choppy while he fought to breathe. I couldn’t help thinking a collapsed lung wouldn’t hurt my feelings too bad. “She…asked…for…it.”

  Chris countered, “She. Said. No.”

  “Please. It’s her word…against mine. No lights.
No cameras.” Bryce leered at me as he stood straighter one more time, fueled by righteousness.

  “We’ve got infrared video and audio recordings, you prick,” Jared said from my side. He helped me into my robe—he must have grabbed it from the closet. I didn’t remember him taking the spreader bar from around my ankles but it was gone. He lifted me into his arms. “The police have already been called.”

  Bryce went still and his smirk morphed into panic. He took another swing at Chris, who easily evaded the attack, then made a break for the door. Chris’ snarl of rage made Bryce stumble and Chris tackled him to the floor.

  Between one blink and the next, Bryce lay unconscious and Chris towered over him. His chest heaved in and out.

  “But it was so dark. There wasn’t enough light coming from the closet,” I whispered. Chris still stood at the ready though he’d lowered his fists.

  Jared watched me. “Those cameras ensure your safety. Along with the safety of all our members. Each of them is equipped with night vision and we’ve got more than one in every room. Don’t worry, we’ve got everything on video. Nick and Jackson are copying off all the footage to give to the police. We’ve got friends in the department. We suspected someone here was causing the problems but he’s been good at covering his tracks until tonight. I’ll bet my left nut he’s the dirty cop they’ve been hunting for.”

  The bad guy would be arrested, I wouldn’t have to deal with him again on my own. But it meant everyone would see exactly what I was. Everything my parents had accused me of. It would be front and center for the whole city to see. It was partly why I didn’t press charges the first time. I’d been so ashamed I let it happen and now I’d let it happen again. My humiliation knew no ends.

  A sob tore from inside me. “J, get her out of here,” Chris ordered. “I’ll be up when I can.”

  Tears ran down my cheeks but I tried to concentrate on Chris. He didn’t look at me. Not once. But I watched him clenching and unclenching his fists next to the black leather of his pants. He stared at Bryce. His muscles rippled under his skin. His scars moved with him. He was a warrior and I couldn’t stop shivering.

  “Chris, I—”

  “J…” he barked.

  Jared growled, carrying me away. I lost sight of Chris but I saw my collar lying on the floor. Broken. Damaged.

  “It’ll be okay. We’ll make it okay.” Jared hugged me, wrapping me in his warmth and strength.

  I’d never felt more alone.

  Chapter Seven

  The strained silence was too much for me to bear. “How did you know?” My voice was raw. Helpless. I felt lost and needed him to keep me grounded.

  “Know what, baby?” He laid me on the bed in their master suite then moved the robe aside, tucking it beside me. The muscles in his jaw flexed continuously, betraying his false calm. The angry red welt glowed against my paler-than-normal skin. He grazed the cut from my torn panties and I groaned. Adrenaline raced through my bloodstream, making me twitchy and restless.

  “To come to the club.”

  He got a wet washcloth and said, “We called Bardwell Security to cancel our meeting when we were still at the bar. He apologized but said they’d received a call postponing the meeting. We asked him who had called and he said it was Jackson. We figured wires got crossed somewhere so we came here.”

  Sitting next to me, he wiped the raised flesh on my stomach and thighs. He moved the cloth with sure hands but his eyebrows were drawn into a scowl.

  “Why did you try to cancel?”

  “We were going to surprise you.” His gaze flickered up and quickly to my thigh again. “We were going to search for you at the townhouse since we hadn’t been able to get a hold of you on your cell.”

  “I thought I put it in my purse when I got to work but it must have fallen out. When I found it in the floorboard later, it was dead.”

  He took the washcloth away and brought me a glass of water. I let the liquid soothe my dry throat but then it hit my tummy like a penny falling into an empty well.

  Someone knocked on the front door and Jared squeezed my hand before leaving.

  My lashes must have fluttered closed because the next thing I knew, someone was approaching and I was cocooned in darkness again. I opened my eyes and whipped my head toward the doorway with a whimper.

  “It’s just me, baby,” Jared confirmed. He kissed my forehead and rubbed my hands until I let go of the sheets.

  “Who was that at the door?”

  “Jenna. She brought the first-aid kit so I can patch you up after a nice long bath.”

  “I feel dirty.”

  He glared at me but abruptly went to start the water. When he returned, he found me panting, sitting on the side of the bed. I tried to shift my thighs to stand but my muscles screamed in protest.

  “Don’t hurt yourself. Let me help you up.”

  “Why did you come here instead of the townhouse?” I was exhausted and clammy with sweat but I needed answers and I couldn’t take the silence. I still felt Bryce’s phantom groping on my skin if I thought about it too long.

  “We wanted to surprise you with a few things but they were all here. We saw your car in the garage and figured you were here to do some surprising of your own. Jenna caught us on the way in and asked what took us so long. We told her about Jackson canceling the meeting. She was confused too but said we’d figure it out tomorrow, that you were ready for us and we shouldn’t keep you waiting. She got pulled away so we couldn’t ask her what she meant. We changed upstairs but Jenna called. She was frantic.”

  We’d made it into the bathroom. I clutched his forearm as he peeled the robe from my shoulders. I didn’t want to feel naked or vulnerable and Jared must have seen it because he quickly scooped me up and lowered me into the claw-foot tub.

  “How did she know something was wrong?” I sank low, relishing the warmth of the water even as my muscles quivered. Jared placed a folded towel under my head then sat on the edge.

  “She was helping one of the other subs get ready. When she went to the master-key cabinet, she found it wide open. Someone had broken into it, knocking most of the keys from their pegs. Took her a minute to figure out what had been taken. When she did, she ran to your room but it was locked from the inside and she couldn’t get in through the electric bypass. I’m sure that fucker disabled it.”

  He added bodywash to another washcloth and kneaded it roughly. The fleshy flop of lather landed on the surface of the water. Then with great concentration, he washed me. My tender wrists, my breasts. All the way to my feet. He rinsed away the taint from Bryce and replaced it with something kind.

  He helped me from the water and dried every inch of me. I felt cherished. “She told us about the letter as we ran to our offices for the master keys. You were there for the rest.”

  I assured him I could stand on my own so he laid a towel on the black-marble countertop. He settled me on top, making sure I was comfortable, then took out a tube of medication.

  He took the cap off and squeezed a white line onto his finger. “This is going to sting but not for long. It’s an antibiotic cream with a deadener in it so the marks will go numb.”

  “Okay,” was all I managed.

  He wiped the cream along one of the welts and the sting registered to my foggy brain. I whimpered when Jared’s lips descended onto my shoulder. He trailed light kisses along my throat. He lashed his tongue along my collarbone and I forgot about everything but him.

  “I could only imagine what we were going to find, Cyn.” He held me and I snuggled against him. “I never would have forgiven myself if anything more serious happened to you. Jesus. Seeing his hands on you is going to haunt me.”

  “Me too,” a strong voice agreed. Chris stood in the doorway, watching us. He stared at me, my collar clutched in his fist.

  “Did you kill him?” Jared asked, helping me off the counter. Chris’ nostrils flared at the sight of the marks. I jerkily closed the robe and tied it.

  “No,”
he grunted and wrapped me tightly in his arms. He was still shaking after all the time that had passed. “I didn’t think I was going to get there in time, Cyn. He was going to rape you and I never would have forgiven myself.”

  “But you did. You both got there. The cuts will heal and I’ll be fine.” After several heartbeats passed, I whispered, “I was so scared when you wouldn’t look at me. I thought… I thought you were ashamed of me.” I clenched my jaw, bracing for his response.

  “Fuck no.”

  “Then…why?”

  He tilted my head up and peered clear into my soul. “The only reason I didn’t kill him is because I didn’t see the damage on your body. Or the fear in your eyes. If I saw that, I would have ripped him apart.”

  I took the collar from his bruised hand. He scooped me up and I laid my head on his bare shoulder.

  He carried me into the bedroom and said, “I could never be ashamed of you. I’m damn proud of you.”

  “But I ruined everything. I knew I wouldn’t be any good at this.” A wave of sadness struck my heart. This was exactly what my parents had accused me of all those years ago. I wanted the kink. I craved it. Now all I wanted was to crawl in a hole and sleep off the humiliation.

  “You’re new to this. And how could you think you ruined anything? You couldn’t get away and you still topped that asshole.” Chris sat on the bed and held me on his lap with my feet dangling off the edge. Jared handed me a glass of water, thankfully along with some ibuprofen.

  “But I believed it to begin with. I asked Jenna to chain me to the wall because it was some kind of test. If I trusted you enough, I’d submit.” I traced the wings in the leather one last time before placing the collar in my pocket. “I jeopardized my safety, as well as the club’s anonymity.”

  “You let us worry about the club,” Jared answered. “Our only concern is you.”

  “But if I followed through with pressing charges last time, none of this would have happened.”

  “What happened with Bryce the first time?” Chris leaned against the headboard, cradling me on his lap. Jared sat in a chair next to me, my feet in his lap. “We need you to talk to us.”