Conflict

by M. S. Willis

  “Daemon hasn’t brainwashed me, Alex. I’m still the same old Paige, I’ve always been. You know damn well I’d never be servant to anyone’s master.” An exasperated huff escaped me and I stared holes into the front of Alex’s hat.

  He finally looked up at me and let out a small laugh. “I hope you’re being honest, Paige. I have to say, I was shocked to hear you would take the submissive role. I always imagined you would be the one to be walking around in dominatrix gear with a little riding crop or some shit.” His smile grew lopsided after having said that.

  I let out an astonished laugh and I’m sure my eyes were as wide as saucers at his statement. “When in the hell did you imagine something like that?!”

  Alex looked at me with a matter of fact expression and said, “As often as I possibly can.”

  I called Alex a pervert and laughter bellowed out of him at my comment. We were quickly falling back into our comfortable closeness with each other and I hoped that it could stay this way from now on. Fighting with Alex had taken more out of me than I realized. His hot temper is difficult to deal with at times, but you can’t help but love the guy.

  After wiping the tears away from his laughter, he looked up at me again. “Be real with me, Paige. Is he treating you well? I know the guy had a reputation around town as being a player and I would hate for you to get your heart broken over an arrogant asshole. You’re better than that. Plus, do you even know anything about him? I assume you’ve already looked into his background, given what you do for a living.”

  I had to think about Alex’s question. Technically, yes, Daemon was treating me well, but I couldn’t shake my anger over the game he had been playing with me since I started staying with him. I felt like he was manipulating me through sex, or the lack thereof, and it irritated me that he couldn’t just be up front about what he wanted. At first the game was fun, but that last time in the shower was too much for a girl to handle. He had me at the verge of orgasm with just one simple touch between my legs and then for him to pull away was like torture. I probably shouldn’t have reacted like I did, but the tension was suffocating me and I needed to get away. I know I handled it improperly and I owed him an apology for leaving like I had, but at that time, I had no other option but to strike back at him.

  “No worries about me. I’m as spirited as ever and if you need to worry about anyone, it’s Daemon. I’ve been moody having been cooped up in one place all the time. And yes, I’ve looked into his background.”

  Technically, I had looked into Daemon’s background. Unfortunately, the only information I was able to obtain was about his business dealings and his current stats. His background didn’t reach back farther than five years and I wasn’t able to discover where he came from or who his family was. I’d asked Daemon about his youth before, but he was short and slightly cryptic in his response. He admitted to having been in foster care growing up, but that was it. With everything that had gone on since that time, I never revisited the discussion with Daemon and I didn’t want to admit to Alex that I had been careless in my search for information. I needed to change the subject before Alex chastised me for my lack in follow up.

  I smiled. “So, have you had a chance to see David lately?”

  Alex’s eyebrow arched up as if he knew I was intentionally causing a ‘subject-redirection’. I wasn’t surprised that he knew; Alex had known me for a long time.

  “Yeah, he and I have been texting back and forth occasionally. It’s upsetting to hear about Annie’s condition. I’d go see her at the psych place, but David warned me that she’s not too keen on talking to anybody right now.” He adjusted his sitting position to lean his elbows on the table with his forearms stretched out my direction. He placed his hands flat against the surface of the wood and looked down at them before returning his gaze to me. “David told me that Chris was in the process of doing what he did to Annie when he and Matt arrived back from dinner. He said that Annie was unconscious by the time they got there and that sick fuck was still doing shit to her even while she was passed out. Matt ran to get a phone in the living room and Chris ran after him and hit him over the head with something. David tried to help Matt and he fought Chris for a while, but I guess Chris was just too strong.”

  I already knew the story of what happened, but I let him vent without interrupting to tell him so.

  “It’s fucked up, Paige. It’s just so fucked up what happened to them. Especially to Annie.”

  My heart was breaking into a million pieces at that moment. This was the first time I had heard about Annie being unconscious when they arrived. I didn’t know whether to feel better or worse that she wasn’t aware of some of the things being done to her. I never asked David what he saw Chris doing when they opened that door. I didn’t want to know and I certainly didn’t want the mental imagery.

  Alex sighed and looked me directly in the eyes. “What happened to you, Paige? Please tell me that bastard didn’t get to you too.”

  I was momentarily stunned. It occurred to me that, except for the brief time I saw him at the hospital, I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him. He’s had no clue whether Chris succeeded in hurting me or not.

  “I took one hell of a beating from him, but that was really all that happened. Fortunately, Daemon and Logan showed up and heard screaming from the parking lot. They were pretty quick to start breaking through the door to get to me. Chris hightailed it out a window when he heard them.”

  I wasn’t being exactly truthful with Alex, but I wanted to spare him some of the more gory details.

  He grabbed my hands and rubbed his thumb along the scarring on my wrist. “What about these? Did he tie you up?”

  I pulled my hands from Alex and placed them in my lap under the table. I didn’t like those scars. They made me feel weak somehow, like I was vulnerable enough to be taken captive.

  “Yes. He did. He had to knock me out first to do it, but he did tie me up. The binding probably wouldn’t have cut into my skin as bad if I hadn’t been fighting; but you know me, I wasn’t just going to sit there and take it.”

  Alex slightly smiled at that. “Did you do any damage to him in return?”

  “Yes sir. I do believe I broke the asshole’s nose. In fact, I hope I fucking shattered it.”

  “Good girl.”

  ~

  Alex and I sat, ate our meals, and then drank coffee for two or three hours. Our conversation had turned back to a light banter and we didn’t discuss what happened anymore throughout the night. It got late and Alex drove me back to Daemon’s. I walked to the elevator and realized I didn’t bring a key. I buzzed the intercom and waited for Daemon to answer. I became nervous that he may have fallen asleep and I would be stuck out here all night.

  I hit the little button again just before I saw that the elevator car had been sent down. I rode back up to Daemon’s floor and found that the front doors were unlocked. The room was dark except the soft flicker of the wall sconces and Daemon sat on the couch directly in front of the door. His arms were slung over the back of the couch and he had what looked like a drink in his hand. He was dressed in pajama pants alone and my eyes took in the expanse of smooth skin over his chest and shoulders. The position in which he sat only added to the perfection of his muscular build. His face was half hidden in shadow and the entire picture was menacing and cold.

  Slowly, I walked into the room. He was so perfect, almost unreal, as he stared at me. I wanted to apologize to him for how I had behaved earlier but I couldn’t seem to speak while he was looking at me in that way. My eyes searched his stoic expression for any hint of what he was thinking.

  After a few quietly intense moments, Daemon pulled his arms down and leaned over to place his glass on the table. He got up from the couch and deliberately stalked over to stand just in front of me.

  “You want to be like one of my other women?” I could smell the alcohol on his breath and his tone was flat and without warmth. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  He grabbed me ro
ughly around the arm and pulled me in the direction of his bedroom. My feet tripped over themselves as I tried to keep up with his fast pace. Once we crossed the threshold into his room, he threw me onto his bed and stood in front of me.

  “Take off your clothes, Paige.”

  Something wasn’t right here. It was obvious Daemon had a couple of drinks and was possibly drunk. The problem was, I didn’t like drunk Daemon very much. He was cold and distant.

  “What are you doing, Daemon? You know you can’t sleep with me by your own rules, so stop fucking with my head.”

  “Take off your fucking clothes, Paige.” His words were slow and intimidating. I wasn’t sure if I should attempt to flee the room or stand up and do a strip tease. I was completely ready to have sex with Daemon, but not with this angry, cold stranger standing in front of me.

  I didn’t move. I had absolutely no earthly idea what I should do at that moment. I sat motionless for close to a minute before Daemon became impatient. “Do as I say, or get the fuck out. Either way is fine with me. Just remember though, if you leave, you no longer have any right to bitch about me not fucking you like I have everybody else.”

  His words stung and I recognized that our argument from earlier had angered him more than I realized. But damn if I was not a curious person. Add that fact to the relentless teasing inflicted on me for the past three weeks and it was enough for me to go along with whatever he was saying.

  “Ok, Daemon. We’ll try this your way.”

  I pushed myself up to a sitting position on the bed and reached below to the bottom hem of my shirt. I slowly removed the material and tossed it over to the floor. Daemon’s eyes seared into my body as I reached behind to remove my bra. My position was awkward for going any further so I moved to stand up from the bed. Daemon’s hands came down on my shoulders to keep me from doing so.

  “I need to stand up Daemon or I won’t be able to take off my jeans.”

  Daemon removed his hands and stepped back to allow me to stand up at the foot of the bed. I unbuttoned my jeans and started peeling them down my legs to remove them. Once the clingy material had pooled near my ankles, I sat down on the bed to remove them the rest of the way.

  Daemon’s heated stare intensified as I now sat before him in only my underwear. There was something off in his expression and I was somewhat skittish when he began moving towards me again. I wasn’t used to his lack of emotion and I was intimidated by the unfeeling man standing in front of me.

  Daemon reached over to me and took me by the shoulders again. He pushed me back until I was sitting in the center of his large bed. His pajama pants had tented and his excitement was obvious. Regardless of his abnormal lack of emotion, my body started to purr with anticipation. Once again the complete disconnect between the needs of my body and the concern running through my mind was unnerving and uncomfortable. But I was done fighting it. I was mentally exhausted after the events of the past few weeks and I wanted nothing more but to lose myself in this. I wasn’t worried about the fact that I was about to sleep with the uncaring version of Daemon, I needed this release.

  Daemon slowly crawled up the bed towards me. Every muscle in his body flexed and released with his movement and my mouth watered at the idea of finally having this man after so many weeks of his relentless teasing. I sat motionless as he progressed towards me and any feelings of animosity were lost to me when the hormones started raging their usual course. When Daemon and I were face to face, his large hand came around and grasped me by the back of my hair. His fingers gripped into my thick mane and he pulled my head back to expose my neck. My scalp stung slightly from the force with which he had pulled me, but I ignored it. I wanted this contact with him and I was willing to take it any way I could get it.

  Daemon bent his head down as if he was going to place his mouth on my neck and I trembled with need in wait of the warm contact of his lips. He stayed in that position, not quite touching me, and my breathing became labored and erratic. Without moving, he asked, “You would allow yourself to be used by me?”

  Was that a rhetorical question or did he actually want a response? Yes! I would allow that. Anything to reach the point of weightlessness I so desperately needed.

  “Yes.” My eyes met his and I intentionally projected a look of resolve and determination.

  His mouth was so deliciously close to mine, I couldn’t help but lean up to kiss his lips. He pulled back away from me just before I was able to reach him. His face was angered and aloof. Even my body was turning off at the expression on his face. This was not the usual Daemon. This was someone else entirely.

  “Then roll over, I don’t kiss those other women. They serve one purpose and so shall you.” His voice was ominous and condescending. It grated against my nerves rather than softly wrapping itself around me as it usually did. My body instantly tensed and I wanted to crawl out from underneath him to escape to my room. I had no other choice but to go along. I needed this game to end. If I could just get him to sleep with me without requiring that fucking label, I could possibly get us back to the point where we had previously been.

  Daemon’s hands roughly turned me over to face the mattress. He didn’t bother worshipping me as was common for him. This was about what he needed alone. I was his means to an end and that was all.

  He ripped my panties down my legs and didn’t even bother with removing them from around my feet. I could feel as he pushed his pajama pants down around his ankles and he grabbed my hips and jerked me into position in front of him. I was nowhere near turned on by his behavior and I was starting to feel like a toy to be used and discarded. I was so angry at what he was doing but I held my place; too stubborn to concede that I didn’t want this.

  After obtaining and wrapping a condom around his length, he positioned himself at the entrance of my core and grabbed onto my shoulders. His fingers dug into my muscles as he stayed where he was positioned without proceeding any further. After a few moments, he bent his head down to my ear. The venom coming off his voice when he spoke was livid and bitter. “I did not teach you what I did just so you could become so guarded, you would allow yourself to be used.”

  He pushed off of the mattress and walked into the bathroom before slamming the door behind him.

  What. The fuck. Was that?

  My mind raced with his words. What did he think he had taught me? Was he losing his fucking mind? And who says something like that and then shuts himself away?! I became enraged and jumped up from the bed to start pounding on the bathroom door.

  “What the hell, Daemon? What exactly is it that you think you have taught me? Get the fuck out here and explain yourself!” I continued banging on the door for close to five minutes, but he never said anything or opened the door. I grabbed my clothes from around his bed and stormed out of the room to mine. Fuck him. If he wanted to be an asshole, that was fine. I’d had enough of this shitty game and I refused to play it any longer. From this point on, Daemon and were just roommates. He could kiss my lily white ass if he tried anything else.

  I reached my room and slammed and locked my door behind me. I threw on some new underwear and a t-shirt and tossed myself onto my bed. My body and mind were tangled up in fits of rage and I tossed and turned seeking sleep. It must have been hours before sleep finally claimed me.

  Chapter Five

  I’d been playing in the backyard of the Center for several hours while I waited for my new friend, Buddy, to come find me. He had been here with his mommy for a little over a week now and he had to take part in the group activities with the rest of the resident children before he was allowed to come play with me. I always wanted to take part in those group activities as well, but Momma always told me no. I didn’t like the feeling of being excluded and I voiced that opinion to Buddy regularly. Buddy always just shrugged his shoulders and said that he didn’t like being part of that group and that I should feel lucky I didn’t have to attend.

  I was climbing up my favorite camphor tree when Buddy finally cam
e outside. The bruising on his face and arms from before he arrived here had all but vanished. I watched as he pulled himself into the apex of the tree and climbed up to sit beside me on a large branch. We sat in silence for a few minutes and I could tell he wasn’t in his usual good mood.

  “How was group?” I turned to him innocently looking for a response to my question.

  Buddy’s face was held in a scowl as he sat next to me. I could feel the negativity rolling off of him and I didn’t like the sensation of being this close to him while he was angry.

  After a few moments, Buddy finally huffed out his response. “It sucked. They made me talk about stuff I don’t want to talk about and I’m sick and tired of having to think about it. I wish they would just leave me alone.”

  I was taken aback by his words. It was obvious Buddy was in a sour mood, but he normally didn’t say mean things about anything at The Center. “Well, why don’t you just refuse to talk? They can’t make you if you don’t want to say anything.” In my little head that was the best advice ever. I mentally patted myself on the back for that little tidbit of useful information.

  Buddy glowered even more at my words. He was definitely NOT in a good place at the moment. “That’s easy for you to say, Paige. You have no idea what it’s like to live through what I’ve lived through. You’ve lived the life of a little princess and you wouldn’t be able to handle the things I’ve seen and heard. You’d probably just cry all the time like a little girl.”

  His words ignited a stubborn rage in me and I wanted nothing more than to get away from him. How dare he call me a ‘little girl’?” I could climb better than him and swim better than him. I wasn’t afraid of bugs, or reptiles or other critters like the other girls here. I looked behind me and grabbed on to an adjacent branch. I swung myself over and hastily made my way down the tree. Buddy climbed down after me and I was just starting to run off when he caught me.