by Alice Raine
The look in Dominic’s eye was one I’ll never, ever forget. It was almost like he had left the room and allowed a stranger to take over his body – a completely psychotic stranger. His eyes were dilated and black, but devoid of emotion, and as he raised his hand to flick the whip again, I could tell there was no point in trying to reason with him. He was no longer in control.
The second strike was even worse than the first, if that’s possible. The curling tip of the leather was aimed to perfection so it wound around my side, cutting into my stomach, side, and back all in one go. It was like receiving three strikes for the price of one, and as the crippling pain hit my system I gave in and let my tears flow.
My cheeks were soaked in seconds, and as Dominic hit me again – this time on my other flank – I allowed my head to drop forwards. If I had to deal with this level of pain, then holding my head upright was the last thing I needed to be wasting energy on.
My eyesight was blurred with tears, and my head was dizzy from the pain, but just as I was wondering if I might pass out from the agony coursing through my system, there was a loud crashing noise close by, followed shortly by several bangs and voices shouting and swearing.
I thought for a second that Dominic was losing the plot and smashing the room up, but then something registered in my foggy mind that brought my head snapping up.
Spanish words …
Oliver.
Had I dreamed it? Conjured it up in my desperate imagination, or was Oliver really here?
Blinking desperately to clear my vision, I heard the distinct sound of Spanish swear words again, mingled with English phrases, and hope soared in my heart. ‘¡Hijo de puta! Get away from her, you fucking son of a bitch!’
When my tears finally stopped enough for me to see clearly, I saw not only Oliver, but Marcus, David, and Nathan entering the room, all bristling with anger. While the other three stood inside the threshold, Oliver charged towards Dominic and tackled him around his centre like a rugby pro. The two of them briefly flew through the air, then Dominic grunted as they landed on the floor and the wind was knocked from his lungs. Oliver landed on top, quickly shifting so he sat astride him. Then, with an animalistic roar, he started to rain down punches on Dominic like a madman.
‘Oliver, dude, calm the fuck down!’ Marcus moved across the room, trying to pull Oliver back, but David wrapped a hand around his shoulder and stopped him.
‘You see what this fucker has done to his girl? Let him have a few seconds of payback.’
Marcus’s eyes flicked to mine and, after wincing at the sight of my abused body, he and David stood back while Oliver continued his tirade. David seemed to count off some mystery period in his head, before finally stepping in to stop Oliver. At first, he just shook off David’s hand and carried on, but with the combined effort of David, Marcus, and Nathan, they finally managed to tear Oliver backwards.
Dominic raised his hands in surrender, but didn’t try to stand up, which was probably just as well, seeing as there were four furious men glaring down at him and more than ready to kick him back to the dirt floor if necessary.
From the wild expression in Oliver’s eyes, he was intent on going back and killing Dominic, but it was Nathan who stepped forwards and seemed to finally get through to him. ‘This piece of shit isn’t worth going to prison for. Leave him. Your girl needs you.’ At his words, Oliver’s eyes sought me out, latching onto my gaze and seeming to draw us together.
He shot across the room in three huge strides, and cupped my face with such a gentle touch it was as if he thought I was made of glass.
‘Robyn … Cariño … are you OK?’ His eyes were searching mine, and as much as I wanted to be strong and say what he probably needed to hear, I couldn’t. This had all been too much, and my emotions were in tatters, so I simply shook my head and started to cry again.
‘Dios.’ He briefly rested his forehead against mine, then tried to undo my wrists before expelling another low curse and turning towards his friends who were currently tying Dominic up in a corner. ‘Somebody find me the keys to these fucking things!’
A second later there was a jingling sound of something metal being thrown across the room, then Oliver was frantically working his way through a small bunch of keys, trying each one in the locks at my wrists until I felt the cuffs release.
My arms had been above my head for so long that they felt like tree trunks, falling to my sides with such force that I keeled forwards. I was only stopped from hitting the floor because Oliver shifted and caught me over his shoulder, causing me to cry out in agony as the whip marks on my body made contact with the material of his shirt. Swearing loudly, he adjusted me to ease my pain, before shouting for someone to come and uncuff my feet.
I think it was Nathan who found the right key and released my feet so that I could fall into the safety of Oliver’s arms, but I couldn’t be sure. The emotion of the last hour had caught up with me and as well as my body feeling heavy, my eyelids did, too.
Now that I had Oliver clutching me to his chest, everything else could wait. Darkness began to overtake me again, and after initially fighting it, I decided I quite liked the sensation. Slipping into unconsciousness meant that I couldn’t feel the pain any more, and right now, that was just fine by me.
Chapter Forty
Oliver
Looking down at Robyn in my arms, I saw with alarm that her eyes were closed. I couldn’t tell if she was asleep, or had passed out from the stress, and panic flew through my system for a second, before I noticed the regular intake of her breaths, and realised she must be OK.
Adjusting her in my arms, I winced at the deep ache in my knuckles from where I had laid into Dominic. Hitting the bastard’s chin had felt like smashing my fist into a concrete block, but it had been worth it for the marginal sense of retribution it had given me.
A grunt from the corner had me turning, and I saw Nathan and David restraining Dominic and tying his hands to one of the hooks on the wall. He was bleeding heavily from his nose and a gash in his eyebrow. From the blank look in his eyes my beating didn’t seem to have bothered him much, but it had sure as hell made me feel better.
Stepping closer, I could hear David trying to speak to him, but Dominic was just staring sightlessly ahead, muttering something about “beating some manners into him”. I exchanged a concerned glance with David, who stood up and came to stand beside me.
David gently picked up Robyn’s wrist and checked her pulse. After nodding his satisfaction, he glanced back at Dominic, who was now rocking back and forth on his haunches.
‘He’s not making any sense. I think he’s had a breakdown of some sort.’
Back when David had first asked me if I wanted to invest into Club Twist he and I had sat down and discussed other possible business partners. Dominic had been a sticking point, because while we’d both agreed that his sexual preferences were far more extreme than we were comfortable with, David was in favour of letting him in, whereas I was not.
David had overruled me, though, arguing that Dominic had been a long-standing member of the club even before he’d become one of its owners, and had never caused any major issues, which I had to grudgingly admit was true. He liked to posture around in front of some of the other Doms in the club, which had always irritated me, but we’d just put that down to arrogance, and I had reluctantly given in.
David was the majority shareholder, so I’d had to stand back and let him lead, but I had always had a feeling about Dominic, something I couldn’t quite place, but that just didn’t sit right with me.
It would seem that after years of seeming just about stable, he had finally flipped, and I’d been proved right in my concerns.
I might feel a slither of sympathy for his horrendous upbringing and the abuse he’d suffered, but that didn’t diminish the fact that he had kidnapped and whipped Robyn, and my whole body tensed as I turned to David.
‘Please don’t suggest letting him off with this,’ I growled, my face so tense
that my eyeballs were surely bulging from their sockets.
‘Mate, seriously, as if I would’ David replied, running a hand through his hair. ‘Marcus has already called the police, and they’re five minutes away, but with his current behaviour, I think it’s likely that he’s going to need psychiatric screening, too.’
That was agreeable to me, as long as justice was done. Nodding at David, I adjusted Robyn in my arms and lowered my lips to her hair, and even though she wouldn’t be aware of it, I found myself kissing her over and over.
Chapter Forty-one
Robyn
As I started to wake, I felt like I had been sleeping on a cloud; soft fluffiness surrounded me, cocooning me in gentle safety and warmth, and I smiled contentedly.
Finally deciding to open my eyes, I blinked, and frowned. I was in my own bedroom, but I was sleeping in a cloud. Instead of my usual blankets, my body was surrounded by a pile of fluffy whiteness – what looked like a brand-new super-stuffed duvet, which certainly didn’t belong to me.
I went to push myself upright, trying to work out what the heck was going on, but I was stopped in my tracks by a tight, searing pain around my stomach and back that caused a sharp gasp to leave my lungs. As I looked down and saw several large bruises across my midsection and a bandage covering one area, the mattress shifted next to me, and Oliver’s concerned face came into view over the top of the white cotton mountain.
‘Hey, you’re awake. Take it easy, lay back down.’
With prickly pain still circling me, I didn’t argue, and gingerly lay back as memories of yesterday started to flood back into my mind.
Dominic.
His basement of pain.
The whip.
So that explained the bruises and bandage, not to mention why I was in so much pain.
I vaguely recalled giving my statement to a policewoman, and I had blurry recollections of being attended to by a doctor, but I squeezed my eyes shut against the images, not keen on reliving any of it just at the moment.
A huge shudder ripped through my body. Seconds later, Oliver was clambering over the mounds of white and gently arranging my naked, trembling body into the circle of his arms. As well as my torso, my wrists were also bruised from the bindings, and although I couldn’t see my feet, I guessed my ankles were, too. Moving hurt almost more than I could bear, but I endured it, because once I was settled in his embrace I felt utterly safe and secure, and my pain somehow seemed dulled.
‘What’s with the new duvet?’ I asked, my voice croaky from its first usage.
Oliver’s chest rose and fell beneath me as he took in a long breath, then he placed a kiss on the top of my head before speaking. ‘While you were sleeping you couldn’t settle properly. You were … you were crying in your sleep …’ He let out a shuddering breath. ‘I thought it might be due to pain, so I went out and bought this extra-thick duvet to cushion you.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked gently.
Drawing in a deep breath, I winced as agony sliced through my torso again. ‘Sore. But I’m OK.’ Which was true, because I was safe now, and in his arms, and I knew I would be OK in the long run.
Cupping my face, he tilted my jaw up so he could look into my eyes. ‘Now you’re awake, I need to ask. Do you need me to get you a doctor?’
I blinked and shook my head. ‘I’ve already seen a doctor,’ I mumbled, although perhaps I had dreamed that. ‘Honestly, Oliver, I’ll be fine. You arrived just after he had started, so he only managed to hit me a few times.’ At my words, Oliver tensed below me, and his jaw tightened so much that his lips turned pure white with anger. Trying to reassure him, I stroked his forearm. ‘I’m sure I’ll heal in a few days.’
Drawing in a long breath as if calming himself, Oliver shook his head. ‘That’s not what I meant. I already had my private physician check your wounds this morning when we arrived back here. I meant … do you need … a … gynaecologist? Did he … did he touch you?’ Oliver paused, his eyes clenching shut as he cradled me against him looking distinctly pained, ‘Robyn, did he rape you?’
Oh. Seeing how desperate Oliver looked, I shook my head immediately, trying to calm him. ‘No. Oliver, no, he didn’t.’ Thinking about it, it didn’t seem as if that was what Dominic had wanted from me. He’d certainly had ample opportunity.
‘You can tell me the truth, Robyn. None of this is your fault, cariño.’ Oliver’s face was still taut with tension, so I ran my fingers over his cheek and jaw until his muscles slackened slightly.
‘Honestly, Oliver, he didn’t touch me sexually. He seemed more intent on punishing me. He said I was a shit sub and needed to learn. He… … he wanted me to call him master.’ Despite the gravity of the situation, I found myself giving a dry, humourless laugh. ‘I probably am a shit sub.’
Oliver clicked his tongue dismissively and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on my lips. ‘You’re fucking perfect, Robyn.’ He rubbed his nose against the tip of mine, just like my mum used to do when I was younger, and I felt my heart melt.
‘So … where is he now?’ I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer. If Dominic was still free to return to Club Twist, then there was no way I would ever be able to step foot inside that place again.
‘In police custody in a secure hospital,’ Oliver murmured.
‘Hospital?’ I mumbled, confused. I’d seen Oliver get in a few hits on him, but it hadn’t seemed enough for hospital.
‘A secure mental facility. We suspect he’s had a breakdown of some sort, so he’s being checked over by a team of physiatrists.’
Wow. That would explain his bizarre behaviour. He had definitely seemed very detached from reality. ‘Will … will he be let out?’ I stammered, my heart rate rocketing.
‘No, cariño, no. I spoke to my solicitor last night, and he got some advice from his friend who is a prosecution lawyer. For what he did to you – kidnapping with intent, and deliberate bodily harm – he’ll be looking at ten years to life in a secure mental facility.
‘You’re safe, Robyn. You’ll never see him again. Trust me.’ I did trust Oliver. I trusted him with my life. That knowledge, plus the determination I could see on his face, helped me relax back into his embrace, but as I did, Oliver frowned, his eyes zeroing in on my neck. With the upmost care, he traced his thumb around the skin there.
‘I didn’t see this mark yesterday. It must have been hidden by your hair. Did he … did he try and strangle you?’ The barely concealed outrage in his voice showed me just how close Oliver was to losing control and I tried to work out what mark he was referring to.
‘No. It’s from the collar you gave me. Dominic ripped it off, and the leather cut into my skin a bit as he did.’ Considering all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, it was the last thing I should be thinking about, but I felt really sad at the loss of the small pendant.
With a growl, Oliver leaned to the side and picked up a tube of antiseptic cream from the bedside table. He squeezed a small amount onto the tip of his finger and wordlessly began to smooth it around the wound at my neck. ‘It’s OK, cariño. You don’t have to wear one again.’
Sitting up, I frowned. ‘What? Why?’
Oliver screwed the lid back on the cream and examined me intently. ‘If it triggers bad memories for you, then you don’t have to wear one again.’
My head began to shake of its own accord. ‘No! It triggers good memories for me … You gave it to me, and you said it was special. That you’d never given one before …’
‘All of which is true,’ Oliver said quietly with a nod of his head.
‘I loved it,’ I admitted sadly, raising my hand and feeling the empty space where the leather had been.
‘In which case, we shall replace it as soon as you are feeling better.’ He placed a kiss on my temple and pulled me close again.
A noise at the door disturbed our quiet time, and a second later, Sasha’s head popped in.
Letting out a curse, Oliver dragged a sheet up to cover
my body, and once I was swathed to his satisfaction I threw Sasha a chastising look. ‘You seriously need to learn to knock,’
‘Oops. Sorry.’ She didn’t look repentant at all. ‘I heard voices, so I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.’
Allowing my head to flop back onto Oliver’s chest, I gave a small shrug. ‘Not bad, all things considered.’
‘Thank God. I was so bloody worried.’ She took a step closer and winced as she looked at the bruising on my wrists. ‘Do you need anything?’
‘Coffee would be amazing.’ It was the first thing that popped into my head.
At my words, Sasha grinned and nodded. ‘You must be feeling OK, then. You always have been a coffee monster. I’ll bring some in.’ With that, Sasha left us alone again and closed the door behind her.
‘She’ll be in here every five minutes. You should have taken me back to your place so we could have had some peace. Which I’ve still not seen, by the way,’ I added teasingly, hoping to try to lighten Oliver’s mood and distract him from worrying about me.
It wasn’t entirely successful, because Oliver rolled his eyes. ‘This again,’ he mumbled. ‘I didn’t take you back to my place because we’ve not been together that long, and seeing as yesterday must have been really traumatic for you I thought you would feel safer on familiar territory.’
Oh. When he put it like that, it was actually rather sweet of him.
‘You can see my place once you’re healed.’ With that, he pulled me into his chest and effectively ended the conversation by kissing me until I relaxed into his arms and forgot about everything except the man wrapped around me.
Chapter Forty-two
Oliver
‘How’s Robyn getting on now?’ Marcus asked carefully, as he unzipped his squash racquet and rolled his shoulders in warm-up. He was right to be careful, too, because in the week since Dominic had abducted her I had been so overly protective that even my closest friends had commented that being around me was like treading on broken glass.
