Hope Restrained

by M. S. Willis

  She rolled her eyes. “Strip me naked and fuck me or shut up. I’m already tired of your threats.”

  He stood up slowly, his eyes searching her face for any sign of fear … there was nothing. He marveled at her ability to remain so calm and uncaring about what he’d been doing to her. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was confused by her lack of concern. “Eager, aren’t you?”

  “Remove my chains and I’ll show you just how eager I am.” Shaking them above her head, she added, “But I can’t do much without my hands.”

  He laughed. “How many times has that worked? Obviously, you’re alive and were previously free to run about … how many times have you fucked your way out of a tight situation?”

  Her eyes blinked slowly, the deep mahogany of her lashes contrasting sharply with the gold tint of her eyes — but she didn’t respond.

  “Interesting.” Xander realized they both were playing games. Obviously rape wasn’t a threat, but pain — nobody was willing to endure that for very long.

  With her foot still trapped beneath his and her other leg held against her body, he reached down to grab the lower shackles. Securing one around the ankle of her raised leg, he pulled the chain, tightening it so that, he could secure the other. Once accomplished, he stepped back to look at her body, now completely immobilized by the chains.

  “Have you figured out what this room is yet? Really, it’s absolute genius on the part of the person who designed it.”

  He watched as her eyesight traveled over the walls — her eyes narrowing to find the system of pulleys and bars.

  “You do realize, I can have you in every position I want without having to release your binds, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. I have no need to risk setting you free.” Walking back to the table he grabbed a pair of sharp medical scissors from the kit Maddy had left behind. He stalked back to her, raising up the scissors and receiving no reaction from her at all. He touched the cold, sharp tip to her skin, dragging it across her, splitting the skin, a faint pink line welting up and drops of blood welled from where he’d allow the metal to travel. He expected her to scream, to grimace, or to reveal some fucking sign that he’d found her weakness. What he didn’t expect was for her eyes to roll back and for her body to shudder under his touch.

  The gold of her eyes shone out at him when she finally lifted her lids. “Pain won’t work for you either, I’m afraid. What else you got?” He watched as those words rolled out from between her full lips; her tongue flicking out to run the crease of her mouth, her pupils dilating in response to the pain.

  “Fuck. You are exquisite.” He couldn’t help his growled outburst. Her reaction was, quite possibly, the most erotic thing he’d witnessed.

  He stepped back, completely knocked off balance by the seeping desire within his mind and body. She was his enemy, a woman who’d attempted to kill the only people he cared about — but, she was unlike any woman he’d ever come across. His curiosity was peaked and his pants tightened despite his hatred towards her.

  Suddenly torn between needing information and wanting to sink his cock deep inside her, he stood motionless except for the movement of his eyes across her body. “I’m not sure whether I should fuck you or kill you. Either way, I believe you would enjoy it.”

  “The second part, maybe.” Her eyes narrowed, her voice was breathless. “But I don’t enjoy being fucked by a man so pathetic he needs a woman to be tied up to do so.”

  He smiled, a dimple popping out on his chin from the motion. “Oh, I do appreciate my women bound, but that’s only if they request it.”

  She rolled her eyes again and allowed her head to fall back against the wall behind her. Her chest pushed out from the position and his eyes caressed the places where he wanted his hands to travel. Shaking himself of his lust, he asked, “I know who you are now, but what I can’t understand is why, after so many years of avoiding The Estate, why, now, do you not only attack, but come onto the compound to do so. The only reason I can imagine is that you were hired. Tell me who sent you, and I’ll end this quickly.”

  “Beg. Maybe if I see you on your knees, I’ll feel a little more giving.” Her words were becoming more strained and he noticed the erratic movement of her chest with her labored breath. He surmised that it was the position in which she was held. He knew that given enough time with their arms held above their head, a person would begin to struggle to inflate their lungs and drag in the air that they needed.

  He walked over to the levers and lowered the position of the chains so that her arms were held out to her sides instead of above her head — still tight enough to restrain movement, but not as tortuous as the previous position. Looking down, he noticed the puddle of blood that pooled beneath her, the smooth surface disturbed each time a crimson drop fell. Her shoulder had started bleeding again from the movement of her arm. Between the loss of blood, lack of water and difficulty to breathe, it was obvious she was fighting to remain conscious.

  “We’ll need to fix your shoulder.” He spoke slowly, noticing that she only appeared to partially understand what he was saying, her head rolled slightly atop her shoulders and he grew concerned. “I’ll return shortly.”

  Quickly exiting the room, he traveled the corridors in search of Maddy and Aaron. Finding them in their quarters, he looked between the concerned look on Maddy’s face and Aaron’s typical blank expression.

  His words were urgent. “We won’t get very far with her if we don’t do something about her shoulder. She’s bleeding badly.”

  “Again?” Maddy’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

  Aaron immediately looked down at her, rage brushing across the green of his eyes. “You were in there? What were you thinking?!”

  She spoke quietly when she confessed, “I know. Xander explained her profession to me, but she was chained. There was no way she could have hurt me.”

  Looking up at Xander, Aaron’s expression became murderous. Stalking forward he stopped just inches from where Xander stood. Xander rolled his shoulders back, not allowing Aaron to intimidate him. Aaron’s words were spoken slowly, menacingly when he asked, “What the fuck do I care about her injury? I’m sure it won’t be a problem once she’s ash! What does bother me, however, is that you allowed Maddy anywhere near her!”

  Breathing out an annoyed sigh, Xander responded, “I went to see if I could find any information on her from the files kept in Joseph’s office. Maddy snuck in when I wasn’t in the room.” He glared at Aaron until finally, Aaron backed down. “I found her name and some information regarding her origins and network, but not much. She’s definitely the woman about which you’d heard rumors. However, until now, she’d been careful to keep her distance. I want to know why, now, she decides to attack. We need her to tell us her purpose for being here. She may have been hired and now that she’s been caught, I’m certain there will be more sent.”

  Aaron stepped back. “Who would be so stupid or mad to attack us at our own compound?”

  “You said it earlier, Aaron. We would be the first targets of any potential attacks. Lately, none of us have left the compound. Where else would they have the chance?”

  When it didn’t appear that his argument had helped to sway his friend, Xander continued to press on. “I need more time with her. She’s not as easily broken as most. She’s all but demanded that I rape her and pain only serves to turn her on.”

  A brow arched over the green of Aaron’s eye and he smirked. “That would make your job more difficult, I imagine.”

  Xander’s resultant laughter was a short burst. “Yeah, she reminds me of the bastard I grew up with, maybe you know him.”

  “Shit.” Aaron cursed under his breath and walked to the bar. Grabbing the crystal decanter, he poured himself a glass of scotch, choking it down quickly before pouring another. Maddy sat quietly on the couch, her attention on the two men. When she finally spoke, they turned their faces toward her.

  “It would take threatening a person she lov
ed. But, even then, she might be able to ignore something as loathsome as that if it serves her purpose.” Looking directly at Aaron, she commented, “You were able to watch your father almost rape me, you were able to whip me to the point where my skin split open and you were able to kill indiscriminately in front of me … may have killed me, if it was ordered. If she’s as determined in her task as you were in yours, I’m not sure that there is anything that will force her to talk.”

  Aaron visibly flinched from the reminder of Maddy’s presentations. “But I acted eventually, the alliance wasn’t even fully prepared …”

  “Only when the thing you were losing became more valuable than the task you were hoping to accomplish,” she interrupted.

  “I’m not following you, Maddy.” Aaron walked towards her, Xander following closely behind.

  “She’s like you, Aaron. I picked up on it almost immediately when I walked into that room. I know the look of fear, of pain and suffering; she had none. There was no emotion in her at all. You were like that once as well, but as soon as I brought out even a small amount of emotion in you, I became more important than your desire to destroy Joseph.”

  Xander’s jaw dropped when he realized what Maddy was saying. “You want me to seduce her to get the information? She just tried to kill the man you love and you’re suggesting that I should bring her some fucking roses? That’s insane, Cricket.”

  Her head swiveled in his direction. “Is it? How well has threatening her worked out for you? Some people are more willing to talk if you give them something they like rather than fighting against them.” She nodded her head to indicate in Aaron’s direction and winked. Aaron scowled behind her.

  Xander grinned. It always amused him when the lion bared her claws; so much strength for such a tiny person. Returning his attention to Aaron, he continued, “Regardless of the methods I employ, my point is that I need more time if you want information from her. However, if you want her death to be immediate, I’ll return now and take care of the problem.”

  “Take more time, Xander. I trust that you know what you’re doing.” Aaron’s words were exasperated.

  Xander nodded. “Then I’ll need some assistance in repairing the damage to her shoulder.”

  “Call Adair. His unit should have more than enough drugs to knock her out. I’ll assist you so that you can retrieve the bullet and sew up the wound.”

  Pulling his phone from his pocket, Xander responded, “I’ll make the call.”

  Chapter Seven

  Her head felt fuzzy and she noticed when she woke up that she was no longer vertical. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she attempted to bring the room into focus. Her brain was wrapped in confusion and her movements were lethargic and uncoordinated. Her heartbeat pounded in her head, slow and labored, punctuating the white noise in her ears. She tried to lift her head, but it was too heavy and she knew immediately that she’d been drugged.

  “Fuck.” It was all she could mutter. Her throat was dry and her voice barely escaped as a whisper. The exposed skin of her back was cold from where she was laid on the floor and her hands were locked into a shackled belt around her hips. Struggling to see, she blinked again and again, but she couldn’t bring the room into focus.

  “Good morning, Sunshine. I was wondering when you would finally wake up.” His words echoed as if he were standing in a tunnel.

  She let out an annoyed sigh.

  “Are you thirsty?”

  She nodded her head slowly, too disoriented to communicate and too thirsty to refuse. She heard his steps as he approached her and felt his hand come under her head, softly helping her into a seated position. The rim of a glass met her mouth and ice-cold water rushed down her heated tongue and throat. She choked trying to drink it too quickly. He pulled the glass away.

  “Let’s try that again when you’ve woken up a little more.” Grabbing her sides, he turned her and positioned her so that she could lean up against the wall. A shot of pain raced down her arm when she put too much weight on her shoulder.

  “We removed the bullet and stitched up your wound. You were losing consciousness from the blood loss.”

  “Should … have let me die. Would have saved us both … a headache later on.”

  Admiring her tenacity, he chuckled in response to her broken words. “It’s a good sign that your sparkling personality has returned. Means we can get back to business sooner rather than later.”

  Her head still pounded with each beat of her heart and her muscles tightened when she felt him sit against the wall next to her. “I hope you don’t mind, but you’re not talking very loudly and it’s easier to understand you from down here.” The side of his body brushed up against her. She pulled at the shackles on the belt and groaned when she realized they wouldn’t budge.

  “We need to give your shoulder time to heal, but can’t leave you free to roam about either. Luckily, we have all sorts of useful toys with which we can keep you restrained.” His words dripped with humor, but Hope wasn’t amused.

  Allowing her head to fall back against the wall, the sharp crack of pain against her skull helped dull the irritation she had with Xander’s company.

  “Do you want to try and drink something again?”

  She nodded. She fucking despised him, but she couldn’t allow herself to weaken any further. She didn’t have to be in perfect condition to escape, but she couldn’t allow herself to become crippled either.

  He brought the glass to her lips, placing his hand at the back of her head to steady it on her shoulders. When she’d finished the glass he took it away.

  After sitting quietly on the floor for several moments, she could blink open her eyes. Her vision was still hazy, but she saw that sunlight now flooded the room from the glass ceiling. Her heart sank to see it — to know that her sister had spent another night with those men. The only thing Hope could do was pray that Honor was still alive.

  She didn’t want to acknowledge him, but she needed to know how long it had been since her capture. “What time is it?”

  “One in the afternoon. You’ve slept a long time since we performed the surgery. I was starting to worry we gone overboard with the drugs.”

  It grew quiet again, the silence settling between them; nothing more than the sounds of their breathing could be heard and Hope struggled to regain complete consciousness. The glass clinked against the stone when Xander grabbed it and moved to stand up.

  “Give me some information, Hope. Let me make this easier on you.” She heard the sound of the glass being placed on the table. “I can’t express just how pathetic a woman like you looks bound and on the floor. Well — pathetic for an assassin, not as pathetic for a woman. That image is actually quite endearing.”

  “Fuck you.” She forced the words out. Whatever they’d given her must have been strong because the residual effects were almost crippling.

  He was beside her suddenly, his hand rubbing along her cheek and jawline until his thumb rested against her parted lips. He brought his mouth down so that it brushed against her ear. His voice was a breathy whisper when he admitted, “Have it your way; but you should know, I’m not exactly opposed to the idea of fucking you any longer.”

  She didn’t react because, inside, Hope was already crushed. The frustration of restraint started to affect her while images of her sister chained and sitting at that bastard’s feet replayed in her head. Fury settled along her spine, her heart rate picking up, her muscles tensing and flexing — her mind regaining clarity and shedding the fog of whatever they’d forced inside her body. She considered telling him, but knew he’d kill her and would end up killing her sister as well when attacking the people who’d turned against him in that house. Tears burned at the back of her eyes to realize that even if she could escape, and even if Honor were still alive, she’d have to kill every single person in that fucking house to save her, or to avenge her. Given the number of men she’d seen, the odds were next to impossible. She realized that her situation was futile — that deat
h would best be served quickly.

  She looked up, Xander’s outline finely becoming more sharp, his features becoming clear. “Just fucking do whatever is you’re going to do and get it over with. If you think I give a fuck about whoever is out to kill Aaron and his little slut …”

  His hand was around her neck in a second, his forehead pressed against hers and the blue of his eyes glaring down at her. “I’d rethink what you were about to say if I were you.”

  Her angered boiled in her veins, the control she always had slowly slipping with how helpless she’d become. Bound, injured and drugged — a combination that rendered defeat. She had nothing to lose.

  “I’ll make a deal with you.” Opening her eyes more, she saw his brow furrow in interest and felt his hand loosen around her neck so that she could speak easier. “I’m not going to willingly tell you what I know. I realize that by doing so, I’m signing my own death warrant. You don’t want to kill me without getting the information you need and your normal forms of torture won’t work on me –at least the ones you are willing to do.” She could tell already that he wasn’t as ruthless as the other men she’d known — the men who’d trained her and broken her before any other man had the chance.

  Xander pulled away, his eyes still trained on her face.

  “Unchain me and fight me for it. You win — I tell you what you want to know before you kill me. I win — I kill you.”

  The corner of his lip twitching made it obvious that he was attempting to hold back a grin. “In your condition?”

  Hope smiled. “It’ll make it an even fight. If I was at full strength, you’d be dead before you could fight back.”

  His finger came up to run along her jaw and she jerked her head away from his touch. “By my recollection, I’ve already defeated you at full strength; considering you are in chains and I am not.”

  Rolling her eyes, she argued, “That was four against one.” She glared up at him, anger snaking through her veins. “And as I recall, I had a gun pressed up against your skull. If it wasn’t for your friends, you’d no longer have a head.”