Stalker

by Clarissa Wild

  She swallows again, her cheeks stained red from embarrassment and desire.

  I grab her chin and make her purse her lips. She looks so goddamn pretty, even when royally fucked. Then I get up, grab my jeans, put them on, and walk toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” she asks.

  “Not your concern.”

  “Are you just going to leave me here, naked?”

  I turn around and cock my head. “What else did you have in mind?”

  She laughs, but it’s more of a shocked laugh than a joyful one. “Well, how about letting me shower or something?”

  “Or something …” I nod. “Tell you what. You can shower … if you can ask for it.”

  “What?” she makes a face.

  “Beg.”

  She frowns, her titties swaying back and forth, as she leans as far as she can with that leash, trying to look up at me.

  It takes her a while to part her lips. “Please … can I shower?”

  The way she says ‘please’ makes goosebumps scatter all over my skin. Riveting.

  “I didn’t quite hear that right,” I say, tilting my head.

  She rolls her eyes. “Please, can I take a shower now?”

  “Hmm …” I walk toward her, bending over so I can lift her chin. It makes her gasp for air with the belt holding her back. “Say that again,” I whisper, holding my ear close to her mouth.

  “Please …” she gurgles.

  “You want to shower?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. “And what makes you think I’ll let you?”

  She coughs, clearly struggling. “Because … you’re kind.”

  “Me? Kind?” I repeat.

  She nods, still shaken, but I can tell that she’s faking it.

  This isn’t about showering.

  This isn’t about me being nice.

  This is about her trying to manipulate me into doing what she wants. Even now, after fucking her senseless, she’s still trying to put on a show.

  I frown, staring into her eyes. A burning feeling boils deep inside me, my black soul fueling the fire. “I’ll make you wish you hadn’t said that.”

  Within minutes, I have the cage cracked open, her leash undone, and I pull her limp, naked body out the cage. Hauling her by the belt, I growl, “You’re coming with me.”

  CHAPTER 17

  VANESSA

  He drags me across the attic by the belt, stopping halfway to grab something from his bag.

  “Now you’ve gone and done it, Princess,” he growls.

  “Stop!” I gurgle, pulling on the belt around my neck. It fastens around my skin, choking me to the point of being unable to speak. He hauls me so roughly that I’m afraid I might lose consciousness if I don’t get this off soon, so I claw at the leather until my nails start to bleed.

  “Fighting will only make it hurt more,” he says, opening the door.

  Right before we reach the stairs, he picks me up from the floor and throws me over his shoulder. I use the opportunity to slam my fists into his back.

  “Put me down!” I yell, punching him as hard as I can.

  “Not a chance in hell, sweet cheeks,” he says, taking me down one flight of stairs.

  That’s when I hear the screeches coming from a closet in the hallway.

  “Paige?” I scream.

  She squeals, but something is preventing her from speaking. Something muffles her voice. He must’ve stuffed something in her mouth.

  “Shut up,” Phoenix growls.

  “Paige! You stuffed her in a fucking closet?” I yell.

  “Well, where else would I put her?” he says with a laugh that sounds as if it’s strange that I would be asking the question in the first place.

  When we reach the bathroom, he puts me down inside the bathtub and turns on the shower.

  Ice cold.

  I scream from the icy pain cascading down on my sore muscles and burning skin. My ass hurts the most, the red marks he left lighting up like a painting made of blood.

  “No!” I attempt to fight him off, trying to jump out of the tub, but he holds me down.

  He grabs my wrists and pins them to my back, causing intense pain and almost dislocating my shoulder. Then he dangles a set of cuffs in front of me. “See this? It’s a neat little thing I picked up in prison. I’ve worn them plenty of times. Now it’s your turn, Princess.”

  He puts one on me before I get a chance to jerk my hands free. The other is chained to a bar between the faucet and the wall. Now I’m trapped with no way out, doused in cold water until my skin erupts in goosebumps, and my body starts to tremble ferociously.

  “Turn it off!” I say. “It’s fucking cold!”

  “You wanted to shower. Now you have it,” he muses, poking at my skin.

  The heat regulator is just out of my reach, even though I try to reach as far as I can. I get up and move into the corner as far away from the jet. This makes him lash out and tug on my hardened nipples, causing me to squeal.

  “Either stay in the cold or I’ll keep tugging and pulling, sweet cheeks. I might even pull out my knife if you don’t do what I say.”

  “No,” I say as I suppress the tears.

  “Then move under,” he growls, suddenly looking less amused.

  I do what he wants, slowly stepping under the cold shower, desperate to feel a little warmth. I’ve been naked for quite some time now, and to feel icy-cold water now is even more painful on my already cold skin. I can’t keep myself warm, and I can feel the cold seeping into my bones.

  “Like your shower?” he asks, smiling like a motherfucker.

  I want to punch him in the face, but I can’t reach that far with just one free hand.

  “I take it back,” I say, my lips trembling. “You’re not kind.”

  There’s a self-righteous smirk on his face. “Good.”

  “You know what else is true?” I say.

  “What?”

  “That I thought you could, for once in your life, do the right thing.”

  He squints, his lip twitching, and then out of nowhere, he turns the water from icy cold to scalding hot. I scream as the water burns on my skin, my senses completely jumbled from the temperature change. I’ve no idea what’s hot and what’s cold, as the two both hurt immensely.

  “Please, stop!” I say.

  “Do you think I’m kind now?” he growls.

  “No!”

  “I’m. Not. Kind.” He leans in so close that he’s almost under the water himself. “And don’t for a second think that you can make me believe that I am.”

  I whimper, my hands holding my chest in an effort to protect myself.

  He turns the water back around, and the ice returns to my bones. I’m shivering, and my skin burns from the alternating extreme temperatures he’s forcing me to endure.

  “Now, be a good girl and stay put,” he says, turning around.

  “Wait? You’re not going to leave me here, are you?”

  Glancing over his shoulder, he says, “What if I am? What are you going to do about it? Scream?” The devious smile on his face tells me that he’ll only enjoy it more if I make a sound.

  Suddenly, a phone goes off. He’s momentarily taken off guard, and I seize the opportunity to move away from the shower stream as far as possible. It’s not enough to avoid the cold completely, but at least it’s better than nothing. Phoenix isn’t looking as he picks up his phone.

  “Who’s this?” he asks.

  I find it incredibly odd that he wouldn’t know who’s calling him. After all, this must be a new phone, so he remains under the radar. How would they know his number if he doesn’t know them?

  “Hold on.” He puts his finger on the mic and glances back at me. “Don’t you make a sound because you know what’ll happen if you do. I’ll be back … soon.”

  And then he leaves the room with that same wretched smile on his face.

  ***

  PHOENIX

  I close the door behind me and focus my attention on the call.r />
  “Back,” I say.

  “What’s going on?” the man on the other end of the line says. It’s Antonio, one of the organization’s contacts for the jobs. I guess he has a job for me, which comes at a really inconvenient time.

  “Oh, nothing, just some personal business,” I say.

  I can hear Vanessa screaming in the background, as well as Paige, so I guess Antonio can hear them, too.

  “Sounds like murder business,” he muses, chuckling a little.

  “You could say that again.” I clear my throat. I have to cut this conversation off because I’m not going to discuss my personal vendettas with him. “What’s up?”

  “Yeah, I got this job for you that I really need you to fulfill,” he says. “I already sent you the details.”

  “Well, I’m sure you could tell that I’m very busy right now.”

  “Yeah, but see, that’s the problem. You should not be busy right now.”

  “That’s not your call, dude,” I say, tapping my foot on the floor.

  “Except it is. Or did you forget who got you out of jail?”

  My lip starts to twitch and I have the urge to punch holes into the wall in front of me. “As I recall, I was the one who dug out the hole, not any of you shitheads.”

  “Keep talking like that, Nix, and you might end up as the next hit.”

  “Be my fucking guest,” I say. “I know you won’t fucking do it because you don’t have the fucking balls. You know as well as I do that you need me.” I’m breathing like a fucking bull now; that’s how angry I am. “And in case you forgot, I was the one who looked after DeLuca. Not you. Me.”

  “The boss paid the guards to get you the freedom you needed to dig that hole in the first place. You owe us.”

  “You weren’t the one standing in the shitty rain digging up some shitty earth, you hear me?” I yell into the phone.

  “Calm your fucking tits, dude. I’m only relaying a message.”

  “Well, tell your boss that I don’t owe you anything,” I spit.

  “All right. We’ll get someone else to do the job. But I’m warning you, Nix. You’re not going to like it when the boss finds out you’re being stubborn.”

  “I don’t give two shits. He wouldn’t fucking hurt me. DeLuca won’t let him,” I say.

  “I don’t know, Nix. The boss never listens to anyone but himself.”

  “I don’t care. I have other things on my mind right now that are far more important than some job.”

  “You don’t want the money?” he asks. “You just got out of jail, Nix. You need something.”

  I sigh. “Like I said … I don’t need anyone or anything right now. I just wanna be left alone.”

  “So, you don’t want to work for us anymore? Because you know what happens if you don’t …”

  “I said not now! I didn’t say never,” I say.

  “Then when will you be able to resume work?”

  “Soon,” I say. “I’ll contact you.”

  “Fine. But I gotta warn you, Nix, the boss isn’t going to like this.”

  “Too bad. And don’t call this number again until I call you first. It’s way too risky.”

  I turn off the phone and tuck it back into my pocket, taking a deep breath. That goddamn phone … I knew I should’ve gotten a brand new one. They sent this old one to me after I got out of jail. It was DeLuca who picked up the goods in a PO box. No wonder. Son of a bitch.

  Well, no matter. They know what I’m doing now. I know Antonio could hear the screams, so the organization should know I shouldn’t be disturbed right now. Which means I’ll have plenty of time to toy with my princess.

  But first … I need to go pick up something special. Something that will make this playtime even better.

  ***

  VANESSA

  Thirty minutes later

  The pain is unbearable, and the fact that I don’t know how long it’ll last only makes it harder. I scream because my body commands me too, not because I believe it’ll end my suffering any sooner. Pain shoots through my veins when I think of why I’m here. This is my own doing. My punishment for trying to persuade him to give me what I want.

  It’s how I’ve always been, how my mother made me. Someone who manipulates others into doing what they want. But Phoenix doesn’t fall for it … he never did. He always sees through the lies, which makes it all the more bittersweet.

  He knows me too well.

  This pain is my own fault.

  I thought I could beat him at his own game.

  My lifestyle comes with a price, and I’m paying for it in full now.

  If only I had made a different choice.

  ***

  Age 17

  Phillip and I walk hand in hand as he shows me around his house. It’s huge, and I can’t believe I might live here one day. His parents say he’ll earn it once he’s head of the business his father owns. They don’t like maintaining the mansion, so to them this is the perfect solution. To me it’s like a dream come true.

  “This is the foyer,” Philip says, as I walk through.

  “Wow … it’s amazing,” I say.

  Everything I touch feels velvety, and everything within eyesight looks expensive. From the corner of my eye, I spot Arthur reading a book while sitting in a chair, observing us closely. Well, mostly me. His constant glare makes me blush, so I turn my head away and look at Phillip.

  “Why’s your brother looking at me like that?” I whisper.

  He leans in. “Well, he’s kind of jealous that I have you.”

  The smile on Phillip’s face makes me turn even redder. “Why? I mean, he looks like the kind of guy who could get any girl he wants.”

  “Hmm … if you say so,” Phillip muses. “My brother just likes things he can’t have.”

  “Like me?” I ask.

  “Anything I have. You. The company. My life.” Phillip smiles at his brother, which makes him lower his eyes and dive back into his book. “Arthur’s always been hunting after whatever my parents give me.”

  “Okay … no wonder.”

  “But he’s not going to get it.”

  I swallow. “What do you mean?”

  Phillip narrows his eyes. “My father’s business is mine. I will take over as CEO after I graduate school, learn to direct a movie, and make my family proud. I’m everything they want in a son. Arthur … well, let’s just say that he always comes second.”

  “Of course, he’d be jealous,” I say. “You have everything he wants. What anyone would want.”

  “Exactly, which is why I intend to keep him as far away as possible.” The darkness in his voice gives me the creeps. Something tells me that they don’t really get along. There’s a lot of rivalry going on, I can tell. And yet, I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to Arthur than what Phillip tells me. There is always more to a story than just one side.

  Phillip places his hand in the small of my back and directs me away from the foyer before I get the chance to ask more questions. He escorts me to the kitchen where his mother is pouring drinks for the guests outside. They’re hosting a party for a lot of people, to which my family was also invited. My parents thought it was a perfect way for Phillip and me to connect a little.

  “Oh, Vanessa,” his mother says when she turns her head. “I didn’t see you there.”

  “Sorry, ma’am,” I say. “Phillip was just showing me around your beautiful home.”

  “Thank you, dear. You look lovely in that dress,” she says.

  She fishes in her pocket and takes out some sort of small vial, opens the cap, and pours the contents into one of the drinks.

  “What is that?” I mumble to Phillip.

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” he says.

  A smile appears on his mother’s face as she picks up the tray and walks over to us.

  “My dear, would you be so kind as to hand these out to the guests outside?”

  “Of course,” I say.

  “Sorry to ask; it’
s just that we’re so busy here.”

  “No, it’s fine,” I say, as I take the tray.

  “Oh, and can you make sure that this glass is served to the lady in the bourgeois dress, the one with the fur collar.” She points at the specific glass that had the extra contents poured in.

  I nod, frowning, confused as to what the idea is.

  “Let’s go,” Phillip says, guiding me outside again. “We don’t want to keep our guests waiting.”

  Before I know it, I’m outside on the porch, walking toward the table where the woman in the bourgeois dress is sitting. The closer I get, the more I seem to recognize her. She reminds me of one of those women my father had a debate with on national television, where they both strive for the same position. Only when I’m next to her do I realize that it is really her.

  The woman looks up at me. My lips part, but the air seems to be stuck in my throat. I turn my head to glance at Phillip, who’s standing near the door with his hands in his pockets, watching me intently. From the look in his eyes, I can tell that he’s challenging me … telling me to make a decision.

  This is it. This is what it’s coming down to. The evil that surrounds me has forced me into a position where I must choose between right and wrong.

  My mother once warned me about this. She told me there would always come a moment when I had to make a choice. One or the other, the choice is easily made, but the consequences are unbearable. Family and fortune or loneliness and poverty. If I don’t do this, I’ll lose my family, my current life, and they’ll probably kill Miles. If I do it, it means I get to keep everything but lose my innocence. My virtue.

  What follows is inevitable.

  Someone will die. Miles or this woman. Me or my family. What do I choose?

  One life for the other.

  When I turn back to face the woman, she says, “Finally, our drinks have arrived.”