by J Marie
The house had about a dozen bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, and four offices. I learned that my room was on the east wing of the mansion and Darren’s was on the west wing. He did not show me which room was his, though. I guess I would have to wait to find out. As we walked through the halls, I found it difficult to keep up with where we were. I had a feeling if I hadn't stayed close to Darren, I would have gotten lost. I also noticed how masculine all the furnishings and decor was, as if the entire house was created in Darren's image. I was glad that my room was lacking in that department.
The upstairs also had a built-in movie theater with lots of comfy couches and chairs. I was allowed to watch any movie or TV show I wanted, and if the selections were lacking, I could make requests. There was even a little snack bar for popcorn.
Every now and then, I would see one or two men walking around the house dressed in black fitted military gear. Seeing them made me a little nervous for some reason, but I made sure Darren didn’t catch me staring at them by attempting to look the other way. No need to cause trouble at the moment.
As we went downstairs, I was finally able to take in the large living room with a spectacular view of the ocean from the wall of windows. A massive cobblestone fireplace stood off against the wall with sleek black leather couches, glass coffee tables, a large flat-screen TV, and a white Persian rug completing the scene. The kitchen was a chef’s dream with all stainless steel appliances, dark marble countertops, and dark wood cabinets.
There was a basement down the hall that led off from the living room containing a fully stocked bar and kitchen, pool table, entertainment system, another fireplace, and brown leather couches.
Downstairs also contained a weight room with many punching bags, exercise machines, weights, and plenty of mirrors everywhere. There was even an octagonal fighting cage in the corner of the room along with grappling mats covering a good twenty square feet. Damn. As we entered the gym, we passed several men grappling and lifting weights, but they paid no attention to us and Darren paid no attention to them. I guess this was also where his guards trained when they were off duty. Darren showed me the locker room, showers, and sauna that was all attached. As we left, I noticed another door at the opposite end of the room that he had yet to show me.
“What about that door?” I asked. I assumed it was a closet, but I wanted to be sure of everything in this house.
He sighed heavily at me but gave in to my demand.
“I’m only showing you this to put your curiosity at ease.” He tugged me along to the door and stopped right in front of it. “But know this. If I ever catch you in here or lingering at the door for too long, you will be punished severely, do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said a little confused. Jesus, what the fuck was he keeping in there?
He gave me one last warning look, and I knew he was serious. He opened the door with a fingerprint scanner and led me inside, tightening his grip on my hand. Inside was a very barren room with glossy wooden floors, mats, more mirrored walls, and more hanging punching bags. There were also several variations of Wing Chun dummies and at least five cork dart boards screwed into the walls. But then I noticed what was hanging on the wall closest to me and my jaw nearly hit the floor.
Weapons. Lots of them. Not guns or rifles, no, these were weapons for a martial artist and my mouth dropped in envy at the vast selection he had in his possession. There were several sets of katanas strategically placed on the walls and various bo staffs standing tall in a beautiful wooden rack, some for show and some for actual battle. There were even sais, commas, arnis, nunchakus, shurikens and small throwing knives all hanging from the walls. I could feel my hands twitching to get a hold of one of them. It all looked so beautiful and tempting.
“Wow,” I whispered under my breath, taking a small step forward, true appreciation seeping through. “Now, this is impressive.”
Darren coughed, and I was brought back from my trance. I turned to look at him, realizing he had been studying my reaction the entire time.
“Did you ever train with weapons?” he asked in a very serious tone. I thought about lying, but maybe he would believe a partial truth.
“Only a little.” I shrugged. “I've had some training with the bo, but that’s about it.”
I had a lot more than “some” training. I had been practicing it since I was eleven years old, and it was one of my favorite weapons. I had dominated in competition with it and hoped none of those videos were online. I had also dabbled a little with the sais and the sword, but that really was the extent of my weapons training. The rest of my life got in the way.
Darren nodded at my answer, thankfully seeming satisfied. “This is where I like to train, and you are not ever to disturb me when I am in here. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
I didn't know why he was so nervous about me knowing about this room. Obviously, he did still see me as quite a threat should the right weapon ever come into my hands, but in all honesty, when it came to my escape, I wouldn't be going for a Japanese sword. I’d be going for a goddamn gun.
“But there is one contradiction I can’t help but point out,” I dared.
“And what is that,” he asked narrowing his eyes at me. This was his warning stare; I had that much figured out.
“You do see me as a threat. Otherwise, you wouldn't forbid me from this room.”
I didn’t know why I was provoking him, but if ever there was an opportunity to build myself up, I would take it, even if it meant Darren’s retaliation.
His sigh was heavy and filled with annoyance as he rolled his eyes. He took both of my hands in his and stroked his thumbs over my still bruised knuckles and fingers, examining my freshly manicured nails and lingering on the busted knuckle from punching him in the mouth this morning. I noticed the swelling in his lip had gone down a lot since then.
“These are going to break,” he whispered under his breath.
“Huh?” I replied, confused.
“Okay, Jaden,” he said. “I’m going to indulge the little fantasy you have where you think you can beat me. I’ll warn you right now, you can’t, but I’m fine with letting you try so that you can see for yourself which one of us is the superior fighter. If this is what it will take for you to realize there is no escaping me, then so be it.”
He let go of me and walked to the center of the room, his hands fucking with his phone before taking off his jacket, shirt, and tie and tossing them to the floor by the wall. All he had on now was the black tank top he wore under his clothes and his dress pants and shoes.
“Pick one,” he said, waving his arm to the wall of weapons.
Had I just heard him right? He was really giving me the opportunity to fight him with a weapon? Fuck, this was it. I was finally going to unleash all my skill on this son of a bitch, and I would show him what it meant to be superior.
My confidence shone brighter than the fucking sun as I headed straight for one of the bos and walked into the center of the room. I decided on the weapon I had the most skill with. The thought of beating Darren to death was far too enticing for me to pass up.
The bo I chose was tapered oak and a bit too big for my size, but it was lighter and, therefore, faster. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t hurt Darren as much when I struck him if I had chosen the straight bo, but they were heavier, resulting in slower movements, and I felt I really needed speed for this fight. Typically, I trained with a straight bo staff for strength training, so when I finally switched to a tapered bo, I was lightning fast. Unfortunately, I was also definitely not dressed for battle, but it would have to do. I could adapt.
God, my heart was pumping fast at the thought of finally getting to fight him. Last time had not gone so well, but this time, I would be in much better shape and I had a better weapon. Adrenaline and anxiety raced through my veins and made me feel jumpy. But I was ready. I had so much rage to unleash, and he was going to seriously regret ever taking me from my home and my family.
&
nbsp; Darren smiled and grabbed the straight bo staff, and I suddenly felt my anxiety spike. Great. He then came back to stand about ten feet away from me.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, you know. You can back out now before it’s too late.”
A little giggle escaped my mouth as I rested the bo against my back and pulled my hair into a tight messy bun, never letting my eyes waver from Darren. Once my hair was secure, I took the bo in my hand and spun it around my palm, over my head, behind my back, and up around my neck before letting it twirl back into my hands without missing a beat. I pointed the tip of the bo directly at him.
“I am so gonna fuck you up,” I snarled.
Darren smiled and spun his bo in his hand, flipping it around gracefully over his head and around his body, stopping it the same way I had.
“You had better hope so.”
We then closed the distance between us and I spun my bo over my head gaining momentum and went for a sharp strike at his side. He blocked it easily, deflecting my blow and countering with a strike at my lower body. I dodged and followed through with a pass at his legs, but he blocked that as well.
I could feel each strike and block in my palms as the bos connected, and even though it hurt like hell I was used to it, having trained advanced combat style for many years even though the practice was pretty much dead. I tried to keep my breathing even as I maneuvered around him, the two of us swinging our bos and blocking or dodging each attempted strike. We circled each other now, anticipating the other’s next move.
“Such a little liar,” he tsked.
“Or maybe I'm just a really fast learner,” I countered.
“Not yet," he said. "But you're gonna be.”
He charged at me then, and though I deflected, his force caused me to lose my balance and fall back hard on the floor. He swung his bo down on me, but I brought mine up across my chest and blocked it, kicking his knee. He took the hit, stumbling only slightly and brought his bo back down, going straight for my ribs, but I rolled out of the way and swung my bo at him to gain some distance while I took back my bearings.
“Tired yet?” he mocked.
“I'm just warming up.”
“Good. I would hate for you to disappoint me.”
I swung at him this time with so much speed and determination that I actually gave him a good smack on the back and tried to follow through with another blow to his legs, but he moved out of the way. My strike didn’t appear to have done much, as he just shook it off and came at me again. The strength in his next attack was enough to send me off balance a second time, and I could feel myself getting ready to fall, but as I did, I turned, landing on my hands still gripping the bo. I managed to execute a cartwheel kick, my feet hitting Darren square in the chin and jaw. Absolute perfection.
We bantered back and forth for a few more minutes, but Darren’s strength and ferocity never faltered. I had to admit he was good, but so was I. Sweat was pouring down both of our faces and our breathing had become labored as we refused to give in to each other. Suddenly, I started laughing at the audacity of this situation.
“Something funny?” he asked, amused.
“Oh, it’s just that you talked such a big game back there, yet I’m still standing.” I smiled.
I was provoking him now, testing him, hoping he would make an emotional mistake. I found that happened a lot when it came to the male ego, but he just slowly shook his head at me.
“It really never occurred to you that I was taking it easy on you?”
I stopped and stared at him in total disbelief. He was bluffing. He had to be.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Watch your fucking mouth, Jaden.” He glared at me.
“No, fuck you! I think you’re full of shit. Otherwise, you would have ended this by now.”
“Are we really going to do this again?” he said, rolling his eyes. “Did you learn nothing from the last time you tried to pick a fight with me?”
“I recall that fight being under unreasonable and unfair circumstances,” I replied, glaring at him.
“I never said it was fair. But the circumstances are what they are, so get used to them.”
“The only thing I’ll get used to is ramming this bo down your throat,” I seethed.
“Good luck.” He laughed wholeheartedly.
“You're so fucking full of yourself, ya know that?”
“If you don’t watch your smart mouth, you’re going to be full of me in a second,” he threatened with that menacing glare of his.
“Try it. See what happens to you.”
“Don’t challenge me, Jaden. You’re already going to lose this one. I’d hate to hurt your pride any more than I’m already going to.”
“Like you give a shit about my pride,” I countered.
He laughed at me then. “I suppose that’s true.”
After a moment of silence, I let my words fly. “Just why the fuck am I here, huh? I’m sure you have no problem finding women who are willing to be with you.” I was stalling now, but I was trying to regulate my oxygen level and regain some energy.
“You want to talk about that here? Now?”
“Why the hell not? I’d like to hear it before I end you.”
He laughed hard then, and it was pissing me right the fuck off.
“You know, you’re so adorable.” He chuckled. “Like … a cranky baby tiger, all cute and fierce at the same time … but never a real threat,” he ended darkly.
Now, he was just insulting me. A baby tiger? Really?
“I wouldn’t patronize me if I were you,” I shot back at him.
He was serious now. “You’d better get used to it, little girl. For the rest of your life, that’s all you’re going to know.”
“Don’t count on it,” I dejected.
“You see, this is why I chose you,” he said, casually waving his free hand in my direction. “Yes, you’re right, I can have any woman I want, and believe me, I have had many women, but none of the hours I’ve spent with them can compare to a single moment spent with you. They can never give me what you can, what you will give me. I can’t stand weakness, Jaden, and that's what all those other women have been. Weak. I need someone strong, someone worth the fight, someone I can appreciate and respect. After everything I’ve put you through, you’re still able to persevere, and I love that about you.”
He had to be fucking joking. Yes, I was a strong person and I was very aware of that, but he wasn’t presenting all the facts that were becoming so obvious to me. He might love my strength, but only because it made the satisfaction all the more sweeter when he tore it down and replaced it with fear. Fear of him. I found it very hard to believe I was the only candidate in this entire world to fill that position for him.
“You’re gonna tell me that out of the billions of women on this godforsaken planet, you couldn’t find a single one who was in any way like me?”
“Not a single one,” he said, shaking his head slightly.”
“Maybe you should have stopped shopping down Barbie Boulevard then.”
He chuckled at that one. “Maybe, but then you just happened to fall right into my lap. Search over.”
“I didn’t fall anywhere. I was taken, you asshole!”
“And look how fortunate that turned out to be.”
“God, you are such a self-righteous piece of shit,” I said and started waving my bo back and forth in figure eights on either side of my body. I was ready to finish this.
“You’re gonna regret that,” he said, now moving his bo back and forth over his hand.
I increased the speed of my figure eights, brought the bo up over my head, and swung hard at his neck. He blocked and the energy transfer made my hands throb as they absorbed the shock. Suddenly, his speed increased, and I found myself working harder to block and dodge his attacks. My offense was starting to diminish, as I had no time to counterattack; all I had time for was to block each never-ending blow. Fuck, he really h
ad been holding back.
I pushed my aggression further and tried to throw more strikes at him, but the strength in his deflection was enough to practically consider it a strike. I couldn’t believe the speed he had while wielding a heavy bo. It pissed me off that he was strong enough to manage such speedy techniques. Stupid fucker.
After a few short minutes, I found myself getting tired, and I did everything I could to deflect and stall his attacks, but he was relentless in his assault. Finally, his bo smacked hard against my back, then again on my stomach, and finally at my thighs. I cried out at the contact, the pain radiating through my body, but shook it off as he continued to circle me. He came at me again with such speed, I almost didn’t block the blow that would have landed at my ribs, but then he switched it up and threw a reverse kick into my side, sending me flying to the ground. Before I allowed myself to dwell on the pain, I rolled up from the floor and grabbed at my now pulsing ribcage.
“Give up yet?” he said, striding toward me.”
I was hurting, but I wasn't done fighting. I never would be.
“Stupid question,” I groaned aloud.
“Stupid answer,” he growled.
I dodged another strike, ducking under his latest swing at my head before deflecting again, and it took so much more strength to muster his blows. My energy was depleting, and I hated that he seemed so in control of himself, even though he was sweating and breathing heavy.
“Sorry, love, but I think it’s time to finish this.”
He closed the distance and swung. I redirected, but as I countered and brought the bo down to his head, he grabbed the tip of my bo and held it in place. I instantly pulled, but it remained clutched in his hand while a twisted smile crept across his face. Son of a bitch. I didn't wait another second before kicking him right in the gut, but he pulled my bo down and elbowed me right in the temple.
I stumbled back, and he ripped the bo out of my hands and swung at my legs hard, tripping me and causing me to fall backward onto my back. My head was spinning from the blow, but I rolled over and crawled away from Darren, determined to stand back up. I was exhausted, and it suddenly occurred that he was beating me.
