by Evi Asher
Except for the mist.
Every few hours, a mist-like-smell would fill the room and make him feel lethargic and weak. They were drugging him, but he hadn’t known for what until she had come.
Colt felt his body tense as he remembered her visits. He would hear her footsteps and the door would be unlocked and opened. He could never make out her scent. She seemed to blend in with the air in the room.
She would come in and close the door behind her.
Then, his horror would start.
The mist would come into the room again with a slightly different smell, and to his shame, his body would respond.
He refused to think any more about it. He couldn't bring his mind to remember what she had done to him. All he knew was that he had been violated and someone would pay.
His only consolation was that she could never bring him to come. He was grateful his body didn’t betray him to that extent, but she didn’t seem to care if he came or not. All she wanted was her own climax, so she’d finish, and get off, leaving him naked and sickened, shaking with impotent fury.
She’d come over and grip his chin, forcing water down his throat, throw a sheet over his nakedness, then leave the room until the next time. She’d never give him anything to eat—an added cruelty—but he was an Eternal, a little hunger wouldn’t hurt him.
His plans for her were far worse. Murder was too kind for her. Slow torture was what his torturer deserved, and he was going to give it to her.
He knew that because he was becoming immune to the mist. When it was quiet, he’d work at his bonds and this time he was able to break free of the one on his right wrist.
He’d pulled the blindfold off to look around.
He was in a small room—a cell. Bare, stone walls, and floors. The only furniture in the room was the bed that bound him. His clothes were in a heap in the corner of the room, and it was tempting to break loose and dress again, but he could give her no warning of his plans.
No, he would give himself one small thing. He got his other hand free of the restraint and sat up. He looked down at his body and clenched his teeth with the fresh remembrance of what she’d done.
Colt squinted and reached down to his thigh. He pinched his thumb and forefinger and picked up the strand of long dark hair that lay on his skin.
A brunette. What an irony. He usually preferred women with dark hair, but he’d never want one again.
Colt climbed off the bed, moved to the corner and pulled on only his pants, leaving the rest of his clothes on a pile in the corner. He didn’t want the woman to suspect he’d escaped his bonds. He turned back to get up and pretend he was tied down again.
He stopped, his eyes focused on the bed and his body clenched. He felt like he was about to go into a state of panic.
Lift your skirts, Colt.
He got onto the bed again and forced himself to reach forward and tie the ankle restraints so that they looked secure. He threw the sheet over his hips and legs adjusting it so it hid his pants.
Colt needed her to be unaware of his escape. He wanted her in the room with her guard down before he attacked.
He couldn’t risk her knowing what was coming. She might be like the two women that had darted him and brought him here. She might be able to burst into flames.
There were no windows, and he didn’t know where he was, but he knew he was going to get out. When she came back in here, he was going to overpower her and make her release him.
He wouldn’t be leaving alone. He was going to take her with him. She would pay for the way she’d used him. By the time he was done with her, she would wish she’d never set eyes on him.
Colt promised himself this revenge as he worked the rest of his restraints, making them appear as if they were still secure. He put the blindfold back in place and settled down to wait.
It was only a matter of time before she came back for more. This time, she’d get much more than she’d come for.
Chapter Two
The sound of approaching footfalls had Angelica up and tucking her eating knife into the sleeve of her robes.
She knew it had to be Malta coming to take Angelica to meet the male she would to breed with, even though she knew no breeding would happen. Her heart pounded.
No—call it what it is—they expect me to rape him.
There was no way Angelica would do that or allow it done to her.
She had grown up knowing it would be her duty to be with a male that she didn’t know to create the next generation of phoenix, but the male hadn’t grown up with that knowledge, and she wouldn’t be that person. She couldn’t.
The door opened and Malta stood on the other side, a hand on her hip as if she felt above the chore of speaking to Angelica.
“Are you ready?” Malta held up a hand. “No, wait, I do not care if you are ready. It is time to go.” She turned her back on Angelica as if she expected the young phoenix to follow her without question.
“There are rules you must follow, on this, your first visit to the sire of your child.” Malta looked back, her long dark hair swinging with the motion.
Angelica nodded and continued to follow Malta down the passageway.
“You may not touch him. You are only there to get used to his size.”
Angelica frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Malta sighed, but explained. “We have learned that most young phoenix, when confronted with the largeness of a male’s body, panic.” Malta rolled her eyes as if the situation was beyond understanding.
“So, we take the girls in before they are fertile, to spend some time looking at the male and getting used to the fact that males are large creatures.
Angelica wouldn’t have a problem with that. She, Ath, Kell, and Danni had often used the viewing portals to watch people and Eternals on Earth so, she was aware of how tall and broad males could be. She wasn’t going to admit it to Malta, though. The less Malta knew about Angelica, the better.
“Can I talk to him?”
Malta stopped and spun around to face Angelica. “Under no circumstances will you speak to him. Ever!”
Angelica took a step back at the venom in Malta’s tone.
“Men are animals, good for one use only. You will not speak to him and get attached to him. When you are with child, he will be disposed of. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes.” Angelica dropped her chin. Now, was not the time to agitate Malta. Angelica needed to get into the room with the male to enact her plan.
Malta seemed pleased that she had cowed Angelica. “Good.”
She started walking again and turned a corner into another long corridor, with Angelica following close behind.
Malta reached to the tie of her robes and withdrew a ring of ancient looking keys. She selected one, then stopped by the fifth door in the corridor.
“Remember what I’ve told you, Angelica, and you will be alright. Go against what I’ve said, and you will be punished.” Malta spoke in a whisper as if she didn’t want anyone to overhear them.
“I understand.” Angelica tucked her hands behind her back, and curled her palm around the hilt of her eating knife. She pulled down the sleeve of her robe to hide her whole hand. She needed to be sure that the other phoenix did not see the knife.
Malta stared at Angelica for a moment before she took the key and turned towards the door. She turned the key in the key hole, pushed the large panel of wood open, and stepped out the way, waving Angelica into the room.
Angelica walked past Malta.
“You have one hour,” the woman told Angelica, then slammed the door behind her, causing Angelica to spin and look back, her heart pounding in her throat.
Malta’s footsteps faded into the distance before Angelica could bring herself to turn around and look into the room.
Finally, she found her courage.
Somewhere near my toes.
She turned and faced the interior of the room.
A large bed dominated it, and a man dominated th
e bed.
The male restrained on the bed rendered Angelica immobile. He was huge. His frame filled the bed. He had to be about six-feet tall. A thick sheet covered his lower body and the large blindfold wrapped around his eyes, hid his face.
Angelica let her gaze roam his chest. Broad and muscular was an understatement. She could see the cords of muscles on his abdomen and his pectoral muscles bulged even as he lay down. His shoulders were wide with roped muscle leading down his biceps, which were as wide as her thigh.
Her eyes travelled back to his face. His jaw was bearded, but she could see it must be from the time he’d been here. His lower lip was full—kissable—where the hell did that thought come from?
Dark hair curled around his temples over the blindfold and it looked soft. Angelica felt the urge to go to him and touch him, so she fisted her hands at her side so she wouldn’t act on it.
She moved back to the door and laid her ear against the paneled wood. She wanted to be sure that Malta had left.
She tried the knob and found that Malta had locked her in with the male.
“Good,” she whispered aloud.
Her eyes were on the male in the bed, so when he ground his teeth at the sound of her voice, she felt the need to reassure him.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.”
A hard sounding hiss escaped his lips, and Angelica tilted her head. He didn’t believe her?
Don’t be so stupid. Of course he won’t believe you. Malta could have been in here countless times.
The pile of clothes lying in the corner of the room caught her attention and Angelica walked over to them. He’d need them if he was going to make an escape.
She picked up each piece of clothing and folded it, putting it on the edge of the bed as far away from him as she could get. She frowned at the lack of pants.
He moved, just a twitch, and turned his head towards her.
“Look, I’ve come to help you escape. I can’t let them keep you here anymore,” she told him.
* * * *
Ha! What crock of shit was she trying to feed him?
He knew it was her. He’d placed the blindfold on so that he could see out under its edge. She had long dark hair. What was her game plan though? Why was she pretending she wanted to free him?
It didn’t matter. She was in the room and unaware that he wasn’t restrained, and he was going to get out of here soon.
“It won’t be easy, but you’ve got to try and get out of here.”
The woman moved towards his hand, a knife appearing in hers. She was going to try to cut the bonds off.
Why not unlock them? He pushed the question aside. He didn’t have time for riddles.
“I don’t know where you came from, and I can’t open a tear, so you are going to have to live in the forests around the grounds until I can find someone who can open it for you to get through.”
What is she talking about? No, don’t let her distract you.
Colt lunged, ripping the loosely tied restraints from his arms, and ripping off the blindfold. He grabbed the knife in her hand and threw his arm around her waist, pinning her arms, gaining his footing and pulling her back into his chest in the same moment. He put the knife to her throat and held her in a vice like grip.
“Where am I?” He didn’t recognize the sound of his own voice. It was low, gruff and sounded tortured.
“Don’t hurt me,” she pleaded and he tightened his arms around her.
“Answer me, bitch.” Hate boiled from his gut up and he was fighting the urge to plunge the small knife into her jugular.
“Y-you are in th-the Phoenix realm,” she stammered.
Phoenix—yes—that would explain the women who seemed to be on fire, but not burning, though he’d always believed that phoenixes were true myths.
“What did you mean about a tear?”
She was quiet too long, so he pressed the tip of the blade deeper and a crimson drop slid down her neck.
“Stop it!” she hissed. “I’m trying to think how to answer you. I came in here to help you.”
“Bullshit,” he growled in her ear, his breath stirring her hair.
“A tear is what it sounds like… A rip in space-time that allows us to move between planes, but before you make demands…” She wiggled a little to get some space and Colt groaned as his body responded to the press of her curves.
His eyes darted around the room looking for mist. They had to be pumping mist in. He would never get hard for this sadistic bitch without the mist.
“What?” He had to ask when he realized she’d stopped speaking and he had missed the rest of her explanation.
“I can’t make a tear. I can’t send you back where you came from. I’m not strong enough yet. I will only be strong enough after my first…”
Fury boiled through Colt and his grip tightened. It caused her to let out an oomph of expelled air.
“You will open a tear! You will do it now and take me back to Alaska or I’ll…” He was at a loss for a moment on what to threaten her with, but then she squirmed to get air, and his hard cock gave him the answer.
“Or I will do to you what you did to me. I will take you repeatedly and I won’t be gentle, and when I’m done, you will wish you were dead. An eye for an eye.”
Even in Colt’s ears, his voice oozed evil and the sound surprised him. It wasn’t like him to be vindictive, but the thought of throwing this woman down and plunging into her warmth…
It was more exciting than he liked, and he felt sick that he wanted her.
He realized, that it was some screwed up version of Stockholm syndrome where he’d start to identify and care about his captor. He wasn’t going to let her get into his head. Fuck that idea.
The woman had started trembling in his arms.
“Open the tear,” he ordered.
“I can’t.”
He could hear sobbing in her voice.
“Open the fucking tear, bitch!” He lowered his face and licked up the column of her neck to reinforce his threat, but the action backfired when his cock twitched.
Damn, she tastes like sugar.
How the hell could he want the woman who had raped him repeatedly?
“Okay. Okay.” She was weeping. “I’ll try, just don’t—”
“Do it or I’ll deliver on my threat.”
Colt felt her body vibrate with tension. “What’s your name?”
“Angelica,” she squeezed out as the air in front of them started to waver like a mirage.
She was no angel, he could attest to that, but…
“I’ll call you Geli, because you taste sweet, like Jellybeans.”
Taking her name from her was one of the punishments he planned. She had no idea what he had in store for her.
Colt felt Angelica—no—Geli, sag as the tear opened, and he let her sit on the floor. “Keep that tear open, Geli. I need to put some clothes on. It’s cold where we are going.”
“What?” She sat in a crumpled heap, tilting her face to him, panic etched on her features. He pulled on the rest of his clothes as fast as he could.
“No, I can’t go with you. Go, you are free. I won’t tell them where you went. Hurry and leave. I can’t keep the tear open.”
Then, she muttered something, and only his superior hearing helped him hear what she’d said. “I can’t believe I opened it to start with.”
Colt laughed and it sounded cruel in his ears. “No, Geli, you have a debt to pay.” He reached down and hooked his hand around her upper arm, dragging her to her feet.
“Let’s move.” Another order as he pulled her towards the mirage-like tear. He could see the white snow on the other side and he was determined to get through as fast as possible.
Angelica pulled, trying to tug her arm free. “Please, leave me here. I don’t want to go to the snow. I don’t want to go with you.”
Tears streamed down her face and Colt had to harden himself to them.
A woman’s tears had always m
ade him cave like a sinkhole. He forced himself to remember her sick groaning when she’d ridden him, and that killed any inclination to leave her behind. He yanked at her arm, it felt like it was about to pull from the socket. She winced, but didn’t make a sound.
“Get moving, Geli or I’ll…” He didn’t finish what he was saying, but stepped forward instead. Bending down, he hoisted her over his shoulder in a firefighter’s lift.
Angelica started kicking and screaming. Colt noticed the tear was starting to lose stability on the edges. He moved with speed no normal male could emulate, throwing himself and Geli through the tear as it closed.
They landed in the snow, Colt flipping them so he took the brunt of the impact. “Are you okay?” he asked before he remembered who he was talking to. “Never mind, I don’t care.” He grunted and stood, leaving Geli sitting wide eyed in the snow looking like she’d never seen the stuff before.
Colt looked around, trying to find a landmark that would give him his bearings. Alaska was a big place. He had to hoped he’d lucked out and she’d landed them near the village.
“W-where are we?” She was shivering so much, she struggled to get the words out.
Colt looked down at Geli still huddled up in a ball on the snow. He sighed and shrugged out of the coat he’d put on in the room. “Stand up. You will freeze to death sitting in the snow like that.” He stepped around Geli and helped her into the coat.
“T-thank you.”
He gritted his teeth. “Don’t thank me for anything, and be glad I don’t take it straight back.”
He watched Geli step back from the snarl in his tone.
Figure out where you are before you kill her here and now, Colt said, giving himself the order and then started walking north. They were in a clearing and he could see a trail between the trees.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Get moving, Geli. I don’t feel like carrying you again.”
She looked around with wide eyes, but she followed him when he started walking again.
She was slow, so getting to the head of the trail he’d spotted took longer than necessary, but when Colt got there and saw the signboard, he let loose a string of curses that made Angelica step back a few steps.
