by Marie James
I hear Dixie barking which is unusual. She knows the best way to get my attention is to lick my face but for some reason, she’s not in the bed with me. Her barking sounds far away, and I know by the sound of her little yip that she’s somehow gotten herself shut inside the bathroom again.
I crack one eye open and wince as my head begins throbbing even more so than before. My apartment is not what comes into view as my eyes regain focus. I’m in some sort of dark, damp room. I look up, and my arms are tied over my head; I’m strung up suspended from the ceiling. My heart begins to pound erratically, and that causes the pain in my head to increase dramatically.
My eyes cut over and follow the sound of Dixie’s continual barking. She’s in a tiny little black cage on the damp floor in a far corner of the room. A muffled scream draws my attention to the other side of the room, and when my eyes meet the sound, my blood runs cold.
A naked man with a ball gag in his mouth stares at me with sunken eyes, begging me to help him as another man in blood stained sweat pants strikes him over and over with some type of whip. He’s covered in so many whelps, abrasions, and gaping wounds I have no clue how he’s alive much less cognizant enough to plead with me for help with his eyes.
He’s spread out on some sort of contraption that makes him look like he’s a forever extended jumping jack. His wrist and arms are strapped holding him hostage against the wooden rig and his legs at the thighs as well as his ankles are also strapped, holding him in place. He’s overly thin, and I can tell he’s been here a while. He’s filthy, dirt from the room mixing with the blood seeping from his body.
The other man places the whip on a table and picks up a long, sharp knife. I scream behind the gag I just realized I’m wearing when he takes a step closer to the man and drags the sharp blade against the inner arm of the already bleeding man. Responding to the noise I’ve stupidly made the man turns his head toward me.
When the knife-wielding man turns to me, it’s nothing that I expected. He looks at me with calm eyes, not the eyes of a man who has been torturing another human for what looks like days if not weeks. I squint my eyes and realize instantly that he looks familiar. Not like a man I’ve ever seen before but more like…
“Leia! Your pet is awake,” he says and turns back to the man, running the knife over the side of the man’s neck.
I watch in horror as he glides the knife down the man’s neck; the spurt from the artery nick gushes out in spurts.
“Fuck!” He yells. “I cut too goddamned deep.”
He takes a step back and grabs a towel to wipe his hands on as I watch the life drain out of a man I’ve never laid eyes on until a few minutes ago, knowing instinctively that I’m next.
Chapter 22
Leia
All of my dreams and wildest fantasies are coming true. The love of my life just moved in and things couldn’t be better. I’m on cloud freaking nine.
I was upstairs watching the video feed of us strapping Matt up when Luke called up to let me know he was awake. I switched over to the live feed and watched him and Luke on a split screen. Luke’s making an absolute freaking mess with his pet’s arterial spray. I won’t clean it up this time and he better not even ask.
Matt isn’t freaking out as much as any other person would watching a man die and I wonder if it is because of the Navy and he’s been in combat situations before. Exposure to death tends to harden people against it, causing reactions to be different from the average person. It also helps them to endure more pain which I’m looking forward to experiencing with him.
I close the laptop, my need to touch and see him with my own eyes growing too strong to resist any longer. I grab him a bottle of water out of the fridge because I know he’s going to be thirsty and hungry. He’ll have to wait for food because the tranquilizer we hit him with will make him sick if he eats too soon after waking up.
I can’t wipe the smile off of my face when I see him. Shirtless, just how I like him. I kept his pants on because I don’t want Luke getting any ideas. He was quite impressed with my choice and I saw how he unabashedly raked his eyes up and down his body. I told him under no certain circumstances that Matt was off-limits and for my hands only. He agreed but I know he gets antsy, and I need to keep an eye on him.
I cut my eyes to Luke, who has lost complete interest in Larry now that his life force is pooling all over the floor.
“I’m not cleaning that up,” I say as I point to the mess. I shake my head in disdain as I see the wide blood splatters on the wall. “You could, at least, keep that shit contained to a smaller area.”
He shrugs and walks over to the small sink on the far wall and washes his hands. “I didn’t mean to do it, Leia. I was far from being done playing with him.”
I laugh. “And you say I have impulse control issues.”
I turn my attention back to Matt, who is watching us with wide, frightened eyes. He begins to grow restless and fights against his restraints as I take a few steps closer to him. His reaction is normal for someone just waking up from the concoction of drugs we shot him up with; paranoia, memory loss, etc. Luke said we had to give him a larger dose because of his incredible muscle density. I got nervous for a while because his breathing became erratic and he stayed out much longer than the guys Luke brings home.
“Hey, baby.” I reach up to stroke his cheek with my hand, but he jerks his face from my touch. I close my eyes and take a calming breath and try again. He reacts the exact same way. Before I know it, my hand has reared back, and I strike his cheek as hard as I can.
His eyes go even wider as if he’s shocked I would ever lay a hand on him. I’m reveling in the fact that I can still do things to shock my love when his eyes narrow and he looks at me like he’d kill me if he ever had the chance.
“That look right there is why you’re still tied up.” I tap my finger on the end of his nose. “And you’ll stay tied up until I know you’ll be able to control that temper of yours.”
He begins to try to speak against his gag, but it only comes across as muffled, unintelligible words. “You want me to take the gag off, Matt?” I reach up and tug it down.
“It’s Matthew!” He’s still agitated no doubt from the drugs still in his system.
I hear Luke chuckle from the other side of the room. “You have your hands full with that firecracker.” He throws the paper towel he dried his hands off with in the trash and makes his way closer to us.
The churning in my stomach in regards to my brother returns as I watch him walk around Matt in a large circle. Luke’s eyes roam over his body in pure appreciation.
“He’s mine,” I reiterate to him.
“You never did know how to share, Leia.” Luke licks his lips and keeps his eyes on him. “I let you play with my pets, sister.”
“Toys are different Luke. I wouldn’t touch the love of your life if you asked me not to. I demand the same fucking respect!” My voice grows louder with each word and by the time I’m done speaking my voice is at its highest, the sound echoing off of the walls around us.
Luke takes a step back with his hands raised in surrender. Matt’s eyes have never left my brother, and I cut my eyes back to Luke just in time to see him wink at Matt before turning around and leaving us alone in the basement.
“Finally alone, lover. What am I going to do with you?” The question is rhetorical because I know exactly what my plans for him include.
“Why are you doing this to me?” His voice wavers and I can tell he’s doing his best to keep his cool. I appreciate the effort he’s making in this stressful situation, and I feel the need to reward him.
“I love you, Matt.” I hear him growl deep in his throat at the nickname. He’ll just have to get used to it. “I was tired of seeing you waste your energy on all of those women online. You weren’t coming around fast enough for my taste, so I had to take our relationship to the next level before you were a hundred percent on board. I’m not going to apologize for that.”
Matt cl
oses his eyes briefly and tries to tug again on the ropes and chains that have him hanging from the exposed beam in the ceiling.
“The quicker you accept our family, the faster you will be allowed certain privileges.” I reach my hand out and brush it tenderly over the front of his jeans.
“Don’t,” he says gruffly and tries to jerk his hips away from my touch; he can’t move far, and I just close the distance he’s created between us.
“It’s been weeks since we’ve made love, Matt.” I lean in closer to his ear in case Luke is lurking and listening. Some things should be kept private. “I can’t wait to feel you inside of me again.”
“You’re fucking crazy,” he spits out, but he can’t deny his body’s need for me. He’s beginning to thicken against my hand on his cock.
“And I’m all yours,” I tell him as I take the syringe I prepped earlier from the small table beside him.
He begins to struggle in earnest as I bring the syringe into his field of vision.
“Calm down, baby. I’m going to make you feel so good. Don’t worry. I know you’re tired, so I’ll do all the work.” I smile when I see the needle disappear into his skin, and I press the plunger sending the GHB into his blood stream.
Chapter 23
Matthew
My mind is foggy as shit but, at least, I’m beginning to wake up from that psychotic dream I was having. Seems that Leia chick has gotten to my subconscious more than I even realized.
It’s pretty bad when you blackout so bad you have no idea what you did the night before. One thing I can tell happened and that’s sex. My balls feel empty and sated, which normally would be the best feeling in the world but today it borders more on trepidation than anything else.
“You’re amazing,” I hear a female whisper in my ear; a voice I never thought I’d hear again on the other side of my nightmares.
I force my eyes to open even though the action makes my head throb. The sight causes the memories to hit me like a ton of fucking bricks. The basement. The restraints. The murder of a man I’d never laid eyes on before. Leia.
I look down at my sweaty chest and can see she’s straddling my naked body. I do my best to flip her off of me, and that’s when I realize that I’m strapped down to a table. Leather straps keep my legs immobile and spread. A thick strap around my waist keeps my hips from moving, allowing her to stay on top of me. I’d once thought her naked body was one of the most magnificent things I’d ever seen; now the sight of her makes my stomach turn.
The restraints continue up my body with a strap across my chest and two smaller ones holding my forearms down. Knowing I can’t move does nothing to keep me from trying.
Leia sits up straighter on my thighs and peers down at me like she’s confused about my reaction to waking up tied down with her on me naked. I look down lower. Not just naked. “What the fuck did you do?” My voice is rough and threatening, as threatening as possible considering my incapacitated state.
“We made love, Matt. Not like it was the first time. Quit being such a girl.” I stare down between her legs and the truth in her words; the evidence of my own orgasm is pooled at the base of my limp dick.
“Why the fuck would you do something like that?” I continue to fight against the straps holding me down.
She giggles maniacally and winks at me as she begins to climb off of me. “I had to. I’m ovulating.”
She’s fucking crazy. If there was any doubt in my mind that she wasn’t that just flew out the window.
My silence encourages her to keep talking. “I figured now was a good a time as any to start our family. We’re both in our late twenties; we need to get started right away. I’m thinking,” she taps her finger against her lips in contemplation, “Three maybe four kids? What do you think?”
It hits me that the only way to even begin to get out of this shit alive rather than end up dead like the guy across the room is to play along. I hope she’s just as crazy as I think she is, and she believes me when I speak. “I love kids.”
Her small grin grows until it is covering her face. Perfect.
“Do twins run in your family?” She looks hopeful, and I do my best to skill my face into something that I hope resembles affection. I need her to believe the line of bullshit I’m going to feed her. “Multiples would be great. Our family would be complete faster.”
“I’m an only child,” I admit, and her face falls like I just told her to go fuck herself. “But that just means we get to practice more.” I do my best to wink at her but realize my eye is swollen.
I keep my eyes on her as she turns her back to me and all of the air leaves my lungs in one long whoosh. The center of her back is covered in an exact replica of the tattoo on my back. The only difference is the “PROPERTY OF” looped over the top and “MATTHEW HOSEA” curled at the bottom.
“What the fuck?” slips out of my mouth before I can control it.
She looks back at me over her shoulder. “Do you like it?” Her eyes are beaming with pride and I come to the realization that I may never get out of this basement alive. I’ll never see my parents again; I’ll never complete life goals I’ve been working so hard to accomplish. I can’t stop the single tear as it rolls down the side of my face. Leia and her brother are complete nut jobs.
She turns and walks toward me, reaching her hand out she wipes the tear away. “I knew you’d love it.”
I clear my throat roughly and shake my head back and forth. “It’s beautiful,” I lie as convincingly as I possibly can.
“I didn’t have all of the right tools, but I gave you one as well.” She points to my rib cage and then runs a fingernail across it.
I gasp when I raise my head slightly to look at the area she’s pointing at. How did I miss that? She didn’t have the right tools means she used a knife or a scalpel to carve her name into my ribs. The wound is fresh but clean. I have no idea how I didn’t feel the pain from it, but now that she’s pointed it out I can feel the low throb from the wounds traced on my skin. ‘Leia’ is carved on me with a rough unskilled hand. If I ever get out of here alive, I’m having that shit surgically removed.
“I…” I clear my throat choking back the rage that’s coursing through my veins right now. “I love it, baby.” The words taste like poison in my mouth, vile and bitter, but fucking say them anyways.
I attempt to move my arms again. “Can I hold you?” If I can get her to take the arm straps off I know I can get the others off and possibly get out of here. I have no clue where that other psycho fucker is, but I’m certain I can take him.
She narrows her eyes at me and her lips tilt up in a wicked sneer. “YOU think I’m that fucking stupid, Matt?” She screams.
Not what I’d hoped she’d say. I notice her walk over to a small table and grab something. I can’t tell what she has in her hand until she steps back into my line of sight. My eyes go wide as I see another syringe in her hands.
The bitch slowly makes her way back to my side, and no amount of jerking and fighting loosens my restraints as she leans in and I feel the pinch of the needle penetrate my skin. Here we go again was my last thought.
Chapter 24
Leia
“I’m telling you, Luke. This was the best idea ever!”
I got dressed and was able to get Matt’s boxers back up his legs before my brother made it back down to check on me. I appreciate the attentiveness, but he needs to back off. Another reason I’m grateful for the winch system he installed last week. I knew I’d never be able to move this beefy man around on my own and the less time spent with Luke’s hands on him, the better.
The snide comments and lude look he gives him whenever he’s down here are scraping on my last damn nerve. I have a mind to lock his ass out of the basement, but I know deep down that is no way to treat family. He needs to back off a bit and let me spend time with my man. He’s had God knows how many pets down here over the last month, and it seems he’s most fascinated with mine.
I slip the hook into
the ring on the leather cuffs around Matt’s wrists. These are the most comfortable ones I could find that serves my purposes. Only the best for my love.
Once he’s hoisted enough that his arms are straight overhead, I release the final couple of straps that are holding him to the table. His body moves easily enough as I raise him enough to clear the table and situate him back to the center of the room. I love the sight of his body, muscles popping out everywhere as his wrists hold the full weight of his body.
“I’ve never seen such a perfect man,” Luke says practically reading my mind.
“He’s pretty spectacular,” I agree.
“How long before the new wears off and I get the chance to play with him?” He has the balls to ask.
I hiss at him reflexively. “He’s mine for the duration, Luke. I don’t want you to touch him. I thought I made myself clear.”
“I heard you the first time, Leia, but I also know you have a short attention span and get bored easily.”
Historically this is the truth, but Matt is different. Matt is my game changer.
“He’s not a toy, Luke. I plan to spend the rest of my life with him. He’s off limits.” I growl the last words slowly, so he understands me.
“Oh, Leia.” He looks at me with sad eyes. “Have you stopped taking your medicine again?”
“That has nothing to do with how I feel for him! You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never been in love.” I’m seething.
“Love?” He laughs, and I almost attack him then. “You want to talk to me about not knowing what love is?” He takes a slow step toward me, and I know I may have taken things too far. My brother can get crazy sometimes. He doesn’t lose his cool often but when he does it’s best to stay out of his way.
“I didn’t mean that, Luke.” He stops, but his face doesn’t calm completely.
“You know I’ve been in love. You know more than anyone that I know exactly what love is. You may have forgotten about Timothy, but I’ll never forget him.”
