by Jasmin Quinn
Michael walked to where Nika had been standing, and picked his coat up off the floor, inspecting it for blood, dusting it off with his hand and shaking the wrinkles from it. “I have some things I need to do. Take the rental back, make some phone calls,” he said as he pulled it on.
Finn glanced at Michael in consternation as he carried the bottle of water from the kitchen. “You’re going to leave me alone with this guy?”
Michael nodded, “Yes. You have a gun. If he does anything you don’t like, shoot him.” Then he left, closing the door behind him.
Stuart stood up, took the bottle from Finn and unscrewed the cap. “Mr. Jackman wouldn’t like it very much if you shot me. Good doctors are hard to find.”
Finn sighed as he walked around the coffee table and sat down on the couch next to Nika. “I’m not going to shoot you. Just fix her up fast and get out.”
Stuart put the water to Nika’s lips. She took a few sips, then moved her lips away. “I can’t right now,” she said in a small quaking voice.
“Okay.” The doctor looked at Finn as he placed the bottle on the coffee table. “I’m going to have to take off her shirt. I need to see the extent of the damage.”
Finn worked his jaw, trying to force the beast back. He didn’t want the doctor to touch her let alone see her naked. He got up and stalked into the main bedroom, emerging with a bathrobe. “Get out of the way,” he growled at Stuart.
Stuart picked up his tumbler of scotch and soda and quickly retreated. “I’ll get some hot water. We need to wash the cuts before we tend them.” Finn watched as the doctor hastily retreated into a bathroom. Stuart certainly had a good sense of self-preservation, Finn thought sarcastically as he turned to Nika.
“Can you stand?” he asked her, his tone softening as spoke to her.
She nodded and threw him a pasty smile. But the colour was returning to her face and her eyes were clearing.
She used the arm of the couch to help her as Finn guided her to her feet. He stared into her beautiful gold-flecked eyes. She gazed back at him and smiled a little broader, like the happy little Nika he loved. “Are you going to undress me, Finn?”
“Behave Nika.” But his heart was pounding in his chest as he unbuttoned his ruined shirt and slid it carefully over her shoulders and down her arms. What a horny sonofabitch bastard he was! He threw the shirt to the floor and slid her leggings and underwear to her bare feet, helping her as she stepped out of them. He inspected her for injuries – bruises on her face, her shoulders, her wrists, her ankles and almost everywhere else. Her right arm had been sliced three or four times, he couldn’t tell for sure because of the caking blood, her neck shallowly sliced by the scalpel. Her fingernails were broken, the palms of hands and her knees were scraped and her bare feet raw. What they’d done to her was horrifying – he didn’t know whether to cry or rage.
“Were you raped?” he asked feather soft, trying to draw on his cop’s training, trying to remember the questions to ask a victim, trying to swallow his anger and be gentle.
He saw the fear in her eyes, but she shook her head.
“Nika, I need to know.”
She shook her head again. “No Finn,” she whispered, “I wasn’t.” He could see her trying to blink away her distress, trying to slip on an impassive mask. But she’d been through too much. She wasn’t successful. Finn decided to let it go for the moment. Right now, she needed tenderness. Right now, he needed to be softer. He picked up the bathrobe and drew her uninjured arm into a sleeve, wrapping the robe around her shoulders, covering her chest and cinching it around her waist. Then he guided her back down to the sofa.
“Stuart, where the fuck are you?”
Stuart stepped out of the guest bathroom with a bowl of steaming water. “I was finishing my drink and waiting for you to hurry the fuck up.” He crossed the floor self-righteously, placing the bowl on the table, and pulling the chair back up in front of Nika. “So where—”
“Mostly bruises,” Finn interrupted. “Except for her right arm and her neck, obviously, knees and hands scraped like she was dragged around. Feet are a little raw.”
“Were you punched, sweetheart?” Stuart asked Nika.
“No,” Nika replied. Her strength was returning to her voice. “I was tied up and beaten on the face and dragged around. But other than this arm.” She raised it up slightly, then let it drop. “They didn’t do any permanent damage.” Her voice trailed off to a whisper as she glanced up almost furtively at Finn then dropped her eyes to her hands.
Stuart pulled on surgical gloves, then cleaned Nika’s arm with soap and water. He dabbed disinfectant on the cuts while he probed them. Nika sucked in her breath, but other than that, didn’t move or speak. “Three of the four need stitching. The neck’s okay, should heal without scarring.” Stuart looked from Nika to Finn. “This one’s shallow.” He pointed to a cut at the top of her arm, from her shoulder to halfway down her upper arm. “I bet it was the first one.”
Nika nodded. “It was.”
“Then when that didn’t convince you to talk, they did another one, and another, and another.” He pointed at each one as he talked. “How long do you think you would’ve held out?”
“Long enough.” Nika’s eyes flashed fire. The doctor was irritating her. “Could we get this finished, please. I want to wash the stink of them off me.”
Stuart grinned at Nika’s spirit. Finn frowned at Stuart’s interest. “Of course, I apologize.” He sprayed a numbing agent on her cuts, waited a minute, then probed the first cut he sprayed. “Does it hurt when I touch you?”
“No.” She glanced up at Finn, who gave her a half smile.
The doctor sutured each of the cuts, quick and sure. When he was done, he dabbed a little more antiseptic on them and then wrapped the arm in gauze, using surgical tape to hold it place. He rifled through his bag, pulling out several items. He patted Nika on her knee as he stood up and started handing things off to Finn. “Antiseptic. Dab some on when you change the dressing. Antibiotics to help with any infection that might have already set in – two pills every four hours for a week.” He handed Finn two more bottles. “Sleeping pills, six of them. Two for you, four for Nika. It’s a long flight to the Jackman compound – you may as well arrive rested. Only take one at time. Throw out what you don’t need. And the other bottle is pain killers – there are six. One every four hours unless the pain gets bad. After you get to the compound, she should be checked out by Jackman’s doctor.”
Finn took the bottles as Stuart reached back into his case. “Nika, you can’t get that arm wet for two weeks.” He held up a long plastic glove with a tie at the opening. “This is waterproof and covers you to the shoulder. I recommend you bathe, not shower.”
“I don’t bathe.”
“Make an exception,” Stuart said bluntly.
“No,” Nika was just as blunt. Stuart sighed in exasperation. He turned to Finn and handed him both the glove and a small kit of gauze and surgical tape. “If the dressing gets dirty or wet, change it.” He closed his case and picked it up. “It’s been a pleasure.” He strode to the door and pulled it open.
“Hey Stuart,” Finn called after him.
“What?” Stuart pursed his mouth in annoyance as he looked back at Finn.
“Thanks,” Finn said, then turned back to Nika as the doctor closed the door behind him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Nika’s watchful eyes followed Finn as he took all her medical supplies into one of the bedrooms. When he re-entered the room, he gathered up her clothes, putting them in a plastic garbage bag. He smiled at her as he did this. “We’re going to have to go shopping again.”
Nika couldn’t suppress the tremor that ran through her. “I’d like to shower, please Finn.”
Finn stared at her thoughtfully and she shrank a little under his gaze. He seemed to know that something had happened to her, something she wasn’t yet able share. He thought she was raped, and maybe she was in a way. Finn wasn’t pressing
her though, didn’t ask the doctor to do a rape kit. But then what would’ve been the point of that? They were in no position to press charges against Savisin. She didn’t think Finn would allow that anyway. He was so afraid for her – he didn’t want any man touching her. She could see him debating, trying to find the right words.
Finally, he dropped to his knees in front of her, took her hands in his, stroking them gently. “Nika, if you were raped, you would tell me, wouldn’t you?”
“I would, Finn,” Nika whispered.
“Because it’s not something you have to go through alone. I’m here for you, I’d help you through it.” She saw the clench of his jaw, his fury simmering just below the surface. But she understood his anger now. It was directed toward whoever dared to harm her. He would always keep her safe. She could see the promise in his eyes.
“I wasn’t, Finn. It’s just that I have never met someone before that has made me so afraid.”
“Savisin.” Finn kept his voice neutral.
Nika shivered again. “It’s like he crushed my soul.”
Finn brought his hand up to her cheek, stroking it gently. “That’ll fade with time, Nika. It’s something I know.” He pulled her gently up off the couch and walked her into the master ensuite. Nika let herself be led, watched as he turned on the shower and waited for it to warm. Then he kicked off his shoes and undressed. As Nika dropped the bath robe off her shoulders, Finn stood at attention in more ways than one. She smiled as she met his gaze.
“I should put on that sleeve.”
“I almost forgot,” Finn said as he left for a moment then returned the sleeve. He grinned at her. “I was distracted.” Nika stood still as he gently inched the sleeve up her arm to her shoulder watching her face to make sure he wasn’t causing her pain. Her heart raced when he brushed her breast with his arm as he tied it in place with the string.
“Me too, Finn.” She grinned at him, feeling safe and hopeful for just a moment.
He opened the shower door and she stepped in and under the steam of water. She stood still for a moment, raising her face up so that water flowed past her neck, over her breasts and down the front of her. It was exactly what she needed. Not food, not drink, but the warm, steamy water washing the horror of the last 24 hours away. And Finn, beside her, steadying her as she stood, putting shampoo in her hair and massaging her scalp while he lathered her hair.
“Head under the water, Nika,” he said as he turned her with his hand. He drew her hair through his fingers as he rinsed it out, then added conditioner, massaged it in and rinsed again.
“It smells like wintergreen,” Nika murmured.
“So does the soap.” Finn’s voice was husky as he started to soap her, starting on her neck and working his way down, lathering her shoulders, then sliding the bar down her spine, to her bottom, rubbing each buttock gently, moving to the back of her thighs, then down to her toes. She closed her eyes and savoured the soapy caresses on her feet as he lifted one then the other, washing between the toes, lathering the soles, massaging them gently. He was being so tender, so careful. And instead of the darkness that had been hovering in her periphery, a deep yearning hunger assaulted her senses.
As he turned her towards him, she said, “Finn, I want you.”
Finn inhaled sharply and looked at her with eyes full of longing. “You can’t have me, Nika.”
“What? Why not?” Surprise creased her face.
“Because you’re hurt. And I don’t want to add to the damage.” He was soaping her breasts now, washing under them, drawing the soap across her aching nipples.
“Shouldn’t I decide?” She closed her eyes as a moan escaped her lips.
“No. I’m afraid my lust will take over and I’ll forget to be gentle.” He dropped his hand to her belly and rubbed the soap across it, inching dangerously close to the core of her desire.
“What if we have a safe word?”
Finn’s glanced at her in surprise. “What do you know about safe words, Nika?” he growled.
“Like stop.”
“That won’t work, I’ll think you mean ‘don’t stop’.” He drew the soap between her thighs, rubbing the edges of her labia before he drew it across her clitoris. He touched a finger to it, then took the washcloth and guided that over as well.
Nika groaned and clutched at his arms. “Don’t stop, Finn,” she whispered. “Please, don’t stop.” Finn slid his hand between her thighs, drawing his fingers back and forth over her clitoris. His dark brown eyes were open, searching her face, staring into her eyes, watching her pleasure. He drew a finger very gently into her opening. She was slick with need and she bucked against him. A fissure of pain bolted through her and she jolted. Finn withdrew, and she cried out again. “Don’t Finn, don’t stop.” He brought his hand down again, to her vagina, and stroked her clitoris with his fingers, carefully, gently, and then harder and faster, watching her as he forced her orgasm from her, made her soar and then free-fall into his arms. He held her to him, his arm circling her waist, keeping her on her feet and riding her bliss with her. Then stroking her gently, slowly, as the aftershocks ebbed away. He kissed her very gently on her bruised lips, the kind of kiss that was not really a kiss, then he stepped back from her. “You’re done, Nika. Get out of the shower.”
“But Finn!” Nika said, breathless and still a little shaky. “What about you?”
Finn pointed to the shower door. “Out Nika, go dry off so I can get cleaned up too.”
“I could soap you.” She raised her rubber encased arm, the fingers of the glove flopping around, too big to stay tight to her hand. She giggled as she saw it. Finn laughed.
“You’re not touching me with that. Get out.”
Nika pouted but stepped out. She pulled off the sleeve and rubbed herself dry with a soft towel, feeling the pull of pain in her arm, ignoring it as she wrapped the bathrobe around her. She sat down in a soft chair next to the vanity and watched as Finn shampooed his hair and soaped his body. He still had his erection and she wondered if he would masturbate. The thought stole through her body, stoking her fire, and making her shiver in anticipation. But he didn’t give himself release and as he stepped out of the shower, she looked at his large hard penis, openly admiring it. Finn ignored her as he draped a second hotel bathrobe around himself.
He headed out of the bathroom, kissing her very lightly on the lips as he passed. “Come sit with me, Nika,” he said softly, as he dropped down on the edge of the king-sized bed and patted the voluminous white comforter. She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, ignoring the pain in her arm, and brought her lips to his mouth running her tongue across his lips. His hands clutched at her waist holding her steady as he crushed his lips to her, forgetting her split lip, kissing her hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth, tasting her, dancing with her.
As Nika came up for air, she said, “After the kiss in the bathroom, I was worried you forgot how to kiss, Finn.”
Finn brought his hand up to her hair, running his fingers though the wet strands. “And have I, Nika?”
Nika grinned. “No, Finn. Definitely you have not.”
Finn picked her up and gently deposited her on to the bed, on her back. He leaned down, propping himself up on in his elbow. “I think you’re trying to seduce me, Nika.”
“Is it working, Finn?” She traced a finger down his cheek.
Finn sighed and dropped down beside her on his back. He took her hand in his, stroking it, running his fingers over its contours, memorizing it. “We should get some food for you, Nika.”
Nika stared up at the ceiling, savouring the strong, reassuring grip of Finn’s hand. “Finn, I need you right now. Not food. I need you inside me, I need to feel like we’re a part of each other. I need you to erase the darkness that keeps pulling at me.”
“Nika,” Finn groaned as he let go of Nika’s hand, moving to his side and pulling Nika’s face to his, touching her lips softly with his mouth.
“You’ll be gentle,
Finn. Because you have to.” She opened his bathrobe and ran her hand across his hard chest and down to his penis. Wrapping her fingers around it, she stroked it gently, exploring him. “Please Finn.” She drew him to her and he opened her bathrobe, grazing her nipples with his hands, touching each breast feather soft. Nika moaned as he caressed her, running his hands to her belly, her waist, her thighs.
She let him explore her body, trying to find patience through her desire. He seemed to need to know her, memorize her, own her with his hands. Then he brought his eyes back to her face as he carefully moved over her, parting her thighs with his legs and then settling between them, guiding his penis into her, filling her. She brought her legs up, wrapping herself around him, drawing him deeper. His thrusting was gentle. His pace even. His breathing rapid. Tears slid from her eyes, wetting her cheeks. Finn saw them and stilled, looking into her eyes, trying to find the source of her pain. “Don’t stop, Finn,” she whispered.
He reached down with his mouth and kissed her tears, licking them from her cheeks, finding her lips, crushing them to his, seeking her out with his tongue. Then he started moving again, and she met his thrusts with her own, her need for him overwhelming, her desire uncontrollable. As he thrust faster, her breathing deepened, and she cried out reaching her peak then crashing over the edge, her body curving into his as each wave of ecstasy flowed through her. As her vagina contracted around Finn’s penis, he came in a shudder, spurting his jets of semen into her. And she forgot everything then. For just that moment, finding her peace.
✽✽✽
Nika laid in the bed, in Finn’s arms, the blankets tucked around them. A range of emotions swirled through her – terror, anger, grief, shame, relief, gratitude, love, and hope. She didn’t know which one to grab onto. The fear wasn’t going to go away quickly. She had been crushed by Rusya Savisin. In his office as he loomed over her, his threats, his anger, his coldness. She knew her terror of him would stay chained to her until she saw him dead. And she feared for Finn’s life. He and Michael had worked together to rescue her, then Michael drew his gun on Finn. Now they were going to Mr. Jackman’s compound together, but that didn’t make Finn safe.
