by M K Farrar
A thin trickle of blood ran from his hairline and down the side of his face. A small thrill went through her at the sight of the blood, which was immediately followed by a wave of nausea. She didn’t want to take any pleasure in this—not at all. This was a necessity, not something she was enjoying doing. But when she thought of all the others he had hurt, it was difficult not to experience that stab of bitterness. Life might not have been perfect before he’d walked into it, but it had been normal—or at least as normal as her life had ever been—and now everything was one big fucking mess.
But no, she was going to put things right again. Maybe not everything would be able to go back to how it had been, but she needed to do what she could.
Stooping down, she snatched up the bottle of water at her feet and unscrewed the lid. Her pulse tripped as she stepped forward, her fingers tight around the plastic bottle, her knuckles white. Even taking the extra step closer to him sent her entire body into overdrive. Every part of her screamed, ‘run, danger’, but she forced her feet to plant on the concrete floor. Forced herself to stay. She wasn’t doing this for herself. She needed to be brave.
With a swing of her hand, she threw some of the contents of the bottle into his face.
The result was instantaneous. The man jolted awake, his head jerking up. He sucked in a long breath through the material of the gag, as though he’d been held underwater and was only now coming up for air.
The bottle of water slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. It fell to the side, the remaining water inside glugging out of the neck and onto the concrete floor.
She wanted to stand tall and be brave, but she found herself scurrying backwards, sick with nerves. She shouldn’t be frightened of him. He was the one tied up and gagged, but she couldn’t help it. Knowing everything he’d done was enough to make her terrified, and she hated that she felt as though she couldn’t trust herself around him. But maybe she was stronger than she’d given herself credit for. Others hadn’t been able to resist him, but she had. Even after everything he’d said, she hadn’t done what he’d wanted. Almost, but not quite.
“I don’t want to have to hurt you, but unless you tell me what you did, you’re not leaving me with any choice.”
He growled behind the gag and shook his head furiously. She didn’t want to meet his eye, worried he’d be able to affect her actions somehow. She could read the rage within their depths, and the thoughts going through his head. He’d kill her if he got free, she didn’t doubt it, but she didn’t intend on letting him go any time soon.
“Tell me,” she demanded again, forcing herself to get a hold of her fear.
He snarled again, his upper lip curled around the gag. Where before he’d seemed kind of out of it, now his fierce intelligence was back, glinting in his eyes, and that made him all the more dangerous. It didn’t appear as though he was going to have a change of heart, however.
Was a little part of her relieved about that? She didn’t like the mixed emotions it sent through her, but she couldn’t help it. The idea of releasing one of his hands terrified her, but it was the only way. She couldn’t risk removing the gag. Though she needed information, time was running out, but at least the moment when he’d have a hand free wasn’t coming just yet.
She crossed the space to where she’d left the cane propped against the wall. She reached down and picked it up. It was lighter than it looked, and she couldn’t help sweeping it through the air, liking the whistling noise the movement made.
She turned to look at the man again. His gaze flicked down to the cane, his eyes widening. His back must still be stinging from the strikes she’d given him earlier, and receiving a second round of whippings would hurt even more. But she needed to break the dark defiance in his eyes. Just getting his admission wouldn’t be enough. Even if he nodded to say he’d give her what she needed, she still wouldn’t be able to risk untying that hand. She had to see he was broken and he’d tell her everything instead of trying to fight back.
It wasn’t in her to be violent, but she made herself picture what he’d done and used that to push her hand. She circled him, knowing she’d find this easier if she wasn’t able to look into his eyes. Standing behind him removed his face from view.
With muscles bunched and teeth gritted, she lifted the hand holding the cane and brought it down with a crack across his naked back.
Through the gag, the man screamed.
Chapter Six
Four Weeks Earlier
OLIVIA WAS DUE TO MEET Michael in less than thirty minutes, and she hadn’t managed to leave the flat yet. She was on her fourth change of outfits, and still couldn’t decide. Everything she tried on was either too dressy or too casual, and she couldn’t find a happy medium.
She took a large gulp of the gin and tonic she’d poured herself to settle her nerves.
With a growl of frustration, she went back to her first outfit—fitted jeans, with a top in emerald green that complimented her red hair and pale skin, and a pair of silver heels. She shook her hair loose and downed the remainder of her drink. She would have to do.
Liv left her bedroom, passing through the open plan living area to reach the front door.
Tamsin sat on the couch and craned her neck to take in the sight of Liv as she passed by. “Ooh, hot date?” she called in a sing-song voice.
Liv still hadn’t quite forgiven her for Monday’s dramatics. “Yep, scorching.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
She didn’t know exactly what it was Tammy wouldn’t do. From the wild stories she came back with after her weekends spent partying, Liv figured it wasn’t much.
“See you later,” she said, pulling open the front door.
“Don’t make too much noise if you get in late. I can never get back to sleep if you wake me.”
Liv gave a growl of annoyance under her breath and yanked the front door shut behind her, deliberately giving it an extra slam. Bloody Tammy. She wasn’t going to let her annoying flatmate ruin her mood. She was excited to see Michael again, and the gin and tonic she’d drunk had put a bounce in her step.
She should have caught the Tube into the city, but instead she grabbed a taxi, knowing how late she was running. It wouldn’t do him any harm to wait, especially after the other day, but she didn’t want him to give up on her either.
LIV PUSHED HER WAY into the crowded, noisy bar, immediately casting her gaze across all the people, trying to spot him. Within seconds, she did. He was leaning against the bar, casually dressed in jeans and a shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal a pair of attractive forearms. She was glad she’d gone for jeans as well now. It had been the right choice. Nerves churned in her stomach and her heart raced, and she already felt overheated and sweaty from the adrenaline. Pushing down her anxiety, she lifted her chin and did her best to appear confident.
“Hey,” he said as she approached. He flashed a wide smile full of straight, white teeth. “I was starting to worry you’d stand me up as a punishment.”
She laughed. “No, not at all. If I was going to punish you, you’d know about it.” She gave him a wink, and then cringed inside. Why the hell had she said that?
He didn’t seem to mind. “I’ll look forward to that. What can I get you to drink?”
She ordered another gin and tonic, and he made it a double. She opened her mouth to tell him a single was fine, but the bartender had already turned away to the optics at the back of the bar. She’d already had the drink at home, so she’d have to make sure she sipped this one. It was easy to drink too much when she was nervous.
Michael paid for their drinks. He had a bottle of beer and was drinking straight from the neck. He seemed relaxed and carefree, unlike the man she’d watched pace back and forth outside of the restaurant the other day. She needed to figure out how to relax as well, but being relaxed wasn’t her usual state.
They found a table in the corner where the music wasn’t as loud, and took seats opposite each other.
/> He leaned in towards her. “I really am sorry about the other day. It’s been playing on my mind ever since.”
She shook her head. “Please, stop apologising. We’ll start again fresh from today, yeah?”
He grinned and lifted his beer bottle up in a salute. “To fresh starts.”
Liv returned the smile and raised her glass to clink against the bottle. “So, are we going to have a toast at the start of every date?”
He chuckled. “I don’t see why not. It could be the start of a fun tradition.”
She hid her smile this time, a rush of warm pleasure flooding through her veins. “I like traditions.”
She caught his eye, and they stared at each other across the table, both of them understanding what that meant. Traditions were something developed over time, and if they were talking about traditions, it meant they were contemplating this being more than just a fling.
Michael was the first to glance away, but he quickly pulled his gaze back to hers. “You said you’re an estate agent?”
She nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“So, you’re used to office situations and how awkward they can get.”
“Umm, I suppose so.” She wondered where this was going.
He sighed and sat back in his seat. “Can I confide in you about something?”
His mood had grown serious, and she sat forward in her seat. “Of course.”
“It has to do with the reason I was so distracted during lunch the other day. I have a work colleague—a friend, really—who I’ve worked with for years, and first thing Monday morning, I walked into his office to find him in a somewhat personal position with a woman who isn’t his wife.”
She widened her eyes. “Oh, my God.”
“The person he was bending over his desk was his secretary, and we have a strict no fraternizing with the staff policy. So, he’s put me in a very difficult situation, not only of feeling like I’m lying to his wife when I see her, but also covering up for him breaking company policy on relationships.”
“That is a difficult position to be in.”
He leaned toward her, reducing the distance between them. “What would you do if you were me?”
She considered everything for a moment. “If it comes out that you already knew and didn’t do anything, would it cause you problems at work?”
He nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Then you need to tell your friend that he needs to go to HR and own up himself, and tell them the relationship with the secretary is over. What he tells his wife is between him and his wife, but if it’s going to affect you at work, that’s something he needs to take ownership of.”
Michael sighed and raked his fingers through his thick, dark hair. The action stirred something inside her. “Yes, you’re right. That’s what I was on the phone about the other day—he was trying to convince me to stay quiet.”
“And you have so far?”
“Yes, I have, but it’s eating away at me. If he was angry and threatening, I’d go to HR right away, but he seems so genuinely distressed by the whole thing.”
She took another sip of her drink and thought, not as distressed as his wife would be, but managed to keep her mouth shut.
Michael continued. “He begged and pleaded with me not to say anything, and promised me it’s over with the secretary, but they’re together for eight hours a day, five days a week. I can’t see how it can really be over when you spend that much time in the proximity of the person you’ve been having sex with.”
She went to take another sip of her drink and discovered the glass empty. He noticed and pointed casually with one finger. “Can I get you another?”
“Sure.”
Liv relaxed into the date, feeling more comfortable now that he’d shared something that was going on in his life, especially as it had explained what had happened during their lunch date. When Michael got up to use the bathroom or go to the bar for more drinks, she noticed how other women watched him as he moved through the room, and pride swelled within her when he sat back down opposite her. The more time she was spending with him, the more she realised how lonely she had been. It was fine to have one night stands, but they’d left her feeling low and empty. She had Ellen and Callie at work, but they had their own lives, too.
Now, sitting opposite this gorgeous, attentive man who was hanging on her every word, she found herself starting to wonder if she could actually have someone for herself.
Chapter Seven
Four Weeks Earlier
OLIVIA EDGED OPEN HER eyes. Her mouth tasted as though something had died in it while she slept, and her temples pounded. The familiar contents of her bedside table and the chest of drawers on the wall adjacent to her bed slowly began to take shape. She was relieved to discover she was in her own bed. At least she’d made it home last night, though she had no idea how she’d managed it.
A sudden dart of panic shot through her, and she froze. Was she alone? She’d been out on a date with Michael, and the last thing she really remembered was walking along the street, arm-in-arm with him, giggling about something. Had they come back here, and something happened between them? Was he in bed beside her? Lifting her throbbing head cautiously from the pillow, ignoring the little puddle of dribble she’d left on the material, she twisted her head and peered over her shoulder.
Liv exhaled a sigh of relief and dropped back down into the bed. She didn’t know what had happened, but she was definitely alone. She would have hated for her first time with Michael to be some drunken romp she couldn’t even remember. Ugh. What must he think of her? Had he drunk as much as she had, or had he been sober and she’d just made a complete idiot out of herself? She was normally so conservative with the amount she drank, but the double shots of gin, together with getting too comfortable with Michael, obviously had meant she’d got carried away.
She reached down beside the bed and scrambled around for her phone. Checking the screen, she hoped to see a message from him, perhaps something sweet and funny to put her mind at rest, but the screen was blank. Her stomach swirled nauseatingly, but it wasn’t just the effects of the alcohol—though she didn’t think she’d even drunk that much, a gin and tonic at home, and a couple more at the bar when they’d met. She must have had a ton more afterwards to not even remember getting home.
No, the uncomfortable feeling wasn’t from the alcohol—it was from not being able to remember. She’d had blackouts before, but not for a long time. That had been a dark point in her life, something she thought she’d left behind. The last thing she wanted was to return there. She’d done everything she could to put that side of her behind her.
With her phone still in her hand, she tapped out a quick message to Michael.
Thanks for getting me home last night. Sorry if I did anything embarrassing! Too many G&Ts. X
He might not even reply. If she’d made a complete fool of herself, he probably wouldn’t want to see her again. He was a reserved kind of guy, not the sort who would want some drunk woman on his arm.
She groaned and covered her face with her hands. She needed water and painkillers, and then some more sleep.
Oh, shit.
She sat up, her stomach lurching. It was Thursday today, and she was supposed to be working. Snatching up her phone again, she checked the time. Quarter to nine. She was supposed to be in the office in fifteen minutes.
Well, that was never going to happen.
Guilt swamped over her as she swiped the phone for the number for her office. She put on her best croaky voice, which wasn’t too hard considering how dehydrated she was.
Callie picked up the phone. “Blue Scene Agents,” she chirped down the line.
“Callie, it’s Olivia. Could you put me through to Tony?”
“Yeah, of course Olivia. Are you okay? You sound horrible.”
Her guilt intensified. “No, not really. I’ve picked up a bout of food poisoning, or possibly even Norovirus. I’m not sure which, but it isn’t pretty. You guy
s definitely don’t want me in today.”
“Oh, no. That sounds horrible. Please, stay away. No offence.”
She managed a smile, though Callie couldn’t see it. “None taken.”
“Okay, I can see him in his office. It looks like he’s free. I’m putting you through now. Feel better soon!”
“Thanks.”
The phone beeped a couple of times and then her boss picked up. “Good morning, Olivia. Callie says you’re not well.”
“Yeah, I’m so sorry to let you down, but there’s no way I can come in today, not unless you want me infecting the entire team.”
“Oh, God, no. That’s the last thing we want. Take tomorrow, too, if you need it and come back in healthy on Monday. I know how these things can spread.”
“Thanks, Tony. I appreciate it. I do have my laptop here, so if anything urgent comes up, just shoot me an email.”
“I’m sure we can survive a couple of days without you, Olivia, but thanks for the offer.”
“Sure.”
The phone buzzed against her ear, indicating a message had come through, but she couldn’t check it while she was still on the phone with her boss.
On the end of the line, Tony hesitated as though he wasn’t sure what else to say. “Well, plenty of water and dehydration salts,” he finished, “and we’ll see you Monday.”
“Okay, bye.”
Relieved, she hung up. She hoped he hadn’t noticed the long lunch she’d taken on Monday as well. The last thing she wanted was for her career to go down the pan. It was the one part of her life she thought she was doing well at.
