by A. R. Ford
Luca chuckled this time after he took a drink of coffee. “Yeah. Convince me.”
“You didn’t want me in your head, so you put up roadblocks, trying to keep me out of some places. You hide a lot of stuff, Luca. You killed a lot of people when you were a fighter with the resistance. Cinnamon, huh? Real classy name. You only like her for sex.”
The blue eyes narrowed at her words. He stood up without saying anything. He walked to a rough wooden table, and returned with two metal plates and forks. After stabbing a piece of meat and tossing it on the plate, he handed it to her. “Be careful with that. Wouldn’t want you to go getting burnt.”
“I got too close, didn’t I?” Nyssa took a bite of the meat. She chewed it while waiting for Luca to reply. All he did was grunt, stab a piece of meat for himself, and then started eating. “It’s okay. A lot of people can’t come up with anything to say. Why did they call you The Hunter?”
That got his attention. A huge finger stabbed in her direction. Icy eyes narrowed before he rumbled, “You stay out of my head. Got it?”
The threat was apparent. Nyssa knew better than to push it. Living with the Snake Eyes had taught her that much. Threats were followed by beatings, and more often than not, starvation. The shackles were always there, around her ankles to prevent escape. The cold metal and clanking that accompanied the shackles still terrified her. Especially if the shackles were around her wrists. The scars on her wrists told the tale of many failed escape attempts. Skin degraded and broken. Infected gashes that healed with ugly, raised scars. She didn’t know what Luca was capable of and had no desire to test him.
“You can let me go. I won’t tell anyone about you.” His eyes narrowed to slits at her words, but he remained silent. He stabbed another piece of meat and dropped it on her plate.
“You’re not going anywhere. I don’t trust people. It might be nice to have some company around here. And some help for supply runs.” Luca drained the cup of coffee, refilling the cup automatically. He held the cup between both hands, leaning toward the fire, eyes fixed on the dancing flames. “Need to cut your hair. If they’re looking for you, they’ll look for someone with long dark hair.”
Nyssa forgot his earlier warning about staying out of his head. The attraction to some minds was magnetic and forceful. Most of the time another person’s thoughts filtered outside their head. That made it easier. There were the blockers, like Luca. They put up walls, mental barriers, shielding their thoughts from themselves more so than others.
His mind called out, beckoning until she was there again. What she saw made her sick, his plans for her if she betrayed him. With a plop, electric sizzle, and yelp, she was inside her own body. And it hurt.
Savage thrills of pain racing through the areas he planned to hurt. All of them at one time, not one at a time like it would be if she broke his trust. It was more than Nyssa could bear.
She fell onto her side, the coffee and plate forgotten. She curled into a ball, hands clutching her stomach, tears flowing like a river down her face. A howl of suffering burst from her lips. The world grew dark when the pain reached its apex.
Nyssa woke with a start, body aching from the rush of agonizing thoughts gleaned from Luca’s mind. She lay in a bed, a rough blanket pulled over her. A smaller strand of rope bound her wrists. The heavy thud of footsteps came closer, vibrating the bed. Luca stared down at her.
“What happened earlier?” His considerable bulk forced a creak from the bed when he sat beside her.
“I won’t betray you.” The words came as a whisper followed by the faint movements as Nyssa wiggled away from him. A massive hand clamped down on an arm. Further attempts to move away ended.
“You were in my head again,” he rumbled. “I warned you. Now you know what I’ll do if you betray me. That’s warning enough.”
Flames danced, logs cracked and popped in the fireplace. A burst of sparks spewed outward before being sucked into air drawn up the chimney. Nyssa’s eyes were drawn there, gazing into the flames as she tried to avoid Luca’s icy stare. A callus-roughened hand caught her chin, forcing her to look at him. She knew he was accustomed to taking what he wanted, killing or maiming anyone who stood in his way. A tendril of fear twisted in her gut, bringing with it a shiver.
“You’re cold?”
“I am afraid,” she admitted. The words were soft but powerful. Luca’s eyes widened. He muttered something unintelligible.
“I won’t kill you if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Nyssa’s eyes flicked from Luca’s mouth to his eyes. A muscle twitched in his clenched jaw. “I think a lot of things.”
“Then stop it. You’ll stay here and help me. Winter is coming. We need firewood, provisions, and at least one supply run before the snows start.”
It was a different kind of work. Something she was not used to. At least it was honest and did not involve the use of her mind to illicitly gain information intended only for financial gain. He caught the ropes binding her wrists, tugging hard until she left the bed and stood up. Nyssa was not shocked to learn he had removed her pants when putting her to bed. The ragged panties riddled with holes was the only pair she owned. She pulled the pants on then the equally ragged socks and boots.
She followed at his side out the door into the crisp fall air. He removed the rope binding her wrists. They walked to the woodshed where he piled her arms high with wood before loading his arm with wood. Several trips, back and forth, through the rustling leaves from cabin to woodshed filled the area by the fireplace with wood.
Luca gave her two buckets. He carried two buckets in his hands. He led her to a spring on the hill behind the cabin. A rough piece of bark covered the natural water source. A metal cup lay in its depths.
The water was frigid. Her fingers turned blue as she dipped, emptied, and dipped again until all four buckets were filled. The laborious work of carrying two buckets of sloshing water down the hill came next. Nyssa plodded along behind Luca, fearing that if she spilled the water there would be some type of punishment.
The sun sank behind the horizon as the final chores were completed. Nyssa sank into the corner where he forced her to sleep last night. Exhaustion threatened. The rope was tied about her wrists once more.
He stoked the fire, placed a skillet and pot of coffee near the coals. Instead of meat, he fried yellow potatoes, peel and all, in the grease left from the meat that morning. He untied the rope once again. Nyssa ate without question when a plate was shoved into her hand. She drank coffee so hot it scalded her tongue.
Just as she feared he might, Luca forced her toward the bed. “It’s cold out. We’d best share body heat.”
His words brought a different kind of fear. One that twisted low in her gut. Rape was common in the wasteland. She feared it more than the members of the gang. Luca removed his clothing before climbing under the blanket. “You’d best undress. Sleeping with clothes on isn’t comfortable.”
The old jeans, boots, and her shirt fell to the floor. The fear demanded she leave the panties and bra in place. The bra was only to remind her that she was feminine. Her breasts were woefully small. In extreme circumstances, she could pass for a boy. Luca snorted when she rolled away from him until her back lay against the log wall.
There was no escape to be had. He caged her with massive arms before taking what she did not want to give. It hurt more than she could have imagined. It was her first time, not that he cared.
Luca’s sweaty, massive body nearly smothered her. Each thrust ripped tiny shreds from her dignity. She forgot to fight when it became apparent it only aroused him further. His scalding seed brought a new fear. Pregnant women or babies did not fare well in the wasteland. Rationalizing brought a new hope. At least death would bring peace.
Once he was through with her, Nyssa rolled into a ball, tucking knees against her chest to ease the deep ache in her womb. Aching pain pulsed and ran across raw nerve endings. A resentment grew within her gut for the man who saved then ruined h
er in less than a day.
Chapter 3
Luca
Having someone walk around in his mind was not what Luca thought it would be. It was erotic, arousing, and frightening. At first, he felt nothing. Then came whispers of a caress within his mind. He could not hold back the intense reaction. Nor did he care to. When the girl told him about his past, he knew he would claim her as his mate.
When her silky skin caressed his, the urge to possess and dominate overwhelmed him. The snug, scorching heat of her felt like nothing he had experienced in the past. She would remain here. He would see to it.
The next morning, she bolted from the cabin to a tree where she vomited miserably. Dried scarlet streaks marked her thighs and bottom. It was explanation enough for her struggles and the cries he mistook for pleasure. The joining hurt her.
A rush of regret filled his gut. He bathed her, treated her more gently. At first he convinced himself it was the right thing to do. A twisted part of his mind whispered otherwise. After three days he could no longer stand the agony of being without her.
Massive arms made brutally strong from years of physical labor caged her. He forced a knee between her thighs. The instant his cock touched the slick petals, she stiffened, eyes wide with fear. The reaction failed to raise any moral conflict within him.
Fingers bit into the soft flesh when he forced her knees back against her chest. A snap of his hips was all it took to split her open. Head flung back, eyes screwed shut, he pounded into her with relentless fury. A roar burst from his maw. Scalding jets of his seed pumped into her womb.
Sweaty, replete, he collapsed beside her. It took several minutes before he could speak. “Did I hurt you?”
His gut clenched at the idiotic question. Of course, he hurt her. He fucked her harder than he ever had Cinnamon. The fat old whore was nowhere near as sweet and tight as Nyssa.
Shattered control led to a joining that was no less brutal than that of a wild stud horse mounting a mare in heat. The only difference was that he had not taken her from behind or mangled her flesh with teeth bared at his release. She cried afterwards, curling into a fetal position on the far side of the bed.
It would take time, weeks perhaps, to slake the feral need. Only then could Luca think about being gentle with Nyssa.
*****
Nyssa
Waking up with a gut full of sadness and resentment was an unusual experience. The mountain of flesh and bone that forced her last night squatted by the fire. Logs cracked. Sparks snapped and danced lazily up the chimney. The smell of frying meat filled the air. Instead of making her hungry, it made her stomach roil.
She rolled from the bed, ran at the door full tilt, knocking it open with both outstretched hands. Luca followed, growling curses, feet pounding the ground. Nyssa braced a hand against a tree before emptying the contents of her stomach on the ground. Cold air nipped at her nude body, biting places that zinged with soreness from his assault last night.
She turned, head down, shoulders slumped and walked back to the cabin without sparing him a glance. There was no hope of escape. He knew the woods and trails. She would die here serving him. It was a fate much worse than being forced to serve the Snake Eyes by cheating to win in the gambling dens.
Nyssa crawled to the corner she slept in that first night, huddling against the wall. Her eyes closed, arms wrapped around her body. She felt a rough blanket tucked around her. Luca squatted in front of her when her eyes opened. Dark brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, he silently observed.
“I saw the blood. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Rest. Food will be ready soon.”
“Not everyone is a whore,” she murmured. His brows drew together, and jaw clenched at her words.
“I know that now.” A calloused hand cupped her face, the thumb caressing her cheek. It was as much of an apology as she would ever get from him. The fact was clear with everything she had learned about him. What she experienced in the short time being in his cabin only emphasized the hopelessness of it all.
Her stomach turned at the thought of food. He forced her to eat, squatting in front of her, knife slicing pieces of meat. The coffee she accepted willingly, drinking it regardless of the heat and the fact it scalded her tongue. Luca squatted there with an ease his size belied. When she drank the coffee, and ate all the meat he fed her, he tugged her arm. “Come.”
Nyssa stood without question knowing the punishment included the possibility of another forced mating. Luca led her to an addition built onto the cabin. He removed the stick holding the hasp in place before leading her inside. A chipped porcelain tub fed from a bubbling hot spring stood in the room. A meaty hand beckoned for her to step forward and enter the tub. She did so, trembling when his hand took the blanket that hid her nakedness.
The water soothed the soreness and ache from her body. The once-brutal mountain of a man gently washed her hair, rinsing it until it squeaked between his fingers.
Luca’s attention turned to her body, a soapy cloth sliding across her breasts and belly. A whimper burst free at the sparks of pain that came when he washed between her legs. Bruised and swollen flesh marked the loss of her innocence. A muttered, “Sorry,” was the only apology he gave.
She did not resist, choosing to simply lie in the tub, and stare at the log wall. The water drained from the tub through a rusty pipe buried underground. Luca picked her up as he had the firewood. Without strain, massive biceps bulging against her limp form. He dried her with a rough towel before wrapping the blanket about her body once again.
“There will be no work today. We rest,” he muttered.
Nyssa followed mutely to the cabin where he motioned to a chair near the fire. The resentment bubbled and simmered inside her only to abate when he combed her hair. She could not understand the gentleness after the brutality of the night before.
The same pattern continued for several days. It came to her that he was giving her time to heal, for the soreness to disappear.
Just as she suspected, that night he covered her with his sweat-slick body and took what he wanted once again. She cried and fought only to find his raw power easily overwhelmed her. The joining hurt nearly as much the first.
The patterns of that first day and night were repeated for a month. Nyssa rarely spoke, withdrawing instead inside herself as he bathed her, combing her hair for hours. Even the task of gathering turnips from a garden in a clearing was undertaken in silence.
She ate just enough to stay alive and drank only if her lips cracked. Luca seemed determined to win her affections. Instead of the usual rough couplings, he began wooing her, caressing and stroking her body until she responded beneath him. At night he drew her close, a muscular arm holding her tight against his body.
After weeks of silence, his foul temper rose high when she resisted his advances. A roar of curses spilled from his mouth. Fingers dug into her shoulders. He shook her until she grew dizzy. Blood dribbled from a lip bitten during the violent jolting suffered at his hands. He retreated outside in the dark where the roaring continued.
A pounding began, one that shook the cabin. She crawled from the bed to see where the sound came from only to find Luca battering a tree with brutal blows. The tree shuddered, twigs and rotten limbs littering the ground below.
He turned toward her, shoulders and chest heaving, a cloud of mist puffing from his mouth in the cold. Nyssa knew she risked injury or death. His distress was oddly upsetting. She walked to him, tentatively resting a hand in the center of his chest. The muscles bunched beneath her hand. “I won’t resist,” she said simply, her naked form resting against his.
Luca picked her up, carrying her into the cabin much as a groom would a bride. The door slammed shut with a kick of his heel. “You taunt me,” he grumbled, tree-trunk thighs spreading her legs wide.
Nyssa touched his chest again, gasping when he split her open and began to move. His movements were brutal at first but eased into gentler undulations at her cries of pain. It was the first time she let him take
her mouth in a kiss.
The intimate act left her breathless, panting, and spiraling higher with the pleasure he sometimes gave her. Why did he torment her by occasionally giving, frequently denying her pleasure?
She cried on his naked chest afterwards, not from pain or fear, but at the sheer beauty of their joining.
“You won’t deny me again,” he commanded, fingers stroking her hair.
“I won’t,” she agreed before falling asleep with his colossal form spooned against her.
*****
Nyssa
“We need to make a supply run before the snows,” Luca said a few weeks later. “We leave tomorrow. It’s a half day’s walk there.”
Their relationship changed after the night when Luca expressed his rage to a helpless tree. Nyssa savored his warmth as the nights grew colder. She enjoyed the times he turned to her in the darkness.
The need had risen within her so much that at times she initiated their joining, much to Luca’s pleasure it seemed. Those were the times he allowed her to take him, big hands clutching her hips as she rode with head thrown back, eyes blissfully narrowed.
Before they went to bed that night, he cut her hair close to her head with a wicked knife that gleamed in the fire’s light. Nyssa touched the close-shorn strands tentatively. “It looks good,” he muttered. “You’ll pass for a boy.”
A little piece of her died at his words. She didn’t want to look like a boy. She only wanted to look like a woman. The woman he mounted and slept with every night. Something like this never mattered before. Luca forced something to bloom inside her heart. The foreign phenomenon Nyssa knew would hurt her one day.
Grey, flat clouds escorted them on the journey to Arkala. Luca showed Nyssa the paths, guiding her through the booby traps he placed there for protection.
They stopped every hour to rest for a few minutes and drink water. On the last stop a growled warning fell from his lips. “Stay with me. Do exactly as I say. No questions. Total obedience. Or I will punish you when we return.” A nod told him she understood.
