Eclipsed Sunshine

by D W Marshall

A smirk forms on my face accompanied by a sound that travels from deep inside my throat. “Why was it okay for you to expect that from me to begin with? You want your girlfriend to sleep with other men, for money?” This time I turn to him and wait for his answer.

  He stops eating. “I thought since you had experience doing it already, it wouldn’t be too much to ask. I wanted someone I could trust.”

  “I was kidnapped. Flown across a great distance, and I was locked away with armed guards in a castle for a year. The only time I saw the sky was through a skylight I couldn’t reach with a twenty-foot pole. Just because I didn’t escape, doesn’t mean I wanted to be there. I told you, Thomas, the guy had pictures of my family, my friends, you, from two years before he took me. He threatened everyone I loved. But make no mistake, Thomas, I hated every second of my life there.”

  He returns his attention to his burger. “It’s about the sacrifice. We do this, and we go into our future together never wanting for anything.”

  What? “You still want me to do this? I thought you were apologizing to me because you changed your mind.” It takes everything inside of me not to cry. These aren’t tears of sadness; I’m pissed. I would never have gone with him if I knew he still wanted this for me.

  He turns and looks at me. His face isn’t angry or sad. He has hope in his eyes. “Yes. I still want this. We’ve already begun. I wanted to apologize for rushing you, for assuming you’d be ready to go full throttle, and for being a dick and holding this over your head.” He pulls the ring out. “Whitney, I love you. You are a boss and a superwoman. We can do this together, make a fortune and stop. Go anywhere you want. Do anything you want.” He slides the ring onto my finger. “Can you make this sacrifice for us if I promise we’ll start slow?”

  I gaze down at the beautiful diamond. A symbol that promises so much. “And what sacrifices are you making, Thomas?”

  I can tell my question infuriates him. He has shown me in the last couple of days that a temper simmers beneath his smooth façade. “Why do you think I was drinking so much while you were upstairs last night?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “You were celebrating.”

  He shakes his head and turns his gaze to mine. “It took everything in the very deepest parts of me not to run up those stairs and get you, to stop you. Every minute you were gone was killing me, knowing what you were sacrificing for us. I hated myself for what I’d asked, but I stayed in my seat because I can see what’s on the other side. The bountiful life this gets us. We are a team, and I love you so much.” He leans forward and places a gentle kiss onto my lips.

  He makes my head hurt with the confusion he is causing me. “Can I think about it?” I ask.

  He takes a moment before saying, “Sure, babe. You wanna go walk off these burgers?”

  I shake my head. “I need to get home and take a nap. My therapy sessions are exhausting.”

  Thomas starts the car. “Are they helping you?”

  I shrug again. “So far, I can’t say. But it’s only been a few weeks. I’ll see with more time. I mean, I always feel better when I’m there but then when I leave, the world and reality hit me—I don’t know how I feel.”

  Thomas grabs our trash and tosses it in the large can outside of his driver’s side window, then backs out of the space. “Therapy is a waste of money. I’m all the therapy you need. If you want to talk, I’m all ears. I want to be here for you.”

  He looks at me and I can feel love pouring from his eyes. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he’s an opportunist who really believes this will be easy for me. In a way, he is right. By the time I was halfway through my year at The Chamber, I had adapted to my life there, we all had. It had become just sex. We were treated well, had everything we needed and more. The best of everything was afforded to us. Mason was a true evil genius. The seven of us formed an unshakeable bond, stronger together. The worst that ever happened to us had been the nights we had to have sex, but we were even given days off. If what Thomas was proposing was anything like that, perhaps I could adapt to that, too. Anything was better than him leaving me. The thought of being alone is worse than anything I’d suffered. Besides, who else would want me after knowing about The Chamber?

  We pull up in front of my house and Thomas parks. “Tell me you’ll think about it.”

  I offer him a smile. Maybe this could work. “I will.”

  Thomas leans towards me and kisses me. This time it isn’t chaste or sweet. It’s heavy with want. His lips taste mine, and his tongue sweeps across them requesting entrance. I break the kiss before granting permission. My head is light. Him wanting me after all of this is a welcomed surprise, though I don’t know how ready I am for that.

  Chapter 11

  The Chamber, Seven Months

  “Welcome,” Connell’s voice says. I can’t see him, but after spending so much time with him, I know his voice well. In recent months, every action he has toward me has been confusing. Unnatural for this space we exist in. He smiles so much around me, staring as if he is seeing through me. Choosing to spend some nights talking over a simple dinner.

  I asked the other girls how he interacts with them, and they’ve said he is polite but all about business. Recently, they’ve been mentioning that he hasn’t been visiting them at all, and they were surprised when I reported that he hadn’t missed meeting with me once.

  The blindfold is removed from my eyes. It takes a second to adjust to my surroundings. One thing I know for sure, I am no longer inside the walls of The Chamber. The space is massive, a cabin from the large planks of wood that seem to encapsulate the structure. There is a back wall of windows that only show darkness.

  “Where are we?” I ask him as my throat tightens and my internal alarms blare.

  “Anywhere.”

  I sigh and shrug. “Am I going to get in trouble for being here?”

  Connell steps closer to me, removing my heavy coat. He stands behind me, kissing my bare shoulders. I am only wearing a sheer yellow silky nightgown and silver stilettos, my hair in natural curls down my back. My eyes say what my words can’t as tremors take hold. Have I been kidnapped again, this time by Connell? He waits for my reaction, but I only stare at him and wait for him to explain why I am no longer inside the walls of The Chamber.

  Montreal steps forward with another guard I recognize. I take a couple of quick deep breaths, my head is light and swirly. But, if my guard is here, then Mason must know I am here. I give nothing away, yet. I have the right to wait and have my question answered. I might not have much control over my life, but it is still mine.

  Montreal opens a tablet and Mason’s image appears on the screen.

  “Sunshine.” He waves to me, and I meet his gesture with a tight smile. “Enjoy a couple of nights away from the madness of The Chamber. This was a highly unusual request from one of my lottery winners. However, for the right price, I’m all for trying new things.” His smile is grand and meets his eyes before he falls dead serious. “I trust you to be on your best behavior.”

  I nod. “Yes.”

  “Montreal and Wilbert will be downstairs if you should need assistance.”

  “Thank you,” I say.

  Mason’s face is gone. Montreal and Wilbert rush off, and I am alone with Connell.

  He takes me by the hand and leads me to a sofa. I take his lead and sit.

  “Are you okay with this?” His expression is unsure. “If not, I can have the guards take you back.” He appears younger on the outside as if I am seeing him in real life for the first time. Some of his usual smooth confidence has faded. He and I have an undeniable connection. I’m not the only girl to experience something extra here. Flame seems to have Dominic wrapped around her finger. Sapphire most assuredly is falling in love with Mason. Even sweet, shy Sky has an LW who has expressed an interest in her. In this most strange and sad place, human relationships have formed. The more human men have developed concern and protective instincts for us. In return, we have extended a Stockholm-like olive
branch, if in the beginning only for sanity’s sake.

  I pat his leg. “This is amazing.” When I inhale, the air is rich with cedar and clean scent of lemon and lavender. I close my eyes and let the deep breaths relax me at the realization that I am not inside the dreaded Chamber walls, if only for a short time.

  He hands me a glass of wine, an action that he has done many times. I take a sip, and it is sweet and refreshing. Connell picks up a remote, depresses a button and the back window slides open. The air is brisk but welcome. By my count, it’s November. He presses another button, and the area lights up, warm, incandescent lights glow, and I see a small table with two chairs and candles in the center.

  “May I?” I ask.

  He stands and reaches out for my hand. I hesitate and stare at his hand, before taking it. What does all of this mean? I slide my eyes up to meet his, and they are welcome and warm, as if he is saying “this is a safe space, you can trust me.”

  I take his hand and follow him toward the opening. The balcony, like everything else I’ve seen, is thick with heavy logs. The sky is bright with stars, the heavy packed white powder is everywhere. A cold shiver runs through my body.

  “Just one second.” He disappears and returns with a heavy blanket and wraps it around my shoulders.

  “Thank you.”

  He disappears again, and I take a seat at the table. I stare out at the darkness and relax as cool air bathes me. Other than the unreachable skylights that recess and open in The Chamber, I haven’t been outside in seven months. The moon is big and bright and mysterious. I wonder what Thomas is doing right now. It’s been so long, he has to have moved on by now. Why would he wait for me? It’s not like Mason sent letters to our families promising our release. My family must be going crazy, numbed somehow by time and the unknown. Worry still there, but shelved in a special place to continue living.

  He returns with a steaming cup of coffee. I stare up at him. He really is a gorgeous man.

  “This is so beautiful; the fresh air takes my breath away.”

  “Whitney, you take my breath away.” He started calling me by my real name a few months ago. I should have stopped him, hearing it felt so real. Sunshine is another side of me, Whitney is the real me, but I never corrected him. I asked him if I could know his real name and he told me I’ve always known it.

  I smile at his sentiment.

  “How did you arrange this?” I ask after I swallow my first sip of coffee, made with enough cream to give it a smooth, rich taste, and two sugars, just how I like it.

  He reaches his hand across the table and takes my hands in his. “I paid Mason a lot of money to get you alone outside of those walls. I wanted to talk to you about something, away from that place.”

  He exhales and continues. “It seems I’ve had a change of heart. I was so excited about being selected to participate in the seventh group of lottery winners. I was willing to pay anything to be there. When I got the call, it really was like winning a lottery. Seven beautiful women, mine for the taking for an entire year.”

  I look away when he says the word “taking,” because that is precisely what we are. Their’s for the taking. Not asked, permission not granted. I try to pull my hands back, but he squeezes and holds on.

  “But, this is wrong. My money has given me freedom and unlimited resources, but it is wrong for me to use it to buy people. Beautiful helpless victims. And we come in like knights in fucking shining armor like we are here to make all of your dreams come true.” He stares down at our hands and spits the last words. “Who am I? What makes me so goddamned special that I get to take part in something like this? I’m sorry for everything that you have been put through.”

  Tears fall from my eyes. “You always seemed so happy to be there.” I stare into his eyes.

  His lips form a hard line, and he looks away. I don’t. When he returns his eyes to mine his expression is laced with guilt. “At first I was happy. This was everything I thought I wanted. Then it wasn’t.”

  He reaches across the small table and wipes my tears with his thumb and caresses my cheek.

  “I am withdrawing from the group.”

  Panic shoots through me. Connell is the kindest person I have met there. The time we’ve spent together has changed so much over the months. What started out as rough and wild sex has turned into something deeper, a connection. “You’re leaving?”

  “It’s not the same for me anymore. You see, I’ve fallen in love with one of the women.”

  “Who?” I ask, but I think I know the answer.

  “You, Whitney.”

  I look down. I can’t believe he’s saying this to me.

  He tugs at my chin so that I am looking directly at him. “I don’t want to be with anybody else but you.”

  He is still holding one of my hands. “I don’t expect you to respond to that. Our situations are different. I have choices, and you don’t, but I’d like to give you one.”

  More tears spill because it doesn’t take a genius to know what is coming next. “I’m listening.”

  He takes a couple of deep breaths and exhales. What I think is coming is something of grave importance to him. “Come with me. Tonight. I already have transportation ready to take you away from here.”

  I don’t say anything. What can I say? Yes, I’ll run away with you. He has told me how he feels about me but never asked me what I think about him.

  I shake my head. I will miss his companionship, but how can I go without permission? My family could be harmed for my selfishness. I’m more than half-way through this shit. Leaving now would be like quitting a twenty-six-mile marathon at mile twenty. I’ve already come so far.

  “You don’t want to come with me.” His shoulder’s sag and the air of hope leaks out of him.

  I squeeze his hands. “There is no way I can run away from this place, no matter how much I want to. I was chosen to complete a year sentence, and I am nearly done. It would be selfish to leave when my family could be punished for it.”

  I pull away from him and get up from the table. I stand at the balcony and stare out at the whiteness. So much white. Freedom is beyond this log castle. I feel warmth and pressure from his arms as they engulf me. I lean my head against his chest. “You don’t love me yet. I don’t expect you to in our situation, but you would if given a chance.”

  I turn in his arms and look up at him. “What about the man I have back home?”

  Connell shakes his head, kisses me quick and chaste on the lips. The sensation coupled with cold air stirs something inside and my stomach clenches.

  “He isn’t enough for you.”

  I stare up into his eyes. “And you are?”

  A sort of a small laugh escapes him. “I could be if you let me.”

  I rest my head on his muscular chest. “We’d always have the memory of this place, of what I did here and what you came here to do hanging over us.”

  He rests his chin on my head. “I’d spend a lifetime garnering your forgiveness and helping you heal from your wounds. Come with me, Whitney. I can keep you safe.” It’s a whisper, a heavy plea.

  I don’t answer him. What can I say? I can’t go with him.

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Tonight.”

  My heart aches. Could I be feeling love in the tiny fissures tearing shards through me?

  “I don't want you to go.” I squeeze him.

  He pulls away from me and takes me by the hand. I follow him up a wide and heavy staircase and into a massive bedroom. An oversized bed dressed in romantic white and gray bedding and fluffy pillows is welcoming. Not a stitch of yellow. In the center of the room a claw foot tub, and windows line the outside wall. Connell turns on the tub, and the force of the water suggests it will be full quickly.

  He returns to me, wordless. He grabs one of the thin straps of my gown and looks into my eyes for permission. I give it to him. My chest rises with haste. We’ve done this before, but never outside. He is slow in pace as he pulls my rig
ht strap, then my left, and shimmies my gown down my body. My nipples tighten as the cold air hits them. He steps back and stares admiringly at me. I take deep breaths and wait. I watch him watch me.

  The sound of rushing water clouds the space. He doesn’t touch me. Only admires. His smile reaching his eyes. When we first met, I could tell for him it was all a big game. Sex and folly. I know he never meant for emotions to enter the playing field.

  He turns and leaves me standing there.

  I watch him as he bends over and turns off the water. Then strips out of his clothes. His body is taut. He steps into the tub. His smooth abdominal muscles contract into at least eight sections as he sucks in air and exhales it. His erection at attention, poised to strike like a snake. He reaches his hand out to me, and I close the short distance. I take his hand and allow him to help me step into the bath. He sits behind me, and I take the space between his legs.

  He presses a couple buttons on a remote: one lights up the outdoor space beyond the windows, revealing snow covered trees and the full moon. The other filters soft music through the room.

  The water settles just under our shoulders. His cock pressed against my back. I want to do things to it, to him.

  He picks up a sponge, plunges it into the tub and squeezes it out on my exposed skin.

  “Hmm.” The warm water is divine.

  He drops the sponge, and his hands wrap around me. I lay my head against his chest. “I wish I met you in any other circumstance. Connell, I know I could love you. I just don't know if I can now. I don't know how we could ever move forward from this, this place. I don’t want you to leave me.” There I say it. The words that popped into my head when he first told me his plan. “I don’t know if I can finish out my time here without you.” The last part comes out weak and shaky.

  He kisses my neck and the space behind my ear. “I can’t stay here knowing what is happening to you. While other men touch you. It’s already slowly killing me.” He continues peppering me with his lips, sucking in places, licking in others. Warm sensations cause me to clench my thighs.