“Acquainted?”
“I need to make sure we’re a good fit. I have to make sure it feels right, so I can start breaking you in first thing tomorrow. Think of it as an initiation; all my girls have to go through one,” he explained.
Images of him strapping me into that god awful chair flashed through my mind, making me weak in the legs.
“Why are you doing this?”
“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” He came closer, stopping near the end of the mattress. “I’m doing this because no one told me I couldn’t. Of course, I didn’t ask for permission, but when you want something bad enough, you have to do whatever is necessary to get it.”
I watched him creep closer, my muscles tensing and heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
He stopped again, close enough that if I reached out an arm, he’d be touching me.
Unable to sit still any longer, I rose to my feet and bolted to the opposite corner, frantically searching for an escape I knew didn’t exist.
The iron door straight ahead of me was the only way out of the cell, the wooden staircase the only way out of the basement.
“Go ahead, make a run for it,” he taunted, making a sweeping gesture with his hand to urge me forward.
I shuffled a step or two, and then stopped. The chain around my ankle served as a reminder that even if I made it out of the cell, I’d be stopped long before I could reach the staircase.
“Good decision. I’m glad to see you have some common sense. The last girl wasn’t as bright.”
The last girl?
My head spun, stomach sinking with the knowledge that he’d done this before.
“You won’t get away with this.”
“Sweetheart, look around you. I already have.”
“I have family.”
“I’m aware. Your father owns a cement company and your mother refurbishes antiques. They seem like nice folks. Unfortunately, that means nothing to me, and doesn’t do shit for you.”
He’d done his research. Once again, I found myself wondering just how long he’d been watching me. How could I have not known?
I clutched my arms and shut my eyes, tremors causing my hands to shake.
“I get this is a hard pill to swallow, but you’re going to have to deal with that on your own time. This is mine. Come here.”
“No,” I saidfirmly .
“That wasn’t debatable. Walk over here, now,” he snapped, losing all traces of the easy-going personality he’d shown thus far.
I could feel any bravado rapidly diminishing, taking my ability to speak with it. My heartbeat turned sluggish, and the cold sweat intensified.
“Our first time was supposed to be special, but you have to listen. If you don’t listen, you must be punished,” he said, so calmly I never expected what came next.
I thought he was leaving. Instead, he walked to where my ankle chain was attached to the wall, and took hold of the slackened end.
Rapidly winding it around his fist, he started reeling me towards him.
Grabbing my end, I pulled back, feeling the rusted metal bite into my palms. Eventually, I lost my balance, landing on my back.
My body smacked against the stone; I gritted my teeth to stop from crying out.
There was nothing for me to grab onto. I clawed at the floor in desperation until the nail on my index finger split right down the center. I clenched my jaw, hissing from the searing pain.
When I was where he wanted me, right at his booted feet, he bent down and flipped me onto my stomach.
My chin bounced off the floor, rattling the teeth inside my mouth.
“Stop!” I yelled, kicking at him with my good leg. He ignored me and wrenched my arms behind my back.
I twisted and turned to no avail; he was too strong for me to fight off.
He held me with a single hand, removing something from his pocket.
“The more you struggle, the more fun this is going to be for me,” he admonished, managing to secure what felt like a zip tie around my wrists, pulling it so tight, my bones grated together.
He stepped over my writhing form and grabbed hold of the chain again.
“Please—” was all I managed to get out before he began to drag me towards the mattress.
He kept me on the floor and cushioned his knees with the bed. The sound of his zipper going down sent my panic into overdrive.
I wanted to curl into a ball, sink into the floor…anything but be right here in this moment.
Things like this weren’t supposed to happen, but there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it.
“It didn’t have to be this way. You should have just listened to me,” he said, forcing my ass into the air.
“You don’t have to do this,” I choked out.
“Aw, sweetheart,” he tsked, “I’ve waited months to do this.”