RAVEN
? ?? So close, no matter how far… ???
I’d spent every night this week with the guys at their house. It had become my new normal. We’d played nearly every day and, so far, we hadn’t tried anything that I didn’t end up loving. I’d never been so happy. Tonight, though, I’d told them I was going to stay at my place and have Leah over for a girls' night. I pulled up to my house and saw Andrew waiting on my porch. My stomach clenched and my heart raced. I pulled out my phone, prepared to call my men if he started being an asshole. I reluctantly crawled out of my car and started up the driveway.
“Andrew, I really have no interest in listening to anything you have to say. Was throwing you out the other day too subtle?”
“Raven, I owe you a huge apology. I acted like a complete dick.”
“Yeah, you did. So, what do you want?”
“Listen, I had no right to judge you. If anything, I should have just been happy that you’re happy. Will you let me take you to dinner to make up for my shitty behavior?”
I hesitated, searching his eyes for any sign of dishonesty, but finding none. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and unlocked my door.
“Let me just put my bag away and we can go, but, Andrew, I’ll be gone in an instant if you start in with your bullshit. There won’t be any apology dinners in the future if this happens again.”
“I just want you to be happy, Raven.”
I headed towards my car, stopping when he called out.
“The restaurant is a bit out of the way. Why don’t I drive?”
“Umm… okay, sure.”
What’s the worst that could happen, right?
We’d been driving about thirty minutes when I realized we were headed deep into the country. I racked my brain, trying to think of any restaurant out this way, panic settling in my chest when I couldn’t think of one. Unease started crawling up my spine, sweat breaking out across my forehead.
“Andrew, what restaurant are we going to?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Oh, did I tell you we were going to a restaurant? I’m actually going to cook dinner for us. It will give us more privacy to talk.”
“I think you’d better take me home, Andrew. You told me we were going to a restaurant.”
“I’ll take you home after dinner.”
After another half hour, he turned onto a dark road and fear took a proper hold on me, tears burning behind my eyes. We drove for what seemed like forever before we finally pulled into a long driveway, leading up to an old farmhouse.
“Andrew, please…”
He said nothing as he stopped the car and started towards my door. I looked around me, trying to see a way out, but we were literally in the middle of nowhere. He opened the door, grabbed my arm roughly, and pulled me out of the car.
“Don’t bother trying to run. There’s nowhere you could go. Even if you managed to get away from me, there are wild animals out here, I’m sure would love to get better acquainted with you.”
As if on cue, a coyote howled in the distance, others joining in. I shivered as he dragged me into the house. My stomach was in knots and I was terrified of what was going to happen next. He moved further into the house, turning lights on. Maybe I could dial Chase and Sebastian before Andrew noticed. I slowly moved my hand towards my pocket, making it only halfway before he spoke again.
“I know you have a phone in your pocket, Raven. I want you to consider very carefully what I could do to you if you piss me off. What I could do to them.”
I froze when he walked towards me, a gun in one hand and the other held out for my phone. I grudgingly handed the phone over, all hope dying with it. I watched as he took the SIM card out, snapping it in half, and tossing the battery onto the floor. Just to prove he was a total dickwad, he dropped my phone and stomped on it, grinding his heel in, the screen shattering under his weight.
I cringed as he wrapped his arm around me, dragging me towards a door I hadn’t noticed. I tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong. He opened the door and shoved me through it unceremoniously. I yelped as my knees slammed into a footboard. My breathing started coming in short pants as my heart pounded in my chest, panic gripping me, when I noticed the leather cuffs strapped to that and the headboard. I took a step back, my back smashing into his chest.
He lifted me by the hips, throwing me painfully on the bed. I scrambled away from him, realizing my mistake too late. In under a minute, he had both of my wrists fastened in the cuffs. I kicked out as he reached out for my ankles, connecting, first with his jaw and then driving my foot into his balls. He cursed, grabbed my ankle, and pulled me so hard, I feared he’d snapped a bone. He deftly fastened the cuffs around both ankles before leveling the gun at me.
“I’m surprised you’re complaining, Raven,” he sneered, “I thought you liked this kind of thing. Do you fight them, too? Maybe that’s part of the kink?”
“Fuck you,” I spat, “You won’t get away with this.”
“Oh, Raven, I already have. I can’t have you thinking it’s okay to speak to me like that.”
My eyes widened when he pulled out a ball gag. I pulled on my restraints, desperate to get away from him. Bile rose in my throat when I realized I was well and properly fucked. I turned my head away, pressing my lips together as tight as possible, only to have him grab my chin, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh. He forced the ball into my mouth and tightened the straps behind my neck. I screamed through it, cursing at him, not that he could understand a word I was saying.
“Oh, what’s wrong, Raven? Have they never gagged you? I think it’s the perfect prop for you. Make yourself at home, don’t go anywhere,” he chuckled darkly as he walked out.
He slammed the door behind him and tears sprang to my eyes when a key was inserted and the door locked.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I pulled hard against the cuffs, to no avail. They were far too tight for me to get out of, cutting off the circulation already and biting into my skin. I wasn’t sure how long I’d laid there, but the sunlight was long gone from the sky and there was only blackness outside the window. I must have drifted off because I startled at the sound of the door unlocking. Andrew walked in, munching on a sandwich, and dropped into a chair by the bedside. I glared at him, wishing he would actually wither and die under it. He just smirked at me.
“We need to talk. Actually, I suppose I need to talk and you need to listen,” he smirked.
“Fuck off,” I tried to say around the gag.
“Raven, I’m trying to save you from yourself. Leah should never have taken you to that club. It’s that kind of moral ineptitude that got this ball rolling. Those assholes have fooled you into this supposed lifestyle. God only knows what wicked things you’ve been up to with them. It’s okay, though, I’m willing to forgive you for this misstep.”
I growled around the gag, fury boiling in my blood. I swore to myself, if I ever got out of this mess, he would pay dearly. I tried talking, frustrated that the gag was preventing it. He took pity on me and leaned over to undo it. I breathed deeply, trying to choose words that wouldn’t further incite his temper.
“Andrew, you don’t have to keep me restrained. Like you said, I have nowhere to go.”