“I never said you were.”
“I’m not you, either. I don’t have to want him dead. I don’t have to think like you think. I am my own person.”
He holds a hand up like he’s about to hit me but then he points a finger at my face. “That,” he says, looking like he might say nothing else. He pauses, swallows and then starts again. “That independence is infuriating and the reason why I’m falling for you, Anna.”
He storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
16
Anna
The evening reminds me of my childhood. Up in my room while I hear men talking in loud voices downstairs. Cursing, laughing, drinking. The sound of cans opening, bottles clinking. Occasional arguments breaking out.
Back then, I was scared of them all. So many people working for my father, all of them violent, aggressive, unpredictable.
Have I come full circle? Back where my life began. In a bedroom, feeling trapped while men talk about an upcoming job.
I can’t hear Leo amongst them. Who knows what he’s up to right now.
I did sneak out of my room about an hour ago, crept downstairs and into the library. Brought a few books back up here with me. They’re all well thumbed. Edwardian works on dinosaurs. First editions. Sitting reading them, it’s fascinating to see how far the science has come since then.
I manage to distract myself with the books for long enough to get past midnight. I climb into bed to the soundtrack of ongoing talks downstairs. At least the drinking seems to have stopped. The voices have become more serious. Discussions about tactics like they’re a military unit.
I lay under the blankets with my eyes closed and the last words Leo said to me come back unbidden into my mind. “That’s why I’m falling for you.”
Did he mean it? Is he falling for me? His mouth was saying one thing but his face was saying another. He seemed furious with me, that ever present rage flashing across his eyes even as his voice softened.
Then the slamming of the door, leaving me more confused than ever.
In my dreams, I go back in time. I’m a teenager again, sunbathing down on the beach. Bea is nowhere to be seen. I’m alone. I sit up and look out at the sea. Leo isn’t swimming. He’s floating above the surface. It makes perfect sense. Like it’s the most natural thing in the world. He’s wearing the world’s smallest pair of trunks. He’s scarred and burned but that’s not right. The crash hasn’t happened yet.
He waves my way and I blink. He’s next to me, laid on the blanket on his back, his eyes closed.
I examine him closely, taking in each mark on his skin. He’s oblivious to my examination.
I look down and see how hard he is, his cock making a tent in his trunks.
I reach down and slide my hand into his waistband, pulling his cock free, keeping it tight in my grip.
His eyes are still closed but his breathing changes. It grows heavier as I stroke his shaft, my head going down toward it. I take him into my mouth, choking on his length, rewarded by a thrust of his hips upward toward me.
He moans lightly as I flick my tongue over the tip, tasting the saltiness of the drop that forms there.
I can’t resist him. I pull my bikini bottoms to one side, squatting over his hips, guiding him up into me.
I ride him, grinding down so his cock’s all the way into me. I blink and we’re surrounded by people. Dozens of strangers, all watching in silence. I try to hide myself but Leo won’t let me. He commands me to keep going.
I raise myself up, riding him once more, getting faster, pulling out my tits, squeezing my nipples, looking out at all the staring faces that can’t tear their eyes away.
I arch my back, turning it into a performance, letting them see him vanishing up into me. I bounce faster, my quads burning with the effort as I feel an orgasm approaching.
I blink again and I’m on my back. All their hands are on me, holding me in place as Leo thrusts up into me. I can’t do anything but let it happen. He impales me on his length, driving fast and hard, caring only about reaching his orgasm.
“You belong to me,” he says. “You will give me a family. You will carry my children. You will obey.”
I reply at once. “I will obey.”
The crowd speak in unison. “She will obey.”