Innocence : A dark Captive Romance (Deviant House Book 1) Page 3

  I could taste it on the tip of my tongue. Felt light touch my fingertips, before I was yanked back into the dark. Away from protection. A heavy hand quickly clamped over my mouth, muffling my scream.

  “You’re spry.” The predator’s voice echoed in my ears, as I felt a prick in the side of my neck. “I’m going to have fun with you.”

  I swung my arms back and kicked my feet. Clawing at every available piece of flesh I could get my hands on. My struggle was less than useless.

  Held in a tight grip of hard muscle, my limbs quickly grew heavy, my movements sluggish until they stopped entirely, as mumbled cries escaped through the fingers gripping my face.

  Blackness began to bleed into my vision, clouding the soft light shining from the front of the store. I could hear my mother’s voice somewhere in the distance. Her words taunting yet another way I’d failed.

  “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you do anything right?”

  I needed to run, but my knees buckled, and then suddenly I was floating. Weightless in a dark void, with my head lulling against something hard and warm.

  “Come, Pet,” a deep voice rumbled in my ear as my heavy lids slid shut, “your cage awaits.”

  The first thing I felt was the dull ache crawling up my neck. I groaned and rolled over, trying to avoid the throbbing creeping across my scalp. My heavy limbs argued, fighting against the effort it took to lift my hand and dig my fingers into my temples.

  I used to get headaches so bad, I’d see things that didn’t exist. Images of people and places I’d never seen or been to. This one wasn’t that bad. It was more annoying than anything else. Much like what I assumed a hangover would feel like.

  Thankfully, the spring in my old bed wasn’t poking me in the back. It was soft. There wasn’t a single hard spot in my lumpy mattress. I was actually kind of comfortable, wrapped up in my warm blanket. Oddly comfortable?

  Sighing, I let my hand slip from my temples and fall back on the bed. Snuggling into the silky fabric under my head caused my brows to furrow.

  My pillow wasn’t this thick. The only thing it supported was neck strain. And where was the stink of Ralph’s cigarettes? Every morning that foul stench permeated my nostrils. My room shouldn’t smell this… clean?

  I kept my space tidy and tried to chase away the stink, but all the air fresheners in the world couldn’t get rid of Ralph’s scent. Hatred, combined with tobacco and beer. Not rich spices and earthy tones. I shifted and froze. Every muscle in my body seized as my legs brushed against the blanket.

  My bare legs!

  With Ralph in the house, it was safer to wear big flannel PJ’s, or a comfortable pair of jeans to bed. So, where were my pants?

  The events in the alley came flooding back all at once. Headlights blinding me. Chester’s soft fur trickling along my fingers. The leaking tap dripping in the background... and eyes. An intense ice-blue glare and large hand held tightly over my mouth.

  ‘Come, Pet, your cage awaits.’

  Oh, my God!

  I could barely breathe past the loud pounding in my chest. All I could think about were those true crime shows. Women beaten, mutilated, and worse. Each grisly image wore my face. Taunting me with the words I’d thought so many times. Nothing like that will ever happen to me.

  My first instinct was to tuck myself away from the dread seeping into my bones and hide in a hole of darkness. I felt exposed. As if eyes were all over me. Crawling across my body, watching the movements I made. Fingers twitching in nervousness, along with my shuddering chest.

  It took every ounce of strength I had to calm the shivers shaking my form and remain still. As long as no one saw me move, they’d think I was asleep and maybe leave me alone.

  Right, cause that worked so well with Ralph.

  The bareness of my legs caused bile to burn in my throat. Did he touch me? I felt intact. Then again, I didn’t have much experience to go on. None, actually. I imagined something would feel different. Sore, with a sense of violation.

  Angie said a girl’s first time hurt. Plus, I did still have clothes on. Not much, but I could still feel the comforting touch of my underwear and t-shirt. At least, I hoped they were mine.

  I could worry about that later, after I took a look around. Before I could think of escape, I had to know where I was. Except, I couldn’t open my eyes. I was too scared. Like if I saw the monster, he’d be real. Was he out there watching me? I didn’t want to find out.

  Come on Kya, you can do this.

  Slowly, I blinked my eyes open, allowing fear to etch its icy tendrils through my veins. The first thing I saw was the rich red fabric of a canopy hanging overhead. It shimmered in the dim light like a sea of blood, making me want to sink back into my ‘everything will be okay’ illusion.

  In there, I could pretend the man who took me had one nice suit that he hung in his hole of an apartment. Knowing he had money significantly dropped my odds of survival. No one cared about the poor girl when the rich guy was paying them off.

  I stared up at the canopy, wondering if my mother had finally gotten rid of me? I took up about as much room on this bed as an ant would on the sidewalk. He could afford to buy a person. What was I worth? Did he get a discount because of how much of a screw up I was?

  Mom wouldn’t sell me. I had to believe that. Otherwise, why bother fighting? Sucking my tears back, I forced myself to sit up and take a look around.

  Panels of the same red cloth flowed down from the top of the bed, surrounding me with their tattered edges. Watching them sway around was stealing my air. They weren’t enough to obstruct my view, but enough that I could feel the world collapsing in around me.

  Each breath I took pulled that claustrophobic feeling in, making my chest tight, until I couldn’t stand it anymore and slowly slid closer to the edge of the mattress. I didn’t know what was waiting for me out there. I just knew I had to get off this bed.

  Once my feet landed on the plush cream carpet, my lungs kicked back into action. Greedily I sucked in a loud breath, before I realized the noise I was making.

  I quickly clamped my lips shut and slapped my hand over my mouth. My body trembled between two panels of red cloth, as my wide eyes scanned the area.

  Did anyone hear me? Was he out there? I couldn’t be sure. The vast space was lit up by one lonely lamp beside the bed. My heart jumped every time a shadow shifted, but I didn’t hear anything.

  No ominous breathing, or quickened footsteps. Mind you, I couldn’t really hear much over my own pulse. Which only pounded harder the longer I stood there, waiting for something to jump out and grab me.

  Something was exactly what I pictured. A hideous black creature with red eyes, and sharp fangs, waiting in the dark. Not the handsome man with chiselled features I knew had taken me.

  His charming smile fooled Flo. She talked about the elegant stranger for days. But that black beast was exactly what I saw when I looked in his eyes. Once again I scanned the area, searching for danger.

  The shadow cast from a large mahogany wardrobe stretched over the hardwood floors, reaching it’s twisted black claws toward the rolltop desk across the room. On either side of the bed sat a bedside table made of the same dark wood. Light from the lamp glinted off the bronze knob of the one closest to me.

  I almost reached out for it, curious what secrets lay inside. My fingers hovered over the metal knob shaped like a string of ivy, afraid of what I might find. In this circumstance, ignorance might be bliss. Especially considering I was barely managing to keep my stomach from lurching up into my chest.

  Instead, I turned my attention to the wingback chair tucked next to a small bookshelf in the corner. The chair was the same deep red as the canopy and easily big enough for someone to hide behind. That wasn’t what caused me to hold my breath.

  The walls were closing in on me again, because no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find a door. Just endless rows of dark wood paneling that blended into the floor. The wooden slats completely surrounded the roo
m, pulsing in and out as the swirling grains morphed into faces laughing at my turmoil.

  Other than the three large windows letting moonlight bounce off the bronze tiled roof, there seemed to be no exit. There wasn’t even anywhere to hide.

  I might be able to fit under the chair, but what then? If someone did come in, where could I go?

  My eyes landed on an open door to the right, where I could see the outline of a four claw tub in the dark. Bathrooms were a good place to hide. For prey and predator alike.

  Hugging my waist, I shrank back and eyed the closest window. Was it worth the risk to dash out into the open?

  That’s how people got cornered. The first time Ralph caught me alone in my room, I learned just how useful my trusty bat was. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought? Some stranger could’ve stumbled across the alley and rescued me. For all I knew, I was completely safe.

  Or something could reach out from under the bed and grab my foot.

  I glanced down at the dark space by my heel and shuffled slightly. Nothing came out after me. Maybe I really was alone? The window just on the other side of the bed called to me. It could be a trap, but if I waited, I might not get another chance.

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I dashed over to the window. The room remained quiet and still. That didn’t make me feel any better.

  I couldn’t see into the dark corners of the room. Couldn’t search the space for hidden dangers. All I could do was flatten my back against the wall and stare at the moonlight glinting on the floor beside me.

  If I stepped in it to look out the pane of glass, I’d lose my shadowy blanket and become just as visible as the lamp shining brightly. Like a beacon in the dark, I may as well scream, ‘Come get me. I’m right here.’

  Careful to keep my bare feet out of the beam of silvery light, I peeked through the window.

  “You won’t find any safety out there, Pet.”

  I sprang back as a lamp clicked on, bringing a pair of ice-blue eyes into view. His eyes.

  “Besides, it’s locked.” He shifted slightly and smirked as I tried to press further into the wall. “It would be a shame if you killed yourself before we got a chance to play.”

  I didn’t want to find out what his idea of play was. Unfortunately, I could now see how high up we were. Even if I could crawl out the window, I wouldn’t survive the fall.

  Not only that, but wherever I was, it was nowhere near Worthington.

  The horizon was filled with miles and miles of water shining under the moon. A vast ocean, with no other land in sight, beyond the shoreline I could see in the distance.

  I wanted to step closer to the window and search. Fear wouldn’t let me. If I moved, my captor might pounce.

  “Are you scared, Pet?” It felt like my knees would give out when he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs. “Do you want to know what I’m going to do to you?”

  No, no I didn’t.

  At that moment, all I wanted to do was convince my legs to move. The fact that my lungs were still working was nothing short of a miracle.

  His head tipped, causing the lamp beside him to cast shadows on the angular features of his face. “You all ask the same things. Why am I here? What do you want from me? Are you going to hurt me?”

  My eyes snapped up to his.

  Hurt. I didn’t like that word.

  Hurt could be interpreted so many ways.

  Knowing he’d done this before brought back those true crime images. Dead faces staring at the camera, as the life they once had became just another statistic.

  I swallowed down my panic and quickly glanced at the bed. How many other girls had been trapped in here? What happened to them? Did he kill them? Was he going to kill me?

  “Of course, some of you simply beg to be released and promise you won’t tell anyone.” He rose from the chair he was sitting on. “Not that it would matter. You see, Pet, I’m very good at what I do.”

  And what did he do?

  He looked like a businessman. Hard muscled ridges, tucked under a finely tailored suit, topped off with a neatly styled appearance. Much like the models on some of the magazines Angie read.

  I couldn’t stop staring at the flesh peeking through the open buttons of his white shirt. Tanned, smooth, and firm. Strong. The kind of strong I’d have no chance to fight against.

  “You intrigue me, Pet. I’ve been watching you, waiting for that panicked reaction. Yet you remain calm and quiet.” My heart stopped when he took two menacing steps closer. “My question is, why?”

  I was anything but calm and quiet.

  My insides were screaming for me to run, yell, or fight. But the only thing that panicking got you was a confused mind and irrational instinct, that pulled you into a worse situation than the one you were trying to get out of.

  He took another stride, long and purposeful. The determination of it echoed in my soul.

  The weird thing was, I didn’t run.

  Didn’t squeak, or skitter back. I stared at the chair he had been sitting in, wondering why it didn’t match the other. They were both wingback style, but this one was made of black leather, and bigger. It seemed oddly out of place.

  “What I can’t figure out is if you’re smarter than the others,” he said, drawing my attention back to the immediate threat, “or simply more skittish?”

  I could feel the questions bubbling up in my throat, but I refused to let them free. Never let a monster in your mind, because once you did, you’d never get them out.

  Distance was an important factor. Right now, it was the only factor. So, when he stepped in closer, I tucked myself into the corner of the wall.

  “Are you going to beg now? Perhaps shed a few tears?”

  I’d dealt with bad people all my life. Empathy never played a part in their lives. “Would it matter if I did?”

  “No,” he stated flatly.

  My gaze shifted past his large frame, less than a foot away.

  The bed was right there, and I was small enough to fit underneath. There was no way he could follow me. It was the perfect place to hide. But for how long?

  “So, why would I waste my time?”

  “You truly are intriguing, Pet. Tell me,” the corner of his mouth lifted, “how hard will it be to pull tears from those pretty eyes of yours?”

  I might’ve made a mad dash for the bed, if he hadn’t placed his hand on the wall next to me.

  A person could inflict a lot of damage with one strike, and this guy’s hands were big. Wide palms, with long, thick fingers. He could snap my neck with one flick of his wrist.

  I could no longer stop my body from openly trembling. “Are you going to hurt me?”

  “And here I thought we could skip the usual banter.” He tipped his head, blue eyes mocking me. “Yes, Pet, I will hurt you.”

  Tears of frustration leaked from the corners of my eyes and dripped off my quivering chin. “Why?”

  “Because I can.”

  Just like when I felt cornered by my stepfather, my brain lost control of my mouth. I couldn’t stop my lips from parting and spewing out, “So, you’re just another asshole then.”

  Was I really surprised?

  “Oh no, Pet, I’m much more than that.” The corner of his mouth curled with his next words. “I am your Master.”

  My stomach flipped. I knew that look in his eyes. The lust-filled hunger tearing at his insides. I saw it every time Ralph tried to sneak into my room.

  Except, unlike my stepfather, this man didn’t have his beast on a leash. He was right there, baring his jagged fangs and ready to tear me apart.

  “You don’t want me.” Maybe I could rationalize with him? Make him understand that he’d made a mistake before I became a disappointment he wanted to get rid of. “I wouldn’t know what I was doing. If you let me go, we can just chalk this up to a huge misunderstanding. I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”

  It occurred to me then that I’d just said everything he’d said I would. And that made
this entire situation utterly terrifying. If he knew what I was going to do before I did, I was royally screwed.

  “I mean… I just…”

  He cut me off by placing his other hand on the wall and growling one word. “Strip.”

  As intimidated as I was, I didn’t survive Ralph to go down like this. I licked my lips, looked up at him and firmly said, “No.”

  “No?” His brow arched down at me. “I don’t like repeating myself, Pet.”

  I said nothing. Just pressed my lips together and forced myself to maintain eye contact. Mostly because I was afraid my voice would give away my fear.

  He tsked and shook his head, as if he was chastising a child. “Perhaps you want me to hurt you?”

  Attempting to stem the pulse of nerves trickling through my system, I swallowed and gripped the hem of my shirt.

  The thin fabric was the only thing covering my body. If he wanted to take that from me, he’d have to pry it out of my cold dead fingers.

  My act of defiance had the opposite effect of what I thought it would. Instead of hitting me, he glanced down at my white knuckles and smirked.

  “I knew you wouldn’t be easy.”

  Why did that scare me?

  “You should just let me go then.”

  The curl in his lips deepened into something dark and devious. “Now, what fun would that be?”

  Feral instinct took over then, snapping my calm demeanor. My hands flew through the air, slapping and clawing wildly.

  That’s when I got my first taste of just how dangerous my abductor was.

  His fingers wrapped tightly around my neck as he slammed me back, bouncing my head off the wall and sending a hazy cloud through my brain, effectively stopping my meager struggle.

  “I can play rough too, Pet.” I felt something clip around my wrist. “In fact, I prefer it.”

  My thoughts were struggling to fight through the pain radiating in my brain, but I had enough consciousness to know I couldn’t let him bind me.

  When he went for my other hand, I struggled to keep my arm away, but he tightened his grip on my neck, until the only struggle I could manage, was the one for oxygen.