A Bedtime Story (16 page)

“A bar…” Kayne licked his lips, pensive. “Okay. Let’s go.”

***

Laura stood against the stone wall in the back alley by the bar.
She felt comfortably numb, smoking a cigarette as the man leaned against her, one
arm on the wall by her side. He’d been rambling on about himself nonstop, bragging
about his career and ambitions. She wasn’t sure what else, she wasn’t listening
anymore. She felt annoyed by his presence, by his obvious moves and sweet
mannerisms. But seeing Kayne and Tanya in her mind, imagining them together, she let
this unknown man get near her. She cringed as he caressed her cheek but allowed it.
He leaned closer, kissing her on the neck. This was it. It was as far as she would
let it go. She put her hand flat on his chest and weakly tried to push him off her,
as she turned her head away from him.

The man flew away, landing on the ground a few feet behind. She
turned her head back to find Kayne staring at her, his eyes, open slits of fury.

“What the f—” The man dusted himself off as he stumbled back on his
feet.

With his eyes still fixed on Laura, Kayne pulled
out a gun and pointed it at him. “Stay down.”

The man immediately raised his arms but remained on his knees.
“Hey! Easy—”

“Shut up,” he spat, disgusted.

Laura could see two black SUVs blocking each side of the back
alley, Lucas on one end, a man she noticed around the house at the other. Kayne’s
eyes were still boring into hers.

“Has he touched you?”

“No, man... I didn’t… I swear… Listen, I don’t want any trouble…”
the man mumbled, panicked.

“Be quiet,” Kayne hissed, throwing him a quick but threatening
glance that had him cowering further down on his knees, crooking his arms behind his
head.

Turning back to Laura, Kayne addressed her, his voice deceptively
calm. “Laura, have you let him touch you. In any way?”

Laura shook her head violently. Everything felt surreal. Kayne,
here
, the man, on his knees, the gun, Lucas…

“Don’t lie,” he cautioned her, a wrath in his eyes she’d never
seen. She was too petrified to even cry, shocked into silence. She finally
stammered, her voice hushed, “He... he kissed my neck—”

She was interrupted by a deafening popping sound. Warm liquid
spurted on her face, and she recognized only what it was when she saw the blood on
Kayne’s face, the red spots all over his white shirt. She remained very still, in
shock, in denial, looking at the limp body on the ground, its head blown off. A body
that was standing not a few minutes ago, breathing into her ear, annoying her.

Kayne’s eyes remained locked on her, venom seeping through them. He
pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face, slowly, never breaking eye contact.
She felt herself shiver, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. Kiev approached them
and began to drag the body, rolling it up in plastic.

This isn’t real, it can’t be real
. Laura was
gasping for air as she watched Kayne turning away from her and walking back to the
car.

“Miss Spencer...” It was Lucas, his voice soft. He was trying to
get her away, gently pulling at her arm. “Miss Spencer, we have to go.”

The black SUV had pulled up to them, and Lucas led her to the
backseat, where Kayne was already seated.

She shook her head in terror. “Lucas… no, please no...”

“We have to go, Miss Spencer.” He gently but forcibly pushed her
into the car.

Kayne didn’t look at her; his eyes were cold as stone. He looked
straight ahead as she cowered in the corner, pulling her feet up on the seat. She
hugged them, her entire body shaking with convulsions.

“Do this again, and I will kill you,” he finally said, still
staring straight ahead, his voice deadpan.

She broke down crying and began rocking herself, waiting for the
nightmare to end. The entire way back home, she wondered if it ever would. They got
back to the house and Laura saw the gates close behind them. Was that how the
nightmare would end? Would those gates be the last thing she would see before dying?
Was he going to kill her? Or maybe just lock her in the cage until she went
completely insane and died her own way? She was lost in morbid thoughts, when his
harsh voice snapped her back to reality.

“Get out,” Kayne hissed, waiting by the open door.

“No… please no… . please… please…” she sobbed.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her out roughly. She stumbled and
would have fallen if it weren’t for his firm grip. He dragged her into the house,
unresponsive to her desperate pleas. Olga was waiting inside, her face instantly
paled as they walked in, covered in blood. Once inside, Kayne pushed Laura so hard
she fell sideways on the floor. With her hands behind her, she
crawled backward to Olga, grabbed her leg, and looked up at her pleadingly.

“Master Kayne—” Olga began, her voice shaky.

“Leave us,” he warned in a low growl.

“Master, I beg of you—” She used her remaining courage to face his
wrath.

“Leave!”

She looked down at Laura, offering her a reassuring smile, though
her eyes conveyed the shame she felt as she obediently retreated to the western
wing, closing her bedroom door behind her.

Laura crawled further back until her spine hit the wall, until
there was nowhere further to seek refuge. Her eyes were wide, as she panted like a
wounded animal. She looked mad, shaking uncontrollably, while her eyes turned at the
slightest sound or movement.

Kayne stared at her, his own breathing loud.

“Is this how you repay me?” His voice was controlled, his eyes
blackened with rage.

She shook her head furiously, unable to speak, unable to move,
frozen with fear.

“Do you have
ANY
idea what I’ve been through for you?” His
voice was sharp, growing louder with every word as his self-control faltered. After
a pause, he then added, his voice back to hair-rising softness, “Dimitri… wants you
dead. Maxwell… wants to sell you… Had I known you were just dying to whore yourself,
I wouldn’t have busted my balls over you.”

“No… no… Master… I swear…” She pained to get each word out, her
sobs unstoppable.

“Oh, it’s
Master
now? Quite the manipulative little thing,
aren’t we? Well… Master is not happy,
Pet
.” A sadistic gleam merged with the
rage already present.

“No… please… please…”

“No…? You didn’t let this man put his dirty paws on
you? You didn’t let him kiss you?” he pronounced every word, his eyes burning.

“You were with your whores!” she wailed, shouting at the top of her
lungs. “What do you want from me?” Her voice broke.

He grunted, a diabolic smile matching his menacing eyes. “Don’t
worry, Pet. I’ll show you.”

Her eyes snapped to meet his, panic and pleading, fear and despair
mirrored all at once. She opened her mouth to beg but didn’t have the time to utter
a syllable. In an instant he was by her side, holding her up by her hair. He dragged
her kicking and screaming, all along the hall, down the stairs, and into the
dungeon.

He led her to a bed and let go of his hold. She fell to her knees
on the ground, her face and arms landing on the soft mattress as she wailed, caught
in a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. His eyes malevolent, he cocked his head
and watched her, enraptured by her distress.

He tugged her hair again, bringing her up to his lips, and
whispered softly in her ear, “Why did you do it?”

She sobbed, vainly throwing her arms about, trying to free herself
from his hold. He pushed her on the mattress.

“Were you…
jealous
?…
Again
?” he asked her, his voice
raspy, as she lay flat on the mattress, her cries swallowed by the comforter.
“Whores don’t get to be jealous,” he callously threw at her.

He then climbed on top of her, kneeling with one leg on each side
of her body and ripped her dress off her back. She gasped, her body freezing for a
moment, before her sobbing came back, even more desperate than before. He caressed
her back softly, reached for her arms, and brought them to the bedposts where
handcuffs awaited. He locked each of her wrists.

“Please… please…” she implored, her voice throaty from all the
screaming and crying. She panted, out of breath, her little body drained.

He leaned close to her ear and made shushing
sounds. “Tell me why you did what you did, and I might go easier on you,” he
whispered softly in her ear, kissing her earlobe.

“I don’t know… I saw you with her… I couldn’t…” Her voice was calm,
numb. “I
was
jealous.
Again
,” she admitted, the words tasting sour on
her tongue.

“So you whore yourself to a stranger?”

She lay her head down on the pillow, her eyes filled with bitter
surrender. “I didn’t. Believe what you want.”

A sardonic chuckle escaped his lips. “I
believe
I’ve been
too soft with you.” He left her side, coming back with a whip in his hand. He
cracked it on the floor. She jerked and screamed at the imagined pain, making him
chuckle. She barely had time to compose herself, when the whip cracked down on her.
It cut her breath, the pain unbearable. She was in shock, couldn’t even scream. It
sank down on her again. This time, she bellowed with everything she had, her scream
lingering in the air. He struck her again, again, and again. She hollered and
shrieked with every strike. She thought she would pass out from the pain, convinced
he’d drawn blood and that she’d be scarred for life.

She wasn’t. He’d been careful not to break her skin. He liked her
pristine skin and kept the intensity at a minimum, controlling the impact as it
landed on her ass and back.

“The only man who will ever touch you is me.”

“Yes, Master,” she responded, her voice deadened.

“Who do you belong to?” he hissed, unhappy with her response.
“You…” she cried, the truth of her words resonating in her.

A guttural sound escaped his lips. He caressed her, brought his
hand down, and reached between her legs, growing hard at finding her wet. He spread
her wetness through her slit, all the way back, wetting the tight little circle as
he spread her ass cheeks apart.

“You’re mine...” he said, almost to himself. “And you will never
forget it.”

He entered his finger. She gasped in response,
contracting her muscles at the unpleasant feeling.

“Relax.”

“I can’t,” she panted, lifting her head in panic. He pushed his
finger all the way in and used his other hand to continue playing with her sensitive
spot. He wanted her to relax despite herself, to get lost in the pleasure he
provided her, despite the pain he had inflicted on her. She moaned, rocking her hips
against his fingers. “Just like a bitch in heat…” He chuckled sadistically, knowing
how deep his words cut her.

A whimper escaped her lips, her eyes tearing at the sting of his
words. Yet she couldn’t help rubbing herself against him, insane with the pleasure
she craved so much, desperate for any pleasure she could get from him. He pulled out
his finger and laid his body on top of hers. She could feel his erection rubbing
against her ass, lingering at the entrance his finger had just violated. She wanted
to plead, beg him not to, but he continued to play with and tease her pulsating
nerve. She could feel his body surrounding her, his fingers driving her mad. She
understood in that moment just how deep his power over her truly went. With his
touch alone, he had more control over her than all the values and principles she
clung to her entire life.

“Beg me,” he commanded, his voice wolfish in her ear.

She whimpered.

He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. “Beg me to make you my
whore.”

“Make me your whore… please, Master,” she sobbed.

She cried out at the sharp unnatural pain as he penetrated her ass.
He thrust slowly, as he entered her completely. He moved in and out leisurely inside
of her, enabling her to get used to the sensation. Once he felt her muscles relax,
he picked up the rhythm, pulling out completely and reentering her with each thrust.
She sobbed under him, crying in her pillow, but he kept his fingers on her bundle of
nerves, never letting her forget the pleasure she was getting regardless of anything
else he did to her.
Laura was caught in a foggy haze, where pleasure
and pain coexisted, where blood and tears paved the way to her haven. She was no
longer herself, she was a body reacting to sensations. Kayne… Kayne… Kayne… She
repeated his name over and over again in her head. She couldn’t admit to herself the
distress she had felt facing another man, facing the normality of the life he took
from her. She would have given everything to be back with him then, to have him be
the one standing in front of her trying to kiss her. Then he was, and she was
terrified. A man was murdered, in front of her,
because
of her. And all she
could feel in this moment was the sweet numbing relief of belonging to him, her
Monster,
her
Kayne, surrendering completely in the face of this unavoidable,
irrepressible force.

She came as he fucked her ass, claiming her, asserting his
ownership over her body. He came not long after, in a growl. He got up and
unshackled her without saying a word. As she lay on the mattress, she felt emptiness
invade her. He had threatened her life, killed a man, and taken her body without
consent. He whipped her, used her as his whore, and she let him; she even came from
it. She had thought she had nothing left to lose after Peter died.
There’s always
more you can lose
. She brought her knees up to her chest and stared vacantly
into the open space.

He walked away and opened the door but stopped in his tracks at the
last second. He looked back at the broken body he just left behind. He got
irritated, feeling trapped. He didn’t want to go back to her; she ran away, deserved
any punishment he saw fit. Worse than that, he found her in the arms of another man.
He could’ve massacred an entire village. But he knew, looking at her face, if he
walked out on her now, the Laura Spencer he knew would be no more.