Beyond Ransom (The Ransom Series) (11 page)

Leo looks pleased with my response, but
I don’t know if I have as much confidence in myself to keep from speaking up as
he does.

“It’s time for you to rest.  Mark will
have food and water sent to you soon.”  Leo’s already to standing and moving
toward the door.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” I
call out to him.

He reaches the door and steps half out
of it before turning to me.  “I’ll try to come by overnight to check on you.  I
might be able to help you sleep.”

For a second I wonder if his words have
any extra meaning, but I can see in the hard lines of his face and the solemn
look in his eyes that there is absolutely no
flirting
in what he’s telling me. 

“Thank you.”  It’s all I can manage to
say through the constriction in my throat.

Leo’s sad expression doesn’t change.  “Thank
me when this is all over.”

Screwed

The ten days that followed have been
quite possibly the most painful and embarrassing of my life.  Instead of facing
the relatively trivial trials and tribulations of being a freshman in college,
I’ve been struggling to move around each day and even to sleep at night. 
Resting my body has been almost impossible as my skin has blistered and flaked
apart in its attempts to heal from my overexposure to the sun.

Leo persuaded Mark to leave the bottle
of aloe with me so I could apply it each day, but the soothing gel
did
little to calm the fiery pain when I tr
ied
to l
ay
down on the cot.  Its surface
was
too solid, the sheets too rough against my sensitive skin.  The
pressure from my body pushing down into the cot was so painful
that
I gave up trying to fall asleep horizontally the first night after
I was burned.

After hours of staying awake that night
trying to find a way to sleep with the least amount of pain, Leo stopped by and
knew exactly what to do to help me.  He sat against the wall on the cot and
leaned me back against him.  He found the perfect position so that the majority
of the pressure of my body against his was in areas of my back that weren’t
as
burned.  In the absence of severe pain and in the comfort of
Leo’s body, I found myself
finally
able to relax and
rest.

He’s been back every night since then,
allowing me a few hours each time of relatively restful sleep.  We never talk. 
He just sneaks in, finds his place on the cot where I can snuggle back against
him, and stays with me until he sneaks back out before morning.  In the thick
exhaustion of my mind and body, I rarely even wake up when he leaves.

The embarrassing part of the last week and
a half came in the form of my monthly friend visiting me at the worst possible
time.  When Mark and his crew captured me
,
I’m not
sure they considered that I’m a woman with a monthly cycle that requires
certain attention and supplies.

It felt like I was talking to my
parents about my first period all over again when I had to ask one of the men
to get me feminine products two days after I was burned.  I remembered seeing a
dispenser for them in the locker room with the showers. 
Leo
kept me stocked up on
supplies
after that.

It’s been a long ten days, but things
are better now.  My period is over.  Mark stops by to look in on me but hasn’t
otherwise touched or tormented me.  My skin is still healing, but it’s not
nearly as painful now as it was before.  It’s more bearable when I try to lie
down on the cot to sleep, but I’m not sure I want to tell Leo that.  I’m
enjoying his nightly visits too much.

I’m actually awakened from a deep sleep
when Leo steps into my cell this time.  It’s dark in the room, so he doesn’t
realize what he’s done until he sits down on the edge of the cot.

“You were sleeping?” he asks,
clearly
surprised.

I readjust slightly to give him more
room.  “I was.”

“That’s a good sign.  It’s more
tolerable now?”

He can barely see me
,
but I nod anyway.  “It’s better.”

“Thank God.”  Leo’s hand run
s
over my face lightly and work
s its
way
through my hair.  “Do you still want me to stay?”

“Yes.”  My answer is almost
instantaneous despite the sleepy haze that I’m stuck in.  “Lie down with me?”

Leo’s response to my request seems
hesitant at first, but he ultimately complies.  He spreads himself out on the
cot on his side facing me and wraps his arm gently around my waist.  In the
tiny size of the cot
,
we’re so close to each other
that I can feel each movement of breath in his chest against mine and the heat
of him next to me.

It feels like I’ve only just closed my
eyes when I hear something coming from the door, sounds I
’
m too familiar with now: the click of the lock being undone, the
metal jostling sound in the turn of the doorknob, the slight creak to the door
as it’s being opened.

Adrenaline takes over my body as I
realize what’s wrong in this situation.

Leo is still snuggled up tightly
against me, and someone is about to enter the room.

We’re screwed.

“Leo,” I whisper in absolute fear and
panic.  The light turns on just as Leo’s eyes shoot open.

We sit up together to see our visitor. 
Mark stands at the doorway, an unreadable expression on his face.  He steps in
and closes the door behind him with a click, and the room is
momentarily
enveloped by silence.

“Well, Leo.  I see you’ve finally found
yourself a woman.”  The sarcastic smirk on Mark’s face turns cold.  “It’s too
bad the one you’ve chosen is the daughter of my enemy.”

Leo remains completely still next to
me.  His
persona
of strength and confidence is gone.  He
may be as scared as I am right now, and that only frightens me more.

He’s been at the mercy of this vile man
in front of us for far too long.  He finally earned Mark’s respect.  I don’t
want him to lose that again.  I won’t sit here and watch his progress with Mark
be erased because of my selfish desire for him to be with me.

“It’s not what it looks like.  I begged
him to stay with me,” I quickly blurt out.  “I took advantage of him.  I lured
him here.”

Leo looks at me in shock and shakes his
head.  The look on my face is telling him everything he needs to know. 
Don’t
say a word.
  I pray that he has some sense and listens.

Mark leans against the wall and watches
me, his body language relaxed despite the
hard
look of
anger
o
n his face.  “You broke your promise, Morgan. 
You said you wouldn’t do that again.”

My
gaze
falls
to my lap in feigned disappointment.  “I’m sorry.  It was stupid.  It won’t
happen again.”

“I don’t know what to do with you,
girl.  I’m torn.”  Mark begins to pace the room, thinking hard about something. 
With each step he takes and each second of silence in between
,
my heart races faster.  “I can’t decide whether you need to make
this up to me or to Leo more.  He’s my favorite, you know.  We go way back.  I’ve
looked out for him since he was a young boy.”

Despite my fear, internally I’m fuming
at this statement.  I have a decent idea of just how much he cared for Leo when
he was younger.

Mark’s pacing halts.  He’s made his
decision.  “I think Leo deserves a little treat.  I’ve apparently deprived him
of women for too long if he’s resorting to falling for your tricks.  At the
same time he needs to learn to maintain his power and show that he’s in
control.”

Leo’s shoulders slowly drop with each
of Mark’s words, and I feel the sudden need to cry.  Something extremely bad is
about to happen between us.  Leo and I both know it.

“What do you want me to do, sir?” Leo
asks hesitantly.

“You, my dear boy, get to go off
protocol.  Have your way with her.”  Mark’s voice turns lethal as he growls out
his words with the fury exuding from him.  “Deflower the bitch.  Enjoy that
sweet pussy and make daddy’s little girl a woman.”

I think I might be sick.  The reality
of Mark’s demand hits me.

He wants Leo to take my virginity.  He
wants Leo to rape me.

Leo looks at me even though we both
know he shouldn’t.  I don’t try to hide the fear in my eyes.  I’ve fantasized
about sex and what it would feel like and who my first time would be with, but
I never imagined it happening like this.  I’m absolutely terrified.

Despite the
panic
coursing through me, one tiny part of me does feel strange relief. 
I’m grateful it will be Leo and not Mark.  That same small part of me is almost
happy it’s him, urging me to want to go through with this.  It isn’t rape if
it’s something I secretly want, right?

Leo looks back to Mark.  “Now?  You
want me to do this now?”

A glare of annoyance crosses Mark’s
face.  “Yes, now.  Unless you’re not interested, in which case I’m happy to
step in.”

 “No fucking way.”  Leo is instantly to
standing.  His reaction is a little too defensive, and he has to play it off. 
“I’m not missing a chance at this.  Been dreaming of this since the day she
arrived.”

“Good.”  A satisfied smile smoothes
over Mark’s face as he steps back to lean against the wall.  “Get to it, boy.”

My insides churn.  He has no intention
of leaving the room so we can have this moment in private.  The sick fuck wants
to watch this all happen.  I suddenly feel very small and insignificant in the
presence of these two men who have such power over me and my fate.

Regret laces every feature in Leo’s
face when he turns to look down at me sitting vulnerable and helpless on the
cot.  He slowly removes his shirt and unbuttons his jeans to slip out of his
remaining clothes.

He’s completely naked and aroused as he
kneels onto the cot, straddling my waist.  “You will not resist me,” he says
forcefully, staring into my eyes.  “You will not scream or cry.  You will not
try anything stupid.”  I realize he’s really speaking to me now, warning me. 
“You will enjoy this, and you will come for me.”  I see a hint of my Leo in his
eyes as he says this.  He’s offering me some amount of comfort.  He’s telling
me to enjoy this for what it is and ignore it for what it’s not.  “Do you
understand everything I’ve just told you?”

I glance at Mark, who seems pleased by
Leo’s show of power over me.  I look back at the naked man on top of me, my
heart
racing within my
ribcage
.  “I
understand.”

Leo
slowly
lifts
my back up and pulls my shirt over my head, careful not to aggravate my healing
burns.  My breasts are immediately exposed as I’ve forgone my bra while my skin
heal
s
.  I naturally want to cover myself
,
but I know it would be pointless.  I’m not to resist him.  I need
to let this happen and try to find some pleasure in it.

Leo’s hand helps guide m
e
back down to the cot so that I’m horizontal beneath his
solid
body.  He takes my nipple into his mouth and sucks me slowly as his
hands work on removing the rest of my clothes.  Within seconds they’re gone
from me and I’m skin-to-skin with him on the cot.

He
kneads
my
breasts while he kisses all aspects of me, up and down my neck and chest all
the way to between my legs.  I wonder if Leo has forgotten that Mark is still
in the room as he finds my clit with his tongue, teasing it slightly before
sucking it into his mouth with force.  A small gasp escapes me at this move,
and I’m instantly embarrassed by it knowing there is a creepy man watching us
from the other side of the room.

I turn my gaze straight above me and
try to get lost in Leo’s actions.  His fingers work their way into me, feeling
around inside me and soaking my entrance while he continues to lick me
externally.  When he’s satisfied that I’m ready for him
,
he breaks away from me to grab his jeans, looking in his back pocket.

When he pulls a condom out of his
wallet and slips it on, the reality of what’s about to happen hits me and my
breathing quickens to a rapid pace, fear overpowering the pleasure coursing
through me.

“Relax,” Leo says, his fingers finding
wisps of my wild hair dangling in my face.  He brushes
them
away with the slightest movement before caressing my cheek.

I hear him take a deep breath
,
and I try to mimic it as he readjusts f
urther
down on the cot so that he is directly between my legs.  He waits
there a moment, staring into my eyes with his even breathing the only sound
between us.  He’s communicating with me, helping me relax even though he can’t
do it in the way that
he
would ideally want to.

I shudder the moment Leo enters me,
whether from pain or fear or pleasure, I’m not sure.  He presses further into
me in a slow and steady movement until he has completely filled the space
inside me, and that’s when the pain I know is coming hits me fully.  I wince at
it involuntarily.  Leo
flinches in his
position over
me when he recognizes the pain he’s causing
, but he doesn’t otherwise
react.

When
Leo
withdraws
himself,
the pain seems to subside, only to
be brought right back again as he pushes back in.  He’s trying to be delicate
with me, but I know there is no way to avoid this pain.  It’s inevitably part
of losing one’s virginity.

I know I shouldn’t, but I glance to the
side at Mark watching Leo slowly pump himself inside me.  He’s smiling widely
at this, watching intently with the most satisfied look on his face.  The
moment I see how turned on he is by the bulge in his pants
,
I have to look away.