Riding Steele: Crossroads (3 page)

But now that seemed impossible. She really didn’t think she’d survive this night.

Donovan tossed aside her bra and leered down at her. The other men’s gazes also locked on her bare breasts. She felt sick inside.

Donovan roughly fondled one breast.

“Now let’s see that juicy little cunt of yours.” Then before she could catch a breath, he slashed both sides of her panties, nicking her twice more.

He leaned forward and grasped her wrists. His two henchmen released their hold on her as Donovan pinned her hands over her head, his gaze locking on hers.

“There’s a black shoebox on the couch,” he said to one of the men, still staring into her eyes, looking smug at the fear he must have seen there. “Get it and put the shoes on her.”

The men moved away and within moments she felt one grasp her ankle and force her foot into a tight-fitting, very high-heeled shoe.

“I know how you like your stilettos.” His lips turned up in a malicious smile. In fact, he knew she hated them.

She felt hands fastening them around her ankles. She wanted to kick and wound with them, but the strong hands prevented her from doing that. Donovan then strapped leather bands around her wrists, then stood up and the other men grabbed her arms and lifted her to her feet. She steadied herself on the extremely high, narrow heels, almost tumbling to the floor again. She glanced down to look at the shoes, which had to be seven-inch heels, with an inch-high platform under the sole.

‘Well, don’t you look like the perfect, sexy slut.” Donovan’s hand cupped her bare bottom.

She couldn’t help herself. She lifted her foot and jabbed the sharp end of the heel into his shoe-covered foot.

“Fuck!” He lurched back knocking her off balance, but his henchmen stopped her from falling. Sparks flared from Donovan’s cold, gray eyes. He grabbed her arm and tugged her toward him, then smacked her hard across her face. She fell to the ground in a daze, her jaw aching.

“Bitch! You’ll regret that.” His blazing glare shifted to the men. “Put her in the cage.”

They pulled her to her feet and marched her to the tall narrow cell. One rough hand brushed over her breast, squeezing it, and she stifled a cry. Donovan would probably just encourage the man if she made any protest. They reached the cage and the wiry man ran his hand over her ass as the driver opened the door.

“Before we put her in …” the wiry one said, “uh … you said you didn’t care if we touched her.”

“You want to fuck her?” Donovan raised an eyebrow, watching the rising fear in her eyes. “Right here in front of me?”

“I don’t give a shit where.” The wiry man gave her breast a rough squeeze. “I just want to hear the bitch scream.”

“Oh, she’ll be screaming all right, but not from your rough handling.” Donovan’s gaze locked on her face, taking in her flaming cheeks and rapid, anxious breathing. “I wouldn’t mind watching you and your friend fucking her at the same time while she screams in protest.” He grinned evilly. “Or in pleasure, the slut she is.”

The wiry man stared at her with cruel, heated eyes and started to unfasten his pants.

“But not tonight.” Donovan walked toward the cage. “I don’t feel like sampling another man’s—I should say men’s—sloppy seconds. Put her in the cage.”

The wiry man scowled and pushed her inside.

“Fasten her wrists.” Donovan watched while the wiry man grabbed her left wrist and held it to her side, then the driver used a metal clip to fasten the ring on the wrist strap to the cage. She tried to fight them while they grabbed her other wrist and attached it at her other side, but all she accomplished was bruising herself as her struggles battered her against the cold metal bars.

Now she stood precariously balanced on these ridiculous shoes, her arms restrained at her sides.

“Use this to secure her legs.” Donovan handed the driver two black cords. “You can attach it around the heels.”

The wiry man grabbed one of her ankles and pulled it to the side, and the driver tied the heel of her shoe to the bar. When he grabbed her other ankle and pushed her legs as wide as the narrow cage would allow, she lost her balance and her ankle twisted painfully. She cried out in pain. The wiry man grabbed her hips, then stood up and pushed her against the cage, his body holding her firm. The feel of him against her sent her skin crawling. His hands roamed over her body.

Donovan simply watched for a few seconds, then finally said, “Get on with it. Tie her ankle.”

The wiry man sank back down and pressed her foot back so that the driver could tie the shoe to the cage. He stood up, his fingers trailing up her thigh. Revulsion jolted through her at his rough touch.

Then he left the cage and the driver closed the door, both men leering at her naked body.

Donovan strolled toward the cage, another thick black cord in his hand. He stepped behind her and tugged her hair to one side, then pushed his fingers through the bars and threaded the cord through the ring on the side of her collar. She pushed aside the panicky impulse to fight him. It wouldn’t get her anywhere. He pulled the cord around the bars, then threaded it though the ring on the other side of her collar.

He pulled the cord snug, tugging her head tight against the bars, making her gasp. Then he tied it.

“You two, get lost. I’ll contact you if I need you.”

The wiry man scowled, then ran his gaze over her naked body one more time before following the driver to the door. When the door closed, Donovan stepped closer behind her. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

“So now we have a little alone time.” His fingers slipped through the bars and he coiled her hair around his fingers. “Have you missed me?”

She refused to play these games.

“What do you want, Donovan?”

He laughed. “What do you think I want?”

Her stomach turned as she felt his hand touch her ribs, then stroke along the side of her breast. It slid downward, then curved over her hip. He pulled her tight to the cage while his fingers slid toward her sex.

She couldn’t bear the thought of him touching her there so she did the only thing she could think of. Slammed her head back against the bars, startling him.

He growled and tugged her hair, pulling her head hard against the cage, then tightened his hand around her throat and squeezed until she started to black out.

Finally, he released her and she gasped for breath.

“If you do something like that again, I’ll punish you by fucking you hard in the ass. Thrusting deep into you. All the while you in that cage. Helpless.”

She said nothing. Just tried to quell the revulsion filling her.

All she wanted was to get out of this cage. Her legs were aching balancing on these crazy shoes, especially with favoring her sore ankle. Having to angle her back so she kept her neck tight against the cage made it all the worse.

With the collar bound tight to the bars, she felt like she was choking.

Donovan walked to the front of the cage and stared at her, his gaze traveling the length of her body.

“But it’s late now. I don’t feel like putting that much effort into it.” He sat down on an easy chair and pulled out his hard cock, then stroked it. He stared at her widened thighs, his gaze locked on her intimate parts. She felt so vulnerable.

His hand moved up and down his erect shaft, his hard gaze on her.

“Are you frightened, slut?”

She refused to answer him.

“Don’t worry, I can see it in your eyes.” He stroked faster. “I can do anything I want to you.” He laughed. “I can beat you. I can make you scream.” He groaned. “I can make you beg me to fuck you.” He stiffened, then his cock erupted with a stream of white fluid.

He leaned back in the chair, an unsettling smile on his face. Then he stood up.

“I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Disgusted and horrified, she watched him walk across the room. When he reached the hallway, he turned out the light, leaving her in complete darkness.

Oh, God, he was going to leave her standing here in the cage all night?

Her legs were aching already, especially with most of her weight on her right leg because of her twisted ankle. She wished she could sink to the floor and just curl up on the bottom of the cage, but with the tight collar around her neck, she could barely move. If her legs gave out on her … Oh, God, she had to fight back tears.

*

“What do you mean you don’t fucking know where she is?” Steele demanded.

Steele had called Rip a half hour after the previous call for an update.

“I’ve got Killer looking into it, and he’s calling her brother to see if he might have any ideas.”

“That bastard. Donovan must have got his hands on her.”

“Why don’t you stay where you are and call me back in twenty. I might have found out something by then.”

Steele grumbled his agreement.

“We’ll find her,” Rip said.

“We had fucking better.” Steele slammed down the phone.

He grabbed a coffee at an all-night diner. After twenty minutes, he put a coin in the pay phone and dialed Rip’s cell.

“Good news,” Rip said. “It looks like we have a lead. We called his secretary and claimed to have urgent news about a sick relative. She said that he was at a country home for the weekend, though she wasn’t sure which one. The closest one is about two hours from here. Odds are, he took her to that one.”

Steele’s heart raced. “Okay, that’s where we’ll start. Let’s get moving. I’ll meet you there.”

It was the longest couple of hours of Steele’s life as he drove, his gut clenched tight, to meet his crew. He couldn’t stop imagining that asshole Donovan Blake with Laurie. Mauling her. Hurting her.
Fucking
her.

God damn it. He drove faster than he should and took chances he shouldn’t that night as he raced through the darkness, knowing somehow he would find his woman and save her.

And probably kill the bastard who had hurt her.

*

The fingers around her neck tightened … and tightened … squeezing the life from her.

Laurie awoke with a start, the collar so tight around her neck she could barely breathe. She pushed herself straight on aching legs and leaned her head back against the bars again.

“I was wondering if you would wake up this time.”

Her gaze darted to the armchair in front of the cage at Donovan’s voice. He sat there, quite relaxed, gazing at her. The sky outside the windows was lightening with the rising sun. She had been in this cage for hours now.

“Please let me out of here.” Her voice was hoarse. She didn’t want to ask him for anything, an admission she was at his mercy, but she didn’t know how much longer she could take this.

“And what will you do for me if I free you?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Well, for starters, call me Mr. Blake.”

“Yes, Mr. Blake.”

“Now tell me how sorry you are for being such an ungrateful bitch and running off on me. And how much you would like me to punish you to make amends.”

Her legs ached, her muscles straining to balance her. Her ankle throbbed and the choking band around her throat sent waves of panic through her.

“Mr. Blake, please forgive me for being so ungrateful. I should not have run off on you …” It crushed her to utter the words, but it seemed like the only way to change her circumstances. “Please punish me as you see fit.”

“Do you
want
me to punish you?”

She responded only by meeting his glare with a hateful one of her own.

“I said, do you want me to punish you? Answer now or I’ll leave you here for the next twenty-four hours.”

At least if he bent her over a punishment bench, she wasn’t in danger of choking to death.

“Yes,” she ground out. “Please punish me, Mr. Blake.”

He stood up and walked behind her. She could hear his footsteps as he walked across the room, then returned.

“Although you are an unworthy slut, I am willing to rehabilitate you.”

She felt the bars move away from her ass as he opened a door positioned—she was sure not accidentally—right over her behind.

She jumped as his fingers stroked over her round flesh, then his hand connected with her ass in a sharp slap, the sound filling the room.

“Do you like that?”

“Yes, Mr. Blake,” she lied. To do otherwise would trigger his wrath.

“Good. If you like that, then you’ll love the riding crop.”

Then he stepped back and she felt a sharp stinging across her ass. She yelped at the pain. Then he slashed it against her again. She arched forward, regretting it instantly as the collar tightened. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back hard against the cage, then he whacked her again. And again.

She sucked in air, trying to ignore the burning pain.

“Your ass looks quite appealing bright red like that.” He stroked one cheek, then smacked it with his hand.

She had to force herself not to pull away from his repulsive touch.

She was rewarded when he released the fastener holding her wrist attached to the bars. Then the other one. She lifted her arms, which were stiff and numb. She squeezed and flexed her fingers, and moved her arms to get the circulation moving.

But instead of untying the cords holding her neck and feet immobile, Donovan sat down in the chair in front of her.

“Touch yourself.”

“What?”

His passive expression tightened in annoyance. “I said touch yourself.”

She glared at him. “Fuck you!”

Fury flashed in his eyes and she instantly regretted her rebelliousness. He stood up. Her chest constricted as he strode toward her. What would he do to her?

But as he got closer, he schooled his features and appeared very calm.

He walked behind the cage and wrapped his hand around her throat, his fingers gliding back and forth along the edge of the collar.

“I’m going to fuck you,” he murmured near her ear. “So hard you won’t be able to stand for a week.” His fingers tightened on her neck. “Then I’m going to do it again. And again.”

Blind panic gripped her and she sucked in a breath.

Suddenly, the front door burst open.

“Get away from her right now or you’re a dead man.”