Stockholm Syndrome (18 page)

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Looking for ya, Mace. And I’m damn glad we found ya. We’ve
been searching for you for hours. This is the fourth police station we’ve
checked. Ya haven’t been in yet, have ya?”

Mason ignored the question. “You just get back in the damn
ute and go home, George. Don’t interfere.”

“We’ll go, but not ’til ya hear us out. Evelyn phoned Edna.”

“Yeah? That’s great, but I’m not interested in anything
about Evelyn except for what she’s going to tell the cops.”

Edna grabbed his arm. “She’s not going to the police, Mace.
She’s sorry ’bout the letter. She says it was a mistake, and she loves ya.”

“And you believe her, Edna? I don’t know what scheme she’s
pulling now, but please don’t fall for it.”

“Even if ya don’t believe her, ya don’t have to go to the
cops if she’s not gonna. And anyway, I think she’s telling the truth. I could
hear it in her voice.”

Mason laughed bitterly. “Oh, she is an excellent actress!
You wouldn’t believe how convincing she is. And I’m going to carry on with my
plan, because otherwise she’ll keep this hanging over my head. Anytime the whim
takes her, she could turn me in. It’s like blackmail! I won’t live like that!”
He shook off Edna’s hand.

“Look, let’s just be reasonable,” said George. “Delay your
plan for one day. Evelyn’s coming back this evening. Come talk to her and see
what youse can work out. She’s not going to be reporting anything while she’s
at the ranch, and ya can hear her side of the story.”

Mason’s jaw clenched, his face rigid with anger. “I’m not
interested in her side of anything, George, and I don’t want her at my house.
If she’s coming to the ranch then I’m staying here in Rockhampton tonight. You
make bloody sure she leaves first thing in the morning!”

George and Edna exchanged glances.

“Surely ya can just talk to her, Mace,” said George,
beginning to sound impatient himself. “Ya got your chance after you fucked up.
Ya kidnapped her so you could have a chance! Why not give her a few hours?”

“Don’t throw that in my damn face, George! I made a genuine
mistake. She’s been lying and scheming! There is no way I’m going back to speak
to her—I’ll probably strangle the little bitch!”

“Well, if that’s how ya feel… Oh, look over there!” George’s
face lifted, his eyes looking past Mason’s shoulder.

Mason turned to look, and as he moved, distracted, George
punched him. Mason was much taller and heavier, but George was wiry and fit,
strong from the manual work he did every day. And he was fast. His fist caught
Mason under the chin in a well-placed uppercut. Mason’s teeth snapped together,
his head jerked back, and his eyes rolled up in their sockets. He teetered for
a moment then slowly collapsed, his buckling knees giving way beneath him. He
tried to make his legs obey his commands to no avail. George and Edna grabbed
him before he fell and propped him up between them, staggering under his
weight. He could hear them talking, faintly, as if through a closed door.

“Goddamn, that hurt my hand!” George swore. “I think I’ve
broken something. And right outside the police station! Ya better be right ’bout
Evelyn, woman!”

“I’m right,” muttered Edna. “But I can’t hold him much
longer. Can ya get it open? Let’s get him in quickly before we drop him.”

“Or somebody sees.”

He felt them pushing and pulling, then he was falling,
unable to so much as reach out and save himself. But he didn’t fall far. Pain
washed through his skull as he landed on something padded, and the leather
upholstery of the Range Rover seat filled his field of vision.
Lots of
little holes. Holes in the leather. Patterns.

“Watch his head,” hissed George. “I have to push his legs up
or we won’t be able to close the door… There, that’ll do it.”

“We’re gonna have to tie him up with something.” Was that
Edna? “He’s gonna be hopping mad when he comes ’round, and you’ll be driving.”

Who were they going to tie up? He was so confused. He fought
to keep his eyes open.
No, one eye. Other one lost…

“I’m hoping he’ll stay out ’til we’re back, but you’re
probably right. There’re cable ties in the toolbox in the ute,” said George. “Bring
the whole bag.”

More tugging and shoving. He wished they’d just leave him to
sleep in peace.

“Looks a bit cruel,” said Edna, sounding worried.

“He’ll be fine. They won’t hurt him unless he pulls.”

“It’s Mace, George. He’s gonna pull!”

“Well, then he’s gonna bleed. Let’s get going. Here’s the
keys for the ute.”

Doors banged and an engine started.
Oh good, the visitors
are going
. A sense of movement.
Was I a visitor? Don’t want to go, wanna
sleep.

***

Evelyn paced her tiny apartment, burning with impatience to
get to Mason. She needed to talk to him, to convince him that she loved him.
She quailed at the thought of facing his anger and hurt. Would his temper run
hot? Would he shout and rant, and refuse to listen to her? Or would he be icy
cold, stare at her with expressionless eyes, and not say a word? Which would be
worse?

And what would she do? How could she get through to him?

She thought about everything they’d done, looking for clues.

He was a Dom. He liked it when she submitted to him. She’d
be willing to do so, as much as he wanted, but would that sway him?

She stopped pacing suddenly. There was one thing… Something
so intimate, so submissive… Something she’d never done before. She closed her
eyes and a shiver ran over her body, raising goose bumps across her skin like
an illicit caress.

She knew what she could offer him. She knew, with a
powerful, instinctive insight, that he’d want it. He’d want to take her like
that, to be the first, the only. It would tempt him like nothing else could.

Two days ago, he’d spread her on the dining room table for
his delectation, and he’d touched her
there
. She’d seen the desire
raging in his eyes as he’d penetrated her with just his fingertip. He’d wanted
so much more, but she’d stopped him, afraid of what he’d do to her, sure that
it would hurt her.

She was still afraid, but entwined with the fear was a
desire darker than anything she’d felt before. It swirled heat around the
depths of her belly, and coalesced into a heavy, slow throb between her thighs.
Like the lazy, simmering lava beneath a peaceful volcano, her hunger bubbled,
the ultimate explosion a distant but inevitable conclusion.

Now that she’d determined her course of action, and
established that she was, in fact, all right with it, her practical, planning
nature came to the fore. There were things she could do to make this easier on
herself, and to increase her likelihood of success.

She jogged rapidly down the street, dodging around slower
pedestrians. She was on her way to a sex shop four blocks away from her
apartment, in the opposite direction from the university. She’d looked at the
yellow-painted exterior of Lulu’s Luv Land on many occasions because it was
directly across from her favorite Thai takeaway place, but she’d never ventured
inside. Shyness had always far outweighed her mild curiosity.

But today was entirely different. It was an emergency
situation, a crisis, and there wasn’t time to be prudish no matter how nervous
she felt. If she was going to offer herself to Mason in that way and actually
see it through, she needed to do something to prepare herself, or he’d split
her in two.

The shop had a double entrance to ensure that people in the
street couldn’t catch a glimpse of the merchandise on display within. She
pushed through the second door and paused, taking in the brightly lit interior
in surprise. She’d expected it to be dark and dingy, but it was clean, with
neatly arranged aisles, a slightly bizarre mélange of chemist and toyshop.

The middle-aged woman behind the counter greeted her in a
friendly manner. “Can I help you with anything today?”

Evelyn looked at her watch. She had an hour and a half
before the taxi she’d arranged would arrive at her apartment. Browsing would
have to wait for another day.

“Er… I need to buy a butt plug,” she said, a crimson blush
washing over her cheeks.

“Sure. We have some beautiful glass ones here in the
display, or you can look down aisle three. Did you have any particular type in
mind?”

“Umm, I need to wear it on an airplane,” she blurted. It was
the first thing that came into her mind, and she cursed herself for making such
a stupid declaration. But the woman didn’t seem to find it strange. Her mouth
stretched in an attractive smile that made her look much younger.

“Well, then, you’d better not get a metal one! Can you
imagine trying to explain
that
when you set off all the alarms at
airport security?” She started to chuckle, which made Evelyn laugh too. It felt
wonderful after the tension of the last few hours.

“Are you Lulu?” she asked the woman.

“No, I’m Sharon. I’m not sure there is a Lulu. I’ve been
working here for three years and I’ve never met her.” They laughed again.

Sharon led her down aisle three.

“Here are all our anal toys.” She indicated a wide expanse of
shelving with a sweep of her arm. “I’ll leave you to look around, but please
call me if you need any help. And remember the pretty glass ones up front—they’re
very popular.” She returned to the front counter, leaving Evelyn to stare at
the vast array of toys.

Her eyes bulged. On the lowest shelf, there was a plastic
thing shaped like a fisted hand, with a suction cup base. Next to it stood a
giant torpedo-like monster that could just about be used as a traffic cone.
Surely people couldn’t fit those…

The variety was bemusing—beads, balls, plugs, probes. Every
box promised the finest quality, the best design, and the ultimate pleasure.
She was conscious of time ticking by while she tried to make sense of the
different options.

Eventually she narrowed down her selection to three possibilities,
based on size. She was aiming for something that was about two thirds as thick
as Mason’s cock, hoping to stretch herself just enough so that his penetration
wouldn’t be too painful.

She had no idea what features made one type better than
another, so she grabbed the boxes and made her way back to Sharon.

“Wow, three!” Sharon beamed.

“No, just one. But I don’t know which one. I need advice.”
She looked around, praying that nobody else would come into the shop while they
were talking.

“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.” Sharon lined up the boxes
on the counter. “Do you mind my asking, have you used a butt plug before?”

“No,” admitted Evelyn, surprised she wasn’t blushing again.
Sharon’s open, unembarrassed manner reassured her. “I’ve never tried anything
anal.”

“Hmm, let me guess. Your boyfriend’s asked you to try it and
now you’re getting worried at the last minute?”

“Something like that, yes.” There was no need to confess
all.

“When do you think it’ll happen?”

“Tonight. It will definitely happen tonight.” She’d probably
only get one chance.

“Okay. These are all quite big for a first timer. Definitely
doable, but most people start out a bit smaller.”

“Well, he’s, you know, quite…umm…”

“I get it! And you said you’re gonna wear it on the plane,
so it’ll be in for a while? That’s really hot, by the way!”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I wouldn’t go for either of these if I were you.”
Sharon pushed two boxes aside. “They both have big, round bases, and that’ll hurt
your bum cheeks when you’re sitting in the plane. You need one with a long,
thin base, like this. It kinda nestles in the valley, ya know?”

Evelyn nodded. She wouldn’t have thought of that, but it
made sense.

“So I should get that one?” she asked, pointing at the last
box.

“You could,” said Sharon, “but the neck is a little short,
and that can make it a bit painful to leave in for a long time.”

Evelyn sighed. “So what do you recommend?” She should have
just asked as soon as she walked into the shop.

“This.” Sharon placed a glass butt plug in a matte black box
on the counter. “It’s about the same size as the ones you chose, with a
slightly longer neck and a lovely, smooth, elongated base. It won’t hurt you
even if you leave it in for a few hours. And glass slips in so easily.”

“Won’t it slip out again?”

“That’s sometimes a concern, but because it’s such a big
one, I don’t think you’ll have that problem—it’ll sit tight. And it’s gonna
look amazing.”

“Okay, I’ll take it.” She needed to get back to her
apartment with enough time to insert it before she left for the airport.

“Do you have lube?”

“What?”

“Lubricant. You need lots of lubricant for anything anal.”

“Oh! No, I’ll have to get some. Where is it?”

“Right here,” said Sharon, nodding at a shelf to the side of
the counter. It boasted a colorful assortment of bottles, tubes, and boxes. “Can
I make suggestions?”

“Go ahead.”

“Try these. They come in individual disposable applicators.
You can squeeze it right where you need it, if you know what I mean, then chuck
out the empty tube.”

“Right. Thanks. Do you take credit cards?”

“Of course! Do you need batteries?”

“Er… I don’t think so.”

“So you’ve got lots for your vibrator?”

“I don’t have a vibrator.”

“What? Then you must buy one. Every woman should have a
vibrator!”

“This is getting a bit expensive. Maybe next time.”

“You’ll need it to help you get the plug in. Trust me, the
more turned-on you are, the easier it’ll be.”

Evelyn paused. She was deeply aroused by the idea of what
she planned to do with Mason later, but she hadn’t thought about exactly how
she was going to insert the butt plug on her own, viewing it simply as a means
to an end. She’d assumed she could just…push it in. Sharon might have a valid
point.