The Devil's Dream: A Dark Romance (Dark Romance Novel Book 1) (12 page)

Chapter 2

On the day of the funeral, the parlor and viewing room were filled to capacity with business associates and people who had known the Fallons. Men and women whom she had known over the past few years sat among those whom she had never met.

Rhonda sat in the front row of pews while taking in the kind words the preacher spoke about her parents. Joel was also sitting up front, but at least he allowed her to be alone to grieve. She felt the hot tears roll down her cheeks, but she didn’t care that she was crying in public and didn’t move to swipe them from her face. Soon her parents would be buried and out of her life forever, and tears that streaked her face from that knowledge were fine to wet her face. The mortician had done his best, but the two people in the caskets up front gave little resemblance to the loving parents she had always known.

Somehow, Rhonda made it through the remainder of the day. Friends and associates all stopped to tell her how sorry they were, but she couldn’t recall any of them. Each came with a new bouquet to pay their condolences. Some white lilies, some red roses, some assorted too. As they came one by one they laid the flowers by her parents’ caskets. Her heart was broken at the loss of her parents and nothing anybody said was going to make her feel any better. Finally, the caskets bearing the bodies of her parents were taken to the cemetery. The preacher spoke again before lowering the caskets six feet under, where they would rest for eternity.

Joel had kept his distance from Rhonda during the service. He knew that she was hurting, and he could allow her that. In his own way he was hurting too. Rowena had always been special to him, and Gerald had never seemed to resent him because of his previous relationship with her. Soon enough Rhonda would learn what he expected of her, but for now he would allow her to grieve for her losses.

When the long day finally came to a close, Rhonda wished she could go to her home and curl up in her own bed to just cry until all of her tears were gone. But she knew that Joel would not allow it.

She said nothing as he pulled up to the front of his mansion. She guessed that she should consider herself lucky to get to live in such a place, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She just hoped that her parents had left her enough money so that she could live on her own. It was the last thing on her mind before she fell asleep that evening, worn out from grief and pain.

____

On Friday morning Joel had told Rhonda to get up and get dressed early since the attorney was scheduled to arrive at 9 AM. She made herself get up and get dressed, hoping that the reading of the will would go well for her. She descended the stairs at a little after 8 AM and headed straight for a cup of coffee before the attorney arrived.

When she walked into the kitchen, she discovered the cook had already cooked her breakfast and was carefully putting it on a plate. Rhonda was not sure if she could eat or not, but she did not want to insult the cook so she did anyway.

The scrambled eggs and homemade biscuits were much better than Rhonda expected. She had not eaten much this past week, and suddenly she realized she was starving. She took one of the biscuits and put a pat of butter on it before reaching for the jar of blueberry jam. The coffee was hot and the orange juice was fresh squeezed. Rhonda enjoyed the meal more than any she had eaten in a long time.

Mr. Daniel arrived promptly at 9 AM. He was escorted by one of the maids to Joel’s office, where Joel and Rhonda were waiting for him. Rhonda watched patiently as he put his leather brown briefcase on the desk and opened it. Finally she would learn how she was going to live the rest of her life.

Mr. Daniel placed his square rimmed glasses on his nose as he stared down at the documents that revealed Gerald and Rowena’s wishes for Rhonda’s future. The more he read, the more Rhonda slipped into a silent depression.

Gerald and Rowena had asked that all of the servants be given a monetary reward for their years of service. The house and all of its possessions were to be placed up for auction at the earliest possible date. Rhonda was allowed to keep some items for memory’s sake, but all else would be sold.

The money from the sale of the estate would be placed in a trust fund for Rhonda. She would have a weekly allowance, but until she turned twenty-one the bulk of the money would be held. She was to live with Joel for the duration of that time. When she turned twenty-one, she would be allowed to get the funds and live her life as she wished. Until then, she would be completely under Joel’s supervision.

Mr. Daniel handed Rhonda a sealed envelope that bore her name. She took it and looked at him curiously. He indicated that it was a letter from her parents that was only to be opened after their death.

Rhonda’s hands were shaking as she broke the seal of the envelope and took out the letter that was inside. She unfolded the letter and held it up where she could read it.

Our Dearest Daughter,

We realize that if you are reading this letter that we are no longer with you, but please know that we have provided for you to have a great life. Joel has agreed to take you into his home and we believe he will provide you with a good life. We know that you can sometimes be stubborn and difficult, but please give him a chance. One day you will understand why this is best for you.

It is our wish that you will one day marry and have a family of your own. When that time comes we will be with you in spirit, always watching over you. Please take this opportunity that you are given, and make the best of it. It is not the life you wanted, but we believe that it will be a good life.

Love forever,

Mom and Dad

Rhonda sat in disbelief at what the attorney had read. Her fate was sealed. She must remain here with Joel until she turned twenty-one, and that seemed like a lifetime away. She was a prisoner here, having to do whatever Joel wished. How did her parents think this was what was best for her? She would be miserable until the day she turned twenty-one and walked away from this mansion and the man who owned it.

She failed to notice the sly smile that crossed Joel’s face.

Joel showed Mr. Daniel to the door and thanked him for his time. Everything was finally over. Rhonda was under his care, and he could do with her as he wished. Soon he would show her what a woman was supposed to do for a man. He knew that it would be a battle, but Rhonda would learn the art of bondage and dark lovemaking. She would soon beg him for the pain and the pleasure he could give her. Her body would respond to him, whether she wanted it to or not. One day perhaps he would introduce her to his friends, but for now he must teach her the way to please a man of his particular appetites.

Joel returned to his office and found Rhonda was still sitting where he left her. He noticed the tears that were ready to spill from her eyes, but he did not care. She would soon learn that tears had no effect on him. In fact, he wasn’t sure if anything had any effect on him other than the dark side of sex that he so enjoyed.

“As you have just heard, your parents have placed you into my care until you are twenty-one years old. There is nothing that you can do about it so you will be better served by doing as I ask. I will be teaching you things that you have never seen before, and I will use you as I wish. If you fight me I will make it harder for you, but if you follow my command you will eventually find pleasure. The choice is yours,” Joel said.

Rhonda could only imagine what Joel meant to do to her. Her parents had controlled nearly every aspect of her life, and until she was twenty-one they had given her away for him to control. Rhonda was sure that it would not be anything she would ever enjoy, and she did not plan to give in easily. She would fight him with everything in her. One day she would be old enough to live on her own, but for the time being, she would just have to show Joel where she stood. If Joel Longwood thought that she was just going to give in and allow him to use her body as she realized he must mean, he had another thing coming.

Chapter 3

The following morning Rhonda got up and dressed, ready to find out what the cook had in mind for her for breakfast. She could smell the bacon cooking as she walked down the stairs. His house seemed foreign to her, yet still strangely familiar to her own. His carpets felt slightly plush when you walked on them, almost as if you were royalty.

When Rhonda stepped into the dining room, she discovered that Joel was already seated, cradling a hot cup of coffee in one hand while he flipped through the morning paper with the other. He looked up at Rhonda when she walked into the room.

“Well, sleeping beauty has finally woken up. I have been up for hours,” Joel said.

Rhonda tried to ignore his sarcasm as she poured herself a cup of the hot, black coffee. She wasn’t ready to start arguing with him this morning. She just wanted to enjoy her coffee and find some breakfast.

“Today we will begin your lessons. I see no reason why we should put it off any longer. Enjoy your breakfast. I will get things ready for your first lesson,” he said.

Rhonda watched as Joel left the room and walked up the stairs. She had no idea what kind of lesson he was talking about, but she already knew she was not going to like it. She looked up as the cook placed a plate of bacon and eggs on the table before her. The smell was mesmerizing, making her mouth water in anticipation. Before long, she had cleaned her plate and felt pleasingly full.

Joel waited until Rhonda had finished eating before returning to the dining room. He had prepared things in his bedroom, deciding to withhold the bondage room until later. He was fairly sure this would be Rhonda’s first time, and he needed to dispense with her virginity before they moved on to things that were much more pleasurable.

“I need you to come with me. Leave the dishes on the table. The cook will take care of them,” he said.

“Where are we going?” Rhonda asked.

“I told you we were starting your lessons today. It is time for you to learn your place in this house. Now, come with me, and please, don’t fight me. It will only make it worse for you if you do,” Joel said.

Rhonda felt like a trapped doe. She looked around for a place to escape, but there were no ways to escape. She rose from the dining table and followed Joel as he ascended the stairs. When they reached his bedroom, she started to turn and run, but Joel was too fast for her. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Rhonda’s heart was about to pound out of her chest. She had an idea what Joel planned to do to her, but she was not going to give in without a fight. She watched as Joel set the lock on the door and withdrew the key, leaving her no place to run.

Rhonda’s eyes about bugged out of her head when she spotted the bed with restraints at the head and the foot. Surely, Joel did not plan to use them on her! She turned to the door and tried in vain to get it open, but Joel only grabbed her and turned her around to face him.

“I have told you, if you fight me you will make this much worse for you. I enjoy inflicting pain, and I assure you I will not hesitate to inflict enough pain on you to make you submit. Now, remove your clothes and lie down on the bed,” he snarled.

Rhonda felt hot tears start to burn behind her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but they rolled down her cheeks anyway. How could her parents have thought that Joel was what she needed? She had never been with a man before, and she had no idea at all what men and women even did behind closed doors. But she did know that she was not supposed to remove her clothing in front of a man.

“I told you, tears do not work on me. Now do as I asked and remove your clothing before I tear it off you.”

Rhonda stood her ground and glared at him, refusing to do as he asked. Her eyes widened when she watched Joel reach for a large knife. When he started for the top of her dress, she closed her eyes, sure that she was about to die. But Joel did not touch her skin with the knife. Instead, he started at the neckline of her dress and went all of the way to the bottom, causing it to fall in a heap at her feet. She was trembling while standing before him, wearing only her bra and panties.

“Now, unless you want more of the same, remove the rest of your clothing. If you do not I will not hesitate to cut them from you.”

Rhonda knew he meant what he said, but she was shaking too bad to undo the hooks of her bra. Joel tired of her efforts and whirled her around, swiftly undoing the hooks and pulling the bra off her. Before she knew what was happening, he had pulled her panties down around her ankles, leaving her standing naked before him.

Joel took a minute to look at Rhonda. She was so much like her mother had been at that age. He saw the fear in her eyes, and he knew that she was trembling, but once they got past this things would be different. Her body was quite lovely. Her breasts were large and round, and her waist was narrow, spreading out to her hips that looked larger than they did when she was wearing clothing.

Rhonda dropped her eyes, unable to meet Joel’s gaze. No man had ever seen her naked before, and she was terrified at what was going to happen next. She stood there glued to that one spot, afraid to move for fear of what Joel would do.

“Come over here and lie down on the bed. Things will go better for you if you just do as I say. The servants in this house will not pay any attention to your screams, so I suggest you not cause any undue embarrassment for yourself,” Joel said.

Rhonda was sure she was about to lose consciousness. She tried to move, but could not. Joel took her arm and slowly led her to the bed, gently pushing her down. She watched in horror as he tied her wrists and feet to the head and foot of the bed, leaving her widely displayed to his view. She felt the color of shame rising in her cheeks as Joel looked lewdly at her from one end to the other.

Once Joel had secured Rhonda to the bed, he reached over and picked up a long piece of cloth that looked to be satin. He placed the cloth over her eyes and tied it behind her head, causing her to be completely blind as to what was going on in the room.

“Please, don’t do this to me,” she pleaded. “I have done nothing to you.”

“This is what I plan to do to you until you reach the age of twenty-one. I will show you how to please a man. Soon you will beg me to give you exactly what I am about to give you now. You will enjoy pain, and you will enjoy what I do to your body. Your fear does not bother me, so you might as well try to relax and accept your fate. It will feel much better if you don’t fight me.”

Rhonda’s entire body was trembling as she lay there at his mercy, unable to do anything but allow him to have his way with her. She heard shuffling beside the bed and wondered what was going on, but the blindfold prevented her from seeing anything.

Joel removed his clothes and reached down to grab one of Rhonda’s lush breasts. He felt her flinch, but this only made him squeeze harder. He watched as the bud hardened in spite of her resistance. He squeezed hard, making her cry out from the pain.

“I told you that you are not to scream. If you do, it will only provide the servants with some entertainment. Now keep quiet and relax. We are just getting started and fighting me will only wear you out too soon.”

Rhonda had never known such fear in her life. Surely at any minute she was going to die. Joel was squeezing her breast so hard; it was extremely painful. She wished that she could at least see what he was doing. Maybe then she could prepare herself and hold her screams at bay.

Joel moved his hand lower down Rhonda’s trembling body. She really was quite lovely, and he was looking forward to claiming her. But first, he must teach her a lesson. When he reached the top of her womanhood, she tried to close her legs to deny his access. The bonds that held her legs apart did not allow it, but Rhonda tried bucking his hand away. He grabbed the whip that he often used to bring his women under control. He drew back and struck her across the stomach, leaving an angry, red whelp.

Rhonda threw her head back and tried to keep from screaming when she felt the white-hot sting of the whip. She tasted blood from biting her lips, but she managed to muffle her scream enough that the others in the house could not hear her.

“I told you not to fight me. That is what happens when you do. I promise you, I can keep this up all day, so it would be best if you just try to relax.”

Rhonda felt the tears as they soaked into her blindfold. She tried to think of something pleasant, taking her mind off what Joel was doing. Surely he would soon do what he wanted and she could go back to her room. She just wished she could stop the trembling that had taken over her entire body. She had never been as afraid of anyone or anything in her life as she was of Joel right now.

Joel tried again to find Rhonda’s womanhood. This time she lay still, allowing him to explore her treasure. He slipped one finger inside her and found the proof of her virginity that he had expected. He watched as the fear took over her face. He would prefer that she relax, but that was obviously not going to happen, so he would just have to take her as she was. She would experience more pain this way, but he didn’t really care.

Rhonda felt Joel’s finger as it plunged inside her, and she felt nothing but shame and humiliation. She had never imagined that this was what happened between a woman and a man. She felt the bed shift as Joel positioned himself between her outstretched legs. She felt something hard and round nudge her at the opening of her womanhood, but she had no idea what was about to happen. She tensed her body as Joel tried to enter her.

Joel’s first attempt at entry failed when Rhonda tensed up. He reached down and spread her lips as wide as he could, giving him more room to do the deed. He gave a huge plunge and buried himself deep inside her, causing her virgin blood to squirt out on the bed.

Rhonda could not help the scream that came from her throat. She had never experienced such pain as she was feeling right now. She felt as if her body was tearing in two, starting at the beginning of her central core. The pain burned through her body like hot coals of fire, causing her to sob uncontrollably.

Joel did not take mercy on Rhonda, even though he knew that she was in pain. He started moving in and out of her, quickly building up to his release. Rhonda continued to sob as he drove into her over and over, stretching her virginal body to accommodate his large size. She had no idea what was happening, but she could feel something large stuffed up inside her. It seemed to slip out, and then she would feel it plunge back in, causing pain each time it did. Soon he felt his release coming and he withdrew, mindful that she was not yet on birth control. The last thing he wanted right now was to get her pregnant. He groaned as his seed spilled on the bed between her legs.