Dark Days (Written Pictures #2) (19 page)

“Hello Ki-Ki,” snarled Yuri, his putrid breath inescapable while his thick arm thrust around hers, trapping them. She was hard against his body and could feel what the thrill of that was doing to him.

Both hands tight to her side and her head held back, Raven’s fruitless struggles only resulted in the rippling of the bells that tortured both nipples and pride. Wrapping his hand deeper into the tangle of netting that captured her head, he started to drag her into the centre of the arena where all would easily see.

She couldn’t pull away from him, he was far too strong. So Raven kicked with all her remaining strength, lashing out just to land a single blow that would have symbolised that she wasn’t beaten yet, she could still fight. But even as she kicked, with heels so high it was all she could do to stay upright and not risk tripping and breaking her neck as he manhandled her backwards.

Centred in the arena now, the large man yanked down hard on the net. The interlocking threads gouged the delicate flesh of her face in a latticework of agony, forcing Raven to bow, even though she fought against it with everything she had. A second tug was irresistible and Raven could do nothing but fold to her knees before the beast.

“Kneel before Russia, Yankee bitch,” he bellowed so all could hear and then spat directly into her mouth through the gaping ring gag before forcing her head lower still. Everything was lost but she still scratched her nails at his heavily muscled thigh.

With a wicked smile, he twisted his hand deeper into the net, tightening it further across her nose and cheeks and with a ripple of muscles, pulled her further down until she could taste the dusty floor through the wide opening of her gag.

It was then that the chants started. A single voice at first then rising in intensity and volume as others joined in. It built to a crescendo of insistence which was whipped into a higher state still as the large man tore away his loin cloth to reveal his intent. “This for Mother Russia, Yankee,” he roared triumphantly, flinging the material far across the arena to tumultuous acclaim.

Her face held firmly to the floor, she barely had time to brace herself. To cries of mirth and a single, pitiful wail of broken pride, he rammed himself hard into her exposed sex from behind. Battered though her body had been, it paled beside this new bruising of her soul.

== ~ ==

He had watched in awe of her, arousal growing with every moment the fight progressed, but it sat alongside an unexpected anger at what she was enduring. Now though, as his woman was brutally fucked like an animal from behind, he couldn’t stand it any longer and throwing his chair back, Alexei sprung upright.

He watched for a moment more as his bodyguard fucked his woman, hard. Unacceptable. After watching Tomas die for something Yuri had done to his slave, how the hell did Yuri now consider this was okay? Had Natalia given instructions to do this? Had he not hidden his changing attitude to the American carefully enough, and Natalia thought her a threat? God forbid, because he knew how vicious she could be in that case.

He wanted to leap down there, save her, but with so many eyes on him, it wasn’t the time and it certainly wasn’t the place. There was only one thing to do.

“Bravo!” His shout was followed at first by polite applause, then his indignation was firmly hidden behind a standing ovation which swept around the arena, drowning out the sounds of brutal sex and the contrary sweetness of the tinkling of bells.

With a final look at the scene, Alexei spun around, stalked down the steps and strode down the corridor away from the arena. The image of Raven being taken was already indelibly scorched into his head, while the hulking man in the pit groaned to welcome a climax that wouldn’t be held back.

== ~ ==

A world away, two women, arms entwined around each other and a cat winding around their feet, watched the unfolding scene in silence. Fingers of one had played on a naturally nipped waist while fingers of the other had crept down to slip beneath the waistband of silk camiknickers to lovingly squeeze a cheek.

The intimate nuzzling of one against the other had long since ceased though as the spectacle evolved. Neither could look away from the screen as they witnessed the public degradation and defilement of their nemesis.

As the frenzied woman on the internet feed screamed her commentary to the final, forceful violation, their silence was finally broken. The tall brunette turned to her lover and stated simply, “Amber honey, we went way too far….”

CHAPTER XLII – Lock Down

A typhoon raged in his head as Alexei stormed down the corridor. He had wanted this, no, he had needed to see an American symbol of strength humiliated at his hand. But this,
this
, was not how he should be feeling and the female screams echoing after him stirred a bubbling, spitting cauldron of rage.

She was his. It was he who should be fucking her. It wasn’t for some brainless fucking bodyguard to do, especially not some low-bred animal that would fuck his own sister for a climax. He had seen what he had done to Tomas and yet hadn’t the intelligence to know when to stop. It was a wrong that he would make right and slipping quietly into the locker room, Alexei knew precisely how.

== ~ ==

On and on the animal plunged until Raven feared he would split her in two. She couldn’t resist - the netting wrapped around her head and neck meant any slight movement risked it choking her and ending her life.

She felt her insides start to bruise with the force of his thrusts and her mind wheeled helplessly back to when her mother’s boyfriend had sent her spinning down the path that had ultimately brought her here. Jacqueline Corbeau had been destroyed that night and here, before the ugly, crazy dogs that were the crowd, she was being destroyed again.

== ~ ==

Natalia had watched her brother with concern as he strode away and down the corridor. This was his moment of triumph, the greatest gift she had ever bestowed on him. An American woman. Once strong, proud and confident, the very essence of her country, being fucked by the Russian bear. It had been rare for Yuri to have an idea but she had allowed it and looked forward to climax of the show.

He should have watched it all. He should have luxuriated in the radiance of his power, mastering the moment, milking the crowd for all they would give. But Alexei had left and as the muscled man cried out his ecstatic fulfilment from the arena floor and shoved the exhausted woman forward into the dirt, Natalia knew why.

== ~ ==

Yuri looked with disdain at the sobbing woman who lay huddled on the floor. She had served her purpose for now, but this was only the start of his vengeance for the death of Tomas. Perhaps Natalia would allow him to fight her again.

He would fuck her again too but first he needed to recover. With arms outstretched and a nod to the crowd, he shook his fists and roared his victory. All rose as one to applaud the show, except for Alexei and Natalia, their seats already empty. The huge man snatched up his discarded loincloth and in a final act of subjugation, stuffed what he could of it into the American woman’s gaping mouth before stomping out of the arena.

It was cooler inside and the sweaty sheen on his body prickled Yuri with a slight chill. He always looked forward to a hot shower. The American woman had fought better than he had expected. She had proved to be a good workout, and it would set him up nicely for the hour he dedicated to weights every evening, while he watched yet another of those violent American films. They did something well at least.

Yuri tossed his trident onto the rack at the door, his normal routine. It would be good indeed to shower, he still smelled of her and that repulsed him on so many levels, yet appealed on so many more. Perhaps he would give the other American woman a night off from her beating, his appetite for brutality well sated. At least for now.

Yes, the shower would be so welcome and stepping in, he screwed the tap on full to release the water jets, closing his eyes as the forceful flow drenched his bulk.

As the water pounded, in one swift move Alexei stepped forward and ensured it was the last thing Yuri ever did. With the large man’s neck twisted and broken, Alexei had dealt with the rogue dog to bring control back to his house.

CHAPTER XLIII – Sister Act

The ornate marble telephone chirped for attention, prompting the tall, sandy-haired man to stride toward it, clearing his throat with a hand to his mouth in readiness to answer. Subconsciously drawing himself straighter, he picked up the receiver with his cotton-gloved right hand on the third ring, pausing the prerequisite two seconds before speaking. In a precise, clear tone, he offered his well-practised greeting and then smiled as a familiar voice greeted him in return. He nodded as she spoke until finally acknowledging her verbally and asking her to hold the line while he carried out her politely stated request.

After pressing the button to ensure the line was held open and double checking the indicator light was showing, he carefully replaced the receiver. Opening the mahogany cupboard doors below and retrieving a silver tray, he placed it precisely beside the elegant phone.

Sliding open the slim drawer above and running his white-gloved fingers between the layers, he selected the uppermost mat and smoothed it down onto the tray before setting the phone on top. He was well practiced but still everything had to be ‘just so’ and with both hands, the slender man set off to present the awaiting caller to the lady of the house.

Three short raps with a single knuckle asked for permission to enter and, that granted, he grasped the ornate brass handle, depressed it and pushed the door open.

She was where she had been on his last visit twenty minutes earlier. Then, he had delivered strawberries from the kitchen garden and as she smiled, he blushed slightly, feeling the radiance of it light up the room.

“A call for you, Miss Jade,” the manservant explained, setting the tray down on a small table beside the chaise on which she lounged.

The bright red velvet of the upholstery provided a perfect backdrop to the lady in the ivory silk robe, which slid apart to reveal her just-waxed leg before she closed it again and retightened the knotted belt that pinched her slim waist.

The man tried not to look - it wasn’t his place to - but it was too much to resist and his eyes darted up to steal a glance. Subtly embossed on the backrest behind her, a heraldic swirl still formed the letter
‘
R
’
and he could only exhale in relief that the woman who had formerly luxuriated on that chaise had been displaced and despatched.

“It’s Miss Amber,” he continued, watching the lady’s finely manicured hand lay her book aside and tuck the top of her robe more firmly into her belt before stretching out to the phone.

“Thank you, Dan,” she breathed, rewarding him with the perfection of her wider smile. Jade paused, waiting for privacy and Dan knew his place. Seeing him exit the room and close the door quietly behind him, Jade took a breath, picked up the receiver and purred her welcome. “Hi sweetie, how are you both? How’s things?”

== ~ ==

Natalia rushed to the locker room and was astounded by what she saw. Water was cascading down her beloved brother, turning his white cotton shirt transparent. He stood astride the naked body of Yuri, looking down at him, his muscular chest heaving to the pulsing surge of adrenalin, his fists balled tight.

Time seemed to freeze, though her mind flew into overdrive as a torrent of questions sent her reeling under their deluge. In an instant the questions welled and plunged into poison. Before she knew it, Natalia was striding across the locker room as fast as her mismatched stride would carry her and with a shriek of anger she lashed out, striking her brother with a slap across his cheek.

The second blow struck him in the same place but the attempted third was caught by an iron grip on her small wrist. She tried her other hand but then both her wrists were captured. So she screamed wildly, bucking like an unbroken mare, hurling vitriol at her older brother.

Thinking quickly as he grappled his little sister into some sort of physical control, Alexei started a rapid fire explanation, his mouth outpacing his mind. He nodded to the soap lying on the floor as he spoke and pointed with his foot to the angle of Yuri’s neck as his lifeless body lay propped against the tiled wall of the shower.

Panting hard, Natalia looked at the dead Yuri, the shower, the soap, her brother and then back to the body, her mind scrambling to follow his explanation of what he assured her was a tragic accident he had walked in on.

It was wild, too wild to believe but the coincidence could be the only explanation, couldn’t it? He couldn’t, wouldn’t, have done what she feared. He just couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t just abandon their long held ambitions like that for some woman. Some American woman. Slowly she stilled her ineffective struggles, needing to believe her brother yet deep down, unconvinced that things hadn’t already changed, terrified of the schism she suspected.

== ~ ==

A frown furrowed her brow as Jade listened. She had deliberately avoided the live stream of the event, wanting to put Raven and all the crap that came with her firmly in her past. She wanted to move on without the burden of a reinvigorated memory of the woman that had caused her such loss, taking her man, stealing a future that should have been hers and standing by as he was murdered.

Sure, she had moved into the manor but that had been necessary, such houses didn’t run themselves or at least that was how she had justified it to herself. She had already had the staff get rid of most of the trappings of the bitch anyway and noting the monogram on the chaise, Jade made a mental note to get rid of that too. Perhaps she had already been there too long but Amber and Kat were too lost in new love to do what was needed. Anyway, she felt closer to Michael here and that was important, even though he was gone.

The discussion continued, with Jade more listener than active participant. Her attention was divided between the words she was hearing and the words she recalled from the time when she was made to walk away from the love of her life.

She couldn’t let the ghosts of her past come back to haunt her future. Raven had stolen her perfect life, then simply stood by and watched as any chance of rebuilding it died.

It was becoming clear though that, for now at least, she would have to place her reservations aside. Amber sounded frantic and she could hear what she suspected were Kat’s sobs in the background. When Amber had finally finished recounting what they had witnessed on her laptop, it was with a heavy weight in her soul that Jade drew a deep breath and agreed to Amber’s suggestion with a final sign off, “We’ll be right over.”

Replacing the handset long after the call had ended, Jade exhaled, emptying her lungs, wishing she could empty her memory in the same way. Her slender fingers lingered on the receiver, lost in thought. Michael Immelmann. She had loved him and loved him deeply. For all his faults, he was her world and even the distance of more than a year away hadn’t dimmed the intensity with which she still felt it.

Even talking about
her
would reopen all those wounds she had tried so hard to close. She, Raven, was pure poison, whatever she was going through. She deserved to hurt and feel what she had inflicted on others.

Nobody should be forced into what Amber had described though. They had put her into that. The auction had been held to help Katarina gain closure but Jade, blinded by the agony of a lost love, had pushed it further than she should and completed the sale to a monster when the intent had only been to instill fear. Unwitting perhaps but they were responsible. No, she was responsible and as much as it hurt, Jade resolved herself to help.