Seduced in the Dark (4 page)

He missed it.

He missed the moment of Narweh’s death.

Bits of gore sprayed his hair, face and
chest, but he did not register them. He scrambled toward the body.
No gurgling, no gasping…only a corpse. And he felt…sorrow. Narweh
had never begged. He had never knelt at
Kéleb’s
feet and
begged his mercy and forgiveness.

No, Narweh had never begged, but he was
dead. And under the sorrow, there was blessed relief.

But you have a new owner now, don’t you?
Caleb.

He screwed his eyes shut for a moment and
took a deep breath. Then, he did as Rafiq asked and washed his old
life from his skin.

***

Caleb woke, startled and anxious. He reached
for the dream as it raced to abandon his conscious mind. There was
something…something important. It was gone.

Frustrated, it took him a moment to realize
Kitten’s eyes were scanning him. She looked like shit. The bruises
on her face were much more pronounced than they had been the night
before. Her eyes were swollen and purple against her russet skin.
Her nose, free of tape, also looked inflamed. Under the damage, he
could still see Kitten, surviving despite it all.

His heart again – it seemed to pinch in his
chest. He kept it from registering on his face. He struggled for
words. After their encounter last night and still reeling from
Rafiq’s text, what could he possibly say? All he had to offer was
more bad news.

He settled for stating the obvious, “It’s
morning.”

Kitten’s brows furrowed and she winced from
the effort. “I know. I’ve been up for a while,” she said
morosely.

Caleb glanced away, feigning interest in his
surroundings. He’d nearly fucked up—nearly fucked her. That could
never
happen. A sense of urgency filled him. They had to
leave this place, as soon as possible, but he couldn’t make himself
say the words. The night had been intense.

“Are you…in pain? Can you sit up?” Caleb
whispered.

“I don’t know. I’m in too much pain to try,”
Kitten whispered just as softly.

They stared at each other, a second too
long, gazes touching too closely before they both quickly, almost
frantically, darted their eyes away, choosing to look anywhere but
at one another.

“Or maybe I’m just too terrified to think
about what’s going to happen today. Or tomorrow. Maybe I just want
to go back to sleep and wake up from my life.” There was pain in
her voice and he knew it wasn’t physical. Caleb glanced in her
direction and noticed she wasn’t crying. She was simply staring off
into space, too numb for tears, Caleb supposed. He knew the feeling
well.

And now this. Limbo. A state of existence
he’d never experienced. He felt immobilized by what had happened,
about everything, because as fucked up as it had been before, he’d
been in control and removed. Now, their situation was untenable.
Their continued existence around each other would only cause more
pain and agony. Caleb scratched his face, digging his fingers into
his stubble, as if, by distraction, he would never have to look at
Kitten again, never have to tell her they had to leave, and,
despite last night…she was still his prisoner. He was still her
master.

“Fuck it,” she huffed, her voice strong, as
though awakening from the numb void and becoming vibrant and
willful again, “let’s get this over with, Caleb. What the hell
happens, now?”

Caleb
. He just looked at her. There
it was again, the use of his name. He knew he should correct her,
force her to address him as Master, and restore the delineation,
the barriers between them, but he just couldn’t, fucking, do it. He
was exhausted! So, damn, exhausted.

“Breakfast, I suppose. Afterward, we have to
leave. Beyond that, I don’t care to discuss it,” he said. He tried
to force some semblance of levity, but it fell flat and Kitten knew
it.

“And last night?” She tried to keep her tone
neutral, but Caleb knew her too well now and he didn’t have to
guess at what she was really asking. She wanted to know if she
meant something to him, if the fact they’d almost...
fucked
,
changed his mind about selling her into slavery. The answer was
yes…and, no. Vladek still needed to pay, and Kitten, still had her
part to play. They were past the point of no return.

“I told you everything you wanted to know.”
He paused, tempering his tone. “I’m not saying any more. So, stop
asking.” He bolted out of bed and rushed toward the bathroom.
Inside, he avoided his reflection and searched for a toothbrush.
Two of them sat near the sink. He chose the least chewed and put
some toothpaste on it. Germs were the least of his concerns.
Although he’d showered only hours ago, he turned on the hot water,
only the hot water, and set about stripping from his borrowed
clothes.

The water scalded him and his own body
fought to remove itself from the punishing temperature of the
water, but Caleb, wouldn’t allow it. He forced himself to feel the
stinging pain. He gritted his teeth and ignored the fact his skin
would probably blister in places. Placing his hands against the
shower wall he let the torrid water and multiple shower heads beat
his confusion out of him. His back felt tight, already sensitive.
The scars he wore tingled and came alive.

It was the feeling he was looking for. The
scars reminded him who he was, where he’d come from and why he
needed to move forward with his mission. The water stung against
his ass and his genitals, and he felt the lump in his throat
building and rising into his mouth. He would never let it out. He
would swallow it down and keep it prisoner in his chest. He allowed
his hands to come down and shield his cock and balls from the
punishing heat of the water.

There was a knock on the door and Caleb’s
head whipped toward it. Kitten had stepped inside, announcing
herself with a knock, but not waiting for his answer. Shock
assailed him. He couldn’t keep it from his face and without
thinking he scrambled to turn the cold water on. This was
private!

Well, at least she didn’t run. But where
would she have gone anyway?

Kitten looked at him…everywhere. Even
through the intense amount of steam, he could see her fierce blush.
Blushing virgin or not, her eyes did not deviate from his
person.

Their eyes finally met.

“I…,” Kitten, cleared her throat and she
began again, but nothing came. She wasn’t blushing, anymore.

“Did you need something,” Caleb snapped.
He’d been trying to rebuild his composure but her interruption left
him feeling exposed somehow, even vulnerable, and he didn’t like
it. However, she was also naked, never having dressed again since
last night, and that was confusing as well. His eyes took her in,
inch by inch, and all sense evaporated. Beneath his hands, his cock
stirred. He wanted to wince at the stinging sensation of his
punished flesh stretching and expanding but it didn’t hurt as much
as it should have because pain and pleasure were suddenly almost
one in the same.

Kitten straightened her spine, her posture
confident. “Yes. I need something. Lots of somethings. Where do you
want me to start?”

He stared at her, shocked. Had she really
just said that? To him? He knew he should be angry, but instead, he
turned his head to hide a smile. This banter was familiar, and
oddly, it quelled whatever distracting emotions had just been
storming through him moments before. He knew this part of the
game—it was his game, no matter how much, Kitten, participated. He
spoke to the shower wall and tried to keep the amusement from his
voice, “Well, can it wait until I’m at least out of the shower?”
And because he couldn’t help himself, he added, “Unless you’re
looking to climb in here and return last night’s favor?” He
hazarded a glance in her direction.

She blushed heatedly, but held herself high,
“Actually? Sort of. I mean…no, but….” She huffed, “I would like to
take a shower and since I’m practically crippled, I could use your
fucking help. But not if you’re going to be an asshole about it.”
She nodded, as if to say:
There, I said it.

Caleb couldn’t resist laughing, his mood
much improved, and he decided to let her antics amuse him. It was
much safer and less complicated. He knew his reaction was counter
to the one he would have normally had, another day, another
situation, another girl. But right now, he was just fucking
relieved to feel something similar to joy, instead of what he’d
woke up to. He grabbed it and held on tight.

He opened the shower door and gave her his
best and most salacious smile, “Well, come on in then. I’ll try my
best not to be an asshole.”

She didn’t smile back, opting instead, to
hold on to her anger. It was a sort of challenge to him and he
accepted it because one day, her hate for him might keep her alive.
She needed him and he was determined to do what he could for her.
He owed her
at least
that much.

He stepped backward into the shower as she
approached. Her head was down and her cheeks were tinted with pink,
but also, hues of purple, green, yellow and blue as she carefully
maneuvered toward him. Suddenly, flashes of her beaten, and
bleeding body, and of his own past, merged like one vision, like
one person reliving a horrible memory. Powerful emotion swept
through him and he was glad the steam of the shower and the sound
of the water pounding against the walls hid it all.

Caleb blinked, fighting the thoughts and
voices streaming through his brain. When Kitten reached out toward
him, using his arm and shoulder as a brace, he only saw and thought
about her.

“Jesus, it’s like a sauna in here,” said
Kitten. She looked up, her expression strained. “Can you make it so
it isn’t so hot?”

“I don’t know. Can you say, please?” Caleb’s
tone still held humor, but unease was creeping its way back in. The
feeling of
differentness
between them hung heavy and dense
in the air.

Kitten finally gave him the tiniest of
smiles, just a quirk of her full lips but her eyes were direct.
“
Pretty please
, Caleb?” And instantly, she was the girl from
the night before: seductive, predatory…Livvie.

Caleb slowly sucked in a breath and turned
to adjust the water. He didn’t realize his error until he heard her
startled gasp and felt her hand on his back. “Don’t touch it,” he
growled and turned to face her. Her eyes were wide, filled with
both terror and horror, and her hand covered her mouth. Caleb
clenched his fists and she turned her face away from him. It hurt.
The idea she believed he would hit her with a closed fist. He
strained to unfurl his fingers from his palm, but it became easier
as he watched her relax with his progress.

When he finally stood in front of her, hands
open at his sides, his face, one of deliberate calm – she finally
brought her hand down from her mouth and smoothed the fear and
horror from her eyes. She studied him warily, looking for a way to
approach him without setting him off. Cautiously, she reached for
his hand. Her fingers brushed against his, silently asking
permission.

He pulled his arm back slowly, a few inches,
issuing his denial of the intimacy between them. He watched as she
stared down toward her feet, but inched forward and traced her
index finger along Caleb’s wrist.

“Come on, Caleb,” she whispered softly. Her
head remained down, allowing him the privacy of his reaction.

His skin crawled. If she weren’t so injured,
he might have pushed her away. Instead, he let her keep coming. Two
fingers touched him now; they trailed slowly from his wrist toward
his hand. He allowed it. With a deep breath, he let her fingers
find his and interlace. Caleb stared over her head.

His hand was lifted. He felt his fingers
brush against Livvie’s ribs. And then her shoulder. And at last,
her cheek.

Here.

They hurt
me
, here.

Caleb’s body swayed a little.

“Kiss me,” she whispered. It was an offer of
distraction.

He took it.

Caleb’s chest rattled with the force of his
sigh and his lips swept down to meet Livvie’s upturned face. They
moaned into each other’s mouths.
Fuck! Yes!
He wanted
nothing more than to hoist Livvie up into his arms, slam her
against the shower wall and fuck her until he forgot all of his
frustration, anger, lust, and remorse.

Unlacing their fingers, Caleb reached for
Livvie’s breasts with both hands and squeezed. His touch was rough,
needy, but she responded with equal intensity. His thumbs traced
her areolas. Her flesh puckered beneath his skilled touch. The
pebbled tips of her nipples dragged across the pads of his thumbs
and she keened softly into Caleb’s ravenous mouth.

Livvie’s trembling hands found his waist.
Her fingers gripped his hips and her fingernails dug into his
sensitive flesh. It was Caleb’s turn to groan. His flesh was tender
from the hot water, but he welcomed the pain, especially when it
mingled with the pleasure. He wanted more. He wanted it all.

Caleb stepped forward. Livvie stepped back
without breaking their feverish kiss. It was a dance their bodies
already knew. She nipped at Caleb’s tongue, his lips, stunning him
for short seconds before she slid her tongue along his. With her
back against the wall, Caleb took the opportunity to come closer,
kiss harder. His cock brushed her belly and he thrust against soft,
slippery flesh.

“Ow!” Livvie cried. She broke the kiss and
braced her arms around her body, bending slightly as she processed
her pain.

Caleb instantly backed away. “Shit. I didn’t
think,” he panted, clenching his hands, and with his arms by his
side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, but didn’t sound it, “I’m
okay, just give me a second.”

Caleb felt silly, hovering over her with his
massive erection between them. What the fuck was he even
thinking?!? He shouldn’t be doing this. He vacillated between what
he should be doing and what he wanted to do. He should stop. “We
need to stop.”