Deadly Vows - Chapter 32 (Patreon)

I sit in the room with nothing more than a pair of lingerie on and some heels. Alexander. He refuses to give me his last name. Just Alexander, he says. I don’t know what organization he works for. I don’t know who he is, in all honesty. He injected me with some kind of sedative that put me to sleep, and the next thing I know, I woke up in this large study with him in front of me.

He is sitting across from me, studying me very closely. Slick black hair is pushed back away from his face, and cold blue eyes stare at me. I am shaking in my seat, not just because I am cold, but because I am scared. This man looks like someone you do not mess with.

“Stand up.” His voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I immediately stand. He stands with me and walks toward me, his eyes dropping to Luca’s name embedded in my flesh. He runs his thumb along the skin, and I immediately take a step back out of instinct, not wanting him touching me. A small smirk appears on his face.

“I see Luca’s temper hasn’t improved.” His voice is dripping with irritation. “We’ll have to have that removed. I don’t want to be looking at his name each time I want to fuck you.”

I immediately gasp and stumble backward, trying to put more and more distance between us. My eyes are filled with tears that spill over.

“Please … don’t …” My voice comes out shaky and low.

His eyes flash, and an evil smile I know all too well spreads across his face. “Damn, you are beautiful when you cry. I can see why Luca may have enjoyed seeing your tears. I know I will.” He steps closer to me. “And the sound of your voice begging … damn, if it doesn’t make me want to take you now.” He steps closer to me again, and I step back.

“L-Luca won’t like it if he finds out you’ve had sex with me.” I am literally grasping at straws, saying anything and everything I can to get him to change his mind out of sleeping with me.

Out of nowhere, he grabs me, pushing me into the wall. I cry out in pain as my back collides with the hard wall. He roughly presses his forearm into my throat, and panic blooms immediately in my chest.

“Mention his name again.” I can’t even if I wanted to. His forearm is pressing roughly into my throat. A smile crosses his face as he watches me uselessly struggle. “I can’t hear you. Say it. Say his name.”

My vision is blurring, and my throat is burning from the pressure. He leans in so close to me I can feel the heat radiating from him.

“If you ever say that name again, in my home …” He laughs before continuing. “I will kill you. Luca is no more. He will never find you, as far as I’m concerned. I am the one you belong to now. So you better learn to respect me before you get yourself killed.” His face is murderously serious as he watches my frantic struggles.

He lets go, and I greedily suck in air and rub my throat, trying to soothe the burning pain.

“I am a man of … different tastes. Do as I say, and we’ll get along fine. But I can’t promise you that you will always enjoy what I say.” He walks away from me in my corner, and I close my eyes, counting to ten.

One … two … three … four … five … six … seven … eight … nine … ten …

I open my eyes and jump up from my spot on the floor, flinging the door open. Lucky for me, this room is the only one in the hallway. Blood is rushing in my ears, and I pump my legs as fast as they will go in the heels. I don’t have the time to stop and take them off. I turn left and breathe a silent prayer, as I can see the foyer right in front of me. My heels clatter loudly against the floor as I near the massive oak door. I immediately grab on to it, flinging it open and run into the outside.

My footsteps falter, and my pants are frantic. I can see my breath coming out in front of me. Snow. Everywhere. It is so thick I can see nothing but white surrounding me. Mounds of it. My body immediately breaks into violent shudders. I open my mouth and let out a loud scream. The tears rolling down my face are leaving a burning trail from the temperature.

I am roughly yanked up from the ground, and I can feel warm arms around me. I don’t even try to struggle. A deep chuckle reverberates throughout my entire body as Alexander laughs behind me.

“You should not have done that.”

I can only cry as he drags me farther and farther into the house.

* * * * *

“I can’t hear you, Elise. How many is that?”

I open my mouth, trying my hardest to speak to say anything, but I can’t even catch my breath. Each time I breathe in, more pain explodes all over my body. If I thought Luca was cruel, damn, I was so off. Alexander likes to use belts. Not just normal leather ones, but belts that have jewels embedded in them. So that each strike leaves a marring bruise on my skin. And he never lets up either. He starts on my ass and slowly makes his way up my body. My arms are roughly bound above my head, and they are the only things holding me up.

I feel his fingers underneath my chin, and he pulls my face up to meet his.

“Elise, I’m talking to you.” He tilts his head slightly as he studies me. “How many is that?”

I still open my mouth again and try to speak, but nothing leaves my lips except a hoarse squeak.

A smile crosses his face, and he laughs at my predicament. His hand moves from my chin to my jaw, and he tilts my head to the side. I don’t have the energy to struggle. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut as his lips slowly trace my neck to my collarbone.

He pulls back and stares at me. “Will you ever run again?” He looks at me expectantly, and when I don’t answer, he roughly snatches my face in his hands. “I said, Will you run again?”

I frantically shake my head no, loud whimpers accompanying the movement. With Luca, I at least know he has some form of twisted love for me. And he knows when to stop. But this man has nothing to lose. No feelings for me. And I am assuming by the way he speaks that he hates Luca. I am scared more than I have ever been before.

* * * * *

I lie on my stomach on a cushioned bench as Alexander places more ice packs on my back side. Each time it touches my skin, I whimper in pain. There are deep-purple welts on my back side starting at my legs, going up to my midback. Alexander sits right next to my body and traces the welts. I bite my teeth in pain, trying not to make a sound, in fear he might do something.

“I’ve known Luca a long time. He always had the better things in life. Including you. That’s why I wanted you so bad. When I heard who you belonged to, I knew I had to have you. To be able to say that you fucked and broke Luca Pasquino’s wife is something any man would be more than happy to say.”

He places another pack on my back.

“I won’t have sex with you yet until I feel you’re ready. You’re still too fragile for my taste. I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”

He stands and walks to the door. When he opens it, a frightened-looking maid is on the other side. He whispers something to her, and she nods, walking in the room with a suitcase in her hands.

She doesn’t look at me once as she unzips the suitcase and starts setting things into place in the room. Everything that she takes out is some form of lingerie. She places them all in drawers and unzips another pouch of products that go in the bathroom. As she steps into the bathroom with shampoo and conditioner in her hand, something catches my eye from the suitcase. There are tampons and pads. I stare long and hard as my heart rate starts to skyrocket. The woman walks out of the bathroom and grabs the products.

“Ma’am, please … what’s today’s date?” My voice comes out groggy and raw. And if the room weren’t silent, I don’t think she would have heard me either.

She shakes her head at me and doesn’t respond. I am assuming because he has told her not to speak to me. Tears are already forming in my eyes.

“P-please … please, I’m begging you, what’s today’s date?”

She sighs and looks at me. “It’s the nineteenth of February.”

My heart slams into my rib cage. No, no, no, no, no …

“I can hardly see why it would matter, miss. You’re never getting out of this hellhole …”

The woman is still rambling on, but I can’t hear her. I’m late.

My period. It’s late.