on me and pushes the tip of his cock against my opening.
Grunting and growling, he jerks about wildly, trying to force himself
into me. I clench hard, hoping to squeeze my vagina shut.
“ No, no!” I scream. “Get off me!
No!”
I twist and writhe and kick and scream. Wild with
terror, I snap my jaws viciously and my teeth clamp down hard on
something, anything within reach. The ferrous taste of blood fills
my mouth just before I hear a string of expletives. A blow is
leveled at my temple and my jaws slacken as my eyes roll back in my
head. Darkness that is tinged with red floods my vision. The
pressing weight lifts off my body and instinctively, I curl myself
into a ball. Forcing my eyes open, I see the room spin and wobble,
before finally righting itself. I see blood dripping from Big Ben's
hand, and I almost smile. I should have bitten harder, and bitten
his finger right off.
The door slams open and a female voice shrieks, “What
the fuck do you think you're doing?”
I lift my head to see Aleisha grab Big Ben by the
collar. “What the fuck have you done? I told you not to touch
her. If she's hurt, we're not gonna get paid. You heard him! He's
serious as hell.” She turns to me and sniffs, “It looks
like he's serious about her. Now, get the hell out of here!”
He curses and spits before kicking the door open to make
a dramatic exit. Aleisha glances over her shoulder at me and is
about to walk out the door when I call out, “Wait! Please.
Aleisha...”
She pivots round slowly to face me, closing the door
silently. She takes a few steps towards me and squints down at my
less than half-clothed body. What is left of my clothes is hanging
in shreds from my shoulders and I am naked from the waist down.
There are nail and teeth marks on my neck and arms and I am bruised
all over. She wrinkles her nose at the pathetic sight of me, and
stoops down slowly.
“ Th-thank you” I rasp. “You...you
saved me.”
Aleisha regards me dispassionately before looking away.
“I'll get you some ice. And some clothes. Stupid dickhead
shouldn't have touched you,” she mutters, glaring at the wall.
“He was so desperate to have you safe, he was going to pay us
double. But now, if he sees you like this...”
“ I...I'll tell Julian you saved me, and you can
get your money,” I speak rapidly. “I just want to get
out of here, and get the money that Julian owes me as well. I tested
that blasted machine for weeks, so...I'm going to make sure he pays
me my due. We just need the money, you and I. It's just all about
the money.”
She gives me a long, hard look and stands. “Not
for you it isn't,” she says.
I lower my eyes. “Did you sleep with him?”
I mumble at last.
Aleisha snorts out a mocking laugh. “Of course.
Sex is a weapon.”
“ But...you're not pregnant.”
“ No.”
“ So—how are you going to...”
She rolls her eyes. “After I get the money, I'll
just tell him I suffered a miscarriage, blah blah blah. And
depression, and so on and so forth. He's a gentle, trusting man.
That's easy to see. I can read men like a book. And it's pretty
obvious that you...” She frowns at me, a trace of hostility
flashing in her eyes. “What is it about you? You're not much
to look at, pretty weak and gullible, and judging from your reaction
in his office, rather insecure and stupid.”
I force myself not to break eye contact, not to let any
emotion show on my face. Ugly though they are, I recognize the truth
in her words.
At the door, she stops abruptly. “Let me give you
some advice. Don't be weak and stupid. There's only one person
worth loving—and that's yourself.” With that, she bangs
the door shut.
I collapse on the ground, succumbing to the pain in my
body and my heart. I stare at the tattered remnants of my clothes,
and blink back the hot tears in my eyes. Pulling myself up, I grab
the pieces of torn clothing off the floor and use them to dab away
the lines of blood down my arms and legs.