I give Jane a satisfied smile back, "She's coherent. She's not just surviving in there, she is strong."
Jane's eyes burn with annoyance, "We'll see, won't we."
Stuart sighs loudly, "Well, frig. I don’t know then. Maybe he is the dude. Maybe faux hawk is Uncle Daddy Weirdo. Eli seems like a weak name though. I always imagined he was cooler than a douche in sunglasses, in the dark." He is making sure he sounds defeated and exhausted. Little does she know.
"I'm sorry." She sounds upset.
"Em. What did you do that could possibly have made this happen?"
He is making sure to call her Em, even after I confronted her with not being Emalyn Spicer. Her face seems to flinch at the name now. I point at the screen, "She knows she isn’t Em and she is bothered by it. Memories are moments away."
Jane snorts, "Where did you get your degree?"
I ignore her and listen to my girl as she mutters to Stuart, "I'm sorry you're hurt."
He laughs weakly, "I fight for a living. This ain't nothing. Trust me, I got this. I can take pain like it's nobody's business."
They stay silent, holding each other.
I envy him that.
Jane claps her hands, "Well, it's time then."
I give her a glare, "This is wrong and you know it. She's close."
Jane shakes her head, "She isn’t." She looks at Mike, "You dunking for me, big boy."
I gag a little. I can't imagine what else he dunks for her. Poor guy, has no clue how big of a mistake he has made. Jane only likes broken men she can treat like boys.
I step into Mike's face, "You want to sit back down."
He tries his intimidating look but I don’t budge. I don’t need a look to scare him and he knows it. He steps back, "Have fun."
I leave the room with the guards and head for Stuart's cell. The test to see if she takes the beating for him is huge. She is still sore from the paddle; if she takes this, it's a massive step for her. It means her emotional body is healing. Humans naturally choose to save others. Fear, terror, and abuse make us selfish survivors. Emalyn Spicer is a survivor. I knew that the moment I met her.
The two guards open the door and grab at Stuart's feet. They drag him slightly but my girl comes alive. She starts to shout instantly, "I'll take it. I'll take the punishment. Don’t hurt him."
Stuart coughs and weakly says, "Take me." His voice breaks. He is amazing at this. It kept him alive once.
She slaps the concrete, "Take me. Please, I'll do anything." Stuart kicks at the guards and shouts, "Shut up, Em. I got this."
But her little voice is determined, "I did this."
Stuart gives the guards a look, "Ignore her."
They ignore him and drop his feet and walk out. Stuart is instantly on his feet, banging on the door. His screams fill her cell as the guards grab her. He screams desperately, "EM! DON'T DO THIS!"
She starts to cry as they grab at her and drag her from the room. She doesn’t even notice me smiling in the hallway. She doesn’t know she is healed and better.
I follow them to the room where the dunking will occur. It's a grungy, little pot-cleaning room. I hate it in there.
I take several deep breaths and walk into the room. This is a mistake but I act my part. I'm cold and confident. "I hear you chose to be punished, saving Stuart again?"
She flinches nervously, "Why are you doing this?"
I shrug, "I like to. Don’t look so horrified. Everyone enjoys the feeling of making another person feel something. Everyone."
Her face twitches from nerves and a desperate attempt to say no.
I circle her and then lean into her neck to whisper, "Even you. You like the fact that I find you attractive. You like having that power over me."
Her eyes flinch again, "You're insane."
I can't help but laugh. She has no clue. "I think you like that about me." I start to get off track and take it to the place I swore I wouldn’t. My hands move on their own, tugging at her robe. I need to distance myself from her. I step back and nod, "I have several choices for you today."
I casually stroll to the large industrial sink and turn the tap on. The water rushes instantly, filling the room with noise.
I look back at her and shout over the water, "We can do a little dunking in this sink."
Her eyes widen. I see the thoughts moving inside of her head.
I smile through the pain of seeing the germs have their hold on her, "I can paddle your feet again. I am really hoping that’s the choice you make. I can go get Stuart and put you back in that comfy little cell."
She instantly shakes her head at that one. I smile wider.
"No to Stuart then? Okay. And last offer, you can be nice to me." I lick my lips like a pervert, "Really nice."
I stare at her chest but she slowly lifts her trembling hand and points at the sink.
I'm stunned, "The sink? Really. More appealing to put your face in my cook's dish sink, than to let me make love to you."
She closes her eyes for a moment.
I start rolling my sleeves up. I catch her eyes on my tattoos, if only she knew how I ended up with them all. I nod, "Remove the robe." I hate what I have to do to her.
"No. Please no." She begs and pleads. I almost wince but I manage to stop myself.
Instead, I walk over to the door and bang, "Bring her back and bring me Stuart!"
She shouts at me, "NO!" Her eyes are wild with fear but she's sure she wants Stuart safe.
I watch her take the robe off and force myself to forget about the paddling. It's hard seeing her naked and scared. It creates a bizarre conflict inside of me. I lose myself for a moment and hold my hand out to her. She takes it. I squeeze, just for a second and then pull her to the sink.
I turn the sink off and look down at the stuff in the water. She's going to lose it.
"Wait," she says hesitantly.
"Yes?"
She shakes her head, "I'll do whatever you want."
My insides jump but I have to say it, "Do you want me to make love to you?"
Her face is broken when she responds, "Yes."
I lean in, holding back my want to hug her and hold her, tell her she's safe, and it's all an act. I menacingly whisper, "I don’t believe you." I slide a hand up her back and clutch her neck. I push her screaming face into the filthy sink.
I lift her sputtering and sobbing face "P-p-please."
I tighten my grip and push her back inside the sink. I close my eyes and try to ignore the sob that escapes my lips.
She claws and fights. I lift her up. She's panting and gagging and I'm dying inside. She is better. This is wrong. I am about to cry so I turn it on again, "Are you going to cry for me?" She doesn’t know I am offering her an out. If she cries, I will stop.
She shakes her head.
I press my face against her cheek, "I want you to cry for me. Please cry."
She fights but I push her back into the water.
"Eli, the sex assault now, please." Jane's voice comes over the intercom. I rub my hand across her ass cheeks. If I don’t do it Jane will let Mike. Her body comes alive. She's thrashing with fury. I lift her sobbing face from the water.
I laugh to stop myself from crying, "Well, seems like we found the magic button." I step away, "Thank you for crying."
I leave the room, gagging and desperate for a shower. I want her off of me. That’s not how I want her.
I leave again. I need air and cleanliness and a plan.
I stay at my place for the night, plotting and pacing. I pass by the door to the room I don’t like going into alone. The ornately-carved metal makes it different from the other doors.
I pass by it several times, thinking about the dom and sub relationship. It picks at me until Stuart shows up.
"Dude, where you at?"
I stroll down the long hallway to find him looking normal in the kitchen. He's eating the Chinese food I have in the fridge. I snort, "You don’t even know if it's alright to eat."
He shrugs, "You talk to Dr. Bradley?"
Fear creeps into my belly. Why is he out? Is it over? Did I miss the breakthrough?
I calm myself and shake my head.
He chews and nods, "You better go back. She's gonna let Mike do the sex assault. Said yours was weak."
"WHAT?"
He backs up, "Tahoe is in the parking spot."
I turn and run, taking the stairs. I'm not feeling sane enough to take the elevator.
I drive like the world is ending and Satan himself is chasing me. I park at the front door and storm the building. The crew is settled in the main lounge. Jane is pacing, controlling the room like she does.
I slam the door open and point, "Everyone out. GET THE FUCK OUT! LEAVE THE BUILDING!" They all stand, not looking at Jane, and leave. I grab the sweet girl who was forced into slavery at twelve, before human traffic agents found her. I grip her arm, "Back to the bathroom. You clean her and bring her to the room I paddled her in."
She nods, not looking at me. When I release her, she runs away.
Jane is leaned against the wall, "You make me hot when you get crazy."
I stalk across the room, slamming her into the wall, "You are done. I want everyone out. No more."
Her eyes light up with humor, "You think you can heal her?"
I shove her back into the wall, making her moan. She sighs and smiles, "When she finds out who you really are, she's going to hate you for this."
I nod, "I'm okay with that. You see, Jane, I knew you were setting me up on purpose. I came prepared for that. The thing you don’t know about me, is I'm healed enough to save others. I never put myself first. I'm not a selfish survivor."
She shoves back, "You think what you're wanting isn’t selfish? You're going to replace your dead sister with that poor broken girl."