Nick stands powerful and tall like a well-practiced lion tamer, with febrile energy bouncing off him. He then takes a few steps back and to the side of me while he makes a show of laying the length of the whip out on the floor behind him. He’s arranged the whip to look like a coiled eight-foot long, black, venomous snake, ominous and threatening. Gripping the whip’s handle tightly in his hand, he looks directly at me as a sinister smile plays on his lips. “For tonight, I do believe you’ve met the nightmare end of the spectrum.” And just that quick, I watch in horror as he pulls the handle of the whip back over his shoulder, he uses his entire forearm as an extension of the whip, and aims it only a foot or so away from my body.
It all seems to happen in slow motion. The fresh scent of new leather wafts under my nose as I watch the rope languidly snake through the air, unwinding before me. When Nick flicks his wrist backwards, the whip then explodes into a thunderclap before me. I scream out in response while pulling hard against my restraints, trying to rip free from this madness. My heart pounds hard against my breast bone, while the resounding burst from the whip’s eruption echoes throughout the room and rings in my ears. I’m terror-stricken. I feel as if the crack of the whip has spilt my chest in two, just as singing a high-pitched note could shatter a wine glass.
Nick arches his brow as he cocks his head to the side, regarding me with a slow, sardonic smile on his face. “But some things are better experienced, rather than described, don’t you think, love?” I feel my stomach twist in a knot. I want to vomit, but being as he denied me dinner, there seems to be nothing in my stomach to hurl at him.
“Though, this one is particularly stiff, and not to mention my preference gravitates toward a more flexible model,” he states matter-of-factly as he turns toward the wall of torture devices. I watch in complete terror as his eyes survey each item with purpose and intent. “Ah…here we are.” He steps forward, reaches out to grab another whip from the wall, and then holds it out in front of me, showing me his chosen implement with pride. “My favorite—the Texas Bullwhip.” I’m stunned stupid for the moment, my mind spinning with the realization he’s actually going to whip me.
The one he holds in his hand is much shorter than the previous one, but not any less threatening. He nods his head over to Justin with a silent command. I had forgotten he even existed until now; he’d been so quiet. My eyes bounce between the two men with my heart in my throat as I wonder what in the hell they’re planning to do next.
Nick and Justin make quick work of unbuckling my restraints, and I pray Nick was just messing with me. Justin grips my elbow, holding me steady as I take a step away from the cross. The only things I’m wearing are my high heels, but it’s the least of my worries right now as I push my modesty issues aside. I don’t want to play “let’s scare the crap out of Jules” anymore. My voice is just as shaky as my legs. “I’m sorry, Nick. I promise I’ll behave from now on.” I swallow hard, but my mouth is so dry all I wind up doing is choking on a dry lump.
Nick immediately pipes in with a sound of disapproval. “Tsk, tsk…oh, my sweet Julianna. We haven’t even begun yet. We’re just getting started.” The last thing I see is Nick’s evil grin just before he slides a silk blindfold over my eyes.
Panic of the worst kind immediately takes place front and center, and I tense with fight or flight instincts. Justin must pick up on what I’m about to do, because his grip tightens on me, reminding me its two strong men against one small female. I feel the blindfold being snuggly knotted at the back of my head, and my ears automatically tune to a supersonic high alert.
Suddenly, I feel four hands on me at the same time as they both spin me around, pushing the front of my body against the hard contours of the cross. I’m so shaken up I almost dry heave. It’s without mercy my arms and legs are being roughly spread apart far and wide, mirroring the outline of the cross. When I feel the restraints being tightened around my wrists and ankles, I lean my forehead against the wood and close my eyes.
I manage to suck in a ragged breath. I’m not even sure my heart is beating at this point. I’m a bundle of nerves, full of anticipation, and Nick hasn’t even done anything yet. I want to scream at the top of my lungs, but I have a feeling I’ll need to save every bit of my energy for this battle, since no one is going to come to my rescue. I swear if Travis were to come through these doors right now and rescue me, I’d take all of him back, meanness and all. Despite the way he treated me the past couple of times, he told me he would never hurt a woman, and I wholeheartedly believe him. I’m certain Travis would never do this to me, no matter how irate I made him. A large part of me believes he was full of idle threats, because even in the heat of his anger, I didn’t feel as if he would hurt me with physical pain.