This Cruel Love

“Perfect. Nice and compliant, just how I like my women.”

He reached across, to what must’ve been a

bedside table, to get something. Then he held it up for me to see. Scissors. My eyes went wild and I tried with every ounce of energy I had to move, or do something, anything to alert someone to the danger I was in, but I had nothing.

“Relax, little one. I’m only using these to cut you out of those clothes. Well, that’s all I’m using them for, for now. Maybe later I’ll use these and some of the other things around the room to fuck you with. First off, I’ll be using my cock. I’ve waited long enough to have you wrapped around my cock, Ryley. I’m going to enjoy every fucking minute of it, trust me.”

I knew this was it for me. There would be no fight, no struggle. He’d slipped something into my drink at the gala and now all I could do was hope and pray that this ordeal would be over quickly. That maybe God would grant me some kindness and make me pass out, save me from living through the nightmare Mason was about to unleash on my body. Was this my last night on Earth? Was this how things ended for me? I’d been so stupid, thinking Justin cheating on me was the worst thing that could happen in my life, when it clearly wasn’t. Being raped by Mason Lovall was the worst, and being in no position to speak, or move, or fight for myself was the ultimate horror and degradation. No one knew where we were. He had my body under siege. I had to safeguard my mind as best I could. So I did the only thing left for me to do; I tried to drift off, let my mind leave my body and take me off somewhere Mason couldn’t reach me.

“I can’t decide whether to fuck you in the ass first or your pussy.” I ignored him, trying desperately to send my brain to a happy place. A safe place.

“Maybe I need to see them both to decide.”

He started to cut the material of my dress down the front, until it fell to the side of me, and I was left lying in my bra and knickers. He whistled and ran the scissors across my chest.

“You have a beautiful body. Such a shame I’m going to be fucking it up so badly. I’ll enjoy it though. There isn’t a part of you that I’m not gonna come in or on tonight, princess. Tonight, you’re all mine.”

He ran the scissors between my breasts and then cut my bra open, growling as he saw me for the first time. He threw the scissors onto the pillow next to my head and bent down, licking and biting me like a wild animal. He caught my nipple between his teeth and pulled so hard I felt the twinge even in my zombie-like state. I tried to close my eyes, willing myself to find that refuge I needed to survive this. I felt him moving down my body, devouring my stomach, and pulling at my knickers.

“Your pussy smells so sweet, I think I’ll start there. Once I’ve torn that apart we’ll move to your tight little ass, then who knows? Maybe we can use that quiet, soft little mouth of yours, and those full, fuckable tits.”

The ball of fear that was swirling in my stomach caught fire and raged through my whole body. I was never going to be able to come back from this. How could anyone come back from something this horrifying and not spend the rest of their life totally and utterly broken?

Mason licked over the top of my knickers, between my legs, and then up over my stomach to my chest and up to my neck. He reached his arm out to take the scissors and sat back on his knees, straddling me once again.

“Let’s get these off, shall we?”

He ran the scissors under the lace of my knickers and I tried to scrunch my eyes shut, praying one last time for the darkness to take me.

I heard a bang, a crash, and an almighty howling of deep male voices, but I didn’t care anymore. My prayers had been answered, and I was being sucked back into nothingness as my brain took me away from the horrors that were unfolding in this dungeon of a hotel room.

JACKSON

It took multiple threats of violence for the hotel receptionist to finally relent and give us access to the room Mason had hired. I was ready to explode, fury coursed through my veins like poison I had to expel. Lucky for him, the receptionist decided he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of my vengeance. He wasn’t keen on us setting off the fire alarms in the building either, in order to flush the bastard out. We’d have smashed through as many doors as we could until we found her. Nothing and nobody was going to hold me back.

All three of us were manic with rage. Ben looked ashen-faced but desperate, Cill was itching to get upstairs, and I just felt cold and ruthless. Ready to attack at a moment’s notice, to protect her at any cost. I was ready to take on whatever I needed to. I hadn’t felt this level of anger since the day my father died. I was ready to kill for what was mine.

We didn’t even bother with the lift, instead taking the stairs two and three at a time as we raced up to the fourth floor where he was hiding out. I don’t think either of us thought about what we might find when we got there. All we were focused on was her.

Room 419, that’s where he was. That was where he had her. I saw the door and ran over to stand opposite. Then I took a step back and launched myself forward, kicking with as much power as my legs could endure. Cill joined me and we pushed and kicked. As Ben stood by watching us, the door flew open and we barged into the room.

A red mist settled over me as I took it all in. She lay there helplessly on the bed, her eyes closed and her body limp. My angel had bite marks and blood on her breasts and down her stomach. The bastard had cut off her clothes and was just about to hurt her with a pair of scissors he held close to her legs. He’d hurt her badly already, and that flipped a switch inside my brain.

Flying across the room, I pulled him off her and grabbed the Swiss army knife I always kept in my pocket, flicking the blade free and stabbing the bastard in the throat. He jolted and bucked in my grasp. Gurgling and spluttering noises came bubbling out of his mouth. I pulled the blade free and stabbed him again, only this time I twisted and ground the knife hard, until I felt his body shudder and go limp. I wouldn’t let the filthy bastard fall forward onto her though, so I threw his vile carcass onto the floor. He was a dirty, bloody mess, but I didn’t care. All I felt was burning, uncontrollable rage cloaking me like a mist, separating me from the mortal world. In this world, all I could focus on was him and how I had to make him pay for what he’d done to her.

I straddled him and began punching him as hard as I could in the face, reigning blow after blow onto his slick, blood-soaked face. I didn’t stop, I couldn’t. I felt like a machine, programmed to kill this bastard. When I got tired of the punches, I grabbed his hair and began slamming his head down onto the floor repeatedly. This fucker was never gonna see the light of day. Not after what he’d done to her.

“Enough, Jax. Stop,” Cill ordered.

“It’s never gonna be enough,” I panted. “Not until they have to use dental records to identify his sorry ass. He’s a dead man.”

“I know he’s a dead man, look at him. He’s gone, Jax. She’s your priority now.”

I looked up to see both men with their heads bowed. My angel lay lifeless and still on the bed. Her perfect, wounded body on display. I stood up, wiping his filthy blood from my hands onto a towel that hung off one of the chairs nearby. I went over to her and gazed into her eyes, praying I’d find life in them, hope flickering somewhere. She was still breathing, but she wasn’t conscious. My chest ached to see her so helpless and broken. I gritted my teeth and fought down the urge to turn around and continue pummelling the bastard until there was no more breath left in my body. Instead, I dragged the bed sheet that she lay on from under the mattress and used it to cover her bruised and battered body.

“We need to clean this shit up and get rid of him.” I turned to face Cill and he nodded.

“She might be able to hear us, you know. They say the drugs immobilize the body and the vocal chords, but not the brain. She’s probably listening to every word we’re saying and scared half to death.” Who’d have thought Cill the joker was the one to bring some common sense to this whole sorry shit show. “Take her home, Jax, where she feels safe. I’ll take care of all this.”