When the Dark Wins

His knees rose up on either side as he settled against the headboard, and then he pulled her back against his firm chest. Hot skin on skin. It was the first time she’d felt it here. The other one always kept his clothes on, only unzipping his pants when he wanted to use her, but this one had his bare chest to her back, and… it was strangely comforting.

Which was wrong.

Nothing about this was okay.

“Don’t hurt me,” she mumbled. Almost a question, almost a plea.

“Don’t make me hurt you, Beth. You have so many decisions to make, so many options…” His strong hands brushed up her arms, squeezing occasionally as if he were casually massaging her.

“About what?” she whispered, shuddering as his hands slid to the front of her shoulders, pressing her bac

k to his front.

The man’s lips were against her ear when he answered, the barest hint of scruff on his cheek scratching her skin. “About what happens to you next.”

Fear trickled down her spine, ice-cold despite his body heat — and he was so warm. Even his voice was filled with heat, hunger, as his hands slid lower, tracing the outsides of her breasts before moving to her arms to follow them down. Then, he started the path over.

Squeezing, brushing, tickling when his touch grew too light.

Finally, she swallowed and made herself speak. “What happens next?”

“Up to you.”

“I want to leave.”

He laughed quietly, his chest shaking behind her, the low sound of his voice against her neck. “That is not one of the options.”

Jerking at the sleek, soft cuffs attached to her thighs, she spat, “Then what are my fucking options?”

His fingers tightened painfully on one nipple, twisting hard as the shocking pain of it made her back arch against him, useless cries escaping between clenched teeth. When he finally let go she was panting, fists clenched tight — and then he pressed a kiss to her neck. Brushing her hair out of the way, he did it again, and again. Licking, teasing nips of his teeth at the side of her throat as his thumb rubbed soothing circles over her tortured bud. “Don’t make me hurt you. Be respectful and I can make it so much easier.”

Beth was stiff, tense, trapped against his body, and her muscles locked even further when he wound an arm under hers and slipped his hand between her thighs. “Don’t…” she pleaded, but quickly bit her lip, hoping to avoid more pain.

“Tell me the truth…” His fingers delved lower, parting her lips to seek out her clit, teasing with delicate touches. “Has he ever made you come?”

“No.” Shaking her head, she leaned away when he started to trail kisses from her shoulder up her throat. It was too intimate, too gentle, too much like an actual lover.

Well, except for the cuffs, and the poster of rules hanging directly across from them like a fucking taunt from the other one.

Tell me the rules.

His voice was back in her head, but this one had his fingers moving with sinister precision over the bundle of nerves between her legs. Rubbing in small circles. Her hips twitched and she flinched, pressing her eyes shut like she could block out the sensations as easily as she could the sight of the damn poster.

It was impossible.

Impossible that anything could feel good in this nightmare, and impossible to ignore the wetness he gathered with one sinful sweep of his middle finger over her entrance.

Tracing her damnation back up to her clit, he used her own wetness to ease his movements. As he settled into an easy pattern, two fingers moving incessantly, he spoke softly. “I said you have options, Beth, would you like to know what they are?”

Something brittle inside her was spider-webbing with cracks. Each flicker of sensation from his touch was confirmation that she wasn’t damaged beyond repair, that she could still feel — and yet it was somehow worse than anything the other one had done. “I don’t care,” she answered, clenching her jaw and breathing deep to push back the low thrum.

“I think you do.” The pressure of his fingers increased, tempo building with it, and she pressed back into his chest on instinct trying to escape. It was his quiet laugh that froze her once more. “This feels nice, doesn’t it? Don’t you want me to keep going?”

He kissed her neck again and she jerked away, but he grabbed her hair in his free hand and wrenched her head to the other side.

“Beth, you’re not behaving.” It was a warning, coupled with the sharper nip of his teeth against her bared shoulder, but she wasn’t going to submit just because he had heat pooling between her thighs and tremors of pleasure battling it out with the fear already buzzing in her veins.

“I’m not obedient, or didn’t your buddy mention that?”