Buttons and Lace (Buttons 1)

I would rather die than become a sex slave.

My eyes moved to the porthole just above me. Watching the water lap against it as the ship rocked gave me a small amount of comfort. It was my form of music, the gentle splash of the waves against the hull of the ship. When I stared, it helped me relax. It stopped my thoughts, and I entered into a tranquil state. Nothing existed at all.

The door creaked open behind me. The sound was so slight no one else would have noticed it but me. Ever since I’d been captured, I relied on my senses more than ever before. Sound was my most critical one. I could anticipate events before they actually happened. I could pick up voices when they were drawing near. I could detect danger with enough time to prepare for it.

I knew exactly who came to visit me in the middle of the night. I’d been waiting for him. He thought I was asleep, ignorant to the hunter who came for me. He thought I was so stupid, blissful in my naiveté.

He quickly undid his trousers and dropped them to the floor. His boxers came off too.

I waited for the right moment.

His knees gently hit the mattress, and he placed his hands on either side of me, prepared to snatch me.

My eyes opened slightly, just to watch him.

And that’s when I noticed the syringe in his hand.

That fucker was going to drug me.

I snatched his wrist and twisted it painfully, forcing the syringe to fly off the mattress and onto the floor. I head-butted him and made him snap back, shocked by how quickly I moved.

His dick was still hard, sticking out proudly with lubrication already applied to it.

I made a fist and punched him as hard as I could.

“Ahh!” He fell back and immediately cupped his dick, cringing through clenched teeth. “You fucking—”

I slammed my foot onto his face, breaking his nose with a loud crack.

His hand flew to his face, freeing his dick.

I kicked him as hard as I could, hitting both his length and his balls.

“Bitch!” He snatched one of my legs and pulled it from underneath me.

I didn’t stop. I was just egged on by his profanities. I loved causing this asshole pain. I was just getting revenge. I was getting revenge for all the women who couldn’t escape him.

I grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against the floor—over and over. I hit him just the way he collided that gun with my temple. “You like that, asshole? How about this?” I slammed his head down again then kicked him in the balls at the same time.

“Ahh!”

The guards heard his screams and came running. They broke in to the room and dragged me off him. They didn’t smack me around like I expected them to. In fact, they were gentle with me, trying not to hurt me.

The guards didn’t help my attacker to his feet. They just kept him off me so he could get his pants on. He could barely walk because his dick hurt so badly. He cupped it with one hand and slowly walked out of the room.

I smiled victoriously, feeling no remorse for the ruthless way I took him down. “Good luck peeing.”

“Shut up.” The man who had me shook me by the arm, but it wasn’t nearly as aggressive as I was used to. “Go back to bed.”

“Tell your men to leave me alone and I will.”

The guard dropped my arm and walked away. They vacated my cell then locked the door behind them. Their voices trailed away, speaking Italian. When they were almost out of earshot, they laughed.

And I knew what they were laughing at. Their comrade got his ass handed to him by a woman.

I was damn proud of that.

***

I knew something had changed when the boat stopped swaying. We weren’t in open water anymore. The waves became docile, almost nonexistent. It was a big ship, so we were somewhere away from shore but no longer in the middle of the Atlantic.

If I could break out of there, I could’ve tried to swim to land. I wasn’t a strong swimmer, but when it came to life or death, I’d make it work. I peered out the porthole and caught a distant glimpse of land. Every time I tried to look harder, the porthole was covered by water once more.

I just had to think of a plan.

One guard was dead, and another was seriously injured. That meant there were two less guns to get past. If I played my cards right, I might be able to pull this off. I pulled my covers off then stripped a piece of fabric and shoved it into my pants pocket. I could use it to choke someone if necessary.

When I pulled the blanket back, I noticed the syringe tumble down. It rolled to the floor with a quiet tap. The needle extended out, and the base still contained the clear liquid.