Callum & Harper (Sleepless 1)

He leaned back and studied me, making sure I’d remain quiet. My eyes searched his face.

“I escaped,” he excitedly told me. Though I hated myself for wanting to know, my eyes asked how and he continued. “I head butted the officer transferring me from the patrol car to the jail and ran. They didn’t stand a chance.”

That’s why Detective Carson wanted me to call him so urgently. I felt like such an imbecile. I should have known something like this would happen to me. This was my luck. My shitty, awful luck.

“Sweetheart,” John said, running his meaty hands down the sides of my face. It was revolting and made me gag but I steeled myself. “Now we can be together.” He kissed me hard against the mouth, smashing his wet mouth against mine. He dug his tongue through my tightly lined lips and almost choked me. He pulled away, nipping me with his teeth a little. “How many times will it take for you to learn, Harper?” He admonished. “You belong to me.”

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it between his fingers. I turned my head away and began to tremble. This angered him, I could tell, because his grip tightened uncomfortably before releasing me. He grabbed the back of my neck harshly and pulled me toward him.

“Do you know that I know where Callum is right now?” He asked. I shook my head. “Ames is his uncle, right?” I didn’t answer. “That’s right. I know everything, Harper. In fact, I have many things planned for both your asshole husband and his uncle. I’m going to show you, actually. Right after I remind you of why you’re mine.”

I knew now what I needed to do and thought to try the only thing I could think to save John from hurting anymore people in my life.

“You win,” I said, swallowing hard as the plane began to level off.

John seemed surprised. “Excuse me?”

“You win,” I repeated after the captain removed the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign. “I will do whatever you want. I’ll be with you forever and do it willingly just as long as you don’t hurt Callum or Ames.” I knew it was idiotic. It was my attempt at being reasonable with the unreasonable. It never works. Never. But it was the only bargaining chip I had.

And it seemed to intrigue John. “Willingly?” His perversely handsome face said, amused. I nodded sharply once. His hand worked up my jean clad thigh. “Prove it.”

I sunk even further into my seat as the flight attendants drove their beverage cart past us toward the front of the plane.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

John’s cheek grazed mine as he whispered in my ear. “What do you think it means, Harper?”

“Tell me what you want,” I asked bluntly.

“John,” he corrected.

“Tell me what you want...John.”

His eyes rolled to the back of his head in sickening satisfaction and he smiled. In a lightning flash movement, he unbuckled my seat belt, then his, before lifting the armrest that separated us. He brought me as close as possible and I was practically on top of his lap.

He spoke into my hair. “Put your hand here,” he said, guiding my shivering hand onto his thigh, making him moan softly. The bile that had risen in my throat began to threaten an appearance but I tamped it down. He offered me his neck and I seriously considered biting it hard but thought twice. If it didn’t get me the reaction I wanted from the rest of the passengers, I still had a few hours to survive with John and I’m sure that would make them even worse. I hesitantly kissed the bottom of his throat with tight, trembling lips and struggled with the nausea that caused. I retreated slightly. There was a twinkle in John’s eye.

He crushed his mouth to mine and I willed myself to kiss back but couldn’t. When John’s grip on my arms tightened, I knew my chance to ‘prove’ myself, or whatever the hell he called it, was fading away and fast. Pretend, Harper, I pleaded with myself. Anyone. Pretend it’s anyone...but Callum. Whatever you do, don’t taint Callum. I wanted him to always be that pure part of me, to remain the only good part of my past and whatever future I had left. I reluctantly moved my hand to John’s hip, fingers trembling the entire journey, and reached deeper with my tongue. The kiss became feverish, heavy, and altogether revolting. I fantasized it was the guy across from us to keep the knowledge it was actually John away from my thoughts but that did nothing but make me even more uncomfortable, if that was possible. I decided to act like I was kissing a stranger and that seemed to help, if help is what you’d call that.

John was forgetting where he was. Reaching beneath the hem of my shirt, pressing the warm skin of his hand to the bare skin on my back. Instinctively, I shoved him off me.

“I need to pee,” I lied, trying to recover.

His pupils narrowed and grew cold. “Come then,” he said, gripping my hand harshly in his.

“I can’t go by myself? It’s not like I can escape,” I argued, like an idiot.

“Right but I can’t risk you alerting anyone.” He dragged me out of my seat, and shoved me in front of him.

Since we were the last seats on the plane, the walk to the lavatory was but a few feet. He shoved me inside and closed the door behind him.

“Go ahead,” he said, crossing his arms at his chest, leaning against the door, as if he was about to enjoy the show. His eyes bore creepily into my skin and I wanted to rub my hands over myself to shed the feeling.

“Turn around,” I said.

“No,” he said, an evil grin spread flush across his face. “Just a warning, if you don’t piss right now, I’ll make you pay for interrupting when things were just getting good.”

I maneuvered my clothing so that I wasn’t exposed as I sat on the toilet. We sat there, John’s eyes revealing just what a sick bastard he really was.