NATASHA
All the sounds are working against me, drawing my mind into the sex. The animals are even excited. And that has me very worried about what else James has in store for us, his slaves.
I’ve tried my best to scan the audience but when I do get a chance to look out, I can’t see a thing as the damn spotlights hit my eyes and blind me. It almost seems as if we’re alone here in this cage. Only the sounds of people shouting and clapping let me know people must be out there, watching us all.
The whip, falling across my cloak-covered back didn’t really hurt. I suppose the other woman knows what James wants to hear and gives it to him. All of the other women are loud, a thing Nic didn’t like at all. Their sounds are fake, I can tell.
They all sound like the few pornos I did catch bits and pieces of in the boys’ dorms in my early years of college. Nic hates that fake shit and so do I. But I know all too soon the pain will be real and if that man actually sticks his fucking cock in me, I will cry like a baby. I know I will.
No one may hear me as he’s stuck this damn ball in my mouth, but tears will flow and my heart will break into millions of tiny shards. My only love is Nicholai Grimm and my heart will always beat only for him. No matter what!
I look to the right and find the other woman, who is being punished like I am, is being stripped of her cloak. The next lash will strike her pearly white skin and I flinch as my cloak is untied and taken off too.
I am bent over, holding the back of the chair. It’s shielding me from anyone seeing anything much as far as boobs or the other essential areas are concerned. But I can feel the cold on my body and my nipples are as erect as they can get.
When the whip comes down on the other slave’s back, she grips the chair so tight, her knuckles are white and she screams like crazy. I watch a trail of blood rise to the surface of her back and begin to drip off her side.
I brace myself for some excruciating pain and when the whip hits me, it burns like fire. I scream but the gag holds it in. I find two of the other slaves holding me still as another strike is made on my sister slave and then I get another.
I see my blood drip off both sides of my back. My stomach hurts as the pain is bad enough to make me nauseous. Before I can even get a hold of myself, James takes me by the throat and his fat cock presses against my ass as he pulls me up in front of him.
The places on my back, where my skin has been split, burn as he holds me so tight, my back touches his chest. He moves behind me, his torso rubbing my pulsing back, making it hurt worse.
Stepping to one side, the chair is no longer hiding anything. My body is bare to the audience. He steps beside me and I see my blood all over his chest. My body is shaking with the pain and embarrassment.
He steps behind me again, towering over me. His hands run down my arms and he lifts my arms up over my head. Elongating my body and further exposing me to the people who are watching this act of cruelty.
They may think it’s just an act. A dramatic, erotic act. But it’s real and the man who is holding me up as his prize is a real demon, not a fake one.
If I could talk, if I didn’t have this thing in my mouth, now would be the time I’d scream for help. But I am utterly helpless and James Hawthorne is acutely aware of that fact.
Suddenly the sound of someone hitting the cage has me looking up and I see a man in a tuxedo and a Phantom of the Opera mask, standing just outside the cage. His fingers are curled around the fencing as he leans on it and looks at me. “Natasha?”
It’s Nic and I nod, only to find James pulling my ponytail to stop me from nodding anymore. I’m tossed quickly back to my sister slaves who form a circle around me, hiding me from Nic.
My hands are cuffed and the women who are in the same boat as me are holding me back from getting to the man who can help me. I look at each of them with begging eyes. It’s to no avail I see as they all look away.
One of them whispers, “It’s no use, sister. Accept your fate as we all have.”
I shake my head and look at them frantically as I hear Nic shouting, “Pete has my slave in his quarters. I have the bond here to prove that!”
“You have no bond with any of my slaves, Bill. Take a seat and enjoy the show,” I hear James say.
The animals go crazy as a commotion at the far end of the enclosure is loud and shouts are heard. Then I hear my father’s voice shout, “You are under arrest, James Hawthorne!”
The pack of women who have surrounded me, break open on one side as James comes into the circle. They close the circle around us as he tosses me to the ground and yanks my ass back up. I feel his erection on the naked flesh of my ass but the spandex is still covering him. He’s trying to take me before Nic can get through the locked gate. I start to kick and move to evade him. “Hold her,” he tells the other women through clenched teeth.
He pulls me back and I feel something hot on the back of my neck and scream but no one hears a thing as the gag keeps me quiet. I struggle to get away from him as I feel the smooth skin at the tip of his dick touch my ass cheek and I buck like I’ve never bucked in my life.
“Move!” I hear Nic’s deep voice command as the women who were surrounding me are sent out of his way. I am sprawled out on the hard, cold ground, my ass pulled into the air. As I feel the weight of James lifted off me, I roll out of the way.
Instantly, the other women have me and pull me with them to one side of the enclosure. The animals are so loud I can barely hear a thing. Boos and hisses echo in the background as the audience make their sentiments known.
A red cloak is thrown into the ball of women who hold tightly to me. “You bitches better let my baby go!”
It’s my mother and she sounds like a she-wolf!
Then I begin to hear whispers from the women who are holding me, “Help us too, please. We want out. Help us.”
They move away from me like petals on a blooming flower and I hear my mother say, “You ladies stay with me. All who want out will get out.”
I’ve never seen my mother be so protective in my life. I’m wrapped in the cloak by her and she pulls my mask off. When she sees the gag in my mouth, tears well up in her light blue eyes. One of the other girls unties it, giving me some much-needed relief. I open and close my mouth a few times then smile. “Mom!”
I hug her for all I’m worth then I hear a gunshot and we all stop and turn to look as my father, Nic, and James lay still on the ground in a pile. Just inside the enclosure.
An odd sound comes from behind us and the sound of steel squeaking has us all looking that way. The door to the lions’ cage slowly opens. The bullet must’ve hit the lock and the lions are free!
My father’s head pops up on the pile of men he is on top of. “Everyone out of the enclosure, now!” he shouts.
No one needs to tell us we need to get the hell out of here. We run in a panicked herd to the rather small opening. I barely see my father grab up Nic and Nic has James in a choke-hold, so he comes with him and they go to the gate too.
Somehow we manage to all get out and Dad shuts the gate. Everyone is panting as we stop on the safe side of the cage to find the lions have not even left their cage. They seem as surprised by the open door as we are.
One of the zoo workers zips past us and runs into the cage, throwing his hands around and yelling at the lions who move to the back of their enclosure. He closes the gate and slaps a new lock on it as the audience cheers like crazy.
I suppose they think it’s all part of the show, the fools!
NICHOLAI
When I strip the mask off Hawthorne’s head, the audience begins to murmur. I assume they’re finally seeing this is not part of the act. My father makes his way through the crowd to us, pulling his mask away too.
The FBI agents pull their masks off as well and come to take Hawthorne from me as Natasha’s father finishes reading him his rights. He then turns to the women and says, “I’ll need you all to come with us to our headquarters. We’re going to need full statements and we’ll help you all get back to your families.”
Natasha’s mother has her wrapped tightly in her arms. With James in the hands of the authorities, I make my way to her and find tears falling down her cheeks. Her mother lets her go and she comes to me with haste.
“Nic!” Her arms go around my neck as I lift her up in my arms.
She pushes my mask up and we look at each other for a long time. It’s as if we’re silently getting reacquainted after such a long time apart. “Hey,” I whisper as a lump has risen in my throat.
“Hey,” she says then her hand cups the back of my head and she pulls me to kiss her.
The sounds I hear seem far away as people clap and cheer. But all I can think about is how good this woman feels in my arms and I want nothing more than to take her home.
The sound of a man clearing his throat has me ending our sweet kiss. We turn our heads to see her father standing there, looking at us. “Can you bring her to the FBI headquarters? We need her statement too.”
“I’m taking her home to shower and change first,” I tell him.
He nods and moves on to get the other women rounded up to take them to give their statements. Natasha leans her head on my chest as I carry her away. “My God, I’ve never been so glad to see a person in my entire life, Nic.”
“Me neither,” I say as I carry her out the back way to avoid the other people.
“How did you know it was me?” she asks as she looks at me with confusion.
“The scar under your left breast. Now, aren’t you glad I took the time to get to know your body?” I ask her as I recall her trying to stop me from looking at that scar.
“Nicholai!” I hear my father call out.
I stop and wait as he approaches us. “Yes, Father?”
“I want to know if Natasha is okay. Should she be taken to the hospital?” he asks as he gets to us.
She shakes her head. “No, sir. Thank you for asking. I think some ointment on the lashes will suffice. And all I really need is Nic and I have him now. I’ll be okay.”
He gives her a nod then looks at me. “Make sure she gets a check-up, Nicholai. Take good care of her.”
“I will, Father,” I tell him then start heading to my car again.
She looks up at me with furrowed brows. “When did he start liking me?”
“Recently,” I tell her then kiss her forehead. “Things are changing, my princess.”
“I can see that.” She leans her head against my chest again. “I am so tired. You have no idea. I’m probably going to sleep for a week.”
Her voice is hoarse and weak and her body feels twenty pounds lighter than it did before she was taken from me. I could hate her father and hold a grudge for what he did to her, forever. But I won’t be doing that. I will forgive the man.
When I have a daughter, I might do insane things to try to protect her myself. All that really matters is I have the woman I love back in my arms and I will hold tight to her forever. I stop as I see a star falling from the sky and watch it as the light trails behind it. “Make a wish, Natasha.”
She looks at the star too and closes her eyes, making a silent wish. When she opens them, she smiles. “It came true,” she says.
“And how do you know that?” I ask as I continue to the car.
“I wished for this not to be a dream. I’ve had so many dreams of you rescuing me. In my dreams, when I opened my eyes, you’d be gone and I’d be alone in one of my prisons. This time, you’re really here. I’m really in your arms and you are really taking me to your home, right?”
“Our home,” I say as I get to the car and open the door, sliding her into the front seat. “I am taking you to our home, my princess.”
“That sounds fantastic to me, my prince. Our home. Our life. Our love. Take me home, Nic. It’s been too long.” She runs her hand over the back of her neck. “Nic, did he brand me here?”
I look at the back of her neck to find a bite mark but no brand. “No, he bit you pretty good but I’ll put ointment on it so often it won’t leave a scar.”
Her sigh of relief tells me she was worried about him leaving a permanent mark on her. It wouldn’t matter to me if he did. I’d still love her just the same.
Closing her door, I feel my heart beating differently. It’s hard to believe this is finally over. We’ve waited for over a year and been through hell but it’s finally over and we can start our lives together.
Slipping behind the steering wheel, I look at her to find her resting her head on the leather headrest. “You look beautiful.”
She reaches out to touch my cheek. “You do too.”
I smile and pull her hand to kiss her palm. “Let’s get you home.”
As I pull out of the parking lot, amidst a sea of other people leaving the zoo, all I can think about is how blessed I feel at this moment. When I feel her hand taking mine off the steering wheel to hold it, I sigh with how natural it feels to hold her hand on top of the middle console that separates us.
“You’re the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten,” she says as she gazes at me.
I look at her, returning her smile. “I think that about you too. You can bet I will lavish you with gifts once the sun comes up.”
“I only want one thing from you, Nic.” She moves her hand up my arm with a gentle stroke.
“And what is that?” I ask her as my skin heats from her soft touch.
“I want you to stay in bed with me all day and night and make sweet love to me as many times as possible.” She bites her lower lip and makes a tiny moan.
“Now, that does sound like a nice way to spend our first Christmas together, doesn’t it? I think I can manage that for you.”
“Merry Christmas, my prince.”
I take her hand and press my lips to it. “Merry Christmas, my princess.”
This may be the best Christmas of our lives!