Chapter Forty-one
Robyn
As I started to wake, I felt like I had been sleeping on a cloud; soft fluffiness surrounded me, cocooning me in gentle safety and warmth, and I smiled contentedly.
Finally deciding to open my eyes, I blinked, and frowned. I was in my own bedroom, but I was sleeping in a cloud. Instead of my usual blankets, my body was surrounded by a pile of fluffy whiteness – what looked like a brand-new super-stuffed duvet, which certainly didn’t belong to me.
I went to push myself upright, trying to work out what the heck was going on, but I was stopped in my tracks by a tight, searing pain around my stomach and back that caused a sharp gasp to leave my lungs. As I looked down and saw several large bruises across my midsection and a bandage covering one area, the mattress shifted next to me, and Oliver’s concerned face came into view over the top of the white cotton mountain.
‘Hey, you’re awake. Take it easy, lay back down.’
With prickly pain still circling me, I didn’t argue, and gingerly lay back as memories of yesterday started to flood back into my mind.
Dominic.
His basement of pain.
The whip.
So that explained the bruises and bandage, not to mention why I was in so much pain.
I vaguely recalled giving my statement to a policewoman, and I had blurry recollections of being attended to by a doctor, but I squeezed my eyes shut against the images, not keen on reliving any of it just at the moment.
A huge shudder ripped through my body. Seconds later, Oliver was clambering over the mounds of white and gently arranging my naked, trembling body into the circle of his arms. As well as my torso, my wrists were also bruised from the bindings, and although I couldn’t see my feet, I guessed my ankles were, too. Moving hurt almost more than I could bear, but I endured it, because once I was settled in his embrace I felt utterly safe and secure, and my pain somehow seemed dulled.
‘What’s with the new duvet?’ I asked, my voice croaky from its first usage.
Oliver’s chest rose and fell beneath me as he took in a long breath, then he placed a kiss on the top of my head before speaking. ‘While you were sleeping you couldn’t settle properly. You were … you were crying in your sleep …’ He let out a shuddering breath. ‘I thought it might be due to pain, so I went out and bought this extra-thick duvet to cushion you.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked gently.
Drawing in a deep breath, I winced as agony sliced through my torso again. ‘Sore. But I’m OK.’ Which was true, because I was safe now, and in his arms, and I knew I would be OK in the long run.
Cupping my face, he tilted my jaw up so he could look into my eyes. ‘Now you’re awake, I need to ask. Do you need me to get you a doctor?’
I blinked and shook my head. ‘I’ve already seen a doctor,’ I mumbled, although perhaps I had dreamed that. ‘Honestly, Oliver, I’ll be fine. You arrived just after he had started, so he only managed to hit me a few times.’ At my words, Oliver tensed below me, and his jaw tightened so much that his lips turned pure white with anger. Trying to reassure him, I stroked his forearm. ‘I’m sure I’ll heal in a few days.’
Drawing in a long breath as if calming himself, Oliver shook his head. ‘That’s not what I meant. I already had my private physician check your wounds this morning when we arrived back here. I meant … do you need … a … gynaecologist? Did he … did he touch you?’ Oliver paused, his eyes clenching shut as he cradled me against him looking distinctly pained, ‘Robyn, did he rape you?’
Oh. Seeing how desperate Oliver looked, I shook my head immediately, trying to calm him. ‘No. Oliver, no, he didn’t.’ Thinking about it, it didn’t seem as if that was what Dominic had wanted from me. He’d certainly had ample opportunity.
‘You can tell me the truth, Robyn. None of this is your fault, cariño.’ Oliver’s face was still taut with tension, so I ran my fingers over his cheek and jaw until his muscles slackened slightly.
‘Honestly, Oliver, he didn’t touch me sexually. He seemed more intent on punishing me. He said I was a shit sub and needed to learn. He… … he wanted me to call him master.’ Despite the gravity of the situation, I found myself giving a dry, humourless laugh. ‘I probably am a shit sub.’
Oliver clicked his tongue dismissively and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on my lips. ‘You’re fucking perfect, Robyn.’ He rubbed his nose against the tip of mine, just like my mum used to do when I was younger, and I felt my heart melt.
‘So … where is he now?’ I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer. If Dominic was still free to return to Club Twist, then there was no way I would ever be able to step foot inside that place again.
‘In police custody in a secure hospital,’ Oliver murmured.
‘Hospital?’ I mumbled, confused. I’d seen Oliver get in a few hits on him, but it hadn’t seemed enough for hospital.
‘A secure mental facility. We suspect he’s had a breakdown of some sort, so he’s being checked over by a team of physiatrists.’
Wow. That would explain his bizarre behaviour. He had definitely seemed very detached from reality. ‘Will … will he be let out?’ I stammered, my heart rate rocketing.
‘No, cariño, no. I spoke to my solicitor last night, and he got some advice from his friend who is a prosecution lawyer. For what he did to you – kidnapping with intent, and deliberate bodily harm – he’ll be looking at ten years to life in a secure mental facility.
‘You’re safe, Robyn. You’ll never see him again. Trust me.’ I did trust Oliver. I trusted him with my life. That knowledge, plus the determination I could see on his face, helped me relax back into his embrace, but as I did, Oliver frowned, his eyes zeroing in on my neck. With the upmost care, he traced his thumb around the skin there.
‘I didn’t see this mark yesterday. It must have been hidden by your hair. Did he … did he try and strangle you?’ The barely concealed outrage in his voice showed me just how close Oliver was to losing control and I tried to work out what mark he was referring to.
‘No. It’s from the collar you gave me. Dominic ripped it off, and the leather cut into my skin a bit as he did.’ Considering all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, it was the last thing I should be thinking about, but I felt really sad at the loss of the small pendant.
With a growl, Oliver leaned to the side and picked up a tube of antiseptic cream from the bedside table. He squeezed a small amount onto the tip of his finger and wordlessly began to smooth it around the wound at my neck. ‘It’s OK, cariño. You don’t have to wear one again.’
Sitting up, I frowned. ‘What? Why?’
Oliver screwed the lid back on the cream and examined me intently. ‘If it triggers bad memories for you, then you don’t have to wear one again.’
My head began to shake of its own accord. ‘No! It triggers good memories for me … You gave it to me, and you said it was special. That you’d never given one before …’
‘All of which is true,’ Oliver said quietly with a nod of his head.
‘I loved it,’ I admitted sadly, raising my hand and feeling the empty space where the leather had been.
‘In which case, we shall replace it as soon as you are feeling better.’ He placed a kiss on my temple and pulled me close again.
A noise at the door disturbed our quiet time, and a second later, Sasha’s head popped in.
Letting out a curse, Oliver dragged a sheet up to cover my body, and once I was swathed to his satisfaction I threw Sasha a chastising look. ‘You seriously need to learn to knock,’
‘Oops. Sorry.’ She didn’t look repentant at all. ‘I heard voices, so I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.’
Allowing my head to flop back onto Oliver’s chest, I gave a small shrug. ‘Not bad, all things considered.’
‘Thank God. I was so bloody worried.’ She took a step closer and winced as she looked at the bruising on my wrists. ‘Do you need anything?’
‘Coffee would be amazing.’ It was the first thing that popped into my head.
At my words, Sasha grinned and nodded. ‘You must be feeling OK, then. You always have been a coffee monster. I’ll bring some in.’ With that, Sasha left us alone again and closed the door behind her.
‘She’ll be in here every five minutes. You should have taken me back to your place so we could have had some peace. Which I’ve still not seen, by the way,’ I added teasingly, hoping to try to lighten Oliver’s mood and distract him from worrying about me.
It wasn’t entirely successful, because Oliver rolled his eyes. ‘This again,’ he mumbled. ‘I didn’t take you back to my place because we’ve not been together that long, and seeing as yesterday must have been really traumatic for you I thought you would feel safer on familiar territory.’
Oh. When he put it like that, it was actually rather sweet of him.
‘You can see my place once you’re healed.’ With that, he pulled me into his chest and effectively ended the conversation by kissing me until I relaxed into his arms and forgot about everything except the man wrapped around me.