CHAPTER 29
Ivy
I tense in his arms, and yet my body feels weightless.
Noah has no idea what those few words have done to my mind. The crazy noise in my brain has all but come to an abrupt stop. Nothing matters. Nothing registers. Nothing, but those words.
We have way out. We’re getting the fuck out.
That’s what he was looking at on the floor before.
He’s given me hope.
There was never a doubt in my mind that we would get out, the question was always on how? Nothing, not one mistake has been committed on their behalf.
These people are meticulous. Sick. Psychotic.
Smarter than your average human being.
Those that have corrupt souls tend to see what the rest of the population doesn’t. It’s not lack of intelligence that gets a killer caught, but arrogance.
Every last detail of our kidnapping and time here—the drugs they use and the people they kill to break us—is without flaw. There is no doubt in my mind that Valerie has help from someone I know. How else would she know what she does?
Places we visit.
Times and dates.
Who were the ones we cared for the most.
Jesus. It’s as if we’ve been living under a microscope without ever knowing we were nothing but lab experiments.
Then another question hits me from all angles.
How many others have there been? How many faceless victims?
“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice low. My hands clench at my sides, almost afraid to move and have this be nothing more than another mindfuck. “Please, Noah. Tell me you are one-hundred-percent—”
“Shhhh,” he croons in my ear, hands leaving my hair to find purchase on my hips. “Please don’t draw attention to us, love.”
I nod, letting him know I heard. Noah places a soft kiss on my shoulder before reaching with one hand for the body wash inside the nook.
Bringing the bottle in front of us, he tips it and lets a large stream fall over my chest and down the middle of my stomach. Fuck, those hands. Strong and unyielding, he makes me forget everything he said and focus on nothing but his touch.
Arousal pulses through me again; a vibrant current of need.
This time it’s harder than the last. Comes at me from everywhere and I become sensitive to the softest of touch.
“How?” I ask, my whimper loud. “I’m still so sore, but I want you again. Almost feel demented with this growing urgency.”
“We’ve been fed a cocktail of drugs that has us on a never-ending cycle of highs and lows.” As he talks, his hands wander across my chest and cup a tit in each hand. Squeezes them, before pulling on the hard peaks—tugs a little, adding pressure until my ass pushes back into his hard cock. “They’ve taken advantage of our suppressed desires and magnified them. Control is nonexistent, sweetheart, and there’s little we can do to stop it at the moment.”
God. That growl in my ear.
“Noah . . .” It’s breathless and he lets out a muffled groan into my neck. Nips the skin while manipulating my flesh in the name of bathing me. He’s everywhere at once, massaging my flesh while his dick slides between my cheeks. His pre-cum mixes with the wetness over my flesh. “God, the way you make me feel. Only you.”
“Only me,” he agrees. A loud groan rumbles out of his chest as the head of his length grazes my tender hole. “I’ll make this right, too, Ivy. Next time I take you here . . .” Noah gives a tiny jab and I loosen enough that half the head slips inside. We pause. Don’t breathe. Just feel.
“Next time, it’ll be just you and me somewhere very far from here. No interruptions. Just loving each other,” I finish for him.
Noah’s breathing hard against my skin, his hold on my breasts just shy of painful and I welcome the slight reminder of our reality.
Now is not the time to give in.
“We need to focus, love.”
“I know.”
“You have fifteen minutes left before you are expected inside the room.”
Valerie again.
We wait a few seconds to say if she’s going to say more, but only the sound of running water greets us.
And our harsh, needy breaths.
Muscles locked tight, he slips the head out and finishes washing me in silence. Nimble fingers caress and ease some of my tension without caring about his own. They wander lower, to that place I’m swollen for him and washes me with firm strokes.
“Come for me, love. Give it to me.” Noah pushes a single finger inside and I immediately clamp down. Nothing else was needed. I come in a wet rush. It’s silent and painful and oh so delicious.
Calms my raging lust into a dull thrum.
For now I can breathe.
“Baby, you need to let go too. Let me help you.” Turning to drop down to my knees, I stop midway and our eyes meet. From the corner of my eye, I see Agnes at the door. Not inside, but two steps outside of the threshold.
Rosary in hand, she mumbles, as if in prayer while fingering each bead.
That white mask and her hands are still bright red with blood.
“What the fuck?” Noah hisses, pulling me up and behind him. Covering me from head to toe. “Do you need something?”
“No. Not at all, Noah.” Agnes tilts her head to the side, appraising us. “I’m just your reminder. A minute late and I will leave a reminder of your disobedience. Blood will flow once more.”
Noah’s jaw ticks. “Understood. Now move out of the doorway so we can leave.”
“Tick tock . . . tick tock.” She takes a step back and then another until we can no longer see her, but her voice carries. Repeating the same two words. Tick tock.
“I’ll make it—”
“Grab a bloody towel and step out. Now, Ivy.” His tone tells me he’s on the very edge. I scramble out of the shower, stumbling toward where the towels are.
Behind me, his loud groan seems to echo.
The sound is enough to send yet another pulse of arousal through me. Shaking, I hold a towel up to my chest and turn around.
Noah’s right where I left him, one hand braced against the shower wall while the water cascades down his back. His other hand is wrapped around his dick, stroking slowly.
Can’t help it. Biting down on my lip, I mewl softly.
His head falls back, another moan ripped out of him. One stroke. Another. His hips thrust shallowly into his fist.
My hands tighten in a death grip around the towel. “Oh God, Noah. I can’t take this.”
Those whimpered words set him off. His hand tightens around his throbbing cock, jerking it as cum shoots out the tip. “Ivy.” That broken groan leaves him just as the last wave of cum leaks out of him.
Our ragged breaths and the water are once again the only sounds inside the bathroom for a few seconds.
“Tick tock.”
“Fucking crazy cunts,” Noah mumbles angrily, turning to rinse himself off quickly. He shuts off the shower and steps out, expression dark. His eyes roam over me slowly and his still hard dick throbs.
We’re never going to come down from this.
Walking toward me, he grabs the second towel off the shelf and wraps it around his hips. Once that’s done, he makes sure mine is wrapped snugly around me.
As if it matters. As soon as the audience wants me naked again, we’ll have no choice but to give them that.
Although his expression remains thunderous, Noah leans down to kiss me softly before grabbing my hand. Together, we step out the bathroom, coming face to face with the guards from before.
Looks like our private shower wasn’t so private after all. I should be indignant at being heard, but it just isn’t in me.
Funny how a few days of forced exposure can steal a person’s modesty like that.
We travel the few steps back into our prison. My eyes start to bounce around, but I remind myself not to give anything away. I have an idea where the remote might be, thanks to where Noah was looking. Yet giving it away isn’t an option.
Forcing my stare straight ahead, I see a tray on the bed with two glasses and a carafe filled with water. Noah’s body heat is close, he can’t be more than a few inches behind me. Together, we walk closer—
“Shite.”
That low curse sends a fresh wave of adrenaline through me. Jerking to a stop, I spin around.
The large wall is still open. On the other side of the glass, the auditorium now sits empty.
All except for one figure.
Seated in the middle of the auditorium, his elegant, black suit blending with the black seats and walls, is the man from before. The one with the cultured, oddly familiar voice, and the black mask covering half of his face.
He catches me looking at him, how intense my focus is. Slowly, his lips curl into an amused smirk.
Even that looks familiar.
And why the fuck not? Valerie is the sadist in charge of our debasement. God knows who else is in on this with her.
The thought is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes.
“Please.” He holds a hand out toward the bed. “Ignore me.”
Yeah, okay.
Neither Noah nor I move.
The man chuckles, leaning back in his seat in a perfect display of casualness. “Go drink the water. You both need it after all your exertions and all the . . . well, chemicals in your body.”
Noah reaches for my hand, fingers intertwining, just neither of us move. It’s almost as if that man, the familiarity of him, has us enthralled.
The man’s clean shaven jaw twitches. “I really don’t want to have to make it an order, but I have no problem doing so if I have to.”
Alright. Point taken.
When Noah tugs on my head gently, I allow him to pull me away toward the bed. We both stop next to it and he reaches down to fill a glass for me.
I take it from him and give him a small smile. “Thank you.”
His expression melts momentarily. “Welcome, baby.”
The first sip of water hits my tongue. The crisp coolness is amazing. I had no idea how thirsty I was. I down the whole glass in three drinks and hold it out to Noah.
He finishes his own drink and takes the glass from me. “Thirsty, Ivy?”
“God yes.”
His lips twitch. He fills the glass for me, hands it back to me, and refills his own.
By the time we both finish our drinks, a weird calm is coming over me. Noah takes my glass again and moves the tray with everything to the floor.
I sway lightly on my feet, watching Noah straighten. He shakes his head, blinking, and I can see that he’s feeling the same thing.
“Time for both of you to get some rest. We have such great plans tomorrow,” the man chimes in from the auditorium.
Our eyes meet, widening with realization.
They just fucking drugged us again! Some kind of sleep agent.
Sighing, Noah seems to resign himself, and he holds out his hand. I grab it and we walk toward the side of the bed together. The drowsiness sinks deeper into my mind with each step. By the time Noah pulls back the covers for me, I’m beyond heavy with exhaustion.
I get in, still clutching the towel around me, and scoot over to make room for Noah.
He joins me, tugging me into him immediately.
As soon as I lay my head on his chest, all the lights go out. The darkness is like an amplifier for my fatigue. My ears strain to listen, to pick up on any sounds.
Not shortly after that, sleep takes me under, and the last sound I register is the slow, lulling beats of Noah’s heart.