I like dysfunction. Broken people who can't fix each other, but fit together because they're missing the same pieces.”
―
Then…
Bane Stratus
I SHOULD SLIT his throat, end his life right now, while Jesse is in the shower. But she would never forgive me. Her brother stands by the kitchen counter eyeing me, waiting for me to make a move. I don’t budge.
“So” he murmurs, “Are we going to have this out, or are we going to just stand here in silence, waiting for Jesse.”
I don’t say a word, I continue to watch him, hearing him say her name causes me to boil in rage. He tried to kill her. Now he wants to play niceties.
“I get it, you don’t want me near her. Hell, if I had I known her my whole life, I wouldn’t want someone like me around her either. But I’m her brother…”
“Funny, you were trying to kill her not to long ago, and now you want me to believe you want to be the big brother” I’m fuming, “I don’t buy it, I know you’re up to something”
“If that’s how you feel, why did you let me live.”
“Because, if I had, it would hurt her” nodding to bathroom, where I heard the water shut off
“Listen man, I didn’t make a good first impression, I am not here to cause waves. I have some information, I may be able to help”
“Help with what” Jesse interrupts, her hair piled on top her head, wrapped in a towel. Her frail body in a pair of plaid shorts, and a black tank top. She looks ravishing in something so simple. Everything about her screams innocent. I look to Travis, hoping he sees the seriousness in my eyes. Jesse might know what’s going on, hell, she killed her own father for the very reason he wants to talk. But, I don’t know what he is going to say or what he knows, she is still in the dark about most of the shit her father and mother were involved with. I’d like to keep her as innocent as possible, and until I know what this motherfucker must say, he better keeps his mouth shut until were alone.
“Nothing” wrapping my arms around her waist, and making a statement, fuck with her you fuck with me, with a hard glare, “Just getting to know our mysterious guest, that’s all.” I kiss her forehead and grab her hand and pull her towards the balcony, leaving Travis to his vices, so I can show Jesse the view, I know she will love it.
“Bane, wait” she protests, “we can’t leave Travis.”
“He’ll be fine” I spit out a little angrier than I intended, “I want to show you this” trying for a softer tone, guiding her to the upstairs balcony that overlooks the mountain terrain. Her eyes widen when she peaks over the ledge as if she could touch the mountains with a slight lean. She is so cute. I chuckle at her naivete.
A whisper escapes her mouth, I barely hear it, “It’s beautiful”
I walk up to her, my chest to her back, and wrap my arms around her waist. I put my lips to her ear, and smell the shampoo she used this morning, lavender, and mint, everything that is Jesse. She shivers in my arms and I know it’s not from the cold, she responds to my touch, my breath, she is the air I breathe, and now she is mine.
“Yes, you are” I whisper in her ear, pulling the lobe between my teeth. She turns in my arms and faces me, but what I see isn’t adoration, or love, she stares back in fear, and a hint of guilt.
“Bane, I have to tell….” Before she finished her sentence, Travis barging through the doors to the balcony. Fuck this guy. I growl in his direction.
“Sorry to interrupt, but um, there are some people here for you,” he looks to Jesse, sympathy evident in his eyes, “they have badges.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Now…
I remember the day I was arrested like it was yesterday. Anger fuels every action since that betrayal. I never thought she didn’t have a choice. I immediately saw the worst and now she is caught up in a mess bigger than she ever thought. She fears her mother, but she is in more danger now than she could imagine.
I was hired to end her, if it wasn’t me who took the job, someone else would. I can’t kill her, I can’t finish the job. Which means we are both on the hit list, and we don’t have much time before they come knocking for our last breath.
After I got Jesse back to the house, I sat her on the counter in the bathroom, grabbed the first aid kit, and attended to her wounds. She was cut up all over, fresh wounds on her feet and her ankle was swollen. She wouldn’t make eye contact with me and I lifted her chin so I could see her face. Tears fell from her eyes and a part of me I thought was dormant came back to life. I didn’t want her tears, not anymore.
“I never wanted to hurt y-you” she stutters. Pain flowing through every breath. This made me angry.
“Then why did you” I growl, hatred still being a strong emotion, my body going through turmoil as an onslaught of emotions plummet out of me. I continue my work on her cuts and try to be gentle when all I want to do is punch something. Three fucking years I wasted away for something I didn’t do, revenge being my only solace
She flinches at the tone of my voice, “S-she made me” she is shivering, her body obviously in shock from everything she has been through. She is shutting down, but I can’t stop, I need to know. I bandage up her legs and bring my hand to her chin and go for being gentle again, I need her to trust me long enough to survive. Then I can let her go. Fuck. Let her go? Can I? I need to step away for a minute before I face this, she is fucking with my head.
“You need a bath” fuck, that came out harsher than intended, “I mean, you would probably feel better. Then we will talk.” She stares at me as if I grew two heads, I decide to ignore her and run the bath, I throw in some smell good shit, and start to walk to the door, I look back at her, “keep your foot out the water.”
She looks down, embarrassment covers her face, she needs my help getting in, her body too tired and in agony that she can even help herself. Fuck, this wasn’t supposed to feel so damn torturous, she was supposed to give me pleasure, instead I want to shoot myself between the eyes. “fuck, I need a drink,”
I walk over to her and gently lift the bottom of her shirt over her head, her hair falls flawlessly down her bare back, I unhook her bra with ease, and do my best to not admire her beautiful tits. She won’t look at me.
“Jesus”
I slowly go down her body and find her yoga pants, and slip them down her legs, revealing a pair of grey boy shorts, that are so plain they are fucking cute. I slip my fingers into the seams and slide them down to her toes and pull each foot out, taking my time unintentionally. I want to cherish her body, while I can.
I lift her naked body off the counter and lower into the steaming water, she moans as her body relaxes. Her eyes close and she looks so peaceful. I take one last look at her curves being framed by the bath water, and head towards the door.
Fuck me.
✽ ✽ ✽
I find myself in my office, drinking a bottle, knowing what I am about to hear is going to fucking awful. I think I made a mistake, but I won’t know until she says the words, and this time I will listen. She must be feeling somewhat better, because when she emerges from the bathroom and into my office, which she made by herself, she is wearing a white shirt of mine, that I lent her, since I had nothing else for her, and a pair of my boxers hangs on her hips. I knew her body regenerated a little. She still looks tired; but, some exhaustion has subsided. The rest will heal with time.
She stands with her hands in front of her, clasped together. She still is afraid of me. Shit.
“I’m not going to hurt you, I have said that already” a bite to my tone, “have a seat, Jesse. You shouldn’t be on your ankle.” I say much calmer. Breathe, Bane. Fuck, I want to grab her by the throat and fuck her raw. But she is frightened, and that would cause her to run for the hills. Not until I know the truth.
She looks up and meets my eyes, she hasn’t moved.
“that wasn’t a request, Jess”
She sits in the chair across from my desk.
In a small voice she asks, “Where do you want me to start?”
“The beginning”
✽ ✽ ✽
Jesus fucking Christ. It too farfetched, right? I mean, there is no way Irina was smart enough to pull this off. Blackmailing Jesse, so that she could have control over the estate, there is no way she planned for her to kill Marco, but, it worked in her favour. I was silenced and thrown in prison, and Jesse was held under her thumb, we bother were in prison, and I punished her for it.
I knew she was leaving stuff out, I don’t know if she feared the truth, or didn’t find it important. I walked over to where she is sitting in the mahogany chairs, looking small and frail. I lean down on my knees and wrap a hand around the side of her neck. She flinches.
“Relax, I believe you” I soothe, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I grimace, that doesn’t mean others won’t. She notices the change in my expression, and worry lines appear.
“We are in danger, it’s not over, just because I didn’t kill you, doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there that won’t. We have to get moving.”
She shakes her head.
“Just stop. I want you to end this. I can’t live like this anymore. I’m tired, Bane”
My hold tightens around her neck. Are you fucking kidding me? She is tired? Snap out of it. I let go of her and walk and brace myself against my desk. No fuck this. I turn towards her with a ferociousness that causes her to cower, natural reflex, she may say she wants to die, but her body isn’t ready. I lift her in my arms and she yelps in surprise. She wiggles trying to get free, I chuckle at her attempt. I lean into her, her breath fanning my lips.
“You’re not going to die, I won’t let you. You belong to me now. Until this is over, you’re mine”.