Page 82 of Anywhere

“Whatta ya doin’,” I asked, my voice shaking as much as the rest of my body.

My eyes closed, and I gasped when his hands gripped my waist. The heat penetrated the thin flowy material like he could burn me with his touch, and yet I shivered as if it was a brisk winter day.

Once more, my inner voice yelled that I should step away from Rook and the spell that was trying to bind me to him. I understood it now that Mari explained it, but my body wouldn’t comply. In fact, it greedily wanted more. I wanted to feel his hands travelling all over my body.

Wrapping his hand in my long hair, he pulled down and I let out a yelp. It forced my head back, exposing my neck to him. I was sure he could see my heart pounding in my throat. The sound of it was all I could hear in my ears. He growled and I grabbed hold of his shoulders to keep myself from collapsing to the floor. With every sound he made my legs shook harder.

“I do really love this nightgown,” he said, as he tugged on the front string that held the top half together.

“Pleaze,” I said, not sure what I was asking for. Did I want him to stop or to continue?

The material slipped over my shoulder, and the cool air hit my breast. My body pressed into his like I was melting.

“What are you asking for, Elewyen?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but all that came out was a garbled moan as something hot and wet found my nipple. It took my brain a moment to realize that he had me in his mouth, and as he began to suck, I moaned loudly from the intense pleasure. My eyes snapped open, wanting to see what he was doing, but the angle of my head left me staring at the high ceiling.

“Mmm, you taste so good,” Rook said, his voice rough. “I better stop now, or I’m going to go too far.”

“Naw, dinnie stop,” I said, my face and ears warmed with embarrassment.

“But I thought you weren’t drawn to me?” His tongue was dancing over my nipple, and each wet swipe was like a lightning strike right down my body. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me?”

I didn’t catch all that he said, but I understood he was mocking my earlier statement. My hand raised to strike him, but he snatched my half-hearted effort out of the air and pushed. With a few staggering steps, my back was forced up against the wall. Was this what Azula meant when she said that men were mean and cruel with our bodies? If it was, then I didn’t think they understood the meaning because I wanted more of this.

“Do you want me to taste you, Elewyen?”

I moaned and nodded, even though I had no idea what he meant. Rook released my hair as he stepped back from my body. Looking down, I stared at my exposed breast and felt the pulse of need aching in the tip.

“No, I don’t think so. Not tonight, but make no mistake, Elewyen, you are mine, as Rhys is mine.” The corner of his mouth pulled up in a devilish way, and his eyes shone in the moonlight. “Sleep well, Elewyen. Be sure to dream of me.”

Rook left me standing there, confused and breathing hard, as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. What just happened? Looking up, my eyes found Barry, who was awake and twisting his head as he looked at me.

Grabbing the front of my nightgown, I pulled it closed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Din’t look at me like dat. He messes wit me head,” I mumbled, and looked away from Barry’s judgmental gaze. At least it felt that way.

I promised seven days and thought that I would have no interest in staying, but this seemed like it might be harder than I realized. I didn’t like the idea that someone was purposely hurting innocents, but there was only one innocent I was concerned about right now, and I wanted to get back to her.

I held the necklace, playing with the little stone between my fingers. I’d already made sure Keeva was okay before laying down. If I reached out again, she may think something was wrong.

Dropping the necklace, I touched my lips as I thought about what the light tough of Rook’s kiss had felt like. If tonight was any indication of the influence Rook and this bond spell had over my actions, I may have signed up for more than I bargained for. Would I actually choose to stay because I wanted to?

Mari

I’d never locked my door in all my years living here at home, but I did so tonight. Biting down on the shirt I stuffed in my mouth, I pulled the leather top off. There was a sickening sound of dried blood pulling free from the wounds. I’d done too much, but I couldn’t act any differently. I wanted no one to know about this humiliation. Tears filled my eyes in the privacy of my own washroom as the sharp pain streaked through me. It felt like my back was being burned and stabbed with every movement.

With a final tug, the leather came free, and I screamed into the shirt, the material muffling the sound. Panting hard, I stared into my eyes in the mirror. If I thought it would help, I’d kill every head of the council and let the Factions start over, but it would only throw everything into more chaos. No, killing wasn’t the answer, but the anger that had brewed in my gut for years was boiling now.

Standing straight, I turned my back to the mirror and looked at the lines that crisscrossed over my skin. They were bright red and irritated, some trickled blood where the whip had broken the skin. I was most worried about infection since we didn’t have much in the way of antibiotics on the island. Ma was the only one who knew how to make a potion from the red flowers and moulds in the garden. When not prepared correctly, it could kill you. The marks may fade, but what they represented would always scar my soul.

Tossing my top aside, I grabbed the container of salve off the counter. It smelled like aloe and fresh eucalyptus. This was my ma’s healing recipe. She’d always been great with remedies for just about everything. I could remember her bringing one of her special broths for Belle and me when we were sick. When I hurt myself trying to keep up with Rhys in training, she used to lather the area with a thick paste and wrap it. My ma had been kind, and I’d heard her express, more than once, her fears about my future to my da when they didn’t know I was listening. He always reassured her that he would never let anything bad happen to me. He lied. He became the thing he said he hated, and he became a man I no longer respected.

Taking a healthy amount of the creamy substance, I winced as I spread it on the marks I could reach. I needed help for the ones in the middle, and I slammed my hand down on the counter. No, I wasn’t asking anyone for help, no one was seeing this. Out in the bedroom, I grabbed my back scratcher off the dresser. It was long and shaped like a hand. Using the rounded side, I lathered a bunch on, then smirked as it reached the spots I couldn’t. See, I didn’t need anyone.

I picked up the roll of gauze off the counter and started wrapping myself like I planned on trying out for a part as a mummy. With all the movement I winced and sucked in a sharp breath. One roll finished; I grabbed the second one and began the process again. I finished stripping and had just pulled on a loose tunic and warm socks when there was a knock at my door.

I stared at it like a monster was on the other side. “Mari, are ya still awake? I wanna talk to ya,” my da said.

Anger flowed to the surface all over again. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I said, and sat down to pull on my black boots. I tied up the laces and stuffed my knives into the sheaths.