Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
FLORA
A week has flown by. Only two more weeks left and back to the real world. Me and Dax have been fucking nonstop. We’ve fucked in almost every room except Lyka’s. The tension between us and Lyka has been unstable. He has been in his own world, spending long hours in the barn and avoiding us as much as possible. He keeps slamming doors and skipping meals, acting like a teenager who has been told off.
This morning, we all stand in the kitchen, the silence thick and uncomfortable. Lyka heads for the back door, his body language radiating frustration.
“Lyka…” Dax calls out, breaking the silence.
Lyka turns around. He doesn't say a word, just stares at us, his glare unyielding.
“I’m going on a hunt today. Can Flora help you in the barn?” Dax asks.
Lyka's eyes scan me up and down. He nods, exits through the back door, and slams it shut behind him. The sound vibrates through the cabin, causing me to flinch.
“You can help him sand down some furniture,” Dax says, trying to lighten the mood .
I smile at him, even though it feels forced. I am hesitant about spending the day alone with Lyka, but I know dark thoughts will return if I’m not in someone's company.
“I better go get ready,” he says.
Dax jumps off the kitchen stool and walks over to the firearms cabinet. His hands move confidently as I watch him easily handle the weapons with me standing a few paces back.
“There’s something scary about being in the presence of guns,” I mutter.
He glances back at me with a slight smile, his eyes flickering with understanding. “You've never shot one before?” he asks, turning his attention back to the cabinet to retrieve a box of ammunition.
I shake my head. “I wouldn't want to,” I reply honestly, folding my arms and leaning against the back of the couch.
“Do you have to go out and hunt?” I ask. “I thought we had everything we needed.”
Dax finishes loading the bullets into a pouch. “I always like to stay on top of our supply. You’ll be fine,” he says, pausing to kiss my forehead.
He moves into the kitchen to prepare for his hunt and I watch silently as he gathers his gear.
After Dax leaves, I gather my courage and head to the barn. I’m hoping Lyka is out of his mood by now. I can see the barn doors slightly ajar. I take a deep breath and step inside. Lord Give Me a Sign by DMX plays on a speaker.
The pungent smell of sawdust and wood polish hits me. I glance to the side and see tools arranged on a workbench nearby . Several pieces of furniture around the barn are unfinished.
Lyka is at the far end, working on a chair. His muscles flex, making his veins pop out of his arm. The sight takes my breath away, yet it is intimidating.
I approach him and fiddle with my fingers. “Hey.”
He doesn’t look up, continuing his work with focus. “Grab some sandpaper and start standing down that table to the left of me.”
I find a piece of sandpaper and start working on a nearby table. The silence between us is heavy, punctuated only by the sound of sandpaper against wood.
Looking up at him, I muster the courage to speak. “Lyka… I’m sorry if—”
“Don’t,” he interrupts me. “Just work.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and feel a mixture of guilt and frustration. I keep silent as we continue to work. It feels like the minutes are stretching into hours.
A long metal rod with the letter F catches my eye. Curious, I walk over and pick it up.
“What's this?”
Lyka looks up and rolls his eyes. “It’s a branding iron. Once I’ve finished a piece of furniture, I brand it with that… F for Faulkner,” he explains and returns to his work.
I place the branding iron on the table and pick up the sandpaper. I start humming to the music, which apparently makes Lyka annoyed as he starts clenching his jaw. Anger and annoyance wash over me, making me huff in frustration. The tension between us has been building for days and I can't take it anymore.
“What’s your problem with me, Lyka?” I demand, gripping the sandpaper tightly in my hand. Lyka stops working and looks me up and down, clenching his jaw .
“I mean, you hardly talk to me. If you do, you’re blunt. Yet when you kiss someone, you look me dead in the eyes. What is that about? What do you get out of it?” I ask, my voice rising.
Lyka stands there in silence, his lack of response only fuels my anger. I walk up to him, closing the distance between us until we are face to face.
“Tell me, Lyka. What have I done to you? You’re acting like a fucking teenager…”
“Shut the fuck up, Flora. I’m warning you,” he says through gritted teeth.
“No, I won’t! Tell me. Why are you such an asshole to me?!”
Our faces are inches apart as his eyes bore into mine. It feels like the entire world has shrunk to just the two of us.
“I saw you watching me and Dax fuck in the shower. What is it…jealousy? Angry I didn't pick you?” I hiss.
Lyka's face hardens, his chest heaving as he breathes. The air is almost suffocating me, and I turn to leave.
“Asshole,” I mumble under my breath as I walk toward the door. I feel so frustrated I don’t even want to look at him.
Suddenly, I hear a whooshing sound. A small ax flies past my head, missing me by centimeters and embedding itself into the wall with a loud thud. I freeze, my mouth wide open in shock. I turn back, eyes wide with a mix of fear and anger.
“YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING KILLED ME!” I scream with rage.
“If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have missed,” he says through gritted teeth. His eyes are dark and his face is full of fury.
My heart pounds in my chest and I breathe in and out, trying to calm myself down. “You’re insane!”
Lyka rushes towards me. I stumble backward, my back pressing up against the wall. The barn now feels small, as if it’s closing on me .
“You walk in here, say what you want, and push my buttons. What did you expect to happen?” Lyka says, his eyes never leaving mine. He places his hand above my head, pushing himself up from the wall as he towers over me, trying to intimidate me.
“If you’re trying to scare me, Lyka, it’s not working.”
A sinister laugh escapes his lips. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, Flora.”
Lyka pulls the ax from the wall with ease. Without a word, he storms out of the barn. I follow him, anger boiling inside me.
“You don’t scare me!” I exclaim.
“Fuck off!” he snaps as he heads towards the trees.
Determined not to let him walk away from this, I catch up to him. I reach out and shove his shoulder, making him stop. He grunts and turns slowly, his eyes empty. I push his chest, feeling his fury.
“You…won't…do…shit,” I taunt.
He clenches his jaw and his face fills with rage. Dropping the ax, his hand shoots out and grabs my throat. With force, he slams me against a tree, my head and back colliding against the rough bark.
My eyes fill with tears and I gasp for breath. “Hurt me. Go on. If that makes you feel like a man .”
His nostrils flare. I feel the pressure constricting my airway as he grips my throat tighter. His eyes are emotionless, dark, and scary.
“Hurt me, Lyka!”
He yanks down my jeans along with my panties. Before I can react, he picks me up, my legs dangling as he kicks away my discarded clothing. Without delay, he pulls down his jeans and underwear, his erect cock springing free. He grips my thighs, hoisting me up again and pinning me against the tree. The rough bark digs into my back, giving me a sharp pain .
“Pain…You want fucking pain,” he hisses.
Before I can respond, he thrusts his hips forward, his cock slamming into my pussy with a force that makes me scream. “Lyka!”
He doesn't listen or give me time to adjust. His hips pound into me, each thrust driving me harder against the bark. I can feel it scraping through my T-shirt, cutting into my skin. There is pain yet pleasure as they blend together.
I let out little whimpers. My hands lock together behind his neck, gripping tightly as if holding on for dear life. He grunts with each thrust. I can hardly see because my eyes are filled with tears.
“Does it hurt?” he asks.
“Mhmm,” I whimper.
“Good,” he grunts.
The bark cuts deeper into my back, the sting adding to the moment. I move my hand to his shoulders, my nails digging in, scraping against his skin. Tears stream down my face and my body quivers with each thrust.
He suddenly drops me to my feet and I stagger, trying to find my balance. I feel the blood dripping down my back. Before I can react, his hand is firm and commanding at the back of my neck as he turns me around.
“I think you can take more. Now hold the fucking tree,” he demands.
The rough bark presses against my skin as I place my arms around the tree. My face is pushed up against the harsh surface, feeling the sting of the bark biting into my cheek. He spreads my legs with his knee, forcing them apart. Without any warning, he thrusts his cock into my pussy again.
His fingers dig into my skin with a bruising force as he begins to fuck me from behind. I try to pull my face away from the tree, but his hand holds my neck firmly .
His cock fills me completely. My hands grip the tree tighter, my fingers digging into the bark as I let out loud moans.
He slams into me with force as he grips my hips, pulling me back to meet each of his thrusts.
“This is what you wanted, right?” he groans.
My legs shake as my body trembles. My knees feel like they are going buckle.
“Fuck, you’re pussy is stretching so well for me.”
I can't help but moan, the sound escaping my lips despite the pain.
He reaches one of his hands around to my pussy. His fingers find my clit, rubbing it with a roughness. I feel an orgasm building up.
“Does that make you want to come?” he asks.
“Ye—yes,” I stutter, out of breath.
“You don’t get to fucking come.”
He removes his fingers from my swollen clit back to my hips, denying my release. His grip tightens, his thrusts becoming more erratic. His body slaps against my ass as his cock stretches my pussy. I bite down on my lip, making it bleed.
With a final thrust, he drives deep into my pussy and I feel it tighten around him. I cry out, my body trembling. Lyka groans as he climaxes, his cock pulsating inside me as he comes.
We stand there out of breath, our bodies pressed together.
Lyka pulls out of me and his cum drips down my thighs. He releases his grip on my hips and I can’t help but slump against the tree.
Without a word, he pulls up his jeans. My hands shake uncontrollably as I fumble with my clothes.
I look over my shoulder and see my T-shirt is covered in blood. The pain hits me and I let out a little whimper.
I stare at Lyka, trying to look deep into his eyes. He looks at me wit h no expression on his face, not saying a word. He picks up the ax, walking towards the cabin as I follow behind him.
As we approach the cabin, the door swings open and Dax steps out. He looks at me and the tears in my eyes as his face hardens with concern. Lyka walks straight past him, bumping shoulders as he enters the cabin. Dax's eyes follow him before he rushes up to me, his hand reaching out to touch my shoulder.
“Ouch,” I cry out.
Dax pulls his hand back, his eyes wide with concern. He walks behind me and gently lifts the back of my T-shirt, revealing the deep cuts and scrapes from the tree bark. “What the fuck did he do,” he growls.
I turn my head and see him inhale deeply before looking toward the cabin.
My back and pussy throb in pain as I sit in the tub with my knees pressed up against my breasts. The water soothes my cuts. My hair is tied up in a messy bun, loose strands falling around my face.
Dax kneels beside the tub, dips a sponge into the water, and carefully wrings it out before dabbing it over my back. The water washes away the remnants of blood and grime. I feel relief and guilt; my emotions are a tangled mess.
“I’m sorry, Da–” I begin to say, my voice trembling.
“Shh. It was bound to happen. You’re spending three weeks alone in a cabin with two males.”
I can’t help but cry. Dax tends to my cuts with care, keeping his hands steady .
“It just happened so quickly. I’m gonna need emergency contraception…”
Dax pauses for a moment. “Can it wait ‘til tomorrow? The stores are closed.”
“I think you can take it up to three days now, so yeah.”
“I’ll go first thing in the morning,” he assures me, pouring warm water down my back.
A new worry creeps into my mind. “Hey, Dax, I don't have to be worried about STDs, do I?”
Before Dax can respond, we hear the door open. We both look up and see Lyka standing there.
Lyka’s eyes meet mine. “You’re the first girl I’ve fucked without a condom. I’m clean,” he says bluntly.
Lyka lingers in the doorway for a moment, his eyes flicking between us. Finally, he turns and walks away, the door creaking shut behind him. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
DAX
I leave Flora lying in bed to rest, closing the door behind me. The cabin is silent as I make my way to the living room, finding Lyka sprawled out on the couch. He looks up as I enter, pausing the DVD with a remote. He has guilt and confusion written on his face.
I sink into the armchair opposite him. “This makes things complicated…” I say.
Lyka leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. “She wanted me to hurt her.”
The raw emotion in his words cuts through me. I let out a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
“What are we gonna do?” he asks. He looks up at me, his eyes searching mine for an answer .
“We’ll ask her tomorrow.”
Lyka nods, his shoulders slumping. He picks up the remote and presses play, the DVD resuming. We sit there in silence. The tension in the room is intense—my mind races, replaying the past few weeks' events.
I want Flora. I know Lyka wants her, too. What the fuck have we done.
LYKA
I lie there in bed, staring up at the ceiling as thoughts swirl all around me. From the very moment that Flora waltzed her way into our lives, I had a sense of determination to break her. It was meant to be a game for me. I don’t like getting close to people.
I fucked a lot of girls. They loved the power I had over them, it's never hard to manipulate them into doing what I want. But with Flora, things were different. She wasn't like the rest. With Flora, it was about fucking with her mind—to make her question everything and strip that fa?ade off her, leaving her raw and exposed. I enjoyed watching the confusion in those eyes of hers as I played out my games. Of course, it was simple: keep her off-balance, keep her guessing.
The only people who have claimed her body are me and Dax. I wanted her over and over. The way her pussy gripped my throbbing cock made me groan in bed. There was something about her eyes…no girl has ever looked at me like that before. Something deeper—something I couldn't quite grasp. I know dark thoughts riddle her mind. They riddle my mind, too.
Maybe she was better off dead instead of giving us so much trouble. Is there a part of me that cares about her? Shit! This was Dax’s idea. I didn’t even want her here. We should have left her in the forest. I’m so fucking conflicted and confused.