Chapter Twelve Sarah
One moment I was floating along the waves of unconsciousness like a fluffy cloud against a cornflower blue sky. And then I was free falling through the air only to jerk awake with a gasp before I crashed into the ground.
The delicious aroma of breakfast filled the air around me. As I shifted in the bed, an ache burned between my thighs. At my thoughts of my night with the Beast, a warm flush echoed through me. Apparently being fucked thoroughly by him had the same effect as being drugged.
Or maybe the headache beating like a heavy metal drummer in my head was because of all the champagne I’d consumed last night. With a groan, I slapped my hand to my head.
My eyelashes fluttered maddeningly as I tried to clear my eyes. Although the curtains were drawn, sunlight partially lit some parts of the room. As I stared around the unfamiliar contents, an icy fear crept up my spine.
This wasn’t my room.
Turning my head, I peered into the dark to see if there was another bed, and somehow I’d passed out in Hudson and Archie’s room. But there was only the bed I was in.
“Ouch,” I murmured as I rubbed an aching spot on my upper arm. Frowning, I felt the raised spot that felt like the size of a pinprick.
Then a memory rocketed through me.
The Beast had given me the kindest and most considerate aftercare. He’d ensure I was tucked into bed. He told me goodnight at my bedside.
Things became hazy then.
There was the sting of a needle entering my skin. Slipping beneath consciousness like the surface of water.
And before I went under, an automated voice cut through my fear and panic.
Bile shot up my throat, and I clamped my hand over my mouth. No, no, no! It couldn’t have been him.
In the corner of the room, a lamp flicked on. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I tried making out the figure in the shadows.
“Good morning, Sarah.”
Every molecule in my body shuddered to a stop at the sound of the familiar automated voice.
No.
This wasn’t happening.
The man who had given me such pleasure couldn’t have drugged me. As my heart threatened to beat out of my chest, I narrowed my eyes.
When the familiar skull mask gleamed back at me, the last of my breath whooshed out in a panicked scream.
This had to be a nightmare.
I hadn’t truly woken up. If I just waited a few more minutes, I would jolt awake and find myself in one of the guest bedrooms at the manor house.
Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP!
As the world around me spun in a dizzying flurry, I pinched my eyes shut. My chest rose and fell in harsh pants as I tried to catch my breath.
It was then that a familiar woodsy smell first invaded my nostrils and then my senses. Even with my eyes closed, I knew the beast was looming over me.
“Breathe, Sarah,” his voice purred.
It was him.
And he was using my real name.
Flailing in the cocoon of blankets, I shoved myself into a sitting position and scurried to the opposite side of the bed from him. I then pressed myself as close as I could to the headboard.
Tilting his masked head at me, the Beast proclaimed, “You don’t look happy to see me.”
“What did you do to me?”
“I gave you five orgasms with my fingers, tongue, and cock.”
A burst of heat bloomed through my core at his words. It was quickly doused with remembering where I was and who he was. “That’s not what I meant, and you know that!”
“But I enjoy talking about your tight cunt.”
The binding of my emotions unraveled sharply. Snatching a vase from the nightstand, I then hurled it at him. “Stop it!”
He easily dodged the vase, and it sailed past him to smash into the wall. “My, my, what a temper you have. This is a side you don’t show to many of your clients, is it, Doc?”
Tears of frustration and fear stung my eyes. Although I hated myself for it, I begged, “Please.”
After staring at me a moment, the Beast crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Fine. I’ll answer your questions honestly.”
“Where am I?”
“My client’s house.”
Client. I sucked in a harsh breath. “You’re the man from my office?”
He shook his head. “That was an associate of mine.”
“An associate? Like with your business?”
“Yes. We both work for the man I came to see you about.”
“Does he know you kidnapped me?”
“He does.” At my gasp of horror, he held up his hands. “Before you can ask, no, he is not happy with the methods I used.”
“Then why did you do it?”
An odd crackling noise emanated from the voice automator. I imagined it would’ve been a sigh. “Because I know how much he needs you, and despite trying to garner your services the correct way, I had to resort to other methods.
“I’m not what he needs,” I protested.
“But you’re the one he wants, and my client always gets what he wants.”
“Even when it comes to kidnapping and holding someone prisoner?”
“Yes,” he replied, his voice hissing through the mask.
With my voice trembling, I asked, “Are you going to hurt me?”
“Surely you know the answer to that question.”
“Forgive me for being clueless, but you drugged and kidnapped me.”
“To help my client,” he protested agitatedly.
“While you might have thought about him, you certainly didn’t consider my feelings.”
The Beast stared at me for a moment. My breath hitched when he started around the bedside. Gripping the blankets tighter, I jerked them up to my chin.
My actions caused a low chuckle to rumble through him. “There isn’t one part of your beautiful body that’s a stranger to me.”
“You and the man who seduced me are two different men.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
Nodding, I replied, “The man last night cared about me–about my consent and comfort. You’re the stranger who drugged me into submission, stealing my ability to consent, and holding me against my will.”
“While I might’ve taken your consent, I never stopped caring about you, Sarah.”
“You lie,” I bit out.
“From the moment you lost consciousness, no one dared lay one finger on you. It was only me.”
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “Like that makes me feel better.”
“It should. You have my word, I didn't touch you in any untoward way.”
“How decent of you,” I snapped.
He ignored both my comment and when my breath hitched as he eased down on the side of the bed.
“After arriving here, I stayed by your side through the entirety of the night.” He threw a glance over his shoulder at the chair beside the bed.
“I didn’t sleep as I checked on your breathing every hour to ensure you weren’t having any adverse reactions from the ketamine. ”
“And what if I had?”
“I have a doctor standing by.”
Although momentarily touched by his concern, I quickly shook myself free of my Stockholm Syndrome. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It should. I would certainly have comfort in the fact that someone respected my boundaries when I was unconscious, as well as being concerned about my health.”
With a huff, I countered, “Jesus, you’re psychotic, and that means a lot coming from me, who has a brother with schizophrenia.”
The Beast ignored my remark. Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket to produce his phone. But then on closer inspection, I realized it was mine. Waving it at me, he said, “I even texted your friends to let them know you had to leave.”
I gasped at the reference to Hudson and Archie. “What did you say?”
He extended the phone to me. After snatching it out of his hands, I quickly scrolled to the group text with Hudson, Archie, and myself.
Hey guys, I’m so sorry, but I got a call from my mom and gotta cut the weekend short. I called an Uber, so you guys keep having fun. I’ll text you in the morning.”
It was eerie how much he sounded like me and mirrored the way Inever wrote in text speak and always used grammatically correct sentences. Both Archie and Hudson always gave me shit for it.
Scrolling past my message, I saw Hudson’s reply. “
So sorry Whit, Whit. Call if u need us.”
To which Archie said,
“Love u.”
As an ache burned through my chest, I fought the tears clouding my eyes. Staring at my screen, I said, “They’re going to wonder what happened to me when I don’t reply.”
“Why wouldn’t you respond?”
I jerked my gaze from my phone. “You’re going to let me have my phone?”
“I’m not–my client is.”
“Why wouldn’t you let me have it?”
“Unlike my client, I don’t trust you.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Neither does he. However, he seems to think he does after reading your research journals and the reviews from your patients.”
“That seems very naive.”
The Beast leaned forward, closing the gap between us. “Maybe he realizes you have more to lose from trying to run.”
“What….” I licked my dry lips. “What do you mean?”
“He knows everything about you.”
“And?”
“He knows your immense love and overbearing responsibility to your parents and your younger brother.” Tilting his head, he added, “You wouldn’t do anything to cause them pain, would you?”
I sucked in a ragged breath. “Are you threatening…my parents and my brother?”
“Just stating facts. I mean, it would seem your love for your parents would be a great motivator for your decisions.”
“They are.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you told my other associate money wasn’t an issue.”
“It’s not.” When the Beast tilted his head questioningly at me, I scoffed, “I make well over six figures a year at my practice.”
“And how much of that will be tangible when your father’s care becomes too expensive?”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“Your father’s care is becoming overwhelming for your mother. While your parents did financially well, over the years, the combination of your oldest brother’s mental health hospitalizations and your younger brother’s care has wiped out their savings.”
“You…” Slowly, I shook my head back and forth. This wasn’t happening. He couldn’t possibly know that much about my parents or Silas or Sammy.
“So you’re going to blackmail me into treating your client?”
“How would you be blackmailed when it benefits you and your family?”
“Because your client isn’t giving me money out of the kindness of his heart.”