4. Mimosa
CHAPTER 4
Mimosa
Brutal chained me to the fucking shower.
There’s enough length to the chain that I can use the toilet and get water from the sink, and he was ‘nice’ enough to include a large doggy bed and a blanket, but beyond that, I’m trapped naked in the bathroom.
But at least the views are great, I think hysterically. I get to see the entirety of New Bristol through the giant, curtainless windows. This high up, I guess he isn’t concerned about privacy.
I’m keenly aware of the other high-rises nearby, though, and I wrap the blanket around myself both to warm myself up and to minimize what any potential peeping toms might see.
I spend most of the day staring out the window. At one point I get bored enough to run a bath and relax in the tub, helped by the fact that the tub has a heating option to keep the water warm. There’s a tv in the corner of the bathroom too, but I can’t find the controls for that.
I’d complain about the boredom, but this is preferable to the dark room I’d been kept in before.
Baths and sky views don’t make the time pass that much more quickly, though. After napping for a few hours, I start looking at my options more earnestly.
I know that escaping is unlikely, but I have to get the upper hand somehow. The chain, unfortunately, is high enough quality that I don’t see any potential weak points. The bar in the shower might come loose if I pull hard enough, but I definitely don’t have the strength for that.
I rummage around the bathroom cabinets, finding extra towels and a first aid kit.
On a whim, I open it up. It’s the usual stuff I would have expected from a first aid kit—except there’s a row of small bottles at the bottom, all of them unlabeled. I open them up to check what’s inside. They’re all empty except for a single pill in one of them. I have no idea what it could be, though.
Strange.
I hear a door open from not too far away, and I hurriedly shove the bottles back into the box, sliding it back into the cabinet beneath the sink just before he opens the bathroom door.
“Good evening,” he says cheerfully. “How’s my little Mimi doing? Fun day?”
“It was fine,” I answer neutrally. My mind goes back to the first aid kit, and I wonder if I can ask him about the pill, but I hear more footsteps.
There’s another person out in the bedroom. I tense and glance past Brutal, wondering if he’s going to share me with somebody.
He grins at me, but his entire demeanor is weird. This morning, he’d had this restlessness that had made him shift from side to side, animated, gesturing with his hands. He seems calmer now, and I wonder if that has something to do with the pill bottles.
“Okay, well, it’s time to get up and stretch those legs, then I have a special visitor ready to visit your cunt and make sure you’re not carrying anything,” he says. He goes to the chain and unlocks it from the collar around my throat. “There we go.”
I wrap my arms around myself and wait for him to do something else.
I hate how meek I am. How I’m just waiting .
But I learned my lesson about acting out.
“Come on,” he says, mild annoyance making his brow furrow as he looks at me. “Get up. Let’s go. Hunter’s not the type of person who likes waiting. ”
I slowly get up, feeling a little off balance. “Who’s Hunter?” I ask cautiously.
Brutal looks at me, and at first, I don’t think he’s going to answer. Then he says, “He’s just a gynecologist. Don’t worry. He’s a dick, but he’s not going to touch you or anything. His girl would have a heart attack and cry to death.” He rolls his eyes.
You’re a dick too , I don’t say. I follow Brutal out to the bedroom, relieved at the added warmth of the room.
I am not happy to see the other man, though. He’s about the same height as Brutal, wearing a light dress shirt and gray slacks. His dark hair is neatly styled, and his light blue eyes stare at me with open disgust.
“Her hair is dyed,” this ‘Hunter’ says in clipped tones.
“How observant of you,” Brutal says dryly. “Yeah. It was like that when I bought her.”
He’s so casual about it, like people buy other people every day. Maybe in his circle of friends, they do, and it’s a chilling thought.
Hunter’s lip curls in displeasure, but he motions toward the bed. “On there. Legs wide so I can get swabs and inspect her vulva.”
Before I can move of my own volition, Brutal grabs my arm and starts pulling me toward the bed. I realize that Hunter wasn’t talking to me, and it makes me despise him a little bit more because of how dehumanizing he’s making all of this.
“Up,” Brutal tells me.
I climb up onto the bed without argument, and it’s every bit as soft as it looks — definitely better than the cage he’d put me in the night before and the cold tile of the bathroom floor.
I don’t have time to spread my legs of my own volition before Hunter and Brutal push them apart for me. I focus my gaze on the ceiling instead of trying to keep up with what they’re going to do to me.
Knowing won’t make a difference.
“There’s tearing,” Hunter says as his cold fingers touch the skin around my hole.
“My bad,” Brutal says, an echo of laughter in his voice.
Great. Of course he thinks it’s funny to hurt me. I knew as much, but I didn’t know he’d make light of it this way .
“I can’t make her tighter if you tear her cunt too much,” Hunter answers.
Something colder than his fingers pushes against my hole. Maybe it’s a speculum, although the memory of going to a gyno is hazy and I don’t remember what it all felt like.
“Oh, come on. It wasn’t just me,” Brutal says carelessly. “She’d probably already had several dozen men use her cunt before I bought her. Besides, I haven’t fucked her there yet, and I was mostly gentle with her ass.”
Right. Gentle.
I feel a small twinge of pain, then Hunter says, “I hope you used condoms. I’m not treating you for STIs.”
“Uh.” Brutal sounds slightly chagrined, but he goes on, “It’s not too risky, right? I mean, it was just her ass. I won’t fuck her pussy without a condom.”
There’s an exasperated sigh from Hunter. “Drake, do you really believe you can’t catch an infection with anal sex?”
Brutal hesitates. “Um, well… I mean… Elena said she was clean, all right?”
I can’t help it. I snort in derision, because even in high school, I knew about that—and that had been with me having no interest in sex with any classmates.
There’s a slap to the inside of my thigh. “Okay, I’ll be more careful. Jesus Christ. I’m not paying you for the judgment here.”
“You’re not paying me at all,” Hunter says. He stands up, and sighs. “Don’t do anything stupid, Drake. Like…”
I finally look at them. Hunter is staring directly at Brutal, who stares right back in outright defiance.
“Like what?” Brutal finally asks.
Hunter purses his lips. “Like your little habit . You’re done with it, right?”
Habit? What habit?
“Of course I’m done with it,” Brutal says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I got tired of your lectures and stopped.”
Even I can tell that Hunter doesn’t believe Brutal, but he doesn’t press the issue. Instead, he packs up his things and hefts his bag. “She does have an IUD, like Giulio promised. That is not an invitation to fuck her without a condom. I’ll get everything tested and send you the results.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Brutal says. “Thanks for the help.” He turns to me. “You stay put,” he tells me. “Just like that.” Then he turns, escorting Hunter through the door and leaving me to wonder just what kind of habit they’re talking about. It has to be something about the pills.
I stay as I am, with my legs spread wide, just as he’d ordered. There’s no point in antagonizing him by disobeying something so simple.
The old me would have been eager to cover up.
Who the fuck am I anymore?
The smug look on his face when he returns almost has me wishing I’d moved because it’s so obnoxious. Everything about him is smarmy and irritating… but if I play my cards right, maybe things won’t be so bad here.
“Good girl,” he praises me, like I’m some house pet. “I like you like that.” He steps in close, running his fingers between my thighs, right over my clit.
At least he knows where it is. Most of the men I’d serviced over the past few months either had no clue or gave zero fucks. Probably both.
I keep my breathing steady as he massages my clit, and I consider just letting all this happen. He’ll use me, pump into me with or without condoms, then put me back into the cage.
I look him in the eyes. He smirks at me, rubbing my clit even harder, and I wonder if he’s ever made a woman come by touching her in his life. “You like that?”
“What habit?” I ask, not letting any emotion enter my voice.
His hand freezes, and he narrows his eyes at me. “What?”
The harshness of his voice should probably be enough to make me back down, but my voice remains steady as I repeat, “What habit?”
Brutal scowls, pulling back. “None of your fucking business, Mimi.”
“Drugs of some sort,” I say confidently. “Pills that you hide all over your house. And your office?”
I’d known several people at college—often the finance majors—who took Adderall semi-recreationally. It helped them focus, it made them great at studying, or whatever other excuse they gave as to why they should be exempt from all the drug regulations.
It could be a harder drug, too, the stuff that’s supposedly popular with all the fortune 500 types.
His expression is ugly, twisting handsome features into something that makes him look as unappealing as he is. “Did you enjoy snooping? Think you’d find something to use against me? Because you won’t.”
“I didn’t snoop,” I lie. I close my legs and sit up. “But your doctor friend made it obvious. Do I need to be worried that you’ll overdose, and I’ll be trapped here without food or water?”
“I’d have to be on something to overdose,” Brutal retorts, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. “You don’t worry about what you heard. Understand? It wasn’t important.”
He couldn’t express the opposite any more clearly.
“Okay,” I answer calmly. If there’s one thing I learned, it’s how to pretend everything is fine. I lie down again. “Go ahead. Pound away, then.”
Whatever smug mood he’d been in is gone, replaced by an anger that should probably worry me. He grabs me by the throat, squeezing tight. “Yeah? You want me to fuck you now? Nice and fast in your filthy little cunt?”
I gasp, struggling against his grasp, but there’s nothing I can do against his superior strength. No matter how much I slap his arm, I can’t dislodge him.
He keeps squeezing, and my lungs begin to burn from the lack of air. As a last-ditch effort, I kick out as hard as I can. Somehow, I manage to catch him between the legs.
Brutal cries out and releases me. I cough and suck in air, but I know I don’t have the luxury of recovering. I scramble off the bed and run toward the bedroom door.
He’s faster than he looks, and he’s on me before I can reach the handle. He grabs me by the hair, yanking me back. “What are you gonna do, huh?” he hisses. “Run around naked? Ask for help from the other rich fucks who live here?”
I whimper and shake my head. “Better than dealing with you. ”
It probably isn’t. I should count my blessings. But I don’t trust Brutal, and I don’t like the idea of getting complacent in a gilded cage.
Because that would be easy, right? I could just be his sugar baby and let myself get treated like dirt in exchange for whatever luxuries he’s willing to dole out. I could decide that this life is at least better than the old one under Giulio Pavone.
I don’t want to just be some fucktoy without any thoughts of her own, though. I can pretend, for a little while—until I do something like bite down on a guy’s cock or ask Drake Brutal if he’s taking drugs.
“No,” he growls out, still hunched over slightly as he slams me hard into the wall. “You don’t know what kind of men live around here, Mimi. You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m the best person you could’ve asked for. Let that sink in for a second.”
I cry out in pain, my vision blacking out for a second.
Guess I know the answer to what he’s like when he’s angry.
“Okay,” I answer, my voice wavering despite my efforts. “Okay. I’m sorry. I won’t mention it again!”
Brutal grips both of my arms tightly, squeezing harder than he had around my neck, and keeps me trapped against the wall. “You don’t even need to be thinking about it,” he snaps. “You and me? We’re not a couple. We’re not in this together. You’re a fucking slave. You’re barely even human. You don’t get to ask me about my life or anything in it. Clear?”
I nod, my heart pounding loud in my ears. “Crystal.”
Hadn’t I learned this lesson already? Acting out means getting beaten down. Maybe the luxury all around me had made me forget all about that though.
I shouldn’t have, given how Brutal has treated me so far.
“Good.” He’s breathing heavily, and even though his fingers flex on my arms, he doesn’t let go. “You… You need to get out of my fucking sight. And if you go for the front door, so fucking help me, Mimosa . I will beat the fucking shit out of you.”
I nod again, although I don’t know how he expects me to get out of his sight if he doesn’t let me go.
He stares at me with those wild, angry eyes for a moment, then he seems to force himself to take a breath. He releases me, taking a step back. “Go,” he barks. “I don’t want to see you until I come find you. Hide in the fucking closet if you have to.”
I don’t dare speak. I just dash into the nearby walk-in closet. It’s larger than my bedroom in my old apartment had been. I find a blanket stuffed into one of the dresser drawers, wrap it around myself, then go to huddle in a corner behind a row of long coats.
Fuck.
One day of not getting harassed, and I already thought I could turn things in my favor. How fucking stupid is that?
Of course, Brutal’s reaction means he is on something.
And he’s ashamed of it, too.
Maybe he isn’t so sure of himself after all.
Despite myself, I start thinking of all the ways I could knock him down a peg or three.