Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Aurora
In the night, I jerk awake, my heart pounding. I look around my dark room but I don’t see anything. It’s all calm and quiet and yet…
Getting out of bed, I tiptoe to the door. For some reason, I feel like I need to be quiet. Just an instinct.
I thought I was getting used to being in Gabriel’s mansion. Finding a sort of comfort. Maria and I talk a little bit. Alex is nice. Charles is distant but that’s fine enough.
But right in this moment, I feel like something is wrong. Uneasy.
I shiver in my thin nightgown. Gabriel never provided me with warmer pajamas. Even though it’s the summer time, there’s a chill in the air.
My body moves without me thinking and I end up downstairs, facing the hallway that leads to Gabriel’s dungeon. The place he kept my father. The place I made the deal that would sign my life away forever.
I don’t want to move. Everything in me is screaming to not go further. But then I hear a scream come from downstairs. Down in the dungeon.
Gabriel is torturing another person. I still remember the first time.
I passed out right away but tonight, I’m going to listen.
I’m going to be brave. Why exactly is Gabriel torturing people?
Last time had to do with Giovanni who I still don’t know anything about.
Is it the same thing or something different?
With a deep breath, I head to the large, imposing door and push it open. Fortunately, it doesn’t make a sound.
I strain to listen into the darkness. The sound of a man screaming and crying tugs at my heart. Does this man deserve it? My father didn’t.
But then I think of George and how he kept trying to assault me. Gabriel killed him like it was nothing and it didn’t bother me like it should.
“Where is Giovanni?” Gabriel screams. I flinch. So this is about Giovanni again. But who is he? Why is Gabriel going to this extent to torture people to find out?
“I am not going to tell you,” the man responds before he lets out a sharp scream. I don’t want to see what Gabriel is doing to the man. My husband has a deep, intense darkness in him that scares me.
The shameful part though is that it also excites me.
“I will keep hurting you, Mark. It will never end. So just tell me where Giovanni is and this can all be over.”
“Never,” he snarls. Another scream leaves him. But then something shocking happens. He… laughs. “You are pathetic, Gabriel. You will never get revenge for your family so give it up.”
I freeze. His family? My mind flashes back to the photo I saw in Gabriel’s room. The one he doesn’t put up for anyone to see… not even himself.
“Giovanni will die for what he did to them. And you will die first if you don’t tell me anything.”
“Then you’ll be one step further away from finding him. So just kill me. You won’t find out anything.”
“You want to die, Mark? Then fine. Die!”
Something in my body compels me to run down the stairs. I need to know more of what Mark knows. “Wait!” I shout, running into the dungeon.
A man is strapped to a table – Mark – while Gabriel holds a knife in his hands, raised high. Mark is covered in blood and bruises. How long was Gabriel at this for?
Gabriel’s eyes widen when he sees me. “Aurora? You shouldn’t be here.”
“And you shouldn’t kill another person just because you like it. Who is this man? What is going on?”
“Help me,” Mark gasps, making eye contact with me but I look away for some reason. “Help me.”
“She’s not going to help you. Aurora, you shouldn’t be here. Go back to your room.”
“Who is Giovanni? What happened to your family?”
Gabriel takes a step back, looking stunned. “What did you hear?”
“That’s it. So tell me. What is going on? Why are you torturing this man? What are you hiding from me?”
“You don’t need to know anything. Go back to bed.”
“No.” I take a step further into the room. This is me deciding my fate again. “I have the right to know. I willingly came back to you when I had the chance to escape and you know it.”
“You came back to protect your father. Not for me.”
“Does the reason matter?”
Gabriel looks me straight in the eye. “Yes. It does.”
“Yes, I came back for my father. I don’t want you to hurt him. But…”
“But?”
But I also came back for you, I admit to myself. Though I’m not sure why. I can’t get the words out.
Gabriel lets out a huff and shakes his head. “Leave, Aurora.”
“No. Not until you tell me why you’re torturing this man. Stop pushing me away. I’m your wife. Let me in.”
“She’s your wife?” Mark asks. “Oh, Giovanni is going to love that. He’ll cut her like he cut your mother.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Gabriel snarls. He jams the knife into the table right beside Mark’s head. The tiny little whimper that leaves Mark’s mouth speaks to how scared he truly is.
“What is he talking about?” I ask. “Gabriel. What is he talking about?”
Gabriel stands up straight, running his hand down his face. “Why do you want to get to know me? Why do you care? You’re my prisoner.”
“Am I? You made me your wife. I saw the look on your face when you thought I was hurt. You care. Deep down you feel emotion. I can tell. So why make me your wife just to push me away? It doesn’t make any sense. You either want me or you don’t.”
“Just go.” There’s a desperation in his voice. I’m getting close to the answer and he doesn’t like it. I can tell.
“No.” I don’t move an inch. “I will not go. Just tell me. Let me in.”
For a moment, I see a light in Gabriel’s eyes. An emotion there like he wants to tell me but he can’t get himself to. And before I can truly study that emotion, it disappears and is replace by an ugly, cold expression that tells me Gabriel is pushing me away again.
“You don’t want to leave? Fine. Then kill this man for me.” He holds out the knife. His command startles me so much, it takes me a moment to understand it.
“You… you want me to do… what?”
“Kill this man. If you won’t leave, then kill him.”
“I’m not going to kill someone,” I gasp.
“Then leave. Or kill him. Your choice.”
“Is it really a choice? Just like the one with my father.”
Gabriel storms over to me, using his height against me but I don’t back down. I won’t be intimidated by him. “You made that choice all by yourself. I never asked you to take your father’s place. You offered.”
“A good man wouldn’t have taken me up on that deal.”
“A good man wouldn’t have kidnapped your father over a petty crime. A good man would have forgiven him but I am not a good man. You know this about me, Aurora. You’ve always known.”
“I do know. And I hate you for it.”
“So why do you always have an orgasm when I touch your pussy? Or when I lick your pussy?”
I flush at his words. “Stop it.”
“Why should I? It’s the truth. You like it when I touch you. I can tell it’s eating away at you inside. Do you want me to touch you now?”
“That man is right there,” I gasp, nodding towards Mark. He’s still begging me to help him but I drown out the noise.
“Does it matter? You won’t kill him and you won’t walk away. That doesn’t leave us with many options.”
“I don’t like it when you touch me,” I state.
His eyes narrow. “You’re a little liar, baby. And we both know it.” He grabs my waist and pulls me flush against him. My hands rest on his strong chest. I should push him away and yet I can’t force myself to. I like being in Gabriel’s arms despite everything.
Maybe it’s because I know there’s something deep within him that isn’t purely evil. Maybe because I know my life with him will protect me better than the one I had with my dad.
Or maybe, just maybe, I am drawn to Gabriel on some pure animal instinct that I can’t help but feel.
Maybe there’s something just plain wrong with me. Or right, depending on the way you look at it.
There’s a breath between Gabriel and I before he slams his lips against mine. I can’t stop the moan that escapes me. His touch is like heaven on this earth.
He presses me against the cold wall. I can faintly hear Mark’s screams in the background. I should help him but I can’t get myself to.
Gabriel lets out a growl and rips himself away from me before kneeling down on the ground.
“What are you doing?” I whisper. It’s too echoey in this place. This dungeon will reveal all my secrets if I let it.
“If you won’t do as I say, maybe I’ll find another way to make you leave.” He shoves my nightgown up and lets out a low sound when he sees I’m not wearing any underwear. It’s more comfortable at night.
Gabriel grabs my thigh in his strong hand and places it over his shoulder.
“Gabriel,” I gasp, right before he plants his face between my legs. I remember the first time he did this to me. I was minding my business in my room when he stormed inside, bleeding, and placed his mouth on me without so much as a word.
I can’t stop the moan that escapes me when he licks over my nub. It just feels too good. My hands grip the back of his head, drawing him in closer. I can’t let this moment stop. I think I might die otherwise.
Gabriel licks me harder and harder like he’s trying to remind me that I’m his. Or maybe he’s trying to remind himself of something.
My hips jerk into his face. I can’t help it.
With a dark growl, Gabriel pulls back from me.
“What are you doing?” I whine. I hate that I whine. I hate that I’m letting Gabriel touch me like this after he just tortured a man. A man who is still alive and watching us.
Gabriel grabs my waist and lowers me to the ground. I sink down easily without any fight. He tugs my hips towards him and shoves my nightgown around my waist.
Meeting my eyes, he brings his mouth back to my pussy. He licks and licks and licks. Oh, it feels like heaven on earth.
“Oh,” I moan, propping myself on my hands and letting my head drop back. Why is this happening? Why does it feel so good?
Gabriel grips my thighs tighter in his strong, tanned hands. They’re so big against my legs. His lips run over my folds and nub again and again and again.
My hips have a mind of their own as they buck against his face.
“Lay back,” he orders. “Lay back.”