Page 2 of Under Her Skin

The station is right off of the exit, and she starts unbuckling as soon as I’m parked. I grab her forearm before she can open the passenger door, hauling her toward me. My lips crash into hers. Her lips part, and her breath intoxicates me. I thread my fingers into her tangled hair, pulling the elastic free. Sliding it back onto my wrist, I kiss my way down her neck.

“Wait,” she pants. “I’m down, but I really have to pee first.” She giggles, and there’s no way I’m letting her out now. She groans when I grip her waist. “I want you to fuck me, but I really don’t want to pee on you when I do. I’ll be five minutes tops.” She’s breathless, but I force myself to let her go.

“Five minutes, or I come in there and fuck you in the bathroom.” She grins devilishly as she opens the car door, giving me a quick kiss before racing inside. I pull up to a pump to start filling my tank. Glancing at my watch, I see a minute has already passed.

Four minutes later and my tank is full. I take a look at the other travelers and find them all watching me. Three people at separate pumps are all turned away from their cars, their eyes not leaving my vicinity. I glance over my shoulder and see two more men leaning against a parked truck, watching. Ava has less than a minute left, but I don’t wait for her timer to be up. I race inside. Shelves and racks have been upturned, scattering snacks and candy all over the floor. The soda fountain lays discarded on the ground, liquid spreading across the cheap linoleum.

I nearly slip as I rush to the back of the store in search of the bathroom, but there’s nothing there. Running back to the front, I see a back door that I hadn’t noticed at first. There’s a sign with an arrow saying: ‘Bathrooms out back’. Cursing,

I rip open the door.

The women’s bathroom door is locked, and I pound on it several times with no response. Panic rises in my throat when all I hear are muffled sounds from inside. Forcing it down, I slam my shoulder into the door, ready to break the hinges. On the third try, I hear wood splintering as the hardware gives way.

Inside is a sterile room with an observation window. The light is bright white, and I have to blink a few times at the harshness. It’s at that moment, I realize I can see something through the window. There’s a hospital bed and Ava is strapped to it, naked. I sprint toward her, pounding on the glass. She starts screaming for help when she sees me. Tears pour down her face. As she cries, wounds seem to open all over her body, the streams of blood flowing with her tears. My own face is wet with tears as I realize the glass won’t break.

“Ava, sweetheart, I’ve got you. I’m going to get you out.” Her face twists with hatred even as she continues to cry.

“You did this to me,” she wails. A figure walks into the room.

...

I wake with a start and nearly throw up at the pounding in my head. I try to pull my arms to my face but realize that I can’t move. The dream, and my reality, suddenly catch up to me. I’m bound to the same chair and, when I look up, I see Ava through the observation window. She’s awake, but doesn’t seem aware of her surroundings.

Her naked body is covered with wounds. For a horrible moment, I’m nearly glad that she’s been drugged. I pray to anyone that might be listening that she doesn’t remember what he did to her, even if she has the scars to remind her.

I pull at my restraints again, but they won’t budge, so I try to take stock of my surroundings. My vision blurs as I turn my head from side to side. The nausea climbs up my throat again, and I have to take a few breaths. My room is mostly empty, aside from the door that connects me to Ava. I’m only a few feet away from her, but I’ve never felt more helpless in my life. I try to scoot the chair forward, but the legs are bolted into the floor.

I’m debating other ways I could escape when someone walks into Ava’s room.

She’s still confused and just stares at Kiel with a frown as he slowly walks toward her. The room must have a microphone, because I can hear his footsteps amplified into my room. When he’s only inches away, he places the palm of his hand against her forehead, pushing back her hair.

“Are you in pain?” Kiel whispers. His eyes never leave her face as she nods. Her brows are furrowed, but she doesn’t look away either.

“I can make it go away,” he whispers again and walks to a metal stand behind her. He draws fluid into a syringe and looks into her eyes as he depresses the plunger, emptying the contents into her veins. It only takes moments to hit her system. Her face instantly relaxes, and Kiel places a hand on her wrist as he studies the effects of his drug.

Kiel touches her face again before he walks away from the table. I’m fighting to control my rage as he stalks toward my door. I know I can’t show him how I really feel or else risk him hurting Ava even more. By the time he’s through the threshold, I’ve contained myself.

“She’s so pretty when she bleeds, isn’t she?”

I’ll kill him. As he grins at me, eyes too wide and bright, I make that promise. I will kill him.

“I know you agree,” he continues. “I remember that night well. You took her into your bed and drove the blade into her skin before driving your cock into her cunt.” I fight to keep my face neutral, and his smile broadens like he knows it. “I can still hear the noises she made that night. Even outside your bedroom window, I could hear how much it hurt, and how she loved it. Do you think she loves my blade as much as yours?” The insinuation nearly causes me to lunge forward, but I remember my restraints in time, and I make myself sit still.

“I remember the way you cut up my wife. I do not remember those noises as fondly. You butchered her right in front of me. Do you remember that, Callum?” I close my eyes as the memories flood my mind. I try not to think of that time. I’m not proud of everything I’ve done, and even though it was a part of my assignment, I often regret what I did during those years.

“To your credit,” he continues, “You kept your cock away from my wife. I’m not sure I’ll be able to show the same restraint.” I bare my teeth before I can stop myself. He chuckles, his eyes still open wide as he laughs. “Enjoy the view, Callum.” Kiel turns his back to me and pauses in front of the window into Ava’s room. He watches her for several long moments before leaving me alone in the room. Ava doesn’t stir.

2

KIEL

The symphony of birdsong wakes me up in the morning before my alarm. I’ve already received several messages, demanding my presence to negotiate trade deals. I decline, claiming to be unavailable for the foreseeable future due to a personal emergency. Said emergency is strapped naked to a hospital bed somewhere below me.

She looked so relieved to feel the needle slip into her smooth skin. I’m drawn to the light in her eyes, but I’m much more intrigued when it grows hazy. I made her feel good. Part of me is desperate to do it again. Instead, I shuffle into the kitchen and brew a single cup of coffee, scratching my bare chest as I look out the kitchen window.

The mountains are covered in a thick mist that’s slowly evaporating in the early-morning sunshine. There isn’t another human soul for miles, allowing me to relish in the solitude. So much of my business revolves around handling people. My product is worthless without people to distribute it, but I’ve been craving time to just be alone.

Even better, I’m alone with a beautiful woman and the person I hate the most at my disposal. The coffee instantly burns my tongue when I drink it, but I take another gulp anyway as I start responding to messages.

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