Page 56 of Sacrifice

Shit, I’ve never done anything for anyone other than myself, but here is this woman that I would walk through Hell for. Aribella kisses me again, this time using her tongue to sweep against my lower lip, and I groan. She has no idea the fire she is playing with, but I keep it in check. There’s no way I’m going to force her to do anything. Not after the shit she’s been through.

Pulling back, I smile at her. “Well, that’s all the thank you I need,mi reina.” This makes her giggle and I shiver at the sound. Her entire being turns me on, but that giggle does something deep within me that makes me want to be animalistic with her.

“You said there’d be food here,” she says and her stomach rumbles. I laugh because it breaks the tension inside of me.

Getting up, I pull the basket out from under the bench. “I sure did.” Opening the lid, I pull out the blanket and place it on the gazebo floor. The floor isn’t dirty, but I want Aribella to have the full experience of a picnic date. Date… Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever really been on a real one, and I’m not sure if I’m doing it right, but fuck it. Aribella is smiling at me, happily. That’s all that matters.

Next, I pull out the plates of cheese, crackers, and grapes. After that, there’re bowls of pasta and salad. Damn, there’s enough food for more than two, but I watch as Aribella gets up and comes over and sits down on the blanket.

“This looks amazing,” she whispers and looks at everything before she picks up a grape and a square of cheese. Her moan makes my hard-on throb and I demand myself to pull it together. There’s no way in hell Aribella is ready for sex.

“It was my hope that you’d enjoy it.” I move from my knees to my ass and sit there, staring at the most precious gift I could ever have—mi reina.Handing her a bowl of pasta and a bowl of salad, I open my own. The smell of marinara and meatballs hits me.Would I rather have Mexican food? Probably. But I know Italian is Aribella’s favorite.

Watching her swirl the fork in her bowl, I think about her tongue swirling around my dick, and regret it. My cock grows even bigger and I force myself to focus on my food.

“I’d like for you to stay here with me, Aribella. Of your own free will.” This is a huge thing for me. I know I can’t let her go, but if she wants to leave, there’s not a single thing I will do to stop her.

Her fork stops halfway to her lips, and she squints her eyes at me. “I want to finish college and see my friends. Working is also important to me.”

An angry growl leaves my throat at the idea of her leaving to be in public. Aribella drops her fork and I watch helplessly as she shrinks back from me. Her color pales and her hands shake. Goddamn it. A growl shouldn’t do this to her. I don’t want others to be around her. Fuck, I just got her back and the idea of strangers being near her posing a threat doesn’t sit well with me.

“Aribella, it’s alright.” I try to reassure her, but she scoots away from me, and I stare helplessly as she trembles. I drop my fork and crawl over to her. “Hey, it’s alright. You’re safe. I swear,mi reina, you are safe.” I try to reiterate that to her by holding her in my arms and rocking her. Fuck, she’s been through so much. I’m going to have to control my damn self.

“Please, I’ll be good.” Her words would have made me want to make her beg in submission a few weeks ago. Not anymore. Hell, I want her to choose submission, but only because shewantsto. God, the idea of her in my red room and taking my cock while she’s tied up does things to me, but I can’t imagine she will ever want to be hanging from the ceiling ever again. Or anywhere near a whip or handcuffs.

With everything in me, I take her face in my hands, and her eyes are wild. Shit, she’s having a PTSD moment. “Mi reina,look at me sweet one. You are here with me, Vincent. No one is coming to hurt you. Not a single soul will lay a fucking finger on you as long as I am around.”

Her eyes remain unfocused and she’s blubbering nonsense. “Aribella,” I whisper and kiss her forehead. “I promise, everything will be alright.” Leaving tiny kisses all over her face, I try to reassure her, but I’m not sure she’s even here with me, and that scares me. It scares me to know that even though I made every last one of those motherfuckers pay for what they did to her, she’s still paying the ultimate price.

Chapter Twenty-Four

"You're going to do what I say, you stupid bitch," the man growls in my ear, and slides his hands down my body. I'm tied to the ceiling and to the floor. My legs are spread wide open and the man yanks on my hips from behind until my butt is in his crotch. Thank goodness he has jeans on. They are rough and chaffing against my body, but I have never been more thankful for a barrier between me and someone.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Another person growls and I shiver. Now two of them. They haven't sexually touched me yet. Sure they've groped me and made lewd remarks, but they haven't entered me.

"Exactly what it looks like. I'm about to let this fucking whore get a taste of a real man." The man behind me snarls at the other and I want the earth to rip open and take me away. There's no way I can handle being with this man. His stench of alcohol and sweat is nauseating.

"Get your hands off her," the other man growls as he steps into view. He's missing one eye, but he stares at me and Ishiver. There's death written all over him and I want no part of it.

"Oh, come on. We haven't been able to leave the compound in days. I need to get my dick wet."

"No," the one-eyed man says as he pulls out his gun. "Get away from her or you're dead. We have strict orders not to violate her."

I'm ashamed to say I'm grateful for a semi-morally conscious person, but he looks at me and I see the evil in his eyes, too. He wants me, and if he wasn't under direct orders, he would have me. I can tell it.

"Aribella, come on now. It's alright." The voice isn't the same as the men in the room. I yelp as I yank myself from the person holding me and look up to see Vincent.

"I'm sorry." I blanch at the idea of him knowing I have nightmares. That I'm not mentally alright and that I hoped he would save me so many times. He's still the beast of my story and I don't know how to rectify my feelings against knowing he's the reason I'm so conflicted.

Getting up, I turn away from him as tears run down my face. I hate being weak and right now, I'm the weakest I've ever been. "I..."

Vincent comes up behind me and I stiffen. He must notice because he turns me around to face him. "Aribella, look at me,mi reina."

How I get the courage to move my head, I don't know, but I do. "You've been through some things I can't even imagine. And while I want you here with me, and to let me love on you, I won't force you."

He rubs my shoulders, and for the first time I see something different in him. There isn't the harshness of how he was before. Sure, there is a dominance there, but it's overshadowed byconcern for me. Wrapping my arms around him, I sink into his warmth.

"Can... can you hold me for a few minutes?" I sniffle out, and he kisses the top of my head.

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