Page 12 of Sacrificing Zoriah

“The offering isn’t complete until all of the seed is inside of the sacrifice,” Doug says.

“No. No. No. Please don—” Richard cuts me off by shoving his fingers into my mouth and prying my jaw open to place the o-ring gag on again. I immediately start thrashing and trying to getup, but soon Richard and Doug are both holding me down on the table.

“Pour it, Huxley,” Doug commands harshly.

“Doug, please don’t make me do this. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me,” Huxley says tearfully.

“Be a fucking man and stop crying,” Richard barks.

I don’t know why, of all things, that hits a nerve the hardest, but it does. How fucking dare he say some ignorant bullshit like that? Are men not allowed to have emotions? Right… Because emotions make you look weak. I’ll take a “weak” man over some fucking robot who shows nothing any fucking day of the week.

“Make her drink it, or we will put a fucking funnel down your throat,” Doug shouts. “Now. Pour it.”

I try my hardest to not fight Huxley, because it’s not his fault, but fight or flight kicks in and I whip my head back and forth, trying to evade him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Huxley says, pleading for forgiveness as he places his hand on my forehead to stop me from fighting him. He doesn’t even have to hold me in place; his touch is soothing enough to make me stop.

I am sobbing hysterically as he starts to pour his come down my throat, and I instantly cough and gag as it fills my mouth. Doug casually pinches my nose closed so that I have no choice, especially when Huxley covers my mouth to keep me from coughing it up. I bang my head against the table a few timesbefore I give in and start to swallow. My eyes are locked with Huxley’s because I’ll panic if I look at anything else but him. Doug’s come tasted bitter and rancid, but it’s not the taste of Huxley that I have a problem with. He tastes more neutral with sweetness underlying the flavor. The issue is that he just dumped a fucking vat of come into my mouth, and my brain rejects all of it in my mouth at once.

When I finish swallowing, Richard and Doug step away from me and push Huxley toward the door. “Next one will be in soon,” Doug says to me as they leave the room.

I am suddenly numb, and I don’t react when the door opens again. The man walks over and rolls me to my belly before positioning me so I am bent over. I don’t even so much as flinch when he shoves himself into me and starts moving hard and fast. I stretched my arms out across the table, hoping to find Huxley there to comfort me, but he’s not here. He’s gone, just like everyone else in my life. I lost Mom to a home invader. I lost Dad to a bottle of whiskey when he tried to drown out the sadness. I lost Haley… Corbin… Roman… Everyone is gone. I am all alone now, and I have nothing left but this stupid fucking table.

Chapter Four

Roman

Seventy-Two Hours Later

I pulled into thelot, excited to get the day started. I want to get here before Zoriah so I can get our coffee started. I know her routine in the morning, so I like to help by at least getting us coffee. Usually, I just stop on the way, but she wouldn’t text me back with her order. She hates not being able to work from home, so not letting her take her laptop home probably threw her off. She needs to rest, though. She does so much and is always trying to take on more. I guess I could fight her with that, but she seems to get lost in her work the same way I do. Zoriah isa great woman and a hard worker. I really lucked out having her as my assistant.

I get into the office and set my stuff down before going to the break room. I find myself checking my phone every other second to see if she texted me back. It’s not like her to ignore me, even when I piss her off. It’s not like I go out of my way. I have gathered over the last six months of working this close to her that she has severe anxiety. I am adjusting how I do things to make her more comfortable. When I can tell that she is clearly triggered by something or stressed, I do what I can to help. Sometimes I am a fucking idiot and say dumb shit, like I did on Friday. I am usually always able to calm her down, but knowing she is afraid of me firing her has shown me that I need to be clearer with how much I appreciate her.

When I get back to the office and see she is not here, I call her. It rings and rings, but eventually her voicemail picks up. “Hey, Riah. It’s Rome… Well, you knew that… Listen, I’m a little concerned that you aren’t here, and you haven’t texted back. Just let me know you are okay,” I say before ending the call.

I tap my cell against my chin and stare at her desk. She has a jacket here. All her personal items, and even her giant coffee cup her brother got her. She didn’t quit because she wouldn’t have left that cup behind. Also, she has a picture of her family before her mom died on her desk. No way that woman would leave that behind either. Something isn’t right. I can feel it in my gut… I am trying to convince myself that I am just being dramatic because I am practically in love with the woman and would happily stalk her every move if I didn’t think she'd stab me in the eye with a letter opener.

Okay… Maybe not. She’d probably make a bratty comment. I can see her interest in me all over her face. I have jerked off thinking about her countless times, and I am constantly having to remind myself that she is my assistant, not a hooker. I can’t just buy her affection. Although I know she is interested, I will not be the first to make a move unless I know damn well that she can see me as someone other than her boss. I wouldn’t dare take advantage of her, and if she only sees me as her boss and not someone she can trust outside of this office, I have no business messing with her.

I pick up my phone and call Ben. He should already be in for the meeting. He owns a tech company called Lawson Tech. He is my biggest client and my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were ten. He knows about my feelings for Zoriah and has met her plenty of times. He will tell me if I am being obsessive and if kicking her apartment door in is a good idea.

“Hey,” Ben says, holding his phone up. “You rang?”

“Riah isn’t here,” I say as I stand up. “She hasn’t texted back. She’s not answering her phone. That’s not like her. She doesn’t ignore me. I’m worried about her, and I want to go to her apartment, but I need you to tell me if I’m being obsessive. Am I being obsessive? I am, aren’t I? She’s fine. Maybe she slept in. Or got into a wreck. Who knows? She’s fine.”

“Hang on. Slow down,” Ben says. “How was she when she left Friday?”

“She got an attitude, and we kind of argued. I told her to sit and do her work, and she said, “Make me.” She panicked and thought I was going to fire her. I got her calmed down, and wewere back to joking and her blushing when I smiled at her. She was fine. All her stuff is here,” I say.

“I’m going to be honest, man,” Ben says. “Even if she quit, she wouldn’t just disappear. She is not that type of person. Also, she has spare keys. She would bring those back.”

“So, I should kick her door in?” I ask.

“I mean, maybe knock first,” he laughs. “Come on. I’ll cancel the meeting, and we can drive to her apartment.”

“I feel like I’m going insane,” I say. “This isn’t me… or her.”

“Never ignore your gut. If something feels wrong, investigate. No harm in checking. So what if she gets mad? At least you know she is safe.”

“Right,” I sigh and grab my phone.

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