Dark Passions: Dark Romance Boxed Set, page 29
Jacqueline opened her eyes when she sensed him moving away. He went into the bathroom and came back with a warm, wet cloth. He wiped her between the legs, cleaning her own juices away, and then wiped his fluids from her stomach. And then finally he released her ankles first, then her wrists by unhooking the cuffs from the bedposts. When her last wrist was free, she slumped and might have fallen to the floor if he hadn’t held her by her waist.
Nathan scooped her up and lay her in the bed, then pulled the covers up to her shoulder. Jacqueline closed her eyes, but heard the hiss of his clothes sliding to the floor. She expected him to bind her wrists and ankles again, but instead he got into the bed behind her and pressed close, his naked body molding to hers. His arm came over her waist, his hand laying on top of her forearm.
“You’re my good girl,” Nathan whispered. And Jacqueline hated the traitorous part of her brain that preened on hearing it.
Chapter 5
Jacqueline didn’t wake thinking she needed to roll over and wake Garrett. The cuffs on her wrists and ankles reminded her instantly where she was and whom she was with. Garrett also never woke her pressed against her the way Nathan was now. He generally rolled to his own side of the bed, facing away. Sometimes their backs or bottoms touched, and now and then she’d wake pressed up against his back as if she clung to him in sleep.
If she didn’t hate Nathan for what he was doing to her, she’d have enjoyed waking up this way.
Nathan shifted behind her, his erection pressing against her backside. He’d probably been awake for a little while. However long their nap had been, at least it had been refreshing. She didn’t feel the level of despair she’d felt earlier. And she was thinking more clearly than before.
“You said my name before I’d ever gone into the bathroom,” she said softly. “You said it before I said it to myself. So I know you knew who I was when you took me. I don’t know why you stalked me or what makes you think you’re going to get away with this, but you won’t. People will be looking for me.”
“He will be. I know,” Nathan said, his voice tense.
Nathan obviously knew she meant Garrett when she said people. So he likely knew that Garrett was really the only person in her life. Her parents were gone, her group of friends had drifted apart, and she didn’t work because Garrett’s job kept them moving so much. She painted and had some of her work in showings years ago, but hadn’t made any new contacts where they lived now.
Garrett, retail clerks and the occasional repairman were pretty much her entire world these days. But that was okay, because Garrett could do it alone. He would find her.
“What will you do then?” she dared ask. “When he finds me?”
“If he finds you . . . I’ll worry about that when the time comes.”
“When he finds you. Garrett won’t take long--”
“Stop talking about him.” Nathan’s voice was hard, impatient.
Jacqueline was grateful for the interruption this time. The less she said about Garrett’s skills, the better. Nathan probably knew Garrett was an ex-military man, skilled in combat, surveillance and so many other things, since knew who she was before he took her. But on the off-chance that he didn’t know these things, there was no point in tipping Garrett’s hand. Let Nathan be surprised when Garrett burst in there to rescue her.
She’d love to see the look on Nathan’s face, especially if Garrett came through a window in camouflage, weapons strapped to his back, throwing smoke bombs and shouting, just like something out of a movie. She chuckled at the image.
“What’s so funny?” Nathan said, the harshness gone from his voice.
Jacqueline didn’t answer.
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Jacqueline thought about the two women who’d been “tested” with her. And how she’d overheard Miss Esther and Nathan talking about paying one of them more than they’d agreed upon, or at least that’s what she thought she’d heard. What could that have meant?
“Those women that were here yesterday, the ones you said would be sent back to their lives? Did you mean that?”
“I did. They were unharmed and put back as if nothing happened.”
“They really won’t remember being here at all? That seems . . . impossible. But the rumors are true? You didn’t just kill them and are telling me this to keep me calm?”
Nathan laughed and brushed his lips against her shoulder. “I didn’t kill them. If I had, I’d tell you. That would probably make you more cooperative than anything else, wouldn’t it? The threat of death?”
He kissed along the edge of her shoulder and then rested his cheek against her upper arm. “Project Empty Vessel. It’s a weapon, Jacqueline. It’s not a rumor. The United States Government began funding the experiments around the same time they started experimenting with mind control in the 1950s. MK Ultra? Monarch mind control?”
Jacqueline shook her head. She’d never heard of them.
“They were all similar projects--condition a subject so that it could be controlled. The first experiments involved sensory deprivation, torture, psychotropic drugs in massive amounts, abuse and terror. It worked. You could convince someone who’d never had children that she’d had five and murdered them all in a house she’d never stepped foot in. You could convince someone he was from another planet spying for an alien race. But it was a slow, inexact process that wasn’t cost-effective.”
He snorted. “Of course, that was the concern. Not the abuse of the subjects, but money. So a faster, more efficient method needed to be developed. Modern technology has allowed that to happen, all without abuse, torture or prolonged stress.”
Jacqueline was horrified, by the old methods and the new. “How?”
“A tiny pre-programmed chip with the right combination of drugs, and the power of suggestion. The chip harnesses the electrical impulses in the brain and changes them as the suggestions and the drugs help create new associations with the pre-programmed reality.” He sighed heavily, as if just talking about it were a great burden. “It’s much more complicated than that, of course, but that’s essentially the process.”
Jacqueline shivered and pulled the covers tighter around her. “That’s barbaric.” She felt him shrug.
“The girls might notice a tiny scab on the back of their head, might be a little tender for a day or two, but that’s it. There’s no real risk in having the procedure done once. They’ll never see any of us again, so if they ever recover a memory of being here, it would most likely be in the context of a dream that doesn’t make sense. They’d think nothing of it.”
“So they can remember if they see you? The memories can be recovered?” Jacqueline wondered if they might remember and go to the police, not knowing if the other girls had been freed.
“If one of them saw me, she might start to remember. But there are times when . . . a longer process is used. A different type of programming, stronger drugs, longer infusion times. Memories can be completely destroyed before new ones are added. In most cases, though, the memories are there, buried beneath false ones.”
Jacqueline turned in the bed to face him, holding the blanket to her chest. “It’s barbaric to go into someone’s mind like that, invade their privacy. Toy with them.”
Nathan raised his eyebrow and rested his head on the palm of his hand where he leaned on his elbow. “I completely agree.”
“You know it’s barbaric to do it, but you’re okay with that.”
“I wish there were another way, of course, but it’s in everybody’s best interests that they have no memory of their time here, and that was the best way to achieve that.”
Then why were you paying one of them?
“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” she said softly. “You think it’s okay to stalk and kidnap me and force yourself on me. What’s wiping away someone’s memory compared to that? Just one more horrible thing you’re capable of.”
Nathan stared, then slid his fingertips over the apple of her cheek. “I guess so,” he whispered. He twirled his finger in a long, auburn lock of her hair, then rolled out of the other side of the bed and walked to the bathroom.
He moved easily, comfortable in his nakedness. He had reason to be confident, though. He was well-built, just the right amount of muscle over a strong frame, and a sculpted bottom perfectly designed for filling out a pair of trousers, with a pair of dimples just above it on each side of his spine.
Nathan was beautiful. Appealing in every way from head to toe, and she hated him as much for that as she hated him for everything he’d done.
He emerged from the bathroom a few moments later and sat on the small couch not far from the bed. “Your turn. Don’t dally.” His eyes met hers.
Jacqueline didn’t look away from his gaze. Instead, she rose from the bed and walked to the bathroom, as naked as Nathan, with all the dignity she could muster. The leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles reminded her of her situation, but she managed to hold her head high and not rush. Her composure crumpled once she was behind the bathroom door.
She sighed and used the toilet quickly, washed her hands and brushed her teeth.
She wondered if he taped his surveillance and could watch this later, or if he had to be watching at the time to see what she was doing? And she wondered if anyone else watched right now?
Not Zane. Not if he’d have been horrified to have to come in while she was naked. Miles or Miss Esther? Why would they if Nathan was with her now, making sure she didn’t do anything?
Childishly, she used both hands to flip off the mirror. It made her feel a tiny bit better.
Nathan still sat on the couch when Jacqueline left the bathroom. He patted his thighs. “Sit with me a minute.” He sighed when Jacqueline paused as if she might refuse. “Sit here willingly for a minute, or end up tied for much longer than that. Your choice.”
Jacqueline sat sideways on his lap, but didn’t put her arm around his shoulders. She held her hands in her lap. He didn’t seem to mind as he stroked her back and put his hand on her far shoulder, pulling her closer.
“You need to understand something, Jacqueline. I need to make you understand now, before you get any ideas in your head about the way things are going to be.”
Nathan’s hand slid up and down her thigh. He kissed her breast, then looked up at her.
“Garrett . . . will probably never find you, no matter what you think. And if he does find you . . . he will not take you away from me. You need to stop imagining that will happen. He’s not going to be the hero in this story. He’s going to be the loser.”
Jacqueline started to protest, but he held his hand up. “No. I don’t want to hear you say his name again. Forget him, Jacqueline. It’s best for everyone.”
Jacqueline breathed through her nose, three deep breaths, four . . . . “He will come, with the police. And I’ll go home.”
“You--” Nathan had to visibly struggle to control himself. His face took on a pinkish hue. “That won’t happen. I promise you. He will never get involved with the actual police, not even to find you.”
Jacqueline laughed. “He’s a lawyer by trade. He deals with police all the time. You don’t know what you’re--”
“He’s a criminal! You think he makes his money practicing law, but he’s taking dirty money, has been for years. He’s not licensed to practice law, and has screwed over so many cops he wouldn’t dare ask any of them for help. In fact, some are looking for him now, so he can’t give away his location or risk going to prison.”
Nathan’s hand stroked her forearm in a soothing way. “He’s a crook, Jacqueline. Drug money, blood money, front businesses to launder it . . . he’s not going to be calling the police to report his missing . . . you. He may even think you’re dead, hit by someone he double-crossed too many times.”
His voice dropped. “Face the fact that he might not even be looking. And you’re better off for it.”
Jacqueline sucked in a breath that didn’t want to come. “You’re a liar.”
“No. You’re just in denial. He’s a good liar, and you’ve been blinded by your--your feelings for him.”
“You claim to know so much about him, you knew my name . . . is that why you took me? He did something to you?”
Nathan put his hand over hers, clenched in a knot in her lap. “You could think of it that way . . . and you wouldn’t exactly be wrong. But know this--he has put you at risk so many times with his lies and deceptions. But I would never put you in danger. Never, Jacqueline.”
God, why did his eyes tell her he meant it? Why did she want to believe this man? What the hell was wrong with her?
She jerked her hands from under his and shook her head. “I don’t believe you. You’d tell me anything to get your way. Garrett is a good man, and--”
“No, Jacqueline.”
“--and he’ll find me. He knows the prosecutors--”
“Stop.”
“--the DA and the State’s Attorney. Garrett will--”
“Stop saying his name!”
The shout made her flinch. Nathan sounded so vicious, his eyes flashing with anger. He grabbed her upper arms and shook her a little. “I warned you. I can’t stand hearing you say it, the way it comes out of your mouth like he’s so fucking wonderful!”
Jacqueline was so shocked by his outburst and his obvious anger, but she was upset at the things he said, trying to convince her that Garrett was a common criminal. “That’s because he is wonderful. He loves me, and he’s going to get me away from you.”
Jacqueline flinched at the look on Nathan’s face. He looked so enraged that for a second she feared he might strike her. The rage didn’t last long, as was replaced with something she couldn’t define.
“You just couldn’t stop, could you? All I asked is that you stop talking about him, face facts . . . for your own good. But, no, you’re so damned stubborn and intent on getting the last word . . . .” His voice was soft and dangerous.
Nathan grabbed her wrists and pushed her hands behind her back. His movement was so quick, she barely had time to resist. A metallic snap later, and her wrist cuffs were hooked together. He slid her off his lap and forced her to her knees in front of him with firm hands on her shoulders.
“I know a better use for your mouth.”
Jacqueline shook her head. “No.”
Nathan took himself in hand and began stroking, his soft cock firming quickly as she watched. “Yes. And there are two ways we can do this. I can get a gag that holds your mouth open, or you can suck me as enthusiastically as you’ve just praised your low-life, no good Garrett. And I want you to understand that if you do anything to hurt me--if you bite me--you won’t get away, and you will regret it.”
So much for never hurting me, she thought bitterly. But she wouldn’t bite him. She knew it would do no good, because she wasn’t in a position to get away. Jacqueline also wasn’t sure she was capable of inflicting that kind of wound on a person, especially if it would be for nothing.
“I thought you’d never put me in danger or hurt me?” She hoped she looked defiant, even though she felt afraid. His anger was frightening.
He lurched forward and sank his hands into her thick hair. Their faces were nearly touching.
“I won’t. But I took you, didn’t I? I can get him just as easily, bring him here . . . and hurt him in ways you can’t even imagine.”
Jacqueline’s stomach clenched and she drew a ragged breath, shaking her head.
“Look into my eyes, and tell me I don’t mean it,” he dared her, challenging her to see a hint of a lie there.
The deep green seemed to darken as he spoke. Could hatred do that? Was it her imagination? It didn’t matter.
She knew he meant every word.
Jacqueline struggled not to cry. She wasn’t going to cry in front of him again. She couldn’t help the tears from last night, but at least she hadn’t bawled. If she let loose now, she knew she’d wail, and she didn’t want him to see her give in that much.
Nathan leaned back and scooted his hips forward to make it easier for her, spreading his legs for her as he did so. He pulled her forward with hands in her hair.
“Do it like you’d do it for him.”
She looked at him, at the hate in his eyes that was there every time Garrett came up, and watched him lean his head back and cover his eyes with his forearm. His other hand stayed in her hair, pulling her gently toward his waiting half-erection.
She flexed her arms, pulling against the cuffs that held her wrists together, but they didn’t budge. Trying to balance herself as she leaned so she wouldn’t topple forward, Jacqueline took him into her mouth and sucked.
Nathan’s fingers moved in her hair, twisting gently, massaging her scalp, almost petting her. When he was fully hard, he moaned each time her tongue slid over the head and the tender spot just beneath it. He twitched and throbbed in her mouth, thickening as his orgasm approached.
She leaned back to pull away, but Nathan’s hand held her there. She made a sound around him, but his other hand came down. He held her head, directing her movements and not allowing her to pull away. Nathan meant to finish this way, inside her mouth, whether she wanted him to or not.
“Mmmm!” She tried to shake her head a little. She needed to stop, swallow, brace herself, breathe. But his hands were firm, and he began moving his hips, thrusting deeper into her mouth than she’d taken him so far. She made another noise of protest, but Nathan was relentless, thrusting as he pulled her head forward, sliding his cock to the back of her tongue and filling her mouth, threatening to fill her throat.
Jacqueline’s eyes watered as she pulled at the cuffs that held her wrists, needing a hand free to push him away, but she was helpless--helpless against being used this way, for his pleasure. The more he took, the more helpless she felt . . . and the more she felt a tingling inside her, a rush of wetness that she didn’t understand.
He was using her, like a toy, an object. How could that make her body react this way?
She felt him thicken, her gag reflex kicking in as he thrust deep, choking her for only a second. Jacqueline swallowed instinctively when he spurted onto the back of her tongue and into her throat, his continued thrusts gagging her again. He thrust and pulled her forward at the same time, the hair at his groin tickling her nose and chin before he released her.
