Cabin of Axes - Bea Paige Page 0,8
a deep male voice says from somewhere in the dark.
My head snaps around to the left, and I peer into the darkness trying to make out a shape to focus on.
“Though I sure would like to taste them,” another male voice adds with a dark chuckle that makes my heart crash inside my chest. Fear slides down my throat making me mute. Their voices seem to rumble around the room like large rocks in a landslide. I cower some more, instinct telling me I’m in danger. That I should never have come here.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I can understand your anger. Please, just let me explain…” I ramble, trying to appeal to their better nature. I’m a woman on my own. Surely they can see I’m not a threat. Footsteps move towards me and I stifle a terrified scream, my hand covering my mouth as stillness pervades the air. It doesn’t make me feel any better though; I’m so tense my jaw muscle is beginning to ache from clenching my teeth together so tightly. I strain to hear movement, waiting for the impending attack that I know is coming.
“You’re in our home without our permission. What did you think would happen?” the same voice, who first spoke to me, asks.
“It was foolish. I’m s-sorry. Please let me go…” I reply, shuffling backwards on my arse towards the bed, needing the firmness of something behind me so I don’t feel so exposed. Scrabbling away from the direction I think both men are, I hit something warm and solid, freezing immediately when I realise that it’s not the bed.
“Hello, sweetheart. Excuse my brothers, they can be unconscionable arseholes when they want to be,” a voice says from directly above me. This voice is different, smooth like honeyed whisky. Less threatening than the other two. My skin instantly tingles, my stomach clenches and my throat dries out.
“I’m s-sorry,” I blurt out again, my teeth chattering as fear spikes. I always thought that in a life or death situation I would fight for my life. Clearly fear is my captive and I can’t even run, let alone fight. An earthy kind of smell of wet pine needles and fresh cut wood washes over me as the man behind me crouches down in a rush of warm heat. I expect him to touch me, but he doesn’t, though he does lean in closer and whisper in my ear.
“Do exactly what we say, and we’ll make this pleasurable for you. Defy us and you’ll be punished.”
“P-pleasurable? P-punished?” I reply, my whole body succumbing to full-on body shakes. Oh God, who are these men? And why do I know his voice?
“That’s right, sweetheart. So what’s it going to be, pain or pleasure?”
I don’t get to answer before fear tightens its grip, and I lose consciousness once more.
Chapter Four
When I awake for the second time, the room is lit with a soft golden glow and I’m alone once more. Blowing out a shaky breath, I sit up, deciding that I need to be calm if I’m going to figure out why these men are intent on keeping me prisoner and whether the talk of pain and pleasure was just to scare me.
His voice had been liquid honey, smooth, sweet, soothing, with an edge like a fiery shot of whisky. Yet his words had sent my fear skyrocketing to the point that I’d passed out. What kind of person would say such a thing? What kind of man would threaten a woman like that? Do they mean to hurt me? Kill me? Is that what he meant by pain? Or did he mean something else, something… sexual?
I’m a lone woman who’s lost her memory. They hold all the cards. Which, I guess, is precisely the point.
“Oh God,” I whisper, realising the severity of my situation. The only person who knows I’m here is the cabbie, and I told him that I was staying here legitimately with the Torben brothers. There would be no reason for him to raise the alarm. Oh, wait. There’s Cassidy too. She guessed where I was going. Maybe she’ll raise the alarm? Then again, why the hell would she? I’m no more than a tourist. If she doesn’t see me around, she’ll just assume I’ve gone home.
Tears prick my eyes, but I force them back. I need to keep my wits about me. Forcing myself to calm down, I take in my surroundings, cataloguing everything in the room. There are no windows and