Collapse Chapter Eight: Fallen Bird from a High-Born Nest

Bane pressed his lips together behind his mask as Lia looked around the vast forest and rocky cliffs surrounding them. "I'm taking pre-med classes, I'm moving to the Midwest for the fall semester and …," she managed before her voice broke. She realized she had no idea if she would live to see the sun set, let alone look to a future.

He settled deeper in the water and flexed his strong hands.

"Tell me about your mother, Sara."

"What do you want to know? Her parents are uber-wealthy and bought her the house we have and dad's new SUV. They're going to pay my college tuition."

Lia tried to settle her breathing into a remotely normal rhythm as Bane regarded her silently.

He broke the silence before she nearly peed in the hot water.

"Your father, what kind of man is your father?"

"He's a good man, fair," Lia said and sniffed hard as she imagined how he must be scrambling resources. She pictured Jim Gordon on a shiny coated stallion with chainmail and a horned mask. She imagined her father cresting a hill and saving her.

Bane settled deeper in the water and began to move towards her. Lia flinched and tried to awkwardly pedal away from him. "That's enough," he growled as his hand closed around her upper arm and yanked her steady.

Lia held her breath as Bane retrieved the pale chunk of soap and after forcing a large amount of suds with his hand's friction, began to clean her hair and scalp.

Lia's breathing became shallow and she let her eyes close as Bane's rough fingertips moved through her tangled hair and cleaned the dried blood off her pale skin.

"Tell me of the boy we found with you in your tent," Bane demanded melodically as his ragged cuticles caught strands of her hair and tugged at her scalp.

"There's not a lot to tell, we went to the same school, he plays, played football," she trailed off and tried to slide away from Bane as she recalled Matt's life ended so abruptly and the cascading events since.

Bane yanked Lia back towards him rougher than he needed to and had to end up catching her or she would've splashed into the water.

Lia gave a deep inhale and turned into an instant statue as his arms closed around her and helped her upright until she could find balance on her shaky feet.

Bane stared down at the crown of her head and squeezed her arm until she gasped. "Stop the antics," he growled, "or you can spend every remaining moment of your life in chains."

Lia couldn't nod fast enough and tried to hide her shaking hands by vigorously rubbing the chunk of soap before washing her pale face until it squeaked with cleanliness.

She paused as she splashed water on her face when his question filled her ear.

"Were you and the young man going to consummate your relationship in the tent that night?"

Lia managed to blush but remained wordless.

"Chains Ms. Gordon. Chains for the rest of your life," Bane said with en emptiness that made her bowels feel like they were filled with hot, burning looseness.

Lia nodded rapidly, drops of water flying from her nose with the ferocity of her head's movement. "Yes, Matt and I had planned on making that night mean something."

Bane watched her scrub the tops of her hands and forearms as he shifted in the water until he was submerged deeper but could see more of her face as he spoke.

"Tell me of what you and the young man had planned."

Lia paused as she scrubbed her neck and shoulders. "Just sex I guess, nothing much else. I took a bottle of scotch from my parents stash," she added and splashed water on her soapy neck.

Bane chuckled. The raw melody startled Lia and she gasped as their eyes met.

"You must've had more creative plans than that Ms. Gordon. Tell me of what you planned when that young man was dry humping you and whispering wet promises in your ear."

Lia settled deeper in the water until the surface of the hot water teased the soft bottom of her ear lobes before she stumbled over her words. "I went to one of those sex stores and bought some lingerie and some really nice desserts to go with the alcohol. He was going to bring some candles," she trailed off and turned in the water until he had to watch her run her fingers through her tangled hair, working the strands straight.

Lia's fingers froze in her wet fall of hair as his question washed against her back like a fast-moving tsunami.

"What kind of lingerie did you purchase to wear for the young man?"

Lia cleared her throat as she resumed tugging the tangled strands apart. "It was almost like a swimsuit really, just hot pink."

"A swimsuit?"

"Mmmm hmmmm," Lia mumbled as she finally began to make progress on getting the strands untangled.

"You essentially bought a swimsuit at a sex store and it's like any other swimsuit but hot pink?"

Lia wordlessly nodded and scrubbed her nails for the third time as he moved around her in the water until he could once again see her face as he continued. "You could wear this pink swimsuit in public? You could wear it to the swim center as the beginner child's class is in session and the mayor is present watching his granddaughter dog paddle with purple water wings?"

Lia stared down at her fingers that resembled prunes from the continuing lengthy soak. She shook her head but otherwise remained wordless and kept her eyes downcast.

Lia was surprised when a musical chuckle fell from his masked face, the foreign sound used his vocal cords in a way that had been dormant for decades. The melodic amusement caused him to cough, each hack sounded like raw flesh grating against glass.

Lia flinched at the painfully wet sounds as he fumbled with a few dials and switches at the base of his mask.

She raised a hand to cover a gasp as he breathed deeply and eventually the violent coughing subsided, the veins on his neck remained close to the surface, threatening to burst through his skin.

Bane's eyes cleared of stinging, involuntary tears, before he narrowed his gaze at Lia as she stood frozen in the water up to her shivering shoulders despite the water temperature.

"Why did you chose to give your body to that boy?" he whispered, his voice rough from the pulmonary spasms.

Lia's mouth fell open at his question. "He's a nice guy, safe, kind," she murmured and looked away from him.

Bane smiled behind his mask. "Did your plans with the young man move through the future. College? Family?"

Lia shrugged, "he hadn't decided where to apply yet."

Bane nodded and rapidly changed the subject. "Are you properly cleaned up?"

"I guess," she answered with another shrug.

Bane walked out of the water, his body angled away from her, his nudity barely obscured as he pulled clean clothes over his damp skin.

He turned and held out a shirt towards her.

Lia looked at the shirt and then him. "Can you please turn around?" she breathed.

Bane narrowed his eyes, he needed to report to Talia any visible imperfections before she arrived with her buyers and their paid muscle. "Not this time," he said in a low tone as he shook his head.

Lia bit her lip as she slowly walked out of the steaming pool. She reached for the shirt Bane was holding and nearly tripped when he pulled it out of her reach at the last possible second.

Lia tossed her head forward until the loose, tangled fall of her hair nearly hid her breasts.

"Don't flatter yourself," Bane said strongly to cover any possible tremor in his voice. "I don't desire you, but I'd fuck you for fun," he growled as he walked around her in slow circles.

Lia avoided his eyes as he continued his lazy path around her cowering, naked form.

Bane moved his eyes over the bare curves of her body, he could see how she was considered a delicious cunt. He felt a cloud of anger at that fool Daggett putting his slimy hands on her body. He had the thought of ripping Daggett's cock off when he arrived and stating that Lia was no longer for sale.

As if on cue, his phone chirped with an incoming message and he read a laundry list of instructions to prepare for Daggett's arrival. Bane slid the phone in his pocket as he returned his full attention to Lia.

Her vulnerability excited him and fanned the flames of protection, someone he could help. Bane's eyes memorized her smooth naked skin, she was not a warrior.

"How come you haven't traded your delectable cunt to get ahead like your privileged friend did? You have to have a men lined up ready to do anything for your purity."

"You're disgusting," Lia couldn't help but sneer and tried to cover her nudity.

Bane slipped back out of his heavy shearling jacket and held it open towards her.

Lia glanced up through barely open eye lids as he walked towards her with the soft coat held open.

"Miss Gordon, your chastity is the reason you're still alive. Please accompany me back inside without a fight."

Lia let him pull the large coat around her, the fabric swallowing her, the heady masculinity mixed with aerosol inhalants filled her nose.

Lia followed him back to the small cabin and watched in complete mortification as he cleaned up her mess. Bane never once spoke or flicked his expression from that of total neutrality.

Lis watched him discard the filthy rags before dragging an air mattress in and covering it with stretched out sheets. She waited until he began a fire to speak.

"What did you mean out there?"

Bane added a few more sticks before he turned towards her. The shadows of the flames danced on her pale face and full lips.

"You would've ceased to live if your chastity wasn't intact."

Lia felt her knees go weak and sank to the dingy sheets.

"What does that have to do with my parents' money?"

"We milked as much as we could, your mother's account is locked up in an off-shore account and will take too much time to access. You however, there are many buyers for you."

"Buyers?" she asked and felt a twist of nausea in her gut as hot bile raced up her throat.

Bane nodded, "they're on their way."

Lia began to hyperventilate, as her limbs and lips went numb and she stood up too fast.

"No! NO?! No," she screeched as shock took over and adrenalin filled every space between her rushing red blood cells.

Bane caught her as she flailed. He was patient as he carefully trapped all of her limbs and confined her fighting until she was drained of energy and sagged against him.

He lifted her near dead weight and settled them both on the poorly made air mattress. Bane tugged her hips back against him until he could spoon her, his body swallowing her with its formability.

Lia pressed her face against the sheet as her hot tears flowed freely. "Please, please don't do this to me, I'll do anything," she whispered lowly.

Bane smoothed a large hand to span her belly and eliminate any space between them as he tugged her back flush against him.

"What is it that you can do Miss Gordon?" he murmured and felt her huff in indignation.

Bane felt a swell of anger that he gave a fuck for any kind of comfort for her and slipped his hand down the front of her belly to cup her naked pussy. "What do have of value besides this untouched cunt?" he growled and moved with inhuman speed as he pushed her onto her back.

Lia screamed, his insults making her angrier than afraid. She pulled back her foot and tried to kick him.

Bane growled as the heel of her foot thumped against his shoulder. She cried out in shock as he closed his hand around her ankle and quickly captured the other.

He felt his lust began to pulse to life as she squirmed futilely under him and cried out as he held her legs far apart until his eyes could memorize every shade in the pink folds of her pussy. Bane salivated behind his mask and he licked his scarred lips as he longed to tear his pants open and bury himself without grace to the hilt inside her delicate, untouched center.

"Tell me Miss Gordon," he said on a musical choke as he shifted his hold on her and threw one of her legs over his shoulder so he could have a free hand to touch her exposed, vulnerable femininity.

"Tell me what you're worth," he said on a rasp as he smoothed his hand up the supple flesh of her inner thigh.

Lia gasped and flinched when he laid his hand over her spread open pink pussy. He moved his palm in slow circles, the hard knot of her clit growing harder with each revolution.

Lia shook her head, "nothing," she finally said.

Bane slowed the movement of his palm. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Lia shouted with a spurt of energy, a drop of spit flying from her lips to hit the front of his mask. "I'm worth nothing to someone like you."

Bane raked his eyes lavisciously down her body. "You're a highborn princess who fell from her Ivory Tower. I found you and can now claim you as my own," he rasped.