Disclaimer: I do not own MR, only my ideas.
Chapter Nine: Numb
I'm numb. The dark man gave me something and now I can't feel my legs properly. I named him the dark man because I can't make out his face. It could be any one of the Director's old men. Or it could be the Director himself. I don't know and I don't think I want to.
I'm distracted by the patterns on the wall. They seem to swim in and out of focus. I giggle.
The dangly beads attached to my bra skim against my bare stomach and I sigh. It reminds me of Fang. Fang and his calloused hands. My fuzzy brain tries to bring back the memories of our night together, but I'm too easily distracted.
Besides, the dark man is back and he's saying something to me. I blink and smile dopily up at him, even though I'm scared. So so scared. I start to shake all over when I feel his hand brush over my stomach.
He yanks my arm chains and I fall all over him. I can't quite control my arm movements as I try to push away from him. It's been like this all week; passed between the Director's men, chained to each one. Although I don't think any of them have drugged me before.
"You're so much more complacent like this," a voice whispers in my ear. The words float around me and I can't quite catch a hold of them.
"What are you going to do to me?" I ask, my voice sounding weak.
He chuckles darkly.
He stands and I am yanked behind him. I fall to the floor because my legs feel like jelly. The dark man gets impatient and pulls me up into his arms. He carries me bridle style from the room and I take a moment to consider the irony.
My head lolls as we navigate the hallways. I'm still having trouble controlling my body, but I feel some of the fog receding from my brain, replaced by growing horror. I know that I need to have all my faculties for what I'm about to face, but my brain isn't cooperating. Terror makes my heart constrict painfully.
We reach a bedroom and he dumps me unceremoniously on the bed. I try to roll onto the floor, but he straddles me. He undoes his belt and whips it off. He slaps it against my stomach and I can barely even feel the sting.
He has to release me to take off his pants and I take the opportunity to flop around until I'm on my stomach. I reach for the bedside table, hoping that I can grab onto something and pull myself away from the dark man. I feel his weight on the back of my legs and I panic. I jerk towards the table and manage to grab the heavy candle holder.
Without thinking, I swing it up behind me as hard as I can. I hear a crack as it impacts against his temple. He slumps onto me and I feel his hot blood trickle onto my back.
I think he's dead.
I slowly pull myself out from underneath his body, using the table as leverage. The feeling is slowly returning to my body and it hurts. When I fall on the floor I manage to crawl towards the door. Except I can hear people outside the door and I know that there's no way I'll be able to escape that way.
I backtrack towards the window and manage to pull myself up and unlatch it. The window swings outwards and I can feel the fresh air against my face. I climb out so that I'm sitting on the ledge and spread my wings. I know I'm not sober enough to fly, but I'm hoping I can somewhat glide. The ground is three storeys down but I can't think of that now. Someone will no doubt notice I'm gone shortly.
I close my eyes and fall forward.
At first my wings snap straight behind me. But with a lot of effort, I open them. The wind whooshes underneath them and they act as a sort of parachute on my way down. I still land hard however, and once I'm on the ground I can't seem to move.
When I open my eyes I see the face of Angel above me. She's concerned, but still manages to keep her emotions at bay. She manages to drag me into a dark alley just as a group of patrol guards walk by.
I wonder what she's doing here.
"Let's get you out of here," she tells me. Without further ado she yanks my arm around her shoulder and helps me walk towards her lodgings. It's night and we keep to the dark spots. I don't know how she manages it, but we reach her room unnoticed. I wonder if she has experience sneaking around. By this time I have gained full control of my body again. I'm relieved that the drug has finally left my system, although I'm still a bit shaky on my legs.
In her room she opens a secret hatch in her floor. It's obvious that no one else knows this spot exists. Before she closes me in I thank her. I'm not sure if I can trust her, but I have to hope.
I turn to move down the stairs and trip…straight into someone's arms.
"Fang?" I whisper as his warmth envelopes me.
"Max," he breathes out.
My legs collapse from beneath me and I fall to the hard stone floor, bringing Fang with me. Before he can say another word I am kissing his face. I clutch him close as I finally allow myself to kiss his lips. He groans into my mouth and his hands are on me everywhere.
I have to be dreaming.
I don't waste any time taking his clothes off. I've been thinking about him nonstop since our night together. Thinking of the way he smiles. The way he smells. And definitely the way he felt inside me.
I pull my ridiculous panties down my legs and kick them off. Then I'm clutching Fang's hips. I can tell he's just as desperate as me. I just want to be as close to him as humanly possible in case this does turn out to be a dream.
I don't think I can survive if this is not real.
He kisses my deeply as I guide him inside me. We both gasp at finally being together again. This is the second time I've ended up with him when someone else threatened to take me. I'm relieved that I've managed to escape that fate so far.
He moves inside me slowly, driving me insane in a good way. I love how careful he's being. He wants to draw this out and relish the moment. I move with him, cherishing our connection.
When going slow becomes too much, I urge him to go faster with my words and my movements. He complies and it's not long before we both come undone. We kiss for a long time afterwards. Fang holds me close as if he's never going to let me go. I hold on just as tight.
"How are you here?" I finally ask.
"Angel's an old friend. I used to help her when she first started…here. I felt protective because she was Winged like me. I didn't want to drag her into this, but I was running out of places to hide. They were right on my tail, searching everywhere for me. I got here just in time and she stowed me in here. They've searched this whole place already, so I should be safe for a while. Hopefully it's enough time for my wing to heal."
"I couldn't stop thinking about you. I was so worried they'd find you."
Fang cups my face in his hands and studies me. "I was coming for you. As soon as the guards had moved far enough away, I was going to get you out of that hellhole. But you beat me to it."
"I had to," I whisper as the shock of what nearly happened causes tears to fall. "He was going to…"
Fang's face goes hard when he comprehends what I'm getting at.
"Who?" he demands. His face is hidden in shadows and I get a shiver. But I'm not scared. If anything, this side of him makes me feel safer.
"I don't know," I whisper. "But I'm pretty sure I killed him."
Fang's expression smooths and he pulls me close. I never want to leave his side again.
"What are we going to do?"
Fang smooths my hair. "We'll make a plan. Don't worry. But for right now we both need to rest and heal."
I nod against his chest, knowing that we are both pretty banged up. However, the fears stir under my skin. I begin to shake.
"Hey," Fang says, holding my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "We're together. For this moment we're safe. Just breathe and we'll work everything out later."
I take a deep breath and he smiles. I crawl onto his lap and he kisses me deeply, his tongue tangling with mine. He removes my bra – the only stitch of clothing between us. Now that I've had a taste – or two – of Fang, I can't get enough. I don't know how long we'll be together this time and I'm determined to make the most of it.
I take Fang in my hand and he groans, ready and waiting. He kisses my whole body, paying special attention to my breasts. I'm hot all over, especially when his kisses move between my legs. I try to keep quite in case Angel is still upstairs, but it's hard. I writhe and squirm until I can't help but call his name.
I crawl back onto Fang's lap and work him with my hands. I thought I'd still be shy around him, but I'm determined to be with him in as many ways as I can. Besides, enough people have seen my naked body now that letting Fang look and touch is very pleasant in comparison.
Finally, he's inside me as I'm on his lap. We rock slowly, taking our time as we learn each other's body. Being with him like this is better than anything. He makes all the bad experiences go away.
He's everything good in my world.
I pray that we'll make it through this.