Chapter 16: QUIN

Sixteen

QUIN

I t's amazing that Tanner hasn't noticed the fact that I only sleep three hours a night. He never comments on how tired I look. Maybe I'm good at hiding it. Whenever I get close to falling asleep, I see apparitions or get intense flashbacks to that night. The smell of bleach makes me want to throw up. I have to hide all the symptoms of my PTSD from Tanner, which is pretty easy.

But tonight, he was just pissing me off and getting under my skin. He's so goddamn selfish and wrapped up in his feelings about Avery, but he doesn't care about this poor baby's development beyond hiring me.

And did he really hire me? He kidnapped me before offering me a job.

I hear a thud against my window. My heart stops in my chest and cold fear spreads throughout my body, numbing all my limbs and freezing me in place. I've never heard a sound like that outside my window before. My bursting heart quickly interrupts the freeze. I sit up, but the window opens all on its own. The locked window.

I gasp and my first instincts are probably stupid. Hide. I rip the gigantic down comforter over my head – completely unnecessary in Arizona if it weren't for the air-conditioning.

What the hell is hiding beneath the covers going to do for me? I have never been in a situation like this before that has ended well. I normally barricade my room and that has worked perfectly well. The last time a man attacked me… I fought back. I killed him. Going through that again scares me more than what might happen to me.

The footsteps draw closer to me and my fear only grows more intense. I can't move this time. I may have attacked my adoptive brother, but I can't bring myself to do it again. Even when I start hearing heavy breathing.

I feel a hand tugging at the comforter and dragging it away from my body. I hold onto it, like I can possibly hide from this intruder who already has his hand on the comforter. Instinctively, I know it's a man. There's no way a woman could be doing this.

I drag the comforter around my body tightly. The hand drags it away. Easily. Only a man could be that strong. I yelp as the fabric nearly shreds my palms when he pulls it away. The comforter falls to the ground with a thud and I can still hear the intruder's slow, heavy breathing.

The last defense I have is burying my face in my pillow. It's foolish, but hiding my face is the last instinct I have.

He's going to kill me. The thought pulses through my head repeatedly. Every inch of my body feels like it's covered in sweat.

The last thought that pops into my head is Avery. And what's going to happen to her after this intruder kills me.

By then, Tanner will have received an intruder alert and will hopefully spring into action with a firearm. He keeps them out of sight, but we're in Arizona, so I know he has some firearms around here.

But right after I have that thought about Avery, a knife doesn't slide across my throat. A hand touches my ass. I have a huge butt, and always have. The type of butt that never looks "appropriate", no matter what I wear. So his hand can't cover the entire cheek, but I can feel his hand exploring the soft, small patch of flesh it occupies.

I become utterly paralyzed. Even more than before. His hand moves up my ass and then the intruder groans.

The pillow smells like my bonnet. I'm desperate for fresh air but the groan that comes out of the intruder's mouth sends a jolt of fear through me that pushes me deeper into that impulse to hide. His hand moves up my ass. I can tell for sure the hand belongs to a man now.

It's too big. Too strong. He squeezes a handful of my ass cheek, which takes more than two hands to hold each one.

"Fuck," he groans and the voice sounds strangely familiar. Like a famous actor, or something. I'll have to remember that detail when I tell Tanner… If I survive to tell Tanner…

The hand moves all the way up my ass to my lower back. I have to breathe now. I tilt my head to the side, moving it away from my pillow but my instincts take control and when I suck in air intending to take a deep breath, what happens next is I let out a blood-curdling, uncontrolled scream.

I swear I scream so loud the walls shake and just as I fill my lungs to let out another concrete-cracking shriek, the hand moves from my ass to cover my mouth and the intruder's voice changes.

"You scream like that and let the man of the house hear you, I'll cut your ass up…"

Holding down my lips with one hand, he returns to stroking my ass with his other hand.

"Your ass feels fucking delicious…"

Half a strangled yelp makes an effort to escape my lips, but that only makes the intruder's hand clamp down tighter and he surprises me by using the hand on my ass to spank me. The hard smack shocks me and I try to bite down on his finger and fail as he blocks me from breathing and follows up his first hit with a second one before allowing me to take air in straight through my nose.

Pain. Immediate pain.

"You make one more sound and I'll keep whooping your ass until you can't sit down for a week. How the hell are you gonna explain that to your boss?"

Him mentioning Tanner sends my emotions into overdrive. I can't explain what exactly happens internally, but it's like all my feelings twist up and implode. I let out a sob, which the intruder's hand suffocates, and tears spill out of my eyes.

I hate that he mentions my boss.

I hate it so damn much…

I shudder and nod, mostly because I'm sobbing too hard to do anything but agree with this monstrous intruder in hopes that he doesn't end my life. That's my only goal at this point — survive.

Once he stops covering my mouth, he can hear me softly crying. His next exhalation is almost kind, although it's fucked up for me to attribute any form of humanity to this monster.

"I won't hurt you unless you make me, sugar plum," he says. "You have nothing to worry about."

I don't know why I can't recognize his voice. I try to turn my head a little to glimpse his body, but that offers me no hints. All I know is that the man is huge and his physique is clearly muscular. Not like that helps my prospects of escape or survival. The intruder is far too fixated on my ass and his intentions to notice me trying to see more of him.

He returns to touching my ass with both hands.

"What's a woman like you doing with all this ass?"

I don't think he really wants me to answer, but when I don't, he hits my ass again. I don't yelp. He scares me too damn much for me to scream. He chuckles when I flinch but doesn't make a sound.

"You're a good girl," he says with that buttery smooth voice. "I like a woman who knows her place. I'm old-fashioned like that."

Old-fashioned? Is there something old-fashioned about climbing into a woman's bedroom and groping her? I squeeze my legs shut as his palms rove over my butt cheek. Strange wetness between my legs makes it hard for my thighs to stick together. I don't understand the feeling.

The intruder's hands move to the separation between my ass cheeks and I squeeze my legs even tighter together. That doesn't work to deter him. He separates my legs easily and then he touches me between them forcefully.

He groans again.

"I want to touch you so fucking bad."

Is anything stopping him? I can't stop my racing heart. I can't stop him from touching me inappropriately. This intruder can do absolutely anything he wants with me and he knows it. The sound that comes out of my mouth is another unwilling whimper. I flinch, expecting him to hit me, but he's too distracted by touching between my legs slowly through my clothes.

My legs separate. If I give him this, he won't hit me…

"Yes, sugar plum," he groans. "I feel that pussy getting nice and wet for me…"

I can't believe this is happening.

I've never even been kissed.

"I want to put my dick in your pussy so fucking bad..."

I flinch again as my terror intensifies. I guessed the intruder's intentions when he started touching me but convinced myself that mildly touching me would satisfy him. I don't get lucky. He escalates from touching my ass cheek to touching me between my legs and now…

He can't do this to me.

I blurt out the only thing I can think to say.

"I'm a virgin…"

The words seem naive when he responds.

"Good," he says. "I always said if I ever made anyone my old lady… she would be mine and only mine…"

He presses one knee into the bed and I whimper as I clutch my pillow. From what little I can see of this man, he left no identifying features uncovered. He's even wearing a ski mask. If I scream loudly enough, Tanner might hear and stop him. Tanner would save me.

But if I screw that up, this man could kill me. He could kill Avery.

He could kill Tanner too if he's sleeping hard enough or locked up in his office worried about money.

The man kneeling on the bed presses his weight into me and I feel every pound leaning into me. He's heavy. Not heavier than me, but still a big, strong ass man. I can't get any air in as his body covers mine. He's almost cradling me as he joins me in the bed.

His hand gropes my ass cheek as he makes space to nestle his crotch against my butt. I yelp loudly and he has to cover my mouth. His dick. I can feel his dick and the terror forces an extremely unwise yelp out of my mouth. The intruder's hand tightens and his voice erupts, "I told you not to be loud."

Slickness pools between my thighs. More fear. Despite my frozen body, I do my best to nod in agreement. I don't want to anger this man. It's best to go along with whatever he wants… anything he wants.

"You have the softest ass," he whispers. "And since you're a good girl and kept your hymen safe… I'll go slow. No need to fuck you like a bad girl until I turn you into one."

I hate every implication in his statement but at this point, I'm too terrified to make a sound. I just nod and force myself to ignore the slickness between my legs. It's only making everything worse. I feel gross and distracted when I should be focused on one thing — survival.

The dick pressing into my ass feels huge. I'm no expert, but relative to my butt, that thing feels as big as this man's forearm — which is huge.

His body cradles mine as he kisses my neck. The kiss has the unfortunate effect of calming me a little. The physical sensation of soft, masculine lips against my neck sends a confusing river of calm straight through me. My terror subsides enough for me to tune into different sensations aside from the weight pressed on top of me and the gigantic dick weighing against my ass.

He smells good. And familiar. The familiar part doesn't stick in my head very long, but the pleasantness of this man's smell gives his invasion a confusing effect on me. I squirm as if that could possibly help me get away from this powerful specimen of a man who climbed in through my window and has me pinned to my bed.