Chapter Two

Elise

I step outside and it’s still dark. The lights in Laura’s house are still off, so I don’t think I’ll be running into her. I intentionally got out here thirty minutes early just to avoid her.

I put my earbuds in and start my jog down the sidewalk. I make ten laps to do five miles total, so it will be light outside by the time I finish. Running will be harder in the winter, but I will still do it. The cold is good for you.

I get one lap in when I see that the lights in Lucian’s house are on. I don’t know his routine like the others, so I'm not sure if that is typical. I know he was out of town for a little while when I moved in here, but I don’t know what for if he doesn’t work. Although, it would probably be a vacation.

I get lost in my thoughts and I’m out of breath now, so I slow down and stop when I get to the far side of the neighborhood where there are no houses. I am completely shrouded by trees so no one can see me dying from lack of oxygen over here.

I feel a hand slide from one hip to the other as an arm snakes around my abdomen. When they grab hold of my waist and spin me to face them, I gasp slightly when I see it's Lucian, but I don’t move. He slowly and gently moves his hand up my waist and across my chest, taking the opportunity to pinch my nipple that is showing though my shirt. Lucian wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me against his body

“Lucian,” I choke out.

“Sweet Elise,” he says softly. “I wonder if you taste as delicious as you look?”

“W-what are you d-doing?” I ask, my voice cracking. I’m not emotional or scared. I am suddenly so turned on that I can’t function. This man has me fucking dripping, and he has hardly done anything besides sneak up on me.

“Whatever I want,” he says, brushing his lips across mine. “I own the town. I own the people. And soon, my dear Elise… I’ll own you.”

“You won’t,” I say with more force. He chuckles and runs his hand down the front of my pants when his fingers push inside of me, I separate my legs more and grip onto his biceps.

“You’re soaked, Elise,” he says as he starts to fuck me with his hand. His palm is grazing my clit perfectly, and it takes my breath away. “I will make you mine, Elise. You will bow to me… serve me… please me… until then, I will be everywhere. No matter where you go or what you do, I’ll be watching.”

“Why?” I ask, nearly moaning.

“Because I get what I want, and I want this tight little cunt to weep for me. Looks like it’s working. Hmm?” he asks. He moves faster and my moans get more desperate. I drop my gaze and watch him work my body. My legs are trembling, and I want to come so badly.

“Fuck, I’m going to come,” I whimper.

“You haven’t earned that yet,” he tuts before abruptly stopping. I whine as all of the feelings he created disappears. He brings his fingers to my lips, and I look up at him as I suck his fingers clean. The sweet taste of my arousal bursts in my mouth and makes me want to come even more now.

When he pulls his hand away, I take a step back and decide to stand strong. “I bow to no one, and I can certainly get myself off without help as well,” I say with a cold tone before pushing past him to jog back toward my house. What the fuck was that, and why was it so hot?

When I get into the house, I throw the door shut and go straight to the shower. I need to put out the fire he just ignited in me. I don’t date, so I certainly don’t let my arrogant neighbor finger fuck me in the middle of the street. What the fuck is wrong with me? I step into the ice-cold water, and it snatches the air from my lungs when it shocks my body. Over time, I relax and return to a calmer state. I refuse to get off thinking about him. I won’t do it. The second I come with him on my mind, I’ll be willing to let him do more. It’s obvious he is used to having control over people, so I won’t let him have control over me.

I have to go into town today to get some groceries. When I get out of the shower, I get dressed in a cute white skirt with a pastel pink tank top. I match it with sandals, and I love it. I may act like a grump, but I still enjoy happy things. I find joy in bright colors and cute patterns. You just can't tell because I hide it behind my resting bitch face. I learned a long time ago that if I look approachable, I’ll get hurt more often. If I look like a bitch, people tend to stay away from me.

I step out of the house and walk to my car. I can feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look up until I hear Laura’s voice. “Hey, Elise,” she says.

“Hey, Laura. How are you?” I ask.

“Oh, I am wonderful. Errands?” she asks in reply. Lucian is beside her and has made it known that he plans on openly stalking me, so I lie.

“Yeah. I need to get my car serviced and run by the post office,” I say.

“You coming tonight?” she asks.

“Yeah, you coming tonight, Elise?” Lucian asks with heavy emphasis on coming.

“Haven’t decided,” I say to Laura with a sweet smile. “I’ll let you know.”

“Okay. Have a good day,” she says, clueless as to what Lucian just implied. I slip into my car and look at Lucian as I lock my doors. I have a feeling not even a lock will keep him away from me.

I go to the grocery store as planned, but when I get parked, I start wondering about my mom. If she’s from here, maybe someone knows where she is. Aunt Jennifer never mentioned her, but I know they were sisters. I’m curious if she’s alive or not. I know nothing about my family's medical history, so that would be nice to know.

I decide to go to the library instead, and I’ll go to the grocery store after. This town is so small, I can just leave my car here and walk there. When I get out and lock my doors, I turn to see Lucian is getting out of his car. He’s not looking at me. I’m not even sure if he sees me. I duck down behind a truck and walk around the row of cars so I can get to the sidewalk. When I get there, Lucian is gone. I don’t know if he got inside fast or if he went back to his car, but I focus back on getting to the library.

“Hi,” the older lady behind the desk says when I walk in. “Can I help you find something?”

“Uh. Yeah, actually. I recently moved here from California. I grew up in foster care out there, but I was told that I was born here. My aunt passed a few years ago, so I know she had family here at least,” I explain. “Do you keep birth records or census information?”

“What is your aunt’s name?”

“Jennifer Hart,” I say. “My biological mother was her sister.”

“Okay. What is your birthday?”

“Halloween of 1999,” I say. “I’ll be twenty-five next month.”

“Okay, dear. I’ll do some searching for you. You are welcome to search the census records down in the basement. They’re labeled by year and go back about one hundred years,” she says.

“Thank you so much,” I say sweetly before taking the door beside her that leads down into the basement.

It is a dimly lit room with rows of dust-covered books. There is a massive red oak table in the center, surrounded by chairs. I set my bag and phone on the other side of the table, so I am facing the stairs, before starting with the far-left row.

I spent my entire childhood wondering where I came from. I have always wanted to know why my parents didn’t want me. Was it the way I cried or how I looked? Did they just not want children, or maybe she just wasn’t cut out to be a mother? I’ve blamed myself, but logically I know there is nothing I could have done as a newborn to cause it, so it is just my mere existence that triggered something.

I find yearbooks for a local high school, so I start with the year that Aunt Jennifer graduated. Right away I find her picture and I can’t help but smile. She was a beautiful woman, and I look a lot like her. We have the same hair, and both are short. I’d be willing to bet I look a lot like my mother then as well. I know she was younger, but I don’t know by how much. Aunt Jennifer was twenty-six when I was born, so my mom could be any age. The hard part is, I don’t know who her parents were. I know Aunt Jennifer said once that they moved around a lot.

She didn’t live in the gated community until a year or so before she died, likely around the time she found me. I don’t know why she never told me anything, but I also never asked. I was so excited to finally have a family, nothing else seemed to matter. Maybe she never said anything because it was too painful, or she thought I didn’t want to know. Most of her stuff is packed away upstairs in the attic and down in the basement, so I could go through it.

I am standing at a table in the back of the room, and I am completely lost in the stack of books I have. When I lean over the table to grab a book, I feel a large hand slide up my inner thigh. I yelp and go to turn, but I am promptly pushed flat so that I am bent over the table and my legs are dangling.

“At least you’re consistent with how annoying you are,” I say flatly.

“Researching?” Lucian asks.

“No, I just like the pretty pictures,” I deadpan.

Lucian slowly slides my panties down and I find myself shifting to allow him to take them off easier. I don’t know why I’m letting him do this. I don’t know what he wants from me or why, but it’s fucking intoxicating the way he takes exactly what he wants without overstepping boundaries.

“Tell me. Maybe I can help,” he says as he dips two fingers into my pussy.

“Do I have to?” I ask.

“Do you want to come?” he counters. Fuck. He’s got me there.

“Just trying to find out more about my family,” I choke out. He rewards me with deeper thrusts, and I moan softly.

“Shh. We are in a library, Elise,” he says. “Tell me more.”

“I want to find my mom,” I pant.

“Why?” he asks, thrusting his fingers inside of me. The more I talk, the closer I get.

“I… oh fuck… I want to know why…” I whimper and my body trembles as he fucks me with his hand. He adds another finger, and it makes my pussy ache as he stretches me.

“Why what?”

“Why she didn’t want me,” I moan.

I slap my hand over my mouth when he rapidly increases his speed. He pushes deeper and deeper, but his voice is soft. “Be careful how deep you dig, sweet Elise,” he warns. “You might find something worth hiding from.”

“Fuck,” I moan.

“It’s not time yet,” he says.

“W-What?” I ask. When he abruptly stops, I bang my head on the table and whine. Before he can say anything, I quickly jump up and push him. He growls and grabs me by the throat and pushes me back against the bookshelf, knocking a few of the books to the floor.

“It’s not time yet,” he repeats.

“You’re insane,” I remark. “I don’t need you to get off.”

“If you make yourself come, you’ll only have yourself to blame when you’re punished,” he warns.

“Get away from me,” I snap. Lucian drops his hand and looks me over for a moment before disappearing. I look around for my panties, but the freak took them. I’m not even surprised.

I put away all the books before walking back upstairs. “Hey,” I say sweetly. “I’ll be back tomorrow to keep looking.”

“Okay, dear. I’ll also keep looking and see if I can’t find something for you,” she replies.

I go to the store and get all of my groceries before driving home. The gate is open when I return, and that concerns me. Why have a gate and a guard shack if it’s left unattended? The sidewalks are empty. When I pull into the driveway, I realize everyone is at Lucian’s for their party. I spent so long at the library and the store that I lost track of time.

I gather all of my groceries in a few trips, and when I’m going in for the last time, I see a flash of someone fully naked inside Lucian’s house. I know there are a lot of people over there, but why are there naked people?

I go in and put away all of my groceries before stepping outside and walking over. I was invited, so this will give me a chance to be nosy. Although maybe I should not be going into the home of someone who keeps finger-fucking me in public without letting me come.

The door is open, so I step inside and follow the voices to locate everyone. When I don’t find anyone, I turn and run into Carol. “Jesus, you scared me. Am I late?” I ask.

“No, you’re right on time,” she says kindly. “Looking for them?”

“Yeah. I hear people, but I don’t know where they are. This house is huge,” I laugh nervously.

“Check the basement. Noise carries in old houses. They usually set up down there since it has an open floor plan,” she says. “I’m just going to drop these snacks in the kitchen and be down.”

“Okay. Thank you,” I say. She points me to the basement entrance before walking off and I make my way down the stairs. When I get to the bottom landing, I hear loud moans behind the door. I stop with my hand on the door and wait.

“Hear how desperate she is to come,” Lucian whispers in my ear. He scares me but before I can scream, he covers my mouth and pulls me back against his chest. “Want to see who it is?”

I am hesitant, but I nod. He opens the door in front of me and walks me inside. It’s another small room, but this has a big window in it. I try to pull away from him when I get overwhelmed at the sight of Laura tied to a Saint Andrews cross while everyone in the room is wearing vendetta masks.

I bite his hand, so he wraps his fingers around my throat instead. “Let go of me. What the fuck is…”

“She is consenting,” he says softly. “She has a ping-pong ball in her hand. If she drops it, he will stop.”

“Why the fuck was I invited to this?” I ask.

“If you are going to live here, you need to know your neighbors,” he says. One of the men presses a wand massager to Laura, and she moans loudly as her body shakes. Each time she makes a noise, he slaps her tit, and she whimpers. Eventually, he grabs a hold of her nipple and twists as she comes.

“Who the fuck are you people?” I ask. I want to look away, but I can’t.

“We are you, Elise,” he says. I groan when he pushes his fingers into me. I push my hips back to take more of him. “Everyone has a fantasy. Hers is being used. She loves to come, and he loves to make her come. They’re comfortable in their skin and they’re not afraid to explore every corner of their sexuality.”

“Why do you keep edging me?” I ask. He drops to his knees and moves us so that his back is to the window, and he is in front of me. Everyone in the room suddenly turns to face the window. “Fuck. They’re looking at me.”

“Because you think you are being forced to come,” he says.

“They’re looking at me. Lucian,” I say but don’t move.

“Let them. Make them wonder who it is that has you begging to come,” he says before pushing his tongue into my pussy.

“Fuck, that’s good,” I groan. Lucian growls as he pulls one of my legs up to drape over his shoulder. Everyone is looking at me but Laura. I watch as the man drops to his knees in front of her and start eating her pussy like Lucian is doing to me. When she looks up at me and smiles, Lucian starts sucking on my clit and my eyes roll back.

“Dear God, I want to come,” I moan. I must have said the right words because he sucks harder and pulls more moans out of me. Laura has her eyes dead locked with me, and as long as I keep looking at her, Lucian doesn’t stop. Every time I say something that indicates consent, he does more. “Please. Luci. Please.”

Moaning my annoying nickname for him makes him growl against my pussy. I cry out when he bites down on my clit while sucking and I want to come so badly. I run my fingers through his dark hair and grip onto it before I rock my hips. His teeth pull against my clit, and it sends jolts of pain through me that push me closer to release.

“Fuck. She’s going to come. I want to come. Please. God, please,” I moan wildly. In almost perfect synchrony, we both tip our head back and scream to the heavens as an ear ringing orgasm tears through my body. When Lucian pulls away and stands, everyone turns back to Laura.

“Good girl, Elise,” he says, tipping my chin up.

“Why me?” I ask.

“Because I love to break down brats until they’re completely at my mercy and willing to do anything I say,” he says.

“You can’t just assault me into submission,” I say.

“Is that what this was?” he asks as he backs me against the wall behind me. “Did I assault you, Elise?”

“No,” I say honestly.

“Did you want it?”

“Does it matter?” I snap.

“Very much, Elise,” he says matter-of-factly. “If I wanted to rape you, I could have had my cock inside that beautiful cunt the first time you smarted off to me. I would have used every ounce of the power I have over you, because that is what rape is. It isn’t about fucking, and sweet Elise… I want to fuck you. I want to do depraved things while you beg me for mercy, but I want you to want it. When I chase you, I want you to look forward to your capture. Understand?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

“Go home and rest,” he says. I nod and he disappears into the room Laura is in. He has a mask on now, so I can’t make anyone out.

I stand here for a moment and watch, but they are all just talking. I take what little willpower I have left to force myself to go home.

Lucian is the devil. He is relentless and is determined to break me, but I have to fight until I can’t anymore. If he wants me to bow, he has to break me first. I am not easily broken.

When I get back to the house, I take a shower and take my sleeping medicine so I can curl up in bed.