Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

ASHLEY

L arge red numbers blinked at me, the three morphing to a four and bringing me to yet another ungodly hour of the morning.

Behind me, Jerry snored. The sound rumbled through the room, bouncing off of the wall he faced. The space between us was the same enormous chasm as usual. Sleep evaded me again, something biting its way into my stomach, burrowing deep and leaving me staring at the alarm clock as minutes inched by. I couldn't decide if it was guilt at allowing myself to desire another man, or the reality that my marriage was over. For years I'd tried to ignore the loss of passion, the burying of love and the eroding of like. What did it leave? Truthfully, little. An overbearing mother-in-law demanding children, although her son rarely came within a foot of me. A house that represented nothing but an endless tornado of chores. A husband who knew more about his online buddies than anything going on with me.

My marriage had died, and I'd been limping around, dragging its rotten corpse with me.

Lightning flashed, leaking beneath the blinds and filling the room with momentary light. A shape moved by the door before the room dipped back into darkness. My pulse quickened as I stared at the space where something had moved. Jerry's rumbling snores and the hard patter of rain thrashing against the window filled the room. Wind howled outside, but nothing else moved in the bedroom.

Sitting, I picked up my phone and turned on the screen, flashing the light over the doorway.

Nothing.

My dressing gown hung over the corner of the door. Jerry must have picked it up off of the floor when he'd come to bed long after me. Shaking my head, I blamed the late hour and my guilty conscience; my mind was playing tricks on me.

Reaching for my glass of water, I sighed. Empty.

I had been trying to avoid getting out of bed, knowing I'd just end up on the sofa watching shit TV and eating my weight in crackers and cheese.

Jerry rolled onto his back, his mouth hanging open and making his chin wobble with each trembling snore.

I couldn't sit and listen to that for another three hours, either.

Dragging myself from the bed, I pulled on my dressing gown and pocketed my phone. Sneaking from the room wasn't a problem. Jerry slept like the dead for the few hours he actually made it to bed. Probably from having a jolly good wank before bed if the crusted tissues in his office were anything to go by.

Alright for some.

The fridge welcomed me like an illicit lover, washing me with light as I delved into its charms. Selecting a hunk of cheddar, I turned, sure that a creak had come from the hallway.

‘Jerry?' I asked, is that you?

Still holding my cheese, I walked out into the foyer, not seeing anything amiss. A chill stole through me.

God, I desperately needed to get more sleep.

Chuckling to myself to assure myself I was being silly, I grabbed a stack of crackers and a knife and went to the lounge.

Soon enough, I tucked myself on the couch beneath a cosy blanket with trash TV sending coloured light bouncing off of the walls.

Food settled my stomach. It must have been hunger keeping me up. Not guilt.

Liar .

I pushed the mysterious leather maker from my mind, refusing to allow him to occupy any more of it. Not until I'd figured out a game plan for leaving Jerry. He might not care, but his mother would make my life a living hell for wasting her precious boy's prime years.

As if he hadn't wasted mine.

‘There you are, Pet,' a deep whisper tickled across my neck.

Strong arms wrapped around me, a hand clamping over my mouth as I screamed.

‘Shh. Be a good girl for me.' I struggled in his arms, knowing from the timbre of his voice exactly who he was. ‘That's it. Quietly for me, Ashley. You wouldn't want to wake that husband of yours up.'

Fear only oiled the need that had instantly filled me at his touch. Was he going to make me come again? My greedy pussy clenched at the thought.

‘I've been watching you. You did exactly as I asked, didn't you? Sending me all those dirty pictures of you taking my cock. Did you like it, Pet?'

‘Yes,' I moaned between his fingers, my voice muffled.

‘Good. It's time to experience it for real.'

‘Here?' He let his fingers relax against my mouth after seeing I had no intention of screaming. Despite the red alarms glaring in my brain.

‘No. I'm taking you home.' A sharp prick made me flinch, pain spreading momentarily in my neck.

‘You can't…' I said, trying to free myself from his grip. It was one thing to play his games, but I didn't want to go with him. The room swam before me and I blinked hard, attempting to bring it into focus. ‘What did you do?'

‘Don't worry. An owner always looks after his pet. You'll be safe.'

Lifting my arms proved impossible. They felt entirely made of wet spaghetti. My legs wouldn't cooperate as I tried to stand. To run.

My voice came out as a gargled groan when I tried to call for Jerry.

The man lifted me into his arms, walking us out of the door and into the howling wind. Raindrops hit my face, and as my consciousness waned, I looked into my abductor's face.

He smiled.

There was no fight left in me, and with an image of his face burning in my mind, I slipped from awareness into the dead black behind my eyes.