The moment I turn into the basement, I scream at the top of my lungs, letting my frustration fly free. It’s not until I’m done screaming that I realize Svetlana is standing a few feet away, looking positively rattled by my outburst.
A blush creeps up my cheeks. “I’m not crazy.”
Now, why did I go and say that? Everyone knows that only a crazy person insists that they’re not crazy.
“I know, ma’am.”
“My name is Alyssa.”
She gives me a self-conscious smile and shuffles in place. I realize I’m blocking her path to the door but I don’t care.
“Svetlana, can I ask you something, woman to woman?”
Svetlana gulps nervously. I’m worried for a second that the gesture will rip her hair out at the roots, but she seems to be okay. “Okay, ma’am.”
“I’m being held hostage here and I need help getting out.”
Her cheeks flush red. “You’re being held here for your own protection, ma’am.”
Oh, no, don’t tell me she drank the Kool-Aid, too.
“Your boss is lying. He’s keeping me here under false pretenses. God knows why. Maybe he wants to make a coat of my skin. Maybe he wants to sell me off as a sex slave. I don’t know the reason, but I’m guessing it’s not good. So—”
“Ma’am…” Her voice is uneven but she powers through anyway. “I’ve worked for Mr. Bugrov for over twenty years. He has never hurt a woman, nor does he believe in sex slavery. I don’t know why you’re here, either, but I believe Mr. Bugrov when he says he’s trying to keep you safe.”
My mouth drops open. I really hadn’t expected that much conviction, that much loyalty, that much faith from an employee.
For Uri.
Guess he pays well. Plus benefits.
“You’re not gonna even try to help me escape?”
“You don’t have to escape. I’m sure Mr. Bugrov will release you once it’s safe.” She inches closer to the exit. “Your dinner is on the kitchen island. If you need anything else, please let me know.”
“How?” I demand. “I’m down here and you’re up there!”
She points to a little red button beside the door. “Just press that button. It has a direct line to the maids’ quarters.”
“How very Downton Abbey of you all,” I drawl bitterly.
Svetlana gives me one more apologetic smile and leaves. And once again, I’m all alone. Nothing to break the monotony of the silence apart from my own voice.
Another thing about myself I’ve decided I hate.
I end up back on the bed, writhing with all this anger that I don’t have an outlet for. What would I say to him if he were standing in front of me right now?
How dare you?
What do you really want from me?
Do you get off on keeping me locked up in here, knowing you have all the control and I’m completely at your mercy?
That strikes a chord. Well, if he’s getting off on this… why shouldn’t I?
Before I can think twice about it, I empty the package that was meant for Elle onto the bed. My heart is in my throat, but I feel crazed, completely unmoored from my normal life. Nothing else is normal, so why should this be? Why should I be?
Why shouldn’t I strip down naked and find out what a purple alien tentacle can do to a girl?
The toy is heavy in my hand, but somehow warm to the touch. It’s crazy, duh—but I feel fucking crazy right now. And crazy needs crazy. I need something crazy, something extreme to distract from how I’m being forced to put my fate in the hands of a man I don’t trust.
I settle down, legs parted, and touch the very tip of the toy to myself.
Immediate throb.
I ease the toy inside of me, and the throb becomes a painful ache.
I stop.
Is this how he keeps me in line? Am I so pathetic that a piece of silicone can keep me licking my lips in anticipation?
I push the toy in deeper, if only to prove to myself that I’m not weak. If I can take this, then I can take anything. I’ll be able to survive him; I’ll be able to survive this.
I'm thrumming with a weird sort of tension. I try to tune out the discomfort, but it still takes a couple of breaths before I start to relax. But even as I slip the big purple head inside of myself, I don’t feel anything earth-shattering like the Eve's Garden ad copy promised.
It feels less sexual and more… gynecological.
Gritting my teeth, I try a little harder to concentrate on the task at hand. Sexual pleasure—that is the goal.
But my nether regions are dry and the dildo is no real substitute for a human male. Maybe bodily warmth is what I’m craving… Or maybe…
His face slides back into my head. Those broad shoulders. Those aquamarine eyes.
Oh God…
And just like that, my body starts feeling something. My legs start to tremble; my pussy starts to moisten.
Bing. Bing. Bing.
Sexual pleasure. As advertised, and then some.
I fall into the rhythm of it, moaning and breathing hard as I fuck myself with the purple alien tentacle. Wave after wave of pleasure washes over me, and I feel my body start to tighten.
I want to squeeze my eyes shut, to stop myself from seeing that I’ve really sunk this low, but I don’t. I keep my eyes open and watch myself come.
Holy shit.
My body is trembling uncontrollably. My toes are curled so tight that they’re cramping up.
When I finally come down from the high, I feel more alive than ever. I’m less hungry, less angry, less helpless than I was a few minutes ago.
What did… what did he do to me?
Somehow, he got to me without even being here.
I'm locked in Uri Bugrov's basement, he’s nowhere to be found, and I still belong to him.
Pathetic.
20
URI
Lev sleeps like a wild animal.
Almost from the second his eyes close, he starts thrashing around the bed, kicking anything and everything in his vicinity. There are mornings I’ve walked into his room and found the pillows and covers jettisoned to every corner of the room. Broken bedposts aren't as rare as I'd like, either.
Even my California king isn't enough to accommodate both Lev and myself comfortably when he gets going. I get two kicks, one to the knee and one to the groin, before I throw my hands up in the air and retreat to my office.
I hadn’t planned on falling asleep in bed next to Lev. He woke up around midnight, muttering about his basement and the only way to calm him back down was to get in bed next to him. Of course, I ended up falling asleep, too.
Rookie mistake. Now, I’m wide awake and craving something strong.
My eyes veer to the monitors hooked up to my desk. I decide to check in on Alyssa to see how she’s doing.
I chose not to visit her at all today---purely because I realized how fucking badly I wanted to. I was tempted to walk down there every minute of every hour of the day. But that kind of shit cannot fly. I need to simply cut her from my system. Go cold turkey.
It doesn't help that I have video cameras installed in the basement. They were put in years ago so that I could keep an eye on Lev from a distance. But they’ve come in uniquely handy in this particular instance.
I sit at my desk and turn the monitors on. The feed is blurry at first but then it focuses fast. The lights are still on so she’s clearly—
I freeze, my eyes homing in on the bed.