Naked and Bound (1*+)

Two

The rope around his wrists loosened and fell on the floor.

Stefan shook his hands free and grimaced at his pinkish skin. He rubbed it angrily, wanted to scrape away what it represented. The rope marks looked demeaning. A forced submission. An ownership.

He rubbed harder and his skin protested. Instead of relief, it stung and turned into a sorrier shade of red. He never felt so angry since Sarah cheated on him. Betrayal was nothing compared to being abducted.

He wanted to blame his unfair situation to the woman half-lying atop Hugh. She had fainted, mind you, as if the s****l excitement was too much for her to handle. 

Once in a while, her eyelids would softly flutter and her brows would enticingly wrinkle. Even in her sleep, Stefan noticed how innocent she looked like. So fragile and endearing. 

Abruptly, Stefan mentally slapped himself. For all he knew, she was the reason behind all of this. A mastermind with a sick fixation of owning a human.

Gritting his teeth, he brought himself up to a sitting position. Disgust etched on his face as he studied his essence staining his briefs. For the second time since he was abducted, his body had betrayed him again.

"f**k this." He muttered in his breath.

Hugh snorted before gently pushing away Victoria from his body. She was now lying on the floor, arms outstretched, mouth slightly opened. "I don't care whatever you feel or do. Cry, if you want. But I won't care. I'm not your friend here."

Stefan watched Hugh freed himself from the flimsy knot around his wrists. "So, you're my enemy now?"

"Only if you hurt her." Hugh looked at him with the graveness of a soldier engaged in war. "Unlike Victoria, I'm not a good guy in this story."

Awkward silence throbbed around them. For a moment, Stefan wanted to shout at Hugh that he shouldn't be protecting Victoria against him. Because no matter how much they analyzed their situation, Victoria was their enemy.

But Hugh quickly dismissed Stefan and lifted Victoria in his arms. She had enough excitement to last her a lifetime, he thought. A woman needed a break sometimes.

She was thin, he added. She looked ready to fly away against a strong wind. His grandmother would surely throw a fit if she was his woman. A good lady needed muscles, she said. And a bit of fat in the right places. He could imagine his grandmother tying her up beside the dining table feeding her guacamole and tortillas.

Pausing to open the door to the living room, Hugh caught himself smiling. He had to remind himself again that she was not his woman. Contrary to Stefan, he knew what he was getting into and his place in Victoria's life.

He had no right to think about her romantically.

Finally, he reached the living room. It smelled of wood and lavender.  Victoria suddenly wiggled in his arms. He silently walked towards the center of the room and decided to settle her down on a soft black sofa. Instantly,  she lied on her side and purred quietly.

To stop himself from staring at her, Hugh studied Victoria's wonderful farmhouse. It was warm and cozy with the right amount of austere wooden furniture, hanging plants, and soft lighting. A retractable glass wall was slightly opened, letting in the summer breeze. Squinting against the sunlight, he could see a vast land beyond rich with hays, crops, and corn. Surrounding it were roaming cows, dogs, and chickens. His eyes spotted a barn and a pond near the house.

He found it rustic yet feminine. 

Suddenly, Victoria rubbed her arms to ward off the chill of the room. Hugh saw a patterned blanket hanging on a chair beside the sofa and took it. Gently, he draped it over her body.

"Aren't you too decent for this, Mr. Ex-Con?"

Hugh turned to his left and found Stefan lurking on the doorway. 

He replied, "Not too decent to punch you right on the face though."

Stefan smirked. "I wouldn't consider it, you know. Especially when I've already read every secret you're hiding."

Hugh's eyes went on the file Stefan was holding. Mr. Reed couldn't conduct a business deal without a full report of his transactions. He wasn't surprised Mr. Reed had a profile of him. 

But instead of being alarmed, he only lifted his shoulder in an indifferent shrug. "Do whatever you want."

Stefan's eyes sparked in rage. "God damn it, I knew it!" He watched Hugh walking towards the kitchen reaching for an apron. "You fuckin' knew what's happening here. You are not abducted like me, are you? You came here voluntarily!"

Hugh opened the fridge and took out some eggs and bacon. "Are you hungry?"

"Are you, what, thrilled to be a s*x toy?"

"I hope you don't mind me cooking breakfast. I'm not much of domestic man, you know."

"Are you blackmailed?"

"Sunnyside up or scrambled?"

"Do you need money?"

Hugh fell silent. 

Stefan grunted. "Aha! Tell me, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What crime did you do to, you know, pay someone's silence?"

His line of thought was too absurd that Hugh laughed despite himself. "What are you? Some f*****g drama fan?"

Stefan ignored it. "Then why do you stoop so low and be a s*x toy just for money?"

Hugh cracked an egg onto the hot pan. "What's this?  Are we having some serious heart-to-heart conversation now?" Hugh gazed at him straight to the eye. "Cause I think I should remind you again that we're not friends, Mr. Krowe."

Nodding, Stefan stared back. Hard and dangerous. "Just tell me the reason why I'm here, Mr. Stenton. Unlike you, I never wanted to be here in the first place."

Hugh scooped the cooked eggs. "Be patient, Mr. Krowe. You'll know it eventually."

"When?"

"When you finally realized that you wanted to be here."

* * *

They were waiting for death to come.

Victoria Reed had once again seated for another vigil since the month of February had started. She prayed, begged, and cursed her maker to save her grandmother. Cancer was slowly eating her alive, keeping her from being the bubbly, free spirit her Granny Paula was.

Her granddaughter of twenty-seven years could only do as much as hold her frail hands, gripping it tightly as if the simple task could prevent her from fleeing away. Holding up a shaky hand, Victoria swept her grandmother's white hair behind her ear. All the while whispering words of love. Her voice sounded achingly loud in the bleak room that once has been their sanctuary. The curtains were drawn. The lights were dimmed. The room felt strangely large and empty.

Granny Paula's eyelids flickered slightly, opening slowly, and revealed a pair of intelligent blue orbs. It looked at Victoria with so much affection her granddaughter wanted to weep. But she held her ground and stopped the tears from forming; silently watching her grandmother smile brightly as if nothing ails her.

"You know that I love you, right?" She whispered lovingly. Victoria nodded and kissed her hand softly as she continued, "Now, trust me when I tell you not to worry and close your eyes and sleep."

It was Victoria's turn to smile. "I know. I just want to watch you sleep."

"Dear, it's almost midnight. How much longer do you want to watch me sleep? I told you a true lady never stays late at night!" Granny Paula scolded playfully and winked. "Now, go on. Be a good lady and close your eyes. Lean down, dear. Let me kiss you goodnight."

Victoria complied. Warm lips touched her forehead. The effort seemed too much for the old lady as she sighed and closed her eyes again to sleep. Victoria kissed her cheek and whispered goodnight. "Promise me you'll be here tomorrow, Granny."

Smiling, Granny Paula replied, "I promise."

The morning had come and Victoria overslept. She suddenly sat straight and blinked her sleep away.

With blurry eyes, she saw her father crying at the opposite side of the bed, looking at the unmoving figure lying on the bed.

For the first time in her life, Granny Paula broke her promise.

Victoria woke up with a pounding head and the last words of her Granny Paula ebbing away from her dreams. Disoriented, she touched her temple to take the throbbing pain away.

As she reached up, she felt a sticky substance on her hair down to her cheeks. It smelled strange, she realized. But not unpleasant. A bit icky though on how it stretched like a web on her fingers.

"Breakfast?"

She jumped at the softly spoken words. She turned to the sound and muscular thighs lined her vision.

Her eyes slowly traveled upwards until she was staring at Hugh. His curly blond hair was already tied back in his head. She noticed first that he was wearing an apron over his black crew-neck shirt. And secondly, his smile.

She started to speak and realized she was reclined on her sofa.

What happened? She frowned.

"You fainted," Stefan spoke crudely. "Here, drink this."

Too stunned to react(because she never fainted ever in her whole life), she let her "toys", as her father call it, to drag her from the living room to the kitchen. They already reached the dining hall when the moment struck her that she felt their pair of hands, holding and guiding her forward.

Her body went still.

"You're free." She blurted suddenly. "You're not bound." Something inside her went tight, urging her body to flee as soon as possible.

Stefan and Hugh froze as they stared at the fear-stricken eyes of Victoria.

Victoria used this chance to struggle free and scooted away from her toys. "You're not bound." She repeated.

Stefan recovered from the shock and reached a hand to her. "Don't touch me!" Victoria shouted. 

I can't trust you.

She put her shaking hands against her forehead, wanting to close her eyes but forcefully stopped the action. She had to be alert. Or else she can't protect herself. "I told you to remain still and bound. I-I personally tied your knots, the way my dad taught me how but still both of you managed to get free. I told you-" She started babbling nonsense things and forcefully stopped her tears from falling.

Victoria breathed deeply, trying to control her emotions but when Hugh stepped towards her, her knees buckled and met the floor while the rest of her body followed. Hot memories of her abduction 10 years ago rushed through her mind. Unwanted and unstoppable.

Her body bowed against the soft cream carpet on the floor of the hall, positioning it in a most submitting way.

Just the way she remembered years ago.

Hugh stood rigidly, appalled by the sight unfolding before him as Victoria curled herself into a ball.

Her knees meeting her chest with her heels stuck against her behind. She slightly twisted her hand, crossed it on her wrists, and placed it against her back. Hugh heard a sob as Victoria placed her right cheek against the carpet.

Stefan was also in the same condition as his. They can't seem to move. Afraid to do something that would hurt her and worsen the situation.

Then she spoke, "Don't hurt me." A sob. "I'll be good."

She repeated the same words as if it was a mantra.

Hugh finally made the decision. "Tie me up, Stefan."

A long stretch of silence descended between men, Hugh knew that Stefan didn't want to follow him. He hated being restrained. 

But the urgency he saw in Hugh's eyes forced him to cross the room and get their ropes back. Hugh didn't waste any second and ordered him to tie his wrists. Stefan complied and coiled it tighter than Victoria's ties.

"Here, let me tie you up," Hugh said and reached for the rope in his hands.

Stefan let him do whatever he wanted. For chaos had started dominating his mind. He would regret this, his mind said. He should let his captor succumb to her misery. 

Hugh sensed Stefan's hesitation to help. So he spoke, "I'll tell you everything you want to know if you'll help me."

It was the strongest bait Hugh could offer.

Unsurprisingly, Stefan bit it.

Heartbeats had passed and no one spoke. Afraid to say anything uncertain. Everything seemed to froze until Stefan whispered to Hugh that he got an idea.

His idea, however, wasn't Hugh expected.

Stefan started singing. And by the sound of it, Hugh decided that he wasn't doing well. Stefan was ruining Travers' Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel.

Victoria stopped sobbing.

Hugh noticed she now stared wide-eyed at Stefan.

Hugh thought that was better than her crying and instantly he started dancing. He wasn't the best of the best dancers, but at least he knew a few knock-out moves that can please Victoria.

He wasn't wrong. A few minutes passed, Victoria dissolved into giggles. At last, Hugh and Stefan knelt inches away in front of her, releasing a deep breath and easing the tension in their body.

With their hands bound, they wiped her tears away.

Victoria reached for their hands before they could pull away.

And Stefan's chest constricted painfully when she showered tender kisses on each of their fingers. When she was done, she put their hands on either side of her face and whispered achingly, "I'm sorry."

Hugh felt something he couldn't define. Yet the urge to protect her from what happened to her that made her this way was flowing in his vein as if it was always there. As if he was made for her.

And all Hugh wanted was to kiss Victoria's lips to give her his warmth.

He wasn't disappointed as Victoria put down their hands and reached for him with her right hand. "Sorry, Hugh." She said and placed a feather-light kiss on his forehead. Then on his nose. Cheeks. Chin.

Victoria reached in her left and asked for Stefan. 

But he remained rooted in his place. And when she leaned closer, he stepped a few more inches away from them. He glared at her outstretched hand with unconcealed aversion.

"Stefan?" Victoria glanced at him with worried eyes. 

Without saying anything, Stefan left the room.