Explicit Instruction Page 5

  ‘Lookie, lookie,’ Skeeve said clucking his tongue. ‘You must be a good little girl.’

  ‘There’s not a mark on her,’ Shiv said.

  While Flick knew there were bruises on her arms, she imagined if Rushe had truly been raping her she would be more banged up. But that wasn’t her concern now, not with Skeeve moving in closer.

  ‘Glen’s first,’ Shiv drawled.

  ‘That’s right,’ Glen said sidling past Shiv.

  Glen was the heaviest of the four with a big potbelly, but from his baldhead to his worn out boots every inch of him disgusted her.

  ‘You don’t have to do this,’ she murmured, hoping they would take heed. Except she knew in the gang mentality that showing them fear would only spur them on.

  Skeeve’s hand came up and squeezed around her breast. His hard, dirty fingers made her gag and bile leapt up into her throat. He sniggered again and increased his grip only to grab at her nipple with his other hand.

  Closing her eyes against the intrusion, Flick knew fighting wouldn’t help, but she couldn’t do nothing. Snatching the showerhead from its holder, she swung it at Skeeve’s skull, and by catching him off-guard she sent him to the floor. Flick jumped over him and barged through Shiv and Glen, which was an easier escape than she’d imagined. But when the Kid stepped out of her way Flick came up against the immovable object.

  Tipping her chin Flick looked up to see that she’d run into Rushe in the doorway. But he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking over her head at the men she’d run away from.

  ‘Get to bed,’ Rushe rumbled without his lips moving.

  Those eyes were the terrifying ones that she hoped would have the perpetrators thinking twice.

  Flick didn’t need to be told twice herself, so she slunk around Rushe and went straight into the bedroom.

  Before she got her head into the tee-shirt she’d snagged out of Rushe’s drawer she heard the clatter, then the thud. Shouting ensued, and though she couldn’t pick out individual voices she knew none of them was Rushe’s. After a few more shouts and bangs, an eerie silence descended over the place.

  Tears soaked her cheeks, and Flick gathered the pillow against her lap and into her embrace when she brought her knees up to her chin. This corner of the bed was where Rushe restrained her, but she wasn’t scared here. When the silence dragged on Flick began to worry for him, for Rushe, out there with the pack of hyenas.

  Just as she was about to move the door flew open. It ricocheted off the wall and careened back into its frame, making Flick jump. The whole room shuddered with the heat of his fury exploding around her.

  ‘What the fuck did you think you were doing?’ he seethed, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side.

  ‘I—’

  ‘Never get naked unless I’m in the room! The only man allowed to see you bare is me! You belong to me!’

  ‘You told me to wash—‘

  ‘In the sink! Get up!’

  ‘Wha—’

  ‘Get up!’

  So often Rushe told her to get on the bed, he’d never told her to get off it before. But she stumbled to her feet nonetheless.

  ‘Do you like it rough? Is that what gets you off?’

  With one stride Rushe got hold of her and lifted her off her feet to thrust her against the wall.

  ‘You enjoy that? You want me to force you? Is that it?’

  ‘No,’ she squeaked, knowing her tears were in free flow right now.

  With another jolt, he backed off, leaving her to fall to the floor. ‘Get up!’

  Walking her hands up the wall, Flick took her shuddering body upright using the support of the structure.

  ‘Take off the tee-shirt,’ he said baring his teeth.

  ‘Wha... What?’

  ‘Take. It. Off.’

  Rushe had always turned his back to give her privacy, but the huffing predator looming over her now was in no mood to be reasonable.

  ‘Bu—‘

  ‘Now!’

  Refusing him wasn’t an option, so Flick took her arms out of the sleeves and pulled it over her head. Rushe snatched the tee-shirt and tossed it aside while dragging his gaze all over her exposed flesh.

  After his perusal he leapt forward and grabbed the breast Skeeve had been groping. Rushe’s hand was bigger, and stronger, and the force of his action pressed her into the wall.

  He grabbed hold of her chin and forced her head up, still gnashing his teeth. His eyes were black as night.

  ‘You like that? Hmm? You want to be violated? You want me to take from you anything I want? To use you?’

  His hands left her body, and Flick sagged in relief. But it was abruptly halted when she heard the thrum of his jeans buttons being torn open. Flick inhaled but his elbows hooked her knees and she was again hoisted up but this time he spread her wide, opening her for his anticipated intrusion. Her hands leapt to his abs.

  ‘No, you’re too big!’

  Rushe’s shoulders lowered, and his blind fury receded to something else. Their position didn’t change. Still, he held her open. Her nipples heated against the fabric covering his chest, and Flick wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. So she took her palm to his rough jaw.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘Thank you. For bailing me out... again.’

  He didn’t say anything, but an amazement relaxed his expression in a way she’d never seen before.

  ‘Rushe?’

  ‘Your only objection is...’

  He didn’t finish the thought, but he placed her back on her feet and receded away. Flick flattened her hands on the wall. When he scanned her figure, his interest wasn’t as feral, but it was no less heated.

  For the first time Flick considered that he could be attracted to her. But as quickly as she had the thought she dismissed it.

  A man like Rushe would have no use for her. Her short, skinny stature wasn’t complimented by her breasts, which were completely disproportionate to the rest of her figure. A very generous C cup that would be normal on any other woman made her top heavy, especially with her tiny hips that Flick imagined would be no use for childbirth.

  The weight of her breasts often niggled her back, but now under Rushe’s scrutiny she felt proud of them for the first time; in hope that the sight could do something to ease the woes of her saviour in this tense situation.

  ‘What did you do to them?’ she whispered.

  ‘They’re unconscious,’ he said lowering his attention from her chest.

  ‘All of them?’

  ‘No one touches what’s mine,’ he growled, and took a step toward her that seemed to be involuntary. ‘You can cover up now.’

  ‘I know.’

  Flick wasn’t bold. Her confidence had been knocked so many times growing up that remaining in the shade of her sisters had become habit. But here in this room with this man that she trusted despite everything, she was happy to be on show for him.

  His eyes flicked up to hers, and that feral aura was back. ‘You don’t cower.’

  ‘Not from you,’ she said.

  ‘Do you want it? Do you want me to turn you out to them?’

  ‘No.’

  Rushe had been sure in every exchange they’d ever had; he was the most adamant man she’d met. But a question mark hung over his head now. With one more lingering gaze over her figure he turned on his heels.

  ‘Stay,’ he ordered and then slammed out of the room.

  Activity didn’t commence for quite a while. Then movement increased, but no one spoke. The light from the gap under the door faded, but no one came to her, not until it was all but gone.

  Rushe pushed open the bedroom door but didn’t wait for her. ‘Out,’ he ordered.

  Flick didn’t want to leave this space, but he gave her no choice. Wearing the jeans he’d bought her, Flick was more fortified against prying hands. Also, she’d opted to don the original black and red shirt he’d given her on day one because she got comfort from its scent.

  The televi
sion was on but no other lights were. The room was shrouded in only the glare from the screen. Rushe’s socks were thick protection against the bare boards, but she wasn’t sure what it was she was to do.

  ‘Here,’ Rushe barked. None of the men took their attention from the football on TV.

  Flick crossed to Rushe, and he snagged the shirt to pull her down into his lap – still they all watched TV. His hand fumbled, then paused.

  ‘Undo the bottom four,’ he said.

  She complied, and as soon as the buttons were undone his hand slipped inside to stroke her abdomen.

  ‘Pizza,’ he said. On the table was an open pizza box, two actually. ‘Eat.’

  Flick leaned toward the box, which made his hand drift upward and make contact with the underside of her breast. But he didn’t seem to notice. She sat up and ate the pizza slice with the heat of his hand thrumming against her stomach, and then it shifted up to her ribcage.

  ‘Get us a beer,’ he said removing his hand, kneeing her up to her feet, and then giving her rear a slap.

  At something of a loss, Flick went to the fridge, in hope that the bottles were there. Retrieving one, she went back to him. Rushe twisted it open and dropped the lid to the floor, then pulled her into his lap again. As he settled in the seat, Rushe took her backward to lean on his chest. With one hand around his beer on the arm of the chair, the other hand went back under her shirt, only this time it landed on her breast. Her nipple immediately pebbled, but if he noticed he didn’t react.

  She’d never in her life watched a football game and the more she watched now, the less she understood how it could transfix all of these grown men. Rushe slurped from the beer bottle then brought it around to touch her bare abdomen. It took Flick a moment to realise he was offering her the liquid.

  Flick accepted the offer and took a long slug, which nearly choked her when his hand squeezed her breast. The act had her squeezing her thighs together, and she realised she’d never done this. She’d never sat in the lap of a man, and certainly never one who’d claimed her as his property.

  Those other men didn’t look at her, or at Rushe, but from her furtive glances, she noted they all wore fresh bruises, which she could only assume Rushe had put there after the altercation this afternoon.

  Someone causing physical harm to protect her honour should shock and disgust her, but it didn’t. It awoke something in her gut, and though Flick knew it had to be against character, she turned her face toward Rushe, tucking her head under his chin. Looking at nothing was preferable to watching sport. As surprising as it was, this little nest was more than safe, it was her haven.

  The next thing Flick was aware of was being shifted from a seated position to a lying one. Blinking open her eyes she watched Rushe closing the bedroom door then shirking his tee-shirt.

  With the door closed, the room was in darkness, so he must not have realised she had awoken. He kicked off his boots and tugged open the buttons of his jeans. Before Flick had a chance to speak, he scooped her up and settled her body on top of his, which Flick supposed if they were going to end up in this position anyway it made sense.

  He stroked her hair as he had that morning, and while that hand rested on her crown the other found its way under her shirt. No accident this time when he patted her rump though the denim covering her was a barrier, and an unwelcome one she realised.

  The welcome intrusion came in the bulge that she’d become familiar with. The fact that it was there before they slept as opposed to when they awoke flattered her. On a sigh Flick closed her eyes and enjoyed the intimacy of this position, and then she realised... she was unfettered. For a man who told her to trust no one, he put his faith in her, and with a smile on her face Flick fell asleep.

  Chapter Three

  The next day Rushe stood guard while Flick washed. For most of the morning, she had stayed in the kitchen after Rushe had brought her out for breakfast. None of the men bothered her. Rushe gave commands, and she complied.

  But as soon as talk between the men turned serious, Rushe ordered her back to the bedroom. Flick had been more curious about what these men were up to, but it seemed Rushe didn’t want her to hear any of the details. When she got back to the bedroom, she pushed the door but didn’t let it close all the way.

  ‘Six days he said.’ She recognised Skeeve’s voice.

  ‘It’ll be longer,’ Glen said.

  ‘He’s got a week.’

  ‘We gotta go break some legs tomorrow,’ Skeeve tittered.

  ‘You’re not gonna break nothing,’ Rushe said. ‘You’re scared shitless of your own shadow.’

  ‘Fuck off,’ Skeeve replied.

  ‘Tomorrow’s when we get answers,’ Rushe said.

  ‘One way or another,’ Shiv said, ‘tomorrow’s gonna include a body count.’

  ‘Who gives a fuck?’ Rushe said. ‘We go in cool and get out – no looking for trouble.’

  ‘You skinned that last guy,’ Shiv said. ‘Who the fuck are you to tell us what to do?’

  ‘He pissed me off,’ Rushe said. ‘Don’t make the same mistake.’

  ‘Who put you in charge?’ Skeeve announced, and Flick heard the scrape of chair legs being pushed away from the table.

  ‘We let you get away with that shit yesterday,’ Shiv said.

  ‘You think you’re a gang now?’ Rushe asked.

  ‘Maybe we get rid of you we take control ourselves.’

  ‘Victor won’t deal with any of you,’ Rushe said.

  ‘If you’re not here he’ll have to.’

  ‘You think you can take me with that blade? Don’t make me laugh.’

  One thump followed another, and from the clatter Flick knew someone was on the floor. A crash implied furniture was being trashed, and the scuffling increased with the shouting.

  They were fighting, she recognised the weight of fists meeting faces, and he was out there alone – Rushe versus the four of them.

  ‘Get the blade,’ Skeeve shouted. ‘Hold him!’

  Flick spun and went straight for the drawer to retrieve the gun. Leaving the bedroom, she went directly to the kitchen with the gun outstretched. Splinters of wood were scattered, as were shards of broken crockery, but all of that was nothing to the gang blocking their victim from her view.

  ‘Let him go!’ she shouted, clasping the weapon in both hands.

  Skeeve and the Kid were holding Rushe down while Glen lay on his legs. Shiv was half up, half down on his way to an alarmingly vicious blade scattered on the floor a few feet away.

  ‘Hey little girl,’ Skeeve laughed. ‘You’re gonna be all ours soon.’

  ‘She’s not gonna shoot no one,’ Glen said.

  Shiv took a step closer to the blade and in reflex Flick shifted aim and pulled the trigger. She’d never shot a gun, and the kick sent her backwards, but the echoing scream of Shiv was what drew the attention of the room.

  ‘What the fuck!’ Skeeve hollered.

  The Kid fell away and Rushe pounced to his feet. He didn’t waste any time by pandering to the bleeding Shiv in a heap on the floor.

  Rushe came straight for her, seized her arm, and dragged her back to the bedroom. He slammed the bedroom door and stole the gun out of her hands. Simultaneously, he flung the weapon into the drawer and threw her down on the bed.

  ‘What the fuck were you thinking?’

  Flick saw the blood on his head and the bruise forming on his jaw. Clambering to her knees she snagged his jeans pocket.

  ‘You’re bleeding!’ she exclaimed.

  Releasing him she went down to the floor and pulled the bag he’d kicked under the bed from its place. On opening it she rifled for the first aid kit, but Rushe got hold of her and pulled her away from her job to toss her back onto the bed.

  ‘Answer me!’

  ‘I didn’t want you to get hurt,’ she said.

  ‘You came out there... you could’ve been hurt! You could’ve been killed!’

  ‘They wanted to hurt you!’ she said, getting onto
her feet on top of the bed.

  ‘You fired,’ he said. ‘You actually shot him.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Rushe’s arm darted out and swept her legs from under her. In that same moment he got her flat out on the bed, he was on her, on top, on the bed they’d shared. With bruising force his mouth came down on hers. The rasp of his stubble and the taste of his tongue was like nothing she’d ever experienced.

  Parting her thighs, Flick resented the fabric barriers between them. Taking his hair in her fists, she dipped her chin up to consume more of him; the rumble of his chest on hers drew a scratching screech from her throat.

  ‘Why would you do that?’ he panted, snagging her lower lip in his teeth. ‘Why did you come out there and put yourself in danger?’

  Between swallowed breaths Flick managed to speak. ‘No one touches my stuff.’ She couldn’t take her eyes from his mouth. ‘Kiss me again.’

  Rushe didn’t immediately comply. ‘You’re communicating that this is consensual.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That’s considerate of you.’

  ‘Kiss me again, Rushe,’ she said, letting her hands move to each side of his neck. ‘Please.’

  Commotion beyond their door continued, but it paled in significance to his mouth devouring hers. His hand covered her breast and she spread her legs further, hooking her feet around his thighs to urge her centre up while pulling him down. Wriggling, Flick massaged her own swollen tissues against his.

  ‘Rushe,’ she exhaled when he kissed down to her throat.

  While he tore open her shirt, he sucked on her neck with harsh need. The pain he caused only made her yelp again. Flick locked her ankles around him as he moved lower covering her breasts in hot, wet kisses. Scraping his teeth over her nipple, she squealed again and arched up into his mouth.

  ‘Rushe,’ she panted, and ran her hands through his hair, but he lifted up to pull off his tee-shirt.