Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (36 page)

20

Beth

Beth stared at the TV, not
really seeing the show, her mind too caught up with what had happened, or more
precisely, what hadn’t happened. Saul hadn’t raped her, but instead he’d yelled
at her, telling her that he wouldn’t say a word about Corey to Ant just as long
as she shut the hell up, then he’d stormed out, leaving her trembling, topless
and alone.

But
now she wasn’t alone. She’d been driven to a new place and dumped in a room
with two teenage girls. She glanced at the Chinese girl, who was shifting about
on the bed behind the couch, continuing to sniffle, the girl always crying. She
looked young, maybe Corey’s age, and didn’t speak a word of English, other than
‘no’, which she said a lot, and in rapid succession when any of the men came
near her.

The
Thai girl, sitting across from Beth, switched the channel to
E!
She was
also young, but didn’t appear to be upset, instead she seemed perfectly happy
as she sat back and started watching
Girls of the Playboy Mansion.

The
door opened on Beth’s right. Three men entered the room, the first being the
tall assistant she’d seen at the warehouse. He picked up the dinner dishes and
left, while Saul and a thuggish-looking brute with a leathery face walked
towards the Chinese girl. The girl scampered back, squealing, “No, no, no, no,
no—”

“Fuck
it. Leave her,” Saul said. “I’ve had enough of hysterical women giving me
headaches.” He glanced at Beth, giving her a sneer, then indicated with his
chin to the Thai girl. “Try her instead.”

Smiling,
the thug headed for the Thai girl, who had been looking at Saul in adoration.
Her expression changed into fear as she realised what was happening. She
started shaking her head, pointing her long fingernails at Saul, like she
wanted him instead. The thug grabbed her off the couch and lifted her over his
shoulder with ease. The girl started screaming and kicking, the thug sniggering
in response, “I’m gonna get me some Thai tonight.”

Saul
exhaled. “Sorry, Mack, looks like
she
doesn’t want you either.”

Mack
spun around, making the girl shriek. “It doesn’t matter what she wants, I’m
owed a fuck.”

“A
willing one, so put her down.”

“No!
You promised.”

“You
sound like a kid. It’s not my fault you’re damn ugly.”

“Shut
the fuck up, you cunt. The free fuck is part of my payment, so you have to give
me a chick.”

“Then
take Bianca.”

“I
don’t want that slag, I want this one.” The thug squeezed the Thai girl’s arse,
the girl screaming and wriggling in response.

“Then
take Sandra.”

The
thug’s gaze moved to Beth. “
She
looks like Sandra. Why don’t I just take
her?”

Beth
shrank back in terror.

“No,
she’s Dante Rata’s woman. He’s waiting in the main house for her.”

Beth
snapped to attention, Dante’s name almost making her cry out in relief.
He
was here to save her!

The
thug dropped the Thai girl, not caring as she crashed to the floor. “Fine, I’ll
take Sandra, though the bitch better not complain this time.”

Saul
shook his head, like he was sick of everyone and everything. “Gag her then.”

“Great
idea,” the thug laughed, heading for the door.

As
soon as he’d left, the Thai girl shot across the room, flinging herself at
Saul, who grabbed her into a hug, like he actually cared. It made Beth wonder
whether the men worked together: the ugly guy the bad cop, Saul the good one,
wearing the girls down, screwing with their minds, then their bodies. Though,
she didn’t understand why she was the exception to the rule, because Saul
treated her like crap.

Saul
patted the girl’s back. “Let go now.” When the girl didn’t, he tried to pry her
off him, but she held on tight, wrapping surprisingly strong legs around his
waist, not letting up even though Saul looked powerful. The girl started to
talk in her own language, her words taking on a pleading tone, Saul appearing
more and more frustrated until he finally snapped, “Let go!” The Thai girl
jumped off him, then dropped to her knees and went for his fly. He swatted her
hands away and headed for Beth, his expression now
really
pissed off.
“Up,” he grunted, “I’m taking you to Dante.”

Not
needing any coercion, Beth got to her feet. Saul directed her out of the room,
quickly locking the door behind him. He breathed out, like he was relieved to
be away from the Thai girl, something Beth didn’t understand, considering
Saul’s pants showed his arousal. A sudden fear hit Beth. Was he tricking her
about Dante being here, making her think he was taking her to see him, then
when she wasn’t expecting it, he would take her by force?

“I
wanna go home now,” she said, backing towards the exit.

He
followed her. “That’s not happening.”

“Take
me home!”

He
exhaled loudly, like she was just as much a nuisance as the Thai girl. “I can’t
wait until your time’s up, and it won’t be soon enough.”

He
was going to kill her!
She ran for
the front door, desperate to escape, because he wasn’t leading her to her man,
he was leading her to her death. Saul grabbed her arm and yanked her around.
She screamed and swung out at him, connecting with his chin, and making him let
go. She went for the door again. Saul ploughed into her from behind, bashing
her up against the wall.

“Stop
it!” he boomed, grabbing her arms. He yanked her around and jammed her up
against the wall. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Lemme
go, lemme go!!”

He
grabbed her throat. “Shut up. NOW!”

She
went still, unable to stop the sobs escaping, and not wanting to either,
because this was it. “Please don’t kill me, please don’t.”

“I’m
not going to kill you.”

“But
you said you can’t wait until my time’s up.”

“I
meant when you’ll be going home,” he said, letting her go.

“That’s
not what that saying means,”
you idiot!

“I
told you I was taking you to Dante, which doesn’t equate to topping you, though
it would do everyone a favour,” he spat.

“You’re
an arsehole!” she yelled, not able to hold it in any more, the man having scared
the life out of her.

He
grabbed her throat again, almost choking her. “You’re the most irritating
person I’ve ever met!” he yelled in her face. “You have no logic; all you are
is a stupid neurotic woman.” He pushed his lower half up against her, his
erection obvious. “You don’t deserve that face. I should carve it up to make it
as ugly as your personality, so I won’t want to fuck you every time I see you.”
He ran a finger down her cheek. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea.”

Beth
stared at him in breathless horror, unable to stop the warm trickle running
down her leg.

He
wrinkled his nose. “What the fuck?” He looked down, then jumped backwards. “You
pissed yourself?”

Beth
covered her eyes and started crying, everything too much to cope with.

“Look
at me!”

She
shook her head, too humiliated.

He
exhaled loudly. “I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean to scare you that much. You
just make me go crazy.”

She
wiped her eyes, still not wanting to look at him, the man her worst nightmare.

“Go
clean yourself,” he said. “The shower’s the far door on the left. Leave your
clothes in the basket and put on a bathrobe once you’re done.”

She
shuffled quickly past him, not looking up, the wetness below making her want to
disappear. She locked the bathroom door behind her and peeled off her soaked
jeans and underwear. Saul obviously thought she was stupid, because there was
no way she was leaving her clothes in any basket. Keeping her blouse on, she
stepped into the shower, cleaned her lower half with the shower nozzle, then
dried herself and got out. After pulling on a robe, she folded her jeans and
underwear into a tight roll, then headed for the exit. She went to open the
door, but hesitated, wondering whether Saul was still outside. She placed an
ear to the door, but no sound came from the lounge, not even the creak of a
floorboard. Maybe he’d left. She listened for another minute, wondering whether
she could make a run for it. Getting up the courage, she unlocked the door and
opened it slowly, wincing as it groaned on its hinges. Her eyes shot around the
room, but the big man was nowhere in sight. The couch was empty and the doorway
on the far side was open, making her wonder again whether he’d left.

With
one last glance around the room, she made a run for the exit, barely getting a
few paces before Saul grabbed her, the man jumping out from behind the door. He
spun her around and slammed her into the wall, making her drop her folded
clothes. She stared at the floral wallpaper in shock as he reached round her
front and tore her robe open, ripping her blouse at the same time, its buttons
falling to the floor. Squeezing her breasts, he ground his erection against
her, causing Beth to scream.

He
clamped a hand over her mouth. “Sssh, don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you, I
promise.”

With
his hot breath on her neck, he moved his other hand lower, his callused fingers
tracing a trail down her stomach. Beth’s eyes widened, her earlier thoughts
about him raping her returning. Frozen in fear, she continued to stare at the
wall, not believing this was happening, because he wouldn’t do this, he’d
turned her down at the warehouse—so this couldn’t be real!

“I’m
going to fill you up,” he said, playing with her entrance, “and make you scream
in pleasure, like you did with Dante.”

He
thrust a finger inside her, making her scream. He inserted another finger,
shoving them in deep, then started finger fucking her as he ground his cock
against her back.

“So
tight,” he moaned. “So fucking tight.”

He
ran his thumb over her clit, rubbing it, the pressure far too intense, pushing
her towards an orgasm she didn’t want. Horrified, she bucked against him,
desperate to get free, but instead of getting him off her, he moaned louder,
like he thought she wanted what he was doing.

“God,
you’re so wet.” He removed his fingers, the sound of him licking them
following. “Mmmm, you taste so damn sweet, I really want to lick you out so
bad, but I need my cock inside you more.” The sound of his zipper pulled down,
then he lifted her robe and pushed his hard cock between her legs, probing for
her hole.

Beth
let rip another scream, this one burning her throat. He jolted back, letting
her go. She continued to stare at the wall, her sudden release not registering
fully, her mind telling her to move while her body remained still.

“I’m
sorry, Beth,” he said, behind her.

His
words broke through her haze. She spun around, finding him standing a few feet
away from her, pulling his zipper up and looking pained. Speechless, she pulled
the robe tightly around herself, shaking from what he’d done. She’d had
fantasies of being raped, had dreamt of men using her body for their own needs,
but God, she would never fantasise about it again, because what Saul had done
wasn’t erotic, it was utterly terrifying. The feel of his hands on her body,
her inability to get free, his hard cock pressed up against her back, his
fingers penetrating her, then the sound of his zipper...

He
reached for her. “Please forgive me.”

She
stepped to the side, terrified of his touch. Even though the robe covered her,
she felt utterly naked.

“Please,
Beth,” he said, reaching for her again.

She
hit his hand away. “Take me to Dante!”

“I
will, just say you’ll forgive me.”

“No!
Take me to Dante!”

He
grimaced, but still nodded.

“You
first,” she said, not wanting him behind her.

He
turned and headed around the couch, exiting through the front door. He glanced
back at her as she picked up her jeans and underwear and followed him out into
the cold night air, his eyes almost mournful. She dropped her gaze, not wanting
to look at him. He’d assaulted her, yet he kept looking at her like it had been
the other way round.

They
slipped through the trees surrounding the cottage, then cut across a manicured
lawn, passing a swimming pool, the water looking like mercury under the
moonlight. They entered a large mansion, the warmth of the building not
stopping Beth from shivering. They climbed a curving staircase, veering into a
passageway on their right. Saul stopped in front of a door. “Dante’s in there,”
he said, opening it for her.

Beth
darted inside the dark room, relieved when Saul didn’t follow, the man instead
locking her in. She ran a hand over the wall, feeling for a switch, then
flicked it on. Light flooded the room, revealing walls draped in red along with
expensive artworks. Intricately carved furniture was placed around the room,
the canopy bed at its centre, and on it lay Dante, naked and with an arm slung
over the side, his body limp and unmoving.