Beloved Beast (3 page)

I
t was already
late into the night before Crissy finally fell asleep. After Ramon had conjured up a meal for them from crabs, scrambled eggs and beans, they went to bed. Of course neither of them could keep their hands off the other and they made love twice more before Ramon fell asleep, exhausted. Crissy kept on looking at him for a long time by the light of the candles. The more she looked at him, the more handsome she found him. The left-hand side of his face no longer shocked her. The scars began above his mouth and went up over his cheek to his ear, which was also stretched, as if in sympathy. His sensual lips had been left unblemished. When he slept he looked relaxed and almost boyish – as long as one did not look at his enormous body.

She had actually never been attracted to the body-builder type. These blokes, pumped up with anabolic steroids, were only half as strong as they looked – and stiff. Ramon, on the other hand, was very supple, in spite of his muscles, and he reminded her of a powerful predatory cat. He moved with a natural superiority, without in any way artificially showing off his muscles. The last thing that she thought about as she slipped into sleep was this incredible desire that he had aroused in her.

When she first woke up, she could not work out where she was. She was aware of the warm body beside her and turned around. Her eyes landed on the man next to her and suddenly the memories flooded back – Mario’s betrayal, the alligators, the rescue. The thought of her rescuer, who was sleeping peacefully next to her, made her heart beat faster. He had said that she was his prisoner. Would he really keep her here by force? That was actually not at all necessary, because she would never find her own way out of the swamp. All he needed to do was simply refuse to help her out of here. That was why he did not have a problem leaving her alone. He knew very well that she would never leave.

The fact that she had no intention of leaving him was quite another matter. She was actually not the kind of woman who gave herself to a man hastily. She had known Mario for three months before sleeping with him for the first time. She was still baffled by the fact that she was reacting so irrationally towards Ramon. He was like a drug – intoxicating her and removing all her self-control.

Crissy was itching to touch him. She bit on her lower lip. Her heart beating wildly, she reached out and touched a scar on the left-hand side of his chest. He threw open his eyes and looked at her. Without taking his eyes off her, he rolled over on top of her.

“Didn’t I tend to you well enough last night?” he murmured hoarsely.

She blushed with embarrassment.

He laughed.

“You shag like a whore and yet you still manage to blush like a school girl.”

“And you think that’s funny?”

He grinned mischievously and his eyes sparkled.

“I find you
highly
… amusing!”

Crissy glared at him angrily and wanted to push him away, which amused him even more.

“Let me go!” she demanded. “You can’t force me to stay here!”

He raised his eyebrows mockingly and shook his head.

“You still don’t seem to have got it. I found you, I wanted to have you and now your mine. I’ll let you go when I no longer find you
amusing
.”

“Bastard! Monster!”

“You’re angry because I’m dominating you. And yet that’s
exactly
what you want. You want to be pleasant to me so that I give you what you want. You want me to make you scream again.”

“You’re a …”

“What?”

“An arrogant ass-hole! And
no
! I don’t want you! Not any more!”

He put a hand between her legs and grinned triumphantly.

“So how come you’re so wet?” he teased.

He began to stimulate her and she tensed up. She did not want to give him a sense of satisfaction but he was superior to her in every respect – even to the extent of affecting her feelings. Her body, that was giving everything away, was already moving towards him lustfully. Tears of despair ran down her cheeks and he bent down to lick them off with his tongue.

“Don’t fight me, little Crissy”, he whispered. It’s a fight that you can’t win.”

“Put on the dress that I gave you. We’re going out for a meal.”

Crissy looked up from the book that she had been reading and looked at Ramon in surprise. He had been away for a while again and she had helped herself from the bookcase. She had decided on a political thriller that she had not yet read.

“Did you say that we’re going out for a
meal
?”

“I said just that. So be a good girl and make yourself look pretty, OK?”

“But … where are we going? There can’t be a …”

“You ask a lot of questions. Just trust me, OK? And now, get on with it. We don’t want to be late.”

“Late? Are we meeting someone?”

Ramon nodded at her impatiently.

“Just do as I’ve asked!” he ordered, and disappeared outside again.

Crissy stopped herself from saying what was on the tip of her tongue and put the book down. She took off her trousers and t-shirt and slipped into the tightly-fitting dress. Then she realised that she had no suitable shoes. She only had her trainers. Sighing, she decided to talk to Ramon about it. She went outside and found him by the boat.

“I haven’t got any shoes to go with a dress like this,” she said.

He turned round to face her and grinned at her before putting his hand into the boat and taking out a cloth bag.

“Here!”

She took the bag and looked inside. In the bag there was a pair of black pumps. She took them out and slipped them on.

“They fit!” she called with excitement.

“In that case I’ve definitely found the right Cinderella,” he said with a grin. “Come on now. Get in!”

Jeanette and Brodie lived approximately half an hour away by boat. They really did have a shop, just as Ramon had said. One could buy all sorts of things for everyday use, like household goods, weapons, tools, clothing, food and lots more. They were all second-hand goods, maybe even stolen, but Crissy did not dare ask about that. Brodie was a man of Irish descent, with red hair and green cat’s eyes. He was not much taller than Crissy and not as muscular as Ramon, but he looked sturdy and gave the impression that it was best not to mess around with him. He was about fifty, but still in good shape. His wife, Jeanette, was about Crissy’s age, so early twenties. She was clearly partly Asian, which one could see from her rich, black, straight hair and her almond-shaped eyes. Both of them had welcomed them enthusiastically and Crissy had helped Jeanette to clean the crabs that Brodie had caught with his fish-trap, and to prepare the meal.

With the meal there was beer that Brodie was keeping cool in water. Soon they were all a little tipsy. Ramon had put his arm around Crissy and she relaxed and put her head on his shoulder. Brodie was a very funny guy and each conversation ended in raucous laughter. Crissy was surprised by the change in Ramon. When he was laughing so happily he came across as a perfectly normal person. His domineering, slightly arrogant ways were suppressed.

After the meal the men disappeared to visit a friend who lived nearby. Crissy helped Jeanette with the dishes.

“How did you meet our beast? Is it true that he found you?”

“He saved my life,” answered Crissy. “My ex-fiancé had tied me to a stake in the swamp for the alligators to eat me. The beasts would have managed it if Ramon hadn’t turned up just in time and saved me.”

“A nice ex-fiancé you’ve got there,” stated Jeanette with a grin. “But it was fate, so that you could meet Ramon. You’re doing him good.”

Crissy looked at Jeanette.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s so much more relaxed. I’ve always found it tragic that such a superb man is hiding away here in the swamp. He’s scarred inside as much as on the outside.”

“How did it happen? A fire?”

Jeanette nodded.

“Yes. He got it with the wrong crowd. For a while he was involved in dodgy business with the Mafia. Ramon is of Spanish descent but somehow he had more contact with Italians, which is how come he became involved in their affairs. He made a lot of money, had everything that a man could wish for – a huge villa, cars, women. Then he met Angel. He fell in love straight away and married her immediately. Soon after, she got pregnant. When their daughter was born Ramon wanted nothing more to do with the dodgy business. The Mafia wasn’t happy with his decision. They set his house on fire. Ramon tried to save his wife and child. They were in the room where the fire started. There was no hope of saving them, but Ramon still threw himself into the flames. His servants dragged him out of the house by force. Otherwise he would have died – with them.”

“Oh my goodness!” cried Crissy in horror. “That’s awful. What happened after that?”

“He was in hospital for ages. When he was released he wanted to kill himself. Brodie was in town at that time, picking up a few things. He found Ramon. He had tried to poison himself in his car. Brodie found him just in time. He had already passed out. They became friends and Ramon came here. He didn’t want anything else to do with the outside world. Also, he couldn’t deal with peoples’ reactions to his appearance. He looks hard and brutal. But inside he is just an injured man. I know him well. He’s totally in love with you. Obviously he doesn’t want to get hurt again, so he’s probably very rough and domineering – am I right?”

Crissy nodded.

“Yes, that’s what he’s like!”

“He just doesn’t want to lose control, that’s all,” explained Jeanette. “He’s a hard guy, but one who’s worth fighting for if you ask me.”

Crissy’s heart beat furiously. The story had moved her deeply. But the thought that Ramon may have feelings for her was somehow unsettling. Did she even want that? Was she ready for a man like him?

“Let’s get another beer,” said Jeanette cheerily. “It may be a while before the guys get back.”

When the men finally returned they were very flustered.

“What’s happened?” asked Jeanette.

“Crissy and Ramon have to get away from here,” said Brodie. “Spider’s found out that someone’s looking for a girl. A strange bloke has started asking various people questions. Spider thinks he’s been sent by the Mafia. Somehow they’ve found out that Crissy wasn’t eaten by the alligators. Now they’re looking for her. Her name wasn’t mentioned, but Spider could work out from the stranger’s bizarre questions that they’re looking for a small girl with blond hair. She’s supposed to have run away and her family’s looking for her, but obviously that’s a lie.”

Crissy looked at Ramon with a mixture of disbelief and horror. He put his arms round her and kissed her on the forehead.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone get near you.“

“But what are we going to do?” Crissy asked.

“I’ll take you to Brazil. We’ll remove all traces of you and no one will follow you. Everything will be fine.“

“Brazil? But that’s a really long way away! Can’t we simply …”

“No! We’re going to do as I say. I know what I’m doing. If you want to survive then you must do exactly as I say every second of the way. Your life may depend upon it – both of our lives, to be precise. Do you understand?”

She nodded. Did she have any other choice? If Mario’s family was looking for her, then her life was in danger again. Ramon was risking his own life by helping her. So it was only fair that he should decide on the rules. She really did trust him to know what needed to be done.

“I’ll go to the hut with Brodie to pick up some things, then we’ll get away from here. We have to go further into the swamp.”

“I’ll get some weapons,” said Brodie grimly, and disappeared with Jeanette.

“Do we really have to go further into the swamp?”

Ramon pulled her into his arms.

“Are you afraid?”

“Not when you’re with me,” she whispered.

He kissed her – firmly and with underlying haste. She could sense how concerned he was. She was, too. The threatening danger gave her an adrenalin rush. She rubbed herself against him longingly.

“We haven’t got much time,” he murmured.

He held her in his arms and she held onto a tree. No one could see them from the hut. Ramon pushed her dress up and entered her from behind. It took just a few firm thrusts to make them both explode. He put his hand over her mouth to suppress her scream.

When Brodie and Jeanette came back, Crissy and Ramon were still hot and out of breath.

Brodie shook his head and Crissy blushed deeply. Jeanette winked at her. Crissy was sorry to lose her two new friends. But at least she had Ramon. At the moment nothing was more important to her.

“Right then,” said Ramon finally. “Let’s go, Brodie, so that I can get away from here with Crissy.”

“You women go into the shop and hide. Jeane, take one of the hunting guns and if anyone turns up here that you don’t know – shoot them! Do you understand?” asked Brodie.

Jeanette nodded. She took Crissy by the arm and pulled her away.

Crissy looked uncertainly at Ramon and he nodded at her.

“Go!” he mouthed.

The men had been gone for nearly half an hour when a humming sound signalled the approach of a motor boat. Jeanette took hold of her weapon and the women exchanged silent glances.

“No one that I know or trust has a motor boat here,” whispered Jeanette.

Crissy’s heart began to beat faster.

“You mean, we’re in trouble?”

“Looks like it,” mumbled Jeanette and she released the safety catch on the gun. 

She peered through a gap in the wood and saw a boat being secured to the small jetty. A man was getting out and looking around. That must be the man who was asking about her everywhere. Crissy’s heart was pounding so loudly that she was afraid that he would hear it.

“Hello?” came the man’s voice. “Helloooooo! Is anyone here?”

He strolled over to the house. They saw his hand move to the back of his jacket. He must have been hiding a weapon there, ready to fire.