The Man of my Dreams (9 page)

He was back in a few minutes and lifted her up in his arms, effortlessly carrying her to the bathroom. The bath was filled with rose petals and the scent of lavender. It seemed as though hundreds of scented candles burned everywhere. He very gently put her down onto a chair and started to unbutton her dress. She tried not to flinch or act scared in any way, but could hear her heart beating. It was so loud in her ears she was worried he could hear it too. But he was much too focused on the task at hand. He very carefully undid each button and then softly slipped the straps of her dress over her shoulders. They fell down, resting on her hips. His eyes were glued to her breasts and his hands trembled slightly. He reached behind her and expertly undid her bra and slowly pulled it forward and then pulled the straps down each arm. As his gaze fixed on her naked breasts she was more than a little terrified of what he would do next.

“So beautiful, as I always knew they'd be,” he sighed and looked up at her face.

She looked into his eyes and tried to smile, feeling very self-conscious and literally stripped bare. He lifted her to her feet and her dress fell to the ground. Luckily she wasn’t really showing and he didn’t notice that her stomach was slightly rounded. She was certain the pregnancy would have angered him. He slipped his thumbs inside her panties and gently pulled them down and then sat her down again as he pulled them over her feet. He stood there for what seemed like an eternity transfixed on her nakedness. She shivered and he noticed it.

“Oh, I'm sorry! Of course you must be getting cold.” He bent down and scooped her up into his arms again and lowered her down into the bath. “You have a nice soak there while I go and get everything ready.”

He bent down and kissed her on the forehead and then walked out, closing the door behind him.
Get everything ready? Get what ready? What has he got planned for me?
She placed her hands over her stomach as if protecting her unborn child. Maybe your father will save us if he really is the Ghost. God, I hope someone can save us!

He unlocked the bedroom and walked in. It was exactly as he had left it earlier today and he really didn’t need to do anything to get it ready for her. The bed was beautiful, cast iron head and tail boards each fitted with shackles to constrain his guests. The bedding was immaculate. Clean and wrinkle free and of course the sheets were tucked in using hospital corners. The quilt was eider down with an intricately crocheted white cover. His tool box was on the bedside table, open and ready to use. The picture of his dead mother and stepfather sat proudly in a frame next to it. All around the walls were his trophy pictures of his previous “relationships.” He hoped Cassandra would not be jealous. She had no reason to be, as he was positive that after tonight she would be his goddess and all those other faceless pictures would mean nothing to him. His excitement was growing again and he knew the time was right to go and get her out of the bath. He was ready for bed. He closed the toolbox, not wanting to spoil the surprise then hurried to the bathroom.

Chapter 18

Into the Lion's Den

The door to the bathroom opened and in he came, looking just like the cat that swallowed the canary. He bent down and pulled the plug out of the bath to let the water drain, then helped her out and started to dry her. Her head was spinning. What was next? There seemed to be no visible way out of this. Every window she'd seen had bars on the outside and all the doors deadlocked without the keys left in. No one escaped him. He made bloody sure of that. He wrapped the towel around her and led her out into the hall and down to his bedroom.

All the time her head was screaming
Run! Run!
But run where? There was no way out and he would catch her easily . . . and then his mood would change. At the moment he was kind and attentive and she didn’t want to anger him. She had the baby to think about. If possible, she wanted them both to survive this. They stopped outside his bedroom. He looked down at her and smiled.

“Ready?” he said.

“
Ready for what
?” Her head screamed but she nodded her head and tried not to look too terrified.

He opened the door.

At first she thought it looked okay. The bed looked lovely and room was very clean. But as she looked closer at the bed she saw the shackles and the tool box sitting on the bedside cabinet. It was closed and she dreaded to think what was in it. She looked around and saw pictures on the walls. She pulled away from him to go and look at them, stalling a little and showing interest in his hobby. Maybe he was a photographer and was going to take naked photos of her or something? She looked at first photo and had to stifle a gasp. God, it was horrific! Some poor woman, who was quite obviously dead, was posed in a seemingly provocative position, totally naked. She had bruises all over her grey skin, as well as welts, cuts and scars. Her dead eyes still showed the terror she must have been feeling when she died.

Cassie was trying very hard not to cry, but the horror of what she saw was taking over her body. She moved to the next picture and this one was worse! This woman had clearly been dead for a while before he had staged her for the photo. She was starting to decay and her eyes bulged out of her sockets. Her teeth looked hideously locked in a grimace. Her body was also covered in various welts and scars.

He looked concerned, as if he didn’t notice the macabre scene before him. She hadn’t gone hysterical like the others, screaming and trying to get away. Begging for their lives like little children. No, she was different as he knew she'd be.

“There are just so many . . . ” she said looking around the walls and back at him.

“Please don’t be angry, my love. You have nothing to be jealous of. They meant nothing to me. Merely building blocks until I perfected my craft and found that one person who understood me. I knew it was you as soon as I saw you, but you had a boyfriend. I had to be patient until you could give yourself to me completely. They were really just amusement for me while I waited for you.”

She forced a smile and then saw the frame on the dresser. She walked over to it and picked it up, almost dropping it when she saw the picture inside it. It was of two older people, a man and a woman, dead with their eyeless sockets staring out and their toothless mouths grinning. She knew one was a woman, as they were naked. Although the man’s genitals were missing, he was quite obviously male and the woman’s sagging breasts were a giveaway. She turned to him.

“Are these your parents?” She asked, actually wanting to know the answer.

“My mother and the bastard she married,” he replied.

He looked almost sad but was intrigued with her. She so far hadn’t shied away at all. Things were certainly looking up! He walked closer and took the frame out of her hands carefully setting it back down on the dresser. Then he removed her towel and let it fall to the ground. He took in her nakedness and his lower region started to stir.
Yes, this one will satisfy me,
he thought to himself.
Finally, tonight my feelings will be reciprocated.
He lifted her chin and kissed her very gently on the lips. She returned his kiss which made him almost lose control. He kissed her harder, more urgently now, feeling himself getting harder and harder. God, she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He could hardly believe it!

Cassie was doing her best to stay alive and keep her baby alive. She tried to act as if she enjoyed his advances, though inside she was cringing and crying out for someone to please help her before this lunatic killed her and added her photo to his trophy wall!

Chapter 19

Best Laid Plans

Something was wrong. He could sense it. Their bond was so strong and he knew she was in trouble. But how could he go to her like this? She wasn’t asleep or unconscious and would see him as he really was. Then there would be no hope of her ever loving him for real. The dilemma was tearing him apart. He needed to go to her, but needed that safety net— that gateway into the subconscious— to protect himself. If he must go as he really was, it would be only because he'd never let anyone hurt her. Not her. She was his everything and he'd protect her with every fibre of his being. She carried his child, and although the child was practically human he worried that Cassie would never be quite sure.

The child . . . of course! Why did he not think of it before? His son was his way in.

Cassie was getting desperate now. The situation was hopeless. How could she escape this man without harming her child and without having to do the unthinkable? If her dream lover was really the Ghost, then he'd come to save her. After all, she was the mother of his child and he said he loved her. But why wasn’t he here if that was the case? She was trying to think straight, but the nutter had his tongue down her throat and was touching her everywhere!

She tried to moan and feign pleasure all the while trying to devise a plan to get out of there. When did the Ghost come to save women about to be murdered? Usually when they were unconscious or on the brink of death . . . and maybe that was the key? He visited her in her dreams, so maybe the only way for him to help was through the subconscious mind. It sounded insane, almost as insane as her bedroom companion. But then, everything over the last six months had been wildly insane. Maybe if she could somehow make herself blackout without harming the baby, her dark haired man could save her?

Her captor picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto the bed. She was totally naked and felt on display and totally vulnerable. He started to put her hands and feet into the shackles.

God, it's starting,
she realized, starting to panic.
Think Cassie, think!
She screamed inside her head.

He straddled her, naked with his enormous erect penis hovering above her. He was quivering and getting very anxious. Cassie’s heart was beating overtime again and she was wondering what he was going to do next.

God how can I make this freak knock me out without killing me and harming my baby?

He leaned over toward the dresser, reaching for the toolbox. As he opened it with one hand, Cassie was sure he'd see the horror she found impossible to hide! His toolbox . . . God, it was exactly like an interrogator’s or torturer’s stash, filled with knives, a hacksaw, a power drill, various ropes, a Taser, a couple of gas lighters, pliers, secateurs, and a tool that looked like a leather punch. Okay, so now she knew what caused all those scars on those poor women hanging on his wall. But what was she going to do to avoid ending up as one of them?

Her mind was racing and she knew she'd better think of something soon. What if she could get him to choke her? Not too much so as to kill her, but enough to make her semi-conscious and give “Him” a gateway in. It was a risk. The nutter might go too far and kill her. But it was the only plan she had and dying by choking suddenly seemed a welcome idea considering the alternative!

He was deciding which tool to use first. He picked up the drill and then put it back down. Then he picked up the lighter and put it back down. He picked up the pliers and held them toward Cassie, as if asking for her input. She tried to act as calm as possible. She needed this plan to work. She shrugged and shook her head at the pliers, and he smiled and picked up the Taser. She faked a laugh and shook her head again. He picked up the rope. She pursed her lips as if in deep thought.

“Do you have something a little more feminine, like a silk scarf or stocking?” she asked, smiling.

He got very excited and jumped up, running to his dresser and pulling out a lovely cashmere scarf. He ran back to Cassie holding up his prize and looking very pleased with himself.

“Oh yes, I think I'd like that one very much,” she said, convincingly. “That's just what I like to start foreplay with."

He jumped back on the bed and quickly wrapped the scarf around her neck. He looked like a little boy all excited at opening his Christmas present! He straddled her once again and if his face wasn’t enough to show his utter excitement, then the size of his huge organ, which seemed to have grown yet another inch, definitely was!

“Okay, now remember, Sweetie, not too hard as to kill me but hard enough to almost make me pass out," cooed Cassie. "That's how I like it, just about to the brink of death. If you go too far you'll miss out on playing with all those other lovely toys and me showing how I can help relieve this swelling," she said demurely, looking at his penis. "We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

He shook his head like a little boy, giggling and carefully tugging at the scarf around her neck.

Cassie tried to relax, but suddenly saw another face in front of her, an ugly contorted face with veins popping out. It screamed at her,
You fucking little bitch, say no to daddy now, will you? I'll kill you, you fucking little whore. Just like your bitch of a mother. You deserve each other and after I kill you I'll go after her.

She started to panic and didn’t know what was happening! The scarf wasn’t even very tight yet. The ugly man disappeared and her captor looked puzzled at her expression, then annoyed. He began wrapping the scarf around each hand preparing to give her a good choking.

Then Cassie saw another face standing at the foot of the bed, a beautiful and reassuring face. He was smiling and had his finger to his lips as if to tell her to not give him away. But how was he here? She was still fully conscious, the choking hadn’t started properly yet. How was it possible that her dark haired man had materialized? She knew his conduit was an unconscious mind.

What did it matter as long as he came to save her? She smiled back at him, relieved and grateful, and waited for him to make his move.