Free Reads!! Wednesday Briefs – Innocence & Carnality Part 24

Welcome to the next part in my Wednesday Briefs flash fiction serial, Innocence & Carnality! Each chapter has to be between 500 and 1,000 words and this week I skipped using a prompt. Don’t hate me, it was all holiday related and didn’t fit. lol

An unexpected encounter.

Click here to start from the beginning

Part 24

The hand on my arm spun me, facing me with a stranger. Towering over me, the man was unshaven with the clothing of a local businessman—less than a lord, but more than a peasant.

“Aren’t you a pretty one.”

Without releasing me, he took a step forward, which I matched, shifting away. I was already unsettled from being slapped with the reality of Rother’s business, but now a new kind of wariness began to take hold. His lidded stare raked me from top to bottom as he licked his lower lip.

His coarse chuckle made my spine shiver. “No one said Delaga House had acquired new stock.”

I was still reeling from the knowledge of my husband’s illegal gambling house. Now, a new sensation took hold. Everything about this man made me feel like skittish prey. Nothing felt safe and his lock on my arm instilled a growing need to flee inside me. I couldn’t find the words to respond. My skin crawled from his body heat’s proximity. He kept advancing and I kept retreating. So intent on creating some distance, I hadn’t realized he’d herded me into the kitchen pantry. It’s tight confines did nothing to ease my fears.

His dirty smile grew as he groped himself with his free hand. “C’mon, boy. Let’s you and me head upstairs where I can give you a proper rogering.”

Excuse me? I wasn’t clear on the vulgar term, but his actions said all I needed to know. The unease flared into unparalleled disgust. Furious, I wrenched my arm out of his grasp. The practiced sneer on my face couldn’t be taken as anything but offense.

“Even if I had such an inclination to do that with anyone here,” I scoffed. “It certainly would not be with the likes of you.”

He snarled even as his backhand struck me across the cheek faster than I could track. My head jerked to the side and struck something hard. Pain flared across my face and temple. Jars rattled on the shelf as my legs buckled and I felt myself collapse to the floor.

“Little pissant bastard!”

Only my father had ever struck me so hard. My first instinct was to curl up and take my punishment; it would all be over soon if I was patient. The memory of laying bruised and battered for hours on the cold stone tile welled in me. I recalled the first time my father vented his fury on me after my failed attempt at removing the chastity belt. I could still hear my mother’s feeble advice: Weather out the storm, it can’t last long.

But my father wasn’t here anymore. Lord Arthur Valencus lost his power over me the second the Vicar pronounced Rother and I wed. Never again. I no longer needed to accept it. Dazed and disoriented, I refused to lay back and take this abuse any longer.

A swift kick lifted me briefly off the floor, stealing my breath and stalling my revival.

“You think you’re so much better than me?—Agh!”

The stranger’s scream startled me. I threw my arms over my head to protect myself as a series of shouts and crashes rained above me, making me flinch. Head swimming, each inhale froze as I struggled to make my lungs work.

The noises settled as my gasps relaxed and I found breath once again. I opened my eyes and when the world stopped spinning I was stunned by the sight.

The stranger’s feet dangled a few inches above the floor, his heels rattling the food stock on the shelves. Gasping for air, he made a futile effort to dislodge Blythe’s enormous hand gripping his throat.

“What the hell you think you’re up to?” The otherwise rugged lines in Blythe’s face were etched deep and his skin flushed red. He was incensed. Every muscle in his body tensed, swollen in rage. I feared his garments might burst the seams. Blythe’s size alone could intimidate the strongest man—but as livid as he was—I worried the man in his grasp would wet himself involuntarily. Even so, he struggled to maintain his dignity as he was held aloft and helpless.

“I paid my money,” the stranger hissed. “I was told I could have any of them I wanted.”

If it was possible, Blythe’s anger swelled beyond its previous state. He shook the hapless idiot, shouting in his face as he pointed at me with his free hand. “He is not one of the whores!”

The burning ache along my cheek lost its importance as I absorbed his meaning. Vivian chatting with wealthy businessmen. Male employees being the best friends of the clients. Let’s you and me head upstairs where I can give you a proper rogering. My initial assessment of Rother’s holdings was far broader and far worse than I imagined.

“How would I know?”

“You ask, you stupid shit,” Blythe snarled.

“Let go of me.”

Blythe lowered his voice, his face so close, each harsh syllable brushed the stranger’s skin, making him wince. “Shut it before I remove your balls with my bare hands and let him kick the shit out of your skull.”

Each growling word held a promise of violence. It frightened me, yet bolstered my confidence to have such a man defending me. I hadn’t expected such a show of loyalty from Blythe. My first impression of him held little positive details. Perhaps I was beginning to evolve after all.

It all balanced on a thin edge. The stranger fixated on Blythe who looked moments away from committing a murder. I had to remind myself to breathe.

One of the waiters appeared in the doorway and stopped. His eyes grew wide as he took in the scene before him. Blythe wasted no time getting his full attention.

“Go get Samantha! Now!” he barked.

The waiter startled and dashed off with an anxious nod. Blythe had yet to release the stranger. I had no idea what would happen next.

Check back next Wednesday for the next installation… Be sure to take a read at the other briefers free reads this week here: Wednesday Briefs