Resetting the Balance: Part 2

PART 2: THE RECKONING

Chapter 3

My eyes can't fathom the image before me.

There he is; his limp body hanging from the ceiling of the florescent-lit room.

His wrists are tied tightly together with thick, splintered rope and hung on a hook above him. His t-shirt is ripped at the seams, baring his chest and mid-torso painted with discolored bruises and gashes from a clear beating of men. Blood steadily trickles down his abdomen, collecting piles of clots to the top of his jeans. Open wounds gush and welt on his side, and his head droops down his shoulder, one eye purple and another swollen shut.  A gag has been stuffed inside of his mouth, drool dripping on the edge of cracked, dry lips. His feet barely touch the ground, discoloration stemming at the toes, dirt spots seeping into denim as if he was dragged against yard shit and tossed in the trunk. He has been battered and tortured to death, as I requested, but his chest still beautifully rises at the slightest, up… and down, just for me.

Sudden shock rises in my system, adrenaline racing through my blood. I never thought I would see him again, see the fucker who had once caused my bones to tremble and my eyes to burn in the dark, who caused silent wails and shattered hopes inside my body. But looking at how fragile and weak he is now, so utterly defenseless and disheveled, how much he's been punished before I can dig my nails into his warm, supple flesh and rip out his lungs in one breath…

"You boys did a good job," I nod, a crooked devilish smile forming on my lips. The snakes slither back in their form and begin to feed. I roll my neck at their licks and hisses. "Quite a look for him, I'll say."

Both Seth and Jake had been studying me since the curtain was pulled away. I don't think they expected my praise, but surely, they must notice the woman that now speaks before them.

"Well," Seth walks over to the bar cart by the steel door. "We aim to please, my dear."

I hear him open his bottle of whiskey and pour the substance inside a couple of glasses. He then hands the glass to me, then another to Jake. I take it without a blink, unable to take my gaze away from the bloody, tortured inkling they call a man. I notice a tool cart close by the window screen inside the room; various knives and devices sprawled out for display and temptation. Some were coated with blood.

"Unbelievable," I whisper, taking a sip of the whiskey. The burn in my throat made me wet below.

"What do you need?" My boss asks.

I finally look at him and he's been standing on the opposite side of the screen, his back leaning against the curtain, soaking me in. Does he notice what this does to me? Does he sense the arousal in my tone?

I down the rest of the whiskey in one swift gulp, loving the sting that comes with the ferment. I stand and set the glass on his desk, shrugging off my jacket, revealing the rest of the thin strapped dress for both men to gawk at. I lift up my leg to place my heel on the edge of the desk, exposing the garter on my upper thigh. I reach for my cleaned, shined knives, and begin fastening them in place, one by one. I sense the hunger in each of their throats, the swallows and gulps of their lust.

"I have everything I need," I say. "Thank you, boss."

I then take my gun, check my load, and slip it in my holster. I smooth down my dress once I finish collecting what is left and begin walking towards the steel door, determined and ready.

"Take Jake with you," Seth orders from behind me, just before I reach for the latch.

I pause. I slowly turn around to face him, my eyebrows raised in fury. "Excuse me?"

He sighs, his hands dipping inside the pockets of his trousers. "I have some business to attend to. I won't be able to assist."

I scoff.  "Respectfully, sir, I don't need assistance. And I don't need supervision."

"This isn't a fuckin' request!" His eyes narrow into mine, jaw ticked, mouth tight, rage at the tip of his tongue. His presence grows, the dominance asserted, and he hasn't even moved an inch. I take a step back. "Either Jake goes with you, or I'll shoot that motherfucker in the head and you won't get to have your fun. Understood?"

He would do it; I know he would. He would take his gun under his desk, stride into that room, and shoot him in the head in front of me as if he was just a pea on his plate, quick and worthless. I raise up my chin, understanding my place. "Yes, sir."

I look at Jake who nods to our boss, shutting the laptop, placing it on the desk, and walking over to me. Concern continues to be etched in his brow, but I ignore the sight of it, snakes slithering along my chest and down to the weapons on my upper thigh.

Jake unlocks the steel door and holds it open for me. I'm about to step into the corridor, but Seth's tone makes me pause.

"And darling," my fiancé says. I look over my shoulder. "Make it count."

I smile at the love of my life. "Yes, sir."

***

A breeze crawls up my spine as Jake and I walk up the railing on the right to the door of the room. The small corridor vibrates with electricity while my heels click against the metal, or maybe that's the adrenaline coursing through my bones. I take a deep breath once I reach for the handle of the door, but fingers brush against my other wrist from behind.

"Did you love him?" Jake whispers.

My heart skips a beat.

I look over to Jake whose gaze sweeps over my lips to my eyes.

"I–" I begin to say, about to express how appalling that question was. But I close my mouth when his grip tightens on my wrist, his fingers traveling up and down my arm as if knowing what I need. I feel my blood pulse at the sight of his countenance; his eyes filled with utter warmth and purity; a love the heavens would swoon and cave for. If we were truly alone, he would kneel for me and tell me why he loves me. I feel my defenses soften at that.

"Does it matter?" I ask, truthfully. I look back at the door, my dark past becoming a beacon at my temple.

"It does," he says. His voice suddenly hardens, no longer needing the full answer. "I'll be here if and when you need me. You are in control. But I have you. I got you."

I nod once, building up my defenses and setting them back in place.

I turn the handle and open the door.

Chapter 4

My whole being begins to buzz at the sight of my ex's body up close. The snakes hiss at my temples, licks my cheeks, swirling darkness that stretches beyond soul, all painted red with gold trim.

"My, my, my," I sing.

He moans, his head rolling to the side to see who disturbed his rest. Once he sees the woman he had once beat, panic rises in his eye.

I tilt my head as he attempts to move his wrists to escape the ties. I admire each wound that keep him at bay, the blood dripping towards his musty toes.

I begin to circle around him, my heels echoing with each step, admiring his sculpted open flesh.

I meet his eye then and give a sinister smile. "Fear suits you."

I walk over to the collection of knives behind me, perfectly laid out on the tray for my arousal. I drag my fingers across each tilt and blade, including the ones coated with dried blood, taking one of them in my palm to feel its weight.

"I'm so glad you remember me, babe," I say. "I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten."

I hear him groan against the gag, a long one at that, as if pleading and requesting my grace. I release a chuckle, attempting not to be too giddy and reveal my glee.

I flip the blade in my hand and look at him as he struggles to move his feet in the air. He's hanging on by a thread, I see. "You've lost a lot of blood. You don't want to waste your energy." I smooth my finger across the sharp end of the knife, resisting the urge to run my tongue against it and taste the metal. Seth would love that. Instead, I press it to my lips, my lipstick marking the blade. "You think I wouldn't find you? You come back into town and think I wouldn't know?" I tsk, shaking my head. "Funny about the past; it always comes back to haunt you."

He groans again, twice this time, a pitch so grotesque it echoed in my brain.

The snake bites then. I blink, and he suddenly bellows and screams in agony.

Oops. I had thrown the knife to his right upper thigh.

He continues to groan in, thick saliva drooling out the sides of his mouth. I inhaled the sounds of his pain; they were such beautiful music to my ears. His torment drowns out the flashes of the past, and the thunderous storms brewing in the cave. I needed to hear it again. Yes, I needed more and more and more of his screams, his cries, his suffering. Please, yes, give me more. The snakes, they hiss, demanding more.

I breathe.

I then take a couple of knives from the tray, remaining stoic.

Jake has been standing sternly in the corner of the room. His eyes are calculated, but there's a slight twitch in his bottom lip, as if attempting to resist the urge to lick them at the sight of me. Is he turned on right now? He's never truly seen me in action.

I request Jake to remove the gag, and his heavy footsteps creates a shiver in my spine. He does what he is told, and I watch my ex spit a clot of blood from his mouth. His head still hangs low; his breathing is erratic and hoarse. Jake glimpses at me, and before I make another request, he roughly grips my ex's hair from behind and lifts his head up, exposing his throat for me. Blood spills from his teeth and gums, and I almost chuckle at that.

The karma is quite uncanny.

"I told you not to come back, didn't I?" I walk up to him, smelling the metal and iron of his demise. "I made a promise. I told you if you, I would kill you. I told you if you hurt someone again, just like you hurt me," I gradually drive the knife further into his thigh, his guttural scream becoming a delicious choir song. "I will come for you. I will tear you from limb to limb and feed you your own lungs."

Several snakes bite and I rip the blade out, plunging it into him again. I gasp in awe as he roars, digging it into his flesh until my nails seep in. "Do you hear them? Do you hear their screams? Cause I do." I pierce him again. "I heard them when I learned about Stephanie,” I do it again. “I heard them when I learned about Claire, and Daisha, and Maria." I slice up, twisting and clawing within. "I heard them when your ex-wife comes to me with a black eye and a proposition."

His eyes widen at that, and I smile without remorse.

I tear the knife out and drop it on the floor, dark blood pooling out of the hole. I then wrap my fingers around his throat and squeeze until my nails sink into his tissues, his mouth stretching open as he chokes beneath me.

"Yes. A proposition. And she doesn't even know what I do for work. Neither do you, do you? You thought I sat around and did nothing for 7 years? You thought you could claim to love me, beat me, and leave?!"

The snakes thrust their teeth into my bones. I force him to look into my eyes as I lift up my dress and slip out my gun. "I'm known to love the mess. I'm known to play with all my victims."

Then the poison sets in.

"And boy, do I have plans for you."

I clench his bulge and create a human feast, his organs becoming mangled meat pies by the end.

Several mintues must have past.

Hours.

My dress is covered in him.

The walls are stained.

My hands are crimson.

Red.

Drenched in blood.

And then Jake's arms encircle my body, the poison calming within.

Epilogue

I had stripped off my clothes within the dimly lit bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain, and stepped inside the tub. I've been washing away the blood and gore from my body, when I hear someone pull back the curtain and step in.

I turn around and watch his eyes trail along my naked collarbone, all the way down to my full, peaked breasts, my bare slick thighs; entire body. He closes the distance between us, his hands curving along my scarred torso and smoothing around my hips. I caress his broad shoulders as he touches my dips and folds, brushing my fingertips along his muscles—his biceps—water licking the fibers of his olive, tatted skin. He strokes my cheek to wipe off the dried specs of blood, trickling and fading below my chin.

He caves in first.

He crashes his mouth against mine, his tongue sweeping along the edges so I can fully taste his need. I meet his demands then, swirling my tongue against his own, moaning when he hungrily nips and sucks my bottom lip. I lick and tease him like a woman possessed. I lace my fingers around his neck, dipping within the strands of his hair.

But then he pulls apart.

Disappointment casts in my throat. I was about to have him get on his knees and suck me clean, but he lifts up my chin instead.

"How was it?" He demands.

He kisses me again.

"I made it count."

"Good," he nods.

He then moves us so my back is pushed against the shower wall, his grip still against my jaw. I gasp at this, the water now soaking the left side of my body. I feel it drench and clean away my sins, cleansing all the was laced and burned within.

He kisses me, roughly, his tatted fingers caressing my nipples, drifting below to knead the inside of my upper thighs. I slightly spread them open so he can feel the heat, aching for his hand to cup me. He groans at that, his fingers dipping to that spot between my legs.

I moan as he massages me there. He wraps his fingers around my throat.

"You didn't have to do it," Seth says. "I could have done it."

I look at him under my hooded eyes. I place my hand over his that rests around my neck. His fingers continue to lazily rub my clit, gathering its juices in his hand and feeding it to my folds.

"No," I gasp, almost breathless at the gesture. "It had to be me."

I bucked my hips closer, needing his two fingers inside of me, wanting him to take me deeply, mercilessly. But he stops, taking them away. I sigh at that, irritation cornering my belly.

"I saw what was left of the body. Jake told me what that fucker did to you, and the other women after." His jaw abruptly ticks and then suddenly softens, his shoulders shrinking as if shedding his defenses. "You're my fiancé.  Why didn't you tell me? I'm supposed to protect you, my love. I'm supposed to–"

He releases my throat and I press my hand against his cheek, my heart aching at his helplessness, the defeat in his eyes. "But this was before I met you. He was before I met you. You saved me when you trained me.  And you do protect me, baby. There is nothing you could have done. We both know I needed to do it. This was mine to bare."

He leans into my palm, takes it in his, and presses his lips to it, once, twice, three times. He looks at me, tucking a wet curl behind my ear. "You loved him, didn't you? The body…the torture…"

I release a breath. It's just him. It's just us in here. "It was obvious, wasn't it?"

A smile tugs on the corner of his mouth. "Well, the castration was…new. You might have scarred Jake. The clean-up crew too."

I chuckle. I can imagine the look on their faces, the severed dick on display, the mutilation of the corpse.

"There's my girl," Seth grins. "There she is. I missed her today."

I press my hand against his chest and drag my fingers along his soft skin, admiring the black ink printed along his torso.

"Well, I've been quite busy, haven't I?" I wink.

He brings my fingers to his lips. He kisses them, one by one, and then sucks two of them in his mouth. His tongue flicks and licks my skin as if cleaning what blood was left, his spit coating and dripping down my hand. I moan when he takes in another, his eyes lustful and thirsty. He knows I love the creamy mess. Once he finished, I spread his thick evidence around my plump nipples.

"You have, haven't you? You’ve done quite some good work today," He smiles. He bends down to suck on one, nips it between his teeth, and releases the bud with a pop.

"Fuck." He groans. He then clutches my wrist, spins me around so my arm is locked behind my back, and pins my cheek against the shower wall. I gasp, his chest pressing against my back. I can feel his thick cock harden from behind.

"But I still need to punish you for being difficult today. I haven't forgotten about your little attitude." He gestures me to spread my legs, and then spanks me. I gasp at the delicious sting, my clit pulsing to his touch. "Afterall, I'm still your boss. Business before pleasure, remember? We agreed, didn't we?"

His fingers caress my ass and find my soaked, swollen pussy. He dips his fingers inside of me, a satisfying moan escaping his throat at how wet I am for him. I whimper as he tortuously pumps them in and out of me. He's waiting for an answer. He'll stop if I don't.

"Yes," I moan. He curls his fingers and I cry out his name.

"Do I need to remind you who you are speaking to?" He teases. "Do I need to remind you who you answer to? Tell me. Say it."

He increases his speed, his thumb suddenly massaging my clit. I grind against him, bucking to the rhythm of his fingers, aching and craving for more.

"You, sir. You!" I cry out. "I only answer to you! Please!"

He quickly pulls them out and spanks me hard, the sound echoing in the shower, the sting a lovely surprise. "That's my good girl."

I then plead for him to kneel before me, to eat me, and fuck me with his tongue. I beg him to taste and suck my need, to take what he deserves until I scream and drench his mouth. He doesn't waste any time, quickly doing what he is told from behind. He kneels and spreads my folds open, his tongue diving into me until I come undone before him.

"Fuck me, now! I need you!" I demand.

He doesn't protest. He sinks his cock inside of me and confesses his love to me over and over again. He pounds into me like a beast starved, and I praise him until he releases, telling him how good he is to me, how good his cock feels inside of me, how deserving he is of my wet pussy until he begs me to take what is mine, until he fists my hair and insists on letting him cum. He doesn’t stop fucking me once I give him permission, plunging his cum deep inside of me until tears fill my eyes and I cum all over his cock, until he braces my hips and roars out my name once more, spanking me after each stroke, until my thighs tremble against his meat and become limp in his arms.

He whirls us towards the shower, holding me up, letting its streams bathe our bodies, drowning our faces to shed the lust. He reaches for the soap on the shelf and begins to wash the rest of me after he licks what's left of his seed.

He then shuts off the water, takes the beige towel from the rack, and begins to gently dry my hair. It's my favorite thing.

As I was about to close my eyes, he brings his lips to my ear. "Be careful with Jake's heart, honey," he suddenly says, smoothing the towel down my back.  My eyes widen. "I know you love him. I know you fuck him too." My heart races and pounds against my chest, its pulse thumping in my ears.  How did he…? "But he loves you just as much as I do. And like all things, there must be a balance."

I stare at the shower wall as if they could speak, my body rigid as he leans away, continuing to pat the towel down the rest of me. My breath hitches in my throat, and I attempt to swallow the bile, the callous rock against my tonsils.

"Is that understood?" He says from below me, calm and collected, drying my calves and upper thighs.

I nod, slowly, clearing my throat. "Understood."

How–

He wraps the towel around me and steps out of the tub. He obtains the ring on the bathroom counter that he must have placed before he joined me. I cautiously turn and eye the diamond reflecting its shine off the walls. He takes my hand and slips it perfectly into my finger, dried blood still apparent underneath the nail.

He brings it to his lips and peers up at me as he kisses the stone, his eyes both loving and dark within mine.

He then kisses my temple, and leaves.