Duplicity [Available on Radish]

Prologue

[Caution: mature content]

"You do as I say, understand? And you tell no one of this!"

The hulking beast of a man growled those chilling words into the face of the young woman crushed beneath him.

She couldn't respond if she wanted to. Her large, swollen eyes stared without seeing as he pushed and pulled inside her. Long hair clung to her pretty, flushed face, glistening with sweat and tears. Her bruised limbs jerked and flopped with every thrust of his rotund frame.

She had no more fight left in her battered body. No voice left to scream. What was the use? No one heard her before. Disaster if they heard her now.

"Sweet, merciful God," she prayed in her mind. "Strike me down now, so I shan't suffer one more moment of this absolute hell!"

But God was deaf to her plea.

Bits of spittle flew from his thick, slithering lips onto her face as he laboured away. That roused her from her stupor just enough for her to squeeze her eyes shut. She turned her face away in disgust. The stench! Oh, that sickening sweetness of rotting flesh, stale whiskey and sweat! No matter which way she turned, she couldn't escape the foul stench of him. It choked her even as large droplets of his sweat rolled from his thick jowls to drip onto her face. Her tears blinded her from seeing him too clearly. Yet nothing could shut out the searing pain of her innards torn apart. At any moment, she felt certain he would tear her in two.

Perhaps it would be better if he did. Kill her, that is. Anything to end this nightmare; end this foul desecration of her poor body. She couldn't bring herself to think of what would happen if she survived this night to face the morning. How could she face the reality of her own ruin? How could she face anyone after this? Those thoughts brought fresh tears when she thought she had none left to shed.

He must have read her mind, for, at that moment, he forced her to look at him. Years of decadent living made his eyes small and beady in a shapeless face. His thick fingers, covered in patches of hairs, dug into her jaw so tight she thought he might rip her jaw off. "You say anything to anyone and I'll have your beloved equerry hanged. I'll have him flayed alive while you watch. Then, I find you, and I do this again and again."

Of all his threats, this last one sank in. This nightmare would not end, she thought with dead certainty. Instead, he would use any excuse to torment her to the end of her days, however long that may be.

Just when she lost all hope, the monstrous beast thrust into her one last time, as he reared his gigantic head back. His thick neck strained as he uttered a strangled moan that sounded too delicate for someone of his bulk. Then he collapsed over her in a dead heap. She thought for certain this would be her end; crushed beneath his great bulk until she no longer breathed. But he showed her the first bit of mercy that night and rolled away from her. The entire bed shook and groaned under his shifting weight.

Somehow, she gathered her broken, battered body to crawl away from him. She winced in pain with every movement. Somehow she forced her boneless legs to move, to get off that bed and out of that room.

She ran!

Oh, how she ran! Her little bare feet made light slapping sounds on the polished stone floor as she sped down the long corridor.

So desperate was she to flee, she didn't feel the moment her toes stubbed against the uneven stone until she went flying across the smooth, cold floor.

Fragile bone dashed against unforgiving polished stone. A coppery sweet taste flooded her mouth. But she couldn't cry. She couldn't even utter a whimper when a bone-splitting pain shot up her leg. Yet she dared not make a sound for fear that pale, bloated beast might find her. Fear was much greater than any pain. She was certain he wasn't far behind, stalking her. Any moment, he would grab her and force himself on her again.

No! Not that again! Move! Flee!

With what little strength she had left, she crawled to her feet. A whimper almost escaped her folded lips when white-hot pain shot down her injured knee when she stood up. At least it made the rest of her pains dull in comparison.

No time for that. Go!

Step by torturous step, she forced herself to make her escape. It didn't matter where she went so long as it was away from him. Each step brought more pain, but the fear of what he'd do when he caught her again kept her going.

Then she heard his bellowing, sadistic laughter echoed through the cavernous corridors behind her. It grew and spread until the sound blanketed her in terror. This was nothing more than a cat-and-mouse game to him, and he was toying with her before the kill.

"You cannot run where I won't find you!" came that raspy voice. Oh, how she hated the odd inflexion in his voice. "I have not finished with you yet, my girl! It will be a long, long time before I'm finished with you!"

[Note from Author: This completed book will be leaving Wattpad for an opportunity on Radish Fiction. Since it's arrival on Wattpad in March, 2021, this book found such a warm reception from so many readers. For that reason a few chapters will remain here indefinitely. Perhaps you'll continue to read on Radish. Info with link in the last sample chapter and in my bio.

Thank you all for all your kindness and support! ]