God, what had he stepped into?
For the next two hours, Solomon laid with her, humming the same tune he’d hummed the first time when she had bad dreams. He tried to keep himself awake by mentally going over all the crap he still needed to do between helping this woman and tending to Miss Mary. It was a real bad time for this zoo debacle he had going on. Twelve traps would need checking on top of everything else. His overachieving ways were biting him in the ass now. He’d just not bait them all again.
Solomon froze at the sound of scratching on the front door. He lay there, still, listening. The scratching came again, sending his heart into his stomach. Very carefully he untangled himself from Chaos and tiptoed to his gun. Avoiding the floorboards that creaked, he made his way to the door, steering clear of the window. Getting the gun ready in one hand, he quickly undid the dead bolt and threw the door open with a bang, barrel aimed.
His gaze quickly dropped to a pure white wolf sitting there with his head angled at him just beyond the screen door. The oddity only added to the hammering in his chest as he stared at it before leaning his head closer to the door. Solomon took his time combing every tree in the vicinity for its owner.
The wolf made small whining noises in his throat now. “Shoo,” Solomon whispered. “Get.”
In wolf that apparently meant welcome my friend, this porch is your home, lay and rest a while. Solomon checked the vicinity again for its master. No wolf that beautiful and that tame didn’t have one. What did they want and what were they doing this close to his home?
Solomon shut the door and locked it, fully expecting its owner to show up for it if it was merely frolicking in the woods, which he doubted. He put the shotgun next to the bed and turned to check on his sleeping patient, jumping at finding her sitting up in bed, faced forward, nakedness exposed.
Jerking his head to the right, he used his peripheral vision to guide his steps toward the bed. “Chaos?” She didn’t move, and Solomon snapped a couple of times toward her. “Hey,” he whispered.
“The Desecration of desecrations must go on,” she gasped.
Dread pulled his gaze more toward her, needing to see if she were sleeping. “Chaos?”
Her sudden scream jolted him into action and he got on the bed from behind and grabbed her shoulders. The second he touched her she gasped like she’d been holding her breath.
Jerking toward him, Solomon barely managed to escape seeing her breasts.
“You’re dreaming,” he gasped, holding a hand up to his face to block the view. “Was just a dream. Please cover yourself.”
She made a shocked sound as though just realizing.
“You sat up and said something then started screaming. Are you covered?”
“I… yes. What do you mean? I don’t… I can’t scream.”
He finally looked her way, confused. “What do you mean you can’t scream? Who said you can’t?”
She moved the towel more securely over her chest and Solomon’s gaze fell on the discolored skin near her neck. Was there was any part of her that hadn’t been abused? “I mean I… I physically can’t.”
“Well you just physically did.”
“I did?” she whispered, sounding amazed. “I screamed?”
“You did,” he nodded, sitting slowly on the bed several feet from her, still shaken. “You said… something about desecrations.” She lowered her head then. “You remember?”
She shook her head. “Not really.”
He turned on the bed, facing her more. “Chaos… talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
“What do you mean?” She asked this without looking at him.
“I mean, where are you from? Where is your family? Aren’t they worried about you?”
She shook her head. “Don’t have family.”
He shook his head. “What are you hiding Chaos? I know you are hiding something.”
She looked at him. “How do you know?” she asked, seeming curious.
“I can feel it in my gut and hear it in your voice.”
She seemed satisfied with that and looked at her lap. “Can I… promise to tell you later?”
“When?”
She gave a small shrug. “When it’s… not so fresh.”
“I just want to know where your family is.”
“I can’t,” she whispered.
The distress in her voice made Solomon feel like a dick. But he had to know. “When do you want to go home?” She again shook her head. “You have a home, right?”
She responded with more mute staring into her lap.
Solomon gave a sigh. “I’ll make a deal with you. You get to stay here for two days and then you have to go home. Or talk, one or the other. Deal?”
She didn’t answer right away then finally nodded. “Deal.”
****
Two days. Chaos had two days to come up with some kind of plan. Plan for something. She didn’t know what. She didn’t know how. She wasn’t even prepared as a woman, how was she supposed to? And the way he acted around her nakedness wasn’t helping. He didn’t seem the least interested in that aspect of her which added more worries and fears to her problems. That was not once considered, not by her. All men wanted her.
She knew a few things and used those to help her. The window for the sacrifice was a month this time. The sacrifice needed to be prepared. How long did Master want or need for that?
Even as she wondered it, the sound of steps fell on the porch outside. Her breath stilled in her chest and she became like a corpse in the bed, straining to hear. Maybe it was Solomon. Back already. He’d just left only thirty minutes before to go check on the old lady. And his traps. He could have forgotten something.
The urge to hide, hit her. The bathroom. She crept her crippled limbs to the edge of the bed realizing she’d never make it quickly. Scratching sounds on the door froze her in her tracks. She angled her head, listening. The whine and yelp of a dog came next. Heart hammering, she detoured her slow steps to the window near the door.
Finally at the edge of the window and covered in sweat from the walk, she stifled her ragged gasps then barely moved the curtain with a trembling finger. A flash of white fur prompted her to open it more. A wolf. She gave a gasp at the brilliant white coat with eyes the color of… Solomon’s.
Hobbling in agony to the door, she unbolted the lock and opened it. Holding onto it with all her might now, she stared at the wolf, suddenly realizing it could be dangerous. At seeing her, it sat and angled its head with little whining sounds.
She gasped, looking around for its possible owner. “Are you hungry?” she suddenly wondered. “Is that it?”
He crawled his way to the door, staying on his stomach then pawed the air.
Chaos laughed. “Are you trying to shake hands?” She gasped as she took another step to open the screen door. Very slowly she knelt down, her muscles quaking. And just how was she going to get up? “You’re a nice boy?” It occurred to her then why he was so nice. “Are you Solomon’s?”
She gasped a laugh when the dog whined more, putting his snout on both paws before lifting his head up and giving a bark that startled her. “Okay, okay.” The dog suddenly slipped inside the house and Chaos gasped. “What are you doing?” she whispered, crawling her way inside and shutting the door. Now to manage locking it. “I bet Solomon doesn’t like you inside.” She clapped her hands. “Get over here,” she called, smiling.
The dog went to the fireplace and laid himself before it, then lowered his head and closed his eyes. He was ignoring her! Chaos stared at him with her jaw dropped. She looked up at the door handle and used it to drag herself back to her feet. Oh God. The need to vomit hit her as the pain pulsated through her muscles and head.
Angling her head to her company she gave a half smile, “Aren’t you right at home? Do you help Mr. Solomon catch his animals? Is that it?” Chaos made her way from one piece of furniture to the next until she was at the bed. The dog suddenly got up and jumped on the bed with her. “Real
ly? Is that where you sleep?” she said with shallow breaths. “Right with Mr. Solomon? Is he a good master to you? I bet he is,” she murmured, closing her eyes and scratching the fur at his ear. “Did he send you here to watch over me? He is very protective, isn’t he?”
Chaos’s cheeks warmed at remembering how he’d helped her get the gown on. She was curious at how he behaved around her nakedness. She’d hoped to see him interested but he seemed extremely… not, making it an obvious point to not look at her nakedness.
As part of her training, she’d been required to please all the men in the Order. But they were not permitted to touch her virginity or even speak to her. They put their life rods as Master referred to them in her rectum or mouth, the only two orifices permissible. Grandmother called them penises and Chaos heard the men call them cocks. She called them devil larva. They seemed so harmless when small and soft until demons possessed them. Then they bit her like serpents everywhere they went.
It was hardest when she was required to please so many men. It always made it so she couldn’t use the bathroom for several days and then Master would have to use that small black hose to make her go. It always made her throw up. But those times only happened once a week on Desecration days.
She was so happy to have that training done. Now, the only one she was required to pleasure was Master. And she didn’t mind that. He was brutal but she was still more comfortable with only him. And even when he hurt her, he was so very remorseful. Sometimes he cried and it made the pain more bearable. He had to do it, it was required for her to become what she was.
Knots formed in her stomach at remembering her task and not being ceremonially prepared.
The sudden need to forget that had her on a painful journey to the fridge to get her company something to eat. She pulled out the only things she saw, the leftovers, and brought a large bowl of it to him.
He dove right in making it worth the five minutes of agonizing hell it took to get it. “So you were hungry, weren’t you?” The words wisped as she struggled to catch her breath. “I hope Solomon won’t mind that I fed you our supper. Maybe I can surprise him and cook something? I bet he thinks I can’t cook.” But the idea of moving another inch made her ill.
She looked around, really wanting to do something to show her appreciation for all he’d done. There was nowhere in her training that Master indicated she couldn’t be kind to the sacrifice. Chaos’s gaze paused at a picture on the fireplace mantle.
She fought her way to stand, sure it was a photograph of a woman. Hobbling slowly over, she held on to the ledge and stared at the smiling face. Wow. She’d thought Solomon was pretty but this woman… maybe she was his sister. She was too young to be his mother. And since the sacrifice was a virgin, she couldn’t be anything else.
And yet… something in Chaos said she was. Something else, something more.
Chapter Nine
Her entire body burned and screamed for her to lie down and she made her painful three step journey back from the picture on the mantle. Sitting on the bed again, Chaos found herself imagining doing for Solomon what she’d done for the other men in the Order. Before she could stop, her mind had him in the chair by the bed, the one he’d fed her from. He was naked and very beautiful with his legs open and those brilliant blue eyes watching her while she sucked his manhood with practiced perfection. She watched him in her mind as his face filled with that special pleasure.
She suddenly gasped and swallowed, imagining how he would feel under her hands. She was permitted to touch the men but never liked to. She only did because it seemed to make them go faster. But with Solomon… imagining her fingers stroking his inner thighs made her breathless. They would be warm and strong she was sure, like his hands. And his manhood… it would be so very hot. Maybe she wouldn’t go so fast with him. He had gone so very slow for her. So very carefully. She could do the same, make the gift last longer.
The dog made a tiny moaning noise, snapping Chaos out of her daydream. She glanced at him and he licked his snout, his head angled like he was waiting for something.
“More?” No way was she getting up again. She remembered Solomon’s strict orders to stay in bed except to eat, drink and use the bathroom. Her stomach did funny things at remembering his words. They had been firm. She liked the way his voice sounded when it was firm. And angry for her. It made her feel… safe. “You mind scooting over?” Chaos lay on the bed and the dog got up and seemed to make room for her, plopping down after with his head on her leg.
“Aren’t you just a sweet puppy,” she murmured, her body aching in every pore. “Master never let me have pets. Said it was a distraction from my lessons.” She stroked the soft fur at his ears. “Master is very smart, I think you’d like him.”
The dog made a noise in his throat that sounded a lot like he disagreed and Chaos giggled but only in her mind. She was too weak to do more than that.
Chaos must’ve fallen asleep because she woke to the bark of the dog. Pain exploded in her body as she fought to sit up. Looking to the door, she shushed him.
“Jesus Christ,” she heard Solomon say. “Chaos, are you okay?”
The sound of fear in his voice sent her limping in agony to the door. Was somebody out there? Terror pumped through her at the idea Master might be. By the time she got halfway to the door, she knelt by the dog and held on to him, unable to go any further. Fear had her dazed and confused as the door cracked open.
“Chaos answer me!”
“I’m here,” she called.
The door pushed open more and he stared at her then the wolf. His intense blue eyes made her muscles clench with too many emotions. “How did it get in?” he asked staring at the wolf.
“I let him in, I didn’t think you’d mind I thought… you’d sent him home maybe.”
Solomon’s face screwed up as he continued staring at the wolf now wagging his tail. “That’s not my dog. Or wolf,” he exclaimed.
Sudden terror shot through Chaos as she looked at the dog who then licked her in the face. She fought to stand and Solomon laid his gun on the floor and scooped her up in his arms. As usual they were warm and strong as he carried her to the bed. He smelled of light sweat and Chaos wondered what it might taste like on his skin.
She stared at him as he fixed her feet and legs just right. “I thought he was yours,” she whispered. “He was on the porch scratching at the door. He was so friendly I assumed…” she regarded the dog now sitting obediently. “He was yours,” she finished. “He came right in and laid at the fireplace then jumped on the bed like he was right at home.” She gasped, winded like she’d run five miles. “And then he slept with me!”
His brows shot up, the whites of his eyes showing. “He slept in my bed?”
“I didn’t know.”
Solomon marched to the door and opened it, pushing open the screen door and pointing. “Out.”
The wolf angled his head and moaned, not moving.
“He was… very mannered,” Chaos said, not wanting him to leave. “He took good care of me.”
“This is somebody’s wolf, Chaos. He’s highly trained, as you can see.”
“Then… he probably knows where his home is. And will return when he’s ready? Let him visit,” she barely whispered. “He protected me while you were gone.”
“And what if his master shows up here looking for him while I’m not here? And sees a woman alone and decides to take advantage?”
It was his anger for her again. She didn’t know why it suddenly affected her more than ever in that moment and her earlier ideas of showing appreciation flashed in her mind. Chaos looked away, fearing he somehow might see it in her eyes. And she wasn’t so sure she even wanted to do that now.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice lower as the wolf whined. “I don’t need your opinion, thank you very much,” Solomon muttered to the wolf, walking to retrieve his gun off the floor and placing it in the rack over the fireplace. He turned and those bright eyes landed on her, making her tense
up. He suddenly covered his face with both hands and groaned. “I need a shower is what I need.” He practically fell into the chair by the bed and let his head drop back. Chaos noticed the condition of his clothes. His blue jeans were covered in mud and wet up to his knees. Her eyes found their way to his neck at the top of the white t-shirt where the skin glowed over thick muscle.
He brought his head forward then. “I’ll heat your dinner as soon as I get out,” he said, kicking off his boots and putting them by the fireplace. “These probably need burning after today.” He walked to the dresser and pulled clothes out then headed to the bathroom.
Once inside, Chaos was able to breathe. Until her mind began to wander. Again she imagined him naked. Did he have a lot of hair? Was his manhood strong and eager? Easy to please or difficult? She used to secretly compare the men in the Order in various ways. Not because she wanted to, her mind did it by itself. It seemed interested in functions and shapes and how they varied from one male to the other. She didn’t mind the preoccupation, it served as a good distraction and helped things go faster. It was likely force of habit that had her doing the same with him.
She heard him muttering in the bathroom then the door opened. “Can you please not look while I retrieve something I seem to have forgotten?”
His words held frustration and Chaos quickly obliged, hand over her eyes. “Of course. They’re closed.”
“Don’t worry I’m in a towel,” he muttered at his drawer. “Where the hell?”
Chaos couldn’t stop from opening her fingers and peeking. Her stomach jolted at the rippling muscles in his back as he hurried. She quickly shut her fingers back when he turned and hurried to the bathroom. At hearing the door shut, she let out a shaky breath, recalling his butt under the hug of the thin towel. She’d seen it just before he’d turned, a barest glimpse. But it was enough to mark her mind permanently with a very hot impression. That’s how her mind worked, it only needed one flash. And now her brain made notes against all the other images of the males at the order before concluding what she already knew. None matched his beauty and perfection.