“I guess I do, darlin’.” He dares to look at me. “But maybe you should. It’s my fault you’re in this mess. I fucked up big time. I never should have told him about you.”
“You told him –?!“
“That you were my lover. I had to, when I said I was leaving him. If I’d known he’d do something like this –“ He shakes his head in self-disgust. “I should have known. We fought for real when I told him. I had a chance to kill him then, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to close off the only window I had into my childhood and my past. I – I wasn’t thinking of what might happen to you.”
“You did varn me that it had just gotten much more dangerous to be involved vith you.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell you the reason. I meant to. It just never seemed to be the right time.”
“It has been more than a month since you returned, and yet there vas no ‘right time’?”
He winces, but continues to look at me directly. “Like I said, I fucked up. I admit that. I should have told you the details immediately, but I was afraid. I let your confidence, and your love, overpower my fears. Forgive me, Elf? For that, if for nothing else?”
“No matter vhat happens, I vill never blame you for this. It is Victor’s doing, not yours. I vould rather die here vith you, than live in safety vithout you.”
“Don’t even think about dyin’, darlin’. I’ll get us out of here. Somehow.”
“I am not so sure there is anything you can do. Ve vould seem to be pretty vell trapped,” I say, false misery in my voice. If Victor is listening, I want him to think I have taken all of what he said at face value and believe our situation is hopeless.
“Now, Elf, don’t you dare give up! I’ll think of somethin’.”
Good. If I have convinced Logan of my lack of hope, I have surely convinced Victor.
“I shall pray that you vill.” But I still sound as if I have given up. Let Logan promise to rescue me. That will put Victor’s focus on him as a potential rescuer, rather than me. That could come in handy later.
“But enough of this,” I go on. “Is your name really Jimmy?”
“Yes, if he’s not lyin’ to me. James Howlett.”
“It has a nice sound to it, I think. Vould you like me to call you Jimmy instead of Logan?”
“No! Jimmy may be who I was, but I’m Logan now, no matter what that wretched son-of-a-bitch calls me!”
“Good. That is how I think of you also. Ve should rest and take advantage of this respite to try to get some sleep, since Victor could return at any time. The less ve talk of escape vhen he may be listening, the better.” That last part is for Victor’s ears, more than Logan’s
He nods, but clearly does not like my advice. Neither do I, but I do not want Victor to learn anything more about us that he may be able to use. We are silent, each trying in his own way to relax and calm himself into sleep. Eventually, we succeed.
By the time Victor returns, I am awake and have tried out the sanitary arrangements. Not altogether neat, but better than nothing.
The first thing he does is reset the cuff around my wrist into its place by my side. Then he faces Logan on the monitors. “I’ll leave the audio on, Jimmy, if you keep your mouth shut. Got it?”
Logan nods.
Victor turns his attention back to me.
“We’re going to play nice this time, my little blue fairy. With you, at any rate.” He runs the tip of a finger over my lips. When I try to turn my head away, he grabs my chin. Then he covers my lips with his mouth, his tongue pressing hard, seeking entry. He must have forgotten about my teeth. I open my mouth slightly. When he tries to press his advantage, I bite his tongue. Not hard enough to do serious damage, but hard enough to draw blood. This does not stop him, but it does provoke him into giving the side of my thigh a stinging slap.
If anything, the pain of his bitten tongue encourages him. He pushes it further into me. I allow this, but as soon as his tongue is deeply into my mouth, I close my teeth against it gently. If I bite down now, I will sever his tongue near the base, and he knows it. I release him, having made my point, and he retreats. A slow smile spreads across his face, and he chuckles a bit.
“You’ve got spirit, baby, I’ll give you that. I like it that way. Much more fun if my victim doesn’t just dissolve into tears and start begging for mercy, at first anyway. That comes later, but it always comes. And speaking of coming, what do you like, baby? What do you fear? What do you absolutely hate?”
“I am beginning to absolutely hate you!”
“Only beginning? Oh my. We’ll have to do something about that, won’t we?” He lets the tips of his claws rest against the base of my scrotum. “It would make more sense for you to fear me, you know.” Just as I did with my teeth, his grip tightens only enough to draw blood. “I think you can imagine what would happen if I closed my fist right now, then yanked down hard.”
“I can imagine it very vell, but you vill not do that.”
“Oh? And just why do you say that?”
“I vould very likely bleed to death. And your little game vould be over almost before it began.”
“Are you so sure of that?” He digs his claws a little deeper. I wince, but do not try to pull away, as that would just do more damage.
“Ja, I am very sure. If you simply vanted me dead, you vould have killed me at the very beginning.”
My remark has clearly displeased him. His eyes narrow dangerously.
“You’re a smartass, boy. I’m not sure I like that. Does Jimmy take this sort of thing from you?”
“Ja. If he deserves it.”
He looks as if he cannot decide whether he is more angry or amused. Amused wins. He laughs and lets me go, then glances over at Logan on the monitors. “That true, Jimmy? Is he this mouthy with you?”
Logan nods, careful not to say anything.
“Score one for the blue fairy,” Victor says cheerfully. “No more threats of immediate death. However,” — his good humor changes abruptly – “if you don’t tone it down some, you’ll be feeling some immediate pain. Got that?”
“Ja.”
“Now, let’s get serious, shall we?”
That is clearly not a question. I wait to see what he is going to do next. It is terrible to feel so vulnerable. Naked does not bother me, but helpless does. I am not accustomed to being restrained like this. I am the one who can get out of anything by teleporting. I do not think I have felt so helpless before someone else since I was a child, before I could teleport. But I must not let my fear show. This man would know exactly how to use it to break me.
“Let’s start again, shall we? What do you like?” He trails the tips of his claws lightly across my chest, then begins following the scars just as Logan often does with his fingers. Scar tissue is less sensitive than ordinary flesh, but the sensation is there nevertheless. It almost hurts, it almost tickles. And it always arouses me. I close my eyes to hide the glow I know will soon be visible. As he continues to work his way down my chest to my abdomen, I cannot hide the stiffening of my penis.
“It would seem you like that, hmm?” He glances at my face. “Open your eyes, boy, and keep them open. I want to be able to see just how much you like it.”
I shake my head.
“Do it, or your lover boy suffers for it,” he says smoothly, knowing the threat will work.