Page 19 of These Monstrous Deeds

God, Carter doesn’t know if he has that in him tonight.

He’s so fucking tired.

But he’s so fucking hungry, too…

“Sir, the car is ready.”

“Thank you,” the man that’s holding him – who Carter thinks isRoarkebut he’s not sure – says. Then they’re moving again. A door opens. Fresh air wafts over Carter. He gasps, his eyes flying open beneath his blindfold. He jerks in the man’s arms as Casey’s voice yells at him to take this chance.Scream. Fight. Run.

But Carter’s arms are tangled in the heavy blanket, and he can’t see a damn thing. He opens his mouth to yell for help, but a hand clamps down on it before sound can escape. Carter is dropped so his bare feet hit the cement, the hand on his face keeping his head pinned back against the man’s chest, the man’s other arm holding him around the waist. Refusing to waste this moment, Carter kicks and bucks as he screams into the man’s hand. The man hoists him up into what he assumes is a vehicle, shoving him forward, so his bare knees scrape against the rough carpet. The blanket falls off. Carter swallows a sob at the loss.

The door is slammed behind Carter, the sound harsh inside the small space. Carter holds very still as he waits to see what will happen to him now. He doesn’t even know if the man is in the vehicle with him or if he’s been abandoned.

Just as he’s wondering if he should take his blindfold off, someone touches his cheek. He sucks in his breath and holds it.

Then the blindfold is being removed for him.

Carter immediately closes his eyes, suddenly unsure if he wants to see the man who just raped him on a stage in front of who knows how many people. The soft touch to his cheek comes again. He fights the urge to lean into it, refusing to embarrass himself despite his desperation for human contact.

“Open those pretty eyes for me,” the man says in that same voice he had used when on stage with Carter. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

Not wanting to get punished, Carter forces himself to obey. He hasn’t used his eyes in so long that they hurt the moment the dim lighting in the vehicle registers. Carter hisses through his teeth, reaching up to rub the ache away. His hands tremble with fear and exhaustion, with pain and hunger. Then they’re taken by two much larger, warmer ones. The man’s scotch breath falls over his face. “Take your time, sweetheart. Breathe.”

Carter squeezes his eyes, tears falling down his cheeks. He tries to breathe. Tries to relax. He’s still trembling, but the man doesn’t let him go. He just holds onto Carter and waits patiently.

Finally, Carter manages to blink his eyes open and keep them that way. It takes him a moment to get past the sudden shock of seeing things again. Then he realizes that the thing he sees right now is the man who bought him. The man he’s been wondering about for a very long time now. The man he and Casey spent time fantasizing about.

They stare at each other, both holding their breath.

Carter starts to catalogue the details bombarding him, unable to help himself when some are kinder than they should be.

For example:gorgeous.

The man seated before Carter, staring down at him with flushed cheeks from their struggle, eyes nearly black, jaw strong and locked, dark blonde hair mussed, is fuckinggorgeous.

He’s also large. Much larger than Carter. He’s not a beefcake by any means, but he fills his tailored black suit well, and he’s undoubtedly a few inches over six feet. Carter will have a hard time if he ever tries to overpower him. In fact, with his situation in mind, he probably has no shot in hell overpowering him. If Carter wants to escape, he’ll have to go about it differently. This isn’t something he’s going to be able to fight his way out of.

There’s a gun in the man’s waist holster. That could be an option, though Carter is so inexperienced with weapons that he’d probably end up shooting himself on accident.

The man’s black bowtie is crooked. Carter wonders if that happened when they struggled. He’s clean shaven, but if Carter squints, he can see a shadow along his strong jaw.

After staring down at Carter for a moment longer, the man drops Carter’s hands and lifts his chin to look at the driver of the vehicle. “Benny?”

“Yeah, boss?”

“Swing through a fucking McDonalds or something.”

The driver –Benny– chuckles. “Sure.”

When the man looks at Carter again, his expression is soft. “Think of what you’d like to eat. Nothing too heavy. Your stomach will need adjusting.”

Carter just stares at him in confusion and awe.

McDonalds?

Carter forgot McDonalds even existed.

Could he call to the person in the drive thru window? Try to get help? Is it worth the risk? Will this man keep the food from him if he tries and fails? Does the man even plan on feeding him at all, or is this just a mind game? A tease? A punishment for trying to fight just now?

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