Author's Note:
Suffering
continues the story of Shea, who was introduced in Ch. 03 of the Deus Ex Machina chain.
~~~
"You're late!"
Shea ducked reflexively when the accusation was hurled her way, but it didn't seem to be one of those days. James was simply standing there, both hands on the doorframe, waiting for her explanation while blocking her way into their apartment. He was still in uniform, Shea noticed at once. His face looked strained and downright menacing in the shadows the dull lightbulb out in the hallway was responsible for.
"I'm sorry," she replied cautiously, licking her lips nervously. "I've had... things to do."
"What things?" His eyes narrowed, his voice dangerously quiet. "This doesn't have to do with your sister again, does it?"
"I just talked to someone who knew her," she defended herself, and he sighed, shifting his body to finally let her in.
"When will you learn to leave this alone, Shea?" he asked her as she slipped past him. When she didn't answer, he followed her into the kitchen, where she set down her coat and stepped out of her shoes, feeling nauseous. She knew that she would not be able to escape his questioning, much as she wanted to. She just wasn't sure how much more of his pressing her she could take. The girl she had talked to today about Anna had offered bits of information that she hadn't quite stomached yet, and on top of that, she was still shaken from the encounter in the alley the other day. The mysterious stranger who had scared her so had left a lasting impression on her, one that she wasn't able to simply shake off.
"I can't just walk away." Shea looked up to meet James' inquiring gaze, jaw set. "I cannot walk away from this, and you know it."
He grabbed her wrists and pulled her suddenly close to him.
"Anna's dead, Shea, she's dead. Rotting in the ground. There isn't a thing you can do about it." He shook her hard, as if trying to get any notion of justice being dispensed to leave her mind with brute force. "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep up your little investigation."
"I wouldn't have to do this if you wouldn't refuse to help me!" Shea knew that it was a mistake to bring up the old argument again, but she couldn't help herself. James glared at her for a few seconds, then he let her go with a slight shove. Shea rubbed her bruised wrists while he turned, running a hand through his dirty blond hair.
"You know damn well that I've tried to find out what I could. And I've told you I'm going to risk my job if I dig deeper."
Shea let out a breath of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and swallowed despite the bitter taste in her mouth. "Some cop you are."
She had finally pushed him too far. She could see the expression of his face change and took a breath in dreadful anticipation. Instead of an outbreak of rage, however, he simply reached for the handcuffs clipped to his belt.
"Get to bed, Shea," he said, sounding resigned.
She followed his order without protest, even though her body shook at the mere thought of what he would force her to endure tonight. She had already pushed her luck, and she knew he would only hurt her worse the more she struggled.
The majority of her clothes on the floor, she knelt on the bed, hands outstretched. He was behind her in a moment, his breath hot on her neck as he cuffed her to the bed frame. She let it happen, motionless except for a shudder that she couldn't suppress. She was naked now except for her panties, flimsy white and ready to be torn off her body. He preferred it this way. She watched him from the corner of her eye as he pulled his belt out of the loops on his pants in one fluid motion, and steeled herself.
The first few strokes simply stung, bringing tears to her eyes. The fourth one made her cry out despite herself, and starting at the sixth one, she lowered her head to the pillow so she could scream into it, desperate to somehow relieve the pain of her burning ass. Her entire body started to shake uncontrollably at stroke nine, and it remained that way all the way until stroke twenty. After that, he stopped.
James moved away from her and replaced his belt, while she was crying uncontrollably into the pillow. He left her that way for a few minutes, giving her some time to calm down. He released one of her hands from the cuffs, but kept the other one chained to the bed frame so she wouldn't be able to move very far. When he sat back down on the bed, she tensed.
"Spread," he commanded.
Shea moved her knees apart and reached back with her free hand, moving her panties aside and spreading the lips of her pussy for him. She was still sobbing, but trying to control herself. James got pissed off very quickly if he thought she was trying to make him feel sorry for her.