Taen

After Trish woke up and found herself alone, she started watching the vidscreen again, although she avoided the internal channel. As she watched, laying on her side, she couldn't help but reach back and brush her fingers over the sore, slightly swollen wrinkles of her anus. Just to see how it felt. The skin there was very sensitive, but otherwise felt totally normal, which was a relief.

When Jordan came in with dinner, she wasn't sure how she felt.

Part of her was relieved she wouldn't have to face Alex and Bella or anyone else in the compound. Another part of her was nervous over being alone with Jordan for a meal. There was something intimate about eating alone together, especially since there was a visceral choice between talking with her captor or sitting in silence. And Jordan seemed to want her to talk.

Not that he was conversing with her exactly. Just asking her questions about her life on the Moon and at school. Asking if there was anything she missed. Other than her classes, Trish realized there wasn't much, which was a depressing thought in and of it self. Was that really the sum total of meaning in her life? Her classes? Because they were interesting?

Maybe that was why the thought of escaping was coming up in her head less and less often - what did she really have to escape back to?

Loneliness?

Isolation?

Being shunted to the side by people who thought she was unimportant and beneath them?

Just talking about her past was starting to make her depressed, so she decided to try and turn the tables. After all, he'd never been mad when she asked questions and he usually answered them, even if she'd never asked about HIM specifically before.

"What about you?" she asking daringly. Jordan looked up at her, raising one blond eyebrow, but he didn't scold her for asking the question, it seemed more like he was trying to ascertain exactly what she was asking. "Did you go to a university?"

"No." He didn't seem bothered by the question or his answer and Trish took a bit of reassurance from that, emboldening her further.

"Did you want to?"

Jordan shrugged, uncaring. "It wasn't an option, so it didn't matter."

"Why wasn't it an option?" Although his answers didn't offer up much information, she didn't feel like he was purposefully holding back. After all, she'd already noticed he wasn't exactly talkative, ever, with anyone. The fact he was answering her questions at all, considering they were far more personal than she'd ever attempted, surprised her.

"No money."

She didn't bother to try and hide her surprise. His lips twitched, suppressing a smile.

"You have money now."

The expression on his face was almost one of exasperation at being forced to use so many words, but he seemed to understand she truly wanted to know. Trish was still trying to figure out exactly what made him tick, what caused him to be the way he was... she didn't understand how he could be so brutal but so caring, be so protective of her and yet still rape her. If she could understand him better, maybe she could convince him to let her go. At this point, it was as good of an escape plan as any.

"I made money when the Wolf took over for the old boss," he explained with that touch of resigned exasperation. "I was the Wolf's second from the beginning. I didn't need anything else after that."

Because, being by the Wolf's side when the Wolf took over, he had everything he needed. A position, a livelihood... but it was a little scary to know that he'd been by the Wolf's side from the very beginning. The rise of the crime lords and war lords on earth after the rich and powerful had moved to the Moon had been bloody and brutal before things had finally settled down, although the Moon didn't bother to go into details while educating its citizens about the Earth's recent history. Trish had learned far more about what Earth had gone through during that time period while living on it than she had during any classes on the Moon. The teachers there, and even at the university, only spoke about it in the most general terms, until they came to the Wolf, his unique status and the Moon's obsession with him.

"How did you meet the Wolf?"

"No more questions, baby girl," Jordan said, a glint in his blue eyes that Trish recognized immediately. She wanted to crawl away as he lifted the tray with the remains of their dinner on it off the mattress and took it to the door, placing it outside for someone to come pick up. Trish curled in on herself, tucking her skirt around her legs, for what little protection it would provide.

When Jordan turned back around, she could see the growing bulge at the front of his pants, and she almost whimpered, her anus spasming as if remembering the earlier assault on its channel, even as she could feel her nipples harden and her pussy start to tingle. It was like her body knew what was coming and was already preparing itself, which just made her want to scream in frustration because she knew it was wrong... and yet she felt almost a little different. Like some part of her had emotionally responded to his willingness to answer some questions. Like she'd let down some of her walls while he'd been asking about her life and then told her a little bit about his, exchanging those small insights into each other.

It hadn't occurred to her that such simple conversation might be dangerous to her overall emotional state of being.

Walking up to the bed, Jordan cupped her face in his hands, his eyes sliding over her face and down to her lips.

"You're so beautiful, baby," he murmured, before leaning down to kiss her.

Gently.

Almost tenderly.

Trish wanted to whimper. She much preferred it when he was rougher, harsher... it made it easier to hold it against him.

So when he tried to press her down onto the bed, his hands and lips touching her almost tenderly, she lashed out without thinking about it, sudden rage surging through her.

CRACK!

The sound of her palm slapping against his face was so loud it almost echoed through the room.

Immediately her heart started beating like a frantic bird inside of her chest and she froze, too terrified to move. The expression on his face was unreadable as he pulled back and looked at her for a long moment.

"Five minutes."

That was all he said before Trish found herself hauled across his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed, her bottom high in the air.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

"Ow! I'm sorry! Please!" The words fell out of her, a chanting, begging, plea as his hard hand came down on her bottom again and again. The skirt to her dress was hiked up around her hips, leaving her completely bare and exposed, without even the slightest bit of protection against his paddle-like hand.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

He ignored her pleas, spanking her hard and fast, covering as much of her bottom as he could, changing the angle and placement of each swat while she squirmed and kicked as tears sprang to her eyes. The burning sting of each slap left her gasping. Even though he wasn't increasing the intensity of the spanking, the fact that her bottom was becoming more sensitive and more painful with each swat meant she felt it more anyway.

"Please! I'm sorry!! I won't do it again!!" She squealed and kicked as he swatted her sit-spot, searing the sensitive skin between her bottom and upper thighs.

Silently he kept spanking her, not even keeping count, and she let out a sob as she realized he truly meant to sit here and spank her for five minutes.

This is what she got for letting her emotions overcome her logic and thoughts.

Once the tears started they cascaded like a waterfall down her cheeks, leaving her gasping at the ache inside of her chest. Strangely, her mind was less on regretting her impulsive action and more on her current situation... her anger and frustration at the Moon for allowing the situation on Earth to disintegrate to the point where criminals were running the show, her fury at herself for being caught by Jordan in the first place, her shame and humiliation for enjoying some of the things he did to her, her confusion and self-disgust at wanting to reach out and find companionship with some of the others in the Wolf's compound...

Now that she was started, it was like she couldn't stop. Something today - maybe the loss of her last virginity, maybe the strangely normal dinner conversation, maybe just the length of time she'd been here - had stirred up her emotions and the spanking was causing her to lose control and they were all spilling out.

She hated Jordan's control over her.

She shamefully savored being so protected and cossetted.

She hated her body's sexual response to him.

She hated him for using that response.

She hated herself because she wanted what he offered...

She hated him because it had been offered in a manner she couldn't accept.

Trish wanted community. She wanted people who understood her. She wanted a life where she felt cared for and loved and wanted by the people in it. She didn't want to be part of the Moon's shallow, self-obsessed citizenry with their narrow focus and their ridiculous feelings of superiority. If she'd met Jordan in another way, or someone like him, and been taken into the community of people around him, and had had a choice in the matter...

But she hadn't.

And thinking "what if?" was driving her crazy.

Feeling the craving, having part of her brain wanting to ignore the manner in which she'd arrived at this place, made her disgusted with herself.

Which was why she couldn't handle Jordan's tender gentleness. Couldn't handle the way he'd touched her like he was making love to her. Pleasure that was forced on her was so much less threatening to her peace of mind than any real intimacy.

She hadn't even realized how much he'd started worming his way past her walls, past her indignation and anger, until this moment. It was wrong, it was all so, so wrong, but she actually had some semblance of feelings for him.

And she really didn't want to.

Slowly she became aware of Jordan's hand stroking her swollen, reddened bottom, making soothing shushing sounds as he rubbed the taut, seared skin of her backside. There was a low hum in his voice that was almost comforting. Her lower body was throbbing. Not in an entirely bad way either. She still didn't know if her response was something he'd somehow instilled in her because of the way their sexual relationship had been since the beginning or if there was just something in her psyche that actually enjoyed being turned over a man's knee and spanked. She felt both aroused and soothed, even though she shouldn't feel either.

But she was too exhausted to fight it.

So she let him comfort her. Pick her up and cuddle her. Sit her on his lap and hold a glass of water for her to drink. Reveal the special dessert he'd gotten for her - a small, chocolate cake - and feed it to her with his fingers.

When he gently bound her wrists and placed her back on the bed, she felt relief slide through her. Being bound gave her permission to let herself go... there was freedom from guilt when she was tied up and choiceless. She didn't have to feel shame when he tenderly, gently, trailed kisses over her entire body, stirring her arousal with his lips and tongue, with his soft caresses, like he was worshiping every inch of her... She didn't have to feel humiliation when his lips finally reached her pussy and he licked her to a shattering climax, the ecstasy a blissful counterpoint to the throbbing burn of her bottom...

And she didn't have to feel anything but pleasure as he slid between her thighs in the wake of her orgasm, his cock sliding between her swollen folds, his hands lifting her thighs so that she didn't have too much weight pressing on her sore ass.

The binding of her hands gave her the release she needed to just let him have her as he wanted... and her drained emotions would deal with the aftermath later.

She fell asleep curled against his body, his heavy arm draped possessively over her, her head tucked into the nook of his shoulder. If she just let her mind empty out, if she didn't think at all, she could feel just like any other woman falling asleep in the protective clasp of her lover.

Eventually she knew reality would trickle back in, but for right now... it was easier to just pretend.

******

Trish didn't actually enjoy swimming. She liked the water, but she hated the way her muscles ached all over, she didn't float very well, and her lungs burned for air no matter how often she turned her head to take in a breath... it was never enough.

However, swimming was better than spending the morning with Jordan again.

She just didn't know how to feel about him.

That wasn't entirely true.

She didn't like how she felt about him.

It had to be brain washing, right?

But she was becoming so tired of constantly reminding herself of that. She was lonely. She'd always been lonely, but now, for the first time, she had people reaching out to her. People who seemed to want to get to know her. It might only be because she was Jordan's 'girl'... but she thought some of them actually genuinely liked her as well. They definitely didn't HAVE to talk to her. Laura in particular had been sincerely friendly.

And her body...

She couldn't help her physical responses. She couldn't help that certain things aroused her. There were plenty of people on the Moon who played games like this... but they were just that: games. This was real. So far inescapable. But Jordan always managed to make her feel cared about, desired, and aroused... as long as she didn't think about how she'd gotten here.

But it wasn't really like she could forget that, could she?

Trish pounded her way through the water, frustration driving her. She barely even noticed when Bella and Alex finally arrived and entered the pool. Not that it mattered they were there.

Their situation was so far removed from hers they might as well have been on a different planet.

******

"Everyone's so busy," Trish said, looking out the window.

Rather than taking her with him, Jordan had brought Trish to Laura and Marek's rooms. They had real rooms, not just the single room and bathroom that Jordan had. They had a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a study, and a bedroom. Marek was currently in the study while Laura entertained Trish in the living room. They were sitting on a couch in front of the vid screen and coloring. Trish couldn't ever remember coloring in her entire life, but there was something incredibly relaxing and mind-numbing about filling in the blank spaces between the lines with varying hues.

"Mmm, there's some big trade happening and Cora's coming," Laura said, still focused on what she was doing.

"Who's Cora?"

"She's like the Wolf, but her territory is further West," Laura said, putting down the orange pen she'd been using and looking over the options in front of her before picking up a blue one. "She's pretty scary."

Trish blinked in surprise. While she knew there were other leaders on Earth like the Wolf, it wasn't like the media ever talked about them, but Laura talked as though Cora was well known.

"Do you know why she's coming?"

Laura shrugged, and gave Trish a small smile. "She and the Wolf team up a lot when something big goes down around here. Plus, she always likes to play with his toys."

A sick feeling curdled in Trish's stomach. "You mean Bella and Alex?"

"Yeah, but she's actually rougher if you can believe it." Unlike some of the people in the compound, Laura didn't sound like she got any joy from that fact, but she definitely didn't seem bothered by it either. Glancing up the at the vid screen, Laura grabbed for the remote and turned up the volume. "Oh hey, look, they're finally reporting on her!"

Trish looked up at the screen to see the blank stare of Abby, the Wolf's previous captive. Her family surrounded her protectively, insisting on no comment, ushering her away. It wasn't until she blinked that she realized tears were clinging to her eyelashes.

If - when - Trish was returned to the Moon, there would be no one to protect her from the media like that. They'd hound her, not caring what trauma she'd been through, only caring about the story. She'd only be important to them because they'd want to know about the Wolf.

"I wonder why they never talk," Laura said, musing almost to herself as she continued to color, keeping one eye on the vid screen.

"Would you want to talk to them?" Trish asked, gesturing at the screen as she shuddered. That sounded like her worst nightmare.

"I mean, not to those vultures, but you'd think eventually someone would want to do an interview." The way she said it was almost sarcastic, as if she thought one of the Wolf's long-term victims would want another fifteen minutes of fame.

Trish constantly wondering how someone who seemed as warm and caring as Laura could be so callous against feeling anything for the Wolf's captives. Maybe it was because they were alone, maybe it was because she was finally reaching the end of her rope - as evidenced by slapping Jordan last night - but Trish couldn't stay silent any longer.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"What?" Laura looked up at her, seemingly surprised at the vehemence in Trish's voice.

"That." Trish gestured at the screen. "Her. Alex and Bella. The others." She couldn't quite bring herself to ask about herself because she didn't know if she could handle hearing Laura's answer.

Laura looked at the screen. Shrugged. "So a few Moonies get a taste of what life down here is like, why should that bother me?"

"But life isn't all like that down here," Trish argued. "No one else is going through what Alex and Bella are."

"Not as much anymore," Laura agreed, but a slightly bitter smile twisted her lips. "The Wolf and Cora and others like them put a stop to most of the worst excesses when they took over, but it wasn't always like this."

"What was it like?" Her mouth felt dry but she had to ask. Had to know. Had to understand.

Putting down her pen, Laura stared off into the distance, her expression blank, like she was looking at something far, far away. "I don't know what they teach you up there, but it was awful when the Earth and Moon separated. My mother was old enough to remember what it was like before, and she always seemed sad. I mean, nothing was perfect, but when the Moonies first up and left they didn't care about what they were leaving behind. The people left in charge were the worst of the worst. Corrupt. Greedy. My mom's sister was taken off the street by some official who saw her and decided he wanted her, and we never saw her again. I was just a kid, but I remember my mom crying for days. I still don't know what happened to her."

"I'm sorry," Trish said gently, her heart clenching in her chest.

Laura continued as if she hadn't heard Trish speak. "So people started to revolt. Might made right, whether it was against the officials the Moonies left behind or your neighbor. Everyone was forming up into little groups and you had to hope your group was strong enough or had enough allies to defend itself against other groups. People were dying, being raped on the street, beaten up and left for dead, killed for food, killed for sport... and the officials the Moon had left behind just gave up and left. By that time a lot of the little groups had gotten larger and the territories were being carved out. My mom and I ended up in this territory, working in the kitchen under the old warlord. He wasn't interested in my mom, thankfully, or me because I was too young at the time. Then mom died during the pox plague and I just kept my head down and stayed quiet. The old lord had started calling himself a lord by then and he was building his harem. I didn't want to be a part of it, so I just stayed hidden as best I could."