Lauren was in bed when they took her.
Her hands were tied behind her back and she was tossed in a corner of the van.
"If you keep quiet, they'll be kinder to you," a voice said in her ear.
Frantic, she looked up into the speaker's eyes. They were blue, and his face was scruffy. His jaw was strong and his hair was dark and long. He held her gaze for a moment and then turned to the other man who were sitting against the wall.
"Why do you even talk to the bitch, Jack, y'know Chuck doesn't like us doing that."
Lauren's eyes lighted on the man who'd spoken. He wore a dark tee and had a tattoo of a spider on his wrist.
Jack shrugged and lay back on one of the boxes shifting in the van. He looked at Lauren and she felt a strange warmth in her face.
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The warehouse was empty and high-ceilinged.
The burliest man stood before Lauren in a dirty white shirt. She flinched when he reached down to touch her chin, just below where duct tape obscured her mouth.
"Relax, you ain't gonna come to any harm. We just need the money, and we'll let you go. Murder isn't the kinda thing we do." He leaned back, and laughed hoarsely.
Lauren turned her face away.
"Look after her Jack. I'll be back in the morning. Wayne, go get supplies." Chuck turned and Lauren watched his heavy form blend into the shadows. Wayne cast a look at Jack, who held his gaze squarely, and followed after Chuck.
Lauren looked down at herself. She was in her sleepwear. A flimsy white tee and pale cream undies. Her hands were tied with strong rope behind her back. A lock of her dark hair fell over her eyes as she looked up at Jack, who sat with an arm over his knee across from her.
"You don't have to be afraid of me." He said quietly.
Lauren stared at him, unmoving. In her mind she recalled fantasies she'd once had about being in just such a situation, and cursed herself for being so ignorant.
Jack stood up. Brushed his hands on his jeans and walked over to Lauren, who shuffled her feet in attempt to get further from him.
He reached down and touched her cheek. She winced.
"I told you you don't have to be afraid of me." Jack took the corner of the tape that held to her mouth and slowly, gently, peeled it off.
Lauren worked her jaw.
"Just don't make any loud noises."
Lauren began to scream.
She felt a hand tight around her neck and she struggled.
"I told you. Don't make any loud noises." Jack whispered in her ear. She shifted uneasily in his grip. "You don't know the things we can do to you. The things I want to do to you ever since I saw you on your bed. So don't push me." Lauren held her breath. His hand withdrew from her neck, and he eyed the slight mark on it. She breathed choppily and his gaze went to her chest, swelling under the thin white fabric.
He looked at her and she felt a flush begin at her cheeks.
"Would you let me touch you," he whispered, his breath warm on her neck. "I think you'd rather like it, actually," Lauren bit her lip as his hand touched her neck and lower to tease her clavicle.
