Mark got out of bed, motioning for Ellie to stay.
"It'll be nothing," he assured her as he left their bedroom. They had been woken up by a noise downstairs and both had felt a little apprehensive. Ellie listened intently, holding the covers up to her neck. She followed Mark's footsteps down the stairs and then heard nothing for a long while, before a loud thud made her jolt upright.
Ellie felt her heart rate quicken and steeled herself. She had to go see what had happened to her boyfriend, so got out of bed. They had both slept naked, as they had done since they first got together, so Ellie put on her dressing gown before creeping down the stairs. She got to the bottom before hearing some movement and rustling in the lounge.
Two men moved around in the lounge, filling bags with any valuables they could find. Ellie bit her lip and tried to hide in the doorway just as one of the men turned and saw her. She screamed and he dropped the bag, quickly covering her mouth and dragging her into the room.
"Get the tape!" He hissed to the other man who dashed over to do exactly that. Ellie was manhandled into a dining chair and strapped to it, her dressing gown open and exposing her chest slightly. It lay skewed over one leg, covering her pussy but leaving the other leg out. It was only as she collected her thoughts while strapped tightly to the chair that Ellie noticed her boyfriend tied naked to another chair behind the door. He wasn't moving and clearly had a black eye already forming. She screamed again.
"Shut the fuck up!" The first man grabbed her cheeks and squeezed her mouth into a pout. "Don't make us fucking hurt you."
They both went back to work ransacking the couple's home. Ellie watched them, whimpering. It had only been six months since she and Mark had moved into their dream home. They had met in university and been together for the five years since both had left. Now 27, they had just started getting everything they wanted - the right furniture, good TV, computers and everything else. Ellie couldn't bear to see everything stripped from them.
"Wait," she whispered. The men didn't react. She called a little louder. "Wait, stop. I'll do anything if you just stop."
The men turned and sneered.
"Oh yeah, we've heard that before," one rolled his eyes and turned back to rifle through some drawers.
"I'll let you do whatever you want with my body," Ellie heard herself say. It had come out of her mouth before she had a chance to really think through what she was saying, but now it was too late. She had only been with five people before - two high school boyfriends, a couple of university flings and now Mark. She hated herself for offering her body to the men. "Just please, don't steal from us. Don't take our life that we've worked hard for from us, take me instead."