Obsession

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is loosely based off several characters from the hit soap One Life to Live. Not all the parts of this story will contain erotic sex scenes as there is a plot. First and foremost, this story is a romance/drama, not a sex story.

Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's One Life to Live or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.

This story is AU with a supernatural twist.

***Chapter One : The First Night***

~19th Century Ireland~

Kiki Saybrooke climbed the giant wooden staircase leading to the musty attic bedroom she shared with her niece Marty Saybrooke at the Golden Swann Inn. "Margaret!" she called out, throwing open the door.

As usual, her niece was gazing from the lone window of the attic, no doubt daydreaming of her sailor-boy again. Kiki grumbled under her breath, calling her niece an ungrateful, little twit. "Sit down, Margaret," Kiki demanded. "We have to have a little talk..."

Marty took her eyes off the horizon, breathing in the cool night air from the sea. Waiting for Suede's return across the ocean had been pure torture. They were set to be wed in the summer when Suede's adventures brought him back to her, but waiting for him had been agonizing. As Kiki stood there scrutinizing her, Marty left the window and went to her aunt's side.

"Margaret, when your parents died, I took you in. I fed you, clothed you; and I worked countless hours here at the inn just to make sure you had enough to eat and a roof over your head," Kiki stated, her hands upon her hips. "And now it's high time you paid me back for all I did for you, keeping you here with me instead of sending you off to that Orphan's House."

"What in the world are you talking about, Aunt Kiki?" Marty asked, frowning as her aunt went on and on about what a burden she had been to her.

"Well, Missy, you aren't just going to play the piano here at the inn to earn the money we need to pay our rent. At the age of nineteen, there are 'other things' you could be doing now to entertain the men," Aunt Kiki announced.

"What?" Marty gasped, jumping to her feet where she had been sitting upon her bed. "Surely you don't mean-?"

"Margaret, you are young and beautiful, and I've had several offers. We have to pay our rent! Do you want us kicked out on the street and homeless? Because I guarantee you, Little Miss High and Mighty, there are pawing men on the streets who are just waiting to take advantage of a pretty little thing like you!"

"But Aunt Kiki, I'm engaged to marry Suede in less than six months!" Marty cried out. "I haven't even been with him yet... how could I-?"

"You have no choice! If you don't do this, I won't have enough money to pay our rent, and Flannegan will send us packing. Now put on your prettiest dress and brush your hair. He'll be here in a few minutes," Kiki commanded, her jaw tight as she had already made up her mind.

"Who? Who'll be here?" asked Marty, trembling when she realized her aunt was determined to pimp her out to pay for their room and board.

"No matter. Just get ready now, Margaret, and wait outside on the front steps. He's sending a carriage to pick you up," answered Kiki, leaving the room swiftly before Marty could make another protest.

*Ohhh God, I hate Aunt Kiki. This can't be happening!" Marty cried out in a sob once she was all alone in the attic bedroom. Aunt Kiki treated her like worthless trash as though she were little more than a thorn in her aunt's side from the very moment of her parents' drowning. There was never a kind word from the woman who had taken her in and given her a home. Instead, she shot down everything Marty had ever loved, her music, Suede, her desire to heal the sick and someday become a healer. And now her aunt expected her to sleep with men so they could pay the bills!

"I can't do this. I can't! I'm supposed to marry Suede," Marty whimpered as she went to the cracked mirror attached to her dresser and ran a brush through her unruly golden curls. Her curls cascaded down her back as huge tears rushed from her eyes. She felt like she was going to her death as she prepared herself for this unwelcome liaison. Silently cursing Aunt Kiki, she slipped into her most beautiful dress made of gorgeous light-blue taffeta. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Marty looked pale, her eyes bright red from crying. Tonight she would give to another man what should only belong to Suede. Tonight she would lose so much, but even so, she was determined not lose her dignity. No one, no matter who he was, could take that from her.

*It's just a business arrangement. Nothing more. I'll give this man what it is he wants, then I'll come back here to the inn and forget it ever happened. I am going to be Suede's wife and a competant healer. This man may have my body, but that's all he'll ever have,* Marty told herself as she walked silently down the staircase to enter the main room of the inn. It was nearing midnight, so most of the craziness was dying down as many of the customers had either gone home or drank themselves into a stupor for the night. Reaching high onto a shelf behind the bar, Marty grabbed a small bottle of spiced brandy. While no one was looking, she took a long, cleansing sip. Brandy was one of her secret obsessions, a way to take the edge off whenever life threw bolts of lightening at her. No one knew of her secret as Marty slipped the bottle in the pocket of her dress. Right now she felt like drinking herself into a stupor in a need to block out the night to come. How would she survive this night? Her heart was pounding as she wracked her brain, wondering just who her aunt may have promised her to for this unwelcome business arrangement.

"Margaret!" a voice called out, causing Marty to jump. She glanced over, seeing her aunt glaring at her as she approached.

"Don't just stand there staring off into space like an ninny! His carriage is waiting for you outside! You must go!" yelled Kiki as she gave Marty a push toward the door.

Men looked up from their drinks and conversation, leering at Marty as she looked so beautiful in that dress which clung to all her curves. Before Marty could utter a word of objection to her aunt, she was pushed out the front door of the inn and out into the cool night air. And there by the steps waited the lone black carriage. Marty took the stair steps hesitantly toward the carriage as she was certain she was going to her own doom. Once she had climbed inside the covered carriage, her heart flew into her throat, her eyes becoming huge pools of blue as she realized she had recognized the driver.

A man by the name of Briggs was the driver of the carriage. He worked as butler, chauffer, and in any other capacity necessary for Thomas Todd Manning, the most frightening and formidable man Marty had ever laid eyes on. Lord Manning frequented The Golden Swann quite often, always undressing Marty with those hypnotic hazel eyes of his. She couldn't do this! If the carriage wasn't moving at top speed up the hill toward the Manning Estate, Marty would have jumped from it in an attempt to escape. No way could she give herself to that man! She reached into her dress pocket, withdrawing the small bottle of brandy and drinking the remainder of the contents in a quick, burning gulp. *Ohhh please let me be drunk!* she was thinking.

The brandy did little more but warm her blood as the carriage hurried on toward the estate of Thomas Todd Manning. There was no escape and she knew it. Tonight, she'd be in the bed of The Prince of Darkness.

~The Manning Estate~

He sat by the fire, swirling the potent fluid around in his glass. For months he had been watching her, aching to make her his. But he knew he could never have her. She belonged to another. He hated that she never noticed him, never saw the longing looks he shot her from afar. But tonight, she would be his. Unwilling... or not.

A maid came to his chamber, knocking upon his door. "She's here," said Rebecca, averting her eyes skittishly, as though she feared he would attack her and eat her like a savage beast.

"Good, send her up here to me at once. And give her this to wear," said Lord Manning, placing a thin cotton shift within the servant girl's small hand.

"Yes, as you wish it," responded Rebecca, nearly running from the room. Why was everyone always so afraid of him? He hadn't killed, raped, or maimed anyone... well, not lately anyway. No matter what he did, women always seemed to look at him with trepidation, as though he were some sort of monster. Looking at his large hands, he remembered all the cruel words of his father, Lord Peter Manning. That man had made his life a living hell, often beating him within an inch of his life. Inside him now lurked a beast, a tempestuous rage, ready to spill forth at any moment, especially those times when he was denied what it was he truly wanted.

Tonight he wanted her.

Marty stepped from the carriage, cautiously gazing at the dark and looming estate belonging to Lord Manning. After his father's death, this had all become his. He had kept to himself mostly, only coming to the inn on occassion to drink and to have a bite to eat. There was no denying the man frightened her, with his booming voice and penetrating gaze. It was as if those eyes of his could see so deep inside her soul, penetrating her innermost secrets. The way he looked at her, as though he wanted to devour her, always made her feel a combination of fear and thrilling excitement. *Why does it have to be him?* she asked herself as she followed Briggs into the warm halls of the estate. She wrapped her shawl around herself tighter, feeling cold, and it wasn't just due to the night's chill.

A beautiful young woman approached her with long dark curls. "Hello, my name is Rebecca," she said sweetly, taking Marty's hand. "The Lord of the estate awaits you in his chambers, but first he asked me to give you this..."

Rebecca pressed a sheer white garment into Marty's hands. "He asks that you change into this garment and meet him at once," said the soft-spoken maid.

Marty's eyes went huge when she saw what he intended for her to wear. How could she come to him in that... that... little scrap of material? Not knowing what else to do, she took the garment from Rebecca and followed her to a room where she could prepare herself for the night to come. Her heart did a flip-flop as she tried everything in her power to stop the wild thoughts of what this night was sure to entail.

Rebecca stood right outside while Marty slipped into the cotton nightie, feeling almost naked in the filmy scrap of cloth as she slipped it over her head. The hem barely reached the tops of her thighs. Never in her life had she worn anything so revealing. Knowing his intentions, she knew that she wouldn't be wearing the garment long.

A moment later, Marty stepped out, looking pale and embarrassed. How she hated Lord Thomas Todd Manning for making her feel so worthless and vulnerable. If she could, she would kill him on the spot. Hatred seeped from Marty's pores as Rebecca lead her up the staircase to the Lord's chambers.

"Good night ... and have a pleasant evening," Rebecca said quickly, nearly running from the chamber like a scared and frightened fawn.

Standing in the doorway, Marty's eyes scanned the room, her heart throbbing in her chest. "Hello?" she called out, stepping closer to the blazing fireplace, her eyes on the look-out for HIM. He scared the hell out of her, and the sooner they got all this over with, then the better.

"Is anybody here?" Marty asked cautiously as she walked farther into the room to stand beside the warmth of the fire. Where was he? Afraid he would jump out at her any moment, Marty felt though she had fire coursing through her veins.

A sudden sound of the door being locked behind her alerted her to his presense. "Alone at last," he said smoothly, gazing at her with those mesmorizing eyes of his. "Hello, Margaret... or shall I call you Marty?"

"I do not wish for you to call me anything," she snapped. "And I do not want to be here. I despite you, Lord Manning." She backed away from him cautiously, moving closer to the fire. She'd rather dissolve into the flames than be near him, the horrific beast.

"You may call me Todd. Lord Manning seems far too formal. After all, you'll be in my bed tonight... and every night thereafter, if I have anything to say about it," he spoke as he took slow steps toward her.

"Don't touch me or I'll kill you!" Marty cried out, going to stand behind the chair that Todd had recently vacated as though to use it as as shield.

Todd laughed as though savoring her distress. "Touch you? I'm going to do much more than touch you... I'm going to have you in every sense of the word. And before this night is over, I assure you there is no part of you I will have left untouched."

"You're a wicked and horrible man!" Marty gasped as she ran toward him, hand raised high to slap him.

Grabbing her wrist in his steely grip, he smirked as he looked down into her beautiful and furious face. "You haven't begun to see how wicked and horrible I can be," he bit out as he jerked her forward, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "You're mine for the night, Miss Saybrooke. Accept your fate."

"I'd rather die than give myself to you," she said in a voice just above a whisper. Feeling his arms band around her ever so tightly, she struggled to draw a ragged breath into her lungs.

"It's going to be like that then..." he said in a growl. "You know, I could make it good for you, the sweetest ecstasy. Or I can take you by force. It really doesn't matter to me; I'm going to enjoy it either way."

"So, what's it going to be?" he demanded, looking down into her angry blue eyes. "Pleasure or pain. The choice is yours."

"Burn in hell, Todd Manning," she quipped. For a moment he stared down at her as he had come to realize then how it must be. Jerking her up against him in his strong arms, his lips crashed to hers in a blazing kiss of uncontrollable desire set aflame. Marty struggled but she was no match for his brutal strength. His mouth had overtaken hers, so she couldn't even scream. As his tongue forced entrance into her mouth, he lifted her in his arms and carried her off toward his bed.