14 Months 11: March

"I don't understand. I've never met you before. I've never even heard the name Calabrese until this year. I'm not the girl you think I am," she denied everything he had just said.

"Silly little girl," he shook his head in pity at her. "Why would you lie to me? The Alliance men were protecting you because they and you knew exactly who you are and what your future holds. You can no longer deny the arrangement between our families. Together we will build an empire unlike any that has come before it. Be happy, my beloved. Today is a day of celebration!"

"Celebration?" she asked.

"Yes, but first, drop the sheet I want to see you naked again," his hand left her throat and travelled down over her shoulder to grab the sheet Sophie was now clutching to her chest and began to pull it slowly from her fingers. He smiled tugging gently at first as if wanting to draw out the torment but when she continued to clutch it firmly to her chest his expression changed at her defiance and he reefed it from her grip with a violent pull on the material. In an instant, the sheet was gone but rather than let him see her,' again', she slid down the wall clutching her knees tightly to her chest.

"Come, baby girl now is not the time for tantrums, get up," he commanded. When she didn't move, his tone got hard. "Sweetheart, you will find I am a man not used to having his wishes denied, this can be pleasurable for you or it can be painful. Either way, I will enjoy taking you." He paused, enjoying her gasp and the fear in her eyes as she glanced at him and looked away again.

"If you insist on fighting me, there will be consequences for those you care about," he warned and was pleased when she lifted her head to look at him. "I told you that the wellbeing of those I took you from is entirely in your hands. Now be a good little girl and get up!"

Sophie swallowed hard and slid back up the wall on shaky legs, refusing to look at him and keeping her head down. She felt his fingers grip her jaw tightly and make her look up at him. Feeling his determination and power, she gave in and lifted her eyes to his.

"Good girl," he praised in a crooning tone. "This will go much better for you and those you care about if you continue to be a good girl for me." He bent then, placing one hand around her waist and the other under her legs and picked her up, walking her back to the bed and putting her down almost gently.

Sophie curled into a ball. Memories of her foster father fuelling her fear and panic as she listened to him move around beside her. She couldn't fight him and, in her panic, she knew she had to flee. It was an irrational decision driven by adrenaline, and she moved to the far side of the bed intending to make a move for the door. She had one foot on the floor when she heard him speak again.

"The consequences of your actions today will be severe for the people you say you care about," Justin said as he slowly walked toward her on the other side of the bed holding out his phone to her. A picture of Stella sleeping on a bed with a large man looming over her filled the screen, and she watched as the goon looked into the phone he was holding and raised an eyebrow as if asking a question. "Well, baby girl, what will it be?" he asked.

"What do you want from me?" Sophie asked in a hushed, shaking breath.

"You are mine. Acknowledging that and accepting your place with me, at my side and at my feet is all that is needed to keep your friends safe and protected. Would you like to see Layla as well? That girl is a fighter, and unfortunately, she had to be subdued, but she is sleeping now, and no further harm will come to her if you accept my proposal and become mine."

"If I accept and do as you ask, will you let them go?" Sophie asked woodenly. She had sobered hearing that Layla had fought her captivity and had to be subdued.

"Surrender and submit to me in all ways, and I will give you their freedom as a gift at our wedding celebrations," Justin agreed easily. "You can even escort them home if you like to ensure that I am a man of my word," he said magnanimously.

"Show me, Layla, I need to know she isn't hurt badly," Sophie said, then considering the situation added a hasty, "Please." Feeling as if she had no choice, Sophie moved toward him slowly, her eyes remaining on the sleeping form of Stella. He swiped at the screen on his phone and held it toward her. Sophie gasped, seeing the swollen and bruised face and arms of her friend. She unconsciously moved closer, studying the picture and noting the thug standing over Layla as well ready to do her more harm on Justin's say so.

When Sophie was within arm's reach, he pulled her tightly to his body, her naked flesh warm and soft against his chiselled muscles. This girl was just meant to be a means to an end. He needed her family to fall into line under his leadership if he was to survive the next battle for rule over the underground. His enemies had many allies but none as powerful as his own.

"Surrender to me and their freedom is yours, as soon as we are wed," Justin said softly into her hair as he held her.

"Wed?" Sophie squeaked her voice high and loud as she struggled in his arms. The words he had said finally sinking past her horror of seeing her friends hurt and being threatened.

"You can scream and cry and struggle as much as you like, baby girl. No one will hear you. You need to accept that you will be my wife. As I said, this could be painful for you or pleasurable if you choose. I will enjoy you whichever way you choose, so you may as well make the best of it, baby," he explained patiently again as he held her struggling form without much effort. "Perhaps I was wrong, and you don't care about your friend's wellbeing as much as I thought. A lesson might be in order," he said as if considering her struggle a minor annoyance. "As I said it is your choice, baby girl," he spoke calmly as he released her and spoke into his phone. "A small demonstration, if you will," his voice was cold as he held the phone flat on the palm of his hand.

"No!" Sophie cried and launched herself at him trying to grab the phone as the sound of Stella's scream could be heard clearly in the room. Sophie thrashed against him, crying out "No! Stop! Please!" Justin didn't even flinch as he slid his phone into his pocket and grasped her wrists tightly, dragging her toward the bed once again. He swept her legs out from under her and Sophie fell backwards onto the bed. Justin landed on top of her, and in one smooth motion, he had her hands pinned above her head with one hand while he hovered over her trembling body. He kicked her feet apart and planted his knees between hers so that she couldn't close her legs. His free hand went to her breast and pinched her already stiff nipple between his fingers.

"I will wait until you're ready, baby girl, but the longer you make me wait with these tantrums, the more your friends will regret it." His voice was hard this time, his patience with her waning, but there was no hint that he was concerned by her struggle or what he had ordered done to her friend.

Sophie squirmed unwilling to voice her pain and anguish as he continued to pin her down with an unbreakable hold and gradually increased the pressure on her pinched nipple. Her wrists ached, her whole breast was pulsing in pain, and she was sure she was about to lose her fight with the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. She was running out of energy, and her struggles eased as she began to cry, closing her eyes and turning her head away from him.

"Good girl," Justin soothed, releasing her nipple and stroking her now reddened breast as he felt her give up her fight. "Now, here's what's going to happen. I can see that this is a bigger adjustment for you than I was led to believe it would be, so I'm going to give you some time to come to terms with and accept that you are now mine. See what a kind and thoughtful husband I will be?"

Sophie let out a loud sob as she realised that once again, she was powerless against another man who sought to use her for his own twisted games. This time, however, it wasn't a single year that she would be giving up, accepting this deal meant agreeing to a life sentence with this man.

"I know baby girl. You are overwhelmed, and you need more rest. I will come back when I think you've had enough time to accept your new life as my wife," he stroked her hair back from her face gently.

"Stella?" Sophie's asked, but as she looked into his face, all she saw was determination and an odd look of satisfaction maybe?

"First we will get you settled again," he said and taking some of his weight from her and used his grip on her wrists to manoeuvre her to a prone position near the centre of the bed. He gently pushed her into position and reached to retrieve the manacles that were attached to the wrought iron headboard and secured her wrists.

Sophie didn't fight this time. The echo of Stella's screams in her head enough to subdue her and she followed his prompts like a meek kitten. She was very aware of the churning and twisting in her lower abdomen and her breathing, while still hard from her struggle, was now uneven for a very different reason. She whimpered and closed her eyes. There was no point fighting right now. He was clearly much stronger than she was and she couldn't run and leave her friends here if they were in fact in the same house. Besides, she didn't want to make the punishments for her behaviour worse for them.

Calmer now, Sophie looked at him with fresh eyes. He was older than she was -- around his mid to late thirties, she guessed. He was powerfully built like an athlete, all lean slabs of muscle that flex and stretch with each movement. His black hair was cut in a style that favoured his curls and highlighted his strong jawline and almost black eyes.

Justin ran his hands down Sophie's arms and over her body, enjoying the shivers and goosebumps his touch created on her flesh. Her photos had not done her justice, he had been prepared to accept a mildly attractive woman who could learn to enhance her features, or he would have them surgically enhanced. Still, he found her tight little body, appealing in a very different way to the taller, bustier, leggy blondes he usually took to his bed when he needed to relieve some tension. Her friend Stella was perhaps more his usual type if he was honest with himself. Still, there was something about this girl that drew him in, and he decided being married to her might not be the burden he had expected. He would still need to break her of many bad habits and train her to his preferences. He smiled, considering how enjoyable that could be for him.

Justin would have enjoyed her regardless, he admitted as his hands continued to stroke and pet the girl. He had every intention of starting a family as soon as they were married. He tried to imagine the little girl who lay before him with a belly swollen with his baby and shook his head with a small smile tilting his lips. He let his hands trail over her stomach and hips to her thighs, pushing them gently apart and gazing at her pussy as the lips parted slowly exposing her inner self.

"Mine," he said, his fingers moving to part her lips further pinching them gently as his gaze never waivered even when she whimpered musically for him. He leaned down to breath in her scent and moaned softly.

Sophie gasped as she felt his hot breath on her before his tongue licked the length of her slit, rolling over her clit several times. Sophie arched her back, straining against her wrist restraints.

The sounds Sophie made and the way her body arched and flexed were so enticing, Justin couldn't help but tease her further sucking her clit between his teeth and nipping at the swollen bud.

"Oh, no, fuck!" The exclamation escaped her before she could stop it and she felt him chuckle against her pussy.

"You are enjoying that a little too much, baby girl," Justin chided her but was delighted with her reaction to the nips he had made on her clit. He reached down and wiped his fingers through her warm wet slit. "Please don't deny it. It's obvious that you are enjoying my attentions," he said, showing her the sheen on his fingers and lifted them to her lips. "Suck," he instructed, and she opened her mouth for him, licking and sucking his fingers clean when he placed them on her tongue.

"Good girl, you can have a reward now," Justin said, reaching for the phone in his pocket and typing in a message. Then swiping the screen, he watched for a moment before seeming satisfied and turned the phone for Sophie to see.

"Oh, no!" Sophie gasped as the thug held Stella's face by the chin and made her look into the camera, a small cut between her swelling eye and discoloured cheek leaking a drop of blood.

"I will not punish you before our wedding, baby girl, I want you to look every part the blushing eager bride, so think about who will suffer those punishments until you commit to me. As I said, I will give you their freedom as a wedding gift. You have a lot to think about, so rest, baby. I will come and wake you for dinner," he said, considering her carefully. Leaving her with her hands above her head for any length of time could render them useless later. Changing his mind, he quickly manacled one ankle and released her arms.

"Thank you," she said, pulling her arms down and wrapping them around her body. "May I have a blanket or sheet, please?" she asked politely. She had no choice but to play Justin's game for now. She wouldn't make her friends suffer on her behalf. It wasn't like she hadn't done worse in the past.

"You may," he smiled indulgently at her, picking the discarded sheet from the floor and laying it over her to cover her sweet little body. It was probably just as well in case one of his men needed to come and check on her. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead and smiled softly. "Rest well, baby girl, I will show you around our home later today." When her eyes widened, he smiled. "I own several houses, my love, but this one will be our home, where we will raise our family together." He chuckled as he could see her bite her tongue and calculate in her mind when her birth control would run out. He'd been unable to access her most recent medical records. He would have to attend to that sooner rather than later.

*****

NB: Thank you once again to LocoHerb for his patience and friendship in helping me out with this series.