My Body-His Marcello (6 page)

“
It’s
up to Marcello when I eat. No worries, Jane. I’m not
hungry.”

“
What
are they going to do to me?” I said, looking down at the half-eaten
toast, too worried to eat another bite.

“
Whatever they want, of course.”

“
Do
you know what they have planned?”

“
Yes,
but I can’t say. I have no intention of triggering Marcello’s rage.
It’s bad enough as it is. Listen very carefully when he gives you
his rules and Jane, seriously, follow them. Remember he’s no Luke
and there are no second chances with him.”

“
But
Luke wouldn’t allow him to truly hurt me. Shouldn’t I be flying off
on my honeymoon instead of letting a lunatic use my body? Who the
hell am I?”

“
I ask
myself that every day
...
”

I left the plate
on the counter and Janice led me through the back doors. All traces
of the wedding had been swept away. Gone were all the tables, the
dance floor, the bar and the plethora of gifts. As we faltered
toward the beach, I saw that the large white tent that Luke rented
in case of inclement weather still stood. It could have
accommodated everything the back of the house held for the
reception.

“
For
what’s about to happen, forgive me,” Janice said.

“
What
does that mean?” I said. Fear gripped me and I found it hard to
fill my lungs. I knew in that moment that eating was the last thing
I should’ve done.

“
Shhhhh. They can hear us now,” she whispered.

We entered the
tent. Right in the center where the polls crossed, two ropes hung
down, each ending in a strap. They looked like a set. I could see
that I was going to be the main attraction.

Dread had coated
me in a fine sheen of perspiration. It didn’t help that the day was
unusually warm and humid.

With a radiant
warm smile Luke enfolded me in his arms and said, “I love you,
Jane, but this is a reminder that you should always be reverent
toward my friends.”

I paced to the
center of the tent and held my arms above my head. The sooner I
could get this punishment over with, the better.

Marcello strode
to where I stood and loomed over me menacingly. Gripping my face
with harsh fingers, he said, “You must stay silent. Do you
understand me? We do not want to draw a crowd.”

With some
difficulty I shook my head in assent, as he was still holding fast
to my face. He leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Make no
mistake. I will have you for myself eventually. This is just a
preview of what you’ll get with me. And Jane,” he forced me to face
him, penetrating my entire being with his stare, “you think you’ve
found what you need in Luke. Make no mistake, you have
not.”

I trembled with
fear and desire but my anger grew as tears spilled down my cheeks
in front of the man I despised. I was doing this for Luke, I
reminded myself.

I lowered my arms
so Marcello could fasten each wrist with a leather cuff that
attached to the rope by a D-ring. Janice pulled one rope taut and
Marcello pulled the other, lifting me onto my toes. My arms were so
extended I felt my joints stretching.

“
Janice … it’s time. And remember, if the discipline isn’t up
to my standards you will both suffer my wrath.”

Janice showed me
the whip. It was different from any in the collection that Luke
kept in his office. The strands of braided leather hung about
eighteen inches long. There looked to be about ten to twelve of
them affixed to a wooden handle. She tied a blindfold over my eyes,
and I was relieved to be deprived of my sight. I could hear her
flip-flops on the wooden floor that lined the bottom of the tent. I
could also hear the sound of the waves crashing against the
shore.

I was aroused by
the thought of Janice administering the whip … until the first
strike. She started on my ass. The braids of leather were long
enough that they wrapped all the way around my side. The intensity
of the sting took me by surprise, and I no longer liked Janice at
all. My legs began to shake from the strain of being strung up so
high.

“
Fuuuuu ...” I groaned. I had almost cursed and then struggled
to swallow the sound.

Marcello brutally
snatched me by the hair and said, “You will pay for that. If you
were mine I’d use a gag and let you scream without sound to your
heart’s content.” Still pulling my head back by my hair he said,
“Janice, continue, and remember, up to my standards.” He roughly
released me.

By the third
strike on my ass my anger soared through me. I loathed Marcello
with every fiber of my being, and I was determined that he not see
me cry again. Janice steadily worked her way down my ass, to right
above my knees. The sting and burn of that whip lingered longer
than anything Luke had used on me. I struggled to keep my breathing
steady as she worked her way back up my thighs, crisscrossing over
my sore buttocks again, all the way up my back to right under my
neck.

All I could hear
was the whoop of the whip repeatedly abusing me, my soft cries and
Janice’s labored breathing. I couldn’t be sure—but I assumed—that
Luke and Marcello still remained in the tent. My discipline was for
their benefit, after all.
Marcello’s wounded ego must be
placated
, I thought, viciously. The man was a
monster.

By the second
pass over my ass and down to my legs, the excruciating pain
increased the abject rage and hatred coursing through me. I found
uncommon strength in that anger. I remained quiet from that point
on. I would not let Marcello win.

The last stroke
of the whip landed just above my tail bone.

“
Enough!”

I heard Luke’s
heated command, bringing me back around.

I had no strength
in my arms and since only my toes reached the floor, I felt the
muscles in my shoulders wrenching. Luke cupped his hands under my
armpits and around my chest, avoiding my back but taking the weight
off my shoulders. After Janice lowered me to the floor, Luke
removed the blindfold.

“
Wait,” I said.

Jerking my head
away, I threw up breakfast. Luke held back my hair and gently
rubbed my shoulder, avoiding my back.

“
I
would carry you but I think it would hurt you worse than
walking.”

“
Luke,
we are not done here,” Marcello commanded.

“
We
are beyond done, Marc. Please take Janice and go.”

Luke held me by
my upper arms, helping me stagger across the wooden floor of the
tent. Once we got to the sand I could feel each and every mark on
my body.

“
Oh
Luke, this hurts too much,” I groaned out through the pain,
grateful that Marcello couldn’t hear me.

“
Janey, I should have intervened earlier but you were no longer
crying out and I thought ... Stop, love,” he added
softly.

Pivoting me
around to face him, he carefully draped me over his shoulder. He
held me under my buttock
s
, which hurt like hell, but not as much as
stumbling on the beach or trying to navigate the stairs.

He carried me
quickly through the sand, up the steps and into the house. He
gingerly lowered me onto the bed on my side.

“
I’ll
be right back,” he said.

I lay there
thinking about how far my life had veered away from my fantasies of
falling in love to the ideal ivory wedding and honeymoon in the
Bahamas sipping piña coladas embellished with umbrellas and fruit.
I needed to weep but the idea of making even minute movements kept
me straining to keep my emotions in check. I wanted to be mad at
Luke but at that moment all my anger was centered on Marcello. I
had never thought of myself as vengeful but on that day I
fantasized about kidnapping him, binding him in rope and abusing
him at my whim. Never before had I considered striking another
person for pleasure but the idea of whipping the crap out of
Marcello brought a smile to my face.

“
After
all this you’re smiling? You’re incredible Jane.” He laid a towel
out next to me.

I rolled onto my
stomach and said, “Umpf.”

“
You
okay?”

“
The
nipple piercings. They’re sore. But again, Luke, you give me way
more credit than I deserve. You caught me fantasizing about
torturing Marcello—my attempt to distract myself from the sobs
threatening to overtake me.”

“
Love,
I’m so truly sorry. I swear I’ll never put you in that set of
circumstances again.”

“
Why
doesn’t that make me feel any better?
‘
That
set of circumstances’? So you will
never string me up in the middle of a tent and let Janice whip me?
Somehow that doesn’t comfort me at all.” I was no longer
smiling.

“
Take
this,” he said, handing me a glass of water and a pill.

I pushed my body
up on my elbow so I could swallow and said, “What was
that?”

“
It’s
a painkiller. It will help you sleep. I have more if you need them
over the next few days.”

He lightly
trailed an ice cube over the welts on my backside.

“
Ow!”
I yelped.

“
Should I stop?”

“
No,
go on. It’s cold but it helps,” I said, my voice muffled by my
pillow.

“
Jane,
Marcello and I have shared many things over the years and I cannot,
will not, promise you that you won’t see him again. What I will
promise you is that I won’t make that decision lightly and I’ll
make sure you’re safe.” He continued his application of the
ice.

“
You
mean like today? I don’t think so.”

“
It’s
not up to you as you more than well know.”

“
It’s
always up to me, as I can choose to leave at any time.
You
would do well to remember
that
. It works both
ways.”

“
I
don’t care for the tone of this conversation but will give you the
benefit of the doubt, given today’s events. However, make no
mistake, Jane: I’m the one in charge here.”

“
A
wise dictator takes care of the ones he loves. Otherwise they side
with the revolution. History has proved that time and
again.”

“
So
you think I need a history lesson? You’re pushing it. I suggest you
change the subject.”

“
Fine,” I said, my voice harsh. “Do something for me
then?”

“
What?”

“
Save
Janice from that psycho man you call your friend. Do you know he
gets to decide when she eats?”

“
Yes,
I do know that. Do you know she agreed to everything?”

“
Yes,
but she only did it in response to our wedding. She’s still very
much in love with you and can’t imagine a life without you. There
has to be other men who are more like you that you could introduce
her to.”

“
Janey, as I told you before, I cannot interfere in this
matter. It’s between her and Marc.”

“
You
mean you
won’t
. Isn’t that what you’re saying? You
won’t
help her. Obviously you must have loved her once.
She’s all over your Web pages, more pictures than anyone else. You
had a large blown up photo of her on your wall and pictures of her
in your photo album.”

“
Yes,
I loved her, but I’m no longer responsible for her.”

“
He
will use her and abuse her. You must know that. I can see why you
loved her but she won’t be that person anymore after he’s done with
her. Can’t you see? Won’t you see?”

“
She’s
not like you, Jane. Far was never far enough for her. She will get
far enough with Marc. She knows what she’s doing. She has been
loaned to him in the past. There are no surprises there for her.
Even if I were able to ‘save’ her, she would have to want to be
saved, and I’d never consider taking her back.”

I didn’t take in
the words he said past “far was never far enough.” Could he be
telling me the truth? Did she want to go further than even he cared
to go? My thoughts spun around and around as he ever so gently
applied the healing salve that smelled of lavender and
coconut.

I wondered if
Luke had limits. Where did it all stop for him? I couldn’t fathom
what Janice had wanted him to do, what he had refused to do. The
graphic pictures on the website alluded to all sorts of
debauchery.

The conversation
about Janice left me somewhat relieved. I no longer worried as to
what would happen to her. It had, however, unleashed in me a fierce
curiosity. I needed to know the outside boundary I would face. I
needed to know the outside boundary I could endure.

After Luke
finished tending to me, he lay down beside me, also on his stomach,
and faced me.

“
You
won’t have much ability to move around the next few days.
Fortunately we aren’t leaving on our honeymoon for another week, so
you will have a chance to heal.” He gently brushed my hair away
from my eyes.

“
Please tell me we aren’t going to a beach where the marks on
my back will show.” I sighed at the thought.