Mantis

19. Dream or reality

I opened my eyes and looked around the dimly lit room. The small lamp that usually glowed next to my bed was off, and instead, a much softer, warm light filled the space, its source eluding me entirely.

Victor was sitting beside me, wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around his hips. His skin was dry, but tiny droplets of water still clung to his short– cropped hair, indicating he had just come out of the shower. However, that wasn't the most important detail.

His hand was resting on my left breast, with his fingers gently circling around the nipple, occasionally teasing it. Meanwhile, the fingers of his other hand were trailing up and down my chest along the uneven scar that had been there for several years and which I still despised. I blinked a few times, piecing together the sensations and images surrounding me.

– You slept for a long time – Victor murmured, giving me a lazy smile.

– What are you doing? – I asked the first question that came to mind, watching his hands, which were still tirelessly roaming over my exposed skin.

It was only then that I realized I was completely naked, even though I had been wearing panties and a shirt before I fell asleep.

– Waiting – he announced, as if that had anything to do with his actions.

I furrowed my brow, trying to connect the dots, which wasn't easy because half of my consciousness was still asleep, and the little creature inside me was just lazily stretching.

– For what?

– You know very well what for – Victor murmured, looking at me in a way that sent an unpleasant shiver through my entire body.

I focused my gaze on him. He seemed like the same person I had spoken with a few hours ago, but his look had changed. The familiar chocolate eyes were gone, replaced by almost black ones that showed no hint of gentleness, only hunger, more intense than I had ever seen before.

– I don't understand – I replied, but the scattered thoughts in my head were already beginning to come together.

Without taking my eyes off his changed face, I covered my naked breasts with the blanket. Victor gave me an amused look, traced the edge of the fabric with his finger, smiling to himself, then fixed me with a burning gaze that would have made me squirm if my entire body didn't hurt.

– You have a beautiful body – Victor said, running his finger along the line of the blanket on my skin, tickling me lightly, which would have been very pleasant if not for the highly unsettling circumstances. – I clearly remember every curve I had access to yesterday, but I still feel a slight dissatisfaction. – He stopped his hand and looked at me meaningfully, and I froze, giving him a questioning look. – There are still parts of your body you haven't let me explore,– he whispered, sliding the blanket off my naked breasts.

Another shiver ran through my body, and I felt as if all my strength had suddenly been drained, leaving me unable to move even a single finger.

– Can you stop? – I growled and covered my body again as much as the blanket, on which he was sitting, allowed.

Victor didn't withdraw his hand and just smiled to himself.

– I can – he replied in a low murmur, grabbing the fabric covering my chest again – but I don't want to. I came here today for what I didn't get yesterday.

I shot Victor a look that mingled surprise with anger. What did he think he was implying?

– What? What are you talking about? – I asked, trying to gather my racing thoughts.

– I was thinking... – he began in a low, slightly hoarse voice as he stood up, the towel around his hips falling to the floor, revealing his erection. He made eye contact with me, giving me a predatory look as his gaze swept over every uncovered part of my body. I felt my cheeks burn and a wave of blood pulse strongly through my clitoris, like storm waves crashing against coastal rocks. – Yesterday, I gave you a lot of pleasure. Today, I think I deserve something from you. Don't you agree?

– What pleasure? – I continued to play dumb, though I already knew what he meant, and my mind raced to find a way to divert his attention from my body.

Victor laughed in a strange way I hadn't heard before, then shook his head slightly and clicked his tongue softly.

– Come on, darling – he murmured, running his index finger along my jawline towards my chin, his voice sending another disturbing shiver through me. – You're smart. Playing dumb doesn't suit you. Yesterday, I licked your pussy so well you almost woke the neighbors with your moaning. Today, we'll find another use for that mouth of yours.

He ran his thumb over my lower lip while his other hand slowly and deliberately stroked his engorged penis.

– Open your mouth – he commanded in a domineering tone.

– You must be dreaming – I said coldly, looking at him as one would at a crushed bug stuck to the sole of a favorite shoe. – If you think you can convince me to give you a blowjob as payback for yesterday, you're seriously overestimating my gratitude. Even if you beg...

– That wasn't a request, it was an order – he interrupted authoritatively, his hungry eyes locking onto mine again. – You're not in a position to make demands.

– In what position? – I asked indignantly, struggling to sit up with great effort to stop him from towering over me. – What the hell are you talking about?

With one swift motion, Victor pushed me back into a lying position, which brought a fresh wave of sharp, stabbing pain in my ribs and back, and then he fixed me with his darkened gaze.

– Listen, darling – Victor began, barely restraining himself from shouting – my patience with you is running out. Do you think that just because you managed to knock me down once and hold a knife to my throat, you're stronger? If it weren't for the unsuitable conditions, you'd have already sucked me off in that tunnel. – He whispered this directly into my ear, his hand traveling down my body, leaving a burning sensation in its wake, completely paralyzing me.

Without warning, he inserted a finger into me, and I gasped loudly in surprise. I tried to get up, but he pressed his free hand against my chest, unleashing another wave of pain throughout my body, making me wince.

He smiled with triumph in his eyes and leaned close to my face again.

– You have no power over me – he murmured, moving his finger deeper and then shallower, making me tense my muscles as I simultaneously felt pleasure, pain, and frustration at my inability to handle the situation. – I'll do whatever I want with you. Now, kneel and take it in your mouth. With feeling.

He pulled his finger out of me and traced the wet tip along my lower lip, his gaze expectant, as rage boiled within me, desperately seeking an outlet to fight back somehow.

Without thinking much, I slapped him across the face. Victor's head turned momentarily, and when he looked back at me, I saw a sea of anger and desire in his eyes. He slapped me in the same way and straddled me, his thighs pressing against my bruised ribs. I started thrashing like a fish out of water, feeling a thousand needles stabbing into my lungs until I was out of breath. When I finally managed to inhale, something cold touched my neck.

I shot Victor a startled look. The tip of a knife was pressing into my skin. I froze.

– You're not the only one who can carry a knife – he murmured with a triumphant smile. – I quickly learn useful habits. And I always get what I want.

He smiled wickedly and dragged the blade along my skin, tracing the scar he had touched earlier.

I felt a sharp, burning pain near my left breast. Victor's weight lightened, and I immediately looked down at my chest just in time to see a stream of deep red blood trickling into the hollow between my breasts. Where my old scar had been, there was now a fresh, bloody wound.

Victor lazily brushed the descending blood with his hand and traced the wet finger along my lower lip. I tasted the metallic tang of my own blood in my mouth. For a few moments, I was breathless, then I began to gasp for air, which suddenly felt scarce in my lungs, while white spots swirled before my eyes.

I lifted my head and met Victor's triumphant gaze.

– You won't forget me now, darling – he purred, a sly glint of victory in his eyes. – Will you finally give me a blowjob?