HIS TOY

Everyone knows that feeling.

A feeling of betrayal and frustration, one that could kill.

A feeling of hopelessness.

The room was slightly opened and inside sat the one man who could make the whole of America quiver in fear and submission. That same man sat on the floor, a bottle of rum in his hand and a few other bottles on the floor. Some were broken while some lay motionless probably feeling what he was feeling. His white shirt opened that only two buttons held it and his hair wasn't the gelled black hair or the curly one, it was dishevelled as if he had just had sex. But the worst kind of sex.

He coughed tears in his eyes, he took a huge gulp of the content, and another until the bottle was empty then he threw it across the room and it shattered. His woman would have screamed or rebuked him. But no, she wasn't here... she was probably six feet to her death.

Yes! It was his fault. He had killed her and he regretted it. His daughter couldn't look at his face, she hated him and he hated himself.

If he could rewind time, he wouldn't have shot that bullet... a kill bullet. It had hit her chest and she had screamed his name with shock and pain, but he knew he saw hate masked under the pretence of shock and pain.

She can't feel pain, not after he had broken her to the extent that she could cut a life body without throwing up or fainting. It was hatred for him because he knew he had destroyed her entire life when he made her his own. It wasn't just that people would be after her or she'd engage in some illegal business of the sort, it was... .

It was because he admired her too much and knew she would die someday. But it was too soon

"Fuck you, Annie", he muttered wiping his face with a dirty towel that lay on the floor with him. He stunk of alcohol and dirt but could stand it, what was alcohol and dirt compared to blood and decayed bodies.

Thinking back in time, he thought of when he first saw her, how he adored her and called her his own. He thought of how he finally found love.

Love?

No one would have ever thought someone like him... the great dragon of America would find love and fall so weak. So weak that he dropped to level one.

But he had killed it. He had killed the only person that brought life to him, someone that made him feel human and sane. A being that made him feel loved and he had killed her.

He wasn't going to forgive himself.

Going back in time, on an early January where he had met her... that was all he could do to at least feel her and not feel guilty.

Annie

The night was cool and the stars hung brightly in the night sky. The street wasn't that busy, probably because it was getting late. Just a stone throw away was a bar.

The bar where I work.

It wasn't too fancy but it was lively and working there made me satisfied. I changed my clothes and took my phone from the counter ready to go home, my shift was over. I would have waited for my best friend, Cammie, but she wanted to go on a date with her boyfriend. That's what she calls him but we both know she doesn't like him... he wasn't her type.

I headed home after saying my goodbyes to the other workers, contemplating if I should follow the long road or the short and safest one.

"The long one", I muttered moving to the direction of the longer route. It was dark and assumed to be haunted when I was little, back then life was good. I had played here with my older brother and Cammie until we had moved to Spain.

My family wasn't poor, we were rich enough to travel to different countries every year, but we weren't too happy and close to each other.

Thinking of all these made me smile a little until I realised my rent would soon expire. My work as a bar attendant didn't pay so well that I had to do two different jobs to meet up with rent. It was tiring but I was well content with it. It was better than staying in that horrible home that I called 'family'. Sometimes I wished that I had obeyed my mother and married the man she had told me to even though it was for business purposes, but I didn't want that drama. My life was already in a mess and marrying someone I didn't know was the worst.

I sighed trying to take my mind off the thought of my family when I had a loud bang. My adrenaline wanted me to take to my heels but I stood at a place not moving.

"What was that?" I asked myself but sighed at the rhetorical question.

Part of me wanted to check it out while the other part wanted to turn around and follow the shorter route home.

I walked quietly towards the noise and hid when I saw two people, one kneeling and the other standing.

"The Carlo's would be happy to hear of your death", the one standing said. "Please, don't kill me! I beg you, please". The other one begged, shaking as though he were cold.

"Taking information from the Xavier's?" The man scoffed and continued. "Pathetic. And thinking we won't find you and kill you. You must take us for fools, do you?"

"N...no... no, I don't!" He shrieked as the one standing punched him. I gasped and I could sense that he turned. Stupid me!

I wanted to run, but this was getting fun, just like those dark romance, mafia, mercenary books I read. Seeing it in real life was fascinating and yet frightening. Suddenly, he shot him and the man fell flat on his back. That's when I knew I needed to run for my life, but quietly. Trying to move slowly I kicked an empty can.

"Who's there?" The man asked and I said nothing. I ran out quickly putting all the strength and effort I had until I reached the junction leading to the long route.

I sighed trying to catch my breath. I didn't know I could run this fast. " Fuck you, Annie", I cursed still breathing heavily.

"Hello, love". Someone said and before I could look up, I was knocked out.

***

Dylan

I sat in my office looking at some files. I took out a cigarette and lit it putting it in between my lips. I thought of what to do with the girl who I had found out to be Annie Gregory the only daughter of Mr Connor Gregory. She wasn't that pretty but her eyes were a beautiful brown doe eyes.

"Fuck" I muttered throwing the cigar on the floor and stepping on it.

She had seen something she wasn't meant to see and it was either I killed her or kept her. I smiled a little, she was the kind of a girl I liked. Not too pretty, living a quiet life and not broken. I liked those kind of girls because I loved breaking them.

Toy?

I thought. If she was going to be my toy that would be more fascinating. She was going to wake up soon and I had to be there to tell her she was my prisoner... my woman. I grinned.

This was going to be fun.

***

Annie

I opened my eyes and shut them immediately it hit the light. I opened them again, my body was sore and my head hurt badly. Then I remembered. The long route, the two men , me running and someone knocking me out. I looked around suddenly realizing that this wasn't my room. "I need to go home", I muttered and stood to run away when an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"If I were you I would sit on the bed like a good girl". I turned sharply to see a god standing before me. He was tall and had a chiselled jaw, his eyes were the darkest colour she had ever seen and his lips were thin lips . His beards were cleanly cut and his hairstyle moderate. He looked like a CEO until it dawned on me that he was the one that had killed the other man. I sat quietly and he grinned.

"That's my love", he said and I rolled my eyes, he wasn't going to have his way with me with his sexy voice.

"I'm not really interested in you, I just want to go home", I said standing again. He looked amuse for a while then his face became ice cold.

"Home? You no longer have a home, Annie", he said and I was surprised that he knew my name. Was he stalking me?

"How..."

"You saw something you shouldn't have seen, my love and I just wanted to end you at the spot then I thought, what beauty the lord has made!" He said and smirked.

"What do you want?" I asked, getting scared all of a sudden, I mean who wouldn't be?

" I don't want anything from you, my little Robin, you just have to stay inside my estate, is that hard to do?" He asked and I looked around, the place was nice and extravagant, but he wasn't going to have his way.

"If you don't let me go, I'll have to run away myself", I said and he chuckled. "You? Run away? Then I must be an amateur", he said it with his gaze as if he wanted to kill everyone and anything in the room though it was just the two of us. I pouted my lips a little, the room was getting tinier and more suffocating by the second. What the fuck was happening to me?

"I'd call the police!"

"Then I'd kill you", he said and I shivered. This was real, it wasn't a dream. He laughed lightly, making me look up at him.

"You still don't know who I am? You must be from the past then", he said tossing me a newspaper.

The news headline read ' THREE FOUND DEAD IN THE LIBRARY'

I roll my eyes. What did this have to do with me running away then I realized that he was going to kill me. I felt a chill and shivered. I turned the paper and it read. 'DYLAN XAVIER SUSPECTED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING'

' A CARGO OF ARMS STOLEN. XAVIER A LINE OF SUSPECT'

I knew all about Dylan Xavier, he was a threat to the country and yet he could walk freely and not be arrested. He was a mercenary... a threat to humanity and then I remembered the question this man before me had asked.

He was the threat! He was Dylan Xavier. I had unknowingly walked into hell.

Tears started flowing from my eyes, he looked at me as if I was nothing. "So you know who I am", he said, his voice husky and calming me down a little.

"My advice for you my kitten is to stay put, try and run away and your life would be so miserable you'd wish to die... but you wouldn't die", he grinned and came towards me. He bent down and touched my chin, I shivered, his hands were cold.

"Welcome home, my toy".

Annie

A week had passed and I had been locked in a room which I guess was my room. The weather seemed rather temperate and I liked it just fine. Having been detached from the outside world, I used my time to clean and reclean the room which was boring.

I checked the time, it was almost time for dinner, my food was always served in my room by a servant I knew to be Sophia who lived in this estate. Suddenly, the door clicked open and I was brought back to reality. Sophia stood there with no tray of food in her hand.

"Is anything wrong?" I asked and she smiled a little. "Dylan is back", she said and I rolled my eyes. Who cared if that bitch was back or not, I just wanted to eat.

"So..." I said and she smiled even more.

"He wants to have dinner with you"

"No", I said quickly without processing it.

"No?" She asked quite taken aback by my response. "Yes. I don't want to eat with him, tell him that I would rather go hungry", I said as my stomach growled giving me out. Sonia cocked her brows and moved her head to the side probably to have a better view of me and my 'stupidity'.

"Tell him I can't eat with him", I repeated not giving in to hunger.

She nodded her head slowly and walked out clicking the door shut. I slapped my cheeks trying to process what I had just done. I remembered he had called me his toy and wondered what punishment I would get for defying his orders or he could be like those ruthless but sweet lords and drag me to have dinner with him.

I waited.

I looked at the time, it was already past twelve and wondered what was taking him so long. Maybe he just didn't care or had better things to do, after all, he was Dylan Xavier, the most feared mercenary and Lord in this dark world and America.

I shut my eyes to sleep but then the door cracked open slowly. I looked at the door to see him, the one I was waiting for come in and shut the door. I felt fear creep into my soul as the hairs on my body stood.

"You... you came back. How're...". I didn't know what to say so I just shut my mouth. He was holding a gun. His face wore an expressionless mask and that made me more than scared, he was a psycho.

" How's my toy doing?" He asked as though he meant it.

"I'm good", I said hating the fact that he called me his toy.

Dylan walked to the bed and held my chin kissing me slowly. I succumbed to this pleasure, his lips were tempting but had this metallic taste.

Blood.

I wanted to push him away,but he just stood there kissing me, he had but my lips making it bleed and it hurt. He finally left me and I held my lips to stop the bleeding.

"Monster", I muttered and he smiled.

"You didn't come to welcome your master, flower. I was waiting for you but you didn't come", he said looking at his nails smirking. "You fucking locked me up!" I said defending myself though knowing even if he didn't I would never come to see him.

"Oh Annie, but I invited you for dinner and you declined". I watched him closely waiting for the moment he would pull the gun and shoot me, but he didn't, instead he placed it on the table and removed his jacket. "I rather starve", I hissed hating how domineering he was.

His once expressionless face was replaced by a mask so serious and dangerous. One that carried a certain aura that instilled fear in anybody... in me.

He pressed a certain button and chains appeared from the ceiling. He smiled.

"When I tell you something, little milkweed, you do it!" He growled.

I nodded shutting my eyes. I knew I was going to die.

I'm sorry Jesus for not going to church.

"Strip". I heard him say and I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"I said fucking strip!" He growled and I nodded unbuttoning my shirt. I threw it at a corner and removed my bra. I stood there and he looked at me as if I was a dumb ass and naive kid.

"I said strip", he said calmly and that made me more afraid as I quickly pulled down my jeans and panties.

I was totally naked.

When I was younger, I read so many dark romance books and thought what if this was me? What if I was the protagonist in this book and I loved it... I had wanted to feel it. But here I was shivering with fear, now I understood what those girls felt at first, just that I would eventually die and not find love.

I watched him look at my body not saying anything and I suddenly got irritated.

He doesn't like what he's seeing?

"I know, I'm not sexy, I'm just a plain white girl and thank you, I like it like that", I said and this time he smiled.

"I like you, toy, savage", he said and took a chain and chained my hands, I struggled but he was stronger.

They were always stronger.

"I just want to go home", I muttered and he laughed. "Home? Baby girl if you leave this estate you become a criminal", he said and I didn't quite understand. I didn't care enough to understand what he had said.

"You didn't come to have dinner with me and I felt bad and prepared a little something for you", he said and took the gun from the table and shot my arm. I screamed trying to hold my arm but I was chained.

Screw him.

"I fucking hate you!" I screamed and he smiled. "You don't, my love". He said it like he meant it.

"I have certain rules, beautiful and wish and pray you obey them"

"Tell me", I said through my clenched teeth.

"You don't do anything I wouldn't do or I would do or else I'll break you to the extent you wish for death. But like in the book of revelations, you wouldn't find death. I don't plan on killing you... you're my toy", he said wanting to leave.

"I don't understand, what do you mean by something you wouldn't do and would do..."

"Just don't do anything stupid, milkweed. Sonia would treat your injuries by exactly 5:00am before then, you stay this way, I like it". I looked at this man, he was insane but looking at his eyes,I knew he had a dark past that even he was scared to remember.

"I'll be traveling today to South Africa for business, be back in two days and I'll give you the freedom you want. You can move about the house. You're a secret no one should know of ",he said and left with his gun in his hand.

"Fuck you!" I said though not to his hearing. I was hopeless.

My situation was damned helpless.

Dylan

I sat on my bed staring at the picture in my hand. She was beautiful. Was? Yes. I had loved her and killed her. She was part of my nightmares and the only thing that kept me sane was her daughter. Our daughter.

My phone beeped. "Hello", I said roughly but the voice I heard made me calm.

"Do you have to be such an ass daddy? I just called to check on you"

"I'm good quite busy though. Focus on your studies and work, I have some business to attend to", I said and hung up before she could say anything. I was being hard on her and I knew it.

I made a few phone calls before going to the bathroom to prepare for my travel to South Africa.

It was going to be a long day.

Annie

It's been two days and I hadn't seen Dylan Xavier. Though he had informed me of his travel, I still felt weird but didn't know why. The night was beautiful and it was the perfect night to escape just that I couldn't, not that I cared about whatever he had said, it was just that there was no way out. All entrances and exits were guarded by men who wouldn't even bat eyes at a naked woman.

I walked round the house feeling useless as I heard some people taking, I decided to go have a look. I stood at a corner and peeked. Dylan was back!

He was with someone who looked a little like him, they were related but didn't act like they were.

"Thank God for sex if not I wouldn't have had the chance to kill the lady Verona", the other one said his eyes glistening with wickedness as he spoke.

"Lady Verona had to be killed but sex? That's not Xavian like ", he said and I knew he meant it. He looked so disappointed rather than pleased. "Xavian like you say, I don't really care how I happened to do it, brother, what I care about is that I did it", he said and Dylan said nothing.

He suddenly looked my way and I hid. I hoped he didn't see me, I ran quickly to my room and shut the door. These people were deadly and always surprised me in one way or the other. I thought of the so called lady Verona, she must have died in pleasure while having sex with that so called Xavian. I hissed, "what an ass"

"Who's an ass, sweetheart". Someone said and I looked quickly towards the sound to see Dylan standing there. He always mesmerized me with his beauty that I forgot for a second that he had asked a question.

"Me. I'm an ass", I said and he chuckled. "That wasn't a question, toy". He came towards me and pulled me in for a hug. "I've missed you so much, lover", he said and took me by the hand. I followed him out of the room nervously as we went downstairs. He pushed a door opened and I was surprised, I hadn't seen this place in this house, we entered and I knew why I hadn't seen it.

There were all kinds of weapons for torture and slow death. Chains, knives, scissors, a shocker, axes... they were many and only a single chair and table stood in the middle.

"I came home with a guest and saw you doing exactly the same thing that landed you here, in my humble home", he said letting me go and shutting the door.

He had seen me.

"I'm sorry..."

"I would never apologize, toy. Don't dare me!" He growled and I nodded. "I would never nod like a scared cat". I said nothing so as not to enrage him.

"And I fucking would not be quiet and let someone intimidate me!" He screamed and I whimpered.

"I want to go home". I knew that made it worse and couldn't look him in the face. Whatever it is, I would still die anyway, but I remembered him saying he didn't plan to kill me.

I was worried.

"Stand there", he said and pointed to where an archery board stood on the wall. I moved and stood at the centre shutting my eyes and waiting for my last.

I heard a shot and it almost hit my ear. I gulped shaking with fear.

I heard him pull the trigger and shoot again, it hit just a cm above my head. I could feel and taste my own tears.

"I don't want to kill you beautiful, you don't have to cry". He said it like he cared. My eyes were still shut and I felt a soft lips on mine. I wanted to push him away ,but no one could resist such temptation.

Then he left without a word.

I sat on the ground weeping. I thought I was going to die but he didn't want to kill me, then what in the world did he want from me?

Hopeless.