Bones (Bonetti Brothers #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

ATHENA

Manny has me pinned to the cold concrete, his knee on the back of my neck, while he pulls on my hair as hard as he can. Even someone who thinks death might be the way out of a never-ending turmoil is terrified when faced with it. He doesn’t want to hurt me this time. He wants to end me. The pain is intense, but it’s the inability to get a full breath that’s the worst. Tears stream down my face as I spot Bones charging down the gray basement stairs. He looks terrifying. He tilts his head slightly, a glare on his face. The dark eyes are back once again. He roars, “Get your fucking hands off my wife.”

His what?

Manny releases his grip on my hair and gets off me. “Your what?”

Bones glances at me. “Come here, Butterfly.”

Slowly, I climb up onto my feet and walk over to him. He places his thumb on my chin and tilts my head back, before leaning his head forward. Running his tongue from the bottom of my cheek to the top, he licks my tears. “Beautiful. From now on, you only cry for me.”

He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his side, as he narrows his gaze at Manny. “You assaulted my wife.”

Manny stares back at him with confusion. “Your wife? How?”

Bones chuckles obnoxiously. “Not legally, yet. She will be, so as far as I’m concerned, you dared to hit my wife. That will not happen without severe consequences. Get on your fucking knees.”

“I’m not-”

Glancing at Manny, I see something that looks an awful lot like fear. I’ve never seen him like this. His eyes dart from Bones to the stairs and back again. He’s considering making a run for it, and while I don’t blame him, it’s useless. I have a strange feeling that nobody gets away from Bones.

“Uh uh,” Bones says, “You don’t want to finish that sentence. Trust me, you want to do as you’re told, or shit’s going to get a lot worse than I already have planned for you.”

Manny must believe him because he gets on his knees as he trembles slightly. Maybe I’m a bitch, because I do enjoy the fear in his eyes.

“Apologize to my wife.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, but I know he doesn’t mean it. There’s no doubt bile is rising in his throat, as the bitterness of his words physically makes him ill. Manny is never sorry for anything he does to me. Today isn’t the first time he hit me, not by a long shot. I’m positive if Bones hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve continued until I was dead.

He runs his hand under my shirt, stroking my bare skin as he torments Manny, “Fun fact, Manuel, there are two hundred six bones in the human body.”

“Please, I didn’t even hurt her. She’s fine. I’ll go and never touch her again.”

Bones turns to me. “You’re mine to hurt. Any other man who even thinks of putting his hands on my wife dies.”

Leaning down, he places his hands on my face on either side and stares into my eyes. “Butterfly, go sit in the chair. You’re going to see firsthand how I got my nickname.”

I have a feeling this is going to get violent quickly, and I need to remember all the things Manny has done to me. The countless beatings, near starvation, and constant belittling.

He leans down and kisses my cheekbone softly. “He won’t hurt you again. Now, do as you’re told.”

This man is confusing. He’s cruel, yet kissing where Manny hit me was sweet. I’m not delusional enough to believe he’ll be good to me. I know better. Men like him don’t treat their women with respect. And I’m still not nearly as convinced as he is that we’ll be getting married.

I nod slowly, and walk over to the chair and take a seat, as I watch Bones approach Manny.

“Get on your feet. Oh, and feel free to fight back.”

He winks at me. “I do love a good fight. Remember that, Butterfly.”

I pull on the hem of the shirt nervously as Manny shakes his head. “No. I’m not fighting you.”

Bones shrugs as he reaches behind him, and pulls his shirt over his head. “It was never going to be a fair fight, anyway. Remember, two hundred six bones in the human body, and I’m going to break nearly every one of yours.”

I gasp as I cover my mouth in shock. I’m not an idiot. I knew he was going to hurt him, but breaking nearly all of his bones? Can he even do that?

He glances at me with a smirk, as recognition shows on my face.

Bones. He’s going to break Manny’s bones. This is how he got his name.

How many times has he done this? I won’t dare ask because I’m really not sure I want to know.

Calmly, he takes Manny’s hand. “We’ll start here, with the fingers that you thought had the right to touch my wife. There are tools to make this easier, but we’ll start this way.”

He stands in black shorts, with all his tattoos on display. Most of his ink is black, and his chest is ripped, but I still wonder if he can actually break his bones with his bare hands. I suppose it’s possible if he’s strong enough, but I’ve certainly never seen it done. I never even imagined it until a few minutes ago.

I don’t have to wait long until Manny is screaming and wriggling his body, attempting to get away. Bones takes three of his fingers and forces them back, while Manny blurts out, “Asshole.”

“Wrong thing to say. I hate that fucking word. ”

In a swift movement, he grabs Manny’s arm and forces him onto his stomach. After he pulls his arm to his side, he squats down and places his foot on his elbow, grabs his forearm and pulls up while pressing down with his foot. When he was bending his fingers, I thought I heard cracking, but I wasn’t sure. Now I know I did. Manny deserves this as much as my father would, but it’s still difficult to watch.

He flips him over to his back, and Manny stares at me like I should help him. Like I could. He does exactly what he did with his forearm to his shoulder, and the man I once thought of as my boyfriend nearly convulses from the pain. His face is red, drenched in sweat, and he attempts to punch Bones, which is unsuccessful, and causes him to laugh.

“Alright, I guess we’ll break those next.”

He does the same thing to that arm before moving to his legs. When he squats down and places his foot on his knee and grabs his foot and pulls up with massive force, Manny yells, “Just kill me! FUCK!”

Bones glares at him. “You weren’t sorry when you apologized before, but I bet you are now.”

Tears stream down Manny’s face, the same way mine have so many times before. Opening up to him was where I went wrong. He used my past as a weapon. Exposing myself to him showed my greatest weakness. I will never make that mistake again. As I watch Bones smashing his head into the concrete, I know I won’t do that again. If I thought Manny was dangerous, Bones is even more so. I’m conflicted because it’s hot in a way. This man looks good without a shirt on. And of course, saying he’s protecting me is also sexy. Who doesn’t want a big man that will destroy anyone who hurts her? It’s my Dexter fantasy come to life, though he could hurt me too, or worse. It’s becoming crystal clear. If he wants me to marry him, I may not have a choice. I will escape from him, I’m just not sure if it’ll be before or after. I will do whatever it takes to make him believe I’m accepting my fate, but I never will. I’ve been in captivity for my entire life, and I refuse to end my life the same way.

Bones stands and stares at me. “Come here, Butterfly.”

Rising from the chair, I nervously walk over to him, unsure of what he’s going to do to me. He planned to kill me, I know that, but now that he’s fixated on me becoming his wife, I don’t think he’s going to follow through on that threat, but still I’m unsure. He seems to go from fine to angry in a nanosecond, so I’m not stupid enough to believe he won’t ever kill me. Once I make my way over to him, he says, “Take the shirt off.”

I do as he told me to, and pull the t-shirt over my head as I stand in Manny’s blood, with Bones staring at me with a heated expression. His eyes travel the length of my body, causing me to shiver from his gaze. I don’t understand it, but it’s almost as if I can feel his fingers on my skin, everywhere his eyes touch.

“On your knees.”

I try to move away from the pool of blood on the floor, from my dead boyfriend’s body, but he stops me. “Kneel in his blood.”

Swallowing hard, I get down on my knees and Manny’s wet blood touches my skin, as Bones drops his pants. “Open your mouth.”

There are few things I hate more than blowjobs. I’ve never been a willing participant, but that doesn’t matter. They never care. My time to fight will come, but this isn’t it, so I part my lips. Standing in front of me, he strokes himself slowly as I gaze up at his perfect body. His scent differs from Manny’s. It’s not sweaty, it’s more of an orange citrus smell. His cock is big and I’m afraid of his massive size, but I don’t dare complain. My life has taught me that taking it is much better than the punishment that comes from refusal. After you do this enough times, it doesn’t bother you as much anymore. It’s routine. Men always take what they want, without considering what it does to the girl. This man is no different .

He tangles his hands in my hair and slides into my mouth. Instantly, my mouth is full of him. There’s no warming up to it. One second my mouth is empty, and the next, I’m gagging on his big cock, too big. I close my eyes as he fucks my mouth, and he growls, “Eyes on me, Butterfly.”

I glance up at him and he’s so beautiful to look at. Even though I don’t want to admit it, he’s like a work of art. His strong jaw clenches as he feels the pleasure he’s practically stealing from me. Yet, I don’t hate it as much as I should, and normally do. He fists my hair, causing a slight sting, as he pulls out of my mouth most of the way and slams back in, making me gag a little.

“Good girl, gag on my cock. Fuck. Don’t swallow.”

Gripping either side of my face, he thrusts his hips forward, fucking my mouth with the occasional grunt that I’ll never admit is sexy. Bones groans as he orgasms in my mouth. He pulls out with a sexy smirk that I shouldn’t like.

“Show me.”

I open my mouth and he nods with satisfaction. “You look beautiful with my cum in your mouth. Swallow. Every. Drop.”

He pulls me to my feet and pulls me into his arms, kissing me on the top of my head. He speaks low, “I didn’t know he was going to hurt you. If I did, I never would’ve left you alone with him. I won’t make that mistake twice. Do you understand that you’ll be my wife? Have you accepted it?”

“Yes,” I say, while the tears drip down my cheeks. I’m not happy about it, but if I die, I don’t want it to be the way Manny did. He will be my husband because I don’t have a choice. However, if I get the chance, I’ll stab him in the throat.

“I’m going to take you upstairs. Don’t do anything stupid, and I won’t keep you in the cage. I’d prefer not to have to lock up my wife, but I will.”

He pulls back from our weird embrace and stares at me. “Understood? ”

I sigh audibly. “Yes. I won’t do anything stupid.”

Bones seems satisfied with my answer, and maybe even believes it. That was his first mistake, because I am indeed waiting for the moment to try something. Hopefully end his life, before he takes mine.