The Accidental Slave (Aya's story Part 1) (14 page)

Kato was the first to look up and notice that
Jonul was gone and then they heard the shot.

“What the fuck.” Kato jumped up and ran to
Jonul’s room.

Aya followed but was pushed back by Kato before
she could see anything. “You don’t want to see this,” Kato said
with a tight jaw.

He was right; she didn’t need to see it. The
shot and Kato’s reaction told her what Jonul had done, and she was
suddenly flushed with guilt.

“It’s my fault,” she said in a shaky voice.

Kato turned to look at her. “You didn’t do
anything, Aya. Jonul pulled the trigger.”

Aya was pale and spoke fast. “Kato. I pushed
him… I wanted revenge and I thought that if he insisted on
watching, then I would show him what a poor substitute violence and
force is for true lovemaking. I wanted to rub in his face what he
can never have unless it’s freely given.”

“And you think seeing us made him want to kill
himself?” Kato pondered out loud.

“Yes, I think it made him crave affection and
devotion, and I think it felt so far out of his reach, that he
just… ”

The silence between them was unbearable. Aya
needed Kato to say something. Anything.

He looked lost and was stiff when she tried to
hug him.

Kato

Kato was overwhelmed with the sight of his
brother’s suicide. It was indescribably gross, with half of his
face missing and his brains splattered on the wall and ceiling.
Kato hadn’t even known Jonul had a sawn-off shotgun.

And now Aya had just told him she had pushed
Jonul to do it. Kato had expected to guide her gently through an
awkward sequence of sex to satisfy Jonul’s need to see Kato break
her in, but she had completely surprised him by taking initiative,
showing passion, and transforming from a woman paralyzed with fear
to an erotic goddess of sensuality. Her presence, her sweet moans,
her movements, and the way she made him feel like the most
important person in the world were without comparison. Not even
with Diana had he ever felt this level of connection and intensity.
It had been such basic sex, and at the same time so unbelievably
satisfying and mind-blowing.

He wished Aya hadn’t told him that it had all
been nothing but a show to torture Jonul. She had used him to get
revenge and brought his brother to suicide. Rationally Kato
understood that she wasn’t to blame – Jonul had been suicidal for
months if not years – but there was no denying that her
demonstration of what Jonul could never have had been the trigger
of his suicide. Not for a second had Kato thought that Jonul would
react so strongly. Jonul was into force and pain, or was Aya right?
Were those things a poor substitute for connection and love? Had
their “show” brought back his longings to be desired by a
woman?

Kato released Aya. He needed a minute to think.
He would have to call the general and get a team to collect Jonul’s
corpse. He needed to focus on the practical steps in front of him,
and he tried to push the hurt away – that Aya had apparently been
pretending when he had genuinely made love to her. He couldn’t
understand how anyone could be that good an actress.

“Kato… I…” Aya was trying to get his
attention.

“Wait for me in my room. I need a minute,” he
said dismissively without looking at her.

Aya left him with her head down.

Kato found his phone and called the general, who
picked up on the first ring.

“Mantonis speaking.”

“Jonul’s dead.”

“How?”

“Suicide.”

There was silence and then the general spoke
again. “What a shame. Where is he?”

“In his room.”

“I’ll have someone collect him.”

“Could you send a cleaning team too?”

“Of course.”

The conversation was short and concise and left
Kato in a waiting position. He would need to dress before the
general’s men arrived; but to get clothes he would have to go to
his room, where Aya was, and he couldn’t think with her around.

Kato crouched down and buried his head in his
hands. His mind was in chaos, and memories of Diana’s deceit came
flushing back. Aya had deceived him too and made him believe in a
lie; she couldn’t be trusted, she was dangerous. He sighed and
realized that ever since he touched her the first time in the
marketplace he hadn’t been able to think straight. She made him
hope for freedom and… happiness. Those were the things that got
Masi fighters killed, and he needed to create distance from her to
protect himself.

Aya

Kato entered the bedroom and started roaming
through his closet looking for clothes. Aya was naked under the
blanket and watching him. He was so incredibly well-shaped, and her
body remembered every little touch from the living room. Sex with
Kato was levels above anything she had ever tried, and it wasn’t
because of the technicalities but because of him and the way her
body reacted to his touch, his kiss, and his scent. The electric
vibration between them in the marketplace was merely a weak current
compared to the shock effect that having sex with Kato had on
her.

“Kato, can we talk about what happened?” she
asked, still trying to understand it.

He didn’t turn but pulled on a Masi uniform, and
then he grabbed another t-shirt and tossed it to her. “Someone’s
coming to take Jonul away. I need to take care of it and you need
to stay in here.” He hardly looked at her, but left the room with a
gloomy energy that made her feel small and insignificant.

Aya stayed in the room and after twenty minutes
she heard voices of men. There were several, from what she could
hear, and they were moving furniture from Jonul’s room and walking
with heavy steps through the apartment. She tried not to picture
what they were doing when she heard scrubbing sounds from the other
side of the wall.

After an hour Kato returned, only to tell her
that he needed to go to work at the headquarters and that he would
be back later.

Aya was disturbed by Kato’s new indifference to
her. He could hardly look at her, and she explained it with the
fact that she had pushed his friend to suicide. He resented her
now; she could see it on his face.

When Kato left the apartment Aya curled up in a
fetal position and went over every detail of what had happened to
her since the kidnapping. She hadn’t seen daylight for days, and
she was worried for Aston and for her family. Her psyche felt like
a rubber band stretched too thin and on the verge of bursting. On
one side Jonul had pushed her into the darkest corners of her mind
with levels of fear previously unknown to her, while Kato was
pulling her in the other direction with his fundamental connection
with her and gifts of sexual arousal and pleasure that brought out
hidden parts of her.

Her image of Kato was clouded because of their
first encounter. He was a Masi warrior, and she hated everything
that symbolized, but her first impression of him had been formed
without that piece of information and it was without doubt the
strongest physical attraction she had ever felt to a man. Aya was
torn between feeling dirty for having had sex with a Masi warrior
and not regretting it one bit because it was with Kato.

Time in the apartment was endless. She stayed
mostly in Kato’s bed, and moved out of it only to use the bathroom
and look for something to eat. Since she didn’t have a clock she
had no idea if Kato had been gone five or ten hours, although it
felt like the latter. When Kato finally returned she was eager for
his company.

Aya heard him move around the apartment, but he
didn’t come to her as she had hoped he would. She got up from the
bed and walked into the living room, still wearing the t-shirt he
had lent her this morning.

Kato stopped when he saw her and swallowed hard
before he looked away.
Oh no, he’s still mad at me.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” was his short answer.

“Did you see Aston?” She knew he didn’t like to
talk about it, but she was so worried.

Kato lifted his chin a bit and finally looked
straight at her. “He’s still with the healer, but at least
he’s
alive!”

The accusation of Jonul’s death in his tone made
her gasp. “I’m sorry, Kato. I didn’t think that…”

He gave a blank stare and walked back in the
direction of the kitchen. Aya knew better than to follow him.
Instead she went back to bed feeling small.

She wanted to sleep and dream of a happy place.
Dreaming was her only escape from her horrible reality, but every
little sound that Kato made in the apartment had her attention. She
was so tuned into him, longing for him to comfort her like he had
these last days.

After a while the door opened and Kato walked
in. He handed her a plate with a sort of pie. “I brought you some
food from the headquarters,” he said emotionlessly.

“Thank you.” This time Aya didn’t resist eating;
she didn’t want to fight him, she wanted him to like her again. She
took a bite and found the pie surprisingly good.

“It tastes good,” she muttered.

Kato didn’t respond but turned and walked away.
A minute later she heard the shower running and thought of how he
had kissed her neck in the shower. She wondered if he would reject
her if she went to him now, but she was willing to risk it to have
back the connection with him. Their connection was the only white
light in this dark, filthy apartment and she was starving for it.
She took the last bite of the pie and moved to the bathroom.
Standing outside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Here goes
, she thought and put her hand on the doorknob. It
was locked! Had he expected her to come to him and taken
precautions?

Aya felt like she had been kicked in her stomach
and returned to the bedroom thinking,
He really doesn’t want me
anymore.

She hoped he hadn’t noticed her trying to get
in, and curled up close to the wall.
I can’t face him, please
let me fall asleep before he comes to bed
. But she was still
awake when he entered.

A scent of soap and toothpaste met her when he
crawled into bed beside her. They shared a blanket and the bed
wasn’t big, so he couldn’t avoid touching her a little, but she was
stiff as a board pretending to be asleep.

Kato didn’t speak but turned his back on her.
Aya closed her eyes and dried away a silent tear. She felt
miserable.

When Aya finally fell asleep dreams of being
trapped shook her body. Ropes were holding her down and she
wriggled and fought to get away. As if by a miracle the ropes gave
way and became loose enough for her to escape. She ran as fast as
she could and then she was free. She recognized Aston and realized
he was okay. She hugged and kissed him with joy and he hugged her
back. They wouldn’t let go of each other. “We are going home,” she
told him, smiling. He took her hand and kissed her again – this
time differently. She looked at him and suddenly she didn’t see
Aston, she saw Kato and he looked so sad and distant. She wanted to
bring back the connection between them and pleaded for him to like
her again. Kato leaned into her with his intense amber eyes and
kissed her slowly and softly. She smiled and relaxed when she
recognized the look in his eyes. Kato wanted her as much as she
wanted him and with a sigh she spread her legs, inviting him to
take her again. He was gentle and took his time to bring her
pleasure. “There’s no one like you,” she whispered and arched her
back with a soft moan.

Aya woke up and found Kato staring at her. He
was lying next to her with his head propped on his elbow.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You tell me!” Kato said.

Flashes of making love to him came back to her
and she sat up feeling flustered. “Did I touch you?” she asked and
looked down her body. She was still wearing his blue T-shirt.

“Touch me?” he asked, confused. “No, I couldn’t
make out what you were saying, but it sounded like you were
rambling about freedom and someone being like no other.

Aya sighed and lay back down again.
Nothing
happened – good! It was just one of my stupid vivid dreams.

“I’m sorry for waking you. I’ll be quiet now, I
promise,” she said.

“Tell me about your dream,” Kato said.

She wasn’t going to reveal that she had just
made love to him in her dreams after he had rejected her by locking
the door.

“I told you, I don’t remember my dreams,” she
answered instead.

“What a shame,” he said dryly.

“Why, what else did I say?”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t so much what you said.
It was how you moved and the sweet moans you made; it sounded like
you were having an erotic dream. Did you dream of me?” he asked
bluntly.

“I told you, I don’t remember,” Aya snapped.
“But if you want me, then why did you lock the bathroom door when
you showered?” She could have bitten her tongue off but it was too
late, and Kato just tilted his head and smiled a little. “How do
you know I locked it?”

Aya felt flushed and hoped the darkness hid the
tomato-red color on her face.

I’m not answering that question
, she
thought stubbornly and noticed that Kato looked different in the
darkness; he had shaved his stubble and looked much younger
somehow.

Kato continued without her reply. “I didn’t know
you wanted to shower with me.” There was something strange about
his voice. An edge of vulnerability hidden under the sharp
sarcasm.

“Kato, can I ask you something?” Aya asked in a
soft voice.

He sighed and lay back down on his back.
“What?”

“I just wonder about you. I’m trying to
understand how someone like you, who grew up in a modern country
with democracy, came to live like this. I mean who were you before
you became a Masi warrior?”