Artful Ambush · Part 1

Artful Ambush · Part 1 (1/2)
Next

The full moon gave the empty street a somewhat eerie shade as Leah walked home. This was not a ‘nice’ neighborhood, as she well knew, but she carried herself with an athletic grace that spoke of repressed ferocity and made all but the dumbest pickpockets and muggers stay well clear of her. One of her friends had once described it by saying that Leah didn’t ‘walk’ like any other person did, she ‘stalked’ through the city, as if waiting for a reason – or excuse – to erupt into motion. Leah had to admit that it was a fairly accurate assessment, as she had – on multiple occasions – exploded into unexpected violence in response to an attempted robbery or assault.

She smirked briefly at the memory of the scrubby thief’s expression on discovering that his target was much less vulnerable than previously thought. He won’t make that particular mistake again, if he’s learned anything from the experience.

Her peripheral vision and other senses were on constant scan for potential threats, too; a courtesy of her upbringing in a ‘prepper’ community. Her ‘guardians’ – she did not allow herself to think of them as parents, because they had not filled any of the typical roles – had made sure that her senses were honed and that she understood that everybody outside their community was a threat to her safety. Since escaping that cultish life, she had certainly revised some of her opinions, but many of the self-protection instincts remained strong. Intellectually, she knew that most people didn’t care in the least about her, much less actually wished her harm of any kind, but the emotional side of her brain didn’t always care what the intellectual side thought, regardless of how convincing the logic was.

This train of thought was a frequent one for her. The battle of rational vs. emotional, who is going to win the day? she wondered to herself. Emotional is certainly more pleasant to live with, and does help me make – and keep – friends, but rational is certainly useful at times, too.

As if to illustrate her point, a small animal – a fox, maybe? – down the street upended a bin, scattering debris on the road with a loud commotion. She knew that at some points in her life, that type of sudden noise would have spiked her adrenaline and set her to identifying possible escape routes. Now, she just identified the racket as not a threat to her, briefly debated setting the bin back upright before discarding the idea, and continued on her way home.

As a result of her assessment and discarding of potential threat, she was completely surprised when a muscular arm wrapped suddenly around her waist and yanked her bodily through an open door into a dark shop. Even surprised as she was, her instincts prompted her to react, and before she even consciously recognized what was happening, she had wrapped one hand around the offending wrist and the other seeking an elbow pressure point to break the hold. The arm was immensely muscular and veritably covered in hair – she would not have been surprised to find out that she’d be grabbed by a gorilla.

Before she could break the hold the arm had on her, she was spun around and unceremoniously flung to the floor. Converting her forced motion into a fluid half-roll, she had her hands and feet under her and was moving evasively before the brute could pounce on her again. She spun around to face her assailant, prepared for an immediate reaction, only to find him standing nonchalantly in front of the door with his hands on the hips of his worn overalls, grinning broadly.

“Well, well, what have we here?” the rumbling bass voice asked. “A new toy to play with?”

Leah didn’t respond, other than baring her teeth in a facsimile of a predatory threat. She was on the balls of her feet, ready for movement in any direction, and had her hands up and open in a defensive and deflection stance. The ruffian was a bit shorter than average, but just about as wide as he was tall. Strong, but probably not that quick, Leah thought. Grappling is probably a bad idea, but I should be able to avoid him without too much difficulty. Listening to the cadence of the situation, she counted out the beats of the moment, trying to determine when to break the temporary stillness.

It’ll be better if I move first, she thought, it’ll give me a partial second of advantage over this lumbering bruiser. Right about… now. She leaped to the side, deftly dodging behind some tables and putting distance between them. She trusted in her agility to enable her to outmaneuver her opponent. As soon as he’s away from that door, I can get by him and be home free. No way he can catch me in the street.

As if he’d heard her thoughts, the roughneck smiled and rotated slightly to face her, keeping his body between her and the door. This was… unexpected. If he was trying to rob or assault or otherwise endanger her, he’d have to eventually catch her to do so. Merely standing there was a waiting game that would only end if she willingly put herself in reach of those gorilla arms. But this meant that they were at a stalemate. Nothing would happen until Leah chose for it to happen, apparently.

A flash out of the corner of her eye made her jerk her head backwards, just in time to avoid the small rubber ball flying past her temple. She glanced at the direction that the ball had come from, and saw a slim and dark woman leaning against the wall there. Leah’s initial impression of her was that she was probably tough, but clearly not as physically imposing. The woman was smirking assuredly, and was dressed in black leather and a set of torn jeans. “She’s pretty quick, yeah? Might be hard for you to catch. Want me to help?”

The ruffian at the door – ’Gorilla’, Leah thought – shrugged expansively, highlighting his enormous shoulders, and raised his hands palms up. “She’ll come to me when she’s ready. Besides, I think she’s too good for you to handle alone.”

“Ah, but she’s not alone, is she?” asked a velvety tenor with an English accent, coming from a man standing only a few meters away, dressed in loose-fitting flowing clothes. Leah startled, as she hadn’t even heard the whip of a man in the room. He was very tall, very thin, and moved like a snake. She immediately classified him as ‘extremely dangerous’. She absently noticed that he was holding the ball that the brunette had thrown. I didn’t even know he was there, and didn’t hear him catch the ball? she thought. He’s incredibly quiet. Three-on-one isn’t great odds, especially since they all seem to know each other already. However, despite her thoughts, the stalemate seemed to continue, as nobody wanted to be the first to move.

So Leah broke the imposed serenity with a rush of movement. A chair was grabbed from a nearby table and flung backwards at the snake-man as she rushed the door. A leaping kick at Gorilla – aimed for the collarbone area with an intent to push him off-balance, and if she was lucky, enabling her to carry her momentum over the man and out the door – was casually blocked with one overlarge forearm. If I hadn’t seen that just happen, I’m not sure I’d’ve believed it, she thought distantly, as she launched herself backwards off the arm to stay out of grapple range. As she landed, the leather-woman was within arms’ reach, landing a solid rabbit punch to her ribs.

Leah rolled with the hit, grabbed the offending arm, and flipped the woman over her and onto the ground. As she followed up with a throat strike to take the woman out of the fight entirely, a slim hand deftly deflected the strike harmlessly to the ground. ’Snake’ has definitely had a lot of training in the arts, she thought, but I bet I can out-muscle him. She struck out with a leg sweep, and the martial artist easily levitated over it. As she’d been expecting this, her other leg embedded itself firmly into his stomach, causing a sharp exhalation, and then she planted her previously-sweeping leg and veritably launched the man halfway across the room.

She used the remaining momentum from her push to spring to her feet, ready to move again.

It was not a moment too soon, as she narrowly avoided the rushing bear hug from Gorilla. He did manage to hang on to one of her wrists, but the rest of her remained mobile. She knew the counters to break a wrist-lock, and while her assailant’s immense strength helped his hold, it couldn’t possibly stop her entirely. She twisted out of his grip, disregarded the optional wrist-break option as she wasn’t sure that it would work, and catapulted towards the door and her freedom. Her dash was interrupted by a two-footed kick from the woman in leather – ‘Hawk’, Leah thought – briefly knocking the wind out of Leah and throwing her to the ground. In the mere seconds before she regained her footing, Snake was there, seizing an arm and twisting it in a painful manner.

“Do it, Tess!” he urged, “I can’t hold her for long!” Leah was surprised – and somehow, also not – when a short piece of rope was looped around her restrained wrist. Gotta get away before Gorilla gets up. If he gets me, I’m doomed. The rope was wrapped around her upper arm, nearly pinning her arm to her shoulder, in what she’d’ve called a ‘chicken wing’ if she’d been thinking about it. She was able to find a weakness in her opponent’s leg balance and pivot underneath him to defeat the hold, but it seemed a little late, as her arm was now stuck until she could get rid of the rope.

She bucked him off, but Hawk – Tess, she mentally corrected herself – had managed to hang on to an ankle in the melee. As Leah reeled back to strike the limpet, a borderline-square leg – belonging to Gorilla – interposed itself to foil her impending attack. This was followed, predictably and unavoidably, by her half-bound arm being grabbed by what felt like an industrial press.

“Another one, please?” Gorilla asked mildly. “She’s still too hazardous for my taste.” Tess leaped to her feet, whipping another short rope out of her pockets. They wrestled Leah’s bound arm behind her back, and lashed the new rope into the previous loop. As she wrapped the loose ends around the opposite shoulder, tighter and tighter, Leah’s arm was pinned more and more thoroughly behind her.

As an act of desperation, Leah violently swept her free arm around, aiming for the Gorilla’s head. Her hopes were dashed when the arm was caught expertly, almost gently, by Snake. He maneuvered her arm so that her hand was behind her head, with her elbow pointed straight upwards; a position where she could exert no force from it, and certainly not enough to get away from Gorilla’s clutches. “Ah, here you are, Tess,” he said urbanely, “if you’d be so kind.” That wrist was also soon cinched with rope, and the rope was pulled downwards until it was tied off to the other wrist below. Leah was struggling violently still, one arm pinned near her spine, the other held above her in an uncomfortable position, her hands nearly touching by her shoulder blades.

“Thank you, Asher,” said Snake, standing up. “This one’s quite the handful.”

“I’ll say,” said Gorilla lasciviously, openly eyeing the bound woman up and down. “Maybe even two handfuls.”

Leah glared at him briefly, then powerfully kicked her legs and leaped to her feet, bound arms notwithstanding. She swept a foot under a surprised Gorilla’s – Asher, she amended – legs, knocking him from his feet. She ducked under Snake’s outstretched arm and broke for the door, but was tackled roughly by Tess before she could make the door.

“Caspian! Get her leg!” Tess called. “Rope’s in my pocket!” Snake pulled out a rope and wrapped it several times around Leah’s upper calf, just below the knee. This was pulled upwards and tied off to one of the ropes wrapped around her shoulders, pressing her knee into her side, near her armpit. Leah groaned at the stretch this placed on her, as well as knowing that she was now well and truly stuck.

“Now I know your faces, and your names,” said Leah, breaking her silence for the first time. “Whatever you do to me, I’ll do to you twice over. Only difference is that you’ll never know when it’ll happen.”

“Hmm, kitten has fangs,” said Asher half-admiringly. “Fortunately, she’s been at least mostly declawed for the moment.”

“KITTEN!?” Leah exploded. “I’ll tear you all to pieces! I’ll destroy yoummmmmpphhh!” Leah’s invective was interrupted by Caspian slipping a ball gag into her mouth. “Mmmpth! MMmrsssstrrrdd!”

“There’s no one around here at this time of night to hear you,” said Caspian as he tightened the straps behind her head. “But I’d prefer to not be screamed at regardless.”

“I dunno, Caspian,” responded Tess. “It might be interesting to hear what she has to say when she finds out that this wasn’t a coincidental grab.” Leah’s eyes bulged angrily as she fought the ropes, cursing indistinctly. “Yes, my dear, we were here specifically for you.”

“Well, also for us,” interjected Asher. “It’s not just a business venture, there’s definitely some pleasure to be had. Right, Caspian?”

“Yes, quite,” said the elegant man. “In fact, we may as well get started.” With that, he made a snake-like swipe of an arm, and a blade that Leah hadn’t even seen went through her top like paper. Her athletic chest was only hidden by her bra now, which she expected would not last long. And her assumption was correct, as the knife came down again and again despite her struggles and attempts at avoiding it. In short order, she was entirely naked outside of the ropes and gag. She focused her furious glare on Caspian, who seemed to shed it as easily as water off a duck.

“Boys, boys,” said Tess, “you should know by now how this works. You have to check with your victim to ensure they’re enjoying themselves, remember?” At their nods, she leaned over the bound woman. “If you don’t want this to continue, just tell me to stop at any point, ok?”

“Stppphphhh!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that. You’ll have to speak more clearly if you want to be understood.” With a transparently duplicitous smile, Tess leaned over and sniffed at Leah’s hairline. “She smells nice. Maybe I should have a taste?” She grasped Leah’s hair, assertively tilted her head to the side, and nibbled at her exposed neck. The visible quiver that went through her quarry told her that she was close to the mark. “So soft, so vulnerable…” As her teasing mouth reached the collarbone area, Leah was entirely unable to stop herself from arching her back as much as she could manage, as the waves of sensation ran through her.

“Ah, yes, that seems to have confirmed it,” said Caspian. He drew a light finger down Leah’s ribs, furthering the quivers that Leah was unable to suppress completely. “Do you mind if I join in, Tess?”

“Not at all, there’s just so many spots deserving of attention, don’t you agree?”

“I do indeed,” purred Caspian, and added his own mouth and hands to the treatment that Leah was receiving.

Leah, on the other hand, was having an increasingly great deal of trouble concentrating on escaping. The prior activity had been invigorating, she had two mouths and four hands actively teasing her, and the feeling of restriction was not helping her overall arousal. But she resolved to show as little as she could, as she didn’t want to give her captors that satisfaction.

“She’s trying to hide it, I see,” said Asher, penetrating directly through her attempt. “But I’m not sure she has any practice at subterfuge.” He leaned over and slid a wide-fingered hand over Leah’s exposed pussy. Her immediate writhing and muffled moan illustrated his point, and his fingers came away slick with her arousal. “I can see what you want, kitten. And I’m going to give it to you.” While keeping eye contact with his bound hostage – Leah felt that she couldn’t look away – he casually shed his clothes, revealing an incredibly muscular, hirsute form underneath. Leah felt her eyes inexorably drawn downwards until they focused on his erection.

To her relief, it was not hairy, but did match the scale of the man, being strikingly thick. He rolled a condom on slowly, almost tauntingly, while intently watching her completely fail to tear her eyes from his cock. “Ahh, is this what you’re wanting, kitten? I’m happy to oblige.” With that, he picked her up bodily, holding her aloft with not so much as a quiver in his arms. “And you’re already conveniently ready for me, how polite of you.” He lifted her slightly, so that her bound leg rested on top of his shoulder, then settled her down slowly – how agonizingly slowly – onto his waiting erection.

Leah felt as if she was going to be split in half. She had known that the monster would stretch her already, but she hadn’t even considered the position she was in. Spread as her legs were, it felt so much tighter than it normally would have. Fortunately, she thought wryly, there seemed to be plenty of lubrication to help out. As the brute repeatedly lifted her and impaled her on his cannon, frustratingly unhurriedly, she impotently tried to repress her reactions, so that it wasn’t obvious she was also enjoying herself. She cried out into her gag, and hoped that it sounded more like threats than the sounds she was actually wanting to produce.

“Mmmm, I like those noises,” murmured Tess from behind her. “Nice and sweet, so unlike her earlier fury.” She grazed her teeth over the edge of Leah’s ear and exhaled huskily. Leah’s resulting full-body shiver was clearly visible to all parties, and Asher gasped a bit at her sudden squeeze.

“I think she liked that, Tess,” Asher said, punctuating his sentence with rhythmic thrusts that induced an irregular tempo of breathing on the helpless Leah. He sounded much less out of breath than she did, despite that he was doing most of the work. “She squeezes pretty nicely for a ‘sleeve.” Leah scrunched her eyes shut at the implied disparagement, trying to not show that the barb had struck a nerve.

Tess grinned predatorily and bit down on Leah’s neck, holding the bite and feeling her prey writhe impotently. Supporting the bound woman’s weight partially on her own shoulder, she let her fingers wander across th

Artful Ambush · Part 1 (1/2)
Next