Disclaimer: I do not know *N Sync or their sexual preferences. None of this is real, it's just fiction. If you are underage or it is illegal to read about male/male relationships where you live please leave.
Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile and I'm sorry y'all! Hope this makes up for it though. I think there will be only one more chapter and possibly an epilogue for Prisoner of Love. Thank you to everyone that's sent feedback and to Cele for beta-ing. :) Oh, and I did move my site, it's now at Homestead: http://www.homestead.com/nsajscgirl
The formatted version of Prisoner of Love is up there if you'd prefer to read it all pretty. :)
Prisoner of Love Chapter 10
~I-75 North, 7:30 pm~
Marie sighed in frustration. /'Jesus,'/ she thought to herself as she pulled over for the third time and flipped on the overhead light. Cars sped by her on the freeway, their lights washing over her vehicle eerily. Her head hurt and her stomach felt like it was about to jump out of her throat. She hadn't really done anything wrong, and yet she felt like she'd just robbed a convenience store. /'Why the hell did I agree to this? Damn Justin Timberlake to hell.'/ In her car, with time to think about her decision, Marie cursed herself freely. There was no turning back now, though. She had to go through with this for Justin. She'd promised him that she would check on JC and Lance, and she'd be damned if she chickened out now, so close to the cabin. Marie held the directions up to the light and squinted at the scribbled words.
"Take I-75 North...get off the freeway at exit 123...no, 128. Shit! I'm gonna kill Justin when I get back to Orlando!" Marie exclaimed. After a couple of deep breaths, Marie returned her gaze to the paper and studied the exit number. It looked more like 123 than 128, but it was so close. She had to call Justin, that was all there was to it. Marie reached into the bag seat and fumbled for her purse. Her phone was somewhere...
"Jesus Christ!!!" she yelled when a tap at the window startled her. Marie automatically locked all the doors before looking up to see who was standing outside the car. Heart beating a million miles a minute, Marie was stunned into silence when she recognized the man immediately. "Mr. Exbury?" she asked in confusion as she hurried to roll down her window. Her visitor leaned down, giving her a better view of him, and he had to shout above the din of passing traffic.
"Aren't you Justin Timberlake's assistant?" Exbury asked, his face showing his surprise.
"Yeah, yes, I am. Wow. What are you doing here?" He grinned down at her slightly, and she couldn't help but return the smile.
"Well, I am actually on my way to Atlanta on business. I often try to stop and help stranded motorists if I can, but I must say, I've never known anyone I have stopped for." He laughed and Marie nodded her head.
"I know...this is so weird. I mean, what are the odds?"
"Very slim," Exbury agreed. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?" Marie hesitated. There was no way she could tell him what she was doing.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just...on my way to my sister's new house. She wrote out these directions and I was just having a little trouble reading them, that's all." Doug nodded.
"Would you like me to look at them? Maybe I can help you out." He seemed to genuinely want to help her, and Marie felt bad for lying to him.
"No...no, that's okay. I think I've got them figured out now." His smile changed into something distinctly unpleasant and Marie leaned away from him, unease shooting through her mind.
"Well, how about you give me the directions anyway?" he asked, his voice cold and his eyes even colder chips of blue ice. Marie was completely ready to laugh this off. She hoped desperately that he was just playing a joke on her, but the gun he held up in for her to inspect was entirely real. Doug was careful to keep the weapon close to his body, out of sight from the cars whizzing by. Marie stiffened and tried to control her disbelief. Her mind kept telling her that this had to be some kind of horrible joke...maybe Justin was playing the joke of the century on her and there was a camera around or something. She smiled weakly at Exbury.
"What..."
"No, Marie. This is how this is going to work. I do all the talking and you do everything I say without uttering a word. Do you understand?" Marie could only stare up at him, but her mind was slowly coming to understand that he was completely serious. Her left hand began to inch toward the window controls while she slowly pulled her foot off the brake. "Marie, I don't think you understand what I'm saying," Doug said with a false smile before leaned into the car and slapped her cheek. She yelped in surprise and stared up at him as she cupped her cheek. "This will go along so much smoother if you listen to me and do what I tell you to do. You do want this to go well, don't you, Marie? It would be a shame if something happened and someone was killed, wouldn't it?"
/'He's completely insane,'/ Marie thought to herself as he smiled happily down at her, as though the thought of someone dying wasn't such a shame after all. She flinched when he jerked the gun, motioning for her to move over into the passenger seat. It didn't take her more than a second to decide that she should do what he suggested. /'I'm having a nightmare. I'm having a nightmare,'/ she repeated told herself as Exbury reached through the open window and unlocked the door. As he slid into the front seat she pressed herself against the opposite door, trying to get as far away as possible without getting out of the car.
"Now, Marie, I know what you're doing. I think it's sweet of you to check on Justin's friends, although I do think that this goes above and beyond your duty as an employee. I mean, wow. I would kill to have an employee like you!" Exbury grinned at her maniacally when he said the word 'kill' and Marie faced forward in her seat. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and tried to control her breathing.
/'This isn't a joke. This is real. How the fuck am I supposed to get out of this?!'/ she thought almost hysterically as her heart sped up.
"Now, now, Marie. Calm down, sweetheart. I..."
"Calm down?! You want me to calm down?!" Marie exclaimed before she could stop herself and was shocked into silence when Doug's hand met her cheek again. He wasn't smiling anymore when she looked at him, pain clouding her mind.
"Don't yell at me. Don't say another word," he said icily. He looked around the car for a second before finding the slip of paper Marie had been studying less than five minutes ago. After examining the paper, he put the car in gear and looked at her. "I'm going to put the gun right here. If you so much as whimper, I'll blow your brains out, okay?" Marie nodded mutely, believing every word Doug uttered; there was a wicked light shining in his eyes and there was no doubt in her mind that he would kill her if provoked. "I'm glad you understand," he said as he placed the gun on his knee, where it wobbled slightly. Marie kept her eyes on that gun during the entire drive.
**
~Justin's cabin~
"I'd dream about it at night. Nearly every night was the same dream...the whole deal. The night before, the murder, the trial, the verdict...everything. I'd relive it every time I closed my eyes." Lance's eyes were soft with sympathy, his lips set in a sad frown.
"I'm so sorry, JC." JC smiled wryly. They were sitting in the living room, the basketball game having ended a couple of hours earlier. The night had darkened outside, though neither had given it much notice other than to turn on a nearby lamp. Despite the deal Lance had made with him, the weight of everything was bearing down on JC's shoulders and he just wanted, needed to talk about everything...everything he'd experienced, everything he'd missed. Lance had always been such a good listener; it was such a relief to find that he hadn't lost that quality during the past year. They were facing each other now on the couch, close enough for their knees to be touching.
"Nothing you could have done about it."
"Well, I'm still sorry." JC grinned at him and Lance returned it shyly. Lance hesitated before speaking again. "I've been having a nightmare since...well, since the murder," he said as he stared down at his lap, his fingers plucking at the hem of his pants. He peered up at JC and received an encouraging nod. "Meredith's in it and she starts coming towards me, but she's wearing this nightgown and there's a blood stain that starts spreading..." He paused again to look up at JC. He was frowning at him. "Then I hear your voice and I turn to look at you, but it's dark and I can't see you. I know you're there, though; I can feel you in the room with us. You put a gun to my head and I ask you not to do it because it seems like I can feel your finger tightening on the trigger. I always wake up just as the gun goes off."
"Jesus, Lance..."
"I know, I know." JC's fingers grazed Lance's arm in a comforting gesture and Lance looked up at him, smiling wryly. "It was just...everything, ya know? I think there's a lot of guilt and misunderstanding on my part, otherwise I wouldn't have dreamt about something like that for so long." JC nodded in understanding. The memory of his dreams had been a constant reminder of his imprisonment. He realized with a start that last night had been the first dreamless night he'd had in nearly a year. He wondered idly if it was because Lance had slept next to him. If that was why his dream hadn't revisited him, JC planned on keeping Lance as close as possible in the future.
"Do you..." JC hesitated.
"What?" Lance asked softly. He frowned when JC looked away from him. "What, JC?"
"I just...I know you said that you loved me before..." JC couldn't even finish his question before a deep blush began spreading up his cheekbones. He took a deep breath before continuing, "Do you think you might be able to feel that way about me again?" Silence met his question, and JC looked up at Lance worriedly. He expected Lance to look apologetic or sad or even angry, but the warm light of Lance's eyes and the slight grin on Lance's face took him by surprise. Suddenly Lance's face was much closer than JC realized, and he felt hot breath fan across his face just before smooth lips rubbed against his gently. JC's eyes closed and he moaned a little, leaning forward into Lance's kiss.
"Always loved you, JC," Lance murmured when he pulled back a little, his eyes staring into JC's. He didn't give JC the chance to respond before he recaptured JC's lips with his. /'This is what I've been missing my entire life,'/ JC thought to himself as he reached up with both hands to cup Lance's face and deepen the kiss. The smooth glide of Lance's tongue against JC's lips caused him to moan again, and he could feel Lance's lips curve into a smile against his. JC's own lips answered by smiling and they both pulled back a bit, grinning at each other. As Lance leaned forward once again, JC pulled back, bringing Lance with him until Lance settled comfortably against JC. JC didn't bother to hide his moans as their soft kisses continued.
On the wall above their heads, the headlights of an arriving car flashed against the grained wood, signaling the arrival of an intruder into their safe world. Neither man noticed.