The Plans of Eli Mills

Chapter 9

If Ava had thought Eli's desire would quell once his chief task had been completed, she soon realized how mistaken that assumption would be. If anything he seemed to want her more, sometimes waking her in the middle of the night to have a romp through the sheets, awakening with his alarm to mount her again before getting ready for work, and fucking her no less than three times after arriving home each night.

It pained her to think about it, but she came every time, multiple times. Without the stimulants to help her excuse this, the very act of experiencing the pleasure he forced on her felt akin to suffering rather than ecstasy, because in the aftermath she always thought about how pathetic she was to have given in. When he wasn't driving his cock into her, she still spoke her mind and played the silent treatment as much as he allowed before his temper started to rise, but every time he put his hand on her she erupted in goosebumps that she couldn't control and her traitorous body opened for his like clockwork.

For the first several weeks after the positive pregnancy test, Eli would talk about the baby's arrival as if it was already imminent, only for her to remind him that they had no idea when the due date would be.

"I could still miscarry," she suggested once, "It's very common in the first 12 weeks, and especially without prenatal care. You don't even know if it's viable without an ultrasound." Her motive for suggesting it was simple. If she could get Eli to take her out for an OB appointment, she might be able to have a moment alone with the ultrasound technician, or just anyone who would believe her that she was under duress and intervene.

It backfired on her though.

"I'm aware. I have a private ultrasound scheduled for us next week. Someone will come here and do it in the library on Saturday. You would be around 4-6 weeks by now, so the heartbeat should be detectable."

A new worry settled in the pit of her stomach. What if the pregnancy wasn't viable, or what if it had been a false positive even though he thought those were so rare? What would happen to her then?

Each day waiting until the ultrasound dragged on even longer than the ones before she had seen that positive test. Ava felt more skittish when he was near, and during the day she was jumpier than usual, especially around the time Eli was due to return home.

He seemed to sense it and increased his efforts to appear sweet, massaging her feet after getting home and telling her how beautiful she looked, that she was already glowing. It only served to make her feel sick with worry. Bad enough that he had succeeded in making her his unwilling incubator, but it would likely be much worse if he had to come to terms with not being successful at all.

The night before the ultrasound, Ava barely spoke to him when he got back with dinner. She offered succinct, one-word responses to anything he said to her, and when he pulled her towards the stairs with him in a clear directive that it was time for their nightly ritual, she climbed the steps with her head cast down and eyes in tears.

Eli was less rough now, but Ava didn't know if that was from concern over hurting the baby or simply her lack of fighting him. Even when she did offer a scathing retort, he would sit there and take it with an eye roll or if she was really pushing it, he might warn her that she was in dangerous territory, but since he came back she had lost much of the fight that was in her. Unless she could convince him to take her out somewhere that she might escape, he had won, and it would be a permanent win if she couldn't get her body to miscarry or escape soon enough to terminate the pregnancy.

The morning of the ultrasound he woke as he usually did. One heavy leg swung over hers and pinned her down, kissing a trail from her neck to the belly button, caressing the still-flat surface like she was made of glass.