Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
V alencia
“How did you know?” I finally asked after we’d been in his office for almost ten minutes. He’d poured us both a glass of wine and had been standing in front of the window staring out at the pool since doing so.
“The men I hire are highly intuitive, my sweetness. As soon as you walked out that front door acting hospitable to Luca, he knew you were going to attempt to escape. He called me and let you. He was watching what you were doing, relaying it to me as I was driving into the neighborhood. I simply waited, curious if you’d have the chutzpa to climb the wall. Much to my surprise and delight, you did. Plus, I know you better than you think I do. I could see in your eyes you were planning something.”
He turned around, placing his glass of wine on his desk. I’d be damned if the smug look didn’t return as he clapped very slowly. Was he kidding me?
“What are you doing?”
“I’m complimenting you, Valencia. You’re the only person who’s managed to leave without tripping an alarm.”
An alarm. I hadn’t realized there were alarms. He must have sensed a hint of confusion.
“You didn’t know I had alarms and security cameras? Now, I’m certain if we look at the various screens in my communications room, we’d see your escape attempt clearly. Climbing the wall was clever and highlighted a weakness in the system. The wall will be reinforced. So thank you.”
I had no clue whether he was angry or amused. “Glad I could be of assistance.” I hadn’t paid any attention until this moment, but he had blood on his shirt. I walked closer, narrowing my eyes. “Are you hurt?”
He captured what I was looking at, slowly dropping his gaze. When he tore his shirt off from the back of the neck, I sucked in and held my breath. His chiseled perfection still grabbed my attention every time.
“I’m not hurt, Valencia.”
Why was he saying my name like I was a bad girl? “You hurt someone .”
“Let’s just say I found a source and gathered some information. New York had become a very popular location for thieves and liars.”
“Another twisted insinuation.”
“Not at all. You truly have no clue what’s going on. I’m convinced. But I bet your father has a general idea.”
Shit.
“So you trust me,” I muttered.
“More than you know.”
“Then let me help you.”
That caught him off guard. “Go on.”
“Since my father called, I have an excuse to talk to him. You can tell me what to ask, I’ll put it in my own terms and do so.”
His smile slowly grew. “Not a bad idea. It also might tip him off.”
“My father doesn’t mind bragging when he’s allowed.”
“Let me think about it.”
He tossed the shirt to the side. Nothing seemed to bother the man including having his clothing stained with a dead man’s blood. And I knew instinctively that whatever had occurred, the other party was dead.
How strange that the thought didn’t bother me as it had only a couple of days before. Was I getting used to being around him, knowing that any given day he could need to eliminate a life? How ironic. I saved lives and he did his share of taking them.
“You really did kill someone. How can you live with yourself?” I had no emotion in my voice. None.
“It’s very easy, Valencia. I know that if I don’t maintain a strict lockdown on my employees and anyone who would dare attempt to damage our corporation or a member of my family, the weakness will be used against me. In other words, I’ll be the one killed.” He held a tone of remorse, and I could tell by his eyes he wasn’t always happy with the life he’d been born into.
The moment was strangely eye opening and appealing.
Yet I had no idea what to say to him at this point.
“You do realize that you could have gotten hurt even jumping over the wall. Yes?”
“I’m extremely agile, Christos. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”
He rounded the end of the desk, walking toward me slowly. “What if one of my enemies had been watching the house? Can you imagine what they would do to you if they were the ones to find you when you went over that wall?”
“I don’t know and I don’t want to know.”
“No, you don’t. And I’m not going to allow that to happen. Let me tell you exactly what they would do, Valencia.”
“Don’t tell me. I get it.”
He gripped my arm and for the first time since I’d learned who he was, I felt a slight hint of fear. His eyes had darkened, his entire face clenched. With his chest rising and falling the way it was, I sensed how much tension he was suddenly under. “No, you do not. Obviously, or you wouldn’t have tried to run away from me. From this place. From safety. Have you wondered why I’m not married? Why I’ve chosen to live the life of a playboy?”
“Yes.” Which was the truth.
“I chose to live that way so I wouldn’t develop feelings and risk caring about someone by bringing them into my life. I did so not for me, but for anyone who entered my life.”
“Something happened?”
His hold remained, but I wasn’t trying to pull away. I could see the man had been tortured by something in his past.
“A long time ago, but not anything I’ll allow myself to forget.” He finally released his hold, staring down at his hand as if he’d struck me.
I inched closer against my better judgment. “Who was she?”
“Someone I thought I would end up making a life with. Not that we dated for long. We were young, too young to consider anything long term, but we enjoyed each other’s company. I won’t bore you with the details, but during a horrific period of time when my father was being challenged by the police department, I used his car to take her out on a date. The police thought my father was driving and sent several squad cars after me. They chased me. I went faster. Then I lost control of the vehicle.”
“My God. I’m so sorry.” I touched his arm, but unlike the hold he’d had on me, mine was gentle.
“She’s alive, likely by the grace of God. But as you can imagine, her parents were none too happy. Within two weeks of her recovery, she was gone. Where? I never found out.”
“You blamed yourself. But it wasn’t your fault. They shouldn’t have been chasing you.”
“Well, tell that to a young woman who lost her career in dance because of the leg injury she received. Because of me. Because of my life.” He laughed, but the sound was stark and cold.
He allowed me to place my hand on his heart. “You can’t stop your heart from loving someone just because you think it’s best. You care for and love who you need to. Why did you take a chance when you met me?”
“I’ve been asking myself that since the night we met. I almost stayed and required you to have a drink with me.” This time his laugh held more levity. “I’m sure that would have gone over well.”
“I don’t know. It’s obvious I like dominating men.”
“I’m sorry I doubted you, Valencia. It’s a necessity in what I do.”
“You really do think my father was somehow part of you almost being killed.”
“I don’t know, but I will find out.”
“Then allow me to help you.”
“Why would you do that?”
I hesitated before answering. “Because you deserve to learn the truth.”
“Not at the risk of allowing you to get hurt.”
Nodding, I took a step away. “Maybe you need to trust my instincts. I can handle my father. I’m sorry I tried to leave. It was on impulse. I don’t know what I was thinking and I’m not usually one to find myself amidst bouts of confusion. But everything about you. This. Us. I’m not acting or reacting like I normally would. Maybe we can return to New York together.”
“It’s not safe for you to leave at this point. Maybe for neither one of us. At least not until I can get a handle on what we’re dealing with as a family. You’re included in that family. It’s entirely possible another crime syndicate is involved and one we hadn’t originally suspected. The Armenian is a brutal leader with a reputation for being unkind to women. I think you can infer what I’m saying.”
“Yes.” I wasn’t afraid and that seemed odd to me. “How could my father be involved?”
“There are both strong Italian and Armenian contingencies inside New York. Some Italians are still friendly with the old country while the Armenian group in Europe had always desired to enter the Big Apple. Either one could create serious issues for the club as well as our trade industry. Before you allow that big brain of yours to fall into another dark place, we ventured out into precious gems almost a decade ago. Namely diamonds.”
“And New York is the diamond trade capital of the world.”
He grinned. “You’re correct. Given your father’s influence, I can’t have you attempting to escape. I don’t need the worry or to expend the manpower. You need to know, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. But you need to work with me.”
“I will and I’m happy to do so as long as you don’t hurt my family.”
“I have no intentions of doing so. Your father didn’t place a hit on me. I feel certain of that.”
“Then we develop a plan. Together.”
He tilted his head back, studying my eyes. “Does that mean I can count on you to obey the rules?”
My laugh was full of anxiety. “Yes. You can.”
“Mmm… Why don’t I believe you?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you?”
The spark in his eyes had returned as he rubbed his hand down my arm. “I want you very clear about this. I care about you, Valencia. More than I have for anyone in my life. Please know I don’t take you or your goals in life for granted. You’re very special to me and no matter what you think about my methods of doing business, I have no intention of putting an end to your profession or life goals.”
“You’re special to me. I’ve done everything in my power to convince myself otherwise, but you keep crowding my mind. And my heart. That scares me.” I felt the rush of emotions I’d been trying to avoid. He’d awakened so many feelings, the darkness I’d craved as well as closeness to a man. No, he wasn’t just any man, but I don’t know what I had been thinking by running. Obviously, I hadn’t been, at least clearly anyway.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. Which is why I need to provide a reminder to you that you are in my house and are required to follow my rules.”
“I’ll make you a promise that I’ll try.”
“Not good enough.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning, I’m going to punish you.”
I took a step away and shook my head.
He beckoned me with a single finger.
I took another step away.
Sighing, he planted his hand on his hip. “There is no way I’m going to allow you to go unpunished. You need to respect my decisions. It’s the only way I can adequately protect you.”
My God, the man was unbuckling his belt. “Wait a minute. I’m an adult.”
“Who acted like an impetuous child. Did you not?”
He was smirking again as if enjoying my discomfort. “I thought leaving was best for both of us.”
“Well, you thought wrong. Haven’t you figured out yet that no matter where you go, how far or how fast, I will find you? Get that through that beautiful head of yours.” He tugged the strap through the belt loops and I lowered my gaze every few seconds, my breath skipping.
I was excited.
The notion seemed ridiculous to me, but that’s exactly the way I felt.
Christos lifted a single eyebrow, momentarily stopping his actions. “Now, remove your jeans and thong and bend over the back of one of the chairs.” He even pointed to one of the three in the arrangement as if I had no clue what he was talking about.
I glanced in that direction, but didn’t move.
“Don’t test me, little angel, or I won’t go easy on you.”
“You’d go easy on me?”
“Unlikely. You placed yourself in danger and that’s unacceptable.”
I jumped when he ripped the rest of the belt from the loops. There was no anger within him and I had nothing to fear. Except losing all of me in the man. I sensed a change in how I felt about him. This wasn’t just about lust any longer, but something much stronger.
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Not good enough.” He gave me another stern look. “Go. Be a good girl.”
A good girl. He had no idea that I’d been a good girl all my life. Maybe that’s why I’d risked almost everything in my crazy decision to be with him.
His dangerous aura had both attracted and disturbed me. Now it was all about the strong feelings that refused to be ignored. I studied his face and the stern look he was giving me for a few seconds longer before heading toward one of the chairs. I was nervous, more so than with any other time we’d shared together. While it didn’t make any sense, nothing about this uncommon relationship did.
Were we actually in a relationship? I bit my lip as I unfastened my jeans, realizing my hands were shaking. Had I really been trying to escape? The question brought a smile to my face. Maybe I’d wanted to be caught. I was still quivering as I struggled with the tight denim pants, finally managing to yank them past my hips. When I stepped out of them, I heard his breathing change.
He could make me feel like the most gorgeous woman in the world just by the sounds he made. What other man had ever done that? Certainly not with me.
I hesitated briefly before jerking down my thong. Given Elias had walked in on us earlier, I glanced toward the door and Christos chuckled behind me.
“Relax, little angel. I made certain no one will pop in unannounced.”
“Elias has already seen me half naked.”
“And I assure you I’ll remind him of that for years to come. Get in position.”
I’ll be damned if he didn’t crack the belt on the floor, which of course made me jump. I swung my head over my shoulder. “Don’t do that.”
“What am I doing?” He had his brow furrowed as if he was innocent of every wrongdoing.
Not a chance.
Huffing, I leaned over the back of the chair, tall enough to place my hands on the seat. It was awkward, but that’s the way he wanted it. When he moved behind me, I tried to remind myself I could have gotten myself killed in my great escape attempt. It had been ridiculous to even try.
He pressed his hand on the small of my back, rubbing gently then running his fingers up and down my spine. The effect was as always, a light tremor skipping all the way to my toes.
“It pains me to find any need to discipline you,” he said.
“I call bullshit.”
His laugh was far too deep and husky, my pussy throbbing instantly. I closed my eyes, the anticipation as he continued caressing me pushing me into a strange sense of peace. He’d had that effect on me more than once.
I took and held a deep breath when he lifted his fingers. There was something beautifully painful about the sharp smack against my bottom. The discomfort was immediate and I shifted my hips back and forth. I did what I could to keep from crying out. This was far from being over.
As expected, he didn’t waste any time, bringing the belt down across my sit spot several times. I jerked up, gritting my teeth as another swell of emotions rolled through me. How dare he treat me like a child? “I hate you.”
“Good. You should.” He growled out the words as if challenging me to keep my resolve.
The sad truth was I could never hate him. No matter all the horrors I’d already witnessed. No matter the fact he’d admitted even worse actions through the years. And no matter that because of him I had a target on my back. I still couldn’t hate him.
What did that make me?
He cracked the thick strap across my upper thighs and I was certain I’d pass out. When my pussy spasmed, juice trickling down the insides of both legs, I was mortified. Pain brought pleasure? Really? I was crazed with self-loathing as he continued, taking on a rhythm that could match any metronome.
Exhaling, he stopped and I was hopeful the agonizing moment was over. His caress on my tender, heated skin was calming and the moment I shifted across the back edge of the chair, another surge of desire rolled through me. I almost laughed. Who could find this any kind of an aphrodisiac?
“Such a mischievous vixen. You will learn the power of obedience.”
“As if I don’t already respect the need,” I tossed back at him.
“Maybe in your profession. This is mine. I will tame you, my lovely doctor. I will ensure your safety as well.”
He had to be kidding me. He really believed that heavy rounds of discipline were going to keep me in line. It was apparent he didn’t know me very well.
After he brought the strap down four more times, tears welled in my eyes, a few trickling past my lashes. I hated crying in front of anyone. That was the true sign of weakness in my mind. He wanted my defenses lowered, preferred the uninhibited woman. But I’d protected myself over the years and planned on continuing.
If the man didn’t completely undo me.
“Three more,” he said with no inflection in his voice. “You’re doing very well.”
As if I cared.
I threw my head over my shoulder, studying the darkness in his eyes. He was enjoying this. The power.
The control.
Being top dog.
Damn him. It was sexy as hell.
“Count them off for me, little angel.”
“Like hell I will.”
“I just added a fourth. Do you want to continue being defiant with me?”
Now his tone held a hint of heightened mischief. Oh, I could rip out his eyes with a spoon. “Fine. Do it.”
“Say please.”
The man was losing his mind. However, there was no way around his twisted game. “Please, will you finish my punishment. Sir.”
“Mmm… I think I’ll have you call me sir from now on. I like the sound of it.”
“Over my dead ass body.”
His laugh boomed into the room, the deep, husky tone creating a visible shudder dancing through my body. “Here we go.”
He obviously wanted the last four to hurt like hell. The first one was blinding and I wasn’t certain I could speak. “One. Sir.” What the hell? I’d give him that authority he so desperately craved.
“Excellent.” He brought it down again and the heat exploded along every inch of my body.
“Two… Sir.” I was panting, seeing stars, but not from pain. This was ridiculous. He pushed my legs open as wide as possible, muttering something in Greek.
As he rolled the tips of his fingers along the inside of one leg, I sensed the pressure building, the hunger exploding deep within my core.
“So wet for me,” he gritted out. “Your pussy lips are swollen. I love that.” He dared rake the tips of his fingers across both and I instantly gathered a whiff of the yearning that he’d awakened.
Damn him.
How many times did I need to think such hateful thoughts? He swirled one finger around my clit before driving it deep into my tight channel, pumping several times. I was drawn to what he was doing, stretching my neck so I could gaze on his pinched face.
I was more lightheaded than before, the pleasure rocketing through me. The powerful man could easily make me come with a single finger. But he stopped just short of allowing me relief.
His eyes were dilated and he brought his finger to his mouth, dragging his tongue along one side before shoving it into his mouth.
I was forced to watch as he sucked and moaned. And I was completely mesmerized.
Damn the man.
Damn the hunger.
Damn the need.
When he brought the belt down again, I jumped almost all the way off the chair.
Christos pressed his hand against my back, keeping me from falling. “What do you say?”
“Three… Sir.” You fucking asshole.
“Now ask for the last strike.”
He was definitely having fun with this. I sucked in and held my breath for a few seconds until the sensations of pain dissipated. “Please, my handsome sir. Can I have my last strike of punishment? I deserve it because I’m a bad little girl.”
“Oh, yes. I will always give you what you want and what you need.”
The last slap of the thick leather managed to catch just a small portion of my pussy lips. There was such a rush of excitement and need that I dropped my head, cinching my eyes closed as I moaned in appreciation.
“Now, I’ll reward you for being a good girl.” He laid the belt against my back and without hesitation, drove all four fingers into my pussy, his thumb into my asshole.
“Oh, God.” I pushed up from the chair, arching my back as he thrust long and hard, using the same rhythm as he did when spanking me. My body writhed, my mind blown by how incredible the vibrations were after being spanked harshly.
I felt the heat of his body as he finger-fucked me, using the fingers of his other hand to caress my back. I kept my eyes closed, allowing the incredible prickles of white-hot heat turn into licking flames.
Soon, my body reacted just as he knew it would, an orgasm rushing up from my core. I opened my mouth, incapable of holding back a scream, but there was nothing but a slight strangled sound.
“That’s it, little angel. Good things happen to very good girls.”
There was a sexy smugness in his voice that was strangely attractive. Too much so.
He continued pumping his fingers until I finally came down from the high.
Only when my body stopped shaking did he ease me off the back of the chair, tenderly pulling me into his arms.
His eyes remained dilated as he brushed hair from my face. His breathing was as labored as mine and the electric jolts more palpable than normal.
“You are so very special to me, o ángelós mou . I never want anything to happen to you.”
“I won’t attempt to escape again. But we will need to talk in a few days about my job in New York. They won’t appreciate I’m MIA.”
“Understood.” He pressed his lips against my forehead. “ Se péfto variá. To na se afíso na fygeis tha me katastrépsei .”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”