Chapter 11
Savvy
“Stay here,” the neanderthal orders me as Damien, our driver—and snitch—pulls up to the front entrance of the house.
I itch to throw open the door before he can come around to do it himself, but he’s been dead silent the entire drive back. No matter what bait I threw at him, he merely sat in his seat staring out his window.
At one point, he moved his hand to my knee, squeezed, then kept it there the rest of the drive.
He has no reason to be angry. Other than ignoring what time he thought I should be back, I didn’t break any of his stupid rules.
My phone buzzes with a text from Cassie.
I’m home. I’ll text after the interview.
I send back a heart emoji, my anger taking on a whole new level. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.
When my door swings open, I launch myself out onto the driveway and stalk my way up the steps to the door.
It’s locked.
Of course it is.
Silently, he steps in front of me and slides his key in easily and unlocks it. The door pops open immediately. He steps out of my way so I can barge inside.
A man steps out from a short hallway, scaring the breath right out of me. I jump backward, stumbling over my feet and landing in Gabriel’s arms.
The man, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black button-down, stares at me hard for a moment before looking to Gabriel.
“You can go. I don’t want anyone in the house tonight.” Gabriel grasps my elbow.
That’s probably a bad sign for me, but there’s too much boiling rage in my chest for me to pay much attention to the warnings.
I rip my arm from him and stalk to the stairs. Taking them two at a time, I run up to the bedroom. Not the one I share with him, but the one I’ve set up as my own personal office space.
Before I can get the door locked, not that it would matter, he’s right there, behind me.
Without a word, he stalks me further into the room until I’ve walked myself against the wall. He presses a forearm over my head and wraps his hand around my throat, effectively trapping me. Like an animal.
His fierce gaze sweeps over my face. His nostrils flare, and in a flash there seems to be a decision made.
Then he kisses me. His tongue touches my bottom lip, coaxing my submission. His fingers tighten around my throat when I finally allow him entry, and the kiss deepens.
I’ve been kissed before.
This is nothing like that. There’s a power to this kiss. A current of electricity runs along a live wire between him and me. My mind, on the brink of spiraling only a moment before, settles into calm.
When he breaks the kiss, he presses his forehead to mine, breathing in deeply. My lips tingle from his desertion.
“You don’t belong in this room unless you’re working. At night, you belong in my room. In my bed.” He sounds like his throat is tight. As though he’s trying to control the words from tumbling out.
“I don’t understand you.” I place my hand against his chest. “I don’t understand why I’m here.”
He lifts his head enough to line up our eyes. “It’s simple, Savvy. You’re here because I want you.”
Then he pulls me from the room and into his suite, kicking the door shut behind him.
“You were a very bad girl today.” His hands are already on his belt buckle as he stalks toward me. I stumble backward, knowing there’s nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. I’m trapped in here with this madman.
Only, the hunger shining in his eyes doesn’t set off my alarm bells. There’s an ache inside me that craves whatever is going to happen next.
His madness must be contagious.
“You weren’t home when you were supposed to be home; then I find you hustling strange men.” The leather zips through the loops of his pants, and he doubles it over in his hands. “What do you think your punishment should be?”
I eye the belt.
“I don’t understand why you need to punish me at all. I don’t belong to you—”
“And now you’re lying. Right to my face.” He tsks his tongue with a slow shake of his head. “You decide, Savvy. Should I spank you, or do I fuck the naughtiness out of you?”
That one! Fortunately, I’m able to stop the horny part of my brain from sending that thought to my lips.
“Ah. I think I know your choice.” His lips pull up into a crooked smile filled with arrogance and promise.
It shouldn’t be as hot as it is. None of this should be hot. My panties should be bone dry right now, but they’re not.
He hooks the belt around his neck, letting the ends dangle over his chest. “Do you like the shirt you’re wearing?”
I cross my hands over my chest, grabbing at the shirt. “You’re not ripping it.”
He tilts his head. “Then you should probably take it off.” Leaning toward me, he speaks in a mock whisper. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a very patient man.”
“Maybe I don’t want to.” Great, now he has me sounding like a petulant child. “Maybe you pissed me off so much with your Neanderthal behavior, I don’t want you touching me.”
He cocks a grin. “Your cheeks are flushed, your pupils are dilated, and your panties are soaked.”
I clench my thighs together and he grabs the ends of the belt, laughing softly. “Make your choice, Savvy. Strip out of those clothes and bend over the bed, arm of the couch, or kneel in front of me if you want a fucking.”
My entire body erupts into flames.
How can he ask me to make this choice? It’s not really a choice at all, either way I lose.
“If you don’t get moving, I’ll bring my brother up here to decide for you.”
My jaw drops practically to the floor. “You’re crazy.”
He flashes one of the most depraved grins I’ve seen. It’s not fair! He’s having all this fun at my expense, and he’s doing it while being insanely hot, so my brain doesn’t work properly to stop him.
“No. Crazy would be letting him watch. But if I did that I’d have to pluck out his eyes.” He lifts a shoulder like the whole scenario makes perfect sense. “Three seconds to decide. I’ll give you another ten to get in position.”
Then he starts counting, and my nervous system short circuits. The logical part of my brain shuts down completely, leaving me only with vibes. He’s past the count of three, but is he going to ten or thirteen?
My heart jackhammers against my lungs, and my legs tremble as I shove out of my jeans.
“Five.” He wiggles his fanned-out fingers as I tear off my shirt, dropping it into the puddle of clothes along with my pride.
“Seven.”
I stand, naked, covering my chest, looking at the couch, the door to the bedroom, then back to him.
“Eight.”
Can people actually spontaneously combust? Because this would be a great time for that to happen.
“Nine.” He raises his eyebrows in warning.
Just as he starts to lift his last finger, I drop to my knees at his feet. The lush carpeting of the sitting room cushions me.
Cheeks burning, skin electrified, and my soul bare, I lower my gaze to his boots.
He sinks to his haunches in front of me, knuckling my chin until I have nowhere else to look but him. A soft smile rests on his lips, but it’s the heated pleasure pooling in his eyes that holds me captive.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He runs the pad of his thumb across my cheek, catching a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen. Bringing it to his lips, he licks the bead of moisture away. “But I think I caught you in another lie.”
“What are you talking about?”
He cups my breast, flicking his thumb over my nipple. “You said you’d never be on your knees for me. Yet here you are.”
“That’s not fair.”
“You’re right. It’s not. But you know better than anyone that life isn’t fair. We get handed shit cards all the time. You’ve done your best playing with what you had, but things are changing, Savvy. You just have to accept it.”
I pull back from his touch, unsure where to put the feelings his words have pulled forward. Anger seems to be mixing with something lighter, something more pleasant.
And while I’m trying to put it all into perspective, he’s watching me so intently I can barely breathe beneath the attention.
“Take the belt and hand it to me,” he orders, taking away his touch.
I jerk my eyes to his, but he shakes his head before I can utter a protest. “I’m not going to spank you with it; just do what I say, Savvy.”
Gripping the buckle end, I pull it from around his neck, fold it in half and offer it to him.
“Good girl,” he whispers, taking it from me. The number of endorphins that flood my system with those two words should be studied.
What the actual fuck?
He wraps the belt around my throat, sliding the end through the buckle and pulling it tight until it creates a lead.
“You’ve been a bad girl, though, and you need to be punished. Don’t you?” He tugs on the belt, pulling me toward him an inch. “Tell me what you need, Savvy.”
“I need to be punished.” My pussy clenches as the words escape my lips.
He grins. “Ask me.”
Flames, huge, raging flames should be shooting off my face, but since he hasn’t caught fire, I guess it only feels that way.
“Gabriel, will you punish me?” I wait, expecting something horrible, a lightning strike or an earthquake to end this insanity. But nothing happens.
He kisses me again, holding me in place with the makeshift leash. The tightness in my chest eases. My body softens beneath his intensity.
“Of course I will.” He stands to his full height, still keeping the lead in his left hand.
He works the button of his pants open, pushing them down far enough to reach inside and pull out his dick.
His long, thick cock, with a small bead of moisture clinging to the very tip. Wrapping his hand around his shaft, he squeezes while stroking upward to the head, making the pre-cum drip down the underside.
“Open your mouth, Savvy.” He fists my hair in one hand and grabs the makeshift leash with the other.
I glance up his body, at the tightness of his grin.
“I said I was going to fuck the naughtiness from you.” He brings the fat head of his cock against my lips. “Starting with this pretty mouth. Now, open.”