30. Dmitri
30
DMITRI
M y cum runs down Elanee’s leg. She’s tied to the cross, tortured by the pleasure I inflict. Mine. Completely mine.
The room lights up in a purple hue. It’s the third time now that one of my staff has tried to interrupt my fun through the intercom.
“Dmitri,” Elanee says with exhaustion through heavy breaths. Her mascara spots under her eyes from where tears previously streamed down her face. I palm her swollen pussy, and she winces. She’s on full display for me, the dress in her middle having once acted as a belt when I grabbed onto to it from behind. Her legs tremble in the boots, and she might be reaching her limit. I’m confident the only thing keeping her standing right now is the straps around her ankles and wrists.
I’ve blown into her three times already and continue stroking myself as I play with her again until I’m ready in a few minutes.
“Sir. Your guests grow impatient,” a voice cautiously announces. Elanee flinches under the intercom, and my jaw grinds. They’ve previously signaled me with the lights, but this is the first time they’ve dared to speak.
It’s not enough time to nearly satisfy my needs. But business calls, especially when it concerns this woman. Reluctantly, I unbuckle her wrists first. A light sweat glistens on her skin, and her nipples are red raw. My cock jerks when I look at the sapphire piercings. My color. My woman.
“It’s time to clean up, Cricket. We have guests,” I say as I wipe a warm towel down her legs and in between.
She seems confused, as expected since I just fucked her within an inch of her life, and now have to present her.
“Who are we seeing?” she asks, rubbing at the red marks around her wrists. It wouldn’t bruise, but it’d take an hour or so to go down. A male pride rolls through me, another branding. Mine.
She pulls down her dress and carefully pulls it back up over her nipples.
“I can’t believe you actually did this.” She breathes shakily as realization only settles in now, and she looks down at her new piercings in bewilderment.
With only pants on, I fill the space between us. I hook my hand around the side of her neck and rub my thumb over her jawline thoughtfully. Her lips are swollen and I trail over them sensually. This beautiful fucking mouth.
“You’re my property. Mine and mine alone. Do you understand?” I demand. I need her to say it. Need to claim every inch inside and out.
She flinches under my ruthless tone, and had I not been an asshole, I might’ve considered that she was only fleeing from one cage to the next.
“If I asked for it, would you let me go?” she asks quietly.
“No. I won’t let you go a second time,” I promise. “But I’m not him either.” I hate the idea that she might be comparing us even now. “I’ll give you everything. Even the world if you asked for it. I’d make it happen.”
“I don’t need the world, Dmitri. I only want to be in yours,” she says gently, placing her hand on my bare chest. My jaw tics, annoyed that we have to leave this place. Irked by the meeting I organized personally.
I bring my lips to hers, tasting her, devouring her, silently promising that I will give her all that I have. Even if it’s half a man. But I have to pull away as I advise. “Let me do the talking and put on your mask.”
I efficiently button my shirt back up, leaving the top two undone. I know she’s inquisitive as to why I haven’t put my own mask back on, but on the third floor, it isn’t necessary. Especially when I’m conducting business. I simply don’t want them to look at her. Not in this disheveled state, especially.
I lead her up the stairs and blue eyes glare at me. Luca Armani sits waiting, puffing on the cigars supplied and whisky offered. Although there are women dressed in bunny masks and lingerie up here to cater to any of their needs, they’re basically huddled in a corner as far as possible away from Luca. Lorenzo stands behind him as guard, looking bored.
“You’re late,” Luca says spitefully.
“Four minutes, to be precise,” I counter. “Apologies, I was preoccupied.”
“Perhaps if you focused your time on freeing your little bird instead of fucking her, we might make some more progress,” he retorts.
Elanee’s hand squeezes mine. A shock, perhaps, but it’s given her time to adjust to what type of man she’s dealing with.
Men like my father. Men like me.
I squeeze back reassuringly. A silent signal that she’s safe when with me.
“I don’t think we should be calling one another out on our sexual escapades, should we?” I offer with an arrogant smirk. Considering the fucked-up roller coaster he and his fiancée Arabella Barone, are together, I certainly don’t need to defend myself. Not that I ever would for anyone in the first place.
When I sit, I place Elanee on my lap. Luca gives her a quick once over and then taps the end of his cigar in the tray.
“She’s smaller than I expected,” he appraises.
“Small things still bite,” she replies, matter of fact. I squeeze her leg as a warning, but I am also proud that she’s still regaining her fight. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t mind, but I need Luca for the next step. And somehow, I hadn’t yet royally pissed him off, which works in my favor.
Luca smirks. “I can see why Ara likes her now. Technically, I should be upset with your woman since she was hired to find an appropriate match for my fiancée.”
“It all worked out well in the end then, didn’t it?” I offer.
He arches an eyebrow.
“Well then, let’s not waste any more time. The man you brought to me confessed to a great lot regarding the sex trafficking.” I’m not surprised that that pinprick Slater squealed like a pig. “I won’t allow business on my turf, but that is especially something I will bring to a stop. The only reason we haven’t busted the address you gave us is out of respect for our deal. He also mentioned that he’d heard The Lion was conducting business elsewhere in New York but didn’t know anything past that. Your hunch was right; he’s using your woman to distract you from something else.”
“I really was only a pawn,” Elanee says quietly to herself. She’s not shocked, but exhaustion seems to take hold. I stroke her knee in reassurance. I can sense the tension in her body, but she leaves it at that.
Luca continues. “I’d much rather burn the club to the ground tonight. However, it won’t remove the main problem. We need to figure out what it is he’s trying to hide from us. With two of his men now killed, I imagine it’ll raise suspicion. If he’s gone to such effort to keep your sights elsewhere, whatever he’s planning must be big enough for his attention and possibly personal involvement. He might be inclined to come here himself.”
“When he does, I kill him, and you take the fall for it,” I say. That was our agreement and why I needed Luca. Because if the Bratva are bold enough to retaliate on the Armani’s turf, then they’ll target them. Not Elanee and me. This way, it appears we have no involvement, and Elanee will be set free. Most likely, the Bratva won’t retaliate if they only lose a few men, even including The Lion, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
“Yes, as we agreed. But that also means your woman still has her part to play until then.”
My skin pulls tight as he looks at her again.
“What do you need from me?” she asks, determined.
“Bait.”
My grip tightens on her thigh, and I’m sure I might be bruising her. I refuse to use her as bait, and I’ve already told Luca that. She’s already vulnerable enough as it is.
He continues. “Do you still have direct contact with The Lion?”
She nods. “He calls me infrequently. He enjoys… games.”
“Did you know why he sent you to New York? Seems odd to cast a toy so far away.”
Luca is testing my patience; all of this we’d discussed, but he’d made it a term that he meet her himself personally. I respected the fact that if I were going out on a limb, I’d want to meet the person as well. Even though he has much to gain obliterating the sex trafficking, I can’t fault him for trying to catch something else in the crossfire. It certainly takes everything in me to remain accommodating, even after going to him.
Elanee’s gaze shifts to me, and it stirs something in my chest. It’s almost pitying and there is guilt for not being there to protect her earlier. To not be able to protect her so much now. “I suspected it was because of Dmitri. He mostly asked me questions about Dmitri. For him… it’s an obsession. He wants to break his son. Just like he had your mother.” Her voice wobbles. And I blanche at the thought of my mother’s state. The way he’d discarded her as a broken plaything.
“It’s all just a sick, twisted game to him,” Elanee confesses. “So whatever you need from me. Tell me. I’ll do it.”
“No,” I firmly grit out. “The point of this agreement is to protect you, not have you provoke The Lion or further gain his attention.”
A sad smile tilts her lips, and she places one of her hands on my chin, tracing over the stubble. “Dmitri, my position can’t be any worse than what it is.” We both know that’s a lie. “At least this way, I can pretend to believe that I have a choice in my actions. This time, I can choose myself what type of pawn I will be used as.”
What goes without saying is that all pawns are disposable.
“Then let’s talk about a plan,” Luca quickly urges, and Elanee turns back to him with determination, fiercely marring her features.
I do everything to keep my composure as talk begins to put my woman in further danger.
To reverse her role and act instead of bait for me—but The Lion.