Chapter 9
MICHAEL
Elsie will be free to go after she’s paid her debt to me. And I don’t feel sorry about what I’m asking of her.
She’s part of a bigger plan than she realizes. A year is plenty of time for everything I need to do. I could potentially let her out of our agreement sooner, but she doesn’t have to know that.
The longer my father stays on as the boss, the angrier he will get. And if that happens, he’ll get his men to kill Raph, even if he’s innocent.
I can’t have that. Not yet. Not until the truth comes out, whatever that may be. And whoever has crossed the family will meet the end of my gun. I don’t care who it is.
But my father is a lot more callous, doing things before he thinks them through. Once I take over, most of the men will be loyal to me. That’s how it works. The tables will turn, and I will have the power. And those who decide to take my father’s side and go against me will die for it.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I wait for her to come out of the bathroom, staring at my watch.
I have to get Sophia from school in ten minutes and explain to her why the woman she saw hiding in our house is now my fiancée.
The kid isn’t stupid, no matter what I told Elsie.
I hope they get along. It’ll be a lot more difficult if they don’t.
I need this wedding to happen quickly, and my mother will be more than happy to plan the entire thing.
There will be no escaping the magnitude of this event.
But the faster this wedding takes place, the better it is for me.
The fact that I don’t have to be stuck in a marriage I have no interest in is the best part.
My parents will eventually get over the divorce. They won’t find out until it’s done.
Divorce isn’t common in my circles. People stay married, even while they hate each other’s guts. That will never be me. I don’t conform. I make my own rules.
“Let’s go, Elsie.”
My knee bounces. I don’t want to be late.
I hate disappointing my daughter. I’ve already done that too many times, between missing school due to work and not always being available to pick her up.
I don’t want to keep doing it. She deserves more than I can give her.
I could lie and say it doesn’t bother me, but it does.
A minute later, Elsie comes out, the same clothes on, but at least she’s had a chance to shower. Her hair is still damp, a towel in her hand, soaking up the drips of water as she closes the door.
“How sweet. The new fiancée gets to meet the daughter.” She slants her head with a mocking expression, the rage directed at me. “You going to lie to her too, huh? Anything to get what you want.”
I suck in a hard breath, pinning her with a tight glare as I take to my feet. “Don’t test me. My palm is itching to meet that pretty ass of yours.”
Her eyes widen a fraction.
“Go ahead,” she practically hisses, her chin rising in defiance.
My chest heaves with a single long inhale, and then my feet are moving forward as she backs against the door, that fuckable mouth parted like it’s asking for my cock.
Her breathing grows heavier, and I swear this fight in her is her way at foreplay. I could almost taste her arousal on my tongue.
Slowly, I start to slash away the distance between us. Her breasts rise every time she pulls in a gasp, watching me as I get nearer, cheeks turning slightly pink. Her palms hit the wall, long fingernails straining against it.
When I’m right in front, those large brown eyes draw me in, and I almost let myself imagine it: what true happiness is like. The kind of life we could build for Sophia. My baby girl could finally have a mother, someone who loves her just as much as I do.
But no. That won’t ever happen. One thought of what took place with Raph and Bianca, and it all vanishes. Every dream. Every fantasy. I’d die before I’d let that happen to me.
I edge a hand toward the curves of her face, knuckles brushing down the side of it.
“Why do you test me, Elsie?” My voice strains, my hard-on throbbing, wanting inside her, the devil tempting me with something I can’t have.
“Because I can.” A brow rises, and goddamn, she’s a temptress, weaving her poison through me, curling it around my flesh and piercing it like a thorny vine.
My other hand grazes her hip before I whip out my palm and slap her ass.
She yelps, her hands leaping to my biceps. “You asshole! Did you just spank me?”
My upper lip curls, and as I get ready to do it again, that fight in her is back. And I crave it like tempted fruit, calling for me, enticing me with a single bite.
I spin her body around, my chest flat against her back. Grabbing both of her wrists, I raise them above her head, holding them hostage against the wall, and with my free palm, I spank her harder.
“I did. What are you going to do about it, little dove?”
She cries out low when I do it again—and then again—the sound slicing through the silence, except for her slight little moans.
“You will behave, or I will keep punishing you.”
Her head turns, those heavy-lidded eyes full of lustful rage.
“The next time you decide to open that smart mouth…” I slap her harder, louder, our gazes a tangled heap of wanton desire. “I won’t hesitate to throw you over my knee and make you feel my palm on your bare ass.”
Her cry turns to a sultry moan, and I knead her flesh, rubbing away the pain. She pushes her hips into me, right into my cock, allowing herself to feel just how hard I am for her.
Her body trembles from the heaviness of her breathing, those eyes still on me, cheeks flushed.
My hand remains on her ass, unable to stop touching her. This body, it’s like a sculpture: curved hips, heavy tits that I want in my palms. What sounds would she make when my hands rough through her hair as I make her come around my cock?
I bend into her, my nose rubbing that spot right behind her ear, just a whisper of a touch, but enough to make her feel it. “You’re even more beautiful turned on for your husband.”
“Fiancé.” She lets out a gasping breath.
I groan on a faint laugh, tightening my hold around her wrists. “Husband soon enough.”
Her panting grows more rapid, and for a moment, her hands jolt from within my grasp, like they want to touch me back. I won’t admit it out loud, not to anyone, but I’d do anything to feel it.
“Shit. Sophia,” I mutter, quickly letting her go, looking at my watch.
Five minutes late already.
“Damn it.” I shake my head while she tries to catch her unsteady breathing, both hands still pinned to the wall as though I’m still there, holding them.
I take one in my grip, kissing the top of it as I practically peel her off the wall. “Come on. We have to go.”
She nods, still shaky as she slips into her sneakers. I lead her out of the room and down the stairs, not letting go of her hand, even as we get inside the car and drive off.
ELSIE
I can’t believe that man spanked me. And I can’t believe I actually liked it. A lot.
I should be disgusted. Humiliated. Especially after knowing he knew what went on in that house. Yet I don’t feel that way, because with him, it felt right.
But how could it when all the other times I’ve been touched that way, it felt dirty? I felt dirty. But with him, I felt free.
There’s clearly something wrong with my head. Even with the control he held over me up against that wall, I didn’t feel oppressed or scared, even while knowing at any moment, he could kill me.
But he hasn’t yet, and I can use that to my advantage. I can still save Kayla…if only I had a way to get out of here.
A year is a long time. He’s going to drop his guard eventually, and I’ll be there waiting for when that moment comes.
He isn’t a good man. I shouldn’t want him. It’s wrong. It’s sick. I shouldn’t like the way he wields his power over my body until I melt for him, until I beg for something none of those men gave to me: sex on my terms.
Am I even capable of that? Would I fear it? Fear him?
I stare out the window in the back seat, refusing to sit beside him in the front, not wanting to be anywhere near him. It seems every time we’re close, things turn out of control. I can’t have that. I need to think with a clear head so I can figure out how to help Kayla.
When we left, I spotted two armed guards at the front of the house. Big, bulky, the kind that could stomp on you and not even know it. There were more around the tall iron gate. The entire estate is surrounded by it. It’s like a prison.
There were people working on the grounds too. Any one of them would tell him if I tried anything.
The car halts to a stop, the drive only a few minutes until we’re at a school.
“Don’t try anything.” He rotates to me, his charcoal brow rising a fraction, as though in warning. “I’ll be just a minute.”
I fix him with a glare, not saying a damn thing.
“We’re doing that now?” He chuckles once, opening the door to his SUV and getting out.
When the doors click to a close, I know that I’ve lost my one good chance to get away. I try the doors anyway, every single damn one, but they’re all locked.
“Fuck!” I groan, grasping at my hair and pulling in frustration.
This is hopeless. He’s always going to make sure he’s two steps ahead every time. How can I get away from a man like that? It’s not as though I could ask him to help Kayla. He’s on their side, not ours.
Lost in my thoughts, I don’t see Michael and Sophia strolling toward the car until they’re close enough to hear.
“I’m sorry, Sophia. Something came up and I ran late.” His voice softens, and from here I can’t see the little girl.
“It’s okay, Daddy. I know you’re busy.”
He sighs, knowing it wasn’t okay at all, and I feel guilty for causing him to be late.
Together, they go around toward the driver’s side, and as they do, I find two women directly in front, whispering to one another, staring him up and down.
His jacket is now gone, the black shirt exposes a hint of his chest, a couple of buttons popped open, a simple silver chain around his wide neck.
But I think their eyes are glued to his ass.
Can’t say I blame them, either. As though on instinct, he runs his hand through his tuggable hair and I swear they swoon.
I guess it could be worse. I could’ve been forced to marry the likes of Agnelo.
That man is sadistic. He enjoyed torturing us, beating us until we did everything he wanted. We had no choices. We were merely property. Our bodies theirs to buy and sell. Cattle. Commodities. Not human at all. Not to them.
I don’t yet know if being with Michael will be any better.
But as I sit in this car, the victims are all out there.
Still being sold, hurt. I can’t save them all, but I can start with Kayla and the others at the house.
I can find someone from the government to help, someone the Bianchis haven’t paid or scared off.
There has to be someone out there with a conscience.
Michael opens the back door and helps Sophia into her car seat, placing her backpack on the floor below her feet.
But once she sees me there, her eyes bug out. “Ahhh! What are you doing here?”