Chapter 13
In a way, she was thankful for Noah’s text leaving her in a frozen state when the next message arrived. Numb and in shock from unbelievable pain was the correct state to be in when you received a link to a sex auction website featuring your violent rape.
The blood drained from her face as she replayed the video. Her face had been blurred out (for the moment) but the auction was already growing frenzied, aided by the caption: Famous CEO In Teen Rape Tape.
She swallowed and re-read the last of her stepfather’s message.
Are you really willing to call my bluff, little whore? Check the auction closing time and reassess your priorities. You have until one minute before the auction ends.
The auction was set to finish at midday on Monday, but the bidding had been going for just over an hour and was already at three million.
A cold shiver spilled more ice into her veins.
Her phone rang. Breath stalling, she rose from her seat at the conference table and moved to the window.
“Yes?”
“This is Paddy. My employer wants you to know we’ve seen the auction tape. We’re working on it. Don’t do anything rash.” He hung up before she could answer.
The breath she was holding shuddered out. Great. The man who thought her a faithless fucking liar was in charge of her fate, along with a bunch of lawyers who wanted her to wait and see.
Hysterical laughter curdled up her throat. Turning on her heel, she stalked to the door.
“What are you doing?” Warren asked.
“I’m leaving. This is going to go one of two ways. Either we catch the bastard before Monday, or the video goes viral. I’m not going to spend any more time discussing the issue.”
She walked out before he could respond. Entering her office, she snatched up her bag, walked back out and nearly bumped into Warren. He caught her by the arms and steadied her. When he didn’t let go immediately, she pulled away.
His mouth compressed for a split second. “Are you going home?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m growing tired of answering to you, Warren. For the last damn time, I’m a big girl. Let me be. ”
Again, a minuscule display of his displeasure in the tightening of his jaw. “My dear?—”
“That reminds me. I hate that term. Use my name. Or not. But I’m tired of being addressed like I’m some wilting English rose. And you’re not Mr. Darcy. So stop it!”
Noah stared at the phone app he’d had his tech guys build for him, his anger growing by the minute. When he couldn’t contain his frustration anymore, he swiped it closed and dialed the number he’d sworn never to call again.
She answered after four rings.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing wandering the streets at this time of night? And where the hell is your driver?”
Leia laughed, but the sound was so hollow and ragged, his chest tightened.
“I sent my driver home because, right now, I’m shopping.
In about fifteen minutes, I’ll be stopping to grab some dinner at Pietro’s.
Didn’t you see the video? I have three whole days’ reprieve before the world is one-click away from watching my rape in full Technicolor.
So before then, I intend to party like it’s 2099.
Care to join me?” Her voice turned soft, inviting.
“What about your life choices? Remember those? The ones that don’t feature me?” He called himself an asshole for mentioning it. But it was out there. And the silence that greeted him killed him.
“I’m willing to make an exception… for one night only.” Husky and drenched with an emotion he refused to let touch him, the words emerged haltingly.
Something crushed inside of him as he stepped back from the edge of temptation. “No, thanks. The offer to be used and abused sounds fantastic, but I turn fuck toy only if a woman deserves it.”
A muffled sound, like a strangled sob, was quickly smothered. “Fine. Maybe I’ll find someone more accommodating.”
A growl bubbled up his throat. He managed to swallow it down before he could speak. “You do that only if you want me to hunt you both down and break every fucking bone in that unfortunate guy’s body. Then I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget.”
Again, a laugh that screamed the edge of endurance. “Wow. Macho, Ruthless Noah. Teacher of Lessons. I still have your marks on my ass, you know that?” A hollow giggle.
He gripped the phone tighter. “Jesus, Leia. Are you drunk?”
“Sadly not. I’m stone-cold sober. No, wait, that’s not true. I’m sober, but my brain is spinning at the speed of light, like I’m high or something.”
He frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know… Noah, I can’t stop playing the video in my mind. It’s making my heart race, but I can’t really feel my fingers… God,” she whispered brokenly, “please, make it stop…”
“You’re still in shock. Dammit, Leia, you shouldn’t be out on your own.
I’m going to put you on hold. Don’t you dare hang up, you hear me?
” Cursing, he reactivated the app, reached for his office phone and dialed.
Issuing instructions, he hung up and paced along the west wall of his office.
“A car will be pulling up to you in two minutes. Get in.”
“Is he… is he bringing me to where you are?”
“No. But the driver’s an ex-army medic. You do exactly as he says.”
“Yes, Noah.”
He banged his head against the wall, hoping the pain would stop him from reacting to those two words .
“What happens after that?”
“You wanted to go to Pietro’s? He’ll take you there, then to Palm Beach.”
He hung up before he could do something stupid, like ask her to wait for him.
He stared down at the app and judged how long it’d take the Maserati to reach her.
Too fucking long. Stalking back to his desk, he woke up the laptop screen and stared into the small box at the bottom right-hand corner. “Any luck?”
Two sets of faces stared back at him. The spectacled one in an MIT sweatshirt had the nerve to roll his eyes.
“Damn, you super-rich dudes all want everything like yesterday. Chill, man. Hacking is like seducing a woman. Surely you know that? Come on too strong and she gives you the finger, and you have to go home alone with killer blue balls.” He nudged his friend and they dissolved into high-school cackles.
Noah suppressed a smile and glared at them. “I can’t believe I’m thinking of investing fifteen mil in a company to be fronted by fools. Maybe I need to rethink our business venture?”
The boys sobered. “Jeez, chill. We’ll have something for you soon.”
“Make it sooner.” He exited and reactivated the app tracking Leia. He frowned and managed to resist for all of ten seconds before he redialed her number.
“You’re headed in the wrong direction for Pietro’s.”
A soft hum. “I’m not hungry anymore. Your guy checked me over. He claims I just need rest. I’ll grab something when I get to Warren’s house.”
Razors slashed his gut. “You mean home?”
She hesitated. “It doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
He jackknifed in his chair, his breathing non-existent. “Then fucking do something about it. ”
“I will. I intend to… if I get through this nightmare.”
“ When . When you get through it,” he insisted through gritted teeth.
She sighed. He heard the sound of soft leather creaking as if she was relaxing against the seat and bedding in for the long ride.
At this time on a Friday night, the traffic at her part of town was horrendous.
It’d take at least half an hour to get onto the highway leading to Palm Beach. “Are you still there?” she whispered.
Hang up. She’s safe and secure. Hang up now . “Yes.”
“I need something to take my mind off my shitty life, Noah.” Her voice sounded so small. His fist clenched on his thigh.
“Your life isn’t shitty.”
“We’ll agree to disagree. Tell me about the T-shirt. What it means to you.”
“No. You don’t deserve to know.”
She inhaled sharply. He steeled himself against the wounded sound. “Noah, I’m sorry if I… I didn’t mean to hurt you…”
“Do me a favor? Let’s agree to leave our feelings out of any future discussions we have, okay?” She didn’t reply and Noah could almost see her grey eyes darken with hurt. He turned his chair to face the window and relaxed. “What are you wearing?”
“What?” Her confusion almost made him smile. Almost.
“You want something to distract you, tell me what you’re wearing.”
Her breath hitched. “I’m wearing a red and black block leather dress.”
“Go on,” he said.
“Umm… it’s sleeveless, with a long zipper at the back?—”
“So it opens all the way down to your ass?”
“Y… yes. ”
“How short is it?” he asked gruffly.
“It comes down to mid-thigh and it has a couple of slits up the sides.”
“And pantyhose. Are you wearing pantyhose, Leia?” Fuck, what the hell was he doing?
“No, I’m wearing black stockings with a red garter and four-inch black heels.”
Her husky voice poured over his senses like the smoothest, most expensive whiskey. His fist unclenched and hovered over his crotch. He leaned his head back further against his chair, and his eyelids drooped as his blood pounded.
“So you power dressed and then decided to end the day by feeling sorry for yourself?”
“I never claimed to be invincible, Noah. I do what I can to survive.”
Her words struck a deep chord within him. He closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he proceeded with the game. “You’re only weak if you think yourself to be weak. Now… panties. Tell me you’re wearing panties underneath that short dress.”
“Yes, I’m wearing a black thong.”
He swallowed hard. “One of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Describe the design to me.” His voice sounded so thick he wondered if she had understood him.
She cleared her throat and he heard the sound of leather creaking again. “There’s a cluster of silver studs centered just over where my… umm…”
“Your clit?”
“Hmm… it sends a small pulse of heat if I rub my hand over it.”
The image of her sitting at her desk, her fingers sneaking beneath her dress to touch herself every now and then, attacked his brain to the point where he pulled the phone away from his ear and bit down hard on his knuckle.
When he could breathe without feeling as if he would explode, he brought the phone back.
“Why did you wear it today?” He wasn’t sure why he asked, but the words spilled out anyway.
“I guess I didn’t want to feel completely helpless. Wearing the panties reminded me that I wasn’t useless, that I was worth something. It also reminded me that I had ultimate control over my… my sexuality.”
“Does that sound like a shitty life to you, Leia?”
Her breathing changed. A sigh. An acceptance of truth. “No.”
“Good. Is the partition up in the car?” He was skidding on dangerous ground, but he already knew he was too far gone to turn back.
The faint whine of the partition sliding up answered his question. She was just as up for it as he was. He hadn’t wanted to discuss feelings. So, sex it was. Phone. Fucking. Sex.
“Switch to video, Leia.”
Her breath caught. “What?”
He suppressed a smile. “You thought what’s about to happen would take place in dark anonymity? Wrong. Turn on the video link. Now.”
He heard her fumble for a few seconds, then her face flashed into view.
She’d had the good sense to turn on the interior light at the side rather than overhead, which meant the driver would only catch a faint glow through the dark partition.
But Noah could see her just fine. Her face was lightly flushed, and her eyes were wide with anticipation and arousal.
“Hi,” she murmured, her raspy voice a touch shy .
“There are two coat hooks just above you to the right. See it?” She glanced up and nodded. “Slide your phone in there.”
He turned back to his desk. Thanks to his tech prodigies, he’d learned a few new neat tricks. He grabbed the phone on his desk, issued a new set of instructions to his driver and connected his mobile to his laptop. He hit the full screen button and her image flared into wide view.
Somewhere in the madness of his helpless rage and frustration at the chaos ruling his life, he’d forgotten just how incredibly beautiful she was.
The angled view of her looking up into the camera, eyes wide, mouth full, parted and trembling, stopped his heart for a terrifying few seconds before it slammed into his ribs.
Christ…
Her tongue slid out to lick her lips nervously before she pouted. “Noah, I can’t see you.”
His gaze darted to the small box and saw that her view was of his throat, not his face.
Giving in to the insane urge, he drifted his fingers over the image of her cheek, her throat and lingered on her lips, his heart still racing.
Then he schooled his features and angled his phone. “Release your seatbelt.”
She frowned. “I’m in a moving car, Noah. It’s not safe.”
Had he not been aroused to the point of pain, he’d have laughed. And reminded her how she’d crawled onto his lap on the way back from the jazz funk gig in Vienna. “You’re no longer moving.”