Chapter 13
If she didn’t answer me in the next couple minutes, I was taking the damn thing off, smashing it, and putting the pieces on her desk.
She’s probably making you wait on purpose, you fucking simp.
As if on cue, my phone buzzed with a new message.
Elin: I knew you were a good boy. You and I will be going to lunch after we finish with Kyle.
My eyebrows went up. As much as I hated taking orders from anyone other than my father, I loved that she wanted to have lunch with me.
Fucking pull your shit together and remember who you are.
Gavriel: We will?
Elin: Yes.
Gavriel: What if I have another meeting to attend?
Elin: We have things to discuss.
Gavriel: Can’t we discuss them here at the club? Not sure I want to be seen in public with you.
Elin: Is that so?
For so many reasons, the least of which is your bossy fucking attitude.
Gavriel: I’ll see you at 10 on the ground floor. Don’t fucking be late.
I’d just sent the message when a notification popped down from my sister.
Rhea: You in your office?
Gavriel: Yes. Come on up.
Quickly, I went and put the key on Elin’s desk, and I was just getting back to my office when the elevator opened and Rhea walked out, shaking. I was moving before she said, “Gavriel?”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Father. H-he . . .”
Understanding hit me. “He told you that he finished arranging your marriage to Juarez.” She nodded, her chin trembling as I pulled her into my office and locked the door behind us.
I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her jasmine shampoo.
Tears streaked down her face through her expensive makeup, mascara bleeding like ink on parchment.
She buried her head against my chest, her fingers clutching desperately at my shirt, wrinkling the crisp fabric.
Holding her tight enough that I could feel her heartbeat hammering against mine, I guided her to the leather couch in the corner and sank down beside her, the cushions yielding beneath our weight.
Turning to cradle her face between my palms, I wiped away tears that felt scalding against my fingertips, her skin flushed and blotchy beneath my touch. “I’m not going to let that happen.”
“What if—”
More forcefully this time, I repeated, “I’m not going to let that happen. Even if I have to paint your dress red with his blood, I will keep you from marrying that man.”
Her arms wrapped around my waist as she fell back into my chest and just sobbed. “I want Joel back. Why wouldn’t Father just let me have Joel?”
I knew why, but it wasn’t something I was going to tell her now.
It had been about control. He didn’t think of Rhea as anything other than a bargaining chip.
Family always came first to him. The family business, that was.
Rhea and I were nothing but a means to more zeros in the bank account, and here I was, contributing to her heartbreak.
I’d never forgive myself for my part in this.
Her eyes flashed with rage I'd rarely seen before.
"Why did you have to cut his heart out?" She lunged at me, her fist connecting with my jaw with a crack that sent pain shooting through my skull.
"You monster!" Each word was punctuated by another blow to my chest, my shoulders, my face.
I stood there and took it, tasting copper as blood pooled in my mouth.
Her screams tore through the office as she pounded into me, her fingernails raking down my arms, leaving crimson trails.
When her knees finally buckled, she was still clawing at me, her face contorted in agony, mascara and tears and snot all mixing together.
I caught her before she hit the floor, my own vision blurring.
This was the price. I'd pay it a thousand times over.
I carried her to the couch, her body trembling violently against mine, and knelt before her.
Blood from my split lip dripped onto the carpet as I brushed matted hair from her face.
"I'm sorry, sis," I whispered, my voice breaking. "It had to be done."
I stayed there and comforted her for an hour, her body gradually softening against mine as her sobs subsided into hiccups, then into the shallow breathing of exhaustion.
My shirt was damp with her tears, sticking to my skin.
The leather couch creaked as I shifted to check the clock on my desk—the meeting was in fifteen minutes.
“Rhea?” She hummed. “You are welcome to stay here if you need somewhere to hide, but I have a meeting downstairs. I’ll be a few hours. Again, you are welcome to stay as long as you need to, but when you leave, please make sure the door is locked behind you.”
Her voice was soft, and it hurt to see her so broken-hearted. And it will always be partially my fault. “Okay.”
“I love you, Rhea.”
“You too, asshole.”
I smirked at her endearment, gave her a quick kiss on the back of the head as I stood, and headed downstairs. Even after everything, she still came to me. Wanted me to fix it. The problem was, I didn’t have all the pieces yet to do it.
Elin.
I was stunned as she popped into my mind. Could I ask her for help? If I could trust her enough to give her submission, could I trust her with the one thing I held most dear in my life?
Gods, just the thought of her had me adjusting myself in the elevator.
I hoped she would take the cage off soon.
Sure, there was a way to urinate, and with the chain mail, it wouldn’t be hard to clean while in the shower, but I was a horny bastard.
How long was she going to make me go without sex?
Was that what she wanted to talk about after the meeting?
Did she want to ensure that it never happened again?
Did she want us to continue hate fucking?
Shit!
I ran my hand through my hair, my fingers getting tangled in the strands and tie I had it pulled back in. Frustration built in me as I pulled the tie out and resecured my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck.
When I strode out of the elevator and down the hall, the second I heard her voice, I had to stop and breathe. My cock instantly reacted to just her authoritative tone, and the tender skin pressed against the chain more, making me wince.
Gritting my teeth and thinking of anything to calm my dick down, I went to meet up with them.
When I rounded the corner, any progress I had made was gone.
Elin looked every bit the professional business partner, in a fitted navy pant suit with her hair pulled up in a ponytail.
My eyes weren’t sure where to look first. The suit hugged every curve of her body exquisitely.
The black undershirt she had on was modest but low enough to show just what perfect tits she had under there.
The way the ponytail drew attention to her bright eyes and high cheekbones had me straining not to pull her to me and worship every inch of her.
When our gazes met, I swallowed as my cock pressed harder against the chain mail.
Yes, bring the pain. Distract me.
“Gavriel! There you are.” Kyle smiled in greeting.
There was a pleasant smirk on her face as she greeted me. “Gavriel. Nice of you to join us. Just so you know, I’ve arranged for lunch to be delivered at noon so we can go over other business after we are done here with Kyle.”
I just nodded and looked at Kyle, who started in with his plan for ensuring the party would go off without a hitch.
The meeting was extremely productive and was actually pretty pleasant.
Elin showed that she had business savvy and offered a few good ideas for making the evening flow more efficiently.
The problem was that the woman knew what she was doing to me.
She would bend over in such a way that would give me, not Kyle, a great look down her shirt or a great view of her well-defined ass and gorgeous hips.
Even when she took her jacket off, revealing a spaghetti-strap, black, fitted tank, she did so in a way that had me desperately holding onto a whimper.
Elin Perkins was going to be the death of me. There was no doubt.