Chapter Eight
“YOU’RE LATE, CARO,” Gracie said with a pout, watching with heavy-lidded eyes as Helios Andreadis entered the room. He headed straight to the en-suite bar, not even sparing a glance at her naked form on the bed. This supreme disinterest from the Greek biker made him loathsome and insanely attractive in Gracie’s eyes. He was the only man she had ever met to treat her this way, so callously, like he didn’t give a fuck about her. But somehow, that was the very thing that made her want him so much.
Everything about him was so beautiful. His sun-kissed hair, his flashing gold eyes, his tanned skin, and oh, his six-foot-seven body, packed with powerful muscles. The strength in that adorable body never failed to make her lips dry, and the thought of Helios using such strength to fuck her, maybe fuck her until she started to bleed—
Oh, how she wanted this man.
“I got held up,” Helios answered curtly as he carelessly tossed his watch on the table.
Gracie pushed herself up to a sitting position and swung her legs off the bed. She had hoped it would attract Helios’ attention, but all he seemed to care about was pouring himself a drink. Temper roused, she stalked towards him, grabbing the glass of whiskey from his hands and throwing it against the wall. As it shattered to pieces, she shouted, “Don’t you disrespect me—”
Her words were cut off with a gasp as Helios yanked her head back by the hair, covering her mouth in a brutally hard kiss. She tried to kiss him back, but the moment she did, he pushed her away, hard enough for her to fall back into the cushions.
“Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do,” he rasped. “We both know you like how I treat you.” And it was true. But what Gracie should never know was how every second he spent in her company sickened him. James’ information had been invaluable, allowing them to pinpoint where Manolito Chavez was currently hiding.
But it was a damn fortress, and the only way they could get someone in without risking MJ’s safety was if one of them was personally invited to do so.
Which was why he was here, about to do the fucking unthinkable.
Gracie was on her knees, cooing words of sweet nothings as she worked on the buttons of his pants. She stroked him and he closed his eyes, pretending it was MJ who stroked him. It was the only way he could get an erection. “Let me make you feel good,” she purred.
Helios made his move before his pants was completely down, twisting her around on the floor. He sank to his knees and pushed his cock into her butthole, not caring whether she was wet enough to take him in.
She cried out, the sound laced with pain and excitement. Her nails dug into the rug as Helios ripped into her with his large and vibrating cock. Tears of pleasure and agony streaked down her face and she gasped, “More.”
Without saying a word, Helios wrapped his hands around her neck.
Gracie froze. “What are you—” She started to choke, and as the fingers around her neck tightened, she started to struggle. Unbelievably, Helios didn’t stop thrusting in her. He was fucking her while trying to kill her, Gracie thought, and the thought of it had her gasping for another reason, her pussy flooding with wetness.
Helios’ thrusts were becoming more forceful, but the pressure around her neck didn’t ease.
Her senses swam, and her hands slowly fell from Helios’ choking grip.
As if from afar, she heard Helios roar his release and suddenly she was free. Gracie gasped for breath, but even as she did, her fingers were already snaking down her body, frantically rubbing her clit because almost dying was the most powerful turn on she had ever experienced.
In seconds, she was coming, coming, coming, and her eyes searched for Helios as she did. He was smiling at her. He had almost killed her, and he was smiling at her.
Gracie slowly smiled back.
They fucked three more times before Helios set to leave, Gracie also changing back into her clothes. They had agreed to leave the hotel together, with Gracie inviting him out to dinner for the first time. In their previous encounters, she had only deigned to meet him either at the club or with a hotel rendezvous like tonight. The invitation marked a change in their relationship, and Helios knew he had to take advantage of it right now.
“How’s your business doing?” he asked, adopting a careless tone as he buttoned his jeans.
Gracie walked towards him, turning around so he could zip up the back of her dress. Wrinkling her nose, she said, “Horrible. Some nouveau riche shithead from Russia’s competing with my business here. The bastard’s trying to inch me out, getting the banks to call in my loans—”
“I can help you if you want.”
Gracie stilled. She had toyed with the idea of asking Helios Andreadis for a loan. Everyone knew he was loaded, after all. But in the end, she had vetoed the idea herself. She really didn’t know him that well, and she hated to be indebted to any stranger.
But after what happened earlier tonight...
Maybe he wasn’t a stranger at all. Maybe he was a kindred soul.
“What do you have in mind?”
Helios caressed one bare shoulder. “I was thinking...since we had the same tastes...you might be able to help me with something I’ve always wanted.”
Her breath caught at the heated look in his eyes. “What is it?”
“I was thinking...maybe you and I...we could look for someone to play around with. Someone we could do whatever we wanted to, and no one would care what happened to that person.”
He wanted someone they could kill, Gracie realized. That was one of the few taboos in the club, alongside never revealing the names of other members. Violating any of those rules meant death, which was why she had never spoken of her time there, not even to her father. Thankfully, since he was a member of a similar club back in Sicily, Manolito Chavez had never thought to ask her, either.
What Helios wanted was impossible in the club...but not in her father’s world. She licked her lips. “How much are we talking about?”
“How much do you need to keep your business out of trouble?” Helios returned silkily.
Holding her breath, she named an amount that was a lot more than what the banks were demanding from her.
“Done.” His eyes glittered. “And if you find me someone by tomorrow, I’ll double the amount.”
“Tomorrow?” She tried not to let Helios see how the demand flustered her. “That’s too soon—”
Helios’ fingers encircled her neck. “I can’t help it, cara . You make me want to kill. So. Badly.” His fingers tightened around her neck. “But I don’t want to risk hurting you. It’s so rare for me to find someone who matches my tastes. I want to keep you forever, bella mia , but I need to kill. You will help me with that, won’t you?”
He really was Thanato. Death. His name suited him very well indeed. In a fit of reckless desire, she whispered, “Yes.”
The lust glittering in Gracie’s eyes was disgusting, but he knew if he didn’t act on it, Gracie would begin to suspect him. He tore off her gown, making her gasp. She opened her mouth to snap at him, but he took her lips in another ravaging kiss, biting her lip and tongue so that they would both taste blood. She raked her nails over his back and he shuddered, knowing Gracie would mistake his revulsion for desire.
One more night, Helios thought grimly even as he methodically worked on arousing the woman in his arms. One more night and he would be able to save MJ from the hell she was in.