by Bianca Cole
I don’t let go of her right away, and she tilts her head toward me. She flicks her tongue out over her lips, drawing my eyes to them.
It feels like she’s a magnet, pulling me toward her. The gap between us is reducing. All I can focus on right now is the frantic beating of my heart and those perfect, plump lips. An inch is all that separates us now, her breathing labored and heavy.
The sound of footsteps outside the door startles me away from her. I move away and fold my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes at the temptress in front of me.
Perhaps she has got the upper hand in this situation. This is the first time someone has ever distracted me. The first time someone has tempted me to do something which could affect our family operation negatively.
Alicia Juliano is a pawn in this game, nothing more.
I take in her appearance once more. Her cheeks are flushed, and her knees are shaking. It takes all the willpower to step away from her and back toward my desk. “I will get someone to take you to your room.” I sit down.
“My room? I’m a prisoner, aren’t I?” she scoffs.
I don’t look up at her, I can’t. She is a prisoner who I will struggle to break. The thought of harming her rubs me the wrong way, and I can’t understand why. I never hesitate to do what is necessary. If I have to hurt innocent people, then that’s what I do to keep my family safe.
I don’t acknowledge her question, pressing the intercom on my desk phone to speak to Dan outside the room. “Can you come and escort Alicia to her room, please?”
The door clicks open, and I school my features to calm and collected, even though I’m anything but.
He walks toward Alicia, grabbing her arm with more force than I’d like. It’s ridiculous, but I don’t like seeing him touch her at all. He gives me a nod as he pulls her away, leaving me staring after them.
I rest my head back in my chair and let out a sigh. This is the last thing I need. Alicia Juliano is my bargaining chip and nothing more.
Still, I’m not sure she is someone I will want to part with soon—maybe never.
6
Alicia
I lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The room I’ve been locked in is comfortable, considering I’m a prisoner. Let’s just say this is turning out to be slightly different from the last kidnapping I endured.
My father will go insane over this. I hate to think about him panicking back at home. He treats me like a little girl, even though I’m twenty years old. In his eyes, I will always be his little girl—no matter what. A lump forms in my throat, as I push myself up from the bed.
I will go out of my damn mind in this room. Rick didn’t tell me what he intends to do with me or how long I’ll be here. There was something odd about our interaction. It didn’t fit an interaction between a captor and captive. He was different to what I expected the big, bad Romano mafia boss to be like.
I need to get the hell out of here. Although, I get a feeling that will be damn near impossible. The Romano family is the most influential crime family in America. It didn’t seem too tricky to leave the building, but getting off their grounds would be a whole other story.
Their security will be beyond anything I’ve encountered before. Not to mention, Rick Romano is renowned for being brutal with anyone that tries to defy him.
A hard knock on the door startles me from my thoughts, forcing me to sit upright. I wait for the person to enter, holding my breath.
Deep down, I know who I want to see step into this room. The lock clicks, and then the door swings open, revealing the muscle-bound mob boss I can’t seem to get out of my mind.
He steps inside and shuts the door, pausing before turning to face me. His dark eyes burn with that hungry intensity again as his gaze sweeps over my body. It’s as if he wants to devour me. Something I’m not all too opposed to, even if he is my captor.
“I need a picture of you,” he says.
I shuffle to sit on the edge of the bed. “What kind of picture?”
He shoves his hands in his pockets, drawing my eyes to the bulge in his pants. My heart rate speeds up, as I wonder if he wants a picture of me naked. “Bound, gagged and looking scared,” he says, voice husky.
I can’t understand why the notion of this man binding and gagging me gets me going. My cheeks burn hot. My body prickles with need.
“Either you cooperate and let me take the picture and act like you’re scared, or I do it with force.”
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, considering the two options. The thought of being forced by Rick sets me on fire in a way I’ve never known before. His large, rough hands grabbing me and pressing me down, but I’m not stupid enough to push him.
Who knows what might happen if I do?
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
A flash of disappointment floods his dark eyes as he steps forward. “Stand.”
I do as he says, standing to my feet.
“Turn around with your hands behind your back.” I stare at him for a moment, considering his request. A part of me longs to disobey him and find out what he will do.
“Now,” he growls, eyes lighting with that fire I witnessed earlier in his office.
“If I don’t, what will you do to me?” I ask, speaking when I shouldn’t fucking speak.
He steps closer to me, looming over me in all his powerful stature. I gasp as he grabs my hips and twists me around, grabbing my hands and forcing them together behind my back. He pulls me into his hard, muscled body. “Don’t push me, Alicia,” he breathes into my ear.
I shiver at the way he says my name. My panties dampen between my thighs. “Or what?”
He ties my hands together and then tease his fingers onto my hips, digging into them enough to hurt. It’s a thrilling pain one that lights me up like nothing ever has. He twists me around, staring down at me with such ferocity I can’t tell if he’s turned on or angry.
I swallow hard, licking my bottom lip.
His eyes dip to my lips. All I can think about is pressing them to his. He is so close his breath hits my face. I gasp as he closes his hands around my throat, in a soft but firm grip. My body sets on fire, and I can’t contain the moan that escapes my lips.
His eyes widen at the sound. A wave of hot embarrassment sweeps through my body. I can’t believe I couldn’t control my crazy urges. He’s trying to scare me, but all he is doing is turning me on.
I’m so fucked up. Arousal is the last thing I should be experiencing. Even more so, considering the man holding me captive is the reason.
“On the chair,” he orders, narrowing his eyes.
I nod my head, walking toward the chair in the room’s corner.
He dips his hands into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I need you to appear scared.”
This is a nightmare. I’m a terrible actress, and trying to act scared right now seems almost impossible. Around Rick, I feel safe, which makes no sense.
“I’m not the best actress.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw, and he narrows his eyes. “Are you saying that you’re not scared?” He takes a few steps toward me, halting two feet away.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “I’m saying that I’m not scared.”
He clenches his fists by his side. “You were scared earlier when you realized who I was.”
The intensity in his gaze is making me anything but scared. The emotions flooding me couldn’t be much further from fear. My thighs quiver. My knees shake. The slickness between my thighs increases.
“It’s hard to be scared when you look at me like that,” I breathe, almost to myself.
He steps closer and grips my chin between his finger and thumb, tilting my face toward him. “Like what?”
I shiver at the intensity in his tone, licking my dry lips. There’s no way I’m going to answer him. He is looking at me with desire, but perhaps I’ve read it all wrong. Maybe it’s just my fucked-up mind playing tricks on me.
Inexperienced is a perfect word to sum me up. I’ve had on
e boyfriend, and we never had sex. In fact, we never did anything other than kiss. There’s no doubt that I’m reading the signs wrong. A man as dominant and brutal as Rick would never want a girl like me.
“Answer me,” he growls, making my panties damp between my thighs.
I shake my head. “I don’t know…” I gasp as he grabs hold of me, dragging me from the chair.
He sits down and forces me over his knee. I shiver as he pulls my slip over my hips, laying me bare to him. I’m not even wearing panties beneath it, as I took them off after showering.
His chest rumbles with a deep growl that sends heat prickling through me. He sets his hand on my bare ass. I heat from embarrassment and humiliation. This is the most exposed I’ve ever been to a man. Rick is in total control, and despite my reservations, I’m turned on.
My thighs are soaking wet with my arousal, and I gasp as he slaps my ass for the first time. The punishment makes me hot for all the wrong reasons.
The way he takes me in hand, punishing me, is something I’ve never experienced.
My professors at school always said I lacked discipline.
“Tell me what you mean, Alicia,” he commands, slapping my ass again.
I squirm, freezing as something hard and hot presses into my naked tummy. Despite Rick’s pants being between us, I can feel his cock beneath me.
“No,” I grit out, loving the way he holds me like this.
He slaps both of my ass cheeks erotically, sending a sharp pain through me. It should turn me off, but it has the opposite effect.
I moan, making him tense beneath me. I know I can’t take that sound back, and it reveals how much I’m enjoying this.
He parts my thighs and groans, seeing how wet I am. “Are you enjoying this punishment?”
I shake my head. My stomach twists with nerves as I realize how vulnerable I am. A virgin at the mercy of a powerful, angry mob boss who doesn’t care what he does.
He slaps my ass three times on each cheek, and this time, I can’t hide my response. I’m moaning on his lap, loving the press of his hard length against my tummy.
“Alicia, tell me what you meant,” he growls.
“I meant you were looking at me like you want to fuck me,” I cry, as he slaps me again.
He freezes beneath me, gripping my hips and forcing me up from his lap. He stands up and glares at me, edging closer. “I’ve heard a rumor. Is it true your father calls you his princess?” he asks.
I open my too dry mouth, closing it again. I can’t speak with this man looming over me like this, so I nod instead.
He searches my eyes, “I can see why, but you deserve to be a queen. My queen,” he growls, the statement left hanging in the air between us. He reaches for me and grips my chin between his finger and thumb, squeezing so hard it almost hurts.
The sentiment makes me more confident that the fire in his eyes when he looks at me is desire. I can’t believe how intimate his punishment was. My brain isn’t functioning with this man so close to me, his breath falling against my face.
He forces me down into the chair and shakes his head, pulling a gag out of his pocket. I gasp as he forces it into my mouth. Next, he ties my hands behind my back and ties me to the chair. “Keep your head down and look scared, or I will have to be harsh with you.”
I bow my head, even though I’m more turned on than I’ve ever been in my life. My ass stinging as I sit in the chair. He snaps a photo on his phone, before stowing it in his pants pocket.
He steps forward and grips my chin again, forcing me to meet his hot gaze. “Get some sleep,” he says. The harsh and cold tone of his voice sending a shiver down my spine.
He lets go of me and turns away, leaving me staring at his back. The tension in his shoulders is evident as he moves away. I watch after him as he steps out of the room, leaving me alone and confused.
My ass still stings. A reminder of how that man just pleasured me.
This experience will be worlds away from the experience I had the last time someone kidnapped me. I flop down on the comfortable bed and shut my eyes, thinking about the brutal mafia boss who will fill my dreams tonight.
7
Rick
Five days have passed since Dan brought Alicia into my office. I haven’t been able to do anything about her other than take that damn photo. I’ve kept away from her out of fear of what I’ll do if I go near her again.
The last time, I ended up forcing her over my lap and spanking her perfect, bare ass. It was ridiculous. When I realized she wasn’t wearing panties, it sent me spiraling out of control. I don’t want my uncontrollable attraction to her to distract me from what I need to do.
I can’t bring myself to harm the beauty locked up in our guest bedroom. What I should do is assign the task to one of my men to take care of it, but I can’t bring myself to do that either. The thought of any other man touching her makes me hot with possessive rage.
I sent the picture of her gagged and bound to her father. He is yet to respond to our demands and the fact we have her, which is odd. The most fucked up thing is that I’ve taken matters into my own hands a few too many times looking at the image.
Alicia Juliano gets me going like no woman ever has. She’s hot and feisty, and the way she moaned when I spanked her ass proved she loves being disciplined. I was moments away from tying her to the guest bed and having my way with her. I’m always in control.
Why the hell does she make me so crazy?
Leo is on the mend and out of our private hospital ward in the basement, but Kane is still far from fit. He took far worse gun wounds while he drove them to safety. He is always the hero, sacrificing his own safety for his brother and girlfriend.
Jasmine has been by his side day and night in the hospital room in our basement. She won’t even leave to get food or drink, but Ellie has taken to supplying her while she’s down there.
We use the room in the basement far too often for our men. We can’t use traditional hospitals, because it raises too many questions and heat that we don’t need. There’s only so much you can pay the police to look the other way.
I will need my brother to help me deal with her. If I go anywhere near her alone, it will be a miracle if I don’t end up balls deep inside of her.
“Sir.” I turn to see Dan jogging down the corridor toward me. “An incident has occurred with the Juliano girl.”
My heart rate spikes at the mention of her and incident in the same damn sentence. “What kind of incident?”
He pauses a moment, eyes fearful. “The girl escaped the room, and we’re searching the grounds for her now.”
I clench my fists by my side. “Why the fuck wasn’t she guarded?”
Dan pales, taking a half step backward. “I’m not sure. I believe Jason was on guard, but it was changeover. The guy taking over hadn’t arrived, so he went to search for him.”
I shake my head. “Why wasn’t the door locked?”
He bites the inside of his cheek. “It was, but she picked the lock with a hairpin.”
I growl, marching toward the exit of the house. Alicia isn’t slipping through my fingers. There is zero fucking chance I let that happen.
I can hear Dan’s footsteps chasing after me. “We’re out looking for her. We’ll get her. There’s no way she’ll get passed the security at the gate.”
Dan is one of my best men, but he needs to learn when to back off. I say nothing, walking straight out of the front entrance and scanning the grounds at the front.
If I were Alicia, where would I go?
She is smart and the daughter of a man from this world. She is aware we guard the front gate and will try to find another way out.
I walk in the opposite direction of the gate, heading toward the boundary at the back of the mansion. If I was Alicia, that’s where I’d try to find a way out. My heart pounds hard as I remember there are a few holes in the fencing at the back. I meant to get them fixed, but I never have time for that shit.
“Si
r, where are you going?” Dan shouts after me.
Irritation rises inside of me, forcing me to an abrupt stop. “Dan, you don’t want to be asking me any fucking questions,” I say, clenching my hands by my side.
He backs off, stepping away from me and walking back toward the driveway. I continue on, following my hunch where Alicia is. If she had taken the driveway, we would have found her by now.
All I can think about is losing her, and I know it’s not for the right fucking reasons. Once I get my hands on her, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself. A dark part of me longs to take her in ways I shouldn’t even consider. Nick Juliano wouldn’t take too kindly to a rival taking his daughter to bed—that’s something I’m sure of.
There’s an unspoken, unwritten code between rival families. Family members of mob bosses don’t get touched in that way no matter what, but I can feel the powerful desire for her mounting by the minute.
I shut my eyes, inhaling a deep breath to calm myself, but it’s no fucking use. Alicia’s beautiful face infects my mind.
My eyes shoot open at the crunch of light footsteps running through the woods a good few yards to my left. A flash of bright red fabric has my heart racing into overdrive. She is wearing a dress we supplied her—the sexiest one.
The excitement inside of me stirs as I stalk toward her. The anticipation of hauling her over my shoulder makes my heart rate spike. It’s clear that with her, I’m a mess.
A flash of dark hair this time catches my attention between two trees. She thinks she can outrun me, but she can’t. There is no need for me to run. Slow and steady wins the race.
She glances over her shoulder, meeting my gaze. It all happens so fast.
The moment she takes her attention off the ground in front of her, she trips over. I watch as she falls, quickening my steps out of instinct. A part of me hates to see her fall, wanting to be there to catch her, but I’m too far away.
She clutches her ankle, face twisting with pain. Her attention returns to me, and she purses her plump lips.