365 Days

by Blanka Lipinska

  Some time passed before I told her our story, omitting some details. I didn’t know how much I could tell a woman I had only just met. Even feeling like I had known her for years didn’t change my approach.

  “You have a difficult task ahead of you, Laura. To be such a man’s woman is a great challenge,” Monika warned me, glancing at her glass. “I know what our men do for a living, so remember—the less you know, the better you sleep.”

  “I noticed that questions aren’t exactly welcome,” I whispered, grimacing.

  “Don’t ask about anything. If he wants to tell you, he will. And if he doesn’t, it means it shouldn’t concern you. And another very important thing: never question his decisions when it comes to security.” She turned to face me and pinned me with her eyes. “Remember—everything he does, he does to protect you. Once, I didn’t obey,” she said, rolling up her sleeves. “And I was kidnapped.”

  I glanced at her wrists, which had old, barely visible scars around them.

  “They tied me with a wire. Karol found me a day later. I’ve never again second-guessed him when it comes to security or overprotectiveness. Massimo will be even worse—believe me. He has been looking for you for years, and he believes those visions of his. He’ll treat you as his most precious possession, certain that everyone else is trying to take you away from him. So be patient. I think he deserves it.”

  I sat still, mulling over her words. Outside the bubble that being with Massimo had been, I was learning that I wasn’t actually living a dream or a fairy tale. Massimo’s voice woke me from my pensiveness.

  “Dear ladies, it is time for us to go. We have some important business to attend to. Monika, it was wonderful to see you again. I hope you’ll visit us in Sicily soon.”

  We said our goodbyes and headed to the exit. Before we left, Monika grabbed me by the arm and whispered, “Remember what I told you.”

  Her deathly serious tone terrified me. Would someone really want to kidnap me? Why? But someone had kidnapped her. It could happen to me too.

  “Get in, baby doll,” Massimo said, opening the car door for me.

  I shook my head, chasing away the worrying thoughts, and did as I was asked.

  “You’ll drive? You drank!”

  Massimo turned in his seat and stroked my cheek. “You drank. I had one glass of wine. Now, buckle up. I’m in a bit of a hurry to get home,” he said, fastening his seat belt.

  The black Ferrari zoomed through Warsaw, and I couldn’t stop thinking about his plans. Various scenarios flashed through my head, only strengthening my curiosity and arousal. We drove into the garage without exchanging a single word on the way. It felt just like that time when we had been shopping together in Taormina. The difference was that now I knew he wasn’t ignoring me. He was just thoughtful. As we left the car, a security guard approached us.

  “Miss, there are packages for you in the reception on the ground floor.”

  Confused, I sent Massimo a look. He only watched me, narrowing his eyes.

  “Not from me,” he said, raising his arms defensively. “All your things from Sicily came here with you.”

  We took the elevator to the main hall. The entire space was filled with a sea of white tulips.

  “Laura Biel,” I said, approaching the receptionist. “There’s supposed to be a package for me here.”

  “Yes. All these flowers are for you. Would you like me to help you carry them upstairs?”

  My mouth agape, I looked around. There were hundreds of tulips. I drew near one of the bouquets and snatched the little card attached to it.

  Does He Know What Your Favorite Flowers Are? it read. I went to another, reading another card. Does He Know How You Like Your Tea? I grabbed yet another. Does He Know Your Passions? Terrified, I read card after card, crumpling them all into little balls and stuffing them into my pockets.

  The Man in Black stood behind me with his hands crossed on his chest, watching me until I read all the messages.

  “You know what?” I said to the receptionist. “Send these back or throw them away. Unless you have a girlfriend. She would be happy if you give them to her.” I pressed the elevator button. Massimo positioned himself next to me and went inside without a word. Upstairs, I went to the door and took the envelope that was taped to it. I went inside and sat on the couch, turning the white envelope in my fingers, finally raising my eyes and looking at Massimo. His eyes flared with hate and his jaw was working rhythmically. Terrified, I stood and drew nearer to him.

  “He’s disrespecting me,” Massimo said through clenched teeth as I faced him.

  “Come on, they’re only flowers.”

  “Only flowers? What’s in the envelope?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care!” I cried, frustrated, flinging the envelope into the fireplace. I grabbed the remote and switched the flames on, incinerating the paper instantly.

  “Better?” I gazed at the Man in Black, but he didn’t react. “Shit, Massimo, haven’t you ever fought for a woman? He has a right to try if he feels like it. And I have a right to make a decision.” I lowered my voice a bit, holding his face between my hands. “And I’ve already made it. I’m staying with you. Even if a whole orchestra is going to play me a serenade and he’s going to sing, I won’t change my mind. He’s dead to me, just like that man you shot in the driveway.”

  Massimo pinned me with his ice-cold stare. I knew he wasn’t listening. He jerked his head away and pulled a step back, storming off to the bedroom. I heard him getting something from the closet and stomping back. He passed me on the way, loading his gun.

  “I’ll kill him,” he hissed, pulling his phone from his pocket.

  Terrified by the intensity of his actions, I just stood in place, gaping. I had no idea what to do to stop him.

  CHAPTER 15

  As calmly as I was able, I picked the phone from his hand and put it down on a cabinet next to the door. I took the key from the lock and put it down my panties, keeping my eyes on Massimo. With a burst of rage, he grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wall. His eyes were ablaze with desire and hate in equal measure. Despite all his strength, I wasn’t afraid. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me. Or, at least, I hoped so. My hands hanging limply, I stood still, biting my lip and staring him defiantly in the eyes.

  “Give me the key, Laura.”

  “Take it if you want it,” I replied, unfastening the top button of my pants.

  Massimo slid his hand into my underwear with too much force, his other hand still gripping my neck. As I moaned, feeling his fingers on my skin, I could see the hatred giving way to the desire in his eyes.

  “I think it might be deeper,” I said, closing my eyes.

  He wouldn’t be able to ignore that.

  “If you want to play it that way, baby girl, I have to tell you, I’m not going to be gentle,” he warned me, rubbing his finger against my clitoris. “All my anger will focus on you, and I’m afraid you might not like the way I’ll treat you. So just let me out of here.”

  I opened my eyes and looked at him.

  “Fuck me, don Massimo… please.”

  Massimo tightened his grip on my throat and pressed himself against me, drilling me with his ice-cold eyes.

  “I’ll treat you like a whore. Do you understand me, Laura? And even if you change your mind, I won’t stop.”

  It turned me on. His words, the fear, and the knowledge that a man’s life depended on my behavior now. An internal compulsion I felt only stoked my passion, making me want it even more. And the thought of how brutal and ruthless the Man in Black could be took my breath away.

  “So do it,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his.

  Massimo pushed away, dragged me across the living room, and threw me to the couch. He did it with so much ease—as if I were a rag doll. He pressed a button on a remote, and heavy blinds slid down all windows. Then he went to the wall to switch the lights off. Despite the early hour, the apartment was drowned in darkness. I didn’t
know where he was now. My eyes hadn’t adapted to the gloom yet. All of a sudden, I felt his viselike grip on my throat again, and his thumb pressing into my mouth.

  “Suck it,” he said, pulling the thumb out and replacing it with his throbbing cock. “You’d like to be punished instead of your lover boy? All right.”

  He grabbed me by the hair and pushed himself into my mouth. I wasn’t able to take a breath. He was moving faster and harder, choking me. Then his cock retreated, though only slowly, before sliding back in—slower this time, but also deeper.

  “Open your mouth wider. I want to push my prick inside your throat,” he said, leaning my head over the headrest of the sofa and kneeling on the sofa.

  I clutched at his naked buttocks and pulled him toward me. I felt the tip of his penis touch the skin of my neck, brushing against it and finally sliding inside my mouth. I moaned, delighted, tasting him, unable to resist touching him. I pushed at him gently, moving him away just a few inches, and grabbed his heavy testicles, fondling them and shoving his cock deep in my throat. Massimo propped both hands over the headrest behind me, panting loudly. I knew I hadn’t sated him last night. If I tried, making him come wouldn’t take me more than a couple of minutes. I sucked his cock fast and hard until he grabbed me by the hair and pulled my head away, pressing it into the pillow.

  “You didn’t think I’d let you finish that easily, did you? Lie down and don’t move.”

  I didn’t obey him, lifting my head from the pillow, trying to catch his prick with my mouth again. With a growl, Massimo seized my throat and pushed me painfully into the corner of the sofa, rolling me over to my belly and moving his grip to the back of my neck. He ripped my pants and thong off.

  “Want to check how long you last, Laura? We’ll see just how much you like pain.”

  This was beginning to sound scary. I jerked, trying to get free, but he was so much stronger that me. The Man in Black wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up, so I was on my knees, my butt sticking up, and my torso still on the pillows. His hand whooshed through the air, slapping my ass. I let out a yelp, but he didn’t stop. Holding me by the hair and pressing my face to the pillow, stifling my screams, he hit me again and again. Then, gently and slowly, he slid his middle finger in my pussy, purring with satisfaction.

  “I can see you like what I’m doing,” he said, licking his finger. “I adore your scent, Laura. I’m happy you didn’t take a shower,” he added, his finger finding its way back inside me.

  I pushed myself up, trying to stand, suddenly ashamed, hearing those words, but the Man in Black’s elbow landed on my back, pushing down. I was embarrassed, cringing. I wanted this to stop.

  “Massimo, let me go right now! You hear me?”

  He didn’t react and I screamed on the top of my lungs. “Don Massimo, for fuck’s sake!”

  It only made things worse. His rhythmically stroking finger was joined by his thumb, which pushed into my anus.

  “Your ass is so tight! I can’t wait to feel it,” he breathed, turning my head to the side.

  His fingers rushed, picking up the pace, and I found myself in heaven. I didn’t resist anymore, didn’t want to pull away—it felt too good. The Man in Black felt my resistance dissolve and released my hair. He moved the pillow I had been on so that he was directly above me now. His chest leaned over my back, skin on skin, and his erect cock brushed against my thighs. He kissed the back of my neck and then bit it, his hand still moving inside me.

  “I’ll push myself inside you now, Laura. Relax.”

  I couldn’t wait. My legs spread obediently. I was so turned on that if he wouldn’t do it himself, I’d have impaled myself on his prick myself.

  Massimo grabbed my hair again, as if thinking I’d try escaping.

  “You misunderstood me, baby girl,” he breathed into my ear and slowly pushed himself into my ass.

  I tensed and stopped breathing, and he pushed harder.

  “Relax, honey. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Despite all the violence of what he had done, his voice was tender, and he tried being as gentle as he could. I trusted him, knowing he wanted to please me and not hurt me. My lungs started working again, and Massimo’s fingers traced back to my clit, massaging it softly.

  “Good, baby girl, very good. Now, push that ass higher for me,” he whispered, and I felt he was already all inside me.

  Slowly he pulled out and pushed in again, never stopping the motion of his fingers, pressing and rubbing, driving me crazy. After a while he stepped up the pace, sliding his free fingers into my pussy. Now he was everywhere at once. I writhed beneath him, screaming with pleasure, and a moment later I felt myself being close. I moaned, “Harder!”

  The Man in Black happily obliged, fucking me so hard that a whole series of orgasms flooded over me. I gnashed my teeth, unable to control myself under the avalanche of ecstasy. The sound of his hips hitting my buttocks sounded like applause. I felt him exploding inside me, and his movements slowed down. Massimo’s entire body shook, and he let out a mighty moan, reminding me of a roar of a great animal. He collapsed on my back and kept still for a while. I felt his heart pounding as he tried to calm down his breathing.

  He slid out and fell to the floor, panting. My legs all shaky, I stumbled to the bathroom to take a shower.

  When I came back, Massimo was nowhere to be seen. Terrified, I ran to the door and grabbed the handle—it was closed. I switched the light on and saw that the was key lying on the floor, next to my thong. Don Massimo, wrapped in a towel, was slowly descending the stairs.

  “I didn’t want to interrupt, so I used the bathroom upstairs,” he said, throwing the towel off and letting it fall to the steps.

  The view made my legs wobbly all over again. His slim legs ending in that beautiful, toned butt. He walked down slowly, keeping his eyes on me. The wounds on his chest did nothing to make him look any less attractive. If anything, they only made him look better. He was perfect and he knew it. Stopping right in front of me, he kissed me on the forehead.

  “Everything all right, baby girl?”

  I nodded and took his hand, leading him to the bedroom.

  “I need more,” I said, lying down on the bed.

  Massimo laughed and covered me with the duvet.

  “You’re insatiable. I like it. To tell you the truth, we forgot to buy condoms, so no can do.” He shrugged. “So, either I fuck you in that sweet ass of yours again, or forget it, because I never stop halfway, and you told me it’s too early to have a kid.”

  I sent him an amused look, making myself more comfortable.

  “So what are we going to do?” I asked.

  “What do people in Poland do on Sunday evenings?”

  “Sleep. They have to go to work on Monday mornings,” I replied with a smile.

  Massimo hugged me and reached for the TV remote.

  “So we’ll do just that and turn in early. We have quite a day ahead of us.”

  I lifted myself on my elbows and shot him a worried look.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have some things to take care of with Carlo. I want you to accompany us. We need to go to Szczecin. We could fly, but I know how you hate that, so we’ll meet him there. Unless you want to stay, but my guys would have to keep an eye on you, then.”

  That reminded me of what Monika had said.

  “Karol’s people would protect me?”

  “No. Mine. I bought an apartment on the other side of the street, so they’re as close as they can be without bothering you. Each room has cameras, too, so I know what’s happening here while I’m out. And they can have an eye on you, too.”

  “Excuse me? Aren’t you overdoing it, don Massimo?”

  He only rolled over on the bed with a laugh, throwing his leg over me.

  “Don Massimo? Why not don Torricelli, if you want to keep it official? How’s your little hole feeling, by the way?” he asked, running his hand between my buttocks. “Just to be clear, L
aura: I still want to kill him, and I’ll do it if he disrespects me again.”

  I fell into thought, gazing at Massimo. “Is that so easy to you? To kill a man?”

  “It’s never easy, but if there’s a reason, it becomes bearable.”

  “Let me talk to him.”

  Massimo took a deep breath and rolled onto his back.

  “Massimo. I love you. Just—” I stopped abruptly, suddenly realizing what I said.

  He sat up, his eyes studying me carefully. I faced him, closed my eyes, and dropped my head. I wasn’t ready for that, but I said it and it was the truth.

  With a finger, he raised my chin and said in a serious, controlled voice, “Say it again.”

  For a long while I tried to catch my breath, but the words stuck in my throat.

  “I… I love you, Massimo,” I managed finally. “I first felt it when you left me on Lido, and then I grew absolutely certain when I learned you’d been killed. I’ve been pushing it away, because you kidnapped me and kept me against my will, blackmailing me… But when you allowed me to go, the only thing I could think of was how to stay with you.”

  As soon as I finished talking, I felt my eyes well up with tears. It was such a relief, telling him that.

  Massimo stood up without a word and left the room, vanishing in the closet. Great, I thought, now he’s going to pack his things and leave me. I sat on the edge of the bed and covered myself with a towel I grabbed from the floor. When Massimo arrived again, he was wearing joggers and held something in his hand.

  “It wasn’t supposed to go like this,” he said, kneeling in front of me. “Laura, I’d like you to marry me.” His fist opened, revealing a little black box.

  Inside was the largest diamond I’ve seen in my entire life. Shocked, I gaped at it, unable to utter a word. I felt my blood pressure rising and my heart thumping dangerously fast. A wave of nausea overcame me. Massimo quickly realized what was happening, reached to the end table, and stuck a pill under my tongue.

  “I won’t let you die before you accept,” he said in a whisper, pushing the ring onto my finger.