by J. L. Beck
Now I’m really worried, why is a man I’ve never seen or met before inside our estate, much less outside my bedroom door.
“What’s going on?” I try to hide the panic from my voice, but even I can hear how nervous I am.
“Just come downstairs, Miss, enough with the questions,” the unknown man orders, and I know there is no sense in arguing. When you’re told to do something, you do it, that’s what my father always said. If my father has asked for me, then surely this is safe.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I step out into the hallway and grit my teeth at the cold that kisses my bare feet. Goosebumps spread out across my skin as I walk between the two men, wearing nothing but some panties and a thin nightgown. I really wish they would have let me put some clothes on. This is no way to greet my father or any visitors.
The walk to my father’s study seems to drag on, but when we reach the heavy wooden door, it doesn’t feel long enough. I don’t know what’s going on yet, but I do know it’s not good, and I’m not ready for it. My gut tightens with the unknown. I’ve had enough heartache in the last few years to last me a lifetime.
Looking up at the door, I don’t bother knocking, knowing that my father is expecting me. Reaching for the knob, I pause for one more second, mentally preparing for whatever awaits me on the other side. I’m not sure why, but I glance back at Richi and the unknown guy. Both look at me with blank expressions, which is nothing new to me. My father’s men are all trained to look at me like that. No emotions. Feelings get you killed.
Sucking in one last breath, I push the door open and take a step inside.
As soon as I catch a glimpse of what’s beyond the door, I want to retreat from the room. It’s a reflex, really.
Since I was a little girl, my father had trained me, told me to never listen to him, and his associates talk. To never listen to anything regarding his business. So, when I see him and three men in his office, I have this deep primal instinct to go in the opposite direction.
I shouldn’t be here. I can’t be here. My fingers tremble against the brass doorknob.
“Elena, come in,” my father says, his tone clipped.
He is all business at this point, and even as badly as I would like to run from the room and seek shelter in my bedroom, I know better than to disobey my father, especially in front of his associates.
On shaky legs, I walk further into the office, my arms still tightly wrapped around my chest as if I’m giving myself a hug.
“Take a seat, we have some matters to discuss,” he explains without looking at me. I hate how emotionless he sounds and looks, even more so than usual.
Two men I don’t know are standing off to the side while a third man is sitting at the desk opposite my father. All I can see is his back from the position I’m standing in, his broad shoulders and thick arms rest against the arm of the chair as he casually leans backward.
Averting my gaze, I keep my eyes trained ahead until I’m at his desk, then I sit down in the free chair, hating how my short nightgown rides up my thighs, exposing even more of my skin. I feel naked and wish now more than ever that I had fought harder to change my clothes.
“Elena, do you remember Mr. Moretti?” My father motions to the man beside me. “Julian Moretti.”
Moretti? The name sounds familiar, but I can’t pinpoint it right away.
As I glance over to the man in question, my heart thunders in my chest, trying to put a face to the name. Immediately, our eyes lock, his icy blue stare penetrates me like a sharp dagger… just as they did the first time we met.
I remember it well, and I know the exact date because the first time I met this man was at my mother’s funeral.
Just as most men I know, he too wears a mask of indifference. His eyes are blank, a carefully constructed wall placed around him, refusing to let anyone see the man beneath.
“You were at my mother’s funeral.” I simply state.
“Yes.”
His voice is deep and smooth, not matching the rest of him. Everything else about him seems rough and jagged. His jaw sharp, his cheekbones angular, and his lips pressed firmly into a tight line. He’s handsome in a devilish way, he could even be a model I’m sure. I can tell that he’s older than me as he has this air of maturity about him, but I’m not sure how old since he has no fine lines around his eyes, only a permanent scowl between them.
I wonder if this man has smiled a day in his life.
“Elena.” My father draws my attention back to him. “I need you to sign right here.”
He pushes a piece of paper across the mahogany desk and passes me a pen.
“What is this?” I look down at the document but can’t make out any of the words.
“Just sign it,” my father orders, his tone harsh. Cruelty isn’t something my father has ever shown me, and I can see he’s struggling even right now with how to act. He’s never been a great father, but that’s because of his absence and overbearing nature, not because he is unkind to me. Whatever this is about is weighing heavily on him.
Dragging the paper closer to myself, I grip the pen between my clammy fingers and start to sign my name at the bottom. The room is silent, and I can hear the pen gliding across the paper. I’m not even halfway through signing my name when my hand freezes. My eyes dart from the document before me and up to my father, then back again.
That can’t be right.
With the ink pen hovering over the paper, I reread the first few lines of the document.
Ownership Contract
This agreement confirms that as of today, Elena Romero will belong fully and without further stipulation to Julian Moretti in exchange for ten million dollars...
“What is this?” I question with fervor, dropping the pen as I pull back from the desk.
A knife twists in my chest, the edge digging deeper with every breath I take.
This can’t be what I think it is.
“Don’t question me. Just sign the damn document,” my father growls, slamming his fist down on the desk, and for the first time, he looks up at me. The coldness that reflects back at me makes me shiver. I’ve never seen him like this, and I don’t understand why he’s selling me to this man. Julian Moretti.
“I…” My bottom lip trembles and I bite it to stop it. “You can’t do this… You can’t sell me. I’m not signing this.” Tears blur my eyes at the betrayal that consumes me. I want to scream, to fight this with all my might, but I feel helpless. There isn’t a single person in this room that will help me.
The words have barely passed my lips when Moretti leans over and grabs my hand, engulfing his much larger one with my small one. Heat encompasses my hand, and it’s like being burned by fire. I try to pull away, but he only tightens his grip as he forces the pen between my fingers and my hand back to the paper.
“Please… don’t do this. You don’t want me.” I try and tug my hand away with all my might, my hand throbbing as he tightens his grip.
“But I do, Elena.” He speaks into the shell of my ear.
With bruising force, he presses the pen to the paper and guides my hand, forcing me to write the rest of my name. A sob breaks free from my lips, and big fat tears of weakness fall from my eyes. The man who now owns me smiles like the devil and releases my hand with ease, placing it down against the paper.
“Father… please?” I pull my hand from the document and press it to my chest.
“The contract is complete,” my father says on a sigh, leaning back in his chair. “She is now yours, do with her as you please.”
That statement has me blinking back tears.
“Please, don’t do this,” I whimper, looking up at my father, pleading with him.
How could he just sign me away to someone I don’t even know? Sell me for money? It’s like I don’t even know him. Like he’s not my father at all.
“It’s business, sweetie, don’t take it personal.” He shrugs and looks away from me, giving Moretti a get out of here gesture.
; My mouth pops open, and I’m shocked, completely shocked. Where is my loving, caring father? The man who taught me how to ride a bike, the man who used to read me stories at bedtime, who held me when my mother died? He wasn’t always the perfect father, but I never expected him to do this.
“You can’t do this!” I hiss pushing up from my chair while slamming my fists down on his desk, but it does nothing but cause my hand to throb with pain.
He doesn’t see me, doesn’t care.
“Don’t worry, Romero. I’ll take good care of her… I mean… I’ll break her in gently,” Julian says darkly to my father. It’s like looking at a shark and expecting it not to bite you. The only difference is this man isn’t just going to bite me, he’s going to devour me, slowly, piece by piece.
Julian stands, smoothing his hands down his suit. My heart skips a beat, and my eyes dart over my shoulder. I want to bolt for the door, but know I won’t make it. Before I can devise an escape plan, his strong arm is circling my waist. He tugs me back against his hard chest and guides me toward the door.
I whimper like a wounded animal knowing the worst is yet to come. I’ve been sold to the devil, my body, mind, and life bound by an unbreakable contract.
Chapter Two
Julian
Wrapping one thick arm around her waist, I pull her from her father’s office, ignoring her tears and small whimpers. There will be many more in the following days.
“You don’t want me...”
Her words ring in my ear. Oh, how wrong she is. I more than want her… in fact, I’ve wanted her for a very long time. Years. And now, I finally have her and her father exactly where I want them. I’ve been watching, waiting, planning to take Romero down for the last five years. The moment he killed my mother, taking from me the one and only person who ever mattered, I’ve been plotting his downfall.
It wasn’t until Lilian Romero’s funeral that I knew exactly how I was going to get my revenge. Romero fell off the wagon after his wife’s death, his gambling problem multiplying into the millions. He thought he had time to pay his debts, he was comfortable and being comfortable left you vulnerable.
He didn’t have shit now—nothing but her.
Now, I finally have her, my prize. My Elena. A dark raven-haired beauty that would soon become my wife. As if she can hear me thinking her name, she shoves at my arm, her nails sinking into the flesh as she struggles to get away from me.
Oh, Elena, there is no getting away now.
Releasing her for a fraction of a second, I grab her by the waist and lift her up, tossing her over my shoulder with ease. The nightgown she’s wearing rides up with the movement, giving me a side view of her perfectly shaped ass and a glimpse of her satin panties that hide her virgin pussy. That too will soon be mine.
Markus, my second in command and the closest thing I have to a friend, walks ahead of me while Lucca, one of my best and most brutal enforcers, covers my back. We can’t be too careful in this place. I did just steal Romero’s daughter, after all. And a contract won’t matter if I’m dead.
I carry her all the way out to the car while she spends the entire time pounding her little fists against my back. She doesn’t actually think she has a chance of escaping me, does she?
When we reach the sleek black SUV, Markus opens the door. Turning around, his eyes fall on Elena, who is still struggling like a cat on my shoulder, her ass cheeks jiggling beside my face. Rage fills my veins, and I forget for a moment that Markus is my ally.
“Look at her again, and I’ll gouge your fucking eyes out.”
Most men cower in fear when I make a threat like that because everyone knows that when I make a threat, it’s not just a threat, it’s a promise. Markus is not most men, though, he takes in my words and gives me a respectful nod. If I didn’t know him better, I could have sworn his lips twitched up into a smile.
Fucker.
I put her down on her feet but grab her arm before she can make a run for it. Her feistiness only makes me want her more. She covers her chest with her free arm, trying to hide her tits covered only by the thin material. She’s beautifully naive, and the fact that she’s even trying to maintain an ounce of modesty in this situation proves that.
I give her a quick once over. Her soft shapely legs that I picture wrapped around my waist are on full display, her small body shaking like a leaf either from cold or fear… maybe both. She’s short, shorter than I remember her being, and fragile, so very breakable. My gaze moves over her delicate throat, which bobs as she swallows.
Her heart-shaped face is red, and her green eyes are puffy from crying. That raven hair of hers is a tangled damp mess. Still, she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Beautiful and all-fucking-mine.
“Get in,” I order.
She merely shakes her head. I stare down at her, knowing full well I’ll never be able to hurt her like I’ve hurt others who disobey me, she is the only person who will ever have my mercy. Though there are other ways of disciplining her.
Pinching her chin gently between two fingers, I force her not only to hear the words I’m saying but also for her to see me speak them.
“Do it, or I do it for you, and believe me, you don’t want me to do it.”
Her emerald eyes widen with fear, and she must be able to hear the threat in my voice because her body starts shaking furiously. Pulling away, she reluctantly climbs into the car, sliding across the backseat, going to the spot furthest away. There is ample room between us, and I decide to let her have this small space, giving her a sense of control since I just took most of that away from her. I should probably feel bad about how I ripped her from her father’s hands, uprooted her without warning from the only home she’s ever known.
A good man would feel terrible, but the truth is I’m too selfish to feel any remorse. All I feel is a sense of accomplishment. I’ve waited for a long time, watching as the Romero family struggled to stay afloat.
“Where are we going?” Elena surprises me with her meek voice, and I look over at her. She’s all doe eyes and innocence. Breaking her will be a crushing blow to her father.
“Home.”
She wraps her slender arms around her torso like she is hugging herself before turning away from me again to stare out of the window. Her small body trembles, and I can make out goosebumps on her creamy smooth skin.
“Turn up the heat, Markus.”
“Got it, boss.”
For the rest of the drive home, we sit silently—only the engine’s sound and the occasional sob filling the cab.
By the time we pull to the compound, I’m sweating profusely under my three-piece suit. Markus must have turned up the heat to well over a hundred degrees. As soon as Markus opens the door, I slip out of the car.
The fresh air cools me, and I inhale a harsh breath into my lungs. Turning around, I’m prepared for a fight, or at least a struggle and am pleasantly surprised to find Elena sitting on the edge of the seat waiting to get out.
Maybe this won’t be as hard as I had assumed it would be.
Eyes cast down, she wrings her hands in her lap nervously. Sliding off the seat, her small feet press against the gravel, and I contemplate picking her up to carry her inside when she winces at the contact. I love how fragile she is and how much I know she’ll need me to make it through everything I have in store for her. When I’m done with her, she will rely on me for every single thing she wants or needs.
Obviously, I’m far too trusting because she slips past me like a small mouse. Breaking off into a dead run, she dashes past the car and down the driveway. I’m not worried, though, since there isn’t anywhere for her to go.
She doesn’t make it far before one of my men grabs her, tugging her by the arm a little too roughly. I grit my teeth, my jaw clenching as I bite back the need to tell him to get his fucking hands off of her. Anger zings through me when he tugs her again, and she loses her balance falling onto the ground, scraping her knees and legs in the process.
“Let go
of me!” She screams, sobs ripping from her lungs in quick succession as she pulls against Roger’s hold, trying to break free. The strap of her nightgown slips off her shoulder in the process, and she almost flashes a tit at my men.
Fuck no. No one gets to see what is mine.
Walking over to her, I gesture for Roger to let her go, and he does almost as quickly as he grabbed her, retreating two steps back. I’ll deal with him later. Right now, I need to get her inside and put her in some different clothes. My men have seen enough of her already.
Looking down at her exposed legs, I see scratches from where she fell, so I’ll need to make sure she isn’t actually hurt. Reaching down, I grab her by the hips, feeling the heat of her skin beneath my hands and toss her over my shoulder like I did earlier.
A growl forms in my throat as I become aware of how she barely weighs anything.
She doesn’t even fight me and rests motionless on my shoulder as I carry her into the house, through the foyer, and up the stairs to the bedroom we will share. Pushing the heavy wooden door open, my shoes slap against the tile as I walk across the room and deposit her on my bed… our bed. The moment her butt hits the mattress, she looks up and scoots backward until her back is pressed against the headboard.
Big green eyes brim with fear. I could tell her she is safe here, that nothing bad will happen to her. But that would be a lie. She isn’t safe yet, especially not from me.
“Stay here, get comfortable. I’ll be back soon,” I tell her as I slowly walk back toward the door. I’ve got blood to spill before I can tend to my new toy.
Looking at my beautiful prize one last time, I close the door and lock it behind me.
I let the anger that I was swallowing down boil up to the surface as I make my way through the mansion and toward the front door.
Stepping outside, I find Edwardo guarding the porch. He turns to look at me, his hand reaching for his gun before he recognizes it’s me.
“Is Roger still out here?”
“Yes, boss. He is doing a round over the west lawn. Is everything okay?”