That he’d even considered the idea was the problem. Not the kidnapping part, although the Rinaldi family didn’t make regular practice of it. The fact that Roman was entertaining the thought of keeping her on a permanent basis.
That had been the biggest reason he’d left her so abruptly. It wasn’t just to remind Sarah that their arrangement was sex and nothing more. It was to remind himself.
Hell if he wasn’t thinking about her more than he had any other woman. He didn’t like how she left him feeling indecisive and aching with some unknown emotion in the wake of her absence. He’d survived just fine for thirty-one years without any woman on a permanent basis, and having Sarah Hastings around for less than two days shouldn’t leave him staring out the window as she left.
Like some damned Gothic romance hero.
Roman laughed. He was no hero at all under any circumstances. He was firmly and completely the villain, and he liked it that way. He loved having power and influence, and though there were parts of his position that he didn’t enjoy, he didn’t hate anything about being an underboss, even when it came to permanent solutions with people. He’d never killed anyone who hadn’t deserved to die, and he considered it the cost of doing business.
He’d have to be on his guard with Sarah Hastings, because her sweet submissiveness got to him in ways he wouldn’t have thought possible. Made him want to use her, debase her, but also hold her. Even cherish her.
Sarah was there for his pleasure and nothing more. His fuck toy. She owed a debt to his family, and wasn’t his fucking girlfriend. Maybe it was a nice benefit if she got off on what he did to her, but that didn’t matter. His pleasure, not hers, was the only thing that mattered.
And seriously, what other reality could there be? Sweet, innocent kindergarten teachers didn’t have happily-ever-afters with Cosa Nostra underbosses.
He would use her, get off as many times and as many ways as he could, doing whatever he wanted with her. But he would keep his distance. Maybe he would gag her next time and not let her talk at all. Maybe that would help.
Roman turned back towards the bed. Whatever pleasure he wanted. That was all that mattered.
Chapter Eight
Two weeks later Sarah arrived back at Roman’s house. Again. Where she’d spent a good portion of every night since they’d begun their agreement.
Not that she was complaining. She’d felt more alive in the last two weeks than she had in all her other twenty-three years combined.
The things he did to her still had the power to make her blush. She never knew what to expect. The first night they’d had sex it had almost been tender.
The next night when she’d arrived, he’d proceeded to gag her, bend her over the bed, spank her until she was writhing and howling, then take her from behind until she was screaming in orgasm through the gag. He’d then flipped her onto her back and immediately started again, thrusting into her with a ferocity that had left her sore the next day. Between the sex and spanking she hadn’t been able to sit down while she taught for two days afterwards.
One night they hadn’t even made it upstairs. He’d stripped off her clothes when she’d walked in the door, then taken her slammed up against the wall. Fifteen minutes later she’d been on her way back out to her car, dazed and shaking.
But a couple of nights hadn’t been rough and fast. They’d been thorough and slow and almost tender.
She had no idea which Roman Rinaldi she’d find today. The one who kept his door open so the housekeeping staff could hear her beg him to fuck her ass with the butt plug? Or the one who’d washed her whole body in his massive shower one night and had made her come so hard she’d seen stars when he’d dropped to his knees, put one of her legs over her shoulders and driven her absolutely crazy with his tongue.
She never knew, but it didn’t seem to matter. Rough or sweet, her body responded to him completely. It both delighted and exhausted her. Today was worse than usual. She was frazzled. Running late. Her kids at school were getting more and more wild the closer it got to summer. She’d gotten Roman’s summons mid-afternoon, but meetings after the school day finished had kept her occupied.
She hadn’t even had time to go home and change. If she had tried, there would’ve been no way she would’ve made it here on time. Dinner hadn’t been an option either.
Roman’s housekeeper let her into the house, the older woman gesturing up to Roman’s room. Sarah didn’t meet the woman’s eyes. She didn’t want to know what the lady thought of her.
“I see you dressed up for tonight,” he said sardonically.
She glanced down at the sundress that touched her knees, paired with silver sandals. The early summer temperature made it tempting to dress lightly, and she was modestly and adequately covered. But yeah, it definitely wasn’t sexy, and even had a tiny paint stain on side. Her undergarments were even less sexy.
“I didn’t have time to make it home and change. It’s been a long day.”
He just studied her, one dark brow high on his forehead. “Get naked on the bed on your hands and knees. I want you spread wide, with your hands holding the bottom slat of the headboard, near the mattress. I’ll be back in a while and will expect you to be ready.”
“For what?” Her mouth snapped shut but the words were already out. She didn’t usually question him.
His eyes narrowed. “Does it matter? As long as it’s within the parameters we set up, I can do anything I want. But I think we may need to start out with a plug and ginger lube.” He walked over to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Remember how you screamed last time? Begged? Tell me what happened, Sarah.”
“You were there, you know what happened.” Oh God, why was she egging him on? Did she want to feel his belt across her ass? Part of her really, really did. Craved the pain and the desire it spiked.
“But I haven’t heard it from your perspective. How did the ginger lube feel?”
“It burned.”
One side of his gorgeous lips tilted up. “It did, didn’t it? I put extra in your ass so you would feel it. And then you were squirming, remember?”
God, she did remember. It hurt so much.
It felt so good.
He touched her hair again. “You were sweating, on your hands and knees, as I worked that plug in. You begged me to stop, to let you wash the ginger lube out. Then what did I do?”
Her face burned. He’d done what he’d threatened to do that day he’d had her bent over the desk.
“Say it, Sarah.”
She knew he wasn’t going to stop until she did, so get got all the words out in a rush. “You made me hold my ass cheeks open as you fucked me in the ass with the butt plug.”
It had been humiliating on so many levels. She couldn’t hold her weight on her hands any more in their new position, so she’d ended up with her face buried in the bed and ass up in the air even further. The burn of the lube had leaked down into her pussy and had built a heat that had her grinding wantonly against anything she could touch, which mostly had been his arm.
And she’d been so utterly, completely exposed to him. It had all been so dirty. So, so hot.
The worst part—the best part—had been a few minutes later when he’d worked the large plug all the way into her ass before proceeding to continuously slide it in and out, truly fucking her with it. The heat from the lube had sensitized her to such a degree that the pain had become an unbearable pleasure.
Roman reached down now and pinched her hardened nipples through her sundress. “Then you begged me for it, didn’t you?”
She nodded, cheeks burning. “Yes, Sir.”
“So loudly my housekeeping staff heard. What did I make you say?”
“Please fuck my ass, Sir. My ass belongs to you.” He made her say it louder and louder until she’d almost gone hoarse, repeating it as a mantra as he’d made her come repeatedly without once touching her pussy or breasts.
She was wet just thinking about it.
“So ma
ybe I’ll get the ginger lube. Maybe I’ll get my belt. Maybe I’ll just drag you to the edge of the bed and have you suck me off. The point is, you do what I tell you and take what I give you. So on your knees, naked, hands on the headboard.”
He left the room and Sarah quickly undressed. She was up on the middle of his bed, knees spread, grasping the headboard as he’d told her. She didn’t know how long she’d be waiting and found her head falling against the pillow. She loved all this, she really did, but after two weeks of working every day and coming here almost every night for hours of vigorous physical and mental exercise, then driving home… she just wanted a nap.
She might have succumbed if she hadn’t heard Roman moving in the room behind her. A few moments later she felt the sharp crack of a palm against her ass cheek.
And just like that her exhaustion fled.
His hand rubbed against the flesh he’d just smacked and she melted into it. He was right, it didn’t matter what he wanted to do to her. Whatever it was, she wanted it.
“So gorgeous, Sarah.” His fingers stroked along the small of her back. “You always are. But like this…”
His gentle words flowed over her, wetness pooling between her legs almost as much as when he talked dirty to her. She sank her hips back towards him.
And then her stomach let out the loudest growl she’d ever heard. It seemed to echo through the bedroom.
She had no idea what to do or say. Roman had done incredibly intimate, even humiliating, things to her. Had examined and touched every inch of her body, thoroughly. But this was the first time she’d ever truly felt embarrassed.
She could feel tears pool in her eyes.
“I…” She wished she could find some sort of joke to crack. Witty statement. But nothing.
His hands slipped to her waist, and he rolled her over onto her back. Sarah immediately brought her arm up to cover her face in the crook of her elbow.
“Did not being able to change clothes also include not having time to eat?” he asked.
She nodded, still not looking at him. Then nearly died when her stomach gurgled again.
“Sarah. Look at me.”
She didn’t move. “I’m okay. Missing one meal never hurt anyone.”
“Sarah.” His voice was gentle, but the command was undeniable. She moved her arm. “Despite what you may think some times, I’m really not trying to kill you.”
“I know,” she whispered, still mortified. “Today was just a hectic day. School then meetings, and then I was trying not to be late.”
Their eyes met. They were both remembering how he had given her a strap across the ass with his belt for each minute she’d been late the one time it had happened. Six had been quite enough for her to learn her lesson.
He trailed a finger down her cheek. “Get dressed.”
She didn’t want to leave. She would be fine. “Roman, really I’m fine. I—”
“Would you rather go downstairs naked with me to eat? Only a couple of the staff are here at this time of the evening, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the sight of a naked woman. Or I can get my security guys. They’d—”
She jumped up out of the bed. “No, I’ll get dressed.” She ran over to her pile of clothes and pulled on her sundress, not bothering with undergarments, in case he changed his mind.
Roman chuckled and led her down to the kitchen. The housekeeper that had let Sarah in the door immediately came in and began speaking to Roman in Italian. Roman replied, respect and affection for the older woman clear in his tone.
He gestured towards Sarah and the woman looked at her, shaking her head and tsking. Sarah could hardly bear to look at her. What must the other woman think? What had she seen? Heard?
Finally the woman dragged Roman over to the refrigerator and pointed things out. Roman spoke with her some more and then kissed her on the cheek. To Sarah’s surprise, the woman then came over to her and patted Sarah on the cheek before walking out the door.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t know what just happened,” Sarah muttered when the other woman was gone. Why had she touched Sarah’s cheek with such a loving pat rather than looking at her with disgust after everything she’d heard Sarah say and do?
“Mrs. Rossi and her husband have been under the protection of the Rinaldi family for years. Her son was killed protecting our interests back in Sicily. When they decided they wanted to come live in America to be closer to their daughter, we made it happen. She became my housekeeper. She cooks for me, cleans. He’s the groundskeeper. They are my only full time staff.”
“God, I must have scandalized them.” She couldn’t help but glare at Roman. Some of the things he’d demanded her to scream in the middle of their sexual escapades had been scandalous at best.
His grin, with the way his dark hair fell over his forehead, made him look young and carefree. Breathtaking.
“Neither of them speak much English. Just the basics. I’m pretty sure, ‘Please fuck me harder’ isn’t part of their vocabulary, so I think you’re safe.”
He slid by her to place some of the food he’d taken out of the refrigerator on the table. Sarah smacked his arm.
“So when she was looking at me and shaking her head, it wasn’t because she thinks I’m the biggest slut in the known universe like the rest of your staff must?”
He gave a small sigh. “I know I’ll regret saying this, but most of the time we’re here, it’s just you and me. Mr. and Mrs. Rossi live out in the attached carriage house.” He put the food down then came to stand back in front of her, placing his hands on her hips. “So usually when I have you screaming, it’s just for my personal pleasure.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Believe it or not, I don’t try to scandalize the older generation. Although I will admit, I made sure one of my security team heard you beg for me to fuck your ass with the butt plug.” He grinned again. “But Mrs. Rossi was actually not shaking her head at you, she was perturbed at me for letting you go hungry. A cardinal sin for a Sicilian mama.”
“Really?”
“Yep. She thinks you’re very pretty. And too thin. So eat.”
Roman pulled out the chair for her.
He pulled out the chair for her.
As their eyes met, he grimaced, obviously realizing what he’d done. Sarah quickly sat and he scooted it under her.
He muttered something under his breath in Italian, but then took a seat across from her.
“Please help yourself.”
Sarah made a plate of the fruits and cheeses and crackers he’d set out. He cut slices of a loaf of delicious freshly baked bread and they both had some. After she’d eaten enough bites that her stomach wouldn’t decide to make its presence known again, she dared a glance at him. He was watching her with hooded eyes, expression unreadable.
Talking was something they’d never done before.
“So, tough day on the kindergarten front, huh?”
She shrugged, buttering another piece of bread. “The kids get wilder as it gets closer to summer. It just takes more effort to keep them in line.”
She told him a story of two little boys who had decided to paint each other. They’d asked permission, but Sarah had said yes, thinking they meant paint a picture of one another on the paper she’d set up for them.
They’d meant literally paint each other, as in put the paint on each other’s bodies. And then the entire class had thought it would be a good idea.
Roman chuckled. “I’m pretty sure my brothers and I drove our teachers crazy. We started school in Sicily, but we moved here when we were ten.”
“You’ve got two brothers?”
For a second she thought he wasn’t going to answer. But then he shifted back in his chair. “Yes. We’re triplets. My brother Dominic is the oldest by nine minutes, something he never lets us forget. Lukas is the youngest, by about another fifteen minutes.”
“Are you identical?”
“Dominic and I look a lot alike, but Lukas and I, no
t so much. Luka is a little more easy going than Dom and I, but none of us would ever be called laid back. They live here in New Orleans, and we see and work together all the time, but we all agreed it would be better to keep separate residences. Less likely to kill each other.”
They talked more about Sarah’s job and a little about the work Roman did, although he was careful not to give her specifics. Mostly he told stories of how he and his brothers got in trouble both as children and as teenagers.
Triple threat, they’d been called by everyone from their teachers to the girls they dated. Sarah had no trouble picturing it.
“How about you?” Roman asked. “Did you get into any trouble growing up?”
Sarah shook her head. “Nope. I was straight as an arrow. I always had a lot of responsibility since I practically raised…” Robbie.
She didn’t say his name but they were both thinking it. Their eyes met. For just a few minutes both of them had forgotten why they were here. Had forgotten that Sarah was payment for Robbie’s transgressions.
“Have you heard from your brother?”
She shook her head. “Not a single word since the day he left.”
Roman’s expression tightened and he gestured to the food. “Did you have enough?” She didn’t know if he believed her about Robbie or not.
Sarah nodded. “Yes. Let me straighten this up. I don’t want Mrs. Rossi to have more work.”
“No. She already told me to leave it and believe me, no one disobeys Mrs. Rossi.”
“Not even part of the triple threat?”
He chuckled, relaxing slightly. “Especially part of the triple threat. So now, I want you naked back up on the bed just like before. Hands and knees, hands holding the headboard. I’ll be thirty seconds behind you. If you’re not ready we’ll use the largest plug tonight.”
She immediately stood up, hurrying towards the kitchen door.
Roman: A Triple Threat Novel Page 6