by Kyanna Skye
She had power over him too. He cared enough that she could hurt him, just like he could hurt her.
“Now you are going to tell me exactly what is going on.”
He turned around and walked back outside while she followed him into the ruins, down a twisting staircase that turned out to be made of ancient wood beams embedded into an adobe column.
“What are you doing?” Lana stepped forward to see him huddled over what looked like a blast door.
“Opening this.” He pressed his hands against the adobe wall beside it and the surface changed from a patch of stucco into a black tablet that ran a green line over his hand. Upon closer inspection, the surface was smooth and the tablet was displaying fake rock.
The sound of hydraulics signaled the opening of the foot-thick metallic door.
“What is this?”
He stopped and turned around, blocking the entrance. “Not one word we say in here, not one single thing you see ever leaves this chamber. Understood?”
Lana nodded her head and he stepped aside to reveal a cinderblock hall lined with glass cases holding every weapon imaginable, from assault rifles to miniature missile launchers. Lining the floor were cases and cases of grenades.
As they descended further underground, Lana noticed that the entire hall, which was more of a tunnel was filled with guns. There were also boxes of ammunition sitting on top the grenade cases. She could only imagine the kind of power these weapons were capable of. They reached another blast door at the bottom of the tunnel, and walked into another hall filled with weapons cases. On the right, there was another door, but the tunnel led further down.
“What's there?”
“Security. You will be given a direct line to them in case anything happens. You're completely safe here. There's dozens of men walking the perimeter. Motion detectors, cameras everywhere, and an arsenal large enough to an arm a militia.”
“Where does this go?” She pointed out into the tunnel.
He turned back around and started down the path. She sighed and rushed to catch up with him. There was another blast door and a tunnel with ammunition. As they walked farther down, motion-sensing lights lit up. The bottom was starting to come into view.
“Oh, this is amazing.” The bottom opened into a decorated living area. There was a modern kitchen, a bathroom, even Wi-Fi.
“I figured if I was going to build a bomb shelter, I might as well do it right. It's fully self-sustainable.”
“What is this?” Lana walked into a room sitting just off the kitchen. When the light came on, Lana found a glass case with what looked like a mechanical arm inside. Beside it were blocks of solid metal. Lana recognized copper sitting in the corner.
“This is the 3d printer, a work in progress. When I'm finished, it will use molten metal along with a top-of-the-line robotic arm capable of printing electronic components. For now, it can do everything else, from cookware to sculptures, even food.”
“Food?”
“Yep, it even bakes.”
“Why do you have all this?” Lana walked back into the living room.
“Because I might need it someday.”
“What happened?”
He sat down on the couch next to her. “Some of the Lorrentz got together and planned an unsanctioned raid. It sparked off a street war when it happened. Men called for backup and it turned into a complete massacre.”
“So what's going to happen now?”
“The heads of the families are signing a peace treaty and decrying the attack as a bunch of idiots acting against orders. It won't stop all the killing, but things will even out after a while. There will be an influx at the clinic. I will talk to my father about using another location.”
“I watched Jean Lorrentz die. If he was killed, then they might start coming after us.”
“He was shot by accident. It was a Lorrentz that did it.”
“Oh.”
“He shifted around so he could face her. “Could you please stop freaking out? You're safe.”
She shot up off the couch and leaned in. “You got shot!” She was right in his face.
“It had nothing to do with this.”
“Why!?” She screamed so hard she could feel the muscles in her neck clenching.
“It is not your business.” He remained calm, completely undaunted by her violent outburst.
“I'm leaving you if you don't tell me. I can't live like this. You keep telling me there's no danger, and that I'm fine. But I need to know that you're safe. That's all I care about, and I don't think I can live like this, worrying all the time, huddled up in a shelter. And how do I know you're safe when you won't even tell me why somebody shot you?”
“You're not leaving,” he declared definitively. “Admit it. You can't leave me.” He stood up to meet her, with his body heat so high it licked at her like tiny flames. “Admit it.” He cocked his head. “Admit you can't leave me.”
She was never going to say it.
“We both know it, Lana. You love me.” He might as well have torn off her clothes. Even worse, he could see through her.
“You love me and you know that I love you and you will never leave me. Say it.” He moved forward. “You're going to be with me. You're gonna do everything you ever wanted to do, and lay all day on that bed with me. And we are going to be happy,” his voice broke, “I am not under siege. I never will be. What you don't understand is I'm not involved. Both families know it. They won't touch me.” He gently rested his hand on her lower back. “It was the first time I ever got shot.”
“Why did you get shot?” She stepped back and threw his arm off her.
“For a woman.”
She turned around and ran out.
“Whoa!” He grabbed her arm. “Why does it bother you so much? That's the heart of it. Get it out.”
“To think that you could care about another woman so much that you'd get shot for her I—”
She had tears flying down her cherry-red face when he tilted her chin up. “I'd never get shot for that woman. Never cared about her. You can rest assured that you are the only woman I'd take a bullet for.”
He let her head rest against his chest. “I love you, Tony.” There, he had complete control of her.
“I love you too.” He pulled her in tighter while she sobbed, purging herself of the day's experience, the men, the blood, and the screams. They left her when he melted into him. With Tony, she had to give everything up. Once she did, and she told him how she felt, she could truly be with him.
“We're gonna stay together, aren't we?” he asked while they walked up above ground.
“Yes.”
He squeezed her hand. “You've never seen the world, just a small, bland corner. I'm going to show you. I'm going to give you designer gowns, every car and yacht you could imagine. Do you have any idea what I'm capable of doing, Lana?”
“I know, but I won't fully understand until we get there.”
“We are there.”
Lana turned back up the stairs for him to follow. He couldn't be fully reassured. When she met him, he had a hole in his arm. She needed to know why. Over a woman? What woman? And why would he get shot over her if he didn't really care about her? Maybe he did. It happens, but lovers never want to think about their lover’s past.
Still, he was behind her, there for the moment, and if she couldn't be certain they were safe, she would savor the moments she had. She told him she loved him and now she couldn't leave him. So she was stuck with her worries and an overpowering lover.
That night, they meshed together, sweat and passion, curled in a ball underneath the blankets. Lana just wanted to be closer to him. But she didn't feel like she could get close enough, regardless of her efforts. Tony was familiar. Lana knew every part of him, and the sound of his voice—even how he worked, but there was still a thick wall between them.
She threw the covers off and got up. Maybe she was being selfish. Maybe Lana didn't know anything about Tony's past, but there was
no way he was giving it up. She pulled a bullet out of man's arm, for Christ's sake.
It wasn't just the trauma of him getting shot, or even her worries about his safety. Tony was hiding something big from her, and he had a reason for being so adamant against telling her about it. He wasn't hiding mafia business. They had a code of silence; that would make sense.
No.
He had a personal reason why he didn't want to tell her about the gunshot, and that was more insulting. He had to tell her, and she was going to get it out of him. They had time. She walked into the shower and started lathering up.
With Jean telling her to take precautions about being seen at the clinic, there was no way that Lana was going home, or even out of the house. This was the safest place she could be.
She walked out naked and poked Tony while he was sleeping. He rolled over, a huge tent sticking up out of the covers. “I need something to wear.”
He sat up. “Why?” he asked drowsily.
“I'm not going home with this crap going on. I'm staying right here.”
He hopped up with his cock sticking right out of his boxers. “Well, what size are you?”
She blushed. “Ten.”
He pulled his phone off the charger and pulled up an app. “What do you want to wear? Something casual like jeans?” He was streaming through a photo album.
“Why do have so many girl's clothes?” She ripped the phone out of his hand.
“I like my women to have nice things without having to send out for them.”
“Oh.” She wished she hadn't asked.
“Well, let me see.” She held her hand out for her phone and flicked past image after image of cocktail dresses, casual wear—anything she could think of. Her eye did stop for a moment on a casual, white dress with floral print.
“That one.” She pointed at it.
“I'll have it brought up.”
He swooped in behind her and grabbed her by the waist so he could pull her back down onto the bed where he held her tight with his back against her chest and his cock sticking between her thighs. They could just be together. They didn't just have to have sex. Tony's touch was enough joy to last a lifetime, and she knew he felt the same way, especially with the tender way he rubbed his chin against her neck.
But she couldn't be close to him the way she needed to be.
“If you're staying,” he whispered, “we get to have fun.”
“Not until you tell me why you got shot.” She got up off the bed and into the bathroom, as if she had some reason to be in there.
“Hey, I have no problem with abstinence.” He leaned against the door with his cock dangling between his legs. “I'll wait you out, but I'm not telling you and you're gonna give in. Because we both know,” he waved his cock around and looked down at it with a smirk, “you can't resist this.”
“Oh, I can resist it.” She slammed the door in his face and started hunting down a toothbrush. He didn't have any right—she needed to know, and he was right: she couldn't resist him. Lana already wanted to run out of the room and hop on top of him, but she had a mission.
Lana was going to hold out as long as she could until he finally cracked. A beast like him needed regular maintenance, or else he'd start to go wild.
The door slammed open. “Your dress is here.” He was still naked and moving his cock up and down while holding her dress up.
“Thank you.” She snatched the dress away and slammed the door. He was going to play rough, but she was going to get the better of him. Once she was dressed, she walked out and declared, “I need some time alone.”
“O-oh no. You're not getting out of it that easy. We're going to the beach house.”
“I don't know. I just don't feel like doing anything today, you know?”
“Or we could stay in bed. It's your choice, but this is my house and I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving you alone in it.”
“Then don't leave me alone in it. I'll go into another room.”
He got up off the bed as soon as she turned to leave and grabbed her arm to face her towards him. “Can I just have this time, Lana?” He needed her just as much as she needed him.
“We can spend time together, but until I know why you got shot, I'm not going to have sex with you.”
“Resistance is futile.” He turned around and got dressed while Lana watched seductively, softly nibbling on her finger... It took all the discipline she had to pull away and walk out.
He was a confident, manipulative, and so sweet. She would've loved to wade in the cool water and lay on the sand with him. They could move through the sheets at midnight, surrounded by the ocean air, and it would be bliss, but she had a mission. She was going to find out what happened, and she was going to have to resist him to do it.
Lana opened the fridge, and grabbed herself a yogurt so she could sit down and eat while he continued to get ready. When he came down the stairs, he was wearing a pair of shorts so tight she could see everything, even the curve of his hips.
“It's not going to work.” Lana kept her eyes down at her yogurt, even though it was almost gone.
He came up behind her when she got up to throw it away and started kneading her shoulders, sending the tension out of her neck, causing her to throw her head back and moan softly.
“Okay, stop.” She struggled to pull herself away. “I told you the rules. Now stop trying to break them.”
“I just wanted to give you a massage.” He pecked her on the cheek and walked past her, staring back seductively. “What?”
She was staring at the way the fabric fit perfectly around him. “Nothing.”
He bent over to get into the fridge.
She turned away, but she could still see it in her mind’s eye. Her thighs were already tingling, and her heart was having a conniption fit. If the man didn't stop soon, he'd end up on top of her and she'd give in.
He was eating a bowl strawberries, dipped in cream, taking his time moving the ruby-red fruit through bowl. When he lifted his first strawberry to his big lips, he licked the cream off first.
She sighed. “I wanna go.”
“Well I haven't finished my breakfast yet.” He continued his attempts at seduction with the strawberries, and he wasn't letting up, so she walked back into the living room and had a seat. She picked up the big remote and mindlessly began scrolling through the channels, fuming. He should trust her.
Tony shouldn't have had to worry about whether or not she'd give away his secrets or what she'd think about him. She was going to be by his side no matter what. He should have known that, and she suspected that he did, so why was he keeping this from her?
Tony walked back into the living room holding his bowls of strawberries and cream.
“Oh, no. You're not eating that whole thing before we go. I don't want to sit here and watch.”
“Yes, you do.” He licked the tip of a strawberry and bit into it.
“I don't want to wait here all day.”
He set the bowl down and pounced on top of her. “You wanna play in the sand.”
She was so caught off guard that she yelped and fell right into his kiss.
“Or do you want to do it here?”
Her breath was racing, and all she could think about was the way he pressed against her thigh. She was pulsing, aching for it, and he was ready to give it to her, but she couldn't give up that easily.
“No.” She slid under him and struggled to stand up. “Just stop torturing me and tell me!”
“No.”
She stormed off up the stairs and into the master bedroom. She pulled out a bin of coconut wax and shoved it in her pocket. Then she walked back out to find him watching a football game. He shut it off right away and turned to her.
“I picked this out for you.” He pulled up a black one piece with a skirt around the waist.
“No.”
“What? I thought you took a vow of chastity.”
“That doesn't mean I have to wear a swimsuit for fat women t
hat are too ashamed to show some skin. Now hand me your phone.”
He pulled it off the couch to shove it into his pocket, but he was quicker, and a lot more motivated. He pulled up the app and started scrolling through the outfits until she came across a bright-red bikini and a thin pink nightie.
“There.” She ordered them.
“Give me that.” He took his phone back and grabbed his crotch when he saw the bikini. “It might make things easier if you just went naked. I hate having to untie those things.”
“You're not getting that far.” She grabbed the remote before he could get it and turned on a chick flick. “You're never getting laid until you tell me how you got shot.”
He breathed hot air onto her neck and her body melted into the seat. “You're going to give in.”
What Lana regretted most was the fact that Tony's dishonesty had put a barrier between them. She wasn't just fighting because she wanted to know. She was fighting because in order to truly get close to him, she would have to know his secrets, his desires—everything. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to meld the way that two lovers should.
He didn't even seem to notice or care. He held her hand while they walked down the natural steps carved in the cliff to his private beach. “This isn't fun for me anymore, Tony.” She ripped her hand away.
“Why not?”
“Because you're keeping something from me.” She stopped halfway down the steps, “And it doesn't matter what it is, or why you're keeping it from me; I still know you're doing it and it's keeping me from getting close to you.”
He stepped up towards her. “Are you saying you don't want to me with me?”
“No. I—yes.”
“You want to be with me, you just can't handle not knowing, or the fact that I'm keeping a secret from you. I understand that, but you're not really going to leave. I'm banking on it, and I can't tell you why I got shot. I'm sorry.” He didn't sound sorry, or even understanding, but he was saying the right things and that meant that she felt the pressure to go along with him, and she did, but her anger level was rising.