His Sweet Torment: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

And right at that moment, Padme knew she could. She wanted to be with Enver more than anything, openly, freely, even if it meant giving everything up and living life on the run from his enemies.

  Enver kissed her as he tightened his grip on her. “Cara mia, if I could keep you safe forever, I would do it.”

  “I feel the same. Look, if tomorrow is your last day of testimony, then we have to decide tonight what our next move will be.” Padme rubbed her eyes. “I’ll have to tell my bosses that I’m quitting…” Her voice trailed off as she considered the weight of that decision. She had been so focused on her career for the last few years, so convinced it was the path her life was taking that abandoning now for a man seemed overwhelming.

  No. Not for a man – for this man, this gorgeous, sexy, funny man who loved her. He was watching her closely, and Padme smiled at him. “A new life,” she said firmly, “with you, whatever the situation. We can face it together.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

  He kissed her again and then they were making love again, not caring who heard them, secure in the knowledge that their love could overcome anything.

  They had exhausted each other, making love until dawn and, wrapped in each other’s arms, they both awoke with a start as the door to the bedroom was flung open. Brian Dedalus stared down at them, a sneer on his face.

  “Get dressed,” he snapped, his face raking over Padme’s body, only wrapped in a thin sheet. “We leave in thirty minutes.” He narrowed his eyes at Padme, and she flushed. With just a look he made her feel like a whore. Asshole.

  “Remind me to fire that man’s ass,” Enver said darkly, then smiled at her. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  She kissed him. “Good morning, handsome.”

  “Come shower with me.”

  In the hot shower, they made love, Enver lifting her easily and pressing her back against the cool tile as he thrust into her. Padme clung to him, his lips against hers, savoring every thrust of his huge cock into her cunt. They fit together so perfectly, and she loved the feeling of her nipples pressing against his chest, her belly against his. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling hard as she came, throwing her own head back and giving a long moan of release. Enver’s lips were on her throat as he pumped his seed deep into her belly.

  Dressing quickly, they were about to leave the bedroom when Enver grabbed her hand. “Before we go, I want to say to you – thank you. Thank you for making my life something I want to keep living, with you. You have made me excited about the future. I was so down after Max’s death that I felt reckless, directionless. The moment I saw you at that party…I love you so, so much, Padme Kaur. I can’t wait to begin our life together.”

  A tear escaped her eye then. “Oh god, Enver…you will never know how much you mean to me.”

  Their lips met in a passionate embrace. “I do know,” Enver said softly, “I see it in your eyes.”

  “I love you.”

  “Ti amo, Padme Kaur. Ti amo.”

  The journey to the court was uneventful, but Padme was aware of Brian Dedalus glowering at her. She stared back at him, challenging him to say something about her and Enver’s relationship, but the lawyer merely smirked and looked away.

  Enver took her hand as they walked down to meet Henry Jones and the rest of the F.B.I. Agents. Padme hesitated, but Enver smiled down at her. “I’m not hiding anymore.”

  Padme nodded, winding her fingers through his. Dedalus would no doubt tell everyone so why should they hide it anymore?

  Henry’s expression when he saw their linked hands went from surprise to resignation to disapproval, but Padme, excusing herself from Enver for a moment, drew Henry to one side. “Henry…I’m sorry. My mind is made up.”

  Henry shook his head, sighing. “I can’t pretend I’m happy, Padme. I championed you from the start, stuck my neck out for you, and you’re throwing it away.”

  “For the best reason, Henry. For the only reason. I’m in love with Enver Toscano.”

  Henry’s eyes were troubled. “I don’t think you have any idea what you’re getting into. They will never stop hunting you.”

  Padme nodded. “I know. But he means everything to me. We’ll handle whatever comes together.”

  Henry sighed. “Then, Agent Kaur, I’m going to have to relieve you of duty. Your badge and gun.”

  Padme handed them to him. “Thank you for everything, Henry.”

  Henry leaned closer. “Please, Pad…change your mind. Don’t make me fire you.”

  Padme kissed his cheek. “You don’t need to fire me, Henry. I quit.”

  “Think about what you’re doing.”

  “I have,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I know what my life is meant to be now.”

  She made her way back to Enver, showing him her empty gun holster. “So, I’m just here as your lover now, baby. I can come into the courtroom, support you.”

  He squeezed her hand.

  “Glad to hear it.” Brian Dedalus came up behind them. “I’ve just put in a formal complaint about you, Agent Kaur. I’m sure your bosses will be displeased with your behavior.”

  Enver opened his mouth to speak, but Padme shook her head. “No, please, let me.” She turned to look at Brian. “Fuck off, Dedalus, you slimy-faced-Patrick-Bateman-wannabe. If you’re trying to get me fired – too late, I quit. Enver and I have been together since before I ever met you, so mind your own business, would you please? Jackass.”

  She turned her back on the lawyer. Enver was having trouble hiding his smirk.

  “Fucking little whore,” Brian hissed, apoplectic, and Enver lunged for him.

  “Stop, stop,” Padme got between them. “Brian, walk away, right now. Enver, they’re calling you.”

  Enver let go of Brian who dusted himself off. “Dedalus, the second this is over, you’re fired. Get out of my sight.”

  Brian gave a strange smirk of triumph but said nothing more, stalking off. Padme breathed out, relaxing as Enver took her hand. “Ready, love?”

  Padme watched her lover as he calmly answered the questions the prosecution and defense were putting to him. She looked at the defendants, lower-ranking members of Frederick Ingles’s organization. All this for them, she said to herself. Was it worth it?

  As Enver was released from the custody box, it seemed to anti-climactic, but his smile when he rejoined her made her heart swell.

  “We’re free,” he said, “Now, let’s disappear.”

  He kissed her as she led him from the courtroom. She saw Brian Dedalus in front of them. He turned as they reached the stairs.

  To Padme’s horror, she saw the gun in his hand at the last moment. He leveled it at Enver, and it all happened in a second. Padme threw herself in front of Enver, pushing him down as Brian fired the gun and she felt hot metal slam into her belly.

  “Fucking bitch!” Dedalus’s shirt exploded with red as the other agents took him down, but he managed to get off another shot, this time aiming for Padme deliberately, the bullet ripping into her stomach. Adrenaline flooded her body, and she was more concerned with Enver than herself.

  He was underneath her as she flipped around and checked him. There was so much blood. “Are you hit? Are you hit?” She was frantic now, her hands roaming his body searching for wounds. Enver’s eyes were huge, full of pain. He shook his head.

  “No, baby, it’s not my blood, it’s not my blood, oh god, Padme…someone help her, please, he shot her…” He was screaming now as Padme realized that her whole body was on fire and that the blood soaking them both was her own. Someone pushed her aside and grabbed Enver, yanking him up as he screamed for someone to help her. Padme lay on her back, barely able to breathe as she watched Enver, still shouting, his eyes fixed on her, reaching out his arms toward her, as he was begin dragged away by his protection.

  “I love you,” she whispered as the darkness flooded her vision…

  Part Two

  Six months l
ater…

  Henry Jones sighed as the Feld Office receptionist nodded towards his visitor. “Padme…this has to stop.”

  Padme struggled to her feet, the cane she was using helping her up. Since being shot, she had gone through long and extensive – and painful – rehab, but her progress was slowed by the fact that every day, she came here, to her old workplace to ask Henry one question.

  Where is Enver?

  Padme, her lovely face pale, fixed Henry with a determined look. “Henry, I’m going to keep coming here until you help me. Where is Enver?”

  Henry shook his head but said nothing, instead helping her towards his office. When she was settled in the chair, he sat back down opposite her, studying the young woman who had thrown everything away for the man she loved. “Pad, I’ve told you again and again. Enver Toscano took himself out of protective custody and disappeared.”

  “If that were true, he would have come for me.”

  Henry sighed again. “So you’ve told me over and over. Look, sweetheart,” he leaned forward, giving her a warm smile. “Enver is wherever he is, and the fact he hasn’t come for you…doesn’t that say it all? Pad, you gave up everything you had for him, and you still got shot, and even after that - he left you.”

  Padme fixed him with a glare. “If he didn’t care, why did he pay for all my medical costs? Why are there hundreds of millions of dollars in my checking account? I haven’t touched any of it because…if I do, I’ll be admitting he’s gone. If he isn’t contacting me, it’s because he can’t – and that means he’s dead…” She choked over the words, “Or Frederick Ingles has him.”

  “Or maybe it was Enver’s way of saying goodbye?” Henry’s words were soft, but Padme looked away from his gaze.

  “No. He loves me.”

  “Sometimes I forget how young you are,” Henry rubbed his hands over his head. “I never thought you were the type of woman who would abandon everything for the sake of some good sex and a handsome face.”

  Padme rocked back. “I haven’t abandoned anything. I made an informed decision when I quit.”

  “But you didn’t tell Severin or any of your friends that you were planning to disappear from their lives entirely.”

  Padme was silent, then she got up. “I’ll come again tomorrow. If you don't help me, I’ll find a way to find Enver. He’s out there, and god knows what is happening to him. He put his neck on the line to help bring down the Ingles, and the F.B.I. just abandoned him.”

  She limped out of the door, with Henry staring unhappily after her. He closed his eyes and thought for a long moment, before picking up his phone. “It’s me. I need to call in a favor.”

  Padme saw Dale waiting outside her apartment and felt a wave of annoyance. He helped her from the cab. “Did you get sent?” She asked, not caring if she sounded pissed. She was pissed.

  Dale, used to her moods by now, shrugged. “Henry’s concerned, like the rest of us.”

  Padme let him help her inside her apartment. “How about I make us some coffee?” Dale said, making sure she was comfortable. As the coffee brewed, he studied her. “You don’t look so good, Pad. You sleeping?”

  Padme shook her head. She felt exhausted now, drained, and worst of all, heartbroken. Tears came easily and they did now.

  “Oh, Pad.” Dale’s arms were around her then, comforting and she let a few more tears escape.

  “I miss him, I just miss him,” she started to cry in earnest now. Dale let her cry herself out.

  “Sweets, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to move on now. Come on, I don’t have to tell you this.”

  Padme sat up, drying her eyes with the palms of her hand. “Fuck, Dale, I don’t know how my life has turned out like this, I really don’t.” She moved and winced, and Dale frowned.

  “You still in pain?”

  She nodded. “Docs think it’s psychosomatic, but I swear they left something in there.”

  “Like what?”

  She gave him a grin. “Branding iron from the burn of it.”

  “Hair straighteners.”

  “Bonfire.”

  “Ouch.” But Dale grinned at her, obviously glad to see her joking after her distress. Padme sighed and leaned her head back on the couch.

  “So, no job, no lover…wow. I could write a book on fucking up, couldn’t I?”

  “What did you fuck up? You fell in love, is all. You did nothing wrong – in fact, you did everything right. Even after you quit, you still saved the protectee.”

  Padme stared at him. “Then why did he leave me?”

  “Maybe he figured he was bad news. You got shot because of him.”

  “I got shot because Brian Dedalus was working for Frederick Ingles.”

  “We don’t know that. For all we know, Dedalus could have just been jealous of you and Enver. Maybe he was in love with one of you and couldn’t live with it. He must have known we’d take him down once he started shooting.”

  “Asshole.”

  Dale nodded. “Right. So, working for Frederick Ingles…I don’t know.”

  Padme looked at him unhappily. “What if he killed Enver, Dale? I have to know.” She hesitated. “Will you help me? Please?”

  She’d asked before, of course, but now she felt Dale was listening, really listening to her. And yes, she needed to know whether her lover was alive or not…she couldn’t move on until she knew. If he were alive and didn’t want her – yes, it would hurt like hell, but she would have some closure, at least. Dale let out a long breath.

  “I won’t do anything to risk my job at the bureau, but within those conditions…yes, alright. I’ll give you three months, Pad, and then we call it quits, and you move on with your life. Spend some of that money on yourself.”

  She half-smiled at him. “Not my money, but as for the rest, okay, thank you. Three months.”

  Three months to find out whether the love of her life was dead or alive…

  And whether he still wanted her.

  Padme went to bed that night, a little easier in her heart. It had felt like, since that terrible day in the courtroom, that her heart had been the one to take those three bullets. When she woke in the hospital three days after the shooting, barely able to move and in incredible pain, her first question was “Is Enver okay?”

  Her pseudo-mother Severin had stroked the hair back from Padme’s forehead and told her that Enver hadn’t been hurt but that they’d had to take him into protective custody. Padme had been relieved, and as she recovered, it had given her strength to know that soon, she and Enver would be reunited.

  But it hadn’t worked that way. One day, Henry had come to visit her and told her that Enver had gone. “We don’t know where, sweetheart.”

  “Bullshit. He wouldn’t just leave me. Is this some plan you dreamed up to protect me?”

  She wouldn’t listen to Henry’s explanations of why Enver hadn’t been allowed to contact her. It was only when it came time for her to settle her medical expenses that she discovered they had all been covered by Enver, and to add to that, her bank called her about the large deposit that had been made into her checking account.

  “Excuse, how much did you say?” She couldn’t believe this wasn’t a prank.

  “Almost seven hundred million dollars, Ms. Kaur. Obviously, we’re calling to set a meeting to discuss investing the sum and…”

  “This is a joke, right? Dale? Is this you?”

  It had taken some persuasion and logging onto her online banking account and seeing the numbers in black and white.

  Credit $735,589.60 Creditor E. Long.

  ‘E. Long’. Eddie Long – the name Enver had checked into the hotel where they had spent that incredible, erotic weekend. Enver had given her almost a million dollars? She had gone through many emotions, the overriding one being that she didn’t want his money and he must have known that. Was this a kiss-off? If it was, it was a humiliating one and completely out of character for Enver.

  Padme rolled onto her b
ack now and stared up at the ceiling. No. Something else was going on and she couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out what it was.

  “If you’re out there, baby,” she whispered, “please. Come find me.”

  She heard footsteps on the balcony outside her bedroom window. Another of Enver’s gifts – around-the-clock-security. She was still on Frederick Ingles’ radar, it would seem, although she had heard nothing, or witnessed anything suspicious since the shooting. Maybe it’s because Enver is dead and he has no more need for revenge.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. No. No, I won’t believe that until they show me his body.

  She rolled onto her side and curled up as comfortably as she could. Despite what she’d told Dale, the pain inside had been getting worse, not better and her doctors were worried. Her spine had been damaged by the bullets smashing through her soft abdomen, and now it was constantly inflamed. She’d had steroid injections and god knows what else but Padme knew – she would probably never regain full function of her own body.

  Stop dwelling on it. Remember something good, something happy…try as she might, she could now only equate happy with her time with Enver. That first weekend, that incredible life-changing weekend…

  It was Saturday night. They had spent the day making love, ordering room service, and now in the evening, they were soaking in the large tub, Padma’s head resting back on his shoulder. She looked around at him, and he pressed his lips to hers.

  “Have I told you today how beautiful you are?” She felt the vibration of his deep voice through his chest and smiled at him.

  “As long as you think so.” She turned around in the tub, straddling him, running her hands over the firm planes of his chest. His face, she couldn’t get over. So boyish and fun one moment, then serious and almost dangerous the next. He gazed back at her with clear green eyes rimmed by the thickest, darkest lashes she’d ever seen.

  “I think you’re the beautiful one,” she whispered. Enver’s hand reached up to cup the back of her neck as he pulled her to him, crushing his lips against hers. He kissed her slowly, his tongue delving deep into her mouth, massaging, caressing hers. His free hand moved in a gentle pattern on her belly, making it quiver with longing before his hand moved down to caress her clit.