Captive (The Phantom Series Book 1)

by Jenny Lynn

  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” Beckett murmured. He stepped in behind me, pulling my body against his. I sighed as the water lapped against my skin, rising as it filled the tub. It felt incredible and I relaxed against him. Beckett ran his hands over my body, his gentle touch so different from the rough way he had just taken my virginity in his bed. I always thought that I would be afraid, life had taught me that men were brutal and to be feared. There was a brutal side to Beckett, a strength and power to him that was intimidating, but I didn’t fear him. It was the opposite, he made me feel safe. As Beckett wet a cloth and moved it over my body, I closed my eyes and sighed in pleasure while he wiped me down.

  “When do you have to go?” he whispered in my ear, his jaw nestling in the crook of my neck as he kissed my earlobe.

  “Well, since you told my boss and friends that I would be gone for a while I guess I’m not in much of a rush to go anywhere.”

  “You can stay here as long as you like Ella.” Beckett ran the cloth over my breasts, down my stomach and softly between my legs. I let him wash me, surrendering into his arms. I had waited so long to know what this would be like, and I was glad it was him who was my first. He knew what he was doing, he had an intimate knowledge of women’s bodies that I didn’t want to dwell on. I tried not to think of how many women Beckett Carter had slept with, I felt triumphant that even though he had tried to turn me away this had happened between us.

  “What would you like to do today Ella?”

  I smiled then wriggled my butt against him, rubbing myself between his legs. He gave a low moan and gripped me tighter.

  “I’ve created a monster,” he chuckled darkly.

  “When we were in bed, you said you’d chain me up if I kept moving my legs. You were kidding, right? You don’t actually do that, do you?”

  Beckett ran his fingertips from my neck, down across my chest giving my breast a slight squeeze in his firm grasp.

  “I like control Ella. I also like to inflict a bit of pain. I don’t know why I am the way I am, but when I get worked up there’s a violence to me that I can’t suppress.”

  “So… it gets rougher?”

  I felt him stiffen behind me.

  “It doesn’t have to Ella,” his voice was laced with regret. “I don’t want to do anything to scare you. But, I can’t lie to you either. I’m into sex that’s rough and hard. I need to let the dominant side of me out.” He sighed. “I should regret that this was your first sexual experience, but I’m a selfish asshole. The day you walked into my office to write your article, I wanted to bend you over my desk and fuck your brains out.”

  I felt my cheeks flush at his blunt honesty. My body was humming, pressed against his muscular chest. Beckett had awoken something in me and, even though I was nervous, I was also overwhelmingly curious about what he wanted to do to me. I turned around until I was facing him, the water lapping at my skin.

  “I’m glad I was assigned that article and met you.”

  He cocked an eyebrow and his lips pressed together.

  “Oh, don’t think I’ve forgotten about that stellar piece of journalism you’re responsible for. I’ve wanted to punish you over it since I read it.”

  I bit my lip nervously, squirming at the way he was looking at me. There was an unmistakable threat in his voice, but an edge that hinted that whatever he did to me, I would enjoy it. That I could trust my body in his hands, whatever they were capable of.

  “If you hated that one, just wait until you read my feature piece about the Phantom,” I teased. “It’s really going to blow you away.”

  Beckett shook his head.

  “You’re really asking for it Ella.”

  “I can see the headline now,” I continued. I raised my hands in front of me, as if framing my words. “Beckett Carter’s double life revealed.”

  Suddenly he stood up, water dripping off his tall muscular body, and he reached down then gripped me around the waist. He threw me over his shoulder and I yelped in surprise, my skin wet and slippery against his shoulder. I kicked my legs, giggling and squirming against him as he marched through the bathroom and into the bedroom. He headed for his closet and yanked open the door, walking inside and pulling a black leather belt out of a wooden drawer. I eyed it cautiously as he carried me back to the bed, setting me on my feet and pointing at the bedpost.

  “Put your hands forward.” His voice was deep and husky, his eyes severe as he stared into mine. My heart was racing, my survival instincts telling me to turn and run, but my feet remained planted on the floor while droplets of water beaded on my skin. He watched me, waiting, and I felt my arms moving forward until they were on either side of the thick wooden post.

  Beckett placed my wrists together, wrapping the leather belt around them and looping the strap over and over again, pulling it tight. He gripped my arm and shook it, checking that I was secure. There was a wicked glint in his eyes. He was enjoying this.

  “Now, Ella, what was it you were threatening me with?”

  I bit my lip again, studying his face. The sweet, sensual side of him that caressed me just moments ago in the bath had been replaced with something dark and powerful. I shivered, swallowing the lump in my throat. There were two sides to Beckett Carter, and they both thrilled me in different ways I couldn’t completely understand.

  His hand flew through the air and connected with my ass, his palm against my damp skin causing a loud sharp slap to crack in the quiet room. I shrieked and my eyes went wide.

  “I asked you a question, Ella,” he drew out each word slowly, a smile on his lips.

  “I’m not going to write the article,” I assured him.

  His hand connected with my flesh again and I gasped. The pain was sharp, my skin stinging and growing hot.

  “When you met me for the interview, when you got your quotes. You should have realized, even then, that I was a man not to be crossed. But you know that now, don’t you Ella?”

  His hand came down against me again, I gasped, my ass tingling, my nerve endings on fire. His eyes drilled into mine, a satisfied look on his face. He was liking this. He ran his fingers down over my sore skin, tracing the curve of my marked buttocks until he was swirling against my clit. I groaned and closed my eyes as he stroked me, teasing, until without warning he shoved a finger deep inside me. I bucked against the post, twisting my hands but helplessly held in the position he had placed me in. Beckett leaned his body against mine, his erection grinding against me, as he whispered in my ear.

  “Tell me you’re mine,” he growled, then nipped at my neck.

  “I’m yours,” I answered, my voice thin and strained as he worked me with his fingers. It felt impossibly good, better than I ever imagined this could feel. I never thought I would let a man touch me, let alone slap and punish me for his own pleasure.

  With a shove of his hips Beckett pushed his thick length inside me and I dug my nails into the leather of the belt at my wrists, gasping at the tug as he stretched my body. The painful, delicious, indescribable fullness of him as he pushed steadily inside me. Beckett gripped my hips and started to pump, returning one hand to rub my sensitive clit in small circles, his fingertip moving effortlessly through the slickness between my legs. There was no hiding it, no denying it. My body responded to Beckett using me, to the way he manhandled me over and over again.

  His fingers digging into my hip I stabilized myself by putting my shoulder against the wooden beam as Beckett hammered into me, the bedframe shaking with each powerful thrust. I bit my lip, feeling a building inside me. I was too sensitive, his touch was too much, I squirmed and tried to close my legs but he kicked them apart. I shuddered then my mouth fell open as I came, my entire body going slack as electricity moved from my aching bud through my entire core.

  Beckett grabbed my hips, holding me up and refusing to let me fall to the floor. My ears were ringing as he slammed against my body, I was dizzy with lust and slick with desire while he easily slipped into me over and over again. His fin
gers tightened painfully into my hip, grazing the sensitive flesh where he had struck me, as he made a low grunt deep in this throat. I felt his member tremble inside me, then, a new slickness moving through me. Beckett held me against him as he came, a powerful shudder rippling through his entire body as his hands held me firmly in place.

  When he was still, he leaned his forehead against my back, trailing his lips across my shoulder to my ear. When he let go of my hips I sank to the floor on my knees, my legs too weak to stand. Beckett reached forward and untied the belt, setting my hands free and scooping me up into his arms. I looked into the seemingly endless depths of his eyes; my rescuer, my captor, my growing obsession.

  “I think I have stockholm syndrome,” I told him, trying hard to catch my breath.

  Beckett looked down at me with a look of triumph and ultimate possession.

  “They’re going to need to come up with a whole new term for what we are, Ella.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Beckett

  I placed Ella down on the bed gently, she sighed contentedly and sank against the pillow with her eyes shut. I had pushed her body to the limit today, she should get some rest. I pulled on a pair of dark navy sweatpants and walked as quietly as I could out to the living room, shutting the bedroom door softly behind me. The horizon outside the window was slipping from day to dusk, the sun sinking low giving way to the bright neon lights of Vegas to dominate the sky.

  My body felt deeply satisfied, but as always I was still restless. I wandered into the games room where I walked behind the bar and poured myself a double of scotch into a cut crystal tumbler. Ella had offered up her virginity to me. She trusted me, after all the reasons she chose not to share intimacy with another man, and when I showed her the monster inside me she didn’t turn away. She let me take her, let me get my pleasure from dominating her body and she found her own pleasure in return. Ella surprised me, just like she had from the moment I met her. I wasn’t sure if I would ever figure her out, but I wanted to try.

  There was a part of me that understood just how risky this all was. No one had ever known who I really was, what I used my endless resources to do under the cover of night. If Ella changed her mind and decided to expose me, if she said one mistaken word that revealed my secret, it would all be over. It would cost me my freedom, or if the wrong people found out, it could even cost me my life. I sighed, draining the amber liquid into my mouth and swallowing. Dalmore was an exquisite scotch but I was beyond savoring the complex smoke and oak flavors right now.

  I poured myself another then headed down the hall bringing the bottle with me, walking into my office. I powered up the computer and lowered myself in the cool leather chair that creaked beneath my weight. Moving the mouse across the screen I navigated through files, searching for the document I needed, then pulled it open. I made a few quick edits, read it over, then hit print. I sipped on my drink as the pages collected one by one in the printer tray, and when it was done I collected them and left down the hall towards the living room.

  Placing the pages on the marble counter, I walked towards the window and watched the last of the dusk sky fade away to night. I was used to being alone in my home, I never let women stay over. But with Ella, I didn’t want her far from me. I felt both possessive and protective of her, the instinct to push her away yet keep her close playing a game of tug-of-war in my psyche. Even now, with her sleeping naked and marked up in my bed, I wanted to run my hands up between her legs and slowly wake her with first my fingers then my hard cock.

  I walked to the piano, seeking out a distraction. I drank a mouthful of my scotch then set the glass onto the smooth black top as I seated myself on the bench. I ran my fingertips over the keys gently, not pressing any of them in particular. This had been my mother’s piano. She was remarkable, filling our home with music as well as the clear pitch of her beautiful voice. I would sit for hours beside her listening while she sang, her light eyes sparkling at me and a wide smile lighting up her face. Those beautiful memories were enough to make the anger inside me subside just enough to feel some sort of peace. My mother’s music, my father’s library. They were the two places I could find calm and refuge whenever I became too consumed with fury or violence.

  I pressed my fingers onto the keys and closed my eyes, letting soft music flow through me into the empty space. I breathed in and out, letting the melody erase the silence. I glanced up at my family’s portrait over the mantle, then out towards the Las Vegas skyline. I had made a lot of mistakes recently, but I would make up for it. Marco Venetti was still a target, I’d bring down his entire corrupt web if it was the last thing I did. I would continue to use my wealth and strength to eliminate criminals who preyed on the innocent. And I would ensure that Ella kept my secret.

  I drained and refilled my glass, losing myself in the pressure of my fingers against the keys as note by note I played song after song by memory. Years of practice seated at a piano until the music came as second nature, a way to remember and honor my mother. A way to keep a piece of her alive inside me.

  I was working up to a particularly powerful crescendo, the fierce and thunderous building, when a slight movement caught my eye and I looked up to see Ella standing a few feet away wrapped in a bedsheet. I stopped, the notes hanging in the air, and looked at her.

  She tucked her long dark hair behind her ear.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “You didn’t,” I assured her. “I was just passing the time. Did I wake you?”

  She shook her head, coming closer. “That was beautiful, what was it?”

  “Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot. An opera.”

  “Who taught you how to play?”

  “My grandmother. I lived with her after my parents died, until she passed away when I was eighteen.I think she held on until she thought I could take care of myself, then drifted off in her sleep. She was the last of my family. By then I had access to my trust fund and moved back here, into my family’s old home. I’ve lived here ever since.”

  Ella took another step closer.

  “You’re lucky you had her. When my parents died, my sister and I had no family to take us in. We ended up in a foster home, they were horrible to us. My sister, Dana, she got the worst of it. She protected me, and when she turned eighteen she left and took me with her.”

  “That must not have been easy for her, barely an adult and caring for you too.”

  Ella nodded.

  “I don’t approve of what she did, becoming an escort, but it was her choice and it put food on our table. We had a roof over our heads, I never went hungry. I always thought she was the strongest woman I knew, that nothing could ever happen to her because she was always smart and safe. I had just left for college when she went missing.”

  It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together. “Investigating the Venetti family, the prostitution ring. Are you looking for information about your sister Ella?”

  She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and holding the cream sheet against her body.

  “When you went to meet with Dale, did you get anything useful?”

  She shook her head. “Not that time, no.”

  I raised my eyebrows. That time, meaning she intended for there to be another time? I ran my hands through my hair and let the air out of my lungs. “Not that time?”

  She was stubborn, there was nothing I was going to be able to say to change her mind. We were essentially driven by the same thing, loyalty to our families, but Ella wasn’t like me. I trained my body and knew how to use a weapon. She was putting herself in danger with no way to protect herself.

  “Maybe if we worked together Beckett, we could get something that would lead to a conviction. Maybe they keep records, and one of those records will tell me what happened to Dana.”

  My head shot up and I narrowed my eyes at her. She stopped talking as I stared at her intently.

  “Work together? Ella, what I do I do alone. It’s not something I want you to be in
volved with, and not something I want you to ever talk about. On the counter there are some pages. I want you to read them.”

  Ella looked over her shoulder, then softly walked to where I had placed the documents. I kept my eyes focused on her as she picked them up and started to scan them, finally making eye contact with a confused look on her face.

  “Why do you have this for me?”

  “It’s a standard non disclosure agreement,” I explained as I stood up and walked over towards her. “I’m a very private person. What this details is that you will not discuss or share any aspect of being with me. I typically use it to make sure the women I see don’t sell information about me to media or gossip sites, but given our specific circumstances, this would protect me from you making any claim that I’m the Phantom.”

  I was at her side, her eyes dropped back to the pages in her hands.

  “I’m not going to tell anyone Beckett.”

  “Then you won’t have any problem signing the document.”

  She put the pages back onto the counter and stared up at me defiantly.

  “And if I refuse to sign them? Are you not going to let me leave?”

  My jaw clenched. Difficult, everything was always difficult with her.

  “No. If you don’t sign them, you’re free to leave. But this between us will not happen again, and if you told anyone about me you will be sued for defamation. You already know too much about me, but unless these are signed, I’ll make sure you don’t know any more. This isn’t negotiable Ella.”

  She shook her head.

  “You don’t trust me.”

  I reached forward and held her chin in my hands, looking into her eyes.

  “I don’t trust anyone, and neither should you. I’m asking you to sign this because it’s what I need, Ella. I don’t want to stay away from you. Don’t force my hand.”