by Jenny Lynn
“Ella, I don’t give a shit about my outfit. I was so worried about you, I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”
She pulled back and looked at me, her face gentle.
“I know we haven’t known each other for long Ella, but I really care about you. You never judged me for what I do, most of my friends are other dancers. The fact that you’re right next door and we look out for each other, it always makes me feel safe.” She raised her glass and took a sip. “Besides. I hate to drink alone.”
She winked at me and I laughed as I took a sip of my wine too.
“Thanks Reya. I’m sorry that I worried you, but I’m okay, I promise. And I feel the same. I don’t have many friends here in Vegas, if it wasn’t for you I’d be some loner who was either at home or work, day after day.”
“Now that you bring it up, you do work pretty hard Ella. Why don’t I take a night off sometime, we can go out to a club? Have a good time, meet a couple of guys and make some bad decisions.”
I looked away and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Yeah, sure, that sounds nice.”
Reya watched me like a hawk, studying my reaction.
“Wait a second.” She leaned closer. “Ella… did you meet someone?”
The flush that bloomed on my cheeks told her everything. Whenever I had something I wanted to hide, my body betrayed me each and every time. I was just the kind of person who wore her emotions out in the open, even when I tried to act cool.
“Alright, who is this mystery guy. I need to know if he’s good enough for my girl.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I promised him that I wouldn’t. It’s still new, and… it’s complicated.”
Reya sighed. “Oh, Ella. Please tell me he’s not married.”
I shook my head. “No, not married.”
Her eyes brightened. “Ooooh, is he a celebrity?”
I laughed. “Reya! Stop playing twenty questions, I told you I can’t tell you.”
Something out of the corner caught her eye and Reya nodded towards the TV. “Hey look, it’s your friend the Phantom on the news.”
Sure enough there was a blurry photo of Beckett in head to toe black, his mask concealing his face, in the corner of the screen while the news anchor spoke. I grabbed the remote and turned the volume up gripping my wine tighter. Was this about the night I had been abducted? The night he had been shot? Was Beckett okay?
“Breaking news, we have just obtained security footage reportedly from tonight when the Phantom stopped an attack on a couple who runs a local convenience store. Known convict Bruce Killman, recently released on parole and thought to be connected to organized crime, had targeted the store apparently as part of a larger extortion racket. He entered the store with two associates and told patrons to leave, locking the doors and trapping Mr. and Mrs. Kym who run the store inside. After attacking Mr. Kym they grabbed Mrs. Kym and were dragging her to the back when the Phantom broke his way inside. Here is the footage, and we warn you, it is graphic.”
What followed was grainy video of a window being broken and the Phantom stepping inside. The men shouted at him but he walked forward, no hesitation or fear. When one man rushed him he grabbed his arm and flipped him over, landing hard against a shelf that spilled its contents to the floor. A second man rushed behind him with a knife and I threw my hand over my face, but Beckett dodged then grabbed the man’s arm. Whatever he did, the man’s mouth dropped open in agony and he fell to the floor cradling his arm.
Beckett continued for Bruce who was holding Mrs. Kym by the neck. Reaching behind him, Beckett pulled out a knife and threw it swiftly where it buried itself in Bruce’s leg up to the hilt. While Bruce howled Beckett pulled Mrs. Kym from his grasp and she rushed for her injured husband. Beckett walked over to them, there was dialogue that wasn’t caught on camera, then he swiftly used zip-ties to secure the three men dragging them to the centre of the room and looping their arms so they couldn’t run. Then he left the way he came.
The news anchor switched to an interview of Mr. Kym, recovering in hospital, a microphone at his face.
“I’m grateful to the Phantom for saving me, for saving my wife,” he said with eyes glassy with tears. “He’s a hero.”
The reporter asked him what the Phantom had said on camera, and Mr. Kym hesitated a moment before answering.
“He wanted to know who Bruce was working for, they were trying to charge us a fee for protection. They’ve been trying for months, but always I said no. So I told him. I told him it was Venetti.”
The video switched back to the news anchor.
“Attempts to reach a member of the Venetti family to comment on these allegations went unanswered by the time we broadcast this story, however through a spokesperson they denied any involvement calling the insinuation hearsay by a known criminal. In other news…”
I leaned back into the couch cushions, eyes wide, and raised the glass to my lips.
“Wow, they’re lucky he showed up when he did,” Reya said. “He was there that night at the warehouse you said, right? You really saw him?”
I nodded as I took a drink.
“I’ve got to say,” she sighed, running her fingers through her long hair. “I know he’s dangerous and probably a bit crazy for doing what he does, but I sort of think he’s sexy. I wonder what he looks like. I picture him as this tall dark and brooding, sexy man with muscles for days.” She smiled. “He could rough me up any day of the week.”
I focused on my drink, turning my attention back to the greasy takeout hoping we would change the subject before I told Reya how right she was. Before I spilled details about the intense sex I had enjoyed with the Phantom himself. But mostly I kept replaying the vision of the man in the video charging Beckett with a long knife, the fact that he took on three men and could have been killed. I pictured the bullet wound he had suffered only days before, and a part of me was terrified for him that one of these days he would be injured and it would be fatal. It was almost too much to handle, and what scared me more than the idea of something happening to Beckett was the realization I was starting to develop strong feelings for him.
Chapter Eighteen
Beckett
The nights I went out in disguise and dealt with criminal scum, those were the nights that I came home and slept the best. The rest of my evenings were spent restless or waking up from nightmares, but those nights I felt at peace. I felt like I was making a difference, like I was the kind of man my parents could be proud of if they were still alive.
I had spent the morning in my gym, then the rest of the day locked in a few conference calls and reviewing sections of contracts my lawyers had sent me about legal matters. There was such a sharp divide in my life; the savvy businessman and the savage judgement of a vigilante. More and more I felt the separate parts of myself blending together, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the illusion. But for the first time there was one person I didn’t need to hide everything from, and she was on her way over for dinner and to spend the night. She had put up with a lot from me, and even though I couldn’t give her a traditional relationship I could give her a weekend where I focused on her and only her.
The caterers had left and dinner was keeping warm in the oven, the dining room table set with candles and flowers. I wanted tonight to be perfect for her. When I heard the intercom chime I pressed the button to allow her up, waiting by the elevator for her to arrive. When the doors slid open I smiled as she dropped her head and gave a shy smile while tucking her hair behind her ear. I made her nervous, I knew that, and the effect was intoxicating for me. I loved that I could have that sort of physical impact on Ella with just a look, or a touch. She was wearing a grey silk dress, flowing over her body and cut low on her neckline.
I walked towards her and placed my hand on her lower back, caressing the smooth fabric, and guided her towards the dining room. When she stepped inside the dimly lit room fragran
t with fresh cut flowers she gave a little gasp and turned towards me.
“You didn’t have to do this for me Beckett. We could have just ordered a pizza.”
I chuckled and pulled her chair out, gesturing for her to seat herself.
“Well I hope you like venison and roast vegetables better than takeout.”
I poured her a glass of red wine, then walked around the table to fill my glass.
“Dinner is in the oven, I’ll be right back.”
I walked to the kitchen, amazed at how nice this felt. How… normal. I rarely had women over to my place for anything other than a quick fuck and to send them on their way, but with Ella there was something different between us. I wanted her to feel safe, I wanted her to feel impressed. I wanted her to feel like she was mine, and that giving herself to me meant that I would cherish her in my own way.
I carried the warm plates back into the dining room and set hers down, then walked to the other end of the table to take my seat. I rarely ate in the dining room, it was meant for entertaining and that was something I didn’t do. Until tonight.
“This looks delicious, thank you Beckett.”
“I’m glad you came Ella. I’m glad you’re here. When you left the night I asked you to sign those documents, I have to admit, I was worried I would never see you again.”
She sighed. “It did catch me off guard, but trust isn’t instant it’s incremental. I need to earn your trust with time, and then maybe we can have a bit more of a traditional relationship.”
I froze, my knife placed against the venison ready to cut.
“What do you mean?”
Ella shrugged and speared a bite of vegetables with her fork.
“Dinner at a restaurant, going to see a movie or a show. You know, like normal people.”
I tensed in my seat, putting down my knife.
“Ella, I thought you understood. I can’t give you that. We’re not… this is not a traditional relationship and it can’t be.”
She swallowed, her eyes questioning me in the candlelight.
“I don’t see why not Beckett. Why can’t we go on dates?”
“Ella, what if someone figured out who I am and what I do. I regularly piss off some very powerful, dangerous people. If you’re romantically linked to Beckett Carter, you would become a target. And I can’t put you or anyone at risk like that.”
“But you do go on dates,” she countered stubbornly.
“Yes, once or twice with a woman and not more than that. Is that what you want?”
She picked up her wine glass, took a sip, then shook her head. It was quiet a moment, and then she laughed.
“I must be crazy.”
“Why do you say that Ella?”
“Not only did I stay instead of running away from a man who kidnapped me, not only did I sleep with you, but now I’m discussing what kind of relationship I’m going to have with a man who spends his nights targeting and attacking criminals in disguise.”
I ran my hands through my hair. She was right, I couldn’t argue with her. This wasn’t normal, and probably wasn’t healthy. But we had been brought together and I had never wanted someone more.
“If this is too much Ella, if you want to walk away, I’ll understand.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to walk away Beckett. I just want to acknowledge that this is crazy.”
I smiled and raised my glass to her.
“You’re right, this is crazy.”
We ate our meals listening to soft classical music play through the speakers. I never realized how much I had missed company, the countless hours I spent at home in solitude. Sitting across from me down the long oak table, candlelight dancing off her skin and making her glow, I felt more human that I had in a long time.
“I read your article,” I told her finally. “It was good. Thank you for writing it, even though we didn’t give you much of a choice.”
“You’re a very bossy man Beckett, you know that right?” She sipped her wine and her eyes sparkled. The way she called me out made me laugh.
“I like control, I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now Ella.”
“Even if I wasn’t an investigative reporter I could have pieced that together.”
“And how does that make you feel, the fact that I want to control you. The fact I get off on dominating your body, the types of things that I’m into.”
She bit her lip and I studied her across the table.
“I like it,” she said finally, her voice just above a whisper. My eyes drilled into hers, focused on her words and body language.
“Why?” My voice was firm, but I tried to keep it as gentle as possible. But I wanted to know why, in all of her beautiful innocence, she gave in to my darkness.
“You say you can’t help who you are Beckett, that this is inside of you. That it’s a part of who you are. I think I can understand that. As long as I can remember I didn’t trust men, I thought they were animals who only wanted to use women. They may try to keep secret what they’re really like in order to get what they want, but I saw who you are that first night. I realized that you were powerful, that you were dangerous. I knew I should be afraid but I wasn’t. When you kept me here I saw you were complex, like me. We both show one side of ourselves to the world but it’s a lie. When I kissed you and you didn’t take advantage… when I threw myself at you and you tried to warn me. I’m not scared of the pain you like to cause Beckett. I’m scared of not being with you.”
I stared at her, completely floored by her words and honesty. Ella had seen the ugliest, most brutal parts of me and still she wanted to be with me. I could not believe this incredible creature had come into my life, I had done nothing to deserve her.
“What are you,” I whispered.
“I’m yours,” she answered me. I stood up and walked around the table, stopping beside her chair as she looked up at me.
“And you’re okay that this won’t be like what everyone else has? You promise to tell me if I go too far, if I hurt you.”
I ran my fingers along her soft jaw, keeping her face pointed at mine as I stared into her eyes with lust slowly building in mine.
“Show me Beckett. Show me what you want to do to me. If it’s too much, I promise I’ll say stop.”
I dropped my hands to my side and clenched my fists, need flooding through my veins and driving me now. I needed her, I felt it building in me, the monster driving me forward and twitching to mark her soft beautiful body.
“Stand up Ella.”
She pushed her chair back and rose slowly to her feet, her eyes never leaving mine. I took her hand and walked towards my bedroom, she moved quickly in her heels after me struggling to keep up with my long strides. I pulled open the door and brought her inside with me, dropping her hand and turning to face her.
“I want you to take off everything, and lie face up on the bed.”
She stared at me, hesitating, but then in total compliance she started to slide the zipper of her dress down. When she stepped out of it I watched her as she slowly pulled off her bra and underwear. She crossed her arms in front of me, biting her lip and blushing, clearly self-conscious. I reached forward and uncrossed her arms.
“Your body is beautiful to me, never hide it.”
I let my eyes move from her clear eyes to her lips, down her long neck to the perfect mounds of her breasts. Lower, down her stomach, to the soft patch of hair between her legs. I wanted to touch her everywhere, I wanted to take everything, and she was willing to let me.
“Get on the bed Ella, now.”
Moving quickly, I watched as she scrambled onto my bed and lay down on her back, watching me to see what I would do next. I headed for the closet and pulled four of my ties off their hooks, walking back to the bed. As Ella followed me with her eyes, not saying a word, I secured her arms and legs to my bed posts until she was spread eagle against my sheets. I bent over her, dangling the last tie in front of her face.
“Ella, I’m going
to gag you with this, and then for as long as I like I’m going to enjoy your body in whatever way I want. I’m not going to be gentle. I’m going to tease you and fuck you until I think you’ve had enough and then, and only then, I’m going to let you come. If you come before I say you can, I’m going to punish you. If anything becomes too much and you want me to stop I want you to make a noise three times and shake your head. Do you understand?”
Ella nodded. “I understand,” she said, her breathing coming faster now.
I placed the tie between her lips, tying it tight around her head so that it was wedged in her mouth preventing her from speaking. Preventing her from doing anything other than make rough mumbled noises of pleasure as I toyed with her body. Seeing her bound and helpless in my bed I was already painfully hard, but there was no need to rush. She was mine.
I stripped my shirt from my body and left the room as she twisted, trying to lift up and see where I was going. In the kitchen I collected a bowl of ice cubes then returned to the bedroom. Pulling off my pants until I was down to my boxers I knelt beside Ella on the bed, picking up a cube then lifting it in front of her so she could see it. Her gaze went from the ice to me, confused.
I ran the ice over her lips, over and over again, until they were red and wet. When I bent to kiss her, my hot breath against her chilled mouth, I felt her press her mouth against me seeking my warmth. I sat back up, dragging the ice along her neck slowly, letting it melt with the heat of her body.
I picked up a cube and placed it against her belly button.
“If you move and cause the ice to fall off, you’ll be punished,” I warned her. My voice was low and husky, the monster was fully in control now. With the ice against her midsection, I took another cube and dragged it over her nipple. She gasped behind the gag and moved slightly, I raised an eyebrow at her. The cube wiggled but stayed on her belly button.
I kept the cube in place against her nipple, firmly against her sensitive skin. She was whimpering now, her body shaking. When I pulled it back then gripped her chilled peak between my teeth giving a bite and tug she jerked against the bed. The cube on her stomach slid wetly off her side. Her eyes widened when I looked at her and shook my head. I dragged ice over her thigh, wetting her skin, then let my hand whip down in a slap that echoed off the walls. She yelped, the water giving her skin an extra sting. I replaced a cube on her stomach and moved to her other nipple, teasing with the ice, chilling her to the point of pain. This time she focused and as much as I knew she wanted to move, no matter what I did she kept her body still. I smiled, impressed.