by Stella Noir
“That’s already been taken care of. I got the two of you a room and I’ll be right next-door. And I stopped by a store on the way over here and picked up some clothes for both of you. I hope the sizes are all right. At least they’ll get you out of the hospital and around until you can find some that you like better.”
Grady brought my bag of clothes over to my bed and I gave him a hug.
“Thank you so much, Grady. You’ve been amazing. I feel so incredibly lucky that we’ve had you on our side.”
“Oh, come on. It was nothing.”
“You gotta be kidding, Grady,” Adrian said. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. You’ve saved my life more times than I can count now.”
I was so grateful to have these two guys looking out for me. Actually, three guys including Lucas, and I was surprised to be including him in this group. He still made me uneasy. The way he touched me as he was untying me from the bed still haunts me and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to tell Adrian. Especially after what happened in the caverns. But in the end he did risk his life to save me, and that’s something I never would have expected from him.
ADRIAN
O nce we left the hospital and were in the privacy of our hotel room, I felt like I could finally be intimate with Brooklyn. I was still worried about everything she had gone through and how she was feeling, but she seemed just as excited as I was for us to be alone.
We barely got in the door and shut it behind us before she wrapped her arms around me and jumped up so that her legs were around my hips. I carried her through the suite and into the bedroom, then laid her on the bed and crawled on top of her.
I looked down at her and immediately became lost in her beautiful blue eyes. They were bright and sparkly and there was an incredible smile that started there and moved across her whole face. That was something I had needed to see for a while. Those eyes and that smile made me want to live and gave my life meaning. I didn’t think I’d be able to make it if I didn’t have Brooklyn to look forward to.
I felt her small body underneath me as my lips melted into hers. She wrapped her legs around me and a soft moan escaped from deep inside her. A part of me wanted to wait. I wasn’t sure what had happened to her and I didn’t want to upset her, especially since it was so soon after she had been rescued. But the longer my lips touched her skin the harder it was for me to hold back.
Our time apart and everything that we had gone through intensified something between us. Our kisses felt so much deeper to me now. Like I could lose myself in them completely. Not that I didn’t before, but it was different now. The minute my lips touched hers it was almost as if I couldn’t feel any separation between us at all. It wasn’t until I opened my eyes that I realized that there was air and space and skin between us. Then when I’d close my eyes again and feel her warm lips on mine, it was as if she were suddenly inside me or a part of me. I could feel our bodies moving together as one.
I kissed the soft skin of her cheek, then moved my lips slowly down to her neck. And when I did I felt her entire body quiver as she pressed it into mine.
“Oh, Adrian, I’ve missed you so much.”
I looked back up into her eyes and I was amazed at how beautiful she was. She was perfection, and the way she was looking at me took my breath away. I didn’t understand how something so perfect as her could want me. I didn’t understand what she saw in me.
I took my time removing her shirt. I pulled it up over her breasts, then kissed the skin that ran down the center of her chest. I slid my hand up and around her back, touching my lips to her breasts and watching them rise and fall with every touch.
Her breasts were soft and smooth, but the nipples were incredibly hard and grew larger with every passing second. I licked and sucked on each one, relishing the squirm of her body and the breathy moans that escaped from her lips.
I wanted this to be all about her. I didn’t want any of my own demands to get in the way. Not that I was holding anything back. My desires to please her were nothing new. I had spent many nights watching the changes in her face as she made herself come, and sometimes that was all I wanted.
But this time it was a conscious thought on my part. I didn’t want to be the guy in the caverns ever again. I couldn’t live with myself if I ever hurt Brooklyn or scared her again. I would do everything in my power to make sure she was happy and felt safe. She gave me everything I had ever wanted, and I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than holding her in my arms and feeling the life inside of her as she experienced the pleasure that I was giving her.
I worked my way down her soft stomach and pulled the sweatpants she had worn back from the hospital down, but I intentionally left her underwear behind. I wondered where Grady had gone to shop for Brooklyn’s clothes because the underwear she had on looked like they might be better suited on an eighty-year-old woman. But somehow Brooklyn still made them incredibly sexy.
Through the sheer fabric I could see the small mound of blonde pubic hair and I could smell the scent that was so unique to Brooklyn. A smell that invaded me, melting into me and intensifying my need for her. As much as I wanted to grab her and ravage her body, I still felt that I could have and watched her like this all day. I wanted to spend hours kissing the sensitive places on her body just to see her squirm and hear the soft moans escape from her lips. Everything about Brooklyn was intoxicating.
I slowly peeled her panties down, then slid my hands in between her thighs, pushing her legs apart an opening her up to me. I buried my face in the silky down that covered her lips before I parted them and found my way to her clit. My tongue swirled around the sensitive nub, flicking it and licking it as her legs quivered with every touch. Then I slowly made my way down to her vagina. The juices that ran out of her covered my tongue, driving me mad with desire.
I could feel her body tense up as she came close to orgasm. I increased my focus on her clit and began gently sucking, but as her moans deepened I sucked harder and harder while I thrust my finger inside her. The pitch of the groans that came from inside her deepened as her hips lifted up off the mattress and her back arched.
She grabbed my hair with both hands and pressed my face into her while she gyrated her hips. Soon convulsions took over her entire body, and she clamped her legs tight around my head. After her legs relaxed she rolled to one side and curled her legs up to her body. She lay there for a moment in total bliss, her breath slowing down and deepening.
I knew how much she loved it when I fucked her immediately after she had an orgasm, and I couldn’t get enough of her reaction to that moment when my cock slid into her. I moved on top of her and pushed her legs up over her head, then entered her with one hard, deep thrust. Her eyes flew open and she screamed as her head curled back. I could feel the tight muscles inside of her rhythmically gripping my cock as she continued her intense orgasm.
After watching her experience such intense pleasure it was almost impossible for me to hold out any longer. I felt like I had barely been inside of her for a minute and I was already over the edge and coming. My body shook as I continued to slide in and out of her, and through it all I kept my eyes glued to her. An incredible look of pleasure covered her face, and when she finally opened her eyes they were more clear and beautiful than I had ever seen them.
As I lowered myself to her and our lips met again, my eyes closed and our bodies melted together. I had never felt anything like the peacefulness and calm that enveloped me now that I knew that Brooklyn was safe in my arms.
I held Brooklyn, kissing her gently on the head and playing with her hair as she recovered in her usual way. Her face was so peaceful and serene, and as usual it took quite a while until I could detect a single breath. As she started to wake up her chest moved up and down, and eventually her eyes opened wide. She immediately looked up at me with her dazzling eyes and my heart melted.
“Hey.”
“Hey, beautiful. How are you doing?”
“Perfect,” she s
aid with a huge smile. “That was amazing, Adrian. I’ve missed the way you feel so much.”
She had such a glorious glow on her face and I didn’t want to do anything to change that, but I felt that I had to talk to her about what happened while she was with Syrnyk. It wasn’t just morbid curiosity. I wanted to be here for her and I wanted to make sure she felt safe with me. I wanted to share everything with her. The good and the bad.
“Do you feel like talking about what happened? We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Brooklyn’s face did change, but only a little. “Yeah, I do. It’s hard, but I do. It was my father who took me. Or, the man I called my father. John Pierce. He was the one who kidnapped me in Bitung.
“I was drugged for a lot of the trip so I don’t know exactly how long I traveled for, but I was on some kind of old military boat for a few days at least. The next thing I remember we were traveling in a car. I was blindfolded and tied up in the backseat. It wasn’t until we got to that man’s house that I found out it was my father. That man, Syrnyk, killed him right after I got there …”
“What did he do to you, Brooklyn?” I was terrified to hear the details, but I had to know.
“I wasn’t there very long at all before you got there, Adrian. Your timing was almost perfect. If it had been even a little bit longer I’m sure he would have … things would’ve been very different. It was horrible. I’m not saying it wasn’t. But it could’ve been so much worse.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Yes, he did. He hit me and he scared me and he … he told me what he was going to do to me. He tied me up on the bed and he started to …”
“If you can’t talk about it I understand. I want to be here for you in any way I can.”
“I know you do. It’s just hard … and embarrassing.”
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I had something to do with it somehow. I know that I didn’t, but it’s hard to shake that feeling that I was involved.”
“I’m so sorry. Just tell me what you want to. I don’t want you to feel embarrassed about anything. You have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Well, he kept telling me that he wanted to fuck me in the ass, but first he said he wanted to stick his whole fist inside there. So he started putting his fingers inside me. But before he could get all the way in, he got a phone call and left. He left me tied up on the bed. That’s how Lucas found me.”
I could feel rage building up inside me as I heard Brooklyn’s story. I knew the guy was dead and that I had been the one to beat him to a bloody pulp. I had killed him with my own hands, but as I listened to what he did to her I wanted to kill him all over again.
“God, Brooklyn, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that. You will never have to experience anything like that again, I promise you. I’ll do everything I can to be a better person. I don’t want you to ever be afraid of me or be afraid of what I’ll do to you. I know I’ve changed a lot since I left the villa, but I can change more. I can do things differently and I can—”
“But that’s just it Adrian,” Brooklyn said as she turned her body toward me so that she was facing me. “As horrible as everything was that I went through, it made me realize something. I won’t lie; a lot of things he did to me are things that you do. And there were moments when I was able to pretend that it was you telling me what to do. And as much as I hate to admit it now, pretending like that made it easier.
“But then I would suddenly realize where I was and I would become painfully aware that I wasn’t with you, and I would feel sick again. But I’m absolutely sure of one thing, Adrian. If it had been you … if you had been the one doing any of those things to me … I would have wanted it.
“While I was with him, I was able to fully understand something that I think I’ve known for a while now. Something I’ve tried to tell you, but I don’t think you believed me. The difference isn’t in what I’m doing with someone, the difference is entirely who I’m doing that thing with. Maybe that sounds simple or obvious, but it wasn’t to me at first. And it’s the only way I can explain how I feel about the things you do to me. About why everything is so different with you.
“There is no one way of fucking someone that makes you more or less of a good person. You are a good person. I can see it when you look at me and I can feel it when I’m with you and when I see how you are with other people. I know who you are and I love what you do to me.
“But that man? He could do all of the things the people say a good person does. He could act like a good person and he could fuck in nothing but the missionary position. But that wouldn’t make him a good person, because inside of him he’s just not.
“If you feel like you need to change, then you should do it for yourself. Not because you think what you’re doing is wrong. Not because you have some idea of what a good person does and doesn’t do based on what other people do or have told you. But because of the way you feel inside when you do it.
“Because I’m telling you, Adrian, I don’t want you to stop doing the things that you do to me. I don’t want you to change. I love every moment of when you touch me. Whether it’s like the sex that we just had—passionate and intense and loving—or it’s something completely different. I want it if you’re the one doing it.”
I had no idea what to say. I knew Brooklyn was telling me the truth and I wanted to believe everything she said. I wanted to be the person she wanted me to be, but I didn’t know how. It felt like I was two different people and I wasn’t quite sure how to bring them both together, how to reconcile the differences between the two.
And now that I knew that I was taking Lucas back to the villa, I was even more worried about the other side of me taking over.
BROOKLYN
M y stomach tightened as the plane landed in Rome. Adrian and I had stayed at the hotel in Vologda for three more nights until Lucas was released from the hospital. Then the four of us got on a plane to fly Lucas back to Italy.
“Are you okay?” Adrian asked.
He had noticed that I was gripping his hand in mine and when I looked over at him his forehead was furrowed and his eyebrows were raised.
I’d never thought of Italy is an evil place, but after my experience with Adrian’s father and brother at their villa, the bad feelings that resurfaced as we landed were hard to shake.
“How long are you going to stay at Gina’s with me?” I asked Adrian as the plane taxied toward the airport.
“I can stay a night or two, but I do need to get back to the villa.”
“How long do you think you’ll be there?”
“I don’t know. I’m assuming there will be some paperwork to be done after my father’s death. But since I’ve had nothing to do with the business for over a year and my father has me written out of his will, I’m pretty sure I won’t be involved in any of it. But Lucas might need my help. Gina said you’re welcome to stay as long as you want. I’ll call you every day and tell you how it’s going. I’m sure it won’t be more than a week.”
“You’re stopping off at Gina’s before you come back to the villa?” Lucas asked from his seat across the aisle.
“Yeah, I’ve gotta tell her about Renaldo. I know she’s going to be upset that he didn’t make it. And I know she’s anxious to see Brooklyn. Grady will get you home in one piece though.”
“Are you sure I’m going to be welcome there? Last time I checked I wasn’t very popular with your dad’s security guards.”
“Dude, you’re a freaking hero. You saved our lives—all three of us. I’ll make sure everyone knows you’re welcome back at the villa, don’t worry.”
Lucas got up and moved to a seat across from us and looked at Adrian. “I need to tell you something.”
“What? Is something wrong?”
“I got a message from one of the staff members at Mom’s house. I guess she’s not doing very well. She might not be around very much longe
r.”
“What? What happened to her? Was it because of what happened with Dad?”
“I don’t know. I know she knows that he was killed, but I don’t know if she knows any of the details. You know she’s had a bad heart for a while. Maybe it’s just catching up with her.”
“Wow, I had no idea. I really should get back there soon. I’ll just stay at Gina’s for one night and head up there in the morning.”
It was moments like this that confused me. It seemed like Lucas could be almost sweet one minute, and then it seemed like something evil was lurking inside him the next. I still didn’t know if I could handle being away from Adrian, but the thought of setting foot back in that villa where I was held captive over a year ago made my skin crawl. I knew that nothing like that would happen to me again, but the place still held such powerful memories.
“What’s she like … your mother?”
“She’s nothing like my father. I’ve really missed her over the last year. She never had anything to do with the family business; her role always seemed to be to support my father … like a good wife. She never went against his wishes in any way, but she didn’t treat me the same way that he did either. She always did strike me as kind of detached, but I guess that comes with the territory if you want to stay married to a sociopath.”
“I’m sorry she’s so sick. If I could be there with you I would, you know that, don’t you?”
“Of course. I’ll be fine. I don’t particularly want to go back there either. But the sooner I get there and see what’s going on, the sooner I can leave and hopefully never go back.”
After we disembarked the plane and said goodbye to Lucas and Grady, Adrian and I were taken to Gina’s house. I had never had a chance to visit her there and I was thrilled to see her design tastes reflected in the way her surroundings were decorated. Everything was bright and colorful but elegant, just like her.
“Darling Brooklyn, I’m so thrilled to see you. I was so very worried about you.” Gina held my face in her hands for few moments then hugged me.