by K. Webster
“How is he?” I question as he enters the kitchen. My lips pull into a tight smile in an attempt to hide my anxiety.
“Detective Rhodes? He’ll be okay.” He rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck. “Tragic his wife was killed.”
I nod and absently swipe the countertop with a rag. “Poor guy. Is he going to be okay?”
“It’s only been a week. He’ll have to get over it eventually though.” Logan saunters over to me and wraps me in a hug from behind. This week only continued to be confusing and torturous—not once has he hit me or abused me. I’d almost be relieved at his calmer mood, but I can’t ever let my guard down around him. I don’t trust him a bit.
His lips find the top of my shoulder and he kisses it softly. My heart races in my chest as I peek over at the clock. Two minutes left.
“Logan,” I say in a whisper. “Did you turn it off?”
He drags his teeth across my flesh causing goosebumps to rise but never sinks his teeth in like I expect. I let out a relieved sigh when he presses a soft kiss there and then pulls away. The front door opens and closes, but all I can think about is him turning the fucker off and soon. Logan may not be hurting me—yet he is fucking with my head and he knows it. He gives me a smug grin and watches the clock for a few lingering seconds. As the time drains away, along with the color on my face, he finally lets out a grunt and pulls out his phone. I attempt to watch—to focus on those numbers—but he enters them too quickly. My stomach plummets to the floor when I realize I still don’t know what they are.
For now, though, that doesn’t matter.
What matters is the fact he’s entered them in.
“Want to come take a look at what I’ve done so far?”
Both Logan and I jerk our gazes to Kasper who leans against the door frame with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. His expression feigns disinterest in our exchange, but I know better. I see the questions dancing in his eyes. The wonder.
“Yeah,” Logan says as he tucks his phone back in his pocket. “Then, I need to run up to the station.”
The men leave and I pace the kitchen. Could Kasper have seen?
If he did, I absolutely must get that information from him.
I see the way he devours me with hungry, almost angry, eyes. Messing with him under Logan’s roof is like playing with fire in the devil’s den. But all it takes is five minutes—five minutes and this could all be over.
I need those goddamned numbers.
“You hungry?” I call out once Logan’s Tahoe turns onto the road. Spinning away from the window, I hurry over to the refrigerator to start pulling out fixings for the sandwiches de miga.
Kasper appears in the doorway with a frown. “Tell me what all that was about.”
“Ham, eggs, cheese, tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce, and asparagus all okay? Toasted or untoasted?”
He rolls his eyes at my ignoring him and walks over to me. When his large hands grip my hips, I let out a yelp. His head dips down so he can look at me and he growls. “Tell me.”
Chewing on my lip, I let the thoughts dart around in my head. How much do I tell him? How much is safe?
“Logan uses his phone timer as a form of punishment. If I don’t get him to turn it off in time, things get bad. Real bad.” Not a lie. Not a lie. Not a lie.
“What sort of punishment?”
“Uh,” I stammer. My hands shake with nerves and I fist them to keep them from quivering. “The worst kind actually. The kind that cuts my soul right from my body.”
His eyes dart from me to my hands several times and he scowls. It’s as if he’s struggling with something inside of his head. “What kind?” he questions, a gruff whisper.
I shudder and clamp my eyes shut. But that just makes everything worse. Reopening them, I meet his firm stare. I’m not getting out of this conversation unless I give him some information. He’s a cop. Interrogation is his thing. If only, I could tell him everything. Life would be much simpler. “He uses water to, um, hurt me.” Again, not a lie.
His face darkens and his lips purse into a firm line. “Is that why there’s a big ass pipe running through the wall?”
I blink at him in shock and nod slowly. “Yes.”
He runs his fingers through his hair and I can see indecision warring through him. “What happens if he doesn’t enter in those numbers in time? Does it have something to do with the basement?”
A ragged sigh rushes from me and my knees wobble. I can’t ever think about that what-if in too much detail. I’m not strong enough. “Then my life is over. I cannot live with what he has planned. It’s the worst kind of death. And yes,” I tell him with a hiss, “it has everything to do with the basement.”
His hands find my hips to steady my unstable body and I shiver. “Does that code get you into the basement? Or out?”
“Both.” I shrug, and bark out a bitter laugh. I’m sure at this point he thinks I’m crazy. “But I don’t know if the one that resets his alarm is the same one to the basement or not.”
“Is this why you stay? Why you won’t leave a man who beats on you? Because you’re afraid of what he’ll do?”
“Partially.”
“So this code is very important to you?”
I nod and meet his gaze. “I would do anything for his code. Anything.”
The corner of his lips curl up into a half grin. “What if I know the code? What would you be willing to do to get it from me?”
Hope, a taunting bitch of an emotion, flutters through me. “What do you want?”
“You.”
His hands find their way to my throat and I frown in confusion as he holds me in place with a gentle clasp around my neck. I swallow and dart my eyes to his. “Me?”
Focus, focus, focus. Ignore your heart and use your brain.
He nods as his lips descend upon mine. His grip tightens, causing me to gasp for air and he smashes his mouth to mine, stealing my breath. When his tongue slips into my mouth, his hold on me loosens and I let out a moan of relief. I shouldn’t be kissing him, but he may know the code. That code is everything to me. Throwing myself into the kiss, because a plan’s a plan, even if it’s a bad one, I fist his T-shirt and tug him closer. His hands leave my neck thankfully and travel down my body until he’s gripping my ass.
“I want you,” he hisses out against my lips. “Jesus!”
He grinds his hard cock against my belly and growls.
“What do you want from me? Just tell me and you can have it.” Couldn’t ever be as bad as what Logan demands from me on a daily basis. With Kasper, I can survive it. He could never be as cruel as Logan.
I don’t get an answer but instead he twists me away from him and eases me over the counter. The world spins when he pushes up my dress over my hips and tugs my panties down. He playfully bites my ass cheek and I cry out.
“Beg,” he orders.
With my cheek on the cold granite, I stare at the head of lettuce. “Please give me the code.”
His fingers whisper over my flesh and he chuckles. “You really do want that number. What I meant was beg for me to fuck you.”
I freeze at his words and clamp my eyes closed. I’m busy trying to talk myself into what I’m about to beg for him to do when I’m swept up into a memory. Memories of Donovan always help me cope with what I must do.
We had sex.
Donovan and I had sex.
But that was months ago. And he’s avoided me ever since. I knew it would happen—the moment he pulled out of me, his cock dripping, that he’d hate himself for doing it. Selfishly, though, I’d wanted it anyway.
Now, I’m devastated and broken apart.
His calls are non-existent.
His texts are formal.
His visits are zero.
Which is why I’m going to force him to talk about us. I’ve prepped myself and hope he won’t be able to deny me. I’m wearing a skimpy, fitted black dress that showcases all of my curves and sky-high heels. One look at me in this outf
it, and he’ll have no choice but to notice me.
I stop walking down the hallway to his penthouse suite to catch my reflection in the glass of a framed picture hanging on the wall. My dark hair has been curled into loose waves and I’ve painted my supple lips blood red. I hope he thinks about all of the things I can do with this mouth. With a flick of my hair over my shoulder, I strut down to his doorway. As soon as I reach his door and my hand is poised to knock, I hear shouts.
“I’m taking a goddamned shower and when I get back out, you better have this shit figured out.”
A door slams and I freeze.
What if he’s trying to work things out with Mamá?
What if he’s fucking someone besides me?
I don’t care, I’ll make him see we belong together. With a deep breath, I twist the knob and almost squeal to see it’s unlocked. I push into the room and shut the door quietly behind me. My heels make purposeful taps along the marbled entryway floor as I head toward the living area. When I see Dan, his CFO, I can’t help the smile of relief on my face.
“Where’s Donovan?” I question.
Dan’s gaze lifts from the mountain of paperwork that is scattered along the top of the coffee table and he glares at me. Ever since he and Darcy were busted for their relationship and he was put on probation at work for sexual misconduct with a subordinate, he’s been angry. Donovan knew but never said anything. It was when one of the guests happened upon them having sex in Dan’s office that it had to be addressed. Darcy broke off their fling, or whatever it was, because she was humiliated once people at the office found out. Leaving Dan a miserable and bitter man.
His lips turn up into a predatory grin. A shiver runs through me as his calculating eyes turn dark with fury. He rises to his feet and stalks over to me. “He’s cooling off. Been in a pissy-ass mood for months now. Did you miss your daddy?”
I roll my eyes at him, not taking his bait, and point at the door behind me. “Donovan and I need to talk. You think you could leave?”
“I bet you’re going to ‘talk.’ Darcy and I ‘talked’ all the time. Apparently, though, that was against some code of ethics, yet Donovan can fuck his daughter and nobody seems to bat an eye. Double standards, I tell you. Completely unfair. And filthy, if you ask me.” He curls his lip up in disgust and looks me over as if I’m trash.
Not to be deterred, I sneer at him. “Good thing nobody’s asking you. Now go away already.”
He makes a great show of snatching up his things and muttering something about us needing to go on the Maury show or some crap. Once he’s gone and the door’s locked behind him, I hurry into the bathroom. I’m just stepping into the steamy room when the shower shuts off.
As soon as I see his silhouette behind the foggy glass, I nearly burst into tears. I’ve missed him so much. So fucking much. He pushes open the shower door and blindly grabs for his towel. While he dries his face and hair, I stare unabashedly at his thick, flaccid cock. Heat floods through me as I remember that night he made love to me. It was perfect and fulfilling. He’d told me everything about him that night.
I love him.
“Fucking hell. My beautiful girl.”
His growled words jerk me from my thoughts and I meet his heated stare. “You think I’m beautiful?” My bottom lip quivers.
He pinches the bridge of his nose and scrunches his brows together. “Of course I do, baby. You kill me.”
A smile tugs at my lips, especially the moment I see his cock is no longer soft but instead erect and pointing right at me. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
His silvery blue eyes snap to meet mine. They’re intense enough to cut through diamonds. “Because I have to.” I take a step forward and he shakes his head. “Don’t.”
“Why do you think you have to avoid me?” I demand. I’m on the verge of breaking down and my desperation is evident. “I thought you loved me.” My voice is shrill and I’m embarrassed I sound so needy. But I am needy. I need Donovan in my life. Every single aspect of it.
“Jesus Christ, baby!” he curses and throws his towel to the floor. “I love you more than you could ever fucking comprehend.” A groan of frustration is the last thing that comes from his mouth before he storms over to me. The moment his warm hands wrap around my waist, I throw my arms around his neck. His mouth crashes to mine and he devours me like he’s starved for me. Well, I’m starved for him too.
“You can’t do that to me,” I murmur as he squeezes my ass. “You’ll kill me if you push me away again. I need you, Donovan.”
He steals another kiss before leaning his forehead against mine. “If this gets out…”
I think of the shame of Darcy and Dan’s inner office affair. It’d be a thousand times worse with Donovan and me.
“You’re not married to my mother anymore and I’m a fucking adult. Who cares?” But I know he does care.
His eyes clench closed and he groans. “I have too many enemies. They’d find a way to use this against me. If we do this,” he says in a soft tone, “it has to be between us for now. I won’t have anyone trying to make a public mockery of you. You don’t deserve it.”
“You’re not hearing me,” I say in frustration. “I don’t care about those people. Please hear what I’m trying to say to you.”
He swallows. “Baby, I always hear you. Fucking always. But do you understand why we need to keep this to ourselves?”
Right now, I’d agree to anything he says just to have him inside of me again.
“Yes, okay?” I agree. “For now. We’ll keep it a secret for now.”
His deft fingers work the zipper on the back of the dress and a moment later it falls to the floor pooling at my ankles. I’m completely bare underneath. He releases me to take a step back and appreciate my body.
“My God,” he says with a growl, “you’re fucking amazing.”
I squeal when he throws me over his shoulder and strides into his bedroom. My shoes get kicked off along the way. I’ve barely been tossed onto the bed before he pounces on me.
“So perfect,” he croons as he trails kisses down my throat to my collarbone. His hot breath tickles my flesh and I wriggle beneath him.
“You’re teasing me.”
He looks up at me with raised eyebrows and grins. If I had a camera, I’d forever freeze the handsome look on his face—a look I’m responsible for. I beam back at him until he starts pressing kisses all over my breasts. When he sucks one of my nipples between his teeth, I cry out.
His mouth pops off, making a loud sound, and then he drags his tongue down my flesh toward my belly button. The slow torture is driving me insane.
“Just make love to me,” I beg, “please.”
He chuckles and continues to go lower. His mouth covers my pussy and I whimper when he bites gently. Then, his tongue shoves its way between the lips of my sex and he searches for my clit. I moan when he connects with it.
“Dono—fuuuuck!”
With Donovan, it’s like he was given a map to my body and heart. He’s a master and I’m his student.
Explosive pleasure courses through me as he gives me my best orgasm to date. My body writhes beneath him as I attempt to chase the feeling until its extinction. Months ago when we made love, it was quick and ravenous. But now, he’s taking his time with me. I don’t ever want to leave his bed.
Once I’m weak from my orgasm, he crawls his way back over me. His eyes have an intense glint in them that makes me crazy horny for him. When his wet-from-my-juices lips curve up into an equally evil grin, I shudder. “Make love to me already.”
I wrap my legs around his waist and urge him to me. His thick, throbbing cock is hot against my wet pussy.
“God, baby,” he murmurs against my lips. “I’m addicted to you. You’re going to break my heart one day and kill me in the process.”
Frowning, I shake my head in vehemence. “I’ll never hurt you.”
His mouth crashes against mine, his teeth nicking me, and he pushes his cock into m
e. I’m so wet and eager, he slides right in, stretching me to my limit with his girth.
“Oh God,” I rasp out as he thrusts hard into me.
He sucks on my bottom lip, pounding harder and harder into me. His body completes me in a way nobody ever has. I’ve fallen hopelessly for this man.
“I love you so much,” he grunts, his breaths becoming labored.
I clench around him when another orgasm ripples through me. Like a domino effect, his climax then explodes inside of me. The warmth of him marking me as his seems to set my soul on fire.
“If we keep making love without a condom, you’re going to get pregnant.” His voice is a possessive grumble, almost as if he’s keen on the idea.
I smile at him as his hot cum runs out of my body. “Maybe I want to have your babies.”
His eyes close and he presses a kiss on my forehead. “I love you and you’re mine now, Nadia Jayne. No more games or confusion. All fucking mine.”
Threading my fingers into his dark hair, I regard him with an intense stare. “It’s about damn time.”
She’s zoned out. I’ve long since stopped trying to fuck her because the moment I told her to beg, she damn near went catatonic. With her dress still pushed up her hips and her ass bared to me, I notice yellowing bruises dotting her flesh. At least they aren’t purple and black like before. Not that I should care.
But for some goddamned reason, I do.
My dick is straining against my jeans, eager to get some action but I don’t let him come out to play. Instead, I drag her dress back down over her ass.
“Where’d you go just then?”
She jolts at my words and jerks her head to look at me. Her cheeks flush pink as she gives me a pouty frown. “Uh…”
Logan did say he’d knocked her upside the head one too many times…
“Untoasted.”
Leaving her to collect herself, I stride out of the kitchen and down the hallway. Once I make it to the basement door, I stare at the keypad. I’d seen the numbers he’d entered into his phone a million times but Logan doesn’t seem the type to have the same code for everything. Taking my chances, I punch in the six numbers.