by Julia Sykes
“No,” she said softly. “Master Andrés is going to be so angry with me.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, more sharply. Fear for Andrés flooded my chest, pressing against my heart.
“Cristian made me,” she said, wringing her hands. “You have to come with me now.”
I shook my head. It felt lighter than it should, but I couldn’t focus on that. “I’m not going anywhere without Andrés.”
“You will in a minute.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He’s going to hate me.”
My body heated with anger. Or was it just hot? No. I was very aware of the cool air caressing my skin, making it pebble. I shivered, feeling as though Andrés was running his fingers down my spine. My core warmed and pulsed, need blossoming low in my belly.
“What did you do?” I asked, even as a pleasant, floaty sensation settled over me. It felt almost as good as being suspended in Andrés’ ropes.
“Cristian made me put Bliss in your drink. He wants you to be with the other girls, since you won’t work for him. You have to come with me.”
“I don’t…” The refusal died on my tongue, and a soft moan left my chest as my clit began to pulse.
“I’ll try to keep the worst ones away from you,” Lauren sniffled. “Come on. We have to go.”
I got to my feet, shuddering as the sheet slid down my sensitized body. My rational mind receded as desire swelled. My feet followed where Lauren led, with no thought of resistance. There was no thought at all. Just need.
I needed to be touched, to be kissed, to be fucked.
I needed Andrés.
We arrived at the elevator, and the silver doors opened for Lauren. She took my hand, and I gasped as my fingers tingled with awareness. She started to cry as she pulled me into the elevator with her, but I didn’t understand why. How could she be sad when everything felt so good?
I was warm. So warm. I leaned back against the cold mirrored wall, and a whine eased up my throat. My eyes slid closed as my inner walls began to contract, aching for Andrés to fill me.
“Andrés,” I groaned his name.
“You’ll see him later,” Lauren promised, her voice hitching. “After.”
The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. Lauren was still holding my hand, and she tugged me out into the long corridor. I followed without question, without concern. All I could focus on was the lust coursing through my system, the need building deep inside me.
She led me a few steps down the hall and stopped at a closed door. She retrieved a key from her dress pocket and turned the lock before ushering me inside. The door closed behind me with a sharp click, but I barely registered it.
The room was huge, yellow lights filling the decadent space. Everything was red velvet and gold gilding. It was warm, soft, sensual. Couches lined the walls, and a massive circular bed dominated the center of the room. People lounged on the couches in varying states of undress. One particularly voluptuous woman was dancing to a heavy, hypnotic beat, her naked body undulating around a silver pole. A musky scent filled the space. It made my pussy clench and my blood race.
Several sets of eyes turned on me, male and female. I heard deep, masculine voices rumbling beneath the music, a harsh laugh punctuating the sensuous beat.
A man approached me slowly. I recognized him. It was the boy who’d come to clean Andrés’ suite, the one who’d threatened me. His eyes flicked past me to focus on Lauren.
“What’s she doing here?” he asked. “She’s supposed to be upstairs. Do you know what Andrés will do to us if he finds her in here?”
“Cristian wants her down here,” Lauren said, her voice still trembling with tears. “He said he’d deal with Master Andrés.”
Something stirred at the edges of my mind.
Andrés. He was with Cristian. And he…
God, I needed him. My body was on fire, my pussy throbbing to the point of discomfort. I needed relief, release.
Not caring that I was naked in front of a room full of strangers, I closed my eyes and cupped my breasts, squeezing them to make the tingling in my nipples abate. My firm touch only made my desire grow, and my wet arousal slipped down my thighs.
“If you’re sure…” I heard the boy’s voice getting closer, but I didn’t care about him.
I cared about getting back to Andrés, so he could help me ease this craving that was gnawing at my insides.
Long, masculine fingers closed around my wrists, directing my hands to my sides. Warm flesh touched mine, and I cried out at the shock of sensation as he caressed my breasts. My nipples were hard peaks against his soft palms.
Soft. Not calloused.
This was wrong. It felt wrong. But so good…
A loud bang sounded behind me, accompanied by the snap of splintering wood. My eyes flew open when the hands were jerked away from my breasts. Andrés’ savage snarl filled my senses, and a pleasurable shudder ran through my body at the sight of his scarred face. It was twisted with maddened fury. He held the boy’s face in both hands and twisted sharply. Bone cracked, and the boy’s body fell to the floor, his neck at an odd angle.
Andrés positioned his body in front of mine, his fists curled tight at his sides.
“Who else touched her?” he roared. “Who?”
“N-no one.” Lauren’s voice was a high squeak. “I’m sorry, Master Andrés. I’m so sorry.”
“Do not speak to me.” He bit out each word. “You’re lucky I don’t snap your neck, too.”
I heard her heave out a despairing sob, heard her soft footsteps whispering across the carpet as she fled.
“Master Andrés,” I said. “I don’t like that she calls you Master.”
He turned to me, his black eyes burning with rage. Despite his fury, he handled me as though I were a fragile doll as he lifted me up in his strong arms and carried me out into the hallway. I moaned and rubbed my face against him, like the needy kitten he’d always claimed I was.
“You’re not hers,” I murmured, snuggling into his heat, loving the feel of his corded muscles rippling beneath me. “You’re mine. My Master.” I giggled. “Isn’t that funny? I always wanted a Master. And you’re mine.”
The elevator took us up to his penthouse, and he carried me to the bed. He tried to set me down and pull away, but I locked my arms around his neck, keeping him close.
“Touch me, Master,” I breathed. “Please. I need you.”
My pussy ached, and my desire for him coated my thighs.
He grasped my arms and pried them away from him. His hands slid up to my wrists, and he pressed them into the pillows above my head. I whimpered and arched my back, lust pulsing through me as he dominated my body.
“I can’t,” he rasped. His lips were twisted downward, pulling his scar to a deep slash. “I can’t be with you like this.”
Holding my wrists in place with one hand, he brushed my hair back from my face with the other. I hummed my pleasure and nuzzled into him.
“My Master,” I sighed. “Mine.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he said tightly. “I’m sorry,” he continued, his voice breaking in a way I didn’t understand. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t here. I didn’t know. When Cristian told me…” He gnashed his teeth. “I should have killed him. I should have fucking killed him.”
I wasn’t used to hearing Andrés curse in English.
“You’re upset,” I observed. “Don’t be upset. Make love to me, Master.”
“Don’t call me that,” he growled, his eyes tightening with anguish.
“But you are,” I said. “I love you, my Master. My Andrés.”
He cupped my cheek in his hand. “Please, don’t say that. Don’t.”
I wasn’t used to hearing him beg, either.
“Don’t be sad,” I said, dimly noting the wetness pooling at the corners of his black eyes.
He blinked hard, and some of the wetness fell to splash against my cheek.
“Make love to me,” I urged aga
in, arching my back, lifting my tingling breasts in wanton invitation. My entire body was alive, my nerve endings crackling and popping. Heat was building inside me. I was going to burn up if he didn’t touch me where I craved it most. “I need you.”
He pressed a tender kiss against my forehead. “All right, cosita,” he murmured. “I’ll help you. I know you must be aching.”
“I am. My pussy hurts.”
“I’ll kiss it better,” he promised.
“Thank you,” I sighed in relief. He was going to touch me. He was going to kiss me. I lifted my face to his, but he turned away.
“Not your lips,” he said, still sounding oddly pained. “I can’t when you’re like this.”
“But you said you’d kiss me,” I whined. “You said— Oh!”
Ecstasy lashed through me when he lowered his mouth to my tight nipple, flicking the tip with his tongue before sucking the peak into his mouth. He didn’t use his teeth, and I was grateful. Just the heat of his mouth was intense enough to bring tears to my eyes.
“Please,” I begged, lifting my hips. I needed him to touch my pussy. It was starting to throb to the point of pain.
He shushed me gently, pressing his palm against my stomach to pin me down. He moved onto the bed with me, but his body didn’t settle atop mine. I wanted his comforting weight holding me down, but he positioned himself between my quivering thighs.
I watched in rapt fascination as he lowered his head to my pussy and touched my wet folds with his tongue. His hungry groan mingled with my harsh cry. He’d never kissed me there before. And it felt…
“So good,” I panted, my fingers spearing in his thick hair as I pulled him closer. “More.”
He traced the line of my opening, teasing the little patch of skin between my pussy and my asshole before licking all the way up to my pulsing clit. I thrashed as stars burst across my vision, bliss singing through my veins. He growled against me, and his hands locked around my thighs, forcing me wide open. His tongue circled my clit, applying firm, hot pressure. My inner walls contracted and clenched, yearning to be filled. He licked and sucked at my pussy lips, tormenting me with ruthless pleasure.
It wasn’t enough. I needed him inside me, needed him to mark me with his cum.
Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes as pleasure turned to a deep, knifing pain between my legs. The building pressure had to release, or it would destroy me.
“Please,” I choked on a sob. “I need you inside me. It hurts. Please, Master…”
He pressed one final kiss against my clit before his body covered mine. He freed his hard cock from his slacks and lined up with my soaked pussy.
His eyes searched mine, dark with hunger and yearning. “You shouldn’t call me that,” he ground out, hesitating at my opening. “You shouldn’t.”
I wrapped my legs around him and drew him into me. “My Master,” I moaned in relief when he filled me to the hilt.
A deep, pained sound slipped between his clenched teeth. He braced his arms on either side of my head and started to move within me, thrusting hard and deep. His forehead dropped to rest on mine, and he stared down into my eyes, his face drawn tight in an expression I didn’t understand.
“Forgive me,” he whispered. “Forgive me, sirenita.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about, and I couldn’t focus on his words. All I could think about was how good his big cock felt stretching my tight sheath, how perfectly we fit together. The ruthless pleasure that had been building inside me crested, and I shattered on a scream.
My fingers fisted in his hair again, and I pulled his face down to mine so I could revel in his exquisite taste while my orgasm rolled through me. I caught his rough shout on my tongue, felt more wetness on my cheeks as his hot cum lashed into me, soothing the need that had consumed me. I shuddered beneath him as bliss flooded my body, making me light and tingly. My numb fingers fell from his hair, finally releasing him as all my muscles turned to jelly.
I closed my eyes and slipped into velvety darkness, his softly-spoken words following me down into sleep: “Forgive me.”
Chapter 23
I stirred, slowly coming back to awareness. My body felt strangely heavy, and I was sore between my legs. I opened my eyes to find the shades drawn, with only the soft glow of city lights peeking around the edges. Night had fallen, but I was just waking up. Everything started to come back to me in pieces: Lauren, dosing me with Bliss; the red and gold room; the boy touching me; and Andrés, coming to my rescue like some dark avenging angel.
I sat up, searching for him. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching me with bloodshot eyes. His posture was stiff, his face a blank mask. He was fully dressed in his sharp suit, but his hair was wet, as though he’d just taken a shower.
“Thank you,” I murmured, reaching for him.
He shifted away, grimacing. “Don’t thank me. I fucked you while you were high out of your mind. I violated you.”
“No,” I said fiercely, grabbing his hand before he could retreat farther. “I begged you to.” Even though I hadn’t been able to control myself while under the influence, I remembered everything clearly now. “I needed you to. I was hurting. You helped me.”
He turned his face away from me, but he didn’t pull his hand from my grip. “You shouldn’t have called me Master,” he said hollowly. “You shouldn’t have done that. I couldn’t—” He pressed his lips to a thin slash, holding in whatever he was going to say. “I’m not blaming you. You didn’t know what you were saying. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. You didn’t ask to be trapped with me. You didn’t ask to be beaten and raped.”
“You didn’t rape me. Don’t you dare call it that. Don’t you dare.” Angry tears made my vision swim, and I swiped them away from my cheeks. “You were helping me. I trusted you to help me. I love you, Andrés. And I meant what I said. You’re my Master.”
He rounded on me, his eyes blazing. “Don’t call me that,” he barked, his hand tightening around mine in a vice-like grip.
I moved toward him, scooting across the bed so I could get in his face. “You did nothing wrong,” I said, imbuing the words with as much fervor as I possessed. “You saved me. You’ve been saving me this whole time. You’ve been protecting me from Cristian. He would have—”
“He would have what?” he shouted over me. “Ordered Lauren to slip you Bliss and whore you out? That’s what he wanted, Samantha. He wanted you to scream in pleasure while they violated you. He wanted them to send you back to me, broken and used. He wanted to punish me for my failure. I should have killed him,” he hissed, his gaze turning feverish. “But I didn’t. I ran back to you as soon as he told me. He fucking laughed while I ran away from him.”
“You got back to me in time.” I cupped his face in my hands, trying to get him to focus on me. “You saved me. You protected me.”
He grabbed my wrists, squeezing to the point of pain. But he didn’t move my hands away from his face.
“I can’t protect you,” he rasped. “I’m a coward. You deserve better than me.”
“I don’t, and you’re not,” I asserted. “I want to be with you, Andrés. You’re not a coward.”
“I’m afraid of him,” he admitted on a bitter whisper.
“I know,” I said softly. “And I understand.”
“You don’t. My face…” He trailed off with a shudder and cut his eyes away.
I touched his scar, applying enough pressure to guide his face back to mine. “Tell me what he did to you.” It was a steady command. Andrés needed to purge this from his soul. It was the only way he’d be able to free himself from the power his brother held over him.
“It was three years ago,” he began, the words bleeding out of him. “Cristian made a deal with some Russians. He started dealing in Bliss. I’d never dared to challenge him, but I hated it. It was too far, too much. He was selling women, just like he sold my sister. So I decided to stage a coup and take over the organization myself. I’d alwa
ys been the one to keep the business running. I could do it without him. My life would be better without him.”
He paused, his eyes sliding out of focus as he fell into memory.
“He found out,” I surmised, quietly urging him to continue.
His jaw tightened beneath my hands. “One of my men betrayed me. Cristian came for me before I made a move against him. He strung me up in front of all of our people—the ones he hadn’t killed for following me. He cut me. He made me scream. He humiliated me. Then he stitched me up himself to make sure the marks lasted.”
My stomach churned, nausea rising in my throat. “Andrés…” I said his name shakily, struggling to get my tears under control. I wanted to weep for him, but that wasn’t what he needed from me. He needed me to be strong. He needed me to show him that his scars only made him more beautiful in my eyes. They were marks of his defiance, of his goodness. He bore them because he’d tried to put a stop to his brother’s evil.
I leaned in and brushed my lips across the deep furrow in his cheek. “I love you,” I said with the weight of an oath. “We’re going to get away from your brother. Together.”
His brows drew together, his face twisting in lines of anguish. “I have something for you,” he said instead of responding to my fervent declaration. I didn’t like that he was avoiding what I’d said, but he pulled me into his lap, cuddling me close.
I sighed and pressed my cheek into the crook of his neck, relief washing through me at the feel of his strong arms around me.
He shifted slightly, reaching for something on the cart beside the bed. Confusion threaded through me as he uncapped the syringe.
“Lauren already gave me the birth control shot,” I told him.
One corded arm wrapped around me, pinning me against his hard body as he carefully slid the needle into my upper arm.
“It’s not birth control. I should have sent you away hours ago, but I had to see your lovely eyes one last time.”