“Good workout?” Mikhail asked finishing his coffee.
Tori grabbed bottle of water from the fridge, downed most of it in one gulp, spilling a bit of it on her face and shirt and tossed the bottle in the trash. She looked at him then covered in sweat and peeled off her tank top.
She flicked the shirt at him hitting him in the face with it as she slowly walked out of the room with only a sports bra covering her large, double D chest.
A few days later she walked into the billiard room where he was playing pool. She could tell Mikhail was getting a bit intoxicated, and she decided to tease him. Tori opened her robe a bit under the ruse of retying the drawstring, but she allowed him to see her body beneath wearing only a skimpy bra and panties.
She could taste the hunger radiating from him. He wanted her so bad and she enjoyed being wanted.
But she knew this was a very dangerous game she was playing. One day he was going to be tired of playing games and he was just going to take her and have his way.
Tori wasn’t sure when that would be, but she didn’t imagine it being long in the future.
And as much as she hated to admit it she had fantasized about it. His rugged hands ripping her clothes off, bending her over a piece of furniture, and entering her from behind hard and fast; just the very thought of it got her hot and bothered.
But it was so wrong in every way. She was being forced here against her will; she could never forget that.
She couldn’t wait any longer; she had to find a way out of this.
“Let’s go out.”
Tori wasn’t sure she heard Mikhail correctly. He had just come home and found her sitting in the living room reading Tom Sawyer. She was getting to a great scene when he spoke to her and interrupted her thoughts.
“What?” Tori asked.
“Let’s go out for dinner,” Mikhail said. “Go put on a nice dress—the black one I bought for you.”
“You are joking?”
“No, I’m not. Go on and get dressed. I’ll wait. Hurry up.”
Tori did as she was told. What was he thinking? He trusted her to go out with him in public and not to try anything? Did he not think that the very first chance she had she was going to tell someone who she was and that she had been kidnapped?
“So, we are going to town?” Tori asked as they drove away from Mikhail’s mansion in his Jaguar.
“Not hardly,” Mikhail laughed. “Too many people might recognize you. No, we are going to a nice club outside of town a ways.”
“Oh, ok,” Tori said.
“I know that you think this is probably weird,” Mikhail said. “But I trust that this evening will go off without a hitch.”
“Yea,” Tori replied with a smile.
“I mean I know that you are going to be tempted to scream to high heaven that I kidnapped you and have your friend hostage somewhere.”
What? No way.
“But that is the point,” Mikhail continued. “I do have your friend hostage somewhere and if anything happens to me or you do something stupid then a bullet will find itself buried deep within her brain before you can blink.”
“I understand,” Tori said.
There had to be a way. He could not get that message out that fast if he was incapacitated, right? If she told someone what he did the maybe a mob of people might attack him. It would probably take a few days to find Laila, but she was sure that the cops could do it and force him to talk.
No… no they couldn’t. She could not forget who she was dealing with. Besides it wasn’t like the cops were going to jump at the chance to help a mobster’s daughter any time soon.
The club was called Paridiso Nueve. She had heard of it in passing but had never ventured out that way before. It was a good thirty minutes outside of the city limits, so she guessed Mikhail felt it was pretty safe for them.
The club was dark and fairly busy when they got inside. Tori was impressed by the way that Mikhail got them a table in the most private corner of the club right away, where they could view all the action but no one could really see them or what they were doing.
Tori was feeling a little nervous until she had a few drinks in her. Mikhail might not have been worried about them being seen, but Tori knew that if they were seen by someone then it might put her finding Laila in jeopardy and all of this would have been for naught.
The music was pumping loud in the club and Tori found herself bouncing in her seat to the driving beat, the alcohol starting to loosen her up. It looked like she was worried about nothing; no one was going to recognize her there in that dark place. Mikhail was careful, crafty. He wasn’t going to do anything silly that might wreck his plans for her after all.
“Let’s dance,” Mikhail said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the dance floor without waiting on a response.
Before Tori realized what was happening she found herself in the middle of the dance floor. Mikhail was a good dancer and moved very well for such a large man. He was fluid, graceful, and full of sexy swagger. It was like his whole body came to life in a way she had never seen before.
Tori loved to dance, but it had been a while since she’d been dancing with a real man who was able to take the lead and make her feel truly like she wanted to be led. Mikhail did that with his eyes bearing into hers, as if reading every single inner most desire she’d ever had and sending her the message that he could make them all come true; all she had to do was let go and believe.
Mikhail’s hands rested on her lower back, pulling her closely into him. His musky, masculine scent flowing into her senses driving her wild in every possible way. Tori wanted to push him away and scream as loud as she could for him to leave her alone, but her body would not let her. Her body had a mind of its own and it ached to be touched by him. Her lust was unforgiving and unrelenting, tugging on her mind to just relinquish all control to him.
Mikhail’s lips were brushing against her cheek, sliding gently up and down the skin as the beat swirled all around them sweeping them up into some kind of magical little bubble where nothing else mattered but the intensifying heat between them. His lips were on hers now, just barely touching, not pressing, brushing and sliding back and forth, slipping off to the side to moisten her cheek before moving back. His hands were sinking lower, getting closer to her ass. Her oven was burning hotter and hotter, the moisture growing, flowing out of her and starting to wet her panties.
Mikhail’s face moved to her neck then, kissing and nuzzling her tender flesh. Her neck was so sensitive; she could feel every single nuance of every touch, every kiss, every pressing of moist lips. His hands were now on her ass, squeezing, rubbing getting her hotter.
“Let’s take this somewhere more private,” Mikhail growled in her ear as he took her lobe into his mouth and suckled it softly.
Tori did not want to. She wanted to stay right where they were where there were people there who could keep them from going farther. If she was alone with him right then she knew that there was no way that she could say no. He was too powerful; his magnetism, his sensuality, his masculinity—he was perfect and she hated him for it. She hated the relinquishing of control that she felt she did not have a choice in. Tori was too strong willed, too stubborn, too hard to give in, but his will was stronger, he was more stubborn, and he was so much harder than she was in every way…
Hard… oh her mind raced at the thought of his hard body pressed against hers, moving up and down against her, his privates fully engorged and diving deeply into her waiting wet flesh.
“I don’t know…” Tori muttered.
“It’s ok to want this… search your heart; it always knows best,” Mikhail said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the ladies bathroom. It was a smaller club and the bathroom was a private one person bathroom.
This was perfect.
Mikhail picked Tori up and sat her on the sink, his mouth pressing down hard on hers, opening and closing around her lips as he kissed her, pushing and pulling the passion erupting in a
fountain of sweetness over her lips.
Mikhail reached to lock the door behind them.
“Don’t,” Tori said. “It will be hotter left open.”
She could not believe the words that were coming out of her mouth right then but she knew that she had passed a point of no return and she wanted to see this thing through to the very end. It was time to let go once and for all. She owed it to herself to be ok with this.
Mikhail smiled and grabbed her again, his hands reaching up under her dress, sliding steadily up her inner thighs. Her moistness was practically pouring out of her. She thought for sure that he would feel it any second.
His hands were on her panties now, clutching at them, pulling at them to get them to come down. They were so wet they were clinging to her now.
“Rip it!” Tori said.
Mikhail did not need to be told twice as he ripped her underwear from her body. The cool, fresh air on her ultra-wet center was exhilarating and liberating. She felt like it had been inside of a prison for ages and was now finally stretching the legs of freedom.
His fingers reached for her, plunging into her wetness, so easily eliciting a huge gasping moan from her lips. She could not breathe; her air had clenched in her chest, her back arching, her body struggling to find a whole breath in the midst of pleasurable agony.
The door opened just then.
Tori jumped backwards against the glass with terror. She knew that it was possible someone could walk in, but she was nevertheless totally surprised to see it happen.
And nothing could have surprised her for what she saw next.
“Tori?”
Laila was standing there with the door open.
CHAPTER 5
Laila was there. She was ok. She was not being held captive. She was right there with them in that bathroom.
What was going on here?
“Laila?” Tori said jumping down off the sink and pushing away from Mikhail. She quickly adjusted her dress so that it was covering her and grabbed her ripped up underwear off the floor.
She was feeling so many things right then and she didn’t know which one to deal with first. She was embarrassed and humiliated, she was angry, she was feeling betrayed, and she was confused.
“Oh, my God! Where have you been?” Laila asked, a shocked expression on her face.
“Where have I been? Where have you been? Are you ok?” Tori asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We have been looking for you for weeks. You just disappeared after that shootout. Your father has been going nuts looking the earth over for you.”
Tori looked at Mikhail. He was standing against the wall casually, an odd smile on his face. She felt like killing him.
“What the hell is going on?” Tori demanded.
“I can explain,” Mikhail said.
“I don’t think you can. You can’t explain this!” Tori yelled.
“Relax,” Mikhail replied.
“Don’t tell me to relax.”
“What are you doing with him?” Laila asked. “I thought you hated him? You know what kind of guy he is.”
“I do hate him. Oh, trust me when I tell you how much I hate him.”
“Yea, I can see how much you hate me,” Mikhail said. “You have feelings for me; admit it!”
“Feelings for you? After you kidnapped me and kept me prisoner for a month while telling me that my best friend is somewhere about to be killed if you utter the order. Explain to me where the hell the good feelings come into play there because I’m at a loss on that one!”
Tori had never been so furious before. Her whole body was shaking with rage. If she’d had a gun right then she might not have been able to keep herself from shooting this man in the face.
“No, you are just mad. I knew that if I got you away from everything then you would see that you and I make sense; we fit Tori. We are perfect for each other. I never thought that would happen to me; I’m not really a Mr. Right Prince Charming type of guy, but when I met you I knew there was something different. You are the only woman I’ve ever met who really gets me and I know that I’m the only guy who gets you.”
“You are so deluded!” Tori yelled. “I never want to see you again and you will be damn lucky that my father doesn’t put you in a body bag.”
“Tell him to bring it on. You think I’m afraid of that jerk? Your father is a joke.”
“You are the joke!” Tori said.
Tori and Laila started to walk out the door, but Mikhail grabbed her hand held her still.
“We can talk about this. You have to understand. I care about you, Tori. And I know that you care about me. You’ve felt it; I’ve seen it.”
Tori reared back and punched him in the lip with all her might. Mikhail jumped back surprised by the force behind the punch. His grip lost hers right then.
Tori and Laila walked away.
CHAPTER 6
“So, what happened at the bar?” Tori asked Laila.
They were back at Laila’s apartment. Tori had not really felt like talking too much on the trip back, but she had tried to explain the madness of what Mikhail had put her through to Laila. But she was so angry that she was probably going all over the place and not making a great deal of sense.
But now she had finally started to calm down. She was in Laila’s apartment, sitting on the couch with a cup of hot tea. It felt like forever since she’d seen her friend. She had to keep looking at Laila to make sure she was a real person and this was really happening. She was not imagining this.
“Well, the shots rang out and you screamed for everyone to get down. I hit the floor and waited until the shots stopped. A few guys were killed and the rest ran out the door. After the confusion ended the bartender called the cops. I came over to see if you were alright, but you and Mikhail were gone. There was no sign of you.”
Tori could not believe what she was hearing. The bastard had lied to her about everything. She was free to leave anytime she wanted and he had messed with her head to keep her prisoner. The more she thought about it the angrier and more nauseous she became.
“So, he never had you?” Tori asked Laila.
“What? No. Nobody had me. I’ve been fine, other than worried sick about you.”
“I don’t believe it. He told me that if I didn’t stay with him and do what he wanted then he would kill you. He told me that he had you stashed away somewhere and if anything happened to him or if I tried to escape or alert someone then you would be dead within minutes.”
“Wow. You have to call the cops,” Laila said.
“No. I can’t call the cops. You know the last thing my family needs is legal problems. The cops would like to nail the Hellraisers and my family to the wall equally.”
“So, what are you going to do? What did you do?” Laila asked.
“What do you mean?” Tori replied.
“Well, you said he wanted you to do things… did you do… it?” Laila asked. She was actually cringing at her own question.
“No,” Tori said. “He didn’t want to take it. He had this fantasy where I would just come around and want to be with him. That’s what all this was about. It’s beyond sick.”
Tori took a sip of her hot tea, enjoying the warm liquid gliding down her throat. It was relaxing. She felt like she’d just been on a rollercoaster after eating a huge meal. All she wanted to do was relax a bit.
“Why were you in the bathroom with him? You were getting pretty physical? I just don’t get it…” Laila said.
Tori groaned. “I know… you know what? I don’t get it either. It doesn’t make any sense even to me.”
“Do you have feelings for him? Is he right?” Laila asked.
Tori paused while thinking about the answer. She wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
“I don’t know. There is something about him that I am drawn to. I’ve tried to fight it; I’ve tried to ignore it, but the more time we spent together the more I began to break down and it started to feel right. But I’m so angry at w
hat he has done. I feel like he’s taken something from me that I might not get back. It’s like he cracked me open and scooped out a big part of me.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry sweetie,” Laila said.
“And the strangest part is that if you’re asking me if I do have feelings for him—the answer is yes. Yes, I really do. And I hate myself for it.”
Laila leaned back and looked away for a moment as if trying to give Tori space in case she wanted to cry this out. Tori almost laughed; she sure as hell had not changed that much.
“So, what about your dad? You have to talk to him? He went nuts when you were gone. He has had his whole crew out looking for you. I heard he even asked Mikhail if he had seen you and the guy just denied it. He is a perfect liar.”
“Yea, I guess I better talk to him. I know that he is going to freak, but I just don’t want to go through that. I wish I could put the whole ordeal behind me and just forget about it.”
“Well, one step at a time. That is the way Tori Rhodes handles things.”
Tori looked at Laila and smiled.
It was so nice to have her friend back.
CHAPTER 7
“Ok, daddy! I have to breathe at some point!”
Tori said under the weight of her father’s incessant bear hug. He realized that he was squeezing her to death and relinquished his grip on her.
“I’m sorry, honey. I’m just so excited to have my little girl back. I’ve been a bit of a nut since you left,” her father said.
“I know, dad. I’m sorry.”
“Where did you go? What happened?” Tony asked her gesturing for her to sit down. It was his way of saying that they were about to have one of their long father/daughter talks right now.
Tori had been dreading the moment since she pulled up in front of the house and now here it was. She was going to have to come clean and explain to her father where she had been for the past month. Laila wanted her to tell him the truth; she said that was the only way that she would ever start to heal after the ordeal she’d been through.
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