“Hey, Val. Look, Bruno’s all better.”
Bruno runs on a leash with Quincy, the limp gone. The dog barks and wags his tail furiously when I approach. Leaving the iPad on the wall, I go down on my haunches and get a sloppy dog kiss.
I laugh, wiping my face with the back of my hand. “Glad to see you’re back in shape, boy.”
“Thanks, again.”
“I’m glad I could help.” I straighten and glance over my shoulder at the house. “I better get back. Lots to do.”
“Yeah.” He looks uncomfortable. “Are you coping?”
“Sure.”
“Valentina,” Magda says from the door, her condescending stare resting on Quincy and me as if she caught us making out or something, “if you’ve finished socializing, we need to talk about Friday’s menu.”
“Bye, Bruno.” I stroke his back and smile at Quincy in greeting.
His eyes are hard as he directs them to the door where Magda waits with her hands on her hips, but I don’t give it further thought as I hurry inside.
* * *
It’s not until the following morning when Carly makes a ruckus at breakfast about her missing iPad that I remember leaving it outside.
Magda summons me to the dining room. At first, I’m in the dark when Carly points a finger at me and exclaims, “She took it. It was there last night, and now it’s gone.”
“Did you take Carly’s iPad?” Magda asks. “Don’t bother lying, because I’ll be going through your room myself.”
My insides freeze, remembering where I left it. They go even colder when I look at Gabriel. He’s regarding me with a frown. He believes I stole it? Hurt lances into my heart. Why does it matter what he thinks?
“Well?” Magda asks with a flick of her penciled eyebrow.
“I meant to bring it in last night, but I got distracted and forgot it on the wall.” “Distracted with Quincy,” Magda says snidely.
A thunderous expression darkens Gabriel’s face. Of the three people in the room, right now, I’m most scared of him.
“I’ll go get it,” I offer quickly, but Carly’s already on her feet, heading for the door.
Magda folds her hands on the table and gives me a single instruction. “Stay.”
I stand quietly in the uncomfortable silence until Carly’s screaming filters through the backdoor. Everything inside of me tightens further.
“It’s ruined!” Carly shouts, running into the room with the iPad. It’s dripping with water.
Gabriel’s tone is flat. “On which wall did you leave it, Valentina?” “The one by the pool!” Carly shoots daggers at me with her eyes.
“The sprinklers reach there at night,” Gabriel says almost distantly.
“This is your fault,” Carly continues in hysterics. “Do you realize how many photos I had on here? Not to mention my homework!”
“Carly.” Gabriel’s quiet but hard voice instantly shuts her up. “Let that be a lesson well learned for leaving your iPad outside. It’s not the first time. It was bound to happen.”
“Dad!”
He holds up a hand, giving her a dark look. “Let me finish. You can recover your homework and photos from iCloud.”
“I didn’t activate it!”
Gabriel’s tone is uncompromising. Not a flicker of sympathy warms his eyes. “Lesson number two, well learned. From now on, you’ll make a backup like I told you.” He turns to me, suddenly looking tired. “I’ll deal with you after breakfast.”
“You’ll replace Carly’s iPad,” Magda says. “It’ll teach you to be less forgetful in future.”
She shakes her napkin out on her lap. “Now, I want to eat in peace. Quiet all of you.” Carly flops down in her seat, her face red.
I’m shaky as I return to the kitchen, cursing myself for my negligence. I can’t afford to replace the iPad, not without making more debt.
It doesn’t take long for Gabriel to come find me. The words I dreaded most leave his lips.
“Go to the gym after you’ve cleared the table.”
Going down to the basement is like a walk to the gallows. He’s already waiting inside, his tie removed and his shirtsleeves rolled back.
“Close the door,” he says quietly.
I push until I hear the click, but I don’t have the courage to turn and face him. “Come here.”
I bite my nail as I gather enough strength to obey, one step at a time.
When I stop in front of him, he pulls my hand from my mouth. “Undress.”
My eyes lift to his. I don’t mean to beg, but it slips out anyway. “Please.”
He doesn’t bat an eye. There’s no compassion, no mercy. “Undress.”
As I pull off my shoes, dress, and underwear, he watches me like a hawk. By now, I’m used to his scrutinizing stare, and it’s less embarrassing than during those first few times, but not less frightening. Once I’m naked, he taps a finger on his lips, studying my face. Finally, he drops his arm, as if he’s made his decision, and points at the floor. “On your back.”
I swallow as I lie down on my back, watching him fetch a bar with a set of handcuffs secured on each end.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he locks my wrists on either end.
He gathers my panties and bundles them into my mouth. “Sorry, beautiful, but I’m not in the mood for dialogue right now.”
I mumble a protest when he locks my ankles to my wrists, spreading me open on the bar. He pushes the bar back until it touches the mat, raising my arms above my head and my legs with them. Flat on my back, my ass and pussy are exposed in the most vulnerable way. My hamstrings are on fire. I shift in an effort to relieve the uncomfortable stretch when he fetches an object from the torture shelf.
He returns with a wooden paddle. I shake my head, pleading with my eyes, but he grips the bar and lifts a few times, giving me brief reprieve from the position before he pushes down flat and starts paddling my ass. The first whack on my ass cheek comes as a shock. I scream behind the bundle of fabric in my mouth, even if the sting heats my skin without hurting. The second lash makes me jerk, but when I realize he’s caressing my skin rather than inflicting pain, I almost relax. He works his way from left to right on the fleshy part of my ass until my nerve endings are on fire and my clit is a pulsing nub of ache. My vagina feels swollen. The need for release is severe. When I’m no longer begging with my eyes for him to stop, I’m begging him to let me feel the paddle where I crave it most. Only after every inch of my skin is humming with electric sparks does he finally bring the paddle down right in the middle of my pussy, covering my opening and clit. With the tampon inside me, it feels full. And good. I grind up, desperate for more, but he changes to a slower and gentler rhythm, teasing me mercilessly with a few too-soft taps on my swollen parts.
Just when I think I can’t take more, he pulls the underwear from my mouth and says,
“Beg.”
I don’t hesitate. “Please, Gabriel.”
“Please what?”
“Please, please fuck me.”
He goes still. There’s a mixture of shock and disbelief on his face, which is slowly replaced with satisfaction. Heat darkens his eyes. His jaw tightens as he looks down at my sex.
“Please.”
His chest is rising and falling rapidly, his breathing as harsh as mine. There’s only the sound of our pants in the room. Then he exhales with a long, shaky breath. He pushes the paddle down on my clit and starts massaging with circular movements. Everything clenches as I come violent with a spasm that shatters my respiration. I’m out of air by the time he frees the constraints and drags me to my knees. In his haste to undo his pants, his fingers fumble with the button. I grab the waistband and pull it down his hips to help, not bothering with the zip. His cock juts at me, the tip close to my lips. I devour him like a crazy, starving woman, sucking and licking until he grabs my hair for leverage. He clenches his ass with a primal roar and a curse as he empties himself in my mouth. I swallow as best as I can, trying to breathe through my nose.
I don’t want him to pull out. I want him in me forever.
After a moment, he grips my face in the vice of his giant hands and eases out of my mouth. He uses my hair to wipe himself clean, an act I find strangely and savagely satisfying. Pulling me to my feet, he shoves his tongue between my lips, tasting himself on my mouth. He nips and sucks, bites and laves. I’m aware of nothing but the heated skin of my ass and the wetness of his mouth as he steals my reason. His taste is addictive. I don’t know for how long he kisses me before he pushes me away with a gentle shove.
“Get dressed,” he says in a hoarse voice. “And leave.”
Confused by the change in his behavior, I obey wordlessly, empty and dissatisfied despite the orgasm I just had. At the door, his words make me pause.
He grits out every syllable like he has to push it from his throat. “Put on a pretty dress, tonight. You’re going on a date.”
* * *
Gabriel
When I asked her to beg, I expected her to beg for release. Instead, she begged me to fuck her.
She’s ready.
I both rejoice and shiver in dread, because the first time won’t be with me. No matter how much I want to take her virginity, I made a promise to myself, and I never break my promises.
This time I may be pushed to my limits to keep this promise, but I already have a plan.
Magda waits in my study when I get back from the gym. I grit my teeth as I stroll past her.
“Did you do it?”
I know what she means, but I ask anyway, “Do what?”
“Punish her.”
“Yes.” I sit down and open my laptop.
“How?”
“Appropriately.”
Carly learned a valuable lesson. There was nothing to punish Valentina for. I’m a sick bastard for using the situation to feed my own lust.
Magda doesn’t budge. “How?”
I shoot her an incredulous look. “You want the juicy details?”
“What is it about her that’s got you thinking with your dick instead of your head?”
“Don’t insult me, and your reference to my dick is highly inappropriate.”
Her eyes, the same watery blue as mine, turn dark with anger. She slaps her palms on my desk, bringing us at eye level. “You’re just like your goddamn father.”
Keeping my voice calm and my gaze indifferent, I say, “If you can’t speak without repeating yourself, and you have nothing new to say, please get out of my office so I can focus on the business of running your business.”
Her nostrils flare. The thick layer of foundation around her nose cracks with thin lines. The pores are big with white hairs standing erect in each follicle. Every minute detail of her age catches my attention.
“You won’t live forever, Magda.”
She straightens and adjusts her jacket. “Neither will you.” A superior smile curves her lips. “Who knows? You may die before me.” She turns, making it clear she’s leaving my office on her terms.
There’s no love lost between my mother and I, and no amount of introspection to figure out where it went wrong will change that. We are who we are.
I pick up the phone and set out to do what I’ve been meaning to when I walked through the door.
Quincy answers with a bright, “Yes, boss?”
“Come to my study.”
I take a deep breath, and steel myself. A short while later, he enters. I want to break his face, but it’s not his fault he’s fallen for Valentina. As little as it’s hers. She’s a gorgeous woman with a courageous heart and a soft spot for animals. How could he not be under her spell?
“Sit.” I point at the chair facing my desk.
He takes the seat, his posture at ease.
“I have a mission for you tonight.”
He waits quietly for me to continue.
“You’re going to fuck Valentina.”
Chapter Ten
Gabriel
I may as well have drenched Quincy with a bucket of ice water.
He coughs. “Excuse me?”
“Take her out on a date. Someplace nice. Romantic. Dinner by candlelight, that kind of thing.” I flip my credit card at him. “All expenses paid. Take two guards to make sure you’re safe.”
His eyes grow larger by the second.
The next part is hard for me to get out. I swallow the bitter taste in my mouth. “Then get a room at the Westcliff Hotel and fuck her.”
His skin is as pale as the whites of his eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand. Wear a condom and be gentle. It’s her first time. Oh, and she’s having her period. That kind of thing doesn’t put you off, does it?”
“Of course not, but––”
Not able to stomach the conversation any longer, I say gruffly, “You’re dismissed.” He jumps to his feet, obviously eager to escape my presence.
“One more thing,” I say as he gets to the door, “I don’t want to see you until tomorrow morning. Make sure you stay the hell away from me until sunrise, and then I expect a full report.”
He all but jumps through the door, leaving me alone with a kind of agony no human being can understand.
* * *
In the afternoon, a visit from Sylvia puts me further on edge. I meet her in my study. It keeps things professional. She declines my offer for a drink and sits down on the corner of my desk, the slit of her skirt riding up her thigh. At some point in time, I would’ve kneeled at her feet and kissed my way down that leg, all the way to her toes. Now, there’s no desire for the woman who married me in a pretty white dress with a fake smile on her face.
“What’s with Carly’s new diet?” she asks. “We already discussed this. You’re not supposed to change her meal plan without consulting me.”
I fight to control my irritability. “I’m not aware of any diet.”
“She’s wheat intolerant, for God’s sake. She’s not supposed to eat pasta. What’s wrong with Marie? Is she going senile?”
“Marie had a stroke. Valentina’s taking care of the cooking.” “The maid who tried to kill our daughter?” she shrieks.
“She didn’t do it on purpose. It was another one of Carly’s attention-seeking, selfdestructive actions.”
“Don’t you dare take that maid’s side over our daughter’s.”
I sigh deeply. “Relax. Valentina has been punished. It won’t happen again.”
“I won’t relax where Carly is concerned. She has a modeling audition in a month. She can’t afford to pick up weight with carbs and creamy pasta sauces.”
“She’s not doing a modeling audition.”
“It’s not up for discussion.”
“Have you called the therapist?”
She stiffens. “Carly doesn’t need a therapist. It’s hormones. Normal teenager issues.”
“Sylvia.” I say her name warningly. “Carly never got over our divorce. It’s time to face the fact that she may have issues we’re not equipped to deal with.”
She snickers. “That’s rich coming from The Breaker.”
“Keep the business out of this.”
“How can I? It’s all that matters in your life.”
“Yet, that’s why you married me. Security and money, don’t you remember?”
“Don’t be so dramatic. Why do you always have to bring up the same old accusations? It’s boring.” She gets to her feet. “Shall I speak to your maid?”
“You lost the right to address my staff when you walked out.”
She rolls her shoulders. “Dear God, Gabriel, get over me and move on.”
“I am, Sylvia. You have no idea.”
“Good. It’ll make you easier to get on with.” She walks to the door with a straight back.
“Tell Carly I dropped in.”
“Why don’t you call her tonight and tell her yourself?”
She narrows her eyes. “Fuck you, Gabriel. I love my daughter, and she knows it.”
“Does she?”
&n
bsp; She yanks the door open and slams it hard enough to shake the frame. Dragging a hand over my face, I take a moment to calm myself before I go out for the business of the day that requires the end of another scumbag’s life.
* * *
When I get home, I shower and spend time with Carly, helping her with her math homework. I don’t go down for dinner. I can’t bear to look at Valentina. I’m too terrified I’ll change my mind. After a whiskey too many, I call Rhett and tell him to meet me in the gym. He enters cautiously, probably thinking of the last time we wrestled because he shot Valentina’s dog.
Dragging a bench from the free weights section to the metal chains attached to the wall, I sit down. “Cuff me.”
It takes him a moment to find his voice. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Not stupid enough to defy me, he approaches slowly. I hold out my wrists. He secures first the one, then the other in the metal cuffs.
“Take the key with you,” I say, “and don’t give it to anyone, no matter what.”
“The key for the cuffs or for the door?”
“Both.”
His head bobs up and down, like a toy dog on a car dashboard. “When must I come back?”
“At six tomorrow morning and not a second before. Got that?”
He gulps. “Yes.”
“Go.”
His eyes say I’ve finally lost it, but he doesn’t argue. The key scrapes in the lock after he has closed the door, making me a prisoner of free will.
* * *
Valentina
Wearing the new dress Gabriel bought, I bite my nails while I wait in the kitchen. I’ve never been on a date. I should be studying, but I’m curious about what Gabriel has planned. The door opens just after eight, but it’s not Gabriel who steps inside. It’s Quincy.
“Hi,” I say with an easy smile, half-relieved and half-stressed, because now I’ll have to go through the waiting anxiety again.
There’s a flush on his cheeks as he takes in the red dress. “You look nice.”
This is so uncomfortable. “Thanks.”
“Ready?”
I blink. Maybe he’s driving me somewhere to meet Gabriel. “Um, yes.”
“Let’s go.” He looks me over. “Take a jacket. It’ll get fresh later.”
Falling for the Forbidden: 10 Full-Length Novels Page 190