Deadly Retaliation: A Dark Bully Harem Romance (A Twisted, Dark and Deadly Romance Book 1)

by C. P. Mandara

  Elizabeth’s eyes bulge, and if they could, I’m pretty sure they’d fly out of their sockets. “No,” she whispers in a horrified little voice.

  “Yes,” I say, smacking my lips together. I’m done talking. I need to go in for round four. Putting one hand on each of her legs so I can pull her flesh back to better expose her clit, I settle in for the ride.

  Elizabeth screams, bucks, pleads, whimpers, wails, and then yells all sorts of obscenities at me. I pay attention to none of them. To be honest, I don’t hear the noise when I’m focused. I’ve had too many years of blocking it out. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I do it well. Too well, as she’s shortly about to find out. There aren’t many women who make it past my incredibly talented tongue, and she isn’t about to be one of them.

  When I stop, just short of her impending explosion, she goes mad. Twisting and struggling against the rope that holds her, she screams out her annoyance, her whole body going rigid with frustration. It won’t do her any good. Screaming has no effect on me whatsoever.

  “See you in ten minutes, sweetheart.” I then look at my watch. “Actually, it might be a few more. I want to catch the news.” I then casually drag a hand through my hair and turn around without a backward glance.

  “Wait,” she says raggedly. Her voice is so soft, I hardly hear her, so I continue walking. She’ll have to do better than that if she wants my attention.

  “Wait,” she then screams, trying to kick out with her feet, but the ropes are bound too tightly for her to connect with anything.

  I decide I’m still going to ignore her. The next time I come in, she’d better be ready to speak, and I figure another generous tonguing might just do the trick.

  The door closes behind me with a sharp click and the volume of Elizabeth’s screams increase exponentially.

  I’m humming happily to myself as I head downstairs.

  Elizabeth

  When the girls started whispering about Adie in the office, at first, I pretended not to hear them. After all, I’m the boss, and I am not supposed to concern myself with stuff like that. To be honest, I don’t care who sleeps with whom, or how often, as long as they keep it professional at work. The nature of the job often requires that my operatives flirt with their target, get ready to have sex with them, or, if they’re really unlucky, actually have sex with them. The men enjoy these kinds of perks more than the females. Adie, for example, lays his targets nearly every chance he gets. I think he looks upon it as sport. If he can’t twist his mark around his little finger and have her jumping to his every command, then he figures he hasn’t done the job properly. If his mark is female, it’s extremely rare than he comes home empty-handed. When his target is male, Adie simply switches tactics. His ego is massive and his prowess with weapons, cars and computers makes him a very skilled operative. He is also extremely resourceful and does some of his best work under pressure. That’s a very useful quality to have. He wasn’t kidding when he wrote he was ‘determined’ on his CV.

  Tonight, Adie thinks he has me exactly where he wants me. In reality, it is the other way around. After hearing all these hushed whispers about how fantastic Adrien Dumortier is in bed, I felt it was my personal duty as a woman to see if they were correct. To be honest, I haven’t had decent sex in at least the past five years, and the tantalizing lure of it in front of my nose every day was becoming harder to resist. It doesn’t hurt that Adrien is exceptionally easy on the eyes. His Spanish features and all of that tanned skin make most women’s mouths water, and I am no exception to that rule. Still, I tried to resist. I knew that as soon as I jumped down the rabbit hole, I would regret it. You see, I know I am almost guaranteed fantastic sex as soon as the bloody man can be bothered to get on with the act, but I also know that I am going to suffer because of it. This man will get me hooked, and once he’s done that, I’ll do everything he tells me to, and I cannot go there. There is too much at stake for a start.

  The other reason I am here is that I want him to wrap Leader around his finger. If he can turn me, then he can turn anyone, and this is why I am letting myself be sexually tormented by a self-confessed sociopath. I am embarking on a relationship that will almost definitely end in tears. That’s pretty much guaranteed. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go the distance, but my curiosity has won out. I need to know what goes on when the lights go out. I need to know what he does, how far he’s prepared to push it, and what he’ll do in order to get his own way. I want to know if he can go up against Leader and win. No one has even come close in the ten years I’ve been in this line of work. The woman is lethal. She trusts no one and won’t let anyone close. I’m wondering if Adie could be her Trojan Horse. He’s my only shot at this. It’s no coincidence that he’s been up against her several times. I was curious to see what would happen when a sexy man was thrust upon her. Unfortunately, she hasn’t instantly fallen for him, which was my hope, but then, she hasn’t killed him either. This is a good sign because she’s killed just about everyone else I’ve sent her way and it’s getting tiresome. I have a feeling Leader has a soft spot for Adie. She’s only human, after all. I just wonder whether he’ll be able to go the distance and turn her. It will be interesting to find out.

  Meanwhile, I’m the guinea pig that gets to figure out if Adie’s technique with women is lacking. So far, I have to admit, I’m quite impressed, and a whole lot desperate. It started with a slow burn over dinner that worked up to a frenzied mess about three hours ago. All of my limbs are beginning to feel the strain of being tied up far too long, and though the discomfort is mild, it is annoying. If he doesn’t finish me off soon, I might kill him anyway, so there’s that. For now, there is nothing left to do but bite my tongue and hope he gets bored with this game quickly. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be that lucky.

  When Adie finally returns to the bedroom, at least twenty minutes after he’s left me to stew, I say, “How do you know exactly when to stop?” It’s a question that’s been bugging me for a while and it needs an answer. He’s brought me close to orgasm, over and over again, and never once let me slip over the edge. How does he do it? Either he’s a mind reader, or he has some special skill that I’ve never heard of before.

  The asshole grins, of course. Now that I’m tied up, he’s done a lot of that. He knows he has me exactly where he wants me, and that I’m going nowhere fast. If he doesn’t want to answer my question, he doesn’t have to, but he will. Adie is all about ego. I’ve just given him a chance to show off and there’s no question he’ll bite my hand off.

  He takes his time answering me, though. Strolling into the bedroom, he begins to unbutton his shirt. It’s a shirt that any washing powder ad would be proud of, and the coffee color of his skin makes it appear even whiter than it already is. I would put money on the fact that Adrien does not do his own laundry. As far as household chores go, I suspect he does very little, but I have been surprised before.

  He shrugs himself out of his shirt with two quick shakes of his shoulder blades and lets it slide slowly down his back, as if playing to the crowd - me. I do my best not to dribble. The chest that is revealed is delineated with all the right lines, and if I wasn’t tied up, I’d be running my fingers down all those crazy abs. Fuck, that is one hell of a body. I’ve been thinking about sleeping with Adie for months, but I don’t generally do silly shit like this. I’m the boss which means I need to be the sensible, rational one. There is no room for sadists, control freaks, or egomaniacs in my life, and Adie ticks every one of those boxes. Unfortunately, I have found myself between a rock and a hard place on this latest series of assignments, and I need him. All of him. He’s not been on top form lately, due to the marriage of James and Lois, and he needs to work through that. I’m more than happy to help him do that, as long as he can sink his teeth into Leader. The problem will be in getting close enough to her. Still, that man has the face of an angel, so if he can’t do it, there isn’t a man alive who’ll be up for the job.

  “Lots of practice
,” he says, finally responding to my earlier question. I want to roll my eyes. I should have anticipated something like that. The trouble is, I know he’s not lying. He spent years tormenting girls in Carte Blanche, an underground sex cartel, and I suspect there is very little about the female anatomy that Adrien Dumortier is unaware of. Anything that has slipped through the net probably isn’t worth knowing, either.

  “Are you ready for round five?” No, I am really fucking not. I am in pain. My wrists have been rubbed raw by the rope because I can’t stop my hips from bucking up every time he goes near me. My neck is protesting from being left in the same position for far too long, and my ankles feel like they’re on fire. All of those pale in comparison to my butchered clit. He has been working the poor little nub, on and off, for the better part of four hours now and I have never been this aroused. Never. Ever. Nothing I’ve tried with any of my numerous previous partners even comes close, and I’ve slept with plenty of people. That includes a lot of depraved, sexually twisted, and dominant people, although I usually stray towards something a little tamer. I’m not happy relinquishing control, as Adie has already guessed. That man is going to put me through the wringer, and I have to let him, more’s the pity. I need to know what he can deliver. This means I can’t give in at the first hurdle, though I’d dearly love to. I’m not honestly sure how long I’ll be able to last before I go crazy, but I do know I’m not going to be getting much sleep tonight.

  “Please, Adie,” I whimper, putting on my best little-girl-completely-out-of-her-fucking-depth voice. “I can’t take any more. I just take orders from the top. I won’t get the details of your actual assignment until tomorrow morning.” This is a lie. I do take orders from the top, but I know exactly what he’ll be taking from Leader, if he manages to get anywhere close to her, which is doubtful. There is no way he’ll get that information out of me tonight, but I can make something up to pacify him if things get desperate.

  Adie sits on the edge of the bed, and his beautiful, naked chest glimmers in the soft lamplight. He is so close, and yet utterly out of reach. My fingers itch to taste the contours of his skin, tangle in his hair, and rake a pretty path of destruction down his back. Alas, they are firmly roped to the bedposts and going nowhere fast. The expression he wears on his face is merciless. There is no pity for my predicament in his eyes, not that I expected there to be. He looks at me, much like he admired his fillet steak at dinner, which is to say he can’t wait to tuck in and devour me.

  Reaching over, he closes his index finger and thumb around my left nipple and tugs it gently. I groan. My nipples have been standing to attention for the past hour or more, due to the constant attention he gives them, and it all adds to the massive state of frenzy my body is in. Adie is right. He knows exactly what he is doing. I am tormented beyond belief, and my night is a long way from over.

  “Kiss me, Adie,” I plead. “Please kiss me.” He knows I mean on the mouth. Anything but my clit or nipples. Tomorrow, I am going to be so sore I will probably not be able to move from my desk all day. That’s going to be a problem because I’ll probably fall asleep at it, if that’s the case. I have a feeling my relationship with coffee is going to ramp up to a whole new level shortly.

  In response, Adie tweaks my nipple painfully, and he licks his lips as he grins at me.

  “I want to kiss something else,” he purrs. “I want to worship your sex until I drain every last drop of arousal out of you. You need to be screaming my name at the top of your lungs, with a voice so ragged it nearly breaks. That body is going to be so desperate to climax that it will hurt just to look at me. You are going to remember this evening for a very long time to come, Elizabeth. I intend to make sure of it.” Oh, God. That’s what I’m afraid of.

  Releasing my nipple with a flick of his fingernails, making me gasp, he then settles himself back between my legs. No, no, no. Anywhere but there. I can’t take any more. Yes, you can. The thing is, I need to get that man focused and sex will do that. He lives off adrenaline and if I give him just enough to feed his addiction, then we may stand a chance against Leader.

  “Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” he drawls, as his finger gently rubs itself up and down my drenched sex. Even that gentle action has me whimpering. The thought of his tongue going near me again is sending me crazy.

  “I don’t know what you want to know. I may have more details tomorrow, but at the moment I honestly have no clue.” My acting skills are just as good as Adie’s. He won’t know how to spot a lie from my lips. There’s still a good chance I’ll be punished regardless.

  “Oh, Elizabeth.” Adie shakes his head, and then pokes his tongue out. He runs it down the seam in between my legs and I wail. I cannot believe how sensitive I am right now. My whole body has started quivering with need and the bastard is keeping me revved up to such a degree I swear I might die soon if I don’t get my fix.

  “Adie, please,” I wail again. If he wants me to beg, I’ll beg. I’ll do it so much he’s going to get bored of the sound of my voice shortly.

  “I’d like to believe you, sweetheart, but I’m not sure you’re telling me the truth.” Hmph. Score one for Adie. He’s not quite as stupid as he looks.

  “I don’t know what it is,” I repeat, and I’ll keep on repeating myself as long as it takes. If he continues on this path for much longer, though, I’m going to need to get creative. Give me water boarding, any day.

  Adie doesn’t answer me, he just puts his hands on top of each of my legs once again and attaches his mouth to my molten core. It takes him less than a minute before he has to pull away as I am on the verge of climax once again. The pain is exquisite and utterly terrible.

  Smiling at me, with glistening wet lips, he then slaps the inside of my thigh as he pulls away.

  “See you in another twenty minutes?” I scream all sorts of horrible things at him, but he’s already sailing out of the door and it slams shut neatly behind him. It galls me to realise I have underestimated him. I thought he’d go easy on me. I am the boss, after all. It seems that his respect for authority doesn’t go quite as far as I hoped it would.

  I am not going to last much longer. At the moment, I am nearly crying with frustration and it won’t take too much more to set me off. That gives me a thought. I wonder if tears will sway him? It might be worth a shot. At this point, I’m happy to try anything. If they don’t, I’m at a loss as to what to do next. I am too stubborn to give in and lie. Besides, if I get caught out in that lie, he’ll be a pain in the ass to deal with later. It will be better if I find another way around the problem. There must be a way. I am not earning a six-figure salary for nothing.

  The next time Adie enters, he’s carrying a glass of vodka in one hand and a bottle in the other. I have no idea how long it’s been since he was in here last, but it feels like a lifetime. When he sits down beside me again, though, it feels like ten seconds because I know what he’s about to do and I don’t think I can take it. It’s been years since I’ve subjected myself to something like this and I am out of practice.

  “Are you enjoying your evening, Elizabeth?” he asks me politely. I want to slap him.

  “No, I think you’re a fucking monster, Adie, and if you don’t untie me now, I will fire you first thing tomorrow morning.” It’s worth a try. He knows I won’t, though, so it’s not much of a threat.

  Adie, for his part, barely acknowledges it. He’s got me right where he wants me, and he doesn’t give a toss if I fire him or not. The man has already threatened to hand in his resignation, anyway. Dropping the bottle on the floor, he swirls his vodka around in his glass before inserting two fingers into the clear liquid. He then slowly sucks them dry. My eyes can’t help but be drawn to those lips, and I can feel saliva pooling in my mouth as his fingers disappear from view. He knows exactly what he is doing every step of the way. I bet there aren’t many women who can resist him out in the field, but unfortunately, Leader appears to be one of them, which is just my luck. Mind you, she usua
lly kills people that get in her way on sight, so maybe there’s hope for him yet.

  “Want some vodka?” Adie murmurs. His fingers are in the glass again, and then they’re thrust into his lips as he takes long drags on them. I am almost mesmerised as I watch them disappear into his mouth. Fuck you, Dumortier.

  “I’d love some,” I reply. I’m not kidding. About a liter of the stuff, neat, to be exact. That might help dull the pain of being denied over and over again, with no sign of release on the horizon. Then again, it might not, but it’s worth a try.

  Adie nods before dipping his fingers in the clear liquid once more. He then pulls them out and traces a path of destruction against my poor, battered clit.

  “There’s your vodka,” he says, sliding them inside me as he licks his lips yet again. That little fucker. He then goes in for the kill. As soon as his mouth is over me, I scream. I can’t take any more. I’ve lost count of how many times he’s done this, but what I do know is that I am at my limit. Choking back a sob of frustration, I steel myself to try harder, but this is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a while. Like I said, I am out of practice in the bedroom, and I hadn’t realised just how much until now.

  Adie suckles at my sex, like he’s just smeared cocaine all over it, and I go nuts. I am kicking and yelling and cursing, and trying my best to dislodge that awful, horrible, fucking amazing mouth of his. The trouble is, my kicking and screaming actually spurs me on, and I nearly tip over the edge, which is of course just when Adie stops.

  “You bastard,” I hiss, and there are literally tears of frustration dribbling from my eyes. I then let out a choking sob of defeat, and that catches his attention for some reason. I have no idea why. The man has barely spared me a glance until now.