Page 1 of Sweet Torture (Torture Games #1)

ONE

GRIFFIN

A desperate gasp escapes her lips the second I move my aching fingers.

“Aren’t you glad you took me up on my offer?”

Her dilated pupils struggle to focus on me as I hold her against the wall gently with my hand on her skeletal shoulder. Her eyelids fight to close with every harsh breath she inhales.

The frivolous frills on her neon pink dress tickle the inside of my wrist, and I let go of her to remedy the situation.

I step back and look for the best way to eliminate my current irritant, but I see no other way.

Grabbing her dress at the waist, I initially yank the bottom and top pieces apart.

The sound of tearing brings her back to reality.

“Hey, do you know how much this dress costs?” she whines .

Seems tackiness does have a price.

Without uttering a word, I keep the steady rhythm of tearing the dress in two, a few inches at a time.

She puts her hands on my forearm, but my actions can’t be stopped.

“Wait, I have nothing else to wear.”

Her irksome comment drags an exasperated sigh from me.

“Do you think I fucking care? Now turn around.”

She dutifully obeys, but not before I see the pursed lips. No matter; it wasn’t like I was going to kiss her anyway. She is a means to an end. She just doesn’t know it yet. Sulking, she does a full circle while I destroy her outfit.

I have been working on this girl since the tender for one of the biggest diamond companies in New York came up on my radar.

I heard through my channels that Carter has refused to work with me again.

According to my source, he commiserated over the other poor bastards who must have fallen for my ‘cheap tricks.’ Strange how he neglected to mention the shipment of blood diamonds that got hijacked from my ship on the same night his last payment should have been received.

He severely underestimated my desire to win and the means that I would use to get to the top – and stay there.

With the dress split in two, it looks like she is wearing a shirt. I drop the offending article to the floor, kicking the useless piece of fabric away .

“Now, where were we, my sweet?” I grin with a tinge of malice.

The misinformed fox before me gives a cunning smile, “You were about to fall even more in love with me, if I am not mistaken.”

I again push her against the gaudy wallpapered wall of the hotel room that I reserved for this occasion.

We are surrounded by kitsch opulence, and ordinarily I wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this.

But it was close to my office and served my basic needs.

The woman before me was sufficiently enamored by the room to fall for my devious plan.

Not to mention my talented fingers rooting to make a mark on her.

Others might frown at the price tag I was willing to pay for an hour’s use, but I saw this as an investment in my company’s future.

Weeks of careful preparation and orchestrated ‘chance’ meetings have brought us here, with my fingers circling her throat again and my other hand plunging wet fingers into her wanton pussy.

“Are we going to move to the bed?” Her shrill voice grates my nerves.

It is accompanied by her shallow breaths, and a faint cherry smell permeates the air around us. It leaves a sour taste on my lips when fused with stale dust and the stench of cleaning solutions wafting from the room.

I turn my face away and focus on the rare diamond necklace casually strewn across the bedding. Hardening my features, I increase my efforts and relish the desperate intakes of breath that are compelled from her lips. I have a mission, and no one will move until it is completed.

Her clumsy fingers grasp at my belt buckle, and I subtly move out of her reach, not wanting to give away that I have absolutely no desire to fuck the stick figure impaled on my hand.

“Why don’t I take care of you first? I must leave for my meeting any moment and don’t want to leave you in a pathetic pile of need like this,” I say with my most charming smile.

My fingers around her throat squeeze more ardently, and her face starts to turn red. I know she is close; I can feel her pussy contracting around my fingers. This won’t take long now.

She grabs the arm of the hand that is refusing the flow of air to her lungs, and this is the part I savor.

This is the moment they realize that I am truly in control and that they have no choice but to surrender to me.

I have their life in my hands, and I choose whether they are allowed to succumb to the pleasure I provide.

Or worse, I steal and abuse the power that they have laid before my feet.

My fingers are thrusting viciously now, and the preposterous shoes on her feet are grappling for possession on the tiled floor.

Her body is thumping against the wall in an attempt to meet my hand.

If this were later in the day, I might have some explaining to do.

Luckily, that is not the case. I look back and see the rays of sunshine intruding through the heavy curtains, reflected in the sparkling diamonds.

She groans faintly, and I know what is coming next.

I take in her bulging eyes and time this perfectly.

The moment she comes, I release her throat to let precious air flood her body.

Her conflicting emotions of satisfaction and regret draw tears to her eyes, and I let her slip from my arms, down to the ground.

I turn and walk to the bed with the ostentatious bedding, abandoning her to regain composure.

Who wants to be confronted by such an ugly cover when you are trying to run from a one-night stand?

Discreetly, I slip the necklace into my pocket while testing the spring action of the mattress.

At least that is good enough for fucking.

The rest of the room leaves much to be desired.

As does my guest.

On the floor, the girl is regaining her faculties.

“That was amazing. I have never felt anything remotely close to that.” She is still gasping for air.

“I am glad, my sweet. Now that I have ruined you for all future men, it is time for me to attend my crucial meeting. Will you be able to find your way home, or should I call you an Uber? You are welcome to clean up a bit first. The room is still booked until five.”

I stand and pull my suit jacket down, inspecting it for any wrinkles. Satisfied with my appearance, I look back toward the sniffling sound coming from the floor.

“You are leaving? When will I see you again?”

I walk over to the document carelessly tossed on the desk.

“Ah, my dear. Obviously, you did not read the fine print before you signed this. This will be our only encounter unless I am invited to one of your father’s soirees. We will be in business together after all. If I deem it fit, I might throw a freebie your way, but don’t count on it.”

The wailing starts, and I attempt to exit quickly. My hand is already on the doorknob when her question forces my feet to still.

“Why?”

I at least owe her that, right?

So, I give the reason for every decision in my life.

“It is just business.”

The door clicks behind me.

It is a short walk to my office.

The sidewalk is littered with desperate beings in search of meaning or a disappointing meal for lunch. The looks on their faces betray the chagrin they face when they stare with empty voids in their eyes at the reflective storefront windows they pass.

I briefly stop to stare, expecting to see victory reflected back, but am ushered along quickly by the steady stream of people in a hurry to get nowhere.

I allow myself the few minutes it takes my feet to carry me to my building to bury the feelings of guilt that threaten to engulf me.

The clacking noise my shoes make on the polished marble floor shut down any regret.

She knew what she was getting into with me.

I never promised her forever. Only an experience of a lifetime if she trusted me.

And I am damn sure that I delivered. Now, it is her turn.

I walk towards the elevators and press the button for the top floor with force. The ride is silent, although there are others crowding the edges of the tiny space to get away from me.

The door glides open; I see Carter in the conference room.

His expensive suit and shiny shoes are dwarfed by the intimidating view of the skyline.

The walls are made entirely of glass, although soundproof, and I purposely designed them that way to display the power struggle between me and my adversaries.

It has cemented my image as ruthless and heartless.

If they only knew that it wasn’t the advertising business that made me this way.

My million-dollar advertising business is a front for my billion-dollar smuggling business. If you need something moved from one place to another discreetly, then I am your guy. The business model is simple. There are only three rules.

Rule number one. Need to know only. I don’t want to know why you want to move sixty crates of military weapons from a base in Pakistan to Boston. And you don’t need to know how I do it.

Rule number two. You never double-cross me. I will take away everything you love, and you will never find it again.

Rule number three: Never mix business with pleasure. Simple yet effective.

Mike, my business partner, is already entertaining our guest, but even he has no idea of what I have planned for the great diamond mogul.

A hushed buzzing noise infects all the cubicles as I make my way to the conference room.

I unceremoniously push open the door and ignore the outstretched hand that a half-raised Carter automatically thrusts in my direction. Besides, I doubt he would want to touch me if he knew where my hand was a mere ten minutes ago, but all in good time.

Instead, I toss the pages on the table before I grasp the back of the nearest chair and pin Carter down with my penetrating stare.

“I hear you are reluctant to award us the tender for your, shall we call it ‘marketing campaign,’ Carter. Are there any reasonable grounds for your decision? ”

He sits back down and folds his hands on the table, clearly unaware of the disadvantage he finds himself in.

“The last time I checked, Maxwell, I had no obligation to explain my reasoning to you. Did you really think I would summon you after the fiasco that occurred last time?” He dismisses me with a wave of his hand before he continues.

“I have already awarded the closing bid to a rival company. You are wasting your time. I will do business with someone I deem fit to represent and reflect the same values I have instilled at the core of my own businesses.”

I put my hands in my pockets and gesture to the document I had thrown on the table when entering before I walk to the window and turn my back on him.

“Such a shame you couldn’t instill the same values in your daughter,” I say with a smirk that only I can see in the glass.

His panicked eyes take in the signature page I had placed on top. The light of recognition dawns in his eyes, and he pulls the papers closer.

“What is this?” His voice is barely a whisper.

I unbutton my suit jacket and turn back to the table to take a seat across from Carter, stretching my legs out in front of me and folding my hands on my lap casually. Mike takes a seat to my right, leaning forward, ready to pounce.

“That, Carter, is a Contract of Intent. As you can see, your lovely, if somewhat gullible, daughter signed at the bottom under no duress, as the witness at the restaurant will testify. Even though it is not binding, it still elaborates on the despicable deeds she is willing to do for me. I am sure this will be a very valuable tool of persuasion in the right hands. If nothing else, I am sure it would illustrate the so-called values your family holds dear. Wouldn’t you agree? ”

He tosses the papers in my direction.

“This is laughable. Do you honestly think the people in our circles give a fuck if my daughter has rough sex? You might even be doing me a favor. I might finally find her an advantageous match.” He motions to get out of the chair, but my next words still him.

“You forget, Carter, I am not only a courier. I am also an advertising executive, and my influence reaches far beyond what you can imagine.”

His face pales, and I feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through me. This is the moment I live for. The moment my opponent realizes that I have already won, and there is no way to escape the inevitable.

His lips pinch together as he drops back in the chair and replies.

“I never thought you would resort to such extremes as blackmail. Are your parents proud of you?”

I lean forward, pressing my hands on the table.

“My parents are dead, and even if they weren’t, I am sure my father wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass about me. Now, do we have a deal, or do I need to phone my contacts at every major media outlet in the country?”

He looks down at the papers, defeated. Until he sees a glimmer of hope.

“Your signature is on here as well, you know. Your name will be dragged through the mud along with my sweet Allison’s. Besides, how do I know this is really her signature?”

I fish the necklace from my pocket and throw it on the table in front of him. The heavy diamonds careen in his direction from the force.

“I am sure you will find that I can be a very persuasive man managing your marketing campaign. The only image that the world will see is the one I allow them to see. Now, if you will excuse me, I look forward to receiving the required documentation from your attorneys.”

By running the transaction through my business, I have successfully avoided detection for many years. And although he will be signing a marketing contract, he will be making use of very different services.

I walk out without giving his dejected face a second glance. Mike follows me out the door, and I barely hear the praise he spouts.

All that matters is that I won. When the documents are signed, no one will be able to deny that I am the best.

I guess this will be the crown jewel of my achievements .

Until the next challenge comes along.

I push open my door, ignoring my scared assistant’s demeanor change when he spots me coming down the corridor.

Leisurely, I take a seat behind my desk and lick my fingers one last time. Lo and behold, it tastes like victory.