Page 33

C ontessa

I feel disgusting.

My panties are soaked through and it’s starting to get pretty cold down here. I can still feel Bernadi’s head between my thighs and I’m still throbbing . I hate myself right now. I haven’t done anything wrong yet I’m being punished in the most despicable way.

I’ve never been more turned on than when he licked me despite my protests. When he turned to the camera and said I was delicious, I almost came right then.

How has this happened? I’ve let Satan himself lick me to an orgasm as punishment for something I know nothing about. And dear God, I loved it .

My thoughts are interrupted when the door opens again and a blush floods my cheeks. I feel like I’m on show—a brazen hussy—with my hands tied behind my back, my legs parted and my skirt pushed up to my hips.

Bernadi strolls into the room looking as cocky as ever and I have to stop my chest from ballooning. I hate what this man does to me.

“Okay, let’s shake things up a little.”

My heart flutters when it should be quivering.

He gets down on his hands and knees but it’s too dark for me to see what he’s doing.

“Cristiano says hi, by the way,” he says, glancing up before returning his focus to the ties around my ankles.

I suck in a breath. “He’s here? In this building?”

He doesn’t answer.

“Does he care that you’ve got me tied up in some basement, freezing to death with no food or water?”

He looks up and strokes his chin. “I don’t know actually. I didn’t ask.”

“It doesn’t matter what I say, does it?” My voice trembles. It seems fear and anticipation are two sides of the same coin. “You’ll never believe me.”

He continues to pull and tug at my ankles while I’ve given up showing an interest in what exactly it is that I’m tied to.

He’s still a scary son of a bitch but something about his manner has softened so I try a different approach. “I was starting to like you a bit, you know?”

I feel his fingers close around one ankle, moving my foot backward. It’s deceptively gentle. “Then it’s a good thing I showed you my true colors before you started to like me a lot. ”

“Yeah.” I swallow. “It is.”

“Did you reflect? Like I asked you to?”

A shiver slices across my spine. “I have nothing to reflect on. I don’t know anything about Federico other than this letter, which is the first I’ve heard from him in three years. But it’s pointless me repeating this, because you’ve already made up your mind that I’m lying.”

Something clicks behind my eyes and I narrow them. “Why are you so determined to believe I’m a liar, Benito?”

He sits back on his heels but doesn’t look at me, then moves to my right foot, unstrapping it from the chair and re-strapping it to my left.

“It’s written on the note right here,” he says again, but there’s not as much bite in his tone now. In the short time he’s been gone, something’s changed, I can feel it.

He unties my wrists but the blood has drained from them so they merely flop to my sides instead of lashing out like they should do.

“That note is as much about me as it is about you,” he says, calmly bringing my hands together on my lap and strapping a tie around them again. “And you hid it from me.”

“I didn’t hide any?—"

“In fact, you hardly spoke to me before I got you in the wine cellar,” he snaps, yanking the tie hard.

“I was nervous!” I say in a high pitch. His eyes dart to mine.

“You were nervous? Why?”

I swallow and stare wide-eyed at him. How does he not know? “You’d just declared me your girlfriend, and my entire family was at that lunch. For God’s sake, Benito, I was trying to figure out how to tell my papa and my aunt and sisters that I didn’t hate you anymore and that I, in fact, felt quite the opposite. I was nervous because… well… you make me nervous. And I was nervous because I didn’t want to fuck it up.”

His face ticks to one side like he’s doing a double take. “Fuck what up?”

“Ugh!” I tilt my gaze to the ceiling because I can hardly shrug my arms when my wrists are tied. “Me and you.” I drop my head and glare at him accusingly. “This.” I start to shake my head, feeling an hysterical laugh climb its way up my throat when he stands, pulls me off the chair and flips me onto all fours.

“What are you doing?” The laugh turns to a shocked gasp.

“I can’t do this.” Benito’s tone frightens me. It’s sharp and unhinged.

A fly rips behind me and I hear him fumbling with his boxers.

“Do what?” I breathe, panicked.

“I know you’re not lying, Tess. I honestly thought you were at first, but Cristiano called Bambi…”

My chest deflates with relief but my heart is hammering. Is he going to drive into me now? Without my consent? Licking me when my body was arching into him is one thing, but to penetrate me dry while I’m tied up and at his mercy is a whole other thing .

“Benito, what are you doing?” Panic infuses my voice and I start to tremble from head to toe.

He crouches down behind me then slowly lowers his chest over my back. Seconds pass and his heat warms me through until a damp sweat sticks to my skin.

“I would never hurt you,” he whispers.

I choke out a held breath.

“If you know I’m telling you the truth, why don’t you let me go?”

He rests his cheek on my shoulder blade. “Because you like this, Tess,” he says softly. “And so do I.”

A cool draft blows between my legs making them flutter. When I don’t deny his words, he lifts a hand to my hip and smooths it down over the round of my bottom and feeds it between my thighs.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathes. “You’re soaking.”

I grind myself against his fingers and whimper.

He gently cups his hands beneath my arms and lifts me up until I’m resting back against his chest. He dips his fingers between my folds and rubs my arousal into my breasts.

“You remember when I came beneath your T-shirt?” he rasps.

“Mm,” I roll my head back against his pectoral muscles.

“You spreading my come across your chest…”

I stop moving and open my eyes.

“That ended me, Tess. I knew that if I touched you after that, I’d go fucking crazy. And I have.”

“Is that why you pushed me away?” I ask quietly .

He shifts slightly and threads his hand back between my legs. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

I pull at the tie holding my wrists together and groan.

He chuckles into my ear. “I’m not untying you. You touch me when I say you can touch me. Do you understand?”

My body hums at his words but my brain is fighting against them. “This is fucked up,” I whisper. “ You are fucked up.”

He lifts a finger to his lips and sucks it slowly. Then he returns it to my heat. “I’m not fucked up, Tess. I’m obsessed . There’s a difference.”

My back arches and my knees spread involuntarily.

“That’s my little brat.”

He parts my ass cheeks and feeds his cock between them. Then I gasp as he pulls me down hard.

He stills, letting my walls relax while panting heavy breaths in my ear. “Oh fuck, you feel so good Tess.”

My brain is reeling. I’ve never felt so helpless in all my life. I’ve never felt so afraid. I’ve never yearned for someone this much.

Part of me wants to surrender to him, to this. Part of me wants to run far, far away. But, not only am I restrained, my body is melting . All this man has to do is brush me with a finger and my skin burns .

He starts to move and my lids fall. His cock travels through my core, expanding me and filling me with his madness, and all the while he breathes harsh curses and sweet promises into my ear .

And I surrender.

The snap of a pocket knife makes my eyes pop open. Benito feeds a blade between my wrists and slices through the plastic ties, then he reaches behind us and cuts the ties around my ankles too. He helps me to my feet and pulls my skirt back down over my hips. He places thick hands on the dip of my waist and turns me around, then I look into his eyes one last time.

They’re deep and dark and almost impossible not to fall into. I make myself hold onto them while I wait for the blood to return to my hands and feet.

His thumb brushes across the dent in my wrist. “Beautiful,” he murmurs.

When sensations return to my fingers, my eyes fill with tears. “Is the door unlocked?” I whisper.

The smile falls from his face. “Yes, it is.”

One tear makes a track down my cheek and I wipe it away with the back of my hand. “Goodbye Benito.”

I turn around and run for the door. My fingers shake as I curl them around the handle, but he was telling the truth—it’s open. I have to blink as I step into a brightly lit corridor. I look left and right and see an elevator a few yards down. I run to it and press the button repeatedly until the doors open with a ping. I step inside the empty cavity and search for more buttons. They look vaguely familiar. I search for one that looks like it might be the ground floor and press it. Then I face the doors, my shoulders heaving as I hyperventilate.

The corridor I’ve left behind is empty. If Benito had planned to stop me, he could have done so easily, but he hasn’t. Still, my lungs empty with bitter relief when the doors slide closed and the elevator starts to rise.

I squeeze myself through the doors, not waiting for them to open fully, and run into a sleek black lobby. I’m struck by the realization I know where I am. Arena . I recognize this lobby from when I came here with Paige. I run towards the main exit and my heart sinks as two suited and probably armed men step out of the shadows. One lifts a radio and mutters something into it. I don’t slow down—I need to get through those doors. As I pass, I hear a familiar voice come through the radio. Let her go .

I stop mid-stride and glance at the man. He punches a button on the wall behind him and the doors hiss apart.

I pause outside but only for a second, to drag in a lungful of clean air, then I look up and down the street. Predictably, there’s a couple of black cars parked up. I run to the nearest and wait for the window to wind down.

“You drive for the Di Santos?” I ask, hurriedly.

“I do, Miss Castellano.”

I do a double take; I don’t recall seeing this man before, but he knows who I am.

“Where can I take you, Miss?”

My heart thumps. “Home,” I whisper. “I want to go home.”