Savage Empire: An Enemies to Lovers Dark Billionaire Romance (Broken Cross Book 1)
Page 8
I didn’t move right away. I disliked this man more than anyone I had ever met, yet his words started a small ember in my body that I couldn’t control. Ellie’s words about not getting addicted to him rang in my ears as I moved to take off my sweater.
“Wait a second,” he said, pulling out his phone. A few swipes led to the blinds closing, and the lights in the room dimmed to a warm hue. “Stand up.”
This time instead of giving him any attitude I did as I was told.
This is only for a limited time. You can make it through this, Anais.
“I said, take off your sweater.”
I turned, took off my sweater, and let it fall to the ground with a soft thump. I stalled. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of my body. I worked out pretty regularly and ate healthy most of the time and I knew it showed. But feeling his gaze burning a hole into my back stopped me from turning around because I would have to face his gaze head-on.
“Anais.” His voice was stern with a hint of annoyance. That was what finally got me to turn around. “Was that so hard?”
Don’t answer him. It will only encourage him to act more like an asshole. The ember that he lit under my skin continued to grow, although I did my best to tamp it down. His inspection of my body made the tension in the room thick as a cloud of billowing smoke and I could feel my nipples harden as they brushed up against the soft yet firm fabric of my bra. I couldn’t even blame it on being cold because it was warm in his home.
“Take off the bra and touch yourself.”
“What do you—”
I watched as Damien’s eyes darkened. “I’m not repeating myself again.”
My eyes migrated down from his eyes to his chest and cock. Although it was more difficult to see beneath his pants, I could tell that he was affected by the display he wanted me to put on. A slip of his tongue peeked out from his lips. I could feel my cheeks heating although I wished they wouldn’t. This wasn’t my first rodeo, although I had never been with someone who was this demanding.
My hands made their way toward my back and unhooked the bra. I let it fall off my shoulders and watched it hit the floor with a light tap. They then journeyed to my breasts, gently massaging them as I imagined he would do. But who was I kidding? I knew he would be rougher than that.
I got up enough nerve to look him in the eye and noticed that his eyes veered from looking at my movements to looking back at my face, as if he were studying me. I wasn’t expecting him to stand up so when he did, I took a step back and immediately scolded myself for doing so. He took another step toward me and I stood my ground and didn’t move an inch. I didn’t even try to breathe because I didn’t want him to mistake that for me being intimidated.
“I’m looking forward to our time together.” His tone took on a rough, raspy timbre that sent a jolt through my body. His eyes said something more, but I was having a hard time reading them. However, his words soon tossed clarity on the table, making it easy for me to understand. “Stop touching yourself and put your clothes on. Pack your things tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
His words were like ice-cold water being dumped on my head and they snapped me out of my thoughts, making me realize that once again, this was all a part of the game he was trying to play with my mind and body. What sucked was that my body betrayed me and no matter how much I tried to deny it, I wished that it was his hands on me instead of my own.
Damien backed away from me and left the room without tossing another glance my way. I threw on the clothes as if my ass were on fire. I had been dismissed without a care in the world and I didn’t know how to process it. When I made myself presentable, I rushed to the closet where Damien hung up my coat and didn’t even have time to throw it on before I dashed out his front door. As I left the townhouse, I saw Rob sitting in the car. The slam of the front door behind me caused him to look over and a moment later he got out of the sedan. I walked away from the door, putting my winter coat on one arm at a time, and by the time I reached the car, Rob already had one of the back doors opened for me. Rob slightly nodded his head in acknowledgment but said nothing.
I wondered how often this happened. Ellie had mentioned that Damien had his fair share of women come and go, but had he made similar arrangements like this in the past? Wait. Why did I care? I shifted those thoughts in my head as the car started moving. Once I was settled in the car, I laid my head back on the chair and let the events of this evening replay in my brain. As I thought about it, anger rose in my veins replacing feelings of humiliation, embarrassment, and shock that I’d felt previously.
How dare he just kick me out like that? I wished I had gathered up enough courage to say something when he was in front of me, but I had been overwhelmed, given how quickly everything was happening. I needed to school myself on how to react to him and his mind games because I was sure this wouldn’t be the last time this would happen.
What shook me to my core was realizing that I was fooling myself. I wasn’t pissed because he had humiliated me before kicking me out. I was pissed because I liked it.
11
Anais
“Hello?” I called as I walked through the front door because I didn’t know if Ellie was home.
She peeped her head from around the corner and that was when I noticed that water was running in the sink. “Hey! I was just washing dishes while I waited for you to come home. How did it go with Damien?” Her eyes widened and before I could say anything, she jetted back into the kitchen. The water shut off and she came flying out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“It went,” I said, and I closed the door and walked into our apartment. I didn’t even bother taking off my coat and then I flopped down to the couch. I put my hands over my face, and I tried to figure out what I was going to say. “So, he had his personal driver pick me up and he had dinner set out and ready to go when I got there.”
Ellie sat down next to me on the couch. “That sounds sweet.”
I looked at her in disbelief. “Sweet? That is the last thing I would use to describe Damien.” My voice was muffled because of how hard I was pressing my hands against my face.
“Well, keep going,” she said, clearly impatient and wanting to know the entire story.
“He told me to move in with him.”
“Shut up.” She paused to look at my reaction. “You’re not kidding. What?”
“Yeah. For the next thirty days.”
“Are you gonna do it?”
“I haven’t decided yet but according to him, I’m moving in tomorrow.”
“That’s quick.” Ellie folded her legs under her.
“Tell me about it. I would think that at most I would have to bring clothes because his apartment is fully furnished.”
“Well, if you decide to move in with him, I at least know where you are.”
I had forgotten I sent Ellie my location on the way to Damien’s place. That had been some good thinking on my part.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad?”
I slowly turned my head to Ellie, not believing what she just said. “Maybe not, but it’s not something that I want to do. He’s only moving me in because he wants me at his beck and call.”
“That’s true, but maybe there are some amenities you could take advantage of?”
“He has a personal chef.”
Ellie’s mouth opened wide before she closed it. “I don’t even know why I’m shocked by this. He probably shits hundred-dollar bills.”
I couldn’t help but snicker. “Or maybe he wipes his ass with them. You truly have a way with words.”
“It’s a gift. Anyway, stop getting sidetracked. What else happened after he mentioned you moving in with him?”
“I told him I was worried about having to pay rent so that we could keep the place after I leave. Didn’t know if that would be added to my debt as well.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” I couldn’t believe Ellie forgot that part, but I gave her a little leeway given what I had just spil
led to her.
“And he said he would pay the rent, no problem. Including your portion.”
Ellie grabbed my thigh. “Say what?”
I confirmed with a nod of my head.
“I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
“You and me both.”
Ellie started playing with the ends of her brown hair. “Heck yeah, I want my rent paid, but also feels like we might end up owing him something outside of what you’re doing.”
“I know,” I agreed once more, trying to wrap my head around the whole situation. I debated whether or not I should tell her about how he had me on display. I didn’t know what good that would do besides potentially embarrassing me even more.
“I’m going to head to bed soon. I have a lot to think about and I’m exhausted.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you later.”
I turned off the lights in the living room and turned off the television for the night while Ellie wrapped up cleaning things in the kitchen.
I walked over to our window to close the blinds and just as I was about to pull one of the blinds down, something caught my attention from out of the corner of my eye. From the apartment building across the street, there seemed to be someone pointing something at our window. I could see slight movements and when I saw a flash, it all but confirmed it was a camera. I stopped moving for a split second before I acted as if nothing had happened.
I backed away from the window, without closing the blinds, and said, “Ellie?”
“What? I was just getting ready to—”
I put my finger up to my mouth, signaling for her to be quiet. “Can you hit the lights?” She did as I asked and walked over to me.
“What’s going on?”
“I think someone is spying on us from across the street. If we back up enough and walk around the couch, we should be able to look from both sides of the window to see if I’m right.”
“Okay,” she said, and we both walked out of the range of what we thought could be seen into our apartment before reaching the window and slowly moving our heads to peek out of it.
Ellie gasped and then said, “I think you’re right.”
“Yeah, but by who?”
Ellie slowly closed the blinds, returning the apartment back to our private sanctuary. “It could be Damien. Making sure that you’re doing what he told you to do.”
“But he wants me to move in with him, so wouldn’t having someone watch me right now defeat the purpose?”
“You haven’t moved in with him yet,” Ellie pointed out. “Could be his way of keeping you under his thumb until you do.”
“That’s a good point.”
Ellie clapped her hands together and said, “Or what if this is his way of pushing you into his arms?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you think Damien has ever had to work to get a woman to fall into his arms?”
“Touché.”
“Can we go to the police with this?”
Ellie returned the eyebrow and scoffed. “Are you kidding? With what evidence? Although we suspect this person is spying on us, he or she could just be taking a photo of New York City architecture instead.”
I sighed and pulled my ponytail tighter. “If I’m going to move in with Damien for a month, I want you to remain safe.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You’re about to enter the lion’s den.”
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t toss and turn most of the night. My emotions were all over the place as I thought about what the next thirty days would hold. I didn’t want to move into his home. I enjoyed having my own space, and more than that, I hated the thought of sharing a space with someone who wanted me to move in so I could be his sex toy for a month. So, I did what any reasonable person would have done and sent a text to Damien.
Me: This moving-in arrangement doesn’t work for me. I have no problem meeting up with you somewhere, but I’m not moving into your home.
There was a moment of relief that came when I hit send. Panic soon replaced it as I realized I sent that message at three in the morning. I wasn’t too keen on him knowing that I was up this late thinking about him. Part of me didn’t care that I might have woken him up. but I valued sleep and felt a tinge guilty about disturbing someone else’s. Or so I thought until my phone buzzed in my hand. I flipped my phone back over, thanking whoever created the ability to dim the light on your screen, and read the notification.
Damien: You’ll be moving in tomorrow. Rob will be at your place at 9 a.m. sharp.
I almost screamed in frustration. The fact that Ellie’s bedroom wasn’t too far away was the only thing that stopped me.
Me: I’m not ready and I don’t want to go.
Damien: I’ll come over there and carry you out myself.
“Good luck with that,” I said. Since it was 3 a.m. and there was no way I could pull myself together for anything tomorrow, I emailed my father and Vicki, his vice president, letting them know I was taking the day off. I tossed my phone to the side and looked at my room. I was in no shape to move anytime soon. Clothes were everywhere because of me being too busy between work and life. Shoes weren’t in their proper place in my closet. I made a note to myself to spend part of tomorrow cleaning for my own well-being because I had no plans to go to Damien’s. I got up and closed the curtains. I flopped back onto my bed and turned over.
I fluffed up my pillow and placed it back under my head, wishing that sleep would overtake me. It wasn’t too long before it did, but there were no dreams to be had tonight. Only darkness as I pondered what tomorrow would bring.
Although I had gone to bed super late, I still woke up early because my body was used to getting up early for work. I was super sluggish seeing as how I was operating on about four-and-a-half hours of sleep. Nothing could be done about that besides drinking a ton of coffee. A quick glance at my phone told me it was eight in the morning and I had heard nothing from Damien after the conversation we had the night before. Shrugging my shoulders, I stood up and got my day started by grabbing that cup of coffee. Once that achievement was unlocked, I checked and saw that Ellie had gone to work. I started sorting through my clothes that were laid out around my room. I was done with that in about thirty minutes so next up was a shower. I stood under the hot spray feeling it beat down over my body as it helped to relieve some of the stress I had been feeling. Once I was dried off, I put my wet hair into a French braid and threw on a tank top and running shorts. I glanced at my phone again.
8:55 a.m.
Five minutes before I was supposed to go downstairs with whatever I wanted to bring to Damien’s place. I placed my phone in my back pocket and walked into the kitchen as I thought of another chore I could do. Who knew avoiding moving in with someone could motivate you to clean up your apartment? As I was about to lean down to unload the dishwasher, there was a knock on my door.
After a quick debate with myself, I decided not to answer it. But when the person knocked louder, I hurried over to the door, not wanting them to bother the other tenants.
“What the hell? Clearly someone is either not home or pretending not to be. Go away,” I muttered. What if it was the person that we suspected of taking photos of us last night? I peeked through the peephole. The man that haunted my dreams and had become my worst nightmare was standing on the other side.
How could I forget that he had threatened to come over again himself and pick me up and carry me out of here? Denial swung and hit me like a brick. My fight-or-flight instinct kicked in and my immediate thought was to head toward the fire escape. As I moved to grab my running sneakers, his fist pounded on the door again, even louder this time.
“Anais, I know you’re in there,” his voice boomed, sounding as loud as someone who had a megaphone up to their mouth.
Even if I tried to make a run for the fire escape, there’d be a very good chance that Rob was waiting at the bottom. Without thinking twice about it, I walked back over to my front door and opened it.
“Do you get off on defying me?”
I didn’t respond, instead choosing to focus on the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice. His eyes darkened and he was definitely on edge.
“Anais, I asked you a question.”
“No. I’m just not the type of person who jumps when you say to.” I knew my mouth was going to get me in trouble.
“Looks like your lessons need to begin now.”
Puzzled, I watched as he looked to his left, checking to see if we were alone. He grabbed my arm and pulled me over to my sofa and sat down.
“What are you—”
He lazily dragged a finger up and down my leg, causing goosebumps along the way. He took my phone out of my pocket and tossed it on the coffee table. “Lie down on my lap.”
“Excuse me I’m—”
He stopped my words with a stare. His chest was rapidly moving up and down and I couldn’t tell if it was due to all of the yelling and knocking that he had just done or if it was because he was aroused. There was only so far that I could push my luck and with that thought in mind, I laid down over his lap.
“What are you going to do? Spank me?”
The taunt had the opposite effect I wanted it to have.
“Funny you should mention it,” he said, now running a finger softly up and down my spine. “And these little shorts you have on give me ample opportunity to do whatever I want.”
His touch brought another shiver to my body. I hated myself for enjoying what he was doing to me as his finger made its way back down to my ass. He brushed a hand against my bottom before he smacked it.
A rush of air left my lungs, and I could hear the slap vibrating through my body. He freaking did it.
And then he did it again. The hits weren’t hard enough to make me cry, but firm enough to make my pussy tingle.