With This ring

by Le Carre, Georgia

  She gasped in shock, but she was so taken aback by my words she couldn’t find a suitable response. Giving me a confused and angry look she stormed out of the restaurant.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Freya

  I couldn’t breathe.

  I lurched out of the restaurant onto the sidewalk. The autumn breeze I had enjoyed earlier now seemed way too hot for survival.

  Parched, I found myself walking into the nearest 7/11 and grabbing a can of coke. I paid for it and leaned against the counter for support as I downed more than half the can. When I came up for air, I felt my brain begin to restart.

  What the hell just happened?

  Sure, we’d established some kind of lust between us, but never had I expected him to become so blunt and vocal about it. There had been absolutely no trace of amusement in his eyes. He wanted to fuck me… and truthfully, I’d be damned if I didn’t want the exact same thing too.

  But he was Maxim, and I wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing could be between us. I wanted no part of the kind of life he lived.

  I finished my coke and left the store then walked around blindly for at least an hour. I knew I should stay away from Maxim. He was dangerous to my sanity.

  When I got back to his house I hurried up to Britney’s room and found her in the shower.

  “I got the $800 for the sample,” I informed her happily. “I was able to get the cash out of my abandoned college account.”

  She shut the faucet off and came out of the shower. “What about the rent?” she asked quietly as she tied her towel around her and faced the massive vanity mirror.

  “I’ll figure it out,” I replied. “I didn’t like the bars I interviewed at today. The areas were kind of dingy, and that’s just cutting it too close for safety. But I have another interview in Manhattan tomorrow so hopefully that goes well, and then we’ll be back on track.”

  I watched her nod quietly without meeting my eyes, and then begin to apply her skin care products on her face.

  She was still so affected by the previous evening’s incident that I felt terrible.

  “Guess what happened at lunch today? I had lunch with Maxim and he asked me to… I can’t even say it.”

  She looked at me curiously. “What?”

  I took a deep breath. “He asked me to sleep with him… for a million dollars.”

  She shrugged. “He was probably joking, Freya. It’s just sex. Nobody pays a million for a bit of pussy.”

  I noted her careless shrug, and became officially worried about her state. She should have been jumping and screaming. She was always more excited and expressive than I was. I hated to think of what that incident had truly done to her.

  “Britney, are you alright?”

  She met my gaze through the mirror, and then turned around to face me. “I think... I’m going to go to my mom’s place in Atlanta for a little while. I need a break.”

  My stomach did a very painful somersault. “Uh,” I began in my smallest voice. “Sure, of course... whatever you need.”

  She nodded. “I’m going to leave tonight. I’ve booked a flight.”

  “Sure, um, some of the guards will accompany you to the airport, and perhaps even to Georgia, just for a bit of safety. I’ll get in touch with my dad.”

  Her face seemed to fall even further. “Do I need that? I’m not connected to any of this, am I?”

  Guilt barraged me. “Well, uh… you’re not, but just for a little while, just to be completely safe, just until they’re sure that everything is fine. I don’t want to take any chances.”

  “Okay,” she said to me. “I’m sorry, Freya,”

  “Don’t be,” I said. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who’s sorry.”

  She walked out of the bathroom and I felt my eyes mist with tears. My legs gave way under me and I collapsed to the tiled floor. After two years of struggle, it felt as though I was back to square one, completely alone and without help… and trying to take on the mountain that was my father. The life I wanted to create for myself seemed so far away.

  The truth was I needed Britney. We perfectly complemented each other.

  She handled and did all I couldn’t, and I did everything that she was weak at. We both understood that from the day we met as co-bartenders a year earlier. She had fallen in love with my vision to start my own jewelry company, I felt like the heavens had finally crossed over to my side and blessed me with someone who could run the administrative side of things. I was solely in charge of design and finance, and she did everything else. Photography, marketing, admin, branding.

  There was no one like her. If she didn’t return soon, I would be screwed a thousand ways to hell.

  Knowing that I needed to be strong now more than ever, I cleaned the tears off my face and rose to my feet. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed my father and waited as it began to ring. When he picked up I got straight to the point.

  “Papa, I need some security for my friend. She needs to head back home for a bit. I want your men to make sure that she is not being followed, and be ready to help her and her mother if they are attacked.”

  “What are you saying?” My father asked.

  “You know about what happened at our house last night, do you not?”

  “Of course I do. You are with Maxim. That is perfect.”

  I rolled my eyes and went on. “I’m leaving too, papa. I was only concerned because of Britney, but since she’s leaving I do not want to be here at all.”

  “Where are you leaving to? I have told him to keep you safe.”

  I took a deep breath to suppress my irritation. “Papa,” I said as patiently as I could. “I am not going to remain in Maxim’s house. I don’t want to be under obligation to him so please send some men to protect both my friend and me.”

  “Remember what I have always told you,” he said to me. “You either follow my orders or you take your own road. There will be no men for you. If you need protection ask Maxim.”

  With that he ended the call, and I was left staring at the phone in my hand in shock until I felt a surge of hatred and anger begin in my belly at the way I was being treated by these two men. God, how I wished I had money and I did not need them at all.

  I dialed Maxim’s number and waited, but he did not pick up. I tried again and again, and near smashed the phone against the wall with frustration when Britney came into the bathroom fully dressed, and holding her duffel bag that we had quickly brought along with us.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  She nodded and I led her out of the bathroom. I dialed Maxim’s number again and when I still couldn’t reach him, I called Bianca.

  “Can you help me reach Levan or Maxim?” I asked. “It’s urgent.”

  “Sure,” she said, “I’ll call Levan immediately.”

  She ended the call and a few minutes later, Levan called me back.

  I told him what I needed for Britney and the request was instantly granted.

  “But, Freya,” he said to me, “I can only allow them to take Britney. Maxim is solely in charge of you. I can’t allow you to leave until he returns and gives his personal approval.

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What? When did I lose all power over myself and become Maxim’s prisoner?”

  “Stop being childish, Freya. You are there as much for your own protection as his,” Levan said. “If anything happens to you, your father will not stop until we’re all six feet in the ground.”

  With a furious sigh, and with the need for Britney to be on her way as soon as possible, I agreed. “Please tell your men to please protect her in every way they can. She is very, very precious to me,” I begged.

  Chapter Forty

  Maxim

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnBT9uUYb1w

  I came home to find her drunk… as a skunk in a beer barrel.

  She was waiting on the stairs for me, and I noted the almost empty $58,000 bottle of Dalmore Highland Ma
lt Scotch clutched in her hand. Well, at least she had taste.

  I’d had one of the worst days, and I wasn’t looking forward to a tantrum from her tonight.

  Pretending not to see her, I shut the door behind me and began to walk down the foyer towards my study.

  “Maxim,” she yelled out, but I didn’t stop. I kept walking. Taking my phone from my pocket I was about to call Mariah to take care of her when she began to race towards me. For someone that inebriated she could move fast.

  It was only instinct that caused me to turn my head and catch the glint of glass from the corner of my eye. I swerved just in time, and saved a nasty bump on my head. The bottle smashed against the wall, spilling its precious liquid and flinging sharp shards all over the place.

  I looked at the disaster, my brows furrowed, then turned impatiently towards her. She really was too much.

  “You’re fucking ruining my life,” she screamed as she flew towards me. “And that’s what you always do. You fucking ruin everything for everybody.”

  She attacked me like a small but feral cat, nails extended, fur flying, teeth bared, legs kicking. I caught her clawed hands, but she only got even more crazed. I shook her to bring some sense back into her. When she threw her head backwards to try and somehow head butt my chest, I saw her reddened, swollen eyes. They were swimming with tears, and her cheeks were wet.

  I knew what had happened. She had lost her friend and partner, but I’d assumed it was a temporary separation, and not too big a deal, but perhaps it was more serious than I’d thought.

  I sighed. “Freya,” I called and she struggled to pull her hands out of my grip.

  “Let me go! Let me fucking go, you animal!”

  I let her go and she fell to the floor, landing on her ass.

  “Ow …” she cried.

  It made my heart hurt to see her like that.

  “Fuck,” she cursed, her hands flailing around on the floor.

  My heart lurched when I saw the broken glass pieces that surrounded her. She was going to fucking hurt herself. I went to her, but at my approach she immediately began to try to scramble up to her feet. I caught her in my arms and despite her swearing and thrashing, threw her over my shoulder and moved her away from the hazardous glass shards on the lounge floor.

  I set her on her feet a distance away, and of course, she proceeded to attack me. Tonight she was out for blood. She fought with me with the techniques she’d been taught from her father’s best fighters and they were not a joke. She was too drunk to even stand properly, but she was more than a handful. Even though she was small, she had the technique and strength of some of the better men I’d combatted with. While that was impressive it was time to end the skirmish.

  I tripped her up, caught her falling body, and slammed her against the wall. The breath was knocked out of her and I hoped it would cause just enough pain to calm down, but when that didn’t do a blind bit of good, I slammed my body against her and imprisoned her tightly against the wall.

  She was heaving and panting, but so was I, our chests rising and falling to meet the rhythm of our breathing,

  “Let me go!” she gasped.

  “Freya,” I said. “You need to calm down or else you’re going to hurt yourself.”

  “You’re the one who’s hurting me,” she shouted, and the tears began rolling down her eyes.

  I stilled.

  “Do you know how fucking hard it is?” she asked, her voice breaking. “Do you know how fucking hard it has been? I wanted a different life. My own life.” She sobbed. “I was all alone, but I found help, and you took it away. How the fuck am I supposed to keep going now?”

  I couldn’t speak. Her pain did something strange to me. It wrenched my heart.

  Suddenly she began to laugh bitterly. “You offered me money earlier,” she said. “That’s more than enough for a looooong while.” She leaned forward to whisper into my ear. “I’d rather take that than a dime from my father. I will never let him own me.”

  “I have another secret,” she said and then leaned so close, her lips touched the side of my neck. I felt my cock harden when she whispered against my skin. “I’m going to enjoy earning that money from you. A million you said? You can fuck me in every way that you want, Maxim Ivanov. I’ll enjoy it because… even though I hate you… hate you so much... for some reason… I want to fuck you so bad my pussy is throbbing for you. I’ll make sure I get as much out of this sick need as I can. While you’ll get nothing more than a memory that you will never have the chance to relive again.”

  I looked at her twisted face, and felt such hurt for this woman before me. She appeared so strong to the world, but was so fragile. If only she knew that nothing she could request from me would be worth more than having her… even if I would only get to experience it once. I would near do anything for it.

  Before I could stop myself, I moved and crushed my lips to hers… and I was lost.

  I was already painfully aroused from our tussle, but as I drew her taste into my mouth, I felt everything inside of me begin to unravel.

  She fought me, her teeth biting down on my lips. I felt pain and tasted blood, but I couldn’t stop.

  It intertwined with the taste of us, raw, and vicious, and sickly sweet.

  It melted her, and I couldn’t help the primal feeling of satisfaction that flowed through my body. I let go of her arms and she threw them around me. She slanted her head and shoved her tongue into my mouth. I relished the urgent, intoxicating assault.

  Our kiss was hard, and almost vindictive in its intensity. It was mind blowing. I grabbed her ass, lifting both her feet clear of the floor and I ground her crotch into the thickened swell of mine. The thrill of being able to do that to her was exhilarating, incredible.

  Never in my life had I lusted over or needed someone the way I did her. I almost couldn’t breathe as I ravaged her with everything I had. The frustrations of the enmity between us seemed to fan the fire even more fiercely. My hands went to the button on her jeans. It melted away, her zip flowed down like a knife through butter. I could already smell her arousal. I was like a man possessed.

  My hand touched the warm silk of her panties.

  I felt like a man who had walked for miles without shoes to reach a place of pilgrimage. Finally, I was at the entrance. The priest had opened the wooden door guarded by fierce dragons. Soon I would see the face of my God. The God who had hidden his face from me.

  My finger hooked into the silky scrap of material and I felt her wetness, her delicious sweetness.

  Suddenly, she tore herself from me with a gasp, and slipped sideways. I felt such loss that a strange snarl rolled out of my throat. Like a heat-seeking missile, I went after her. In the next moment, I had my lips back on her mouth.

  She tasted pure, of unadulterated, heady pleasure, the kind that could only be dreamt about. God, I could not get enough.

  She placed both her hands on my chest and pushed me away. “Get off me!” she yelled.

  I was so gone I almost couldn’t find my sense of reason to pull away. She shoved at my chest again, this time with all her strength, and I felt myself moving.

  I saw my reflection in her eyes, and it was one that brought me shame. It was the image of a weakened man … almost broken and completely tamed … by her.

  The realization struck me with more fear.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Maxim

  “How dare you touch me?” she panted.

  “You fucking loved it too. I’m not the only one who’s intoxicated. You’re as maddened by it as I am.”

  “I have an excuse. I’m drunk. What’s yours?” Then she turned away from me and ran from the room.

  I punched the wall and welcomed the pain. My breath was coming fast and hard. I tried to calm myself down, but nothing could bring me back down from the high that had just exploded in my brain. I wanted her, with a ferocity that felt as if it would sooner or later drive me insane.

  I couldn’t tell how long
I remained there, but then suddenly I heard her steps rushing back down from the stairs. I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. She was playing with me like a cat does with a mouse. Here freedom, sorry nope. Here pleasure, sorry nope. Here heaven, sorry nope.

  A few moments later I heard her close to me. Much too close.

  I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the barrel of a 9mm Glock.

  Her request was simple. “Tell your men to let me go.”

  The gun was cocked and ready to fire.

  I saw the rage in her eyes and confirmed that she was very able to carry out the threat. She was also alcoholically intoxicated enough to, and I wasn’t going to take any risks.

  I played along and lifted both my hands in the air. “What do you want, Freya?”

  “I want out of here. I want a car.”

  In that moment, and especially at the look in her eyes I was more worried for her than for myself. If she made the wrong choice, everything from then on would truly be ruined. It would be the end and I would never be able to forgive myself. “You’re going to drive in the condition you’re in?”

  For a moment, she seemed stumped.

  I pressed my advantage. “You could kill someone.”

  “I won’t be driving. You will.”

  “Okay.”

  She held out her phone. “Tell your guys to bring a car around and then I’m going to get in it with you. And if any one of them even try to follow me, I will blow your fucking head off.”

  I hesitated.

  “Do it,” she screamed.

  I called them and gave my instructions. There was no way they were not going to react badly to a request like that from a number they did not recognize.

  Seconds later, a gang of armed guards burst into the room. All five men gazed in shock at the incredible scene in front of them. Their next reaction was to point their guns at her.

  I was almost deranged with anger. “What the fuck are you doing?” I roared.