"Don’t tell me what to do. It's my turn to give the orders now."
"You forget Suzy, we're still in the bedroom." He said, his billion dollar poise and confidence returning. He put a curled index finger under her chin and tilted her head. "Once you step in here everything belongs to me, including those snotty little lips of yours. Now get dressed. We have a lot of work to do."
Suzy tilted her head a little lower, lifted her eyes a little more.
"No Mayweather, it's you who's forgetting that until Boyevik is off of Point Nemo and has come clean with his story to Nadia, you don’t have any right to tell me to do anything."
"I stand corrected." He said. "However Ms. Falstaff, regardless of the changes to our agreement, I'm still in charge of the execution of this mission. If you want Boyevik to come of my island without a fight and you want him to get the justice he deserves, then you will need to get dressed and stop being so pissy about every tiny little thing I ask you to do."
The two stared at each other and something came over Suzy. It was all just words. What they had done together earlier on this flight had nothing to do with any agreement; it was way more complicated and way more powerful than that.
She decided to break the rules.
Looking down to his knees she put her hand out and placed it onto his thigh, causing him to breathe in sharply. He allowed it to rest there for a moment, but when she began to advance higher he swiftly circled her wrist and then easily twisted her arm away from him.
"What are you afraid of Ruben?" She said, watching his eyes intently, ready to pick up on any tiny sign of weakness. "Don’t you like it when one of your women takes charge?"
"I'm not afraid of it Suzy, I just wouldn't want you to start something that you might ultimately regret."
He released her hand, stood up and started to get dressed. She remained on the bed watching him, silently exhilarated by the power she exerted over him. He could protest all he wanted but his extreme reaction to her light touch belied any impression of calm and control that he was trying to convey.
He clearly had the beginnings of an erection which he was attempting to conceal. She eyed it with satisfaction.
You can't change that Mayweather, with all your 'cockiness'. She sniggered to herself.
"Good boy." She said, as he fastened the belt on his jeans. "That was just beautiful, just beautiful."
He turned to her and looked down through his hooded eyes, the sexiest of knowing grins playing on his gorgeous lips.
"You think you're very clever Suzy, don’t you? But trust me, you'll pay for every word that leaves those naughty little lips of yours."
"You deliver the package Mr. Mayweather, and I'll gladly pay with interest."
"Brave promises Ms. Falstaff, very brave. I just hope your snotty little mouth isn't writing a check that your ass can't pay."
The mention of her ass brought back the memory of his stinging blows in the shower. It had been unexpected, but then so damn good… it brought a light flush to her face.
"Exactly." He smiled. "Come on Falstaff, get dressed. We don’t have much time."
He finished buttoning his shirt and left the room. Suzy lay for a minute staring at the door. She was slightly stunned at the audacity of her own words and actions, at her own unpredictability. If Ruben's plan had been to tame her and make her his obedient slave in the bedroom then it seemed to be backfiring big time. Instead of invoking submissive feelings in her she was discovering a side of herself that was sexually feisty, provocative and fearless; one that she had been totally unaware of until now.
She was still watching the door as it began to slowly open up. Ruben must have forgotten something. She lay back in the bed on her elbow and slowly separated her legs, folding her knees to form a deep valley of invitation between her thighs.
"Back to beg for more?" She said, but the eyes that peeked around the door weren't Ruben's.
"Oh shit." she said, and snapped her legs shut. "Nadia, what the hell are you doing? This is Ruben's room you can't--"
"What is he, the king of the plane? It's your bedroom as well."
She clicked on the lights and then stood looking, aghast, at her friend.
"You're fucking him." She said like an accusation.
"No I am not." Suzy threw back.
Nadia walked over to the pile of Ruben's clothes on the floor and picked up his jacket, still soaking wet.
"What the fuck is this?" She pulled at the pair of panties sticking out of his pocket.
"That right there, is certainly not what it looks like and definitely not what you are thinking."
Nadia dropped the soaked clothing and went to the side of the bed where the velvet covered handcuffs lay on the side table. She picked them up and looked at her friend again.
"Suzy, for God's sake, what the hell is this asshole making you do?"
"Nothing. Not until…" Her voice trailed off. The truth wouldn't make things any better.
"Not until what? Come on Suzy, this involves me too. I didn’t ask you to be a whore for me in order to get my estranged father off this maniac's island."
"He's not a maniac. Your so-called father is the only maniac I'm aware of."
Nadia trembled with speechless rage, the cuffs rattling in her hand. She glared at her friend for a moment, searching for words, but then gave up and collapsed instead into the chair next the side table. She dropped the cuffs on the floor and put her head into her hands.
"Suzy," she spoke through her fingers, "I think I'm cracking up. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."
Suzy scrambled from the bed and went down to her knees in front of her friend. She was still wearing the silk and sexy pajamas that Ruben had provided for her.
"Nadia, look at me. Look." She held onto her friend's wrists until finally the distraught woman lifted her head.
"I know what this looks like but you have to believe me I'm not sleeping with Mayweather. I mean… Jesus, he's not doing anything to me that I don’t want him to."
It was an admission as much to herself as to her friend.
"I don't want to talk about it now, but please, don't waste your time worrying about me, I'm doing just fine. Stay focused on what we came here to do. That's enough for now."
Nadia looked down at her friend's form made irresistibly slinky by the black lace satin sleepwear that Ruben had given her. It was hard to believe that she wasn't being turned into some kind of rich man's sex toy. What else could this insane bargain he had come up with be all about?
On the other hand, it was Suzy who had dragged him to the bedroom a few hours ago and if her friend assured her that she wasn't being manipulated then she had no right to disbelieve her.
She nodded her head, finally, and then wiped some tears away.
"Okay Suzy, I believe you. We've always been straight with each other. If I can’t take you at your word then I might as well stop believing in people altogether."
The two women embraced, relieved to be together again, trusting each other again.
"You don’t know how happy I am that he hasn't slept with you yet." Nadia said into Suzy's shoulder.
"What?" Suzy pulled back to face her friend directly.
"He's done stuff to you but you still haven't actually done it, right? Isn’t that what you said?"
Suzy nodded stiffly.
"That's right. And what?"
"Don’t get angry Suzy, this is a good thing, believe me, you don't know this guys story yet."
"His 'story'?"
"Suzy, please don't say it like that. That came out wrong."
"If there's something about him I should know then just tell. This isn’t like you Nadia, you were never into playing petty little mind games."
"It's not like that. Not at all. It's just not my place to go into that kind of detail about another person behind their back - it wouldn't be right - only he can tell you."
Suzy was growing more resentful with every word. Her friend wasn't back in her life more than a han
dful of days and already she was trying to play big sister with her, interfering in her relationships.
"Nadia, listen to me; you know I'll do anything to help you but you need to stay out of my private affairs."
"This is what I'm talking about Suzy, he's already coming between us. Look, I don’t want to interfere but please, please just promise me that you will challenge him on this. Get him to tell you what he does with women and why he does it before you even think about getting involved with him and for God's sake, don’t have sex with him until he's been completely honest with you."
Suzy stared into her friend's eyes and saw only concern, unlike Ruben who was a mystery to her most of the time. She wanted to stay angry but Nadia was the easily the smartest person she had ever met and her closest, oldest friend; in spite of herself she could see the logic in what she was saying.
"Okay." She sighed, conceding defeat. "I won't get involved with him until he comes clean. Happy now?"
"No. Say you won't sleep with him either."
"I haven't slept with him yet."
"Then tell me you won't do anything sexual with him until he's told you about his past."
That was a harder one to do. Where would she draw the line? On the other hand, that was the limit to their agreement that Ruben had already imposed upon her, at least until the 'mission' as he called it, was complete.
"It won’t be a problem." She said. "Now let's just get through this thing with your father and we can talk about relationships later when it's all been resolved. Okay?"
Nadia nodded her head, a look of pain on her face. Her father was Mikhail Boyevik. It was destroying her to even think about it.
"You've got to tell Clayton." Suzy said, obeying an impulse.
"No. No way. You have no idea how Clayton feels about him. Our relationship is over. Once he finds out who I am then he'll despise me as much as he does my father."
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do. If I tell him then he'll do everything to stop us; he'll regret ever having helped me."
"It didn't stop Ruben, he's helping us. He doesn't despise you."
"Mayweather is different. He has no conscience. He might look like an angel but that man sold his soul to the devil a long time ago."
Suzy pulled back, stung by the words, realizing how protective she felt about him now.
"That's bullshit." She said. "You have no idea what he's risking by helping you."
"He's a sociopath, he has no feelings, no fear."
"That's not true."
The two women stared at each other, neither backing off.
"Nadia, what are you doing in here?"
The two women jumped. Ruben had returned from the cockpit where he had been getting up to speed on their progress towards Point Nemo.
"What are you doing to my friend you sick bastard?" Nadia spat back.
"Nadia, leave him alone!"
He strode across the room and towered above the two women down below him.
"Suzy, get dressed. Nadia, get out of my bedroom and prepare to be briefed. We'll be arriving soon. Whatever problems you have with myself and Suzy can be addressed later, after we've dealt with your father."
Despite the women's feelings, they knew he was right. Nadia stood up, gave him a hateful look and then departed with a glance to her friend. Suzy looked down, refusing to acknowledge her. The things she had said about Ruben were unforgivable... unless they turned out to be true. She looked up at him in his designer casual wear, with his know it all smile, perfect hair and dark eyes. Despite her highly trained and focused rational mind, despite her best friend's assertions, despite Ruben Mayweather's bizarre tastes and extreme irresponsibility… all she could think of was being tied up and erotically tortured by him again and again and again.
******************
"We'll be landing in Point Nemo in under one hour." Ruben addressed the group, now all fully attired, alert and intensely focused on the task ahead. "According to your estimates, Suzy, how far behind us are Clay and Dale?"
"We have about a three hour lead on them unless weather conditions slowed them down or buoyed them up."
"That's enough." He said. "Just enough. I've contacted my team on the ground and everything is under control. Once we land on Main Island I will transfer to helicopter and go with my team to Small Island where Mr. Boyevik is located."
"I'm going alone." Nadia said. "I'm the reason we're all here. I want to see him on that island myself, just me and him."
"That's not possible. It's far too dangerous." Ruben warned her.
"He's my father for Christ's sake. He won't hurt me."
"He's Mikhail Boyevik. I'm sorry Nadia, but I won’t take the risk."
"It's me alone or I'll tell the authorities exactly what's been going on here." Nadia said quietly and then met Ruben with a defiant stare. "As soon as I have access to technology, this whole, highly unlawful detention of a dual Russian and American citizen will blow wide open and Mayweather Services, and all of its dirty dealings with the Russian Federation will fall apart like a house of cards."
Ruben looked back at her as though she had just wished him a nice day.
"I'm calling that bluff Nadia." He said calmly.
"It's her father Ruben." Suzy said without lifting her eyes. "She has a right to see exactly what's been done to him. Isn't he alone on that island?"
"He's her father Mayweather." Louise added. "He won't hurt her. Besides, she'll have full security backup, just not you looking over her shoulder. All due respect…" Her voice trailed off.
Ruben stared back at the women gathered around the table and clenched his jaw slightly before directing himself to Candy.
"What do you think?" He said. "Should I take any of these stubborn mules with me onto Boyevik's island?"
"Are you kidding Mr. Mayweather? Seriously, if you even think about taking one of these walking human shit-storms with you onto that island then, with all due respect, you're as crazy as them." She paused. "However, if you decide to take one of them anyway, I'll still guarantee their dumbass safety until this mission is complete."
"I'll be happy to go with her." Nadia said. There was something about Candy, despite her abrasiveness or perhaps because of it, that inspired absolute confidence in her.
"And I'll go too." Suzy said.
"That I can't consent to." Ruben turned his gaze to her and everyone present heard the change in tone.
She stared back at him.
"We have objectives on this mission." She said. "Do you need to be reminded?"
"Any single objective does not override the overall goal. If your condition of having me obey arbitrary commands of yours endangers the other mission targets then it has to be suspended until it becomes appropriate again."
"Then our bargain is null and void."
"What bargain?" Nadia said, darting looks between them. "Suzy you don’t have to agree to anything. You're coming, that's it. I need you there. Of all people. God damn it Mayweather, is there something you're not telling us or is it just that you want your empire torn down around you? You call us stubborn? You're the most arrogant stubborn bastard--"
"Stop it Nadia. You're not helping. This is between Ruben and me." Suzy said.
Ruben looked at Nadia with a light smile across his lips.
"It seems things have changed a little Nadia. Your friend seems capable of thinking and making her own decisions without you."
"Don’t twist this you cold son of a bitch."
"That's it." Suzy stood up. "If you both don’t shut up then I'm contacting Clayton, Dale and the authorities as soon as this plane touches down."
Nadia was taken aback at her friend's assertiveness. She had always been the leader of the two, the more forwards and aggressive, but something had certainly changed in her old friend's character.
That bastard. She thought. He's turning her against everyone but himself.
Ruben sat with that infuriating half smile on his gorgeous face.
&n
bsp; "My word Ms. Falstaff," He said. "You do continue to surprise. Okay then, I consent, but under the following conditions. Number one, everyone will be tagged. Number two, everyone will wear stab and bullet proof clothing provided to you on arrival. Number three, you will all block your nostrils with cotton wool at all times, just in case Mr. Boyevik has found access to--"
"Isn’t this overkill Mayweather?" Nadia interrupted. "He's on a rock beside one of the most remote islands in the entire world. How in the hell would he get Devil's Breath out there? Who would bring it to him?"
"It pays to be prepared Nadia. If I may continue, each of you will be provided with a personal weapon and be given a short lesson in its use before we depart."
Nadia rolled her eyes. She was desperate to see her father, sickeningly anxious at the prospect and unsure of what she would even do with him when they finally came face to face. The thought of all these additional delays were intolerable.
"Can't we just go and get him out of there?" She said impatiently.
"This is still my mission Nadia." Ruben said. "If we all follow protocol then nothing will go wrong. Not unless one of you steps out of line. There's no such thing as too much precaution with someone like your father. Suzy?" He deferred to the woman with the final say over his actions and she nodded her agreement.
"Good. Now, my final condition is that you are each accompanied at all times by a team under the command of Candy and that you obey Candy at all times. Is that agreed?"
Nadia stood up from the table, exasperated. "Like it was ever going to be any other way." She walked to a cabin seat and sat down, leaving the chair behind her spinning at the conference table.
The thought of this man who's secret life Clayton had revealed to her taking advantage of her innocent friend was eating away at her, but she couldn't deny that he was the very best at what he did and that he had already brought them a lot farther than they would gone without him.
As soon as were done with my father I'll get your sleazy hands off my friend. She thought, projecting her angry, determined thoughts at his handsome profile. And in the meantime I'll make it as hard for you to get near her as I damn well can.
Her Sweet Surrender: Billionaire Secrets - Book Four Page 5
