Hard… oh her mind raced at the thought of his hard body pressed against hers, moving up and down against her, his privates fully engorged and diving deeply into her waiting wet flesh.
“I don’t know…” Tori muttered.
“It’s ok to want this… search your heart; it always knows best,” Mikhail said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the ladies bathroom. It was a smaller club and the bathroom was a private one person bathroom.
This was perfect.
Mikhail picked Tori up and sat her on the sink, his mouth pressing down hard on hers, opening and closing around her lips as he kissed her, pushing and pulling the passion erupting in a fountain of sweetness over her lips.
Mikhail reached to lock the door behind them.
“Don’t,” Tori said. “It will be hotter left open.”
She could not believe the words that were coming out of her mouth right then but she knew that she had passed a point of no return and she wanted to see this thing through to the very end. It was time to let go once and for all. She owed it to herself to be ok with this.
Mikhail smiled and grabbed her again, his hands reaching up under her dress, sliding steadily up her inner thighs. Her moistness was practically pouring out of her. She thought for sure that he would feel it any second.
His hands were on her panties now, clutching at them, pulling at them to get them to come down. They were so wet they were clinging to her now.
“Rip it!” Tori said.
Mikhail did not need to be told twice as he ripped her underwear from her body. The cool, fresh air on her ultra-wet center was exhilarating and liberating. She felt like it had been inside of a prison for ages and was now finally stretching the legs of freedom.
His fingers reached for her, plunging into her wetness, so easily eliciting a huge gasping moan from her lips. She could not breathe; her air had clenched in her chest, her back arching, her body struggling to find a whole breath in the midst of pleasurable agony.
The door opened just then.
Tori jumped backwards against the glass with terror. She knew that it was possible someone could walk in, but she was nevertheless totally surprised to see it happen.
And nothing could have surprised her for what she saw next.
“Tori?”
Laila was standing there with the door open.
CHAPTER 5
Laila was there. She was ok. She was not being held captive. She was right there with them in that bathroom.
What was going on here?
“Laila?” Tori said jumping down off the sink and pushing away from Mikhail. She quickly adjusted her dress so that it was covering her and grabbed her ripped up underwear off the floor.
She was feeling so many things right then and she didn’t know which one to deal with first. She was embarrassed and humiliated, she was angry, she was feeling betrayed, and she was confused.
“Oh, my God! Where have you been?” Laila asked, a shocked expression on her face.
“Where have I been? Where have you been? Are you ok?” Tori asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We have been looking for you for weeks. You just disappeared after that shootout. Your father has been going nuts looking the earth over for you.”
Tori looked at Mikhail. He was standing against the wall casually, an odd smile on his face. She felt like killing him.
“What the hell is going on?” Tori demanded.
“I can explain,” Mikhail said.
“I don’t think you can. You can’t explain this!” Tori yelled.
“Relax,” Mikhail replied.
“Don’t tell me to relax.”
“What are you doing with him?” Laila asked. “I thought you hated him? You know what kind of guy he is.”
“I do hate him. Oh, trust me when I tell you how much I hate him.”
“Yea, I can see how much you hate me,” Mikhail said. “You have feelings for me; admit it!”
“Feelings for you? After you kidnapped me and kept me prisoner for a month while telling me that my best friend is somewhere about to be killed if you utter the order. Explain to me where the hell the good feelings come into play there because I’m at a loss on that one!”
Tori had never been so furious before. Her whole body was shaking with rage. If she’d had a gun right then she might not have been able to keep herself from shooting this man in the face.
“No, you are just mad. I knew that if I got you away from everything then you would see that you and I make sense; we fit Tori. We are perfect for each other. I never thought that would happen to me; I’m not really a Mr. Right Prince Charming type of guy, but when I met you I knew there was something different. You are the only woman I’ve ever met who really gets me and I know that I’m the only guy who gets you.”
“You are so deluded!” Tori yelled. “I never want to see you again and you will be damn lucky that my father doesn’t put you in a body bag.”
“Tell him to bring it on. You think I’m afraid of that jerk? Your father is a joke.”
“You are the joke!” Tori said.
Tori and Laila started to walk out the door, but Mikhail grabbed her hand held her still.
“We can talk about this. You have to understand. I care about you, Tori. And I know that you care about me. You’ve felt it; I’ve seen it.”
Tori reared back and punched him in the lip with all her might. Mikhail jumped back surprised by the force behind the punch. His grip lost hers right then.
Tori and Laila walked away.
CHAPTER 6
“So, what happened at the bar?” Tori asked Laila.
They were back at Laila’s apartment. Tori had not really felt like talking too much on the trip back, but she had tried to explain the madness of what Mikhail had put her through to Laila. But she was so angry that she was probably going all over the place and not making a great deal of sense.
But now she had finally started to calm down. She was in Laila’s apartment, sitting on the couch with a cup of hot tea. It felt like forever since she’d seen her friend. She had to keep looking at Laila to make sure she was a real person and this was really happening. She was not imagining this.
“Well, the shots rang out and you screamed for everyone to get down. I hit the floor and waited until the shots stopped. A few guys were killed and the rest ran out the door. After the confusion ended the bartender called the cops. I came over to see if you were alright, but you and Mikhail were gone. There was no sign of you.”
Tori could not believe what she was hearing. The bastard had lied to her about everything. She was free to leave anytime she wanted and he had messed with her head to keep her prisoner. The more she thought about it the angrier and more nauseous she became.
“So, he never had you?” Tori asked Laila.
“What? No. Nobody had me. I’ve been fine, other than worried sick about you.”
“I don’t believe it. He told me that if I didn’t stay with him and do what he wanted then he would kill you. He told me that he had you stashed away somewhere and if anything happened to him or if I tried to escape or alert someone then you would be dead within minutes.”
“Wow. You have to call the cops,” Laila said.
“No. I can’t call the cops. You know the last thing my family needs is legal problems. The cops would like to nail the Hellraisers and my family to the wall equally.”
“So, what are you going to do? What did you do?” Laila asked.
“What do you mean?” Tori replied.
“Well, you said he wanted you to do things… did you do… it?” Laila asked. She was actually cringing at her own question.
“No,” Tori said. “He didn’t want to take it. He had this fantasy where I would just come around and want to be with him. That’s what all this was about. It’s beyond sick.”
Tori took a sip of her hot tea, enjoying the warm liquid gliding down her throat. It was relaxing. She felt like she’d just been on a rollercoaster after eating a huge meal. Al
l she wanted to do was relax a bit.
“Why were you in the bathroom with him? You were getting pretty physical? I just don’t get it…” Laila said.
Tori groaned. “I know… you know what? I don’t get it either. It doesn’t make any sense even to me.”
“Do you have feelings for him? Is he right?” Laila asked.
Tori paused while thinking about the answer. She wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
“I don’t know. There is something about him that I am drawn to. I’ve tried to fight it; I’ve tried to ignore it, but the more time we spent together the more I began to break down and it started to feel right. But I’m so angry at what he has done. I feel like he’s taken something from me that I might not get back. It’s like he cracked me open and scooped out a big part of me.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry sweetie,” Laila said.
“And the strangest part is that if you’re asking me if I do have feelings for him—the answer is yes. Yes, I really do. And I hate myself for it.”
Laila leaned back and looked away for a moment as if trying to give Tori space in case she wanted to cry this out. Tori almost laughed; she sure as hell had not changed that much.
“So, what about your dad? You have to talk to him? He went nuts when you were gone. He has had his whole crew out looking for you. I heard he even asked Mikhail if he had seen you and the guy just denied it. He is a perfect liar.”
“Yea, I guess I better talk to him. I know that he is going to freak, but I just don’t want to go through that. I wish I could put the whole ordeal behind me and just forget about it.”
“Well, one step at a time. That is the way Tori Rhodes handles things.”
Tori looked at Laila and smiled.
It was so nice to have her friend back.
CHAPTER 7
“Ok, daddy! I have to breathe at some point!”
Tori said under the weight of her father’s incessant bear hug. He realized that he was squeezing her to death and relinquished his grip on her.
“I’m sorry, honey. I’m just so excited to have my little girl back. I’ve been a bit of a nut since you left,” her father said.
“I know, dad. I’m sorry.”
“Where did you go? What happened?” Tony asked her gesturing for her to sit down. It was his way of saying that they were about to have one of their long father/daughter talks right now.
Tori had been dreading the moment since she pulled up in front of the house and now here it was. She was going to have to come clean and explain to her father where she had been for the past month. Laila wanted her to tell him the truth; she said that was the only way that she would ever start to heal after the ordeal she’d been through.
Tori had considered it. But she knew it would only cause massive amounts of bloodshed and possibly get several people that she really loved killed. And it wasn’t worth it. Mikhail had played his little mind games and ran his crazy little social experiment at her expense and now it was over. It was tragic and it was something she was going to have to deal with forever, but she was prepared to do that. There was no reason to bring anyone else into it, although she did want to see him pay somehow.
“I got really drunk at my birthday party. And when the shooting in the bar started I got so scared that I ran out the back door and stumbled around walking down a few alleys. I flagged down a cab and I had it take me to a hotel where I slept it off. The next day I was going to come home, but I just didn’t feel like going back to real life. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately and I just decided that I needed a break. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you and tell you what I was doing. I thought you would just try to talk me out of it. And I needed this. I just had to get away from everything and everyone for a while. I’m sorry.”
Tori almost believed every word of it herself. It was well-thought out and convincing even though she just made it up on the spot.
“Well, honey if you felt that way I would have understood. You should have called. You almost put your mother into an early grave with a stunt like that, you know?”
“I’m sorry,” Tori said. “That’s all I can say. I have no excuse for doing that; it was selfish of me and I just didn’t think. I was too wrapped up in me.”
“Ok,” her father said. “Well, when do you think you can get back to work? No pressure; you take your time, but I was just curious because I do miss you being out there. The people like you and they respond to you.”
“Soon, dad. Soon.”
“Alright, well you just let me know honey. In the meantime just take it easy and enjoy your long birthday,” Tony said with a chuckle.
Tori smiled and walked out of his office feeling the relief washing over her.
CHAPTER 8
Tori sat in her apartment looking at the blank television. She’d been sitting there for probably close to an hour enjoying the silence and the peace. It was odd, but for the past month she’d had nonstop peace and quiet all day and was desperate to talk to somebody, but now she was free and could pick up a phone and talk to anyone or go out into the house instead of her studio apartment her parents had built over top of the pool house when she turned sixteen, converting it essentially into a nice two-story house and talk to whoever she wanted to talk to.
But she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts, probably because her thoughts would not stop about Mikhail. She could not get her mind on anything else. She kept thinking that he would be in the kitchen making breakfast when she got done with her morning workout or that he would be coming home just before dinner to fix one of his amazing feasts and tell her stories about the stupid things his friends and employees had done that day, some of them horrible things, but it put a smile on her face anyway.
She missed him. She knew it was ridiculous, but she could not help the way she felt. When she broke it down everything he did he did because he wanted her, but he did not force her to do anything she didn’t want to beyond staying in the house. She did not want for anything there. And when she really looked back on it she had to wonder if she knew deep down that Laila was alright. After the first few weeks did she know? Did she know and choose to stay because she liked being there with him?
Tori did not know what to make of her feelings. She had to tell Mikhail how she felt. She had to get some answers and confront him about his feelings.
Thirty minutes later she was knocking on his door. She could barely remember the drive over or even being cleared at the gate to get into his property, but here she was. Was this a mistake after all?
Mikhail answered the door just as Tori was debating whether to leave or not. The sight of seeing him standing there was shocking. He looked incredible and she immediately found herself being sucked back into him.
Mikhail was shocked as well. It took him a few moments of standing there and looking her up and down before he spoke. And gone was the snarky cocky wit he usually displayed. He was talking to her like an actual person.
“Wow, I didn’t expect to see you here ever again,” Mikhail said.
“Well, that makes two of us.”
“So, stupid question, but how are you?” Mikhail asked.
“Enough with the pleasantries,” Tori said. “I came here to ask you why you did that to me. Why did you take me away from my life? Was I just some toy for your amusement? You asked me to acknowledge my feelings; well I’m asking you to acknowledge yours.”
Mikhail did not answer for a few seconds. He stepped back and motioned her inside. She stepped back inside the house and he shut the door behind her.
“Listen, I’m sorry I hurt you. That was never my intention.”
“Then why do what you did? I still don’t get it.”
“It’s like I told you at the bar; I saw an opportunity and I took it. I’ve been like that with everything in life; I’m a risk taker. I take chances. When I see an opportunity I don’t hesitate for a second. I just pounce on it.”
“I see; so I’m just an opportunity,” Tori said.
�
��No. You are much more than that. Listen, I really care about you. I’m sorry I did that to you. I ended up blowing what could have been the greatest opportunity of my life by trying to force something to happen instead of letting life take its course. I was wrong. I am sorry.”
Tori could tell that for the first time Mikhail was being genuine. He really meant every word he was saying. And she believed him. And she had to admit the truth to herself too; she cared for him deeply.
“I forgive you,” Tori said. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Mikhail took her hands in his and held her close. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I met you. I never want to let you go.”
“I’m not sure where this will lead or if it will work at all, but I want to try. I think we owe it to ourselves to let down our guards and just see what will happen with us.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Mikhail said. He bent down and kissed her gently on the lips.
“Whatever doesn’t make sense, I’m sure we'll figure it out together,” Tori said.
She closed her eyes as Mikhail leaned in for another kiss. His lips were so firm and so strong; just as she remembered. She had been craving him ever since she left him at the club.
They barely made it to the bed with a single item of clothing left between them. The passion had taken over, true passion. It was a mix of lust and beginning love that was intense and sharp, swooping in like a speeding arrow with a destination that it could not be swayed from.
She could not remember a time when she had felt so desired and so spent. As Mikhail entered her with his huge, thick member pushing through her wet shield into her waiting center she knew that it was all going to work out somehow.
Love like this could not be destroyed. It started fast and it burned bright and hard, but with the right tending it would grow to become massive and nothing could burn hotter.
The Beast In The Castle Page 113
