by Dakota Black
“Carnal? Primal? Dangerous?” He chuckled, enjoying the slight blush. “That’s exactly what you want. You want a man to take full and complete control of you, demanding every task, requiring obedience and providing you with discipline and punishment as necessary. You want nothing more than to succumb, giving your Master everything he desires. Pain. Pleasure. Raw ecstasy. But you refuse to look into the mirror for fear of retribution.”
The words were exactly what she needed to hear and nothing that she would admit to. At least not right now.
“Tell me I’m wrong, Katherine. Tell me you don’t hunger for a man to take what he wants. Tell me you don’t long to be an obedient little girl. And tell me you don’t crave a firm hand, keeping you in line, spanking you as necessary. Tell me.”
Her hand was shaking as she reached for her glass, almost tipping it over. “You don’t know a single thing about me. Nothing at all. You assume because of your good looks and powerful demeanor that all women will simply fall at your feet. That’s where you’re dead wrong. We will not speak of this again. This is a business trip. Do I make myself clear? You are going back to your life as I will mine. Nothing more.”
She was antsy, a sheen of perspiration coving her upper lip, her body quivering.
“As you wish, Katherine and for the record, I have no love for Rush Enterprises. They offered me a job, one that allows me to stay near my ranch and the few people I give a damn about. If you can prove that their rigging methods are in any way damaging to the environment, whether the ocean or land then I will report the findings. What the powers that be at Rush do with this information is out of my control. And I won’t stand on a stage, in front of dozens of news reporters, who have zero understanding of the damage that can be caused to the environment by careless acts. After these two weeks, I fully anticipate we will never see each other again. And in truth? That is fine with me.”
Katherine lifted her glass. “A toast to the truth.”
“The truth, always.” As he allowed their glasses to touch, he felt a sharp pain behind his eyes. He hadn’t been truthful to anyone in fifteen years, even himself.
The tension mounted between them.
“A ranch?” she finally asked, her tone hesitant.
“Another surprise. That’s not on the gathered information?” Snake snarked then ran his finger around the rim of the wineglass. “The land has been in my family’s name for over a hundred years. I inherited the ranch many years ago, although I had nothing to do with it for a very long time. My brother is much more of a cowboy than I’ll ever be.”
“A working ranch?”
“Yes, I’m proud to say an actual working ranch. We have almost two thousand acres. My brother takes care of the business for me, thank God.” Snake chuckled. “Logan is a Godsend.”
“I bet it’s amazing,” she whispered as she leaned further in.
Shrugging, he glanced toward the ocean. “The days spent at the ranch brought me some of the best memories of my life, grounding me in a way I never wanted early on. I had no desire to work with the family. Broke my father’s heart. First born son.” The words seemed to come easily.
“We all need something or someone to ground us.”
“The ocean?”
“Yes. I’m a different person when I’m close to the ocean. Maybe the salt air, the way the water feels on my skin.” Katherine laughed. “I have no idea why I didn’t pursue my father’s dream. I think I rebelled, wanting to get away from what I’d grown up with. Then again, I never really knew my father since he was gone a significant portion of the time.”
Snake wanted nothing more than to reach out, brush the strand of hair out of her eyes. Instead, he took another sip of his wine.
“I know what you’re thinking. A long way from oceanography to the law and becoming a senator.”
“I wasn’t thinking that at all.”
She toyed with her glass before giving him a darted look. “Then what were you thinking?”
He hesitated before answering. “That you wanted to run away from everything you knew simply to prove yourself. To your father.”
Laughing softly, she nodded several times. “I guess I really am an open book. Not that I ever knew if Daddy was proud of me. He died without ever saying a word. Didn’t come to my college graduation, never sent a note of any kind. He was a formidable man with few friends and one too many enemies.”
“Enemies?” The thought had never crossed his mind.
“Telling the world that what they’re doing is destroying the ecosystem in a very vocal manner doesn’t bode well in certain circles.” Sitting back, she continued to laugh, finally snorting until her face glistened from perspiration as well as embarrassment.
At that moment, he knew she was the most beautiful woman in the world. “Like father like daughter.”
“Exactly.” Coughing, she patted her chest and shook her head. “I’m not entirely certain what I’m doing any longer.”
“None of us ever really do. We work to pay the bills, worrying about where we’ll go next or perhaps if there’s anything important any longer. We frustrate over menial tasks, as if they matter to anyone. Few of us take chances, preferring to sit back on our laurels. We’re just playing a game with the people who are buried deep inside, fear and self-loathing making it impossible to follow our hearts.”
Katherine shuddered. “But we want so much more.”
“Only the lucky few allow themselves the right to come clean, becoming the person they were intended to be.” He wasn’t entirely certain why he’d shared his inner turmoil with her. Even his relationship with Logan had never been close enough for him to hear the mutterings of a madman. He allowed a slow breath to escape as he noticed Pepe’s beckoning face.
“You were right about me.” Her words were whispered.
“That you’re living a lie?”
“About what I want in a man.” Her words were almost inaudible. “What I hunger for. What I need.”
Leaning over, the creaking sound of the chair matched her scattered breath sounds. “When you’re ready to ask me for what you want, I’ll be happy to give you what you need. But you will have to ask.” His cock was throbbing, his balls swollen to the point of anguish. He could hear her rapid heartbeat, could tell her throat was clenched and could smell her blatant desire. Reaching over, he finally eased the hair out of her eyes, allowing the tips of his fingers to brush down the side of her face.
A single moan slipped past her lips as the jolt of current shot through both of them.
“Just ask,” he whispered then eased his chair away from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
“Of course.”
He could tell that she was fighting with herself, longing to have the courage to ask him for everything she’d fantasized about for so many years. He could feel the savage part of him bridging the surface, ready to strike, to devour every inch of her. While he’d learned patience, there was no way he would be able to resist her. Hissing, he controlled his breathing, pushing back his libido. This was no time to lose control.
Snake knew enough about Pepe to realize that whatever the man needed to tell him was of utter importance. He’d left the island without any fanfare, never to return. The circumstances had been difficult and life altering, but what he’d turned into during his stay on the islands had almost destroyed his life. He had more than his share of enemies, men and even a few women that would enjoy seeing his new life unravel.
He found Pepe in the kitchen, working with a staff of two.
“Ah, my friend. You understood,” Pepe said under his breath.
“Of course, although I’m surprised after all these years you even remember me.”
Pepe shook his head. “Marco, take over and be very careful with this dish. For one of my oldest friends. Come.”
He trailed behind the older man into a small bar and waited as Pepe poured himself a brandy, waving off the offer to join him. “What’s wrong, Pepe?”
<
br /> “You disappeared.”
“I had an opportunity to leave, but I certainly didn’t disappear.”
“Well, as you well know, things are different on the islands.” Pepe took a gulp, his hand shaking.
“You’re not well.” He could also sense Pepe was frightened.
“I’m fine, although my daughter is insistent that I come live with her in Florida. What would I do in such a place? My home is here.”
Snake eased his hand over his friend’s. “What has you so spooked?”
Pepe’s brow furrowed, and he looked over Snake’s shoulder, as if anticipating a nasty interruption. “I heard nothing about you for over ten years. You leave. Nothing.”
“But?” The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. What he’d left behind in this beautiful tropical paradise was death. He’d cheated death more than once.
“A man and one I never saw before came into my restaurant asking for you. He sat and drank, eating for almost two hours without saying a word. Then he cornered me in the hall, asking if I’d seen you.”
“What did you say?”
Pepe took another gulp. “That I hadn’t in ten years. There was no fear at the time. I told the man the truth and he could tell.”
Snake exhaled and rubbed his jaw. “What did this man look like?”
“Tall. Blond. About your age. There were no distinguishing features that I could tell. It was dark, and he wore black clothing. I admit, I was shaken, but there was nothing more that I could offer him.”
“And what did this man do?”
Pepe tipped his head, his eyes darting back and forth. “Don’t, my friend. You have a new life, a beautiful woman on your arm. Enjoy your vacation.”
“This is no vacation, Pepe.”
“Please tell me you’re not coming back here. There is nothing but despair for you. That I know, my friend.”
“No,” Snake said as he leaned against the bar. “My life is in Texas right now. I am merely helping out Senator Wallace for a project she’s working on.”
Pepe studied Snake’s face, as if uncertain what to believe. “He left something for you. At first, I was going to throw it away, but something told me you’d be back.”
“What did he leave?” Now, his skin was crawling.
“Hold on.” He pushed the drink away and walked behind a small curtain.
Snake didn’t try to follow. The trust remained intact. He did study the few people he could see, as if he was being watched. There was no way of telling who remained on the payroll and why they would bother coming out of retirement.
“Here you are, Snake. As you can imagine, I didn’t look inside.” Pepe placed the sealed brown envelope in his hand.
There was no writing, no indication of the previous owner. The weight felt more like paper, perhaps photographs but the thickness was surprising. He could also tell the envelope and its contents had been placed in a dirty environment. “Thank you for keeping this safe for me.”
“I’m sorry to have interrupted you but I knew you’d want this right away,” Pepe said as two customers came into the bar. “I must go. Please enjoy your dinner and I predict that you and the lovely senator will become very close.” A smile crossed his face.
“I guess we shall see.” Shoving the envelope into his jacket, he tapped on the bar as Pepe headed for the couple.
Pepe hesitated and took two long strides toward Snake. “I can tell you one more thing about this man and this I know for certain.”
“All right.”
“He was sent here to kill you.”
Chapter 5
Snake did everything he could to control his breathing, yet he panted as he walked out the front door, desperately needing air. This had been entirely out of his scope of reason, pushing hard against his very sanity. What the fuck was going on and who was trying to get to him? Everyone involved was dead or in jail. Or so he thought.
Beads of sweat were already pouring down the back of his neck, pooling into his shirt. Over ten years had gone by and he’d been left alone, finding a new life. He’d never looked back. Not once. He’d shelved the ugliness so far in the back of his mind that he was no longer that person.
As he heard laughter coming from a nearby car, he found himself stumbling to get the hell away. Sucking in and gulping air, he headed straight for the jeep, fumbling to stick the keys into the lock. He looked all around him, half expecting to see someone waiting in the shadows. There was no way he was going to get frazzled over this. Yanking the envelope from his pocket, he tipped at the flap, dragging the contents into the dim interior light.
The small wire notebook was ripped, the front cover scuffed by years of usage, the pages inside stained with yellow, the stale stench was cigar and cigarette smoke. As he flipped the pages, he knew what he was seeing. “Fuck.” The past could never be denied. He slapped his head on the headrest then fingered the envelope. There was more.
His hand shaking, he extracted the remaining items. The photographs were in black and white and taken from a distance, no doubt with a telephoto lens. The pictures had also been taken years ago. Years. He pressed the back of his hand over his mouth as he dropped them, the glossies, falling onto the seat, dropping to the floor.
He closed his eyes, counting to ten until the images were snuffed from his mind. The plan had been in motion since he’d left. The bastards had been planning on ruining him from the day he’d walked out. But who was in charge? Who would have not only the balls but the understanding of what to do in order to get to him? Then the level of patience was… Someone was watching him, waiting for him to break his silence, his vow. Yes, he’d left, disappearing but he’d kept the secrets. The lies. Katherine would never know how apropos her words truly were.
God, the fucking vow. How and why had he allowed himself to get mixed up in such a life? Boredom? His hunger for danger? There was no way of telling, but he was a different man now and would continue to be. Slamming his hand on the dashboard, he tried to figure out a plan. If there was someone remaining on the island, it would be a matter of time before both he and Katherine were found. He refused to allow that to happen.
Protection. You bet that was his next move. He grabbed the pictures, shoving them into the envelope. Leaving the island wasn’t an option. Alerting Katherine would only mean destroying what little control over the situation he had left. Logan and Tyler deserved better. He pressed his hand against his chest. However, there was a scenario that could endanger what he held most dear.
Grabbing his phone, he slid his finger across the screen. “Damn it!” There was absolutely zero reception. Laughing, he held the phone to his head. The bastards had him right where they wanted him. And how in the hell was he going to warn Logan? What a freaking mess.
He yanked the envelope from the seat, noticing a slip of paper. As he pulled at the single sheet, reading the words, he realized he was going to have to make a difficult choice.
Your time is up…
“Just ask for what you want…”
The words remained furrowing in the back of her mind all through dinner as well as the ride back to the villa. Katherine had never been so incensed as well as turned on in her entire life. The nerve of the man was outrageous, but he’d pegged her completely. How had he seen through her so easily? Even her husband hadn’t gotten close enough to her to even notice she craved a firm touch, a hard spanking. Hell, John had even laughed at her suggestions of doing anything kinky.
Well, then again, he was happy dominating everyone else but her and the buxom blondes, brunettes and every other color of hair had been more than eager to do his biddings, in pleasure as well as business. She couldn’t believe she’d actually fallen in love with the jerk-off.
Nights spent fantasizing, hungering to the point she’d lost sleep hadn’t prepared her for the level of raging desire building. The crescendo was coming and the excitement keeping her on edge. Amazing. She rubbed her eyes, trying to think of anything else. He continued to push her butt
ons, shoving her out of her comfort zone. He was doing everything to drive her to the very limit. Damn it! The way he drove around the curves, pushing the jeep to its limits was dangerous and oh, so delicious.
She’d been able to tell something was bothering him. He certainly wasn’t the kind of man who was going to talk about his problems, his fears.
“You are an interesting man, Snake Driscoll. I can’t help but wonder what you’re hiding.” She stated the words with conviction then laughed and could tell he wasn’t taking the bait. There was no doubt she should have taken more time finding out who this man was. What she’d done, the decision and challenge to come here was flippant and without thought.
“We need to be careful,” Snake said casually, his eyes never leaving the road.
The few words broke her out of her revelry. “Why?”
“You’ll need to trust me, Katherine. There are various people from my past that would not think kindly of what we’re doing here.”
The statement didn’t make any sense. “I don’t understand.”
“Let’s hope that you won’t need to find out.”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
The look he gave her was cold. Calculating.
Her thoughts shifted to the man at the restaurant. She’d seen Pepe’s expression, one of concern as well as raw fear. Why? And what connection did Snake have with the man? Snake was certainly a man of mystery as well as distinction, hiding secrets much like her own. Something was off. Her gut told her as much. What was going on? All the information she’d been given suggested a hidden past, but why was he bothered by Pepe, a mere restauranteur? Then again, why had he gone to the restaurant in the first place?
What she refused to tell him was that she’d followed him inside the restaurant. She’d hidden and hadn’t been able to hear much of the conversation, but what she did hear had been enough to realize his past was catching up to him. She’d noticed the envelope, the way he’d reacted as if terrified to find out the contents. However, she’d selected the island location. Until just two days before, Snake had no idea where they were going.
