by Ella Miles
He doesn’t take his time. He moves fast, expertly filling every inch of me while also making me feel incredibly good. I can’t take it. It’s too much and not enough at the same time.
The sex is amazing. My hands are held high above my head as he fucks me on the dirty floor, like the slut that I am.
But I want more.
His head bends down, and he roughly takes my nipple into his mouth, giving me the more that I crave as he fucks me.
I don’t know if it is the fact that I risked my life to have sex with him, the drug, or the anticipation of finally fucking him, but everything that I have becomes lost in him as he fucks me. I’ve never been so into a man before. I’ve never been so fully lost. Never this obsessed.
But, now that I’ve had him, I’m not sure how I can ever not have him again.
“Kiss me,” I whisper.
He releases my nipple and moves his lips over mine as he slows his thrusts inside me. All I have to do to feel his lips on mine again is move up an inch. But I want him to kiss me. Claim me fully.
“No,” he says.
Then, his lips are gone, and he’s thrusting so hard that I can’t think about the fact that he’s not kissing me. All I can do is try to hang on while he takes me to a place that I didn’t know was possible to reach.
He spills inside me, not waiting for me to come, but his cum filling me combined with the deep growls leaving his throat are enough to make me come. When I do come, I lose it. I lose everything I was holding on to, and I just feel.
I feel the pain and the intense pleasure. Sex with Arlo is everything I ever imagined and more. It’s a ride I never want to get off of.
But, before I even have a chance to come down off my high, he slips out of me and is gone, leaving me alone on the floor of the same dungeon he left me alone in before. Dirty and spent and naked.
I take a deep breath as I lay motionless on the floor, and a slow smile creeps over my face. It was worth it. It was all worth it.
Shit. We didn’t use a condom. I’m on birth control, but still, that was risky. And exciting. And I want more.
A second later, his hands grab at my wrists again, and I’m being pulled along the dirt floor, hitting every rock, stinging my ass.
I don’t know if I have the energy to go again, but I want to. More than anything, I want him to fuck me again.
He stops and releases me. “Stand up.”
It takes everything that I have, but I stand up and stare into his dark eyes.
He grabs one of my wrists again and places a cold metal shackle on it. Then, he does the same to the other. I bite my lip as I try to anticipate what he’s going to do next. I try not to show how giddy I am, but I’m also exhausted.
I test the shackles once he has them on, and once he attaches them, I know I won’t be able to get free. He will have full control over me. And it excites me and terrifies me at the same time.
He begins to attach a chain to both of the shackles without saying a word to me or looking me in the eye. And then, without warning, he pulls hard on the chain.
I begin falling as my arms are pulled forward and downward in front of me.
I can’t catch my fall with my arms, but instead of landing on the dirt below me, my face and chest land on something hard a few feet off the ground.
My arms are tied to a pole at one end of an apparatus while my face and breasts are smashed against a wooden apparatus below me.
Arlo moves to my back. “Spread your legs.”
I do, barely able to touch the ground. I feel another cold shackle go around each ankle, and then Arlo spreads my legs to my limit.
“Arch your back.”
I do the best I can, and my ass is thrust into the air.
He slaps it again. I was expecting it, but the sting still hurts after all the hits before.
“I love you like this. So helpless and spread wide, just for me.”
He’s right. I’m completely helpless, and I’m afraid I love it just as much as he does.
I take a deep breath as I wait for what he is going to do next.
“I have to taste you first.”
I feel his tongue on my folds as he buries his face in my ass. His tongue darts in and out of my pussy, alternating with licking my clit. As I’m stretched wide for him, I’m so close to coming, it’s ridiculous.
“You don’t get to come without my permission.”
I clench my teeth, trying my best to keep from coming, while his tongue continually dances over my clit. I squeeze my hands into fists and curl my toes, but it can’t stop the inevitable.
I come.
Hard.
And uncontrollably.
I scream, “Arlo!”
He smacks my ass harder than he ever has, and tears immediately sting my eyes again.
“I told you not to come. You have a lot to learn, Nina.”
And then, before I can breathe, his cock slides into my ass without warning. He fucks me hard and fast in the ass—a place I’ve never been fucked before. He’s ruthless in his thrusts, not caring how hard it is for me to keep up with him.
I try to hold on as best as I can as he thrusts inside me, but I can’t. The intensity is too much. I’m tied too tightly. I’m just here for the ride.
So, I let go, and when I do, I feel myself inching closer to that blissful feeling he gave me earlier. The feeling that I will never get enough of.
“Come, Nina.”
I come.
He comes.
And I will never be the same.
He pulls out and then slowly unlocks the shackles on my ankles before moving and undoing the shackles on my wrists.
I can’t move even though I’m free.
I have no energy, no ability to move.
I feel Arlo’s arms go around me, and he scoops me up into his arms. He carefully places me down on the floor, leaning against the cold wall. He leans down and firmly kisses me on the lips, claiming me with his mouth.
And then he returns to the darkness while I sit, confused at what just happened.
He returns a few minutes later and throws my clothes to me. “You can get dressed now.”
I’m surprised that he didn’t command me like he had for the last hour that we’d been having sex.
I slowly begin putting my clothes on, starting with my panties and jeans. I have to stand to put them on, and when I do, I come face-to-face with Arlo again. It’s an intimate moment, coming face-to-face with a man who has just changed everything I knew about having sex with men.
“Did I just repay my debt, or do we get to do that again?” I ask as my cheeks flush. Please tell me we get to do that again and again and again.
He frowns. “You don’t get it, do you? You aren’t even close to repaying your debt. I saved your life. Now, you have to pay the ultimate price for me giving the ultimate sacrifice. You have to pay me back with your life.”
I narrow my eyes, not understanding. “Didn’t you just punch Erick or something and then scoop me up and bring me here?”
He laughs. “You have no idea what I had to do to get you here.”
“So, I have to pay you back with my life? What does that mean?”
“You are mine to do what I want with.”
“Until?”
He shrugs. “Your death.”
I shake my head. “So, what? You are going to hold me captive here and force me to do all sorts of things against my will? That’s illegal.”
He laughs. “It doesn’t matter what is legal or not. I own this town and most of the country. No one cares what my family or I do as long as we keep pumping money into the towns and protect them. Then, they look the other way to what we do in our spare time or how we make our money.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“You should be.”
“I’m not,” I say, but my voice falters.
“I’m not the only one you should be afraid of. When you are in my debt, you are in my entire family’s debt. My sister is not as sweet as she look
s. My father is more controlling than you could ever imagine. And my brother doesn’t have the same charm that I do.”
“You have a brother?”
“Yes.”
I don’t know why I didn’t know that before, but it doesn’t matter now. He’ll rape me or make me do unthinkable things, the same as Arlo. The difference is, I want Arlo to do those things to me. His brother, not so much.
“So, what? They will all rape me? Make me have sex with them?”
“My father and brother probably will. My sister will find other ways to torture you and make you pay us back for going through the trouble of saving you. Trust me, it was a family effort to save you. I couldn’t have done it on my own. As much as you think I’m some type of superman who can save you from anything, I’m not, and I can’t. I’m human. The same as you.”
I wrap my arms across my bare chest. I still haven’t bothered to put my shirt back on.
“I warned you to stay away. Several times. But you couldn’t resist. And, now, you will pay the price. You have just entered a world that you couldn’t even imagine. A world where the men in my family will fight over you. The women will punish you. We will all make you love us and hate us at the same time until it drives you mad. We will play games with your mind, heart, and soul. We are twisted, dirty people who have learned to control people in the only way we know how. By putting you in our debt. Then, we can do whatever we want.”
“I don’t believe you. I’ve met your sister. She’s nice. You aren’t even as evil as you seem.”
He shakes his head. “Then, you’re naive. You thought Erick was bad. We are worse. We’ll rape you and threaten to kill you; one of us might even follow through on that threat. We control you. You are our plaything, Nina. A game to entertain us when we are bored. A game that you won’t even understand the rules of until you have already lost. You’ve just entered a dirty, dark world without any escape.”
His words are twisted and wrong. Nothing makes sense. I don’t know how a family could get away with raping and murdering for years without getting prosecuted. I don’t even know if what he is saying is true or if he is just messing with me.
I’m scared.
Just enough to not want to be here anymore. He’s scared me enough to believe that at least part of it is true.
If his brother or father is anything like him, then they will try to control me. Rape me if they want. And I won’t let them.
I run.
Through the darkness, not even fully dressed, I run. I get to the door and throw it open shocked that is isn’t locked and run out into the sunlight. To freedom. But I still hear his threat ringing in my ear behind me.
“Run, Nina! Don’t ever stop running! We love the chase. Don’t ever stop running. Because, when you do, we will own you. Forever.”
9
Arlo
“We’ve found her. Our number seven,” my brother says, stepping out of the shadows.
I nod, staring at the empty black hole stretched in front of me, while Nina runs away from me. I did everything I could to keep her safe. Everything I could to scare her into running and hiding, but it won’t be enough. I have to find another way to save her. She may be in debt to my family, but I’m in her debt too. She’s already saved my life, even though she doesn’t realize it yet. I will spend my own life paying her back. Protecting her. Caring for her. And doing everything I can to not fall in love with her. She deserves better than the love of a monster.
“She will make the perfect end to our twisted game,” he says.
“I doubt we will make it that far, Matteo. I might win the first four rounds, and then the game will stop,” I say.
Matteo walks over and turns the lights on while he laughs. “You know that will never happen. The family is split on who they want to win. It will come down to Nina.”
I frown as I stare at my twin brother, who is a spitting image of me. Even our own family has a hard time telling us apart. I’ve played games against him my entire life, but the stakes have never been this high.
I have to win before it gets to Nina. It’s the only way to keep her from the truth. It’s the only way to protect her.
She’s mine. Not his. I will do whatever it takes to make that true.
Part II
Dirty Obsession
10
Nina
Seven years is a long time to live in fear. It’s an even longer time to exist without really being alive.
But it’s what I’ve been doing for most of the seven years since I fled Italy and the Carini family. I’ve been running, afraid. Never staying in one place too long.
Today is the day I stop running.
Today, I start living for the first time in seven years.
Knock, knock, knock.
I grin as I get up from the balcony chair of my hotel room that overlooks the ocean and walk toward the door. I’ve been waiting to hear that knock for the last half hour. When I get to the door, I don’t unlock it right away. Instead, I look through the peephole to verify that my best friend, Eden, is on the other side and hasn’t been followed by anyone.
She’s alone.
I take a deep breath and slide the chain over on the top of the door. Then, I slowly undo the deadbolt. It’s a habit I’ve developed these last few years. My door is always locked, and I always check who is behind the door before I unlock it.
I open the door, and my face lights up as Eden steps into my hotel room. We automatically hug each other.
She raises an eyebrow when she pulls away. “What is going on? I get a cryptic text message after over a year of not hearing from you, and a plane ticket suddenly appears at my office.”
I cringe. “Do you want a drink first?”
“Do you even have to ask?” she says as she rolls her suitcase into the hotel suite.
“Margarita okay? Or do you want something else?”
“If it has alcohol in it, then it’s a yes,” she says, still eyeing me as I walk to the kitchenette to get the premade margarita mix out of the mini fridge.
Eden’s dressed in a suit. Dark navy pants paired with a light-blue jacket. Her hair is up in a perfect bun. She looks like a lawyer. Not at all like the Eden I used to know.
She must think I’m a slob who doesn’t even have a job from the way I’m dressed. I glance down at my gray sweatpants that have a hole in the right knee. I’m wearing a black tank top, and my hair is up in a messy bun.
She must think I’m in danger. That I’m desperate, and she’s going to have to give me money to bail me out of my troubles.
I wish my life were that simple. I wish that money were all it would take to fix all my problems.
I pour each of us a margarita into the two glasses.
Eden watches every movement I make. Judging me, trying to figure out what is going on. I hand her one of the glasses.
“Want to sit out on the balcony with me?”
She chuckles. “No, I want to know what the hell I’m doing here, Nina. But, if you want to sit out on the balcony, then I will go out there with you.”
“I’m getting married. Today.”
As the last word leaves my mouth, Eden’s eyes widen, and she drops her glass.
My eyes fall with the glass as it hits the floor and breaks into pieces, spilling sticky lime margarita mix all over the hard carpet.
I find the small trash can in the corner of the room and pick it up. Then, I carry it over to where the broken glass is on the floor. I bend down and begin putting the pieces into the trash can, just needing something to do while Eden deals with the shock of what I just told her.
She slowly bends down and grabs my hand before I can pick up another piece.
“What do you mean, you are getting married? You didn’t even have a boyfriend the last time I talked to you a year ago. How could you be getting married? I haven’t even met the man! I mean…this is just crazy. Who summons their best friend to a hotel room and then tells them they are getting married?” Eden stands and
starts pacing as she continues to ramble nonsense, trying to make sense of me.
I pick up the last piece of broken glass, leaving behind the margarita goop on the floor as I stand up.
“Sit outside with me. The ocean air will calm you down. I’ll answer all of your questions then,” I say, walking outside, hoping that Eden is going to follow me.
I take a deep breath when the air hits my face. I should move to the beach. I’d have a lot less anxiety if I lived here.
Eden takes her time in coming outside. We both stand, leaning against the railing, as we look out at the view of the ocean.
“This is better, isn’t it?”
Eden looks at me seriously. “No, it isn’t. Now, spill, Young.”
I sigh. “I’m eloping. I’m tired of running, Eden. I need a fresh start. I need to fight. I need to live again.”
“You should stop running. I told you, you were crazy for running in the first place. Arlo wasn’t going to fly thousands of miles to come after a woman he slept with one time. I don’t care that he saved your life. Anyone who does anything like that is just crazy.”
“Arlo’s crazy.”
Eden shakes her head. “No, he isn’t. He scared you. He messed with your head because he knew that you were easy to mess with. He knew that you had obsessive tendencies and that you would fall for it. That’s it. Arlo Carini is not coming after you. He isn’t going to kidnap you. He isn’t going to hold you captive. And he definitely isn’t going to kill you.”
I nod. I don’t believe her, but there is no reason to worry her.
“I know. That’s why I’m going to start living now instead of running.”
“Good. But why are you getting married? Do you even know the guy you are marrying, or is this just another one of your obsessions?”
“Of course I know the guy! Geesh, Eden, who do you think I am?”
Eden takes my hands and turns me to look at her. “You are my best friend. I love you, and I would do anything for you. But you’re also a little messed up. You’re obsessive. You grew up without a mother. You watched your father die a slow, torturous death. You’re fucked up, Nina, and I just want to protect you as much as I can.”
