I wanted to walk right in and ask. There were so many questions just under the surface.
Whose injuries was he concerned with? And who, or what was Marks? Why did he want a whole street demolished… and why did his voice sound so cold, so vicious?
17
Kaine
I hung up with Brian, my mind working with everything he’d just told me. He hadn’t found the link yet, but I knew damn well it was there. A connection between Carlson Marks and Bastien Cole. I’d spent most of the night trying to remember. And trying to keep my thoughts from straying back to Grace, just down the hall.
Images of how she’d looked last night, the feeling of her in my arms had haunted me till the early hours. My body and mind had been charged, fueled by the sheer power of need she created in me. I’d pulled it in, collecting it, letting it build, using it to drive me forward. I’d learned years ago that sexual power unleashed creativity, energy, and unlimited success. So long as it was kept in carefully in check. During my youth I’d wasted it, chasing one hot woman after another, leaving myself empty and spent. But by my twenties, I’d learned better. I’d learned to harness that power by letting it build. Build to near explosive levels. And then to deny my body what it craved most, so that I could use that energy in building an acquisition and demolition empire. I needed every drop of power I could summon now. To fight Bastien’s political games to stop me.
I ground my teeth thinking of the shit that asshole had put me through. Five long fucking years to put together a plan for demolishing Rance Street and putting in a housing project, and this fuck was voted in by the narrowest of margins.
Cole headed the one committee that had blocked ARC Developments again and again, and it was time for it to stop. This was the last fucking straw. I didn’t give a shit that those houses could be historic landmarks. I wanted the entire street taken out, and it was looking more and more like I was going to have to leave La Laisse earlier than I’d planned to make sure that it happened. No matter what, that fuck wasn’t going to win this time…
I paced the floor, my cock still hard from last night and my adrenaline pumping. This was the way I always felt here. Sharp, tense, charged and ready for whatever I had to go back into the business world to face. And that was exactly the way I’d always wanted it. I didn’t come to La Laisse like the others, to waste my energy and my power. I came here to build it. To charge myself. And the price I had to pay in frustration had always been well worth the outcome. I was thirty-one with a multimillion dollar company. And I was always the one in control.
I shifted uncomfortably and walked over to the bar to pour myself a glass of mineral water. I took a swallow and felt it go down in a lump.
Everything had been easy here until the last few days. Before Grace, I’d always gone in with a plan and stuck to it. With all the others, I’d just watched them, keeping any real physical contact to a minimum. I’d used them for their beauty, for their sexuality. But I had never gotten so close. I felt my body jolt as the memory surfaced… rubbing my cock against Grace’s slick little pussy… Christ, I’d been so fucking close to slamming myself inside her and losing control completely…
For a second I allowed myself the indulgence, and imagined her writhing under me. My fast, impatient couplings as a youth would be nothing next to the kind of experience I could give her now. With her, I would use all the control I’d learned to make it last for hours. I’d learned how exquisitely sexual every part of a woman’s body was, and with Grace… Fuck, I wanted to learn every inch of her. Every breath, every movement, every sound, every response I could draw out of her… In the last two days with Grace I had felt more… normal than I had in my whole life. And I was beginning to like that feeling…
I slammed the glass down, spilling what was left of the water. It simply wasn’t possible. It would never be possible. Not for a man like me. The simple fact that Grace made me want to lose control was bad enough.
There was just too much inside me to ever risk that. Too much pain, too much regret. Too much fucking guilt. I was just too goddamn dangerous to the people close to me.
There were just too many scars from the past.
“Kaine?”
I heard her and turned. She was dressed, her hair in a long golden rope over her shoulder. Something tight inside me seemed to tighten more as the light caught her hair and showed that blush of strawberry I’d noticed the first time I saw her.
“I didn’t know… so I showered and dressed…”
“And you’re lovelier every time I see you,” I answered, careful not to move closer. My body was all too anxious to betray my best intentions.
“I was going to order breakfast before I go. The kitchen is exceptional here. What would you like?” I headed for the house phone.
“I… you’re… leaving?”
I turned to see her face darken slightly. She didn’t understand. And I couldn’t explain. As a fucking matter of fact, I wasn’t sure I could have even explained everything I was feeling to myself, let alone to her.
“Business is all,” I offered abruptly. “I should be back in a couple of days and Mrs. Sparr can see to your needs. Anything you wish and you only have to ask. Now, what would you like for breakfast?”
18
Grace
“Cinnamon toast,” I answered, hardly aware I was speaking.
Of all the things I’d expected after last night, this wasn’t it. Not even close.
I watched as Kaine turned his back on me and placed the order. The toast for me, Eggs Benedict for himself. “Juice?” he asked, and I nodded absently.
He hung up and pulled out his cell, absorbed. Lost to me.
After we’d been so close. So absolutely close last night. After all the things we’d done… I felt myself flush. And this morning he was cold as ice, all business, like nothing had happened between us at all. And now he was leaving me here alone.
I watched the muscles moving across his back and shoulders as he typed into his phone. Had I been a disappointment somehow? A man like Kaine must have had every girl here, all of them experienced. What did I know, about giving a man pleasure? Maybe that’s why he hadn’t fucked me yet. Maybe that’s why he was leaving now… to have his needs taken care of by one of the others here. Maybe even a girlfriend at home. I flashed to Dalia’s generous curves and seductive smile and felt foolish. For being here at all. For thinking I had anything to offer, worth the crazy amount of money Kaine had paid…
I headed back to the bedroom and found a soft pink cardigan and pulled it on. Wrapping it around myself, I couldn’t help but remember the feeling of being in his arms last night. I’d gone to sleep with them around me and I’d felt safe. It was the last thing I’d ever expected, but it was true. Kaine had felt solid, and warm and… real. His heartbeat had been like a lullaby. Soothing, reassuring. Something in the darkness reminding me that I wasn’t all alone.
I went back down the hall only when I heard the doorbell chime. Breakfast was left quickly and discreetly. I wondered briefly about the shocking variety of things a server must see in these rooms. No wonder she’d kept her eyes down.
“Please.” Kaine pulled out my chair and I sat. “Are you sure toast is enough? Try this…” He scooped up a forkful of his eggs and held it out to me expectantly. I reached for the fork.
“Uh uh,” he pulled back. “Let me…”
I opened my mouth and he smiled, feeding me gently, watching me lick my lips and chew. His eyes were glittering. “Do you like the taste?” he asked. His voice was quiet, his eyes were on my mouth. I saw him bite into his own bottom lip.
“Tell me what you taste. What it feels like in your mouth…”
I sat, confused for a moment, unable to answer. “Go ahead, Grace. Just tell me what you feel.”
“Warm. It’s soft and warm in my mouth, but firm too”. I licked my lips again. “Salty. It’s delicious Kaine. I’ve never had eggs like this.”
He looked up from my mouth and smiled. I was co
nfused, not really understanding the game he was playing, but my body seemed to understand of its own accord. He reached out and trailed his fingers over my lips, and I felt warmth and wetness flood into my core. All the desires he’d aroused in me last night roared to the surface and pushed my fears aside. He did want me.
A second later he had me on his lap, my legs spread and wrapped around his waist and the back of his chair. Even through our clothes I could feel the size and heat of his erection. My breasts were in his hands, my shirt buttons scattered on the floor. He was kissing me like it had the power to save his life…
“Fuck, Grace.” He kissed me and bit me, tasting, devouring. “Hot, delicious… fucking delicious girl…”
I arched back and his mouth found my breasts, sucking one and then the other into his wet mouth. “Oh please, Kaine… I want you to do this. I need you to.” I caught his face in my hands and felt him stiffen suddenly. I knew I’d broken the rules and didn’t care. He was so close. We were so close. He wanted me and I wanted him. I was bought and paid for. There was just no reason not to…
“I need you to fuck me, Kaine. I ache inside, and I want this. It’s okay… I’ll do anything you want. Anything you tell me.” I kissed him, my hands tangled in his hair. “Just don’t leave. Stay with me today and I’ll be whatever you need.”
“Grace…” He gripped my wrists in his hands. “No.”
“But you want me… I know that you do.” His face was close and I searched it, frantic for an answer. “If you’ll just give me a chance, Kaine.”
He stood, keeping hold of my wrists and letting my legs slide down his body. He kept his grip until my feet hit the floor and then he let go, pulling back and reaching for his jacket and his phone. “I have to go.”
“But why?” I knew I was pleading, and what little pride I had was all but gone. But he’d been so close. So close to letting go. “Why are you leaving me here alone?”
He opened the door and looked at me from across the room. It was like he was a million miles away again.
“I don’t explain myself, Grace. Not even to you.” He stepped into the hall without looking back at me. “I’ll be back when I can. Do not leave this room.”
He closed the door and was gone.
Two hours of pacing had done nothing to calm my body or my mind. What the hell kind of game was he playing at anyway? Hot and cold… here and gone. Ordering me to stay when he’s free to come and go. What the hell did he pay Mrs. S for? To use me, to get all hot and bothered, and then go off to be with someone else?
All my fears and insecurities came flooding back. Right along with a big dose of anger. Who the fuck did he think he was, anyway? He had paid for services rendered. Services he apparently didn’t even want now. After all, it wasn’t like he really owned me…
I stalked back to the bedroom and shuffled through the closet, searching for the boots I’d worn to the park. I shoved my feet into them, wanting nothing more than to get outside these walls for a while. I felt like I needed air, sunshine. I needed a walk. A long one. To clear my head. Maybe then I’d know just what the hell to do, when Kaine got back. If he came back.
I opened the door and headed for the elevator, irritated by the wait. I glanced around and noticed a narrow door at the end of a short corridor. Pushing it open, I found a flight of stairs. No doubt for use by employees like the girl who’d brought our breakfast. I paused an instant, and then headed down. It was as good a way as any to get to the ground floor, and I wouldn’t have to risk facing any of the girls or their masters. I was in no mood.
I headed down. The Citadel was on the top floor and I had five flights to go. My footsteps echoed softly off the yellow plaster. Three levels down, I stopped, turning my head to listen. The was someone else, farther down. I heard shuffling, and then a sharp cracking sound. Flattening against the wall, I crept down as silently as I could. I knew I wasn’t alone. And something just felt wrong. A few more steps and I leaned over the rail to see. Someone was breathing hard, and for a moment, I thought maybe they’d slipped on the concrete stairs.
At first I only saw the back of her head, leaning over the rail as if she was looking down. Then his hand shot forward to clamp around her mouth, just as she took in a breath to scream. I was frozen, staring against my will as he struggled to push the maid’s skirt up. I could see his cock, already out and ready.
“No!” I screamed out, bringing both their faces up to where I stood. “You bastard! You leave her the hell alone!”
19
Grace
“Keep your mouth shut and get back to your job,” he said, gripping the girl’s hair and pulling her upright. “If you know what the fuck’s good for you.”
Bastien Cole smiled up at me as the girl shot out of sight. The metal door clanged shut behind her and the sound echoed upwards. I stood my ground, outrage lending me the courage I didn’t usually have. I kept my eyes on him as he climbed up to me. “Is this the kind of man you are? You come here and buy women, threaten them. And have to force yourself on them as well?”
The slap caught the side of my face and whipped my head. I felt his hands on me as I struggled to stay conscious. He jerked my hands back behind my waist as he pushed me ahead of him. My eyes were streaming and my vision reduced to blotches of light and dark, swimming together. He held me by the wrists, forcing me up the stairs, jerking my arms up higher when I stumbled.
“I watched Kaine leave this morning,” he said in my ear. “Left his prize behind already, did he?”
I blinked hard and shook my head, fear turning my stomach over. Kaine was gone, and I had no idea where he was. Cole was shoving me down a hallway I hadn’t seen before. And there was no one around to see. La Laisse was famous for its privacy, its discretion. Shit, once he had me in his room, who the hell would know where to find me?
My vision was just starting to clear as the door shut behind us. The room around us was all done in dark shades of red. It was nothing like the Citadel. This was exactly the kind of room I’d been terrified of finding here.
On the walls were images of nude women, in every kind of position. All of them chained somehow. I looked away and shot a glance around the room. I had no idea how most of the… things… I saw could be used, but I knew one thing. None of them would be about pleasure. At least not for the woman involved… The one in the center looked the simplest, but somehow it seemed to strike the most fear in me. It was a double set of shackles, one higher, one lower. Cole twisted my arm behind me and forced me down to the floor next to it. He was staring into my eyes, unblinking. His were black and bottomless. I felt a sickening shudder run through me.
“I got bored with the other sluts, Grace. You’re the one I really wanted in the first place.”
He picked up a collar and leash from a nearby table that held an assortment of things I didn’t want to see. He buckled the collar in place around my neck and smiled. “And here you are, right when I was starting to think I’d lost my chance.”
He looped the leash through a ring in the upper set of shackles and jerked it hard. I gasped, choking as he tied it down, leaving me bent forward and unable to move anything but my arms and legs. “I’m going to get what I came for after all, Grace… satisfaction.”
“For what your mother did. For my sweet, dead Claire. But most of all, just for me.”
He had stripped me down to bra and panties, then he’d clamped my wrists and ankles into the shackles. I was bent forward, arms and legs spread wide, and completely unable to move. The shock of the slap he’d given me had worn off, too late to struggle, too late to fight him. I was helpless now and terrified of what he would do. He had all the power. I had none at all.
Cole sat down a few feet away in a red leather armchair and lit a cigar. The smoke drifted past me and made my throat tighten and my stomach churn. He watched me, enjoying my position. And his.
“You say you want justice for your wife,” I began, looking away to be able to get the words out. “My mother’s i
n jail and the case against her… She’s looking at thirty years with the witness set to testify. She’s almost fifty now. It’ll be the rest of her life.” I looked back into his cold, black eyes. “How is that not justice enough?” Cole picked up a small leather whip off the table beside him.
“What would Claire think of this? Of what you’re doing in this place? Of what you’re doing to me?” I was getting loud now. Anger and fear were working together. I knew I was grasping, to use his dead wife, but desperation will do that.
For a minute, I thought it might have worked. Cole sat frozen, his mouth open to speak, nothing coming out. I thought maybe he would come to his senses, that he’d see how wrong it was, to punish me for what my mother had done. “She’s gone,” I said softly. “This isn’t going to bring her back…”
He got up and circled me slowly, still not saying a word. From where I was chained, I couldn’t see his face when he was standing. He was too close. I felt the leather strips from the whip flicker across the backs of my thighs. That’s when I knew. That I’d gone too far. That what I’d said hadn’t worked at all. I heard the whistle of leather through the air before I felt it. Then the burning sting cut across my back and I heard myself cry out. He struck twice more and I bit into my lip.
“You think I want that cunt back?” he shot out. He came around and bent down to look into my eyes. “Is that what you think?” He stood up and unzipped his jeans, releasing his already hard cock all too close to my face. “That cold fucking bitch.” He took himself in hand and took a step closer. “What the fuck would I want that for, when I can have a sweet, hot little pussy like yours?”
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