XSource: Deal. Now the job details?
Daddy: I’ll send tomorrow at noon. Be ready, kitten.
The nickname finally clicked. He’d called her kitten twice now and she’d been too grossed out to think about the code word. That, and when she lived with Father at his compound, she’d rarely trained with him and his men. The word ‘kitten’ was code for rooftop. He was trying to tell her that the extraction would take place on the roof. Which made sense since there weren’t many other places he could do it. Unless he had a key to the extremely locked down elevator. And then he’d have to somehow get off the elevator without getting mowed down by Ivan’s people. He was also giving her the time for her extraction. 10am, two hours before the stated time. She logged off the chat site, closed the laptop and stared sightlessly across the downtown skyline.
Ivan stood next to his tech guy, watching Jaya’s online conversation in real time. It had taken about a minute for his guy to catch up to her. At first they were simply looking at a replica of her screen, but she somehow managed to black them out. Once they figured out what she was doing, the tech guy began retracing her footsteps. When he’d tried to log onto the chat site she was using he was instantly rerouted. Finally, after some fast and fancy typing they were in. Ivan watched, far more impressed with Jaya’s skills than those of his own people. If they had half the talent she did, they would at least be able to keep up with her.
It wasn’t until he began reading her conversation that admiration swiftly turned to rage. He wasn’t exactly sure what part of the conversation enraged him more; the part where she thought she was duping them through a badly coded conversation, her use of the term ‘Daddy’ while speaking to another man or her blatant betrayal of him while knowing he was most likely somewhere nearby reading a transcript of her conversation. Did she really think he was so stupid that he couldn’t read through this weak attempt to connect with her Father or one of his disciples?
The love he felt for her burned and churned in his gut, made him wish he could hate her. But then, hatred was a feeling too. And Jaya was the only person capable of pulling any kind of emotion from him.
“What’re we gonna do?” Keane grunted from beside him. “Canary going back in her cage so she don’t get caught in the crossfire?”
Ivan wanted to nod his head, wanted to agree with the man. But he was smarter than that. If he wanted to finish with this threat on his life, the same threat that was also putting Jaya at risk then he needed her involvement. Though her move to connect with Father angered him, he knew it was a good move, he could use it to their advantage. Flush the enemy out, invite him to Ivan’s doorstep and then take him apart piece by piece.
“No,” he said coolly. “We’ll use her to bring Father in. Make sure she’s visible, then get her to safety. It’s your job to make sure nothing happens to her.”
Keane snorted. “I think I’ll request compassion leave. My auntie is sick and I need to some time off. Think my survival is higher that way.”
Ivan ignored him, turned and left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Anything you want to tell me?”
Jaya glanced up at Ivan, positive that guilt was written all over her face. They were walking side-by-side down the wide hall toward their bedroom. They’d just shared their supper meal and Ivan had decided to spend the rest of the evening with her rather than go back to work. Her heart had leapt at the suggestion since she might be leaving the next day. Who knows if he would want her back once she left? If he would understand her reasons. She was going to soak up as much of his attention while she could.
She shook her head, dark hair swirling around her shoulders as she tilted her head to look up at him innocently. She could tell from the gathering storm in his grey eyes that she was failing. He knew something was up, had probably followed her earlier chat and wasn’t happy about it. She bit her lip and walked into their bedroom when he opened the door and held it for her. The moment she cleared the threshold he slammed it shut and locked it, clearly taking out some of his anger on the heavy door. She flinched and stepped back.
He turned to look at her, his eyes sweeping over her from head to toe, warming slightly but not losing the boiling anger that had seethed just below the surface from the moment he’d picked her up for their evening meal. She’d chosen something completely different to wear, wanting to make an impression on what was possibly her last night with the handsome arms dealer. With the arrival of her new wardrobe, thanks to a spendy princess, she had plenty of choices. She was now wearing a Stella McCartney mid-thigh length black lace dress that covered her from wrists to neck. But the sheer fabric hinted at lush curves and complimented her dark skin. Ndari had insisted she wear the dress with a pair of ‘killer’ black heels, which Jaya began to take literally after a few hours of practicing in them. But the overall effect of the outfit was worth it. Even angry, Ivan couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Tell me who Daddy is?” he demanded, his voice hard, though his gaze still lingered on her breasts and hips.
She shook her head a little. “He’s no one important.”
“He’s obviously important enough that you’re planning on doing a job for him without permission,” Ivan shot back. “Now start talking unless you want to discuss who exactly you’ll be calling daddy in the future. And trust me, if we have that conversation, you’ll be doing it on your knees.”
Jaya couldn’t help it, despite the stress she was under, she giggled at the thought of Ivan forcing her to call him daddy. She covered her mouth quickly, but not before he caught her amusement. He, of course, was less than amused. His eyebrows came down in a glower and he took the steps separating them. She jumped back quickly, hitting the edge of the bed, and nearly fell backwards. He caught her arm and jerked her upright.
“You think this is funny?” he growled.
“No,” she whispered, and then the image of him telling her to call him daddy while she went down on him smashed through her brain again. She laughed out loud. “I-I’m sorry! I can’t help it.”
His lip twitched and he dropped his forehead against hers. He gripped a handful of her hair and wrapped it around his fingers, allowing some of the smooth strands to escape, while others stayed caged in his grip. He used his other arm to pull her in close against his hard chest. She snuggled against him, his willing captive. He forced her head back a little and dropped a gentle kiss against her lips. “I love you so fucking much, even when you’re actively ripping my heart out,” he murmured against her.
She shook her head, wrapped her arms around his waist and stared up at him. “If I rip your heart out then I’ll keep it safe, I promise.” It was the best she could give him. She wasn’t going to promise not to betray him, not to rip out his heart, because she was going to do both. But she was going to do her best not to hurt him too badly.
He stared down at her, his eyes steely. Finally he dipped his head in a single nod, picked up her hand and pressed a kiss into the palm. “All I ask is that you be safe, Jaya, my love. If anything happens to you…”
She felt a lump in her throat at his words and had to blink rapidly. She almost couldn’t believe that she’d found this kind of love. A man that she could fall in love with, a man that had fallen in love with her, flaws and all. A woman both with and without a history. And she was going to walk away from him, the man promising her love and family; the things she’d never had and always yearned for. A sob of despair escaped her throat and a tear dripped straight down from her eye to her cheek.
Ivan swiped his thumb over the apple of her cheek. “Tell me,” he said huskily. She sensed that he wanted her to speak, but he wasn’t curious. It was like he already knew.
She opened her mouth to confess, to tell him that Father was coming to take her away, that she didn’t want to go. That she wanted to make her life here, with Ivan, on top of the world in Jakarta, where they were safe. Only it was false. They weren’t safe and never would be. Though difficult, they could both even
tually be tracked. Especially by a man with the resources and determination Father had. It had taken many years, but Father had eventually found Ivan through his cat burglar, Katie Pullman, and then used her to get to Ivan by putting Katie and XSource in touch with each other. Now it was up to Jaya to go to Father and talk to him, find out if she could convince him to give up his life-consuming vendetta against a man who didn’t even know who he was. For that matter, Jaya didn’t even really know who Father was. He’d always been just a shadowy man that’d asked favours of his foundlings, utilized their talents in return for a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
But it was more than that, her brain whispered.
Father had used his own hatred to somehow twist the children he rescued. He’d done it subtly, using words and images until Jaya could barely remember a time when she hadn’t hated and feared Ivan Vogel. Only when he was sure that Jaya was a good, obedient little minion had Father let her loose in the world to run amok. To build her own empire using her hacking skills. All he asked of her was that she occasionally fuck with Ivan’s arms deals and insinuate herself in the life of his protégé, Katie Pullman.
She realized that Ivan was waiting for an answer. Her lips quivered as she whispered the words that came out before she even knew what she was saying, “Ivan, I think I love you.”
His hands tightened on her and his eyes grew fierce. He nodded, his own lips thinning right before he spoke. His voice was hard. “I won’t forbid you from doing this job tomorrow, Jaya, but you promise me you’ll be safe.”
“I… I’ll try,” she said, her words stumbling as she choked on a sob.
He shook her. “No, you will do it,” he said roughly. “You will not put yourself in any kind of danger or I will put you in a cage for the rest of your natural life, sweetheart. I’ll make your cage on the island look like luxury in comparison. You understand?”
“Oh god,” she sobbed, clinging to him. Neither of them acknowledged what they weren’t saying out loud. That she was going to betray him and try to find a way to leave with Father and that he knew. That he knew and forgave her. “Ivan!”
He bent his head and took her lips in a desperate, passionate kiss that she returned full measure. She dug her fingers in his hair and anchored herself against him, meeting his tongue thrust for thrust. She was surprised when she tasted salt and then realized that she was crying, sobbing into his mouth. She didn’t care and she didn’t stop, she continued kissing him with everything she had, using her body to show him how much she loved him.
She felt his hands fumbling at the back of her neck and shrieked, “No!” into his mouth just as he took her dress in both hands and shredded it right down the back. She reared back in his arms, only a few inches since he wasn’t willing to let her go far and glared up at him. “This was a $3,400 dress!”
“Tell the princess she has excellent taste,” he said, yanking the dress right down her body. He lifted her from the puddle of badly torn material and swung her around to face the bed. “My god,” he growled with appreciation, taking in the black thong, thigh highs and demi-cup bra set. “Excellent taste in everything. She can definitely stay.”
Jaya looked at him over her shoulder and bit her lip then smiled. She couldn’t help herself, the look of sheer lust on his face as he stared at her nearly bare ass, the release of tension from moments before, she simply had to say it. “You like what you see, Daddy?” she drawled in a husky voice, trying to sound sexy. Then she ruined it by giggling and clapping a hand over her mouth.
He growled at her and shoved her forward, face first. He caught her by the hips before she could do a complete faceplant and urged her onto her hands and knees. Excitement went zinging through her, pooling in her belly and sizzling outward until she was panting, waiting breathlessly for his next move. She didn’t have long to wait. He tugged the ends of her hair in one hand and wrapped it around and around his fist until her head was forced back. He leaned over her, his eyes glinting with purpose. He reached into her bra and cupped her breast, squeezing the supple globe with just enough strength to leave her gasping but unhurt.
“You want to play with me, do you, baby?” he asked, growling in her ear.
Jaya tilted her head in a tiny nod. “Yes, please,” she moaned, licking her lips and staring up at him, begging him with her eyes. She’d never known Ivan in this kind of mood. Had never really seen him any other way except serious. She knew deep in her heart that only she could bring out these facets of his character. It warmed her and made her want to push the beast, push him until he broke and showed her everything he was capable of; good and bad. It all belonged to her.
“Such a good fucking girl,” he groaned, and then brought his hand down on her ass, spanking her. Jaya jumped and then automatically lunged forward trying to get away from the unexpected pain. His wrapped his hands around her waist and held her still until she stopped struggling. “Don’t move.”
She held still and after a moment, when her brain was able to separate from the heat of the spanking she could feel the sizzle and spikes of heat streaking outward from her ass and lighting her blood on fire. She dug her fingers into the bed and held on as he lifted his hand and brought it down on her ass several more times in quick succession, spanking each cheek alternately. She jumped with each strike, unable to supress the instinct, but pain turned to pleasure and bloomed within her. Her pussy quickly became wet and felt unbearably empty. She wiggled beneath him as he ran a broad hand over the heated globes of her ass.
In one swift move he gripped the waist of her thong and dragged it down her legs, stretching it over her spread thighs and yanking it off her legs. Jaya lifted herself, helping. As soon as her knees were back on the bed he slapped her again, sending her heart and her libido soaring. She shrieked and tossed her hair back but dug her hands into the bedding, refusing to move under his harsh treatment.
“Such a good, obedient girl,” he snarled over her.
She groaned, his words making her even wetter, even wilder to have him inside her. It was everything she could do not to shove herself back into him and beg him to fuck her. She wanted him worse than she ever wanted anything.
She tossed her hair back again and glanced back to see what he was doing, why his hands weren’t on her, in her, fucking her. He was busy pulling his tie off and wrenching his shirt open, his smouldering eyes caressing every inch of her body, lingering on her upraised ass. He kneeled on the bed next to her and drew his hands gently down from her shoulders, to her arms, circling her wrists. The silk of his tie caressed her arm as it slid down her skin and she shivered at the sensation after the beating her ass had just taken.
He pulled her hands behind her back, pushing her forward until her shoulders were resting on the mattress and tied her wrists with his tie. She immediately tested the bond to find out if it was secure. She whimpered as it tightened around her, digging into her flesh a little. He placed a hand over her wrists and squeezed his warning. She stopped struggling.
“You said you wanted to play,” he said, his voice deep and thick with passion. He moved back behind her and used his thigh to push her legs further apart. She moaned as another rush of heat hit her belly, sending more fluid to her already dripping pussy.
Her breath caught and then scattered as he ran two long fingers through the folds, dragging them from front to back, over and over, around and around, before pushing them inside her. He did this with slow laziness, as though exploring her, but with confidence. Like he knew exactly where to touch, how to touch and with how much pressure. She closed her eyes, feeling the slow build-up of another exquisite orgasm at the hands of her captor.
Then he pulled his fingers from her body, wrapped his arm around her waist, and dragging her closer, placed his fingers at the entrance of her ass. Her eyes flew open and she tried to wiggle out of his grip. But with her arms tied behind her back and his grip on her waist, she was helpless. She opened her mouth to deny him access to the most private part of her body, wh
en he used the lubrication from her pussy to push forward, breaching the virginal ring of her ass, slowly filling her.
Jaya cried out, her voice a strangled moan, muffled by the bedding beneath her head and the hair that had fallen into her face. Was he trying to punish her? Maybe he really was angry with her still. But, while the burn hurt, it wasn’t unbearable. She felt full, too full and the sensation was foreign. She felt as though she needed to push back against him. He kept forcing his fingers in, pushing them deeper and then twisting them within her. She yelped and dropped her bottom onto her heels, trying to escape him, but he released her waist long enough to give her ass cheek a sharp slap, the hardest one yet.
“Back up on your knees,” he snapped.
She lifted her ass again and realized the pressure in her anal passage was much more bearable now. In fact, it almost felt good. He continued to work her ass, using more wetness from her slick pussy to ease his way, while she moaned and whimpered underneath him. After a few minutes, the burn morphed into a sizzling heat that merged with the warmth that’d been building in her pussy. A different kind of orgasm began to build, one she never expected, never thought to experience.
He leaned over her and said in a low voice, “We’re going to play a different sort of game now, my love.”
She stiffened, hearing the dark intent and the anger in his voice, still simmering from when they first entered the room. “What kind of game?” she gasped.
“The game where you tell me what tomorrow is really about,” he growled against the side of her head. “And I don’t punish this ass even more than I want to right now.” He twisted his fingers to the side, pushing them deeper. Jaya lunged against him, caught in his steely grip. She tried to catch her breath, but it was a losing endeavor.
Capturing Victory (Driven Hearts Book 3) Page 23
