by Anna Antonia
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My Love Forever
Copyright © 2017 by Anna Antonia
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My Love Forever
Anna Antonia
DelSin Publishing, LLC 2017
Love billionaires, second-chance love, and romances about surrender? Then sign-up for my newsletter: http://anna-antonia.com/newsletter
Copyright © 2017 by Anna Antonia
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from DelSin Publishing, LLC. DelSin Publishing, LLC and the author assume no liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by:
DelSin Publishing, LLC
www.delsinpublishing.com
Cover Credits: Konrad Bak
Cover Design: CGM Web Designs
Table of Contents
My Love Forever
Copyright © 2017 by Anna Antonia
Table of Contents
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If I know what love is, it is because of you. –Herman Hesse
1
RISA
I had no memory of how we got here or how long it took. I couldn’t tell how far away we were from the next house—if there was even a house nearby. All the windows were shuttered, barely leaving a crack for light to fight its way through.
The home, what I could see of it, was rather small. Pictures of saints lined the wall. Family photos filled in the gaps left by religious devotion.
“Who are they?”
The man who’d taken me flicked a careless hand. “That lovely crew would be the Nicolescus. See there’s Dinu, Magda, and their lovely daughters—Anca and Andra.”
I cleared my throat. “W-Where are they?”
“Hmm? You’re asking if they’ve been chopped up into little pieces and are currently tied up in plastic bags in the cellar?”
Bile scalded the back of my throat. How could this green-eyed bastard be so fucking nonchalant?
“I kid! I kid! The Nicolescus are buried in the snow.”
All it seemed I had left was suicidal courage. Confession to murder probably happened when you were either arrested or confident the other party was never going to be able to tell.
I didn’t have to guess which side of the line I stood on.
“In the backyard?”
“Relax, Miss Kelly. They’re on vacation. We’re just borrowing the house while they’re gone. So don’t make a mess of the place, all right?”
There wasn’t anything to say.
“I must admit you are a pleasant surprise Miss Kelly.”
“Yeah?”
He propped his hand with his palm. “Mmm. Normally, this job isn’t in my area of expertise.”
“Kidnapping isn’t in your toolbox?”
“No. Not usually.”
This man scared me. So pleasant and friendly. Charming even. Handsome too. What ugliness hid behind his easy smile? And what did it bode for me?
How many times did Damian tell me how the words didn’t mean anything? It was the intent behind them that mattered.
Oh, how I finally understood when it was too late!
“Usually these kinds of jobs are boring. Cliché billionaire with his cliché mistress. He’s a soulless bastard and she’s a money-grubbing reflection. Find the pressure point and push. Threaten to expose his little piece to the wife and society. Easier if he’s a kinkster. Billionaire falls in line. Too easy.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I fucking made it ridiculously easy for him to snatch me off Damian’s property. I should’ve used my head instead of letting my emotions control me.
Goddammit.
“Aw, don’t beat yourself up for it, Miss Kelly. I would’ve got you anyways.”
I also hated how easily he could read my thoughts.
“No, you wouldn’t.”
Mischief sparkled in his emerald gaze. He cocked his head. “Your Damian would’ve stopped me?”
“Without a doubt.”
He wagged one finger. “No, I’m afraid not. Your Damian would not have stopped me. Your Damian would’ve been hurt and I’d still have you.”
He didn’t say “killed” but simply “hurt”. I took comfort in the word choice.
I had to get it together. I couldn’t afford to let my emotions run away from me again. If I wanted my captor to keep talking then I had to be interesting. Not boring.
“Look at you. What are your turning wheels telling you to do? Keep me talking until I let something slip?”
“You’re not going to let anything slip. But you will reward me with information if I don’t annoy you.”
“Bravo!” He slid a cookie over. “Good girls get a treat.”
Did this man know about my dynamics with Damian? It was too close for it to be a coincidence. Any lingering doubts I had that I’d respond the same way with just anybody evaporated.
That part of me belonged to Damian and only to him.
Still I ate from my captor’s hand but I’d bite it as soon as I got the first opportunity.
“You’re holding me hostage.”
“As a ma
tter of speaking. For now.”
That wasn’t good because it meant things could change.
“How long?”
“That depends on many things. Unfortunately, it’s not dependent on you. I imagine things would move faster if it did.” He punctuated this last bit with an enigmatic grin.
“Yes, it would.”
“Tell me something, Miss Kelly. What do you like most about your Damian?”
“What do you care?”
He spread his hands. “Making conversation.”
No, he wasn’t. He didn’t have to make conversation. He wanted information. Or he wanted to test me. Either way my fear of this man grew.
If he was brutish then I’d know the make of him. I’d know what to say and how to say it. I’d butter up his ego and become the helpless, inconsequential woman he expected me to be.
Then I’d find the first weapon handy and fuck him up.
My problem was this man wasn’t brutish. He was civilized and completely detached behind his pretty manners. Which told me he wasn’t to be manipulated like a normal person.
He operated outside the bounds and its rules. How did I work against that?
I didn’t know.
What I did know was I needed to answer his questions until I learned more. It was best to give him enough of the truth but not anything he had no business knowing. My mind sped through its crowded corridors until it landed on something benign.
“I like his pancakes.”
“Really? What does he put in these pancakes? Gold flakes?”
“No.”
“Then why? They’re just pancakes.”
“Not to me.”
He cocked his head. “You love this man very much.”
My breathing became shallow. Instincts raised to caution me. The truth might be dangerous now.
“Does it matter?”
“So that’s a yes. You’re lucky, you know? Most women who snag a man with a fat wallet usually have to balance it with the fat midsection and unappealing face. Your billionaire is easy on the eyes.”
“His money has nothing to do with it.”
“Sure it doesn’t.”
I didn’t even know why I was arguing the point. I didn’t owe this bastard any explanations. But I couldn’t let it go.
“I don’t care if you believe me or not. Damian knows the truth. His money doesn’t matter to me. My reasons for being with him have everything to do with his heart and not his balance sheet.”
“The shopping sprees don’t hurt.”
“He hasn’t taken me on any shopping sprees!”
Well, there was the one but it was different. That was Damian my boss trying to make me feel at ease in his penthouse. It wasn’t in the same realm of pampering this man tried to imply.
“No jewels?”
“No.”
“Vacations?”
“No.”
“Cars?”
“No.” I clenched my jaw.
He tutted and shook his head. “He’s a stingy one, isn’t he?”
“Damian knows what matters to me. Cartier isn’t even on the list.”
“Because you like his sparkling personality.”
“Yes.”
“And you love him that much?”
“Yes!” Crap. He made me lose my temper and answer him anyways.
“I thought so.”
Those three words, delivered without a hint of smugness, threw me off-balance. He tapped his chin once and answered my unspoken question.
“I needed to know how much of a liar you are, Miss Kelly. Suffice it to say you proved yourself to only be a very little one.”
I frowned and looked away. He didn’t know anything important. I already guessed he was just trying to get me to spill.
Still what did he know about us to say that so confidently? What did I lie about? Nothing.
As if he heard me, the man said smoothly, “There was the time he bought you a new desk for your bedroom. Among other things. Oh, we can’t forget about your trip to France, can we? Although that hardly counts as a vacation, does it? More like a reeducation retreat…”
My stomach flipped, making me feel queasy. Just how long had he been watching us? And more importantly, why?
You can’t play word games with him. You’re not going to sway him over to your side. You’re completely at his mercy.
“I want to leave.”
“I’m sure you do.”
Smile. Threatening because it was oh-so-friendly.
“How long will you keep me?”
“I already told you. That isn’t something you can control, Miss Kelly.”
“Who can? You?”
“No, Miss Kelly.”
“Then who?”
“Not either of us.” He stood up. “I will do what I can to keep you comfortable. You will behave and accept my hospitality. You do that and this time will pass easily. You choose to disregard my hospitality and this time will pass badly for you.”
I didn’t have to ask what that meant.
He approached me and then held out his hand, “Are you ready for bed?”
2
DAMIAN
I refused to sleep.
I refused to eat.
I refused to drink.
I sat in my chair, holding onto my last link to her, and waiting for word that Risa had been found. This lock of hair might end up being the only piece of her I had left…
I sat in vain because there was still no word of my love.
“Sectors 6 and 7 are clear, sir.”
Either security was wrong or Risa was forever lost to me. Dead or sold. Right now she could be servicing men in her new life, drugged until her body eventually gave out.
Stomach roiling, I stood up. “Check them again. Send transport for me.” I couldn’t stay here and wait any longer. I had to find Risa myself.
“Sir, you have to stay at base. Protocol dictates you’ll be contacted. We run the risk of losing the package if you leave.”
“She’s not a package. She’s the woman I love.”
The woman I failed.
“I stand corrected. Keep the line clear, sir, and sit tight.”
I’d lost control of everything. I wasn’t Damian Black-Price if I didn’t have control. I wasn’t Damian Konstantinov either.
I wasn’t anybody. Just a fractured mess of a man without the only woman who made this life worth it.
3
RISA
“Is this really necessary?”
“You know it is. You won’t run true to form unless you fight, Miss Kelly. That much I know about you. While admirable in ordinary circumstances now is not the time to employ that aspect of your personality.”
His face was only inches away from my foot. I could kick him in the chin and hopefully knock him out. Surely the key was on him…
His hand closed around my ankle, clamping the manacle securely. “No good, Miss Kelly. Behave.”
“You’re sick for doing this.”
He shook his head and sighed. “I don’t blame you for your reaction. It is a rather nasty thing, isn’t it? However, one does what one must.”
I suffered the weight of the chain. It was a familiar weight, but only now did it truly feel obscene. What I wouldn’t give for it to be Damian standing over me right now.
The pain hit me like an ice pick to the chest. I could barely breathe past it. His next question robbed me of air completely.
“You know who else likes to chain up their girls? Russians. It serves two purposes. One—physical security. The second—mental imprisonment. It breaks your spirit over time. What do you think about that?”
It wasn’t just a casual question. He knew. How the fuck did he know about the particulars in France?
Suddenly, I remembered when Damian and I played our game in the woods. I could’ve sworn I felt someone watching me. Was it this man?
The blood in my veins turned to ice. For all I knew, this was the man who put a bullet in Damian’s brain.
I fought to keep my expression neutral. I couldn’t take the chance of letting my rage and terror seep through.
If you were the one to do it, somehow, someway, I’ll find a way to kill you. I swear it.
“I say that’s too bad.”
“I agree.” His gaze stayed on mine for several uncomfortable moments. “But it works.”
No, it won’t.
“Now be a good girl, Miss Kelly, and go to sleep.”
“I’m not sleepy.”
“Of course, you are. Lay your head down and you’ll see.”
Considering it’d be stupid to agitate the kidnapper holding the literal key to my freedom, I laid down, making sure I was covered with the blanket. My docility would come to a violent end if he tried anything. There was no way I’d let him rape me without a fight.
His generous mouth quirked. “Relax, Miss Kelly. Your charms can safely stay with your Damian.”
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until he said that. Granted he could be lying just to then twist the knife, but in this instance, I didn’t get that feeling from him.
It appeared he meant what he said. Besides, the man didn’t have any reason to lie. Still, it didn’t hurt to be alert.
Just in case.
I propped myself up higher against the pillows. He sat down at the end of the bed and crossed his leg. I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t want him near me.
“You’re going to watch me sleep?”
He shrugged. “There’s not much else to do around here. Besides, it’s part of the job description when it comes to babysitting.”
Maybe the stress was finally catching up to me, but I would’ve smiled a little bit if he wasn’t my captor and I wasn’t chained to the bed.
Strange how I’d equated Damian to being a kidnapper like this man. If only I knew the difference then.
Damian’s actions were nothing like this.
I’d tell him that right now. All this time I wondered if I could ever really trust Damian and now—when it might be too late—I know I can. Yes, he lied to me about what was really going on. But considering where I am now, I get it.
Damian was only trying to protect me from this.
I prayed I got the chance to tell him I understood. There was so much I’d say. I’d tell Damian how much I loved him. I’d tell him I was so sorry for the ugly words I said today. I’d ask him to marry me. I’d ask him if he could meet my parents.
I’d apologize to them for taking them for granted…
