“Ja, shut up. Guerrero had her smashed up against the wall groping her all over, she was fighting like mad. He…slapped her.” Mazonn’s rage at what he had viewed rang in his fierce voice, brows lanced straight down.
Naithon’s face darkened to black, brows so low his eyes disappeared.
“We saw from down the hall. Shit, Nait, by the time we got to her he had his fist raised; he was about to slam it into her face. Told her he’d knock her out and take her to his room where she could scream all she wanted.”
So angry, Naithon almost gagged on his fury. “Where is he?”
“We stopped him, bro. He didn’t hit her again, but she was so in shock at the brutality of his attack she was shaking and crying and, hell, it was horrible. Blok and Vlad took Guerrero to the cellar, I brought Kiri to the grand room so I could sit her down and calm her, get her something to drink. What you saw was totally innocent and I am fucking pissed you would think I would try to fuck your girl.”
“Ja, yeah, deep down I didn’t. But, she won’t let me touch her and there she was dressed like a hooker and laughing with you guys.” He had been boggled with jealousy. She never even smiled at him much less laughed.
“Uh huh. I was trying to calm her. I told her about Blok stepping into that open well that time, you remember? He was all muck and scum by time we got him up, and fit to be tied.”
Naithon almost smiled at the memory, then his face set, jaw worked. “What kind of condition is Guerrero in?”
A big grin curved Mazonn’s handsome face. “Yeah, we roughed him up pretty good. Even if she was one of the strippers, he still deserves to die for striking a female. But, we left him for you. I knew you’d want to do it yourself.”
“Ja,” Naithon nodded cursorily. “Keep him on ice, I will deal with him later. Right now, I…” He saw Mazonn’s concern when he peered inside the room and could see Kiri curled up in a ball on the floor weeping.
“Aw fuck, Nait, what the hell did you do? That girl doesn’t deserve-”
“I know. I lost my mind. I’m all right now. Seeing her in those clothes, you guys hanging on her…”
“The maid brought her the clothes, she had no choice in it, Nait. I’m thinking they loaned her the shirt and jeans, panties maybe but nothing to hold her tits in.”
Nation considered this, it was his fault. He’d taken her clothes, her bra and panties since she’d defied him and wore them to bed when he’d told her not to. Hell, he didn’t know some bitch would give her a tight, thin shirt to wear and no bra. At least she had on underwear. “I didn’t hurt her, Maz,” but he might have if Mazonn hadn’t stopped him. “I need to go to her, thanks for watching out for my property.”
“Nait, really, she’s a woman, not a chair for fuck’s sake,” Mazonn remonstrated him.
“Ja, I know she’s a woman, that’s the problem. Later.” Naithon stepped back and shut the door. He had expected trouble from the outside, didn’t think he’d have trouble inside as well. With his violent rep, his men were afraid to argue with him much less attack his woman. Of course he’d never had a woman before. Guerrero will be a lesson to the other males, what happens if anyone touches Kiri.
When he trod over to where she still lay curled in a ball, he heard her whimper at his approach and it pinched his gut. He knelt beside her and she shrank from him with another whimper.
So much for getting her used to him so she’d let him fuck her without fighting him. Now she was terrified of him again. She had pulled her shirt down and fixed her jeans, except for the button he’d torn off. He set his hand on her shoulder. “Listen, Kiri, I-”
She shifted to get his hand off her. Okay, this wasn’t going to be easy. Ignoring her whimpers and struggles to get away, he slipped his arms under her and picked her up. He carried her to the couch and sat down with her on his lap.
Kiri kept her head down, what would he do to her next? Her arms crossed over her chest, she lifted her knees in protection.
Naithon kept his arms around her, just holding her. Her entire body shivered in his arms. “Listen, ah, Kiri…” what could he say? I was so jealous and angry with you I was going to fuck you into the ground then paddle your ass so you’d never even think of another man?
Gently, he put his fingers under her chin lifting it so he could see her face. His gut quelled at the red mark Guerrero’s slap had made. A spanking was one thing, striking a woman in the face was not going to be tolerated in his home.
She wriggled to make him let go but he netted his thick fingers around the side of her face, his thumb under her jaw. “I…might have overreacted a bit-”
Mouth open in gall, she cried, “Overreacted a bit! You called me a whore in front of other people, dragged me up here like I was a recalcitrant convict then viciously groped me, hurt me, humiliated me. You were going to savagely rape me.”
“I…” seeing the shamed tears gathering in her eyes, he felt shame himself. Other girls would have appreciated his rough handling, but she was so young, tender, he had been too rough with her. He had barely been able to contain his rage. If Mazonn hadn’t interceded, he would have done worse.
Using his thumb he brushed at an escaping tear. “Kiri, I’m…sorry.” Those words he had never spoken in his life before, what was this woman doing to him? Turning him into a pussy, for shit’s sake. But, he was wrong and he had treated her abominably. It would have been okay if she’d been one of the dancers here, they choose to have sex freely and didn’t care how mean, cruel, or sadistic you were to them.
But not this girl, his girl. He’d taken her, she was his. It was his job to protect her, and he’d been the one she needed protecting from. Point for Maz, he bearded the lion, told him to shut up then told him off, and protected her from Guerrero the attacking soldier.
Swallowing his pride he started again, holding her so he could look her in the eye, he was no coward. “Kiri, I treated you badly and I apologize for my brutish behavior towards you.” He waited, she only sniffed and lowered her eyes. “Kiri, I said I was sorry, say something.” He surely could not recall ever using that word before in his life. To anyone.
Silence, then she hitched a breath, her lips bunched, tears garbling her voice she said, “Brutish and heathen. You were a brute and an unconscionable wild boar.” She wiped at a running tear with the back of her hand.
She was calling him a feral pig basically, and, if the shoe fits, well… Feeling a smile tugging at his mouth, he nodded stoically. “Yes, I was. Can we move past this now, put it behind us?”
She regarded him quizzically. “Move past that you are a mean bully to where? Just wait until the next time you get upset and violently assault me?” Kiri shook her head, he still held her chin albeit gently. “I just don’t understand, I am your prisoner, what is it you want from me?”
Groaning his sigh, his fingers stroking her soft skin he said, “I promise to curb my savage tendencies, Kiri, around you. I made a mistake, jumped to conclusions. This is an unusual situation for me as well as you. I’ve never, ah,” he paused. His stomach just clenched in pain at her tears. “Well, I’ve never grabbed a woman and held her against her will before. My…emotions,” he chuckled, “there you go, something I never even thought I had- anyway, they go wacky with you. I need to assimilate these weird feelings I have about you.”
Their eyes joined, roaming each other, both confused.
Then Kiri said, “It’s easy enough to resolve, just let me go.”
A scowl grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. All this feelings talk and crap was too much. He was done with it. “I have told you, Kiri, you are staying with me. Permanently.” When she opened her mouth to retort he set two fingers over it shushing her. “Hush, pigeon, there is no discussion about it. You will come around eventually and accept your position.”
“My position?” she huffed. “As your prisoner? As your sex slave? You expect me to- to accept that and- and be happy?” She squirmed to get off his lap, he tightened his arm and wrapped the other one around
her.
Growling his irritation, he said, “You don’t have to be happy, Kiri, you are here for my pleasure.”
Her affronted gasp ballooned her chest drawing his attention to it. His pupils dilated like crazy, growing huge under suddenly heavy lids. There was no mistaking his mounting lust.
“Uh, Mr. Adranokov, please let me down now. We don’t need to converse any more. I’m good, thank you for your apology,” she gave a wriggle but he didn’t let loose.
Glowering at her, Naithon said, “For the record, you will never leave this room again without a bra. If there is none here for you to wear then you won’t leave the room. I won’t have you parading around showing every asshole here your tits. Do you understand me?”
“It wasn’t my fault. I did as you commanded, Boss. I donned the clothes brought to me, went down to breakfast, escorted as you ordered. Then, contrary to your earlier words that you were keeping me locked up to keep me safe, if that man sexually assaulting me against the wall and hitting me was keeping me safe, well, huh,” she snorted her indignation.
Casually he responded, “I said you will not be anywhere without me. If you had stayed locked in the room you would not have been attacked.”
“But,” she spurted furiously, “it was your orders, Mr. Adranokov- hey!” He suddenly lifted her, turned her, and laid her face down, her belly over his thighs. “What do you think you are do- ow!” His hand came down hard smacking her butt.
“I have told you not to call me by my surname. You did it on purpose to rile me. Well, it worked.” Whack whack whack- he railed more smacks on her wriggling butt.
“No, stop it!” she squealed and moved her hand over her bottom to protect it.
“Uh huh, not doing that.” He grabbed her wrist, bent her elbow and held her forearm against her lower back while he paddled her.
“You can’t do this to me!” she cried, her voice rasping with roiling tears in her throat.
“Apparently I can.” Whack- “I told you I am the boss. Everyone obeys me, including you.” He gave her a few more spanks then lifted her to sit back on his lap, when she did she winced. Her face was red and blotched with tears. “Now, do you want to have further discussion on who is the boss, and who will do as the boss says?” His accent thickened in his gruff anger.
Her face was angry and humiliated; she scowled at the couch cushion.
He gripped her jaw, lifted her head to look at him. “You will look at me when I talk to you. You will answer me when I ask you a question. Do you need more spanks to loosen that tongue? Ja?” He knew he spoke to her and was treating her like a child, but in comparison to him she was.
She blinked the tears away, shook her head.
“Out loud, pigeon, you answer me out loud. Now.”
Her sigh beleaguered, she wiped at her eyes. “Yes. You are the boss.”
“You will do as I say, repeat it.”
Rolling her eyes with another heavy loud sigh, resentment in her voice she said, “I will do as you say.”
“That attitude, rolling your eyes, the heavy sighs, makes my hand itch to meet with your ass again.” He stared at her, she glared at him.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” he said with a sharp nod.
“I understand the lamb thing, you think my dad put me on a silver platter to be figuratively sacrificed, slaughtered by Rueford, and you. Why do you call me pigeon?”
His eyes dropped to her chest. The red shirt clung to her curves like second skin. A grin started to form. “Because your tits remind me of plump, round pigeons that strut the rooftops.”
“Oh! You are a despicable pig!” she snapped and pushed to get off his lap, this time he let her. His chuckles trailed after she left the room.
That night he made her wear his shirt as before. When they settled into the bed, he hooked her belly and pulled her against him. Her body went into instant rigid mode. “Just sleeping, little lamb, I promise.”
After a while she settled and relaxed in his embrace. She was warm and soft in his arms, he sniffed her hair and then he relaxed. He had bashed a hole with a sledgehammer today into any budding trust she might have gained of him. He’d treated her disrespectfully, and she was alarmed at how enraged he became, how he could have hurt her. A dog, he was just a filthy junkyard dog. Always had been, but it had never bothered him before.
It hadn’t been a good day. He had accused his best friend of stealing his girl, and he had treated her badly. Naithon regretted that. But not the spanking. She needed to obey him for her own good, her own safety.
When she acknowledges that he is in charge, she will submit to his orders. Everything is for her protection. He was trying to build a relationship with her and she was blocking it by calling him Mister. That wall is going down. Cuddling her, he sighed content with the moment, he was starting to really enjoy when she was sweetly curled in his arms, all tender and gentle femininity.
This night he only held her, he didn’t fondle her as she slept. She’d had enough abuse for the day.
Chapter Fifteen
Every day was like the last for Kiri. Naithon would leave the bed while she still slept. When she woke, she felt strangely…alone. Ridiculous. He was manipulating her into…what? Missing him in bed? “Ugh.” Shaking her head she did as she had been doing, showered and dressed in clothes Francy told her Naithon had purchased for her.
Apparently he had told one of the servants her dimensions and what he preferred she wear. But, he had told her that when she was downstairs what he’d really prefer she wore was a big sack, when in his suite, nothing.
Fortunately, the woman who bought the clothes had lightened up a bit on the jeans and blouses and purchased Kiri’s size, not three sizes larger as Naithon had instructed. This time she got bras and panties. There were dresses too, and heels, in his closet. For her. She didn’t understand. He acted like they were a couple. The man was insane. She was his prisoner, nothing more.
When she asked him why he’d bought her dresses and put them in his closet, he had responded sarcastically, “What? We should leave them packed in boxes?” He also had toiletries for her put in his medicine cabinet and on the shelves. A hairbrush, makeup, blow-dryer, he had brought in a pretty white and pink vanity with scrolling around the frame of the mirror, and a matching chair.
None of it made any sense to her. Surely when the whole war thing was over he’d send her home. She didn’t believe for one second that he really planned on keeping her for the rest of their lives. But why buy her so many new clothes? Perhaps he thought when she left the other women could have them.
Kiri had said if he insisted on keeping her for now, just have someone go to her house and get her own things, but he had ignored her comment. A knock at the door sounded, she couldn’t open the locked door so she had to wait for the person on the other side to open it.
The door opened slowly, a head peered around the corner, Mazonn grinned at her, blue eyes twinkling. “Okay to come in?”
She was always amazed how kind and courteous he was to her, for a gangster. He had rescued her from that animal that had attacked her downstairs, and he had stopped Naithon from hurting her. He had brushed off when she tried to thank him. Since the assault, Naithon ensured only his close friends escort her downstairs for meals when he was out on business.
When they brought her to dine, she figured they deliberately did it when it was off main hours to eat. If there was anyone else present, sometimes the women lingered, whoever was escorting her kept her at a distance from the others, and sat between her and them discouraging any contact. Of course that only encouraged more curious gawking.
Mazonn told her she was kept apart from others because first off, Naithon didn’t want her to know more about him and his businesses, she already had enough reason to fear and dislike him. The other was he was afraid she’d make a friend who might help her to escape from him. So, except for his close friends, she was kept isolated. It sucked.
Naithon w
as gone most days from dawn to dusk on business. She was asleep when he came to bed and when he left in the morning. For the love of God she couldn’t figure out why he kept her. He’d cuddled her but hadn’t molested her again. Since he appeared to have lost his sexual interest in her, his agenda must just be to harass her father.
Today the building was mostly empty. The men were out, another of their crew had been murdered and Naithon ordered most of the girls stay away for a few days while they investigated.
Mazonn walked her downstairs and sat with her to keep her company while she ate. A man entered the room, his eyes shifted from Maz to Kiri. Speaking to Maz he stared at Kiri, “Ah, John got whacked.”
“John Kendall?”
The man nodded. “Yeah. Over on 31st, shot coming out of a bar last night. Boss called and said for me to stay with the girl,” he nodded at Kiri, “and for you to go check the Kendall scene out.”
“Hmm.” Mazonn frowned at the man. “You sure he said that?” He glanced at Kiri, she was finishing up her eggs. Naithon was a dictator when it came to ensuring Kiri ate. She had curves, but she was still on the thin side.
“Yeah I’m sure,” the man sniped. “I ain’t stupid you know.”
The twist to Mazonn’s lips told he felt otherwise. He got up, muttered, “Okay,” and motioned for the man to step to the side, out of Kiri’s earshot. When the man leaned in to hear what he had to say, Mazonn suddenly gripped his collar and twisted his fist in it and pulled him up on his toes bringing them nose-to-nose.
“Hey what the-”
“Shut up, Dan,” Mazonn ordered. The man’s lips clamped. “You keep an eye on her. Right after she finishes she gets taken straight upstairs, no detours. No one goes near her. You do not go into the suite, you do not touch her, anywhere, anyhow. You do and Nait will gut you and drop you like a dead skunk in a hole. You hear me?”
Dan nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”
Mazonn twisted his fist making his hold tighter, cutting off Dan’s air; he glared hard in his face, making the man aware that his life span would be short if anything happened to Kiri. When he opened his fist, Dan staggered backwards into a wall.
Distilled Duplicity Page 12
