Deadly Retaliation: A Dark Bully Harem Romance (A Twisted, Dark and Deadly Romance Book 1)

by C. P. Mandara

  Lois sighs happily as my lips press themselves into the side of her neck. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’m going to paint the nursery yellow.”

  She isn’t. The woman isn’t going to lift a damn finger to do anything while I have breath left in my body. If there’s any painting to be done, I’ll do it. I know better than to say this out loud, however.

  “I want to do it. Let me. You can pick out some stencils and furniture. You know I’m hopeless at that kind of thing.” See? I’m learning. Marriage is all about lots of sex and cunning linguistics. The more sex you have, the less you need to use brain cells. Take it from me. My lips move to hers, as if to prove the fact.

  We lay there, snogging like randy teenagers for what seems like hours, our hands getting tangled up in each other’s underwear. I’m in no hurry to strip her, though. We have time. This last session of ours is going to be dragged out over several hours because I want to make sure she knows how much I love her, before I go and sort Adrien out. She’s going to kill me when she finds out what I’ve done, and she will, because I can’t seem to hide anything from her for long. My wife is as smart as she is ruthless. She and Adie would have made a good match, but he can’t have her. Lois is mine, and nothing is going to change that fact.

  “I want to go back to work after the baby is born,” my wife murmurs, as my fingers begin to delve inside her. I nearly choke. Over my dead fucking body, I think. Hunting down killers and dancing around dangerous con artists is all very well when you’re single and unattached, but it’s not such a great idea when you’ve got little people relying on you. I’ll chain her up every day to the bed if necessary, but there is no way she is going back to covert ops work while I’m still alive. I’m not going to go back to work, either. I’m sick and tired of this life. When my time is up in my current position, I’m going to be a full-time dad. I can’t bloody wait.

  “Great idea, darling. We’ll talk about that after the baby’s born.” To make sure no more silly comments are forthcoming, my hands part her thighs and my head swoops in to taste what is mine. Mine.

  She is never going to forgive me if she finds out I agreed to sleep with Mel. Even though I’ve done it to protect Ione and herself, she’ll go off her rocker when she finds out what I’ve done, and she will have every right to. At the moment, I’m counting on being able to persuade Mel to back down from that idea, but there is no guarantee. Mel wants to know why I’ve refused her all these years, and it isn’t for the reasons she thinks. If Lois hadn’t come along and taken out Adrien’s brother, Alain, I would never have been able to have a relationship. After his sister killed herself on my watch, Alain vowed I would never sleep with the same woman twice. If I did so, she would be killed. He was as good as his word. If Lois hadn’t killed him, she would be dead by now. She was next on his list.

  “Fuck me, James. You know how I get these days,” Lois whines. “My hormones are exploding all over the place. Don’t drag this out, darling.” She wriggles underneath me, enticing me to do my worst. I’m going to, but not in the way she thinks.

  “Why are you always so impatient, Kat? Let’s try this real name thing, otherwise our children are going to think we’re really weird.” They’re probably going to think that anyway, so I see no need to give them any more ammunition.

  “Who said anything about children,” Lois says, shaking her head. “You’re just getting the one. Don’t get your hopes up, big boy.” She wriggles again, and I curse silently. I’m not going to last very long if she keeps that up.

  “No way. You can’t do that. They’ll need someone to play with,” I argue. “I want you to fill the house with babies. At least five of them.” I’m not actually kidding. I love kids. Besides, that’ll be one way to make sure she never goes back to work.

  “You must be joking. Giving birth is supposed to be horrendously painful.”

  Rolling my eyes, thankful that she can’t see me, I bite her earlobe. She hisses out in pleasure.

  “You like pain. Giving birth might be right up your street.” It’s true, she does. That’s why Adie likes her so much. He’s never met a woman that can handle pain like Lois. Mind you, he’s never met a woman like Mel, either. Getting tears out of her will be like trying to drag blood out of a stone. I wish him luck. Actually, no I don’t. I hope she gives him hell.

  “Carrying a watermelon around for the better part of nine months is not going to be ‘right up my street,’ as you’ve so wonderfully put it. I suspect it will be quite hard work.”

  “This is why you should lay back and put your feet up more often. I keep telling you this.” I do. For the wrong reasons, but I do.

  “As soon as I lie back you ravish me, and I’m even more tired that I was before.”

  “Then you should lie down more often and hope I get tired. Anyway, what’s your point? Are you complaining?” I blow a soft, steady stream of air over her clit and watch as her hips buck upwards in earnest. The woman is not complaining. This much I know.

  “Oh, God, James. You need to finish what you started,” she whines. That’s the trouble with my wife. She wants everything yesterday.

  “I think you need to be tied up,” I say, when her legs keep bouncing upwards into my stomach to hurry me along. I know exactly what she wants, but she isn’t getting it just yet. She’ll have to be patient.

  “No,” she wails. “If you tie me up, you’ll drag this on all night. I can’t wait that long.”

  “That’s not my problem,” I reply. “I’m doing my best to be as gentle and as careful as I can, so junior doesn’t get frightened.”

  “Junior is going to be a fucking badass, just like his mother, so you’d better not tie me up or there’ll be…” There is a pause as she realizes I’ve got the loop of a silk scarf already around her wrist. This is the benefit of having already blindfolded her beforehand. I tighten it immediately. Give my wife an inch and she’ll take a mile. It’s best to get her tied up sooner rather than later.

  “Oh, James. I am going to kill you when I get out of this,” she squawks, trying to twist out of my reach before I can fasten her in the next one, but she’s two seconds too late. Her second wrist is already neatly looped, and she’s going nowhere fast.

  She is right about one thing, though. She is going to kill me when she gets out of those ties, but not for the reason she thinks she is.

  Leader

  I swear I am going out of my mind. Thoughts are spinning around like a washing machine in my head, and they are all ugly and twisted. Now that Adrien has removed the device from my arm, there is no way of being rescued, and unless James turns up here in the next few minutes, I am at the mercy of a Dumortier. Shit, shit, shit. They are known as the fucking God’s of torture. I’ve heard tales about what these men do to women, and I’m fairly sure they’re all true and that I’ve got lots to look forward to. If Jake doesn’t get his ass in gear and come rescue me, the next twenty-four hours of my life are going to be hell on wheels. I knew this was going to go bad. My spidey sense was screaming in my ear not to go anywhere near this. Why the fuck didn’t I listen? I need a good slap. Oh, wait, I’m going to get lots of those in a few hours’ time.

  Adie isn’t stupid. Now he knows someone is pinpointing his whereabouts, he’ll want to get out ASAP. Once we’ve left this apartment, our trail will be cold. He won’t leave clues. He’s not an amateur. The only way Jake will find us now is if Adie tells him where we are. This poses several problems. The first, and most worrying, is that I’m about to be tortured by a crazy ass sadist unless I can somehow untangle myself from the mess that I am in. At the moment, restrained as I am, that’s impossible. He may make a mistake when he moves me shortly, by I wouldn’t count on it. He’s been in this business for years. He trusts no one, and he’s already proved that he’s careful.

  The second problem is that Jake hadn’t intended to rescue me on his own. He would have brought in a team. I daresay there’d have only been two or three of them, but he would have made sure I got out o
f there unscathed, while Adrien was apprehended. Now Adie has the upper hand. He can name the time and the place and bring Jake in on his own. That presents another problem. Jake is good, but he isn’t God. The only way he’s getting here now is if Adie tells him where to meet, and that spells all sorts of problems. Adrien will take all the appropriate precautions to make sure that Jake doesn’t catch him unawares. It basically means he’ll have him hooded and cuffed. So there’s no way he’s going to come in on a white charger as planned and be my knight in shining armor. For anyone that’s still lost here – it’s means I’m fucked. Whichever way I look at this, it is not going to end well. I can tell you now that one night of sex with Jake is not worth this shit. I might have been dribbling after it for a while, but if I knew then what I know now, I’d tell him to go fuck himself. A bit too late for that now, Mel.

  There’s also the nagging doubt in the back of my mind that Jake might not come for me at all. There is every possibility he has thrown me to the wolves, never to be heard of again, while he sails off into the sunset with his pretty bride. If that happens, there’s no question Adrien will kill me. The man’s a whisker away from madness as it is. Calm down, Mel. Keep it together. It’s one thing to think it, and quite another to put that advice into action, however.

  My pulse rate is gradually climbing higher with each passing moment, and my throat is as dry as chalk dust. My brain, normally well-ordered and logical, is starting to fracture and split. Sticky tendrils of panic are clawing up my limbs, clogging up my veins and making everything within sluggish. I can’t let panic get a hold of me, though. If I do, I’ll fall to pieces and I’d promised myself I’d never to do that again. Once was enough.

  When Adrien saunters in again, he’s changed. He’s now wearing a slick black suit and white shirt. His hair is gelled back from his face, and I can smell the scent of his cologne from here. He smells of sandalwood, patchouli and citrus. It’s a heady scent I could get lost in, if I ever allowed myself to.

  “Is this the part where you drug me?” I say sullenly. I know it is, so there’s no point asking. I guess I just want to see it coming. Surprises aren’t really my thing.

  “Yes.” Adrien’s voice is soft. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked almost guilty.

  Squatting down, he checks the bag of fluid beside me, which is now nearly empty. “How are you feeling?”

  I don’t answer, and I keep my gaze turned away. I don’t know what he expects me to say. Wonderful? Hunky dory? Absolutely fantastic? How does he think I feel?

  He sighs. Tipping my head towards him with his fingers, he examines my face, paying particular attention to my eyes.

  “You look better than you did earlier, at least. Talk to me, Ione.”

  His stare doesn’t let up, so eventually I feel compelled to answer him and that’s annoying enough in itself.

  “What do you want me to say?” My voice is soft and meek. My throat is clogged, and it sounds close to tears. It doesn’t sound like my voice because the last time I was in this position, I was sixteen years old. I vowed back then that I would never be this vulnerable ever again, and I was doing fairly well until a couple of hours ago. I don’t want to go back to that place again, but I have a feeling I will before my time with Adrien is up.

  “I want you to tell me the truth. That’s all.” His voice is still soft as he tries to coax information out of me. I guess that approach works better than yelling and screaming. Normally I wouldn’t give him anything, but today is not a normal day. Today, I am a scared little girl who’s been plucked out of the safety of her usual cocoon and dropped into a minefield of deceit and lies. I need to act accordingly, and to be honest, it’s not too far from the truth, anyway.

  “I feel shit scared that you’re about to pull me apart and rip me to pieces. My body feels weak and hungry. I am bruised and battered, but mostly I’m so worried I’m about to die that the contents of my stomach are threatening to unload at any second. Will that do?” My eyes are already dead as I say the words. I am reliving another nightmare in another time and place.

  “Breathe,” Adie says, stroking my hair once more. “I’m not going to lie to you. I am going to hurt you, but it will be a single day out of your life. Just one. I won’t kill you. I’m good at what I do and I know when to stop. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I know you’re the innocent party in all of this, but James won’t come to me any other way. It has to be like this.”

  “What he’s stolen must be very important to you.” It’s another whisper, in a voice that sounds so far away it can’t possibly be mine. I can’t help but wonder what it’s like to be so in love that you’d kidnap people off the street and torture them in order to get the object of your affections back. I’ve never felt anything even remotely close to it, that’s for sure. Mind you, I make a point of not feeling things.

  “It’s a long story. Look, I’m sorry that you’re hungry, but I daren’t feed you just before I’m about to drug you. I’ll feed you as soon as we arrive at our destination. That’s a promise.”

  Forgive me if your promises don’t mean a thing to me, Dumortier.

  “Where are we going?” He won’t trust me with an answer, but I need to try at least.

  “Somewhere far enough away that James won’t get to us before I’m ready for him.”

  That sentence makes my stomach feel like lead. What Adie means is that I’m going to be a mess before Jake gets anywhere near me. This whole exercise has gone to shit. I hope Jake has a backup plan. If he doesn’t, he’s going to be breathing out of his ass for most of next month by the time I’m finished with that pretty face of his.

  “Can I go to the toilet first?” My eyes are pleading and wet with unshed tears. This might be my very last chance at escape. I need to sell it to the best of my ability.

  “No. We’ve had this discussion. Either go on the floor, or I’ll get something to put underneath you. Which is it?” His face hardens. He isn’t backing down on this one. He’s a professional and there was really no point in asking, but I won’t give up.

  “Please? What risk is there? I’m bound. All you have to do is stab me and I’m on the floor.”

  “This isn’t up for discussion. Do you want me to get a tray or should I drug you now?” His eyes have hardened into two solid black lumps of obsidian. There is no point arguing with him. It will get me nowhere. If escape is on my mind, it won’t be here. Adie knows we’re running short on time and he won’t risk it.

  “A tray, please.” The thought of him cleaning me up again is abhorrent – especially if I’m out cold. I don’t want his hands and fingers there. Everything is still rather tight and uncomfortable from earlier. His mere presence sends a dangerous buzz through me, and while I would like to say it’s because of the danger I’m in, I know it’s not.

  Adie nods and goes off to find one. I guess he’s figured that this will probably save him some time, too. It’s a small kindness, but I’m grateful.

  He comes back, moments later, with a paint roller tray in tow. It’s a red one, and it has the remains of some dried magnolia paint in the bottom of it. I wonder if all of his apartment is this shade of magnolia or if it’s only this room. It’s a strange color for a room that must be his ‘playroom’ of sorts. I wonder if the walls are ‘wipe clean?’ If not, he’s had to do a lot of redecorating in the past if the tales I’ve heard are true.

  Placing the tray down next to me, he lifts my hips up and positions it to the best of his ability. Then his eyes are on me.

  “Are you going to stand there and watch?” I ask angrily. It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I see no reason why my small humiliations need to be witnessed, except for the obvious, of course. Adrien is trying to get me into the right headspace for what will happen next.

  “I am. You might as well get used to my eyes on you. Much worse will happen tomorrow.”

  Don’t fucking remind me. Fine, if you want to be an asshole, you do your worst. I am going to close my eyes and block you
out the best way I know how.

  He doesn’t complain when my eyes shutter closed, like I expect him to. In my line of work, I’ve met plenty of men like Adrien. They like to watch, torment, humiliate, and punish. This one gets his kicks from inflicting pain. It takes one to know one, and I respect that to a degree.

  Concentrating on trying to pee while Adrien is so close to me is almost impossible, though. I can’t relax. My whole body feels as if it’s been strung out to dry and he knows it.

  “Maybe I should give you that orgasm after all. It’ll help relax you.” His fingertips stray to my thigh, massaging the flesh there, before they slowly make their way up to my pulsing core.

  “No. Just give me a moment.” I really need to go, and the last thing I want is to be surrounded in a puddle of my own making when he transports me wherever it is I am to be tortured.

  Adie’s fingers brush lightly over my sex and I jump halfway up in the air, cursing out loudly when I come back down to earth.

  “You’re a strange one, Ione. I know you’re attracted to me, but you fight it. You can’t fight chemistry. There are some things you just have to accept.”

  I shake my head. There is no way I am ever accepting the fact I’m attracted to this bastard, or any other man alive for that matter.

  “Close your eyes, princess. try to block me out. See if you can do it.” Even his voice sends frissons of electric current shooting through me.

  The fingers creep inexorably higher, and they feel like a nest of vipers, ready to bite me at the slightest provocation. They lightly flutter across my flesh, connecting a series of circuits together that I never knew I had. I am so damn aroused. How is this possible? I want to weep.

  “You’re going to let go, princess. Think of it as a little taster of what is going to happen tomorrow.”