“Let’s try this again,” he says in a firm voice, backing himself up off me and onto the floor at the end of the bed, his arms crossed. He has the sexy-dominant thing down pat.
It's really not fair.
“What business do you have with The Bishop?” The edge in his voice brings me back to the seriousness of the situation. His anger is palpable. He may have started this conversation intending to give us both a pleasurable ending, but all hints of playfulness and arousal have left his features.
I decide to go with the simplest of truths. “I was there to ask him a few questions. Nothing more.”
“Questions about what?”
I avert my eyes and remain silent. I don’t want to tell him about my brother. Or about the information I learned to indicate his family is involved. Enzo was a child when Annanias was kidnapped and used as a pawn in some asshole’s plot to climb the ranks. But does that mean he would listen? I doubt it.
I wouldn’t if I were him. I’d protect my family. It’s what we are taught to do.
Trainedto do.
“It had nothing to do with the Venatti businesses. It was a personal matter.”
Apparently, that was the wrong answer because Enzo’s face has contorted to what I can only describe as murderous rage.
“Howpersonal,exactly?” Both his hands encircle my ankles, his fingers digging into my skin. The small bite of pain is enough to spike my pulse. This time I know it’s not fear that has my heart rate up.It’s him. The possessive way he’s looking at me now. Like he’s the predator and I’m his cornered prey.
I like it. Too much.
“This is the part that doesn’t concern you, Enzo,” I reply. I can’t help it. I want to push him. See if he breaks. “Our conversation was between the two of us. I promise you. It had nothing to do with what’s been going on between your family and him.”
His grip tightens. He climbs onto the bed, his hands traveling up my legs, my thighs, stopping an inch away from where my body aches for him.
“Tell me,” he demands.
“No.” I grit my teeth, refusing to give in to what he’s offering. Knowing it’s only a tease. A means to an end. Like everything else in our world. “You may as well kill me, Enzo. Your sexual games, as delicious as they are, are not going to work.” His eyes flash with something I can’t quite define, but it sets off warning bells in my head, so I change tactics, and plead sweetly, softening my voice a bit.
“I wasn’t discussing your business with anyone. Why won’t you just believe me and tell Nazario? Otherwise, do your job and cut me loose. There’s no point in dragging this out and torturing us both when I’ve already told you the truth. I was there for information for my own family, and nothing more.”
20
ENZO
She’s right. This won’t work.
Althea thrives on the pain I can deliver. It’s cathartic to her. I could whip her with a cane, or spank her with my belt, but it would only feed her pleasure. Sure, she’ll get frustrated having her orgasm withheld, but the orgasm is the end result. The grand finale. But what my little devil truly craves is the trance-like feeling she gets when she breaks through subspace. Where she no longer feels threatened or stressed.
I need to change up my plans
I back myself off the bed intending to get into the bag I left on the floor. I hadn’t planned to use anything in there tonight. I was packing for our trip and wanted to take a few things I knew we would both enjoy later. But seeing as how Althea thinks this is all a game, I’m going to change the rules.
No, I need something else for this.
I head into the closet, into the second drawer of my dresser and take out a black satin blindfold and a bottle the doc gave me recently for another job. I pull two capsules out and slide them into my pocket. Then I find a few more things I know will driveher insane. A feather, a flogger, and the new bullet vibrator I purchased for her.
Althea is staring at the doorway when I come out. Her face is a mask of curiosity. Her breathing has slowed a bit, but I’ll remedy that soon enough. Approaching the bed, I don’t speak. I don’t explain what I have in my hands. She watches me suspiciously but has apparently decided silence is her best option.
I lay everything on the bedside table, then walk over to the fridge and pull out a bottle of grape juice and a chocolate bar. Both are handy to have around when a sub is coming down after an intense scene. I pour the juice into a cup, adding the contents of the capsules and stirring them in. Taking both items with me, I head back over and sit down on the bed. Althea’s eyes follow my every movement. I caress her cheek with the back of my hand, soft, slow, gentle strokes, then place a piece of the chocolate bar in front of her where she can see it.
“Here, baby. Eat.” I offer, rubbing the chocolate across her bottom lip. She pinches her mouth shut at first, so I coax her. “It’s been a long night. Your adrenaline has started to crash. This will help.”
“What are you playing at, Enzo?” she asks, taking the small offering into her mouth. I smirk down at her, watching, enjoying the fact that she’s off balance.
“It’s my job as Dom to take care of you,” I offer with a raised shoulder. “We’re never going to get anywhere if you crash out on me, and the last thing either of us wants is you feeling sick or hungover. We have a lot to discuss, and eventually, we’ll have to speak to Nazario. I’d prefer it if you were better prepared to handle that situation. Wouldn’t you?”
