“Thank you, Milli,” Gio said, and I couldn’t help noticing that his husky voice was the same one I’d heard back at the party. After years in this world, I knew that people typically had a ‘public’ voice and a ‘private’ voice, but it seemed Gio’s was one and the same.
What you saw was what you got.
“Of course, sir.”
Milli nodded his head at Gio, cast me a sideways glance, and then walked out of the office. The door shutting made me jump a little as I realized I was now alone with this man who had arranged to have me kidnapped after boldly chatting me up at a party with my brothers and father present.
“I’m sure those binds don’t feel good,” Giovanni said. “Would you like me to take them off?” I nodded my head, trying my hardest not to tremble under his intense stare. He gave me a little smile. “I’ll do it, but you have to ask nicely.” I tilted my head to the side, unsure of exactly how he expected me to do that. My mouth was gagged, and my hands were tied. I lifted my hands and tried to communicate,howas clearly as I could, but that only seemed to amuse him more. “Come now, Avion. I know from our conversation that you’re a very intelligent woman. What you can’t communicate with your words, communicate some other way.”
I watched him, my heart pounding so fast that I didn’t know what to do. Communicate some other way. Non-verbally? I looked around, almost as if I were looking to make sure no one else was watching, but of course, there wasn’t.
I got the feeling Gio wanted this scene all to himself.
Standing up out of the chair, I backed up a little bit so that I had more space and looked down on the floor. My legs were shaking, but if I wanted the binds off, it seemed I didn’t have any other choice. I lifted my gaze back up to Gio as I knelt down on the floor. My hands were still tied together, but I was able to straighten my hands up, palm-to-palm so that they were in a praying position. I focused on the word ‘please’ in my mind and tried to push it through my gaze.
Gio stood up and walked from around his desk and over to where I knelt. He cupped his hand under my chin and tilted my head back to look up at him. His gaze was dark and clearly aroused, and it even seemed like his pants were tenting in front of me.
“You look beautiful,” he hissed.
Despite how I should have felt, the words sent a jolt of electricity down my spine. Goosebumps rose to my skin and I swallowed, wondering what was going to come next. Though he was gorgeous, and though I was certain I would probably enjoy whatever he had to offer, I turned him down. He couldn’t just take from me what I wasn’t willing to give and, if anything else happened past that point, it wouldn’t be with consent.
Gio crouched down so that he was at my eye line and reached his hand behind my head. I shook my head and let out little whimpers, but Giovanni just said, “Shh. I’m not gonna hurt you.” He undid the tape that had been wrapped around my head a few times, and then pulled my scarf from my mouth. My jaw was sore from being held open that whole time, and I flexed and released it a few times. After that, Gio moved to my wrists, undoing the tape there, not cutting it, but rather unwrapping it the several times that it had been wrapped until I was finally free.
I rubbed my wrists as I said, “Thank you,” even though I didn’t feel I owed Gio anything.
He stood up and walked back to his desk and sat down in his chair, then motioned back to the chair I’d been in originally. I rose to my feet and walked over to the chair and sat down in it.
“Now then,” he began with a grin, “let’s talk business.”
9
GIO
I had to admit that I’d gotten a little carried away. I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t make any sort of move on Avion at the outset, but when Milli brought her in tied up and gagged, I lost control. It was simple, just getting her down on her knees and begging, but it was enough to confirm what I already believed.
She was the sub I wanted. The true, perfect sub.
She took instruction so well and knew exactly how to beg. On top of that, she truly was the most unbelievably beautiful woman I’d ever seen. If and when the time finally came to dominate her, I was going to enjoy it more than anything I’d ever had before. Thankfully, my desk was between us to give me a chance to calm down, because I definitely started to show my excitement standing over her while she knelt on the floor looking at me with that pleading gaze.
I had an ironclad ruleneverto force anyone to be my sub, but I came pretty damn close to exercising my power over her. She was dangerous, maybe even more than I anticipated. Hopefully, I could sway her fast, because with her under the same roof as me, keeping my hands to myself was definitely going to be a struggle.
Regardless, I pushed those thoughts away because I had business to take care of. I had to handle things with her in a way that didn’t make her feel like a victim, but rather as if she’d been presented with a clear opportunity. I heard the disdain in her voice as we spoke about her father and brothers—she wasn’t their number one fan by any means. First, I would show her how little her family actually cared about her, then I would give her the chance she was looking for to rise up above them and create something better for herself.
Then I would show her what there was to be gained in being my sub. It was a carefully designed plan that would only work if I acted with finesse.
“I’ll tell you the truth, Avion. You are the unfortunate victim of a stray bullet.” It seemed like honesty was the best policy with her. She was smart enough that she’d see through any lies anyway, and the truth was bound to do the most damage. “About a month ago, your father approached me with a need. He’d laundered about a quarter of a million dollars from his campaign fund, a habit of his, but now he had a new manager overseeing his campaign and was bound to notice the missing money. I suppose that person was you, but I was unaware of that at the time.”
“No money went missing. I reconcile frequently,” Avion replied.
“Well, you didn’t notice that any money went missing, because he came to me. You see, Iamthe CEO and co-founder of the KGP Architecture, but I am also Giovanni Raines, underboss of the notorious Raines family.” Shock slid across her face and I knew that my name had registered. “What money can’t be made through designing New York’s most beautiful buildings; I make through loan sharking. Your father became my number one customer when he took out a loan of a quarter of a million dollars.”
“Two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars?” she murmured.
“On a loan of that size, we usually charge about fifty percent interest,” I said.
Her jaw dropped. “Half a million?”
I smiled. “You’re quick to catch on. Yes, in short, your father owes me half a million dollars.” I wondered how much she knew about his plans to flee the country, even if she didn’t know why. “I’m sure word had reached you as his campaign manager, that he was planning on stepping down from his role as governor all of a sudden. This is because he was planning to skip out on his debt and flee to Tokyo. One of my associates found the one-way ticket. After he failed to earn back my money, on a bet he’d placed on a horse two nights ago.”
