She accepts the glass, raising it to her lips, and my gaze locks on the movement of her throat as she swallows. My chest is full of lead weights.
Something low in my gut clenches, telling me this is one of those moments in life where everything pivots.
Where my downfall begins.
My demise is sitting there, cross-legged on white sheets with a vengeful smirk, messy black hair, and blue eyes that tell me stories of a life not as shiny as it seems.
I want to trace those pouty lips with my tongue. I want to bite the soft skin on her neck until she whimpers and I taste blood. I want to press my thumb against her larynx and control every single breath she takes.
I focus on where her lips are pressed to the rim of the glass and imagine them wrapped around my cock, stretched wide, tears in her eyes while I fuck her throat and feel it work around me the same way it's working that swallow of water.
"Good girl," I say, and catch the soft flicker in those bright eyes.
Interesting.
"You'll probably feel a little groggy for an hour or so, but it will wear off."
"Are you going to tell me where I am?" she demands without a hint of fear. “When I’m leaving?”
Most girls would be crying by now. Begging.
But Larissa Bianco looks at me like she's deciding whetherI'mworth her time, and fuck if that doesn't make me want to show her a good, hard attitude adjustment with her bent over the bed, and me balls deep, re-arranging her insides.
I’m a big guy. A black handstitched suit sitting here filled with six feet five of lean muscle, dark hair, and a scar through my left eyebrow and cheek that should intimidate her.
It has the rest of my wards over the years.
"You’re safe," I tell her, settling back in my chair, even though every muscle in my body is screaming to move closer. I haveto ignore the bite of the zipper against my erection. “That’s all you need to know. There's no way out of here, not without my permission, and none of the staff will help you, so refrain from asking." I point lazily toward the window behind me. "We're on a private island. The Mediterranean is beautiful this time of year, but the currents are deadly. Even if you could get past the guards, past the walls, and past me, you wouldn't make it far."
I tap the tips of each of my fingers on my right hand with the pad of my thumb, counting as I watch that sink in on her face.
One, two, three, four. Four, three, two, one.
If she starts to cry, I’m not sure I’ll survive it.
She sputters, narrowing her eyes at me like daggers. “This is a felony.”
I nod, running my hand over my chin. "Maybe. Depends on what country you are in. But all you need to think about right now is that you’re very safe here. From everyone except me."
She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, embedding them until the pouty flesh turns white.
She is fucking stunning. That word isn’t enough, but I understand clearly that she’s a bargaining chip. That’s why my estranged brother called me, begging me to take her on.
This girl has a value few women do. A beauty so powerful, it’s difficult to look at her.
She’s a carrot dangled in front of an enemy or a friend. A deal to be made, for sure. But this little bird was not going to capitulate. Thus, she’s here for me to fix.
Something inside me rages, thinking of sending her back to the fate I know awaits her.
I’m hard, throbbing, and lost in an image of a good girl of my own, a little girl I’ve never wanted, seeking out her Daddy for praise and pleasure.
I want to keep her.
The thought rockets through me like an icy missile.
"What's your favorite color, Larissa?" I blurt out, swallowing down the saliva gathering under my tongue.
She stares, no hint of embarrassment or submission.
