His face clouded and his jaw ticked. He sat up to his full, stunning height, no longer hunched in shame. This was the strong guy who’d made my mouth swim and my pants dripping wet. Even now, my sex was heating up in reaction to his unexpected change in mood.
My helplessness fueled my wrath with my terror. My palm cracked over his face before I realized what I was doing.
I immediately regretted it. My hand smarted where it had made contact with his sharp cheekbone, and his countenance darkened even more.
My animal brain activated my flight instinct, and I scooted away from him.
I hadn’t even gotten to my feet before he was on me. As his body settled over mine, he effortlessly seized my wrists. His weight crushed me down, his massive power trapping my hands above my head.
My wrath and terror caused me to shout defiantly, and I writhed under him. I felt his cock harden against my thigh, and my sex became moist for him: an automatic reaction.
I should have been scared that he might rape me, but the notion never occurred to me. I had a feeling Nicola would never harm me. He couldn’t do it, no matter how brutal his lifestyle was. Even now, he held me with care, firmly restricting me without causing me pain.
But I couldn’t bring myself to give up. He’d rejected my impulse for escape, and all I had left was to fight.
I buried my fangs into his forearm and twisted my head. He cursed and yanked away his arm, but he didn’t back down. His free hand fell across the front of my throat, his strong fingers curling around my neck, his grip on my wrists still firm. He didn’t put any pressure on me, but his control startled me into quiet. My screaming ceased immediately, and I remained under him.
He looked down at me, a dark delight in his eyes that I’d seen but never quite comprehended. He enjoyed overwhelming me. When we were playing this way, I felt it was a strange game.
But Nicola was not having it. He was proving his entire control over me, demonstrating that opposing him was pointless. He would always win, and he would take pleasure in subjugating me.
Nicola went in for a soft kiss on my bottom lip, which quivered.
“Don’t weep, angel,” he reassured. “I’ll protect you.”
His calloused fingers brushed over the column of my neck, illuminating my sensitive nerve ends. As recollections of bliss at his touch assaulted me, I choked back a groan. My body had been trained to react to him. Or maybe I’d been thus helpless against him from the start.
I absolutely felt defeated and totally overwhelmed at this point.
He swept his gentle lips over my cheeks, caressing my tears away.
His hand remained wrapped around my neck. He still had my wrists pinned over my head. And his cock was still pressing up against my hip.
“Are you done with your little tantrum now?” Mathew’s drawl cut through the tight bond between Nicola and myself. I was nearly relieved by his sarcastic comments. At the very least, they liberated me from Nicola’s control.
I moved away from Nicola’s lips as heat crawled up my neck. My cheeks were red from embarrassment. Mathew was looking at us, scrutinizing us. His sharp black eyes astounded me, and I had the distinct impression that he could read every aspect of my feelings.
“Please,” I pleaded with Nicola. “Get off my back.” I couldn’t stand his touch for another second, particularly with Mathew looking on.
He did not immediately cooperate.
“Are you going to keep behaving like a brat?” Mathew inquired. “Nicola can let you up if you’re ready to behave.”
My cheeks became even hotter. I didn’t want to agree to act properly. It was the equivalent of admitting I’d been acting like a mischievous child. I couldn’t understand how Nicola could let Mathew speak to me in this manner.
But Nicola wouldn’t let me go. He was patiently awaiting my response. I knew there was only one answer they’d accept.
“All right,” I said quietly. “I’ll…” I couldn’t bring myself to say, “I’ll behave.” “I’m not going to fight you.”
Mathew’s hard lips twitched with amusement, exacerbating my embarrassment and turning it into indignation.
Even so, when Nicola finally let me go, I didn’t try to flee. It was pointless. Nicola had just demonstrated how easily he could catch and trap me, and Mathew stood between me and the door.
I sat up as straight as I could and smoothed my hands over my hair, straightening the places where it’d become tangled during my struggles. I took a deep breath and faced Mathew squarely in the face, spearing him with a defiant glare.
A wide, wicked grin spread across his face, the first genuine smile I’d ever seen on his face.
It was even more intimidating than his cold stare, which I never imagined was possible.
“Here.” Mathew presented me with a notebook and a pen.
“What does this serve?” I was still sitting on the bed, but I’d moved as far away from Nicola as I could. Mathew remained standing, which worried me even more than Nicola’s proximity.
“You’re going to send some emails,” Mathew said.
I blinked at him, puzzled. “Emails. “Using a pen and paper.”
He gave a nod. “You write them, I type them and send them. You’re mistaken if you think we’ll let you near a laptop.”
“What exactly am I supposed to write?” I was fairly certain that Help! Mobsters have kidnapped me! That was never going to be an acceptable message. It had only recently dawned on me that this was my new reality. I might have laughed at the absurdity of it all if it hadn’t been for Mathew’s intimidating presence.
Mathew’s dark stare, on the other hand, was not amusing.