Authors: Jan Bowles
Tags: #Romance
He applied more pressure with his fingers, angling her head so severely, the muscles in the back of her neck must have hurt like hell on earth. “Don’t fuck with me, lady. Don’t dare to pit your wits against mine, because there will only ever be one winner in such a contest.”
All resistance gone, her face suddenly crumpled, and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “I’m sorry, Leon. Please believe me, I’m so sorry. I know I should have told you that he’d escaped, but I was just too frightened.” Even though her eyes remained tightly shut, salty tears still managed to find their way through.
“Frightened? Frightened of what? You lied to me, pure and simple. Even you’re not naïve enough to think I’m about to tolerate that.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No just doesn’t cut it.”
He dismissively let go of her chin, and she immediately wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and kneaded the muscles.
“That hurt.”
“It was meant to, child. That’s what happens when dishonest little girls lie to their masters and employers. Stand up.”
Paige looked up at him with uncertainty etched in her eyes, but seemingly rooted to the spot with fear and indecision, she didn’t move.
“Now.”
Upon hearing the uncompromising tone of his voice for a second time, she immediately sprang to her feet and stood before him like a frightened girl. “Wait here.”
As he savored her submissive posture, he experienced the usual mix of emotions. Anger, which he had every right to feel, and sexual arousal, which he enjoyed just for the hell of it. Aware that she studied his every move, he strode purposefully to a bureau in the corner of the room, and then, after turning the key in the lock, he pulled an ultrathin reed cane from one of the drawers.
Wanting to create an atmosphere of total domination, he repeatedly raised his right arm high above his head before bringing it down again as he slammed the instrument of correction hard against the mahogany bureau. He enjoyed watching her wince with painful anticipation when she heard each and every ominous crack.
“Face the wall, and brace yourself against it with your hands held high above your head.”
Clearly distressed, she sobbed, “But if you’ll only allow me to explain, Leon.”
“I said face the wall.”
He was angry, but she looked so fucking sexy with tears streaming down her face. She slowly turned from him, then did exactly as she was told. Leon saw her breathing was fast, something that always turned him on in a woman, and the way her long chestnut curls cascaded down her back made his prick harden uncomfortably in his pants.
* * * *
Paige felt his powerful body mold to hers as he stood agonizingly close behind her. His anger and warmth seemed to permeate her clothes, and she felt hot, fast breath against her neck.
When he whispered in her ear—“I gave you every opportunity to tell the truth, and yet still you deceived me”—she knew her ass would soon be red raw.
Why the hell wouldn’t he listen to her? She’d told him everything else about her past, much of it painful and traumatic, but in her mind, she had good reason not to tell him that Nolan had escaped from the Coalinga State Hospital.
The unreasonable bastard was turned on, too. His rock-hard cock, probing insistently against the back of her jeans, was ample evidence of that. She thought his mind was set, but nevertheless she’d try one final time to reach him, reason with him. Although distressed that he didn’t trust her anymore, she was determined to keep her voice calm and level. The last thing she wanted to do was escalate matters, which would only anger him more.
With her palms still flat against the wall, she turned her face as best she could. “Leon, please let me speak. You can trust me. You always could.”
“No.” He brutally took hold of her head with both hands and twisted it, so she was forced to stare at the blank, featureless wall again. “We’ve come so far together, Paige. I trusted you, but I now realize I was a fool to put my faith in you.”
“You’re no fool. I wouldn’t fall in love with a fool.” She still felt he treated her badly.
“Two months, Paige. Two fucking months this madman has been on the loose, and yet you didn’t trust me enough to tell me. Fuck, he could come for you again. The sick bastard is crazy enough to want to finish what he started, and I’d have been none the wiser, thinking he was still locked up in the nuthouse in California. How can I protect you when I don’t even know you need protecting? The fuckup has probably been jerking off, fantasizing about what he wants to do to you. Yeah, well, he’s walking around like a regular guy now, except both you and I know the evil fucker is anything but. You stepped over the line, and you need my discipline so you don’t make the same mistake again.”
Clearly pissed with her, she felt him roughly undo the leather belt on her jeans, showing her no consideration whatsoever. He then popped the brass button before mercilessly yanking the rough denim down her thighs, dragging her panties with them. Leon finally relented when her clothes lay bunched at her knees.
His heavy breath behind her, a combination of anger and sexual arousal, was all she heard as she continued to stare at the wall, awaiting her fate. He was right, but she was right, too. Maybe she should have told him, should have trusted him, but Leon was a complex character, one who came with a very possessive and protective personality, and she knew exactly what he would have done had she told him.
When she heard him lift the cane off the bureau, she figured nothing she could say would make him change his mind, but she’d say it anyway, just to get it off her chest.
“Okay, Leon, you do what you gotta do. You turn my peachy little ass as red as you like. Bruise it even, if that’s what turns you on. As far as I’m concerned, you can make it any goddamn color you choose, because although I’ve upset you and disrespected you by not revealing that Nolan had escaped, I still believe it was the right thing to do.” She scrunched her eyes closed and waited for the first agonizingly painful stroke of the ultrathin cane.
Instead there was a prolonged silence that seemed never ending, before she finally heard him say, “Go on then, explain yourself. Why is it better to keep me in the dark?”
Taking full advantage of her temporary reprieve, she couldn’t stop herself from blurting out, “Because you love me so much, I just know you’d hunt him down and either kill him with your own bare hands, or pay someone to kill him for you. This sick, deranged individual had damaged and traumatized the woman you adore, so you were never gonna let it lie. Letting the law take its liberal course just isn’t Leonardo Caparelli’s way. I’m not naïve. I’m not a child. You’re a powerful businessman, Leon, and just like every other, you have contacts around the globe, and I’m worldly enough to know that some of these contacts are not decent, law-abiding people.” She shook her head, unashamed that the tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped onto the floor. “I couldn’t let you do that, Leon, because I love you as much as you love me, and I know that if you killed him yourself, or had someone do it for you, you’d eventually get caught and spend the rest of your life in jail. I can’t live without you, Leon. I wouldn’t want to. Is that a good enough reason not to tell you?”
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut again, knowing she’d done all she could to make her case. The ball was in Leon’s court now. Her fate lay entirely in his hands.
“Mmm, perhaps, just perhaps I’ve been a little harsh with you. I’m not saying you don’t deserve a good beating, but, bearing in mind what you’ve just told me, I’m minded to be benevolent on this occasion.”
Her eyes flew open as she listened to his honeyed tones. “You mean…”
“Hmm, yes, but, as I seem to have you at a disadvantage, I may as well make the best of a bad situation.”
Paige’s eyes widened further when she heard the metallic sound of a zipper being slowly lowered, along with the rustling shrug of clothing. She didn’t need a brain the size of a planet to work out that the position of Leon’s jeans exactly mirrored her own, and although she didn’t dare turn her head and look, she guessed his magnificent rock-hard prick jutted unashamedly from his groin.
Shamelessly appealing to his dominant nature, she thrust her bare ass toward him, encouraging him to mate with her. Paige smiled when she felt his strong hands take hold of her hips, and she knew that today might not turn out so bad after all.
Two weeks later
Paige hated guns, always had done, and although many Americans saw them as everyday objects, she’d never felt at ease around them. That had all changed in the last two weeks, because Leon had insisted she learn how to handle one. He’d driven her to the local firing range no less than three times last week.
Initially she’d resisted, but he’d been insistent, repeatedly telling her that Nolan could make an unwanted appearance at anytime, and if he did, she shouldn’t think twice about blowing his sick fucking head from his shoulders.
His words not hers.
When Leon was in that type of mood, there was no arguing with him, and to be fair, he had a point. Although, the thought of killing another human being, even one as deranged as her ex-boyfriend, made her feel physically ill.
Some women loved guns and the power it gave them, but she didn’t. The weight of it in her hand, the kickback, and the sheer noise it made when it went off frightened her. If that were the case in a controlled environment, she wondered how she would handle the situation should she suddenly come face-to-face with Nolan again. Despite Leon telling her to shoot first and think later, she worried she might freeze. Her hands trembled with the mere thought, and she hoped to God that such a situation would never occur.
Leon had secreted five loaded guns around the house, and she hated every last one of them. He wasn’t taking any chances with the woman he loved, and she figured that if Nolan turned up when Leon was about, he’d be making a big mistake. Paige knew from her man’s pumped-up demeanor that he would relish the opportunity to kill Nolan. The way he spoke about the possibility of it happening, she got the distinct feeling he’d enjoy it.
Leon entered the living area, took hold of her hand, and thrust a .38 Special snub-nose revolver in it.
“Please don’t, Leon, you know I—”
“Get used to it, Paige. That hunk of metal could save your life. Use it, and you’d be doing the whole world a favor.” He stroked a hand through her hair. “But don’t worry, baby. I’ll be here to protect you, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to.”
“Good.” She quickly placed the weighty firearm on the coffee table, releasing it from her grip as though it was burning hot. “Because I want nothing to do with this, Leon. We live in a civilized society, don’t we? We pay our taxes. The cops are supposed to handle this sort of thing for us. That’s what they’re trained to do. I’m not a professional killer.”
He grunted dismissively. “Huh, cops, they’re only good for handing out speeding tickets and pulling over drunk drivers.” He shook his head. “Don’t rely on them, baby. Rely on me, and if all else fails, rely on yourself.”
“But I don’t think I could ever kill another…”
Clearly irritated, he spun her around to face him. “Now you listen to me, Paige, and you listen good.” He took hold of her shoulders and shook her hard several times, making her head rock back and forth. “Look, I was gonna keep this from you, but it’s better you know so you can be prepared. The cops called me less than two hours ago, and told me that a guy fitting Nolan’s description was seen not twenty miles from here.”
Paige frantically shook her head as she felt the bile rise from her stomach and into her throat. “No, no, that could be anyone. He could be a thousand miles from here. Maybe he’s even fled the country. He’s crazy, but he’s real smart, too.”
“They think it’s him, Paige. The CCTV system picked him up, and one of its operators thought he looked familiar and called the cops. Detective Cassello has had the footage blown up real big, and although it looks like he’s attempted to change his appearance, he reckons there’s no mistake.”
She clung to him so tightly, her fingers dug into his flesh. “I’m scared, Leon. I’m so scared.” Feeling the panic rising within her so much that she had to force the bile back down, she pleaded. “Let’s run. We can go anywhere in the world. He’d never find us.”
“I’ve never run from anything in my life, Paige, and I’m not about to start now. If you run, you’ll always be looking over your shoulder, forever wondering where he is. Is that what you want? Never to be able to sleep at night. It’s time to stand and fight, and rid the world of this vermin.”
She wrapped her arms around him, his warmth protecting her for the briefest of moments, before reality crowded in on her. “Oh, God, I know you’re right, but I couldn’t bear for him to touch me again. To defile and mark me like a branded animal. I’d rather die than let that happen.”
“Shhh, baby. Shhh. It’s okay.” He gently teased his fingers through her hair again. “The cops are moving in on him as we speak. He might not get this far.”
When the telephone rang, Paige held herself in such a state of tension that she jolted in his embrace. “Don’t answer it, Leon, please.”
“I’ve got to.”
He walked across the room and picked up the receiver. “Leon Caparelli speaking.”