Devil’s Touch

Lia’s POV

The knock at the door wasn't loud… it was quiet, deliberate. But it also may have been a thunderclap for drifting me off from my thoughts.

I hadn’t slept all night, couldn't. The walls were too tight, and that camera with its blinking eye…it never stopped watching me. I hated it, but I hated him even more.

The door creaked open, and a tall, mean-faced man was standing right in front of me in an instant. “The boss wants to see you. Follow me.” That was all he said, like I was just an object waiting to be summoned by its owner.

I didn’t answer him, I just stood up, following him down the hallway without a word. Passing polished floors and guards who stared straight ahead like statues.

The doors opened with a heavy groan and there he was. Kade Valen. Shirtless, barefoot, and completely unbothered…like he didn’t just destroy my life and now locked me in a cage.

“Morning, little princess,” he hissed. Standing before the punching bag like it owed him something, each strike landed with brutal precision….raw, controlled power rippled through his arms and down his back.

He looked up at me, that smug wicked smirk from last night already in his eyes. “Rest well in your luxury suite?” He spoke, grabbing a towel and dragging it slowly down the side of his neck.

I said nothing, my lips pressed into a thin line, hands folded at my sides. He smiled, turning back to the punching bag and throwing another punch, his knuckles cracking against the leather like a gunshot.

“Oh right,” he continued, “I forgot you’re still in that sulking phase from last night,” throwing another punch. “It’s cute though. But you have no other option than to cheer up, little princess.”

I stared right at him, every bone in my body screaming at me to slap him across the face. Fucking jerk. But then he turned again, this time walking towards me with a slow, predatory step.

“You look tense, Lia,” he said, stopping just a breath away. I could smell his sweat, the faint trace of cologne, something dark and masculine about it. “You should try stretching. Maybe do some squats. I want you to look sexy for daddy.”

“Or…” he leaned down, his breath brushing against my ear. “Or we can do some other type of workout. Like the one we almost did last night.” My stomach twisted, anger rising in my chest. I wanted to punch him, to scream. But God help me…some stupid part of me wanted to feel his hands on me again.

The way his touch burned and left me craving for him. It disgusted me. I was disgusted with myself. He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, the expression on his face nothing but pure mockery.

“You know, the way you’re looking at me right now? He moved closer. “It’s almost as if you like what you’re seeing.” My chest is rising and falling in heavy gasps, anger surging through me like a heavy storm. 

“But don’t worry. I get it. It’s confusing when your body wants something else but your mouth keeps lying about it.” That was it, I was done putting up with his fucking bullshit. Something in me broke and before I could even realize what the hell I was doing, I turned.

Grabbing a glass from the table behind me, and with every ounce of rage and humiliation I had swallowed since last night…I hurled it at him. It flew fast, but Kade moved faster.

The glass shattered against the wall behind him, and shreds of it scattered across the floor. The sound echoed like a gunshot. For one long second, neither of us moved.

But the next thing I knew, he was in front of me in the blink of an eye, slamming a hand against the wall beside my head and pinning me to it, his body towering over mine just inches away.

Nothing was gentle or calm about his eyes anymore…they were cold, burning like the edge of a flame held just under my skin. “Don’t you ever mistake my mercy for weakness,” he growled, nothing funny about the tone of his voice.

“You and your fucking brother are alive because I allow it. You breathe because I say so.”  A chill crept down my spine, sweat falling down my face. My lips parted slightly to say something, but he was too close…his scent, sweat, and power wrapped around me like smoke.

His muscled bare chest hovered around mine, the warmth of his skin threatening to melt whatever pretense I had been letting myself believe. 

“You want to break things, little princess?” He whispered, his voice coiling around me like a noose. “Next time, I’ll let you clean the blood off the floor yourself, and trust me. It will be your blood.”

His eyes dropped down, lingering on my lips with a hunger so raw I could feel it just by staring at him. My knees weakened, I should have pushed him, or rather, spat in his face.

But I didn’t move. Because something in me wanted him to close the little space between us so badly. To press me harder against the wall and finish what he started last night.

No.

I couldn’t let myself even dare to feel anything for this monster. I clenched my fists behind me, my nails into my skin to ground myself from melting into him…to fight this sick, shameful pull his presence lit inside me.

He moved his head slightly, his eyes still locked on my lips, watching me like a predator teasing the line between torment and desire. My heart pounded too fast, and he noticed. Of course he had to notice.

“You’re under my roof now, “ he whispered, leaning closer, his lips almost meeting mine but just inches apart. And yet…I was shaking for reasons I didn’t want to understand.

“It’s either you be a good girl and obey me, little princess,” he murmured. Or you will suffer for it. There are no options.” Then he stepped back, acting as if nothing had happened.

I stood still, my pulse thundering in my ears, his words still burning on my skin. But before I could recover from it, the door opened with a sharp click.

A strange woman walking in like she owned every fucking thing in this building, even Kade himself. She was stunning, ridiculously so. Tall and curvy with flawless skin and dark eyes that sparkled like venom.

“Well,” she drawled, her heels clicking across the floor like weapons, and the moment her eyes landed on me…it turned to poison.  “Who the hell is this Kade?” She asked, turning to face Kade.

Ignoring me like I was nothing but a ghost. “Another one of your toys?”

Heaven help me….

What the hell did she just mean by his toy?