Continued: If I can't leave Niko, I may decide to live alongside him. I'm tired, mentally, of course, of fighting him at every opportunity. So very tired. I just want to have one person, just one, to be in my corner. Is that so bad? Am I an awful human being for wishing for the bare minimum in this life where most women get sold as scraps of meat for their orifices? My feet slap on the hardwood of the stairs as I descend them; I instantly have Niko's attention. I feel his gaze bore into my skin, warming and chilling simultaneously. I could walk up to the kitchen counter and bask in his presence, but I walked past him, heading out into the garden. He stares after me, the glass walls giving him a perfect view of me walking away from him. I sway my hips, and I smile secretly to myself. I've always been able to catch men's attention, but only once did I feel the need to keep it. "Shit. Ow!" Niko hisses from the house as I climb up and into the hot tub; one leg is already
Niko My heart almost stopped for about the thousandth time today when she walked back down those stairs in nothing but that skimpy two-piece that left little for my imagination to run wild with. Memories of sharing the ocean, of having my hands on her waist, my thumb stroking the soft, subtle skin of her hip. Of watching her pull herself up and onto the ledge, muscles flexing as she held her weight before turning around. Of the soft swell of her breasts that barely contained themselves in the tiny triangles of material made for hiding them. It all begs me to give up on cooking, to grab her and march her back upstairs to the bed I hate sharing with her. Hate being a lie, honestly, but I do disfavour being beside her with the power to take what I need but not having the heart to force the girl to want me. Despite my intention of ignoring her reentry, I was unsuccessful. She walked right on by, heading out into the garden, where she walked into the hot tub, taking my breath and
Continued: I plate the gnocchi into two bowls, take forks with me and head out into the garden and over to the hot tub because I can't ignore her whereabouts. It went through my mind, leaving her food on the counter and taking myself to bed. It would have been easy to wind down without winding myself up, but her pull on me strengthened. I'll stick myself out through the torture if only to show her she can trust me. Building this trust may create prosperity for me. Do I have that kind of patience? I ask myself. "Gnocchi, Bee?" "I'm famished," she reveals, leaning forward to reach for the bowl. I pass it along, my eyes never leaving her cleavage. "God," she moans around a mouthful. "Do you often moan like that with...things in your mouth?" I ask with a devilish chuckle. Shifting uncomfortably, I rearrange myself in my swim shorts to relieve some of the pressure from the waistband. Bianca watches me inquisitively, and I know she knows I'm hard. It's times like
Bianca "Tell me to stop," he begs me suddenly. "Noâ," I whisper despite realising perhaps maybe I should bow down to his need not to use me. Because that's how he feels, right? Indecision is usually my middle name. However, as I watched Niko try to ignore my presence, I couldn't help but float over his lap. Both of us are trying to suppress our desire to keep each other on our toes, yet here we are, in each other's company, longing to touch one another but hesitant to express our feelings for fear of using the other. I know my reason is my past; I don't want to use Niko to gain anything. There is also the element of opposing this arranged marriage and honestly opposing Dimitri. I also recognise the need to keep everyone at arm's length. But I want something different for myself: happiness. That's what drove my need to sit on his lap and also drove my need to beg him to fuck me. I hadn't expected him to force his way inside me so swiftly, though, yet he did, and I revell
Continued: I want everything he can give me. I want it all... I want him. Giving him myself is the only thing I can give him that's remotely worth his time. "Then take me to bed. Fuck me, use meâdo whatever you please," I smile against his neck, whispering back so quietly just in case someone else can hear my deepest, dirtiest needs. "Don't let go," he warns. Standing up, he encourages my legs around his waist as he holds onto my buttocks. His still erect cock brushes my labia as he moves to climb out, reminding me that we're completely naked. I hang around him, holding myself against his body as he manoeuvres us out of the hot tub and onto a stable floor. He chuckles, his voice throaty and natural, which makes my cheeks burn as he steps towards the house. Readjusting me, he brings me higher, his lips going straight for my cheek, or so I thought. "I'm going to fucking eradicate any memory of that man," he promises against my ear so surely that I believe every word
Niko We've spent the last two days exhausting ourselves whilst getting to know one another on this new, deeper level that I was second guessing if we would ever get to experience. Even so, I still have a few places I'd like to fuck her before we go home, whenever that may be. The very next morning, in the early hours of the morning, Sven turned up when I was taking a moment to stare out of the window Bianca seemingly loved to daydream in front of. The boat was a spec of darkness moving on the sea at first, but as he neared closer and the sun rose, I could figure out quite quickly that he indeed returned to help us explore the island as promised the night before. Leaving him waiting on the beach, I let Bianca sleep while I readied food for the pair of us. I prepared a platter of fruit for breakfast that I took back upstairs only after I filled a conveniently placed picnic basket in the kitchen cupboard with an array of antipasti we could enjoy. I planned to take her back to th
Continued: It's clear with the clearing of his throat that I'm asking too much; after all, the agreement is to go, get the girl, and sit tight with her until he or Lucia comes to take them to a marginally better life. Still, I need to know if there's a potential threat looming, especially if she was already intercepted. The risk the Ivarnis have enlightened the buyer about her possible saviour might have them wanting to complete the Passover sooner rather than later. "Niko," Dimitri warns. "I need to know who to look out for in case they are also there to pick the girl up. I doubt the Ivarnis are sitting tight about the fact you tried to take her. They'll be looking out for you and your men, Dimitri. I'm associated with you; they know that. Everyone does." Remaining silent, his shoulders stiffen. Did he not already think that over? "She's headed for the Densels," he admits with a snarl. It's my turn to stiffen; of course, she fucking is. They buy many girls off the back of
Bianca I knew the moment I woke, I'd be walking into something I didn't care to be part of, but equally, I knew that I had no choice in the matter if Dimitri deemed it so. His voice floated upstairs, not loud enough to decipher everything that was said between him and Niko but audibly sufficient to know his tone was condescending and simultaneously authoritative. So I dithered, sitting on the top step close enough to hear them talk yet hidden enough that neither heard nor saw me. Niko was essentially being summoned, and I could tell he wasn't happy about it. Even so, I sat there for a long while as they spoke about this job to remain hidden and out of the limelight until things slowly turned in my direction. It's as if I knew I would be the topic of conversation. I was nervous then; Dimitri knew skeletons I wanted to remain hidden, so I couldn't damn well stay hidden. I moved down the stairs as Niko opposed Dimitri's choice to keep Luca in this life with the one-track mind,
Continued: "We're going outside," he tells me quietly, almost as if he's speaking numbly. It's as if he knows I'm going to object, yethe's not going tochange his mind. "You won't change your mind, will you?" "We have no choice. I need to make a plan, and I need information before we make any decisions." "Then you should know she was here with Benji. I don't know why, but he was here for her," I reveal, reaching inside my bra to bring the piece of paper out. I slip it into his hand, and he frowns. "You won't be long?" I ask. "I'll be as quick as I can, Bee." With that, he kissed me tenderly before passing me one of his guns, and then he encouraged me back to the sofa, which was the most uncomfortable chair I had ever sat on in my life. And then he and Sven left through the door we entered through. I watched Alexandra with keen interest as she shook herself and the chair she sat on when the door showed her the route to freedom. "Are you in a relationship with him?
Bianca So we're in hiding, great, except for the fact that there's no food or much water and only one bedroom come living area, leaving us with the only option but to share space with one another. That first hour was filled with tense silence. We sat in a circle, staring at one another as we judged each other. I guess none of us had a clue of what to say, leaving the only sounds coming from Alexandra as she hissed annoyance at being tied to another chair while simultaneously trying to release herself. She couldn't, of course. Sven ensured she wasn't able to breathe, let alone escape. Soon, though, the trivia of being trapped down here had me wandering around the space as I paced back and forth in an attempt to kill my anxiety. And my movement had first Sven agitated and then Alexandra. "You'll have to surface at some point; they'll be waiting," she tells me. Or at least she looks to me as she speaks. It's as if she's solely talking to me, yet she never actually addressed
Continued: "No, I'm here. Right where I should be. I'm here for you, Bianca. Only you." "You can't heal these ugly parts of me," she tells me desperately, but I hear more than her telling me something. I listen to her convincing herself she can't be healed. She's so wrong. "I don't care; I accept them. I accept all of you, Bee." "Why?" she asks in a quiet and frightened tone. Her disbelief is flavoursome, and I hate it. I think long and hard about my answer, but it comes down to one thing. "Because I can," I tell her with a look that I hope transpires everything I'm not saying. Because I love you should have been the words that left my mouth, but it's the wrong time to say such things, especially when the feeling is so new and appeared so quickly that even I'm tripping over this emotion I've run from all my life. "I'm ugly, horribly ugly inside, Niko." "And I'll love those ugly parts just the same; now, do you want to talk about it or save that conversation for lat
Niko Sven and I meticulously strip what little clothing Alexandra had on, but we find nothing that could account for a tracking device. Even so, we check every crevice of her body and still come up empty-handed before replacing the clothing to give her some sense of decency. If I'm honest, I tackle the task with indifference, but in honesty, I feel sick to my stomach doing such a task. At first, she shook like a leaf, but her true identity showed itself when her quivering lip turned into a malicious smile when we realised she didn't have an evident tracking device. "Perhaps you should look elsewhere," she sneered at me with enough malice to prove she's gone entirely fucking rogue. This is not the woman I remember; she sure isn't the loved-up woman who followed Mitchels every word. "I should kill you now, leave your dead body for them to find. Perhaps that would leave the message that I'm not to be played with," I hiss back with equal fervour, but I knew I was only playing
Continued: My entrance is dramatic, and I twist my ankle. Barely containing the yelp of pain as hands steady me. "Careful," Niko warns as his hands grab my shoulders. Righting me, he strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves me, moving for Alexandra, who is sitting on one of the kitchen stalls in the middle of the kitchen. I watch Niko closely tie her to the stall, ensuring her hands and legs are immobile. I'm itching to turn every light off and cut out all light for anyone searching for something to guide their way here, to me. The seconds tick by until he's finished, and I slap every light switch to swamp us in darkness when he begins to stand. "Bee?" He questions me as the house falls into darkness. The silence around us stretches out only as far as Alexandra's laugh allows. She knows, god, she knows that they're coming. "Isaw lightout at sea," I whisper to Niko. "She's guiding them here. I'm sure of it!" I tell him desperately, knowing he probably
Bianca Things are escalating so quickly, and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know what to do with the information safely stowed away in my bra. It is burning my skin. It's begging me to reveal it, knowing deep down that we need to acknowledge the fact that a Densel was seemingly working against one of their own with the likes of another man's wife, who just so happens to be one of the top three rulers of our kind. I'm sure Niko could make more heads over the tail of it himself, but I don't want to give away the game for Alexandra only to win with the upper hand. Because she knows, she knows what Benji was doing there, and she might be the fucking key for the downfall headed our way. Now, whether Benji is the one she is hinting at or if she is hinting at Mitchel is above me right now. Anxiety rolls through me, and a sixth sense begs me to accept the truth. They were working together, but for what and why? And more importantly, who? So, I defer. I accused her of
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need
Niko The short ride to the private dock is tense and, quite frankly, unnerving as I try to remain stoic and quiet after saving Alexandra and nearly losing Bianca in the process. I want to ask Bianca exactly what happened and how she came to be in that room alone with no one holding her there as I thought I'd find, but I cannot fathom asking these questions in the earshot of Sven, and perhaps even Alexandra. I need to judge whether the pair of them are safe, and I definitely need to gauge whether Alexandra is a threat. How did she know that Bianca would be in that room, and would she tell me if she had planned to abduct her alongside the Densels? I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Densel dabble in illegal requirements of girls, even by the mafia's sordid morals and not one family knows the coordinates of any one of their bases. Most girls, if not all, disappear without a trace after they are handed over to the Densels. It's quite literally as if they vanish into th
Continued: "Stop calling me Bambi." "Don't you like to be reminded of who you belong under, Bee?" "Benji, Iâ." Surprisingly, he pushes past me, heading for the opened suitcase on the bed. He shoves a few loose articles inside, then walks off to bathroom returning with a wash bag that goes in too. I blink, like a retard. What in the hell? "Don't play games with me, Bambi. Sit down," he scowls at his hands, speaking in the same tone as before. And yet his whole demeanour changes. He drops the knife on the bed, disregarding it as if it hurt him to hold it up to me. I frown at the door I'm still stood before and I talk in a genuinely frightened and confused voice. "Okay, okay. Where do you want me?" I ask. "There," he point to the desk. "I'll sit," I tell him, moving with my hand before me to show I'm playing his game. Even if it seems demented at this point. I walk to the desk, and I see a notepad and pen supplied by the hotel. Taking the pen I write down on the note