Page 18 of Wicked Games of Desire

I laugh to myself. Asshole should have helped me. Now he’s back on my shit list with the other two.

“But she’s listening to you, so I guess you’re halfway there,” he adds. I guess I should have been an actor, not graphic designer. I just played these fools. And tonight, I get the fuck away from them.

Chapter 11

After showering and applyingminimal make-up, I walk leisurely back into my room, draped in a soft, oversized towel. Alessandro is sitting on my bed, his features hardened in a hostile stare. Dressed to the nines in his Italian suit, he looks out of place in here. I want to tell him exactly that, but I think maybe I already pissed him off enough earlier.

Throwing Ricky under the bus was a cheeky move. I knew how Alessandro would react. He’s insanely jealous. I remember how he responded when other guys even so much as looked my way when I was seeing him. I knew exactly the trouble I was causing. And Ricky’s really the only one who has been nice to me since I ended up stuck with them. But I have lost control in every other way, and when Ricky looks at me like he wants to eat me alive, I knew I had to use his infatuation to my advantage. What better way to escape these psychos than have them turn on each other? My plan is foolproof. The only problem is the guilt I felt when I walked away. When Ricky looks at me with such desire, I crave him just as fiercely.

Is it too early to have Stockholm syndrome? Because every time he steps into my room, my heart races a little faster and I get lost in his eyes.

Rather than acknowledging the irritating asshole on my bed, I choose to continue getting ready for the night out. I enter the walk-in closet and find rows of outfits lining the two walls, everything from fancy designer dresses and shoes to workout gear. These boys really went all out. The creepy shit is all the stuff I know was in my bedroom at my papa’s house. The items I brought home with me from Paris for the holidays and the stuff I know was boxed up under my bed from when I was younger. How did they have time to gather it all up and get it out of there before the place went up in flames? Even if I asked them, I’m sure they wouldn’t tell me.

I grab a pair of denim cut-offs and a cropped T-shirt, smiling to myself at my choice. I know it’ll piss him off more, but that’s on him.

“No fucking chance, Harley,” he growls from the doorway behind me, making me jump. Shit, I didn’t hear him right behind me. Creepy fucker.

He pulls a black three-quarter-length dress off a hanger and shoves it in my direction. “Wear this.”

I raise a brow, my resting bitch face slotting into place. “You don’t own me, Alessandro, you don’t get to choose what I wear.”

He closes the gap between us, forcing me to suck in a breath. “That’s where you’re wrong, princess.” His hand runs up my side, tracing my every curve before pulling me into his hard body. “You belong to me,” he purrs possessively, so much heat in his eyes I think I might combust.

Slowly, I move my head side to side. The words I want to come out won’t. My urge is to yell at him, asserting my independence and reminding him I’m not owned by anyone. But in this cramped space,with his intimidating stare, I am left completely speechless. “I’ll wear what I want to,” I whisper, tipping my chin up defiantly, trying my best to assert myself, even though he makes me feel so powerless.

He brings his hand to my bottom lip, running his finger along it like he’s imagining how I would taste. I’m sure he remembers. “Stop trying to bait me, princess, I don’t have time for your childish games.”

He lowers his face toward me. Fuck. I should shove him away. Tell him to fuck off, that he can’t lay his hands on me without my say so. But something stops me; it’s not fear, but more curiosity. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other, and what we had was explosive. I thought about him a lot over the last two years. Wished things ended differently. Wished there wasn’t still so much pain lodged in my chest when I thought of our time together. But I had resigned myself to the fact that that part of my life was done. My papa would never let me see him again, and it was probably for the best. He was too old for me. Too rich, too powerful, too destructive. Too everything.

“You don’t want to find out what happens if you don’t obey me.” There is a sudden flicker in his eyes, something sinister and I’m sure dangerous, and I decide he’s right. There are some battles not worth fighting.

Sucking in a shallow breath, I take a step back from him, needing space, and go in search of the appropriate underwear. In a pull-out drawer, I find a black lace half-cup bra and thong. Exiting the closet, I still feel his eyes on me as I pile it all up on the bed in front of me. Then I drop my towel. It’s not like he hasn’t seen it all before, and I know if I asked him to leave, he wouldn’t, so why waste my breath? I shimmy into the lingerie while he blatantly watches me like a fucking creeper, just as I expected. Did these assholes all go to the same fucked-up training course on how to be pervs? Cause they’re all experts at it.

I slip the dress on over my head. Alex comes around behind me and secures the zipper, even though I didn’t ask him to, then he moves me so he can stand and admire me. His lips twist up at the sides just slightly.

“Just one thing’s missing.” He produces a small ring box from his pocket, and I go all clammy. I’m not wearing some fucking ring that says I’m his. He pops the box open and takes the ring out. It’s a mammoth square-cut pink diamond, and I almost gasp in shock at how beautiful it is. “Hand,” he demands, a no-shit tone to his voice.

“No! Wearing the dress you want me to is one thing, but I’m not putting that on.” I look at the box like it’s a snake about to strike, because to me right now, that’s exactly what it feels like. Wearing that piece of jewelry will be like an anaconda slowly squishing the life out of me.

With a deep, intense stare, he studies me, his unsettling manner sending shudders through my body. Disobeying him is something he doesn’t appreciate, that much is obvious. “Around this place things might be different, but we’re not going out in public without this town knowing who you belong to,” he utters threateningly, before grabbing my trembling hand and forcing the ring on to my ring finger. “Better.”

I stare down at the ring in disbelief, anger coursing through my veins. I draw in a breath, trying to keep my composure, but really, I want to fucking scream the house down.

Harley, do what you need to do, then as soon as his back is turned, sprint like the fucking wind. By this time tomorrow you will be so far away from him that all this ownership shit won’t mean a thing anyway. Then you can pawn the ring and live off what you make. It’s all about using your brain, I tell myself, hoping to God it’s true. Because there is no way in hell I will marry him.

Chapter 12

Ricky drives the fourof us out to their club, Flamingo Hotel, in his G-Wagon. I stare out the window the entire way, trying to work out where on earth I am. If I want to escape them, I need to figure out where they’re keeping me, but I don’t know this part of Ravens Hollow at all. First, it’s all fenced fields and gated mansions sitting on oversized estates. Wherever they live, it’s the ritzy part of town. The part where you need a gate code to even get close to the house. It’s also not too dissimilar to the area I followed them to when I was tailing them, before we hit that dirt road.

Eventually the estates turn into suburban streets, and I get my bearings, sucking in a gasp when he drives right past the empty lot where my father’s house still stands as a pile of rubble. Horrible memories of that night flood back through me. Memories of these men. Why would he drive past here knowing how much it would upset me?

I find Alessandro in my line of sight, and he watches me, waiting for my reaction. I bite the inside of my cheek, stopping the venomous words from spilling out. I’m not giving him the satisfaction of playingwhatever fucked-up game this is. And if I start now, I know I won’t be able to stop. I want to lash out at him and hurt him like he’s hurt me, but I can’t like this. Instead, I stare out the window and watch the familiar houses fly past until we’re on the other side of town.

The dodgy side features dimly lit streets lined by rundown or abandoned homes, with beat-up cars sitting in their sketchy front yards. My apartment’s close to here. Or was. I already know that after not paying my rent last week, my few possessions would have been turned out on the curb for scavengers to raid. Not that I had much, but what I had was mine, earned through working extended hours at the diner. Sadness washes over me, knowing what I have lost. Not just my old life, but my new one as well. These fuckers just keep taking, all the while sitting here in their expensive suits like the world owes them.

We arrive at the club ten minutes later. As Ricky pulls around the back, popping open a security gate with the swipe of a card and a nod to the guard, we park behind the building, and for once, I wished I had checked it out when Dani had begged me to go dancing with her. Part of me hopes I could be so lucky to bump into her here tonight. The thought sends a little spark of excitement through me. I miss her antics and wonder if she’s worried about me. I wish I had some way of contacting her. But maybe after tonight I can.

And then my thoughts travel to Ian. I’m curious if he’s searching for me. As a detective, he’s likely realized by now that I’m missing. I’m sure he’s trying to find me, and maybe it’s only a matter of time before he does. But I can’t wait.

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