Page 42 of Her Prince in Disguise
He shrugged. “They enjoy it. Plus, they are paid extremely well.”
Andi walked over to the fridge and pulled out the bag of sandwiches. “I’m guessing that your new company is doing better than I’d realized.” She pulled both out and examined them. “Which do you want? The ham and Swiss or the turkey and provolone?”
“Turkey,” he replied, accepting the sandwich she offered him. “Now tell me who you think is threatening you.”
“I have no idea,” she replied, unwrapping her sandwich and taking a huge bite. “Good grief, I’m starving!”
They sat on her sofa and devoured the sandwiches while discussing possible suspects. After a moment, she stopped and looked at him thoughtfully. “Jonas hates me.”
“Jonas?” he repeated. “My assistant?”
“Yeah.” She put down the second half of her sandwich, feeling full. “He seriously hates me.”
“What has he said to you that would make you think that he hates you?”
“He hasn’t said anything to me. The opposite, in fact. He’s always been incredibly polite during our interactions. It’s not what he’s said, it’s what he’s done.”
“What’s that?” he asked, taking her abandoned sandwich and finishing it off.
“He put me in a bad seat on the flight home from Singapore. Then again on the flight to London. He made sure that I was in a middle seat and, on the flight back home the first time, he made sure I was in a seat that didn’t recline. He also put me on a different flight from the others on the trip to London, which is why I arrived four hours after everyone else. And that was another middle seat in the back.” She groaned and stood up, grabbing their glasses to refill them. “Do you know what it’s like to sit straight up in a seat for hours with no relief? It’s horrible.” She shuddered at the memory. “Plus, the seat was right in frontof the bathrooms.” She shuddered. “Some people need to see a gastroenterologist because they have some issues!”
He didn’t laugh at her joke, but took the glass from her, frowning. “You were supposed to fly first class.”
“The others were happily ensconced in first class. I was the only one in the back of the plane. Which is why I think that Jonas hates me.” She tilted her head slightly. “I don’t think he would create weird, kinky dioramas though. He’s too…tame. Too mild mannered. I just can’t picture him as a killer. Nor can I picture him as a whip wielding sadist either.”
They considered several of her former boyfriends. And then Andi asked about his past girlfriends. They had a long conversation about their past lovers and Andi fought against her jealousy that some other woman had been in Laith’s arms. He must have understood her expression because he touched her cheek saying, “You’re the only one in my life now and forever, Andi.”
Her heart swelled with love. He was so handsome and when she’d needed him, he’d come for her. Not all women could say the same. She shifted her position so that she was straddling him. Andi leaned forward to kiss him, twining her arms around his neck. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
Laith groaned, then pulled her closer. He couldn’t seem to stop touching her. He’d only been without Andi for two nights, but that was too long. Standing up with Andi in his arms, he carried her into her bedroom. There, he stripped off every piece of clothing, kissing every inch of skin revealed. Then he licked and teased every erogenous zone on her body,even discovering several new places where she was exquisitely sensitive.
Andi sighed and he took each breath as a reverent welcome home. When he finally entered her, he lost himself in the glory of her. His thumb rubbed against that nub, bringing her closer. And when they climaxed together, Laith looked into her eyes and pulled her close, needing this connection with her. Andrea McCormick was going to marry him! He was going to have her in his life forever!
When she sighed with happiness, Laith tightened his hold around her, needing her soft curves against his skin. While Andi slept, Laith tried to process everything that had happened over the past several weeks. But everything kept coming back to the fact that Andi was going to be hisforever!
Chapter 29
Lawrence walked into his hobby room, letting his hands slide over his toys. The whips, clamps, and pincers made his cock twitch eagerly. He was immediately hard as a rock when he thought of Andrea McCormick in his special room. The leather walls were padded with sound absorbing foam and the floors were concrete. No sound was leaving this room.
He’d had other lovers in this room, but Andrea was going to be the best. She was so lush and soft. He pictured her smiles when he let the whip come down over her soft, beautiful skin. She might not want it now, but Lawrence knew that his Andrea would learn to love it.
He’d introduce her slowly at first, and then increase the pain. Soon, she’d learn to crave it. She’d need it for her basic survival. He’d taught more than one woman how to enjoy the pain over the years. Eventually every one of them had been gotten to the point of begging him for more.
Until he’d grown bored with their pleas.
Walking over to the chains, he pulled one of them taunt, putting all of his weight on it to test the strength. The wall hooks didn’t budge. They were perfect! He’d installed each of the ankle and wrist clamps himself, ensuring that each were adhered with special concrete. This place was set to withstand an earthquake.
Satisfied, he walked over to the security room. He’d snuck over to Andrea’s apartment weeks ago to install the monitors, eager for the time when he’d deemed her ready for his training.
But the images on the screen sent him into a fury unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Andrea, his next trainee, was in the arms of HIM! That bastard was doing things, gentle things, to Andrea! Andrea didn’t like soft touches! She wanted the thud and snap of his whip! Heknewshe did!
It took several breaths to contain his rage, suppress it so that he could control his temper. Yes, Lawrence knew that he had a temper, but over the years, he’d learned to hide it so that others weren’t aware of how angry he could become.
Andrea would learn. He would just have to speed up the timeline. Andrea had disobeyed him, now she’d have to learn that he never bluffed. He always kept his promises.
Chapter 30
Erin stood in front of the building, her rail-thin body shaking with terror. Pushing her limp hair out of her face, Erin tried to remember what it was like to be sane, to not constantly remember the lash of the whip across her back, the miserable anticipation of the horrors that a sick mind could inflict on another human being.
