Page 18 of Ensnared
Closing the lid of the laptop, she sat there in a daze until she heard the tiny meowing cry. Getting up with the comforter still wrapped around her, Eve opened the door to let Mochi in. Scooping her up in one hand, Eve settled down onto the bed with the comforter draped over them both. She hugged Mochi and cried into her soft fur.
Chapter 12
Dimitri'smusclestensedashe pulled down on the weighted bar over his head. He could feel the sweat rolling off his neck down the center of his back as the muscles in his shoulders contracted with the pull of the heavy weight. The private gym was quiet, with only the clanking sounds of the machine's weights hitting one another and the low hum of music coming from his phone. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on control of his movements as he pulled the weight slowly down over and over again.
The image of her flashed in his mind.
Dimitri inhaled deeply through his nose. Goddamn it. He frowned and glared out the large window ahead of him overlooking the hot desert city. All fucking night. All night he replayed the image of her spreading her legs before him. The camera had been in the perfect position catching not only the glorious sight of her delicate folds but the peaks of her heavy breasts as well. God help him, he nearly ruined all his plans last night. If her shame hadn't run so deep, keeping her eyes downcast, she would have seen him for who he really was. She would have seen him leaning forward on his desk into the light like a starved man. The urge to bury his face between her legs, to cover her beautiful soft body with his own had been almost instinctual.
Anger coursed through him. Pulling the bar faster, Dimitri groaned under the strain of each pull. In front of him, the stacked black weights lifted up and down, resisting him at each pull. He should not be this affected by her. There were literally hundreds of women sixty floors down in his own casino who would happily do whatever he wanted. Was it her innocence? Was that why he couldn't get the brassy yet shy girl out of his head? Because there was no lack of that either. Despite being the city of sin there were countless naïve innocents who traipsed into the city and into his hotel each day. He could easily have his fill of young naïve women. Hell, untouched virgins if he wanted. So, what the fuck was it?
Letting the heavy weight drop back down with a clang, Dimitri rolled his head from side to side stretching the tense muscles. Behind him, he could hear the near silent swoosh of the glass door opening. Turning his head only an inch, he stopped his approaching lieutenant with a narrowed look.
Andrey lifted a hand in apology. "Sorry to bother you, boss. But I figured you would want to know."
Judging by the bright gleam in his lieutenant's eyes, the news had to be good. Beyond him, standing silently by the door, stood Dominic.
Straddling the padded weight bench, Dimitri stood up and gave Andrey a wordless command to continue before walking over to his water bottle and towel.
"We were finally able to breach the exchange point using a flux in their malware protection."
Dimitri wiped his face and stared at the overly bright city below. Not for the first time he thought longingly of the cool spring days at his grandparent's house in Ukraine. Dimitri cleared his throat, quickly stopping the memories before they continued too far.
"How much?" he asked without turning to look at the man.
There was a slight pause before Andrey continued and Dimitri knew he was smiling. "Just under a trillion data packets, sir."
Turning, Dimitri eyed Andrey. The man was visibly proud. Although he tried to hide it, the younger man was waiting eagerly for him to acknowledge his good work. Dimitri thought of all the times in the past when he had done the exact same to his superiors and received snide comments in return, or worse, physical retaliation. Those times were long ago. A much darker time in Dimitri's life.
Walking forward, he put his hand on Andrey's shoulder. "Good job," he said before heading to the free weights.
"The kid," Dominic said meaningfully from his spot by the door.
Dimitri turned to see Andrey cut the other lieutenant a deadly glare which Dominic stonily ignored. Dimitri looked at Andrey with a raised brow, silently expecting him to elaborate.
"The kid…Ricky," Andrey clarified with a heavy tone. "Still hasn't coughed up the bank account number. Maybe he doesn't actually know-"
Dimitri cut him off. "He knows it and I will get it."
Not even God himself was going to deter him from his plans for Eve and her brother. Did he need the account number at this point? No. The money and the data had already been recouped. And if he wanted, he could have Andrey hack into the bank account and take the Armenian's money. No, at this point the matter was far more personal. Dimitri would get that bank account number and he would get it from Ricky's own lips one way or another.
Chapter 13
Forthepastfewhours, she had drifted in and out of sleep. When she first woke up, her room was a hazy blue as the early dawn sun slowly breached her gauzy curtains. Now her room was awash in golden light signaling the morning was well under way. Eve simply turned over in her bed and buried her face deeper into the cool cotton of her pillow. Beside her, she could hear Mochi's thrumming purrs as she slept on, unbothered by the bright room.
As her fatigue faded, Eve's mind grudgingly began to recall last night.
In her chest, shame brewed like a turbulent storm. Did she really get naked on camera for money like that? Had that been real or all just an intense nightmare? Blindly, she reached for her phone on the nightstand and snatched it from its charging cord. Hesitantly, she went to her bank app and typed in her code. She waited and prayed as the account loaded.
Let it all have been a dream.The website, the mask, and even the man in the shadows with the commanding voice, let it all be some sort of concoction of her imagination.
Her bank account pulled up and her heart sank. All the money was there. Turning onto her side, she looked down at the floor where the sparkling mask sat on the carpet.
The shame that had been brewing inside her threatened to engulf her, scorching up from her chest and up her throat leaving her feeling sick. She lay there for another hour until her phone vibrated at her side. Eve frowned at the text. It was from Angela, a girl from work she occasionally used to trade shifts with.
Angela: Hey, check your email. You won the damn employee raffle and you don't even work here. #superjealous
Now she was even more confused. Sitting up in her bed, Eve grabbed her glasses off the nightstand, opened her email, and scrolled through until she found one from the Elysium.
