IGOR IS IN the lounge sitting down on a large claw-legged armchair. Three security men surround his seat.
“Igor, what a pleasure to have you in my home.” I don’t like this man being here for one second. The idea that he’s here for Evie has crossed my mind, but he wouldn’t come himself instead of sending a lieutenant, so this is something more.
“How is Evie?” he starts with. He’s really watching my reaction.
I sit down across from him. His first question should have been what happened to my face, so this was all carefully orchestrated.
“She’s upstairs. Shall I bring her down?” I ask.
His down-turned lips turn up slightly. “Just us for now.”
I sit fully back in the chair.
“Someone will collect her tomorrow.”
My gut tightens. “Perfect.”
“A doctor will have to examine her first to make sure she is still pure. No offense.”
“None taken,” I answer, but the thoughts of Evie being assessed like that have me wanting to walk away from Igor.
His smile shifts, and his lips drag back down. “I know she is a temptation that even the strongest would have to fight.”
“I’ve been too busy, Igor, with my job.”
Igor nods and touches his cheek. “I see you got hurt.”
“It comes with the territory.” I keep my tone respectful, but nothing about this meeting seems appropriate to me.
Igor is watching me, and the fact that he’s here tells me he’s part of this somehow.
He sits forward suddenly, reaching into his suit jacket and extracting a piece of paper. He leans across the space, not close enough for me to take it. I have to get up and move across the room. He releases the piece of paper, which I then open. It has a name scrawled across it.
“I want him found and silenced.”
I sit back down. “No problem. I’ll get onto it once I close this case.”
Igor rises, and so do I. As he steps closer to me, his security team mirrors his actions. “No need. You’re off this case. Consider it closed, and I will have Evie collected tomorrow.”
He points at the piece of paper in my hand. “Just focus on this job.”
He tries to walk away but pauses. “Oh, and don’t worry, you will still get paid for both jobs.”
I wasn’t going to mention money.
“So, you found the girls?” I ask, knowing it’s a mistake when he looks at me with a smirk.
“I’ll be in touch tomorrow.” Igor leaves, and I watch him from the sitting room window as his men climb into three separate cars and drive away from my house.
Evie will be collected tomorrow. None of this sits right with me. If Igor is already over this operation, what could he gain from planning a kidnapping? None of it makes sense.
I go upstairs, and the moment I open the bedroom door, Evie spins away from the window and stares at me. She’s pale, but I see a flicker of hope in her blue eyes.
Anita raises both brows, waiting on an answer as to why Igor came to our home.
“He was just checking in.” The lie is quick to leave my lips, and I don’t focus on my sister but Evie.
“He drove this whole way just to check in?”
“There are millions on the table, Evie, so yes, he did.”
“I’ll leave you to it.”
I glance at Anita over my shoulder. “Thanks.”
She nods at me, takes one final worrying look at Evie, and leaves. Now I wonder what transpired between the two women.
“Is Igor your only boss?” I ask the most important question. I’m thinking he isn’t in this alone, and maybe he is stealing from another partner.
Evie shakes her head. “No.”
Disappointment has me looking away from her. I have until the morning to try to piece this together, or I could just hand Evie back and do my next job.
I don’t know why, but handing Evie over doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. I never questioned my work before. But the way she begged me to save her from Igor had me wanting to hand her back so she never made me feel like I should keep her safe. Like my duty was keeping Evie away from all the other men.
“Igor will come back for you, Evie, and when he does…”
“You will hand me over.”
“You are here to help me solve this case. There was never an arrangement that you don’t go back.” I’m saying irrelevant things, but I want to understand why she continues to think I will somehow stop her from returning to her former life. What hold does she really think she has over me?
“I know.“ She twirls her fingers together while looking at the ground before her gaze travels back up to me. “You just seemed different.”
“I’m not,” I say immediately.
“I see that now.” She holds her head high.
Her words sting. They really shouldn’t. They should have no effect at all. I should be telling her that she is going in the morning. I should tell her that the case has been resolved. The other girls may have been sent to their new husbands by now. Maybe that’s where she’s going tomorrow.
“Igor is sending someone to collect you in the morning.” I say the words that need to be said.
“Am I to be sold?”
I turn away from her. “I have no idea. That isn’t my area.”
“Why didn’t you say that? You said Igor was just checking in.”
Irritation crawls along my skin, and I face Evie again. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to her.
“I lied.” My words rise, and she jumps slightly.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a liar, Lucca.”
The space between us is gone, and I bend my frame over her. “You don’t know me.”
Her chest rises and falls quickly. Her blue eyes spark up, and it reminds me of a flash of lightning. “You don’t know me.”
I’m captured in the storm that is thrashing violently in her gaze, and when she curses and presses her lips against mine, I feel the transfer of the storm and grip the back of her neck, forcing her closer.
Her kisses are as erratic as her heartbeat, which pulses along her neck. My fingers trail down and brush the side of her large breast.
She groans into my open mouth before she breaks away, holding up her hands. This time when she looks at me, I see nothing but a rawness that’s all mixed up with pain and lust.
I should leave.
I need to walk away from her, but I can’t. I take the distance away and drag her back to my body, where she fits perfectly against me, and when I kiss her, she doesn’t resist. The kiss is fueled with anger that has her teeth sinking into my lip. I pull away as I taste blood and stare down at her.
She’s alive.
She’s angry, and she isn’t close to being done. She reaches up like she wants to cup my cheek. Her fingers press painfully against the wound that opens. Liquid flows down my face. Before I can ask her what the fuck she’s doing, she’s kissing me again. My face burns but my cock throbs harder, wanting to be inside that tight ass.
She tries to pull away again, but I don’t allow it, picking her up off the floor and placing her onto the bed. She’s scrambling away like she doesn’t want this, but her eyes tell me a different story. Her eyes shine with a slight madness like she isn’t sure what she’s doing either.
As I drag her back, her hand connects with my unmarked cheek. It doesn’t stop the shock of the impact. Her actions are joined with words, and I spin her around quickly while pulling up her long skirt. I keep her perfectly rounded ass in the air as I bring my hand down on her creamy skin. She screams and tries to get away. I’m not as gentle the second time, and she cries out, making my cock stir. The skin turns red instantly, and I hit the same place. The sting along my palm runs up my arm, and I give her ass a few more slaps before I release her, and she crumbles onto the bed.
Her small hands tighten into the sheets as she tries to pull herself up.
“Don’t move.” I run my hands over her red ass, and she tries to move away.
“You want me to spank you again?”
She remains still as I rub the raw skin. I’m tempted to place kisses over the swollen flesh, but she doesn’t deserve that right now. I unbutton my trousers and push them, along with my boxers, down my hips.
Evie turns her head, her eyes on fire, and I grin at her.
“You want me to fuck your ass?”
Her cheeks grow redder. They are still damp from her falling tears, and I don’t stop her as she faces me.
“No.” She lies back. “Why not take me fully?” She closes her eyes, but a smile dances with madness across her bitten lips.
“I can’t.”
“Coward.” The word from her lips has me moving over her. Her gaze meets mine.
“Be careful, printsessa,” I warn her and run my fingers down her cheek. She tries to move her face away from me. My cock rests on her pussy, and I want nothing more than to drive it into her. “Don’t push me.”
Her smile widens. “The Handler? Hmm.”
I’m ready to move away from her. She’s lost her mind, taunting me. Doubt clouds her eyes, and I see that’s what she’s doing. She’s testing me.
I grin down at her. “You think if I fuck you, I’ll pay for you?” I laugh, and her face flames up.
She tries to get off the bed, confirming my suspicion. I should feel victorious, but I don’t. I grab her waist and drag her back into my chest. She tries to wriggle free, but I hold her tighter.
“Be quiet, Evie,” I whisper, and she stills in my arms. She’s willing to give me all of her in hopes that I won’t hand her over.
“I can’t keep you,” I growl into her ear. But for the first time, I’m allowing her to hear it. I’m allowing her to hear that if I could, I would. She’s a rare beauty. She’s strong, and she intrigues me.
Her breaths come out in sharp puffs of warm air. My hand rests over her pounding heart. She turns her head, trying to see my face. Tears blur her eyes.
“Whoever gets me won’t be as weak as you.” She pushes my arm away from her, and it falls to my side.
I get off the bed and pull up my trousers before I do something I regret. She scrambles off the bed, too, like the madness has taken over her mind.
“He won’t hesitate to fuck me.” She’s trembling with temper and desperation.
I clench my jaw but don’t move as she advances on me.
“You call yourself The Handler? All I see is a little boy doing Igor’s errands.”
I’m upon her before I can think straight. Her body grows slack as I push her back onto the bed and push her face down into the mattress.
I keep one hand on her head and use the other to lower my trousers and boxers. My body wraps across her back as I speak into her ear. Her face is hidden behind her hair, but it rises with each puff of terrified air that leaves her mouth.
“I’m not afraid of Igor. I’m not afraid of anyone,” I bark before leaning away from her and yanking up her skirt.
She doesn’t stop me, but her knuckles are white as she clings to the blankets like they will lessen this moment. I don’t hesitate but place my cock at her virgin entrance. Every single muscle in her body is tense. I don’t push inside her but lean in across her again. I remove the hair from her face, and she looks up at me; the whites of her eyes are so large as the fear in her continues to grow.
“I need people like Igor to keep me in line because when I do what I want, it’s not very nice, Evie.” I lean back and slam myself into her. Her cry fades away as I pull out and push my cock back in.
“I’m no one’s errand boy,” I tell her as I move faster, allowing my own need to build. Her pussy is painfully tight around my cock. The pain and pleasure have me grabbing her ass. Her cries don’t stop, but she doesn’t stop me either. Even if she wanted to, I wouldn’t allow it.
I move faster, and her pussy clenches and releases around me. A warmth seeps from her, and I look down as I draw my cock out to see blood smeared across it.
She’s no longer a virgin. There’s no reason to hold back. Her cries have stopped as I grip her hips and force her to arch her ass up so I can bury myself inside her. My flesh slaps against hers, and the pleasure grows.
Her pussy clenches around my cock again, and I keep going until I feel myself ready to let go. I wait until the last second before I pull my cock out of her pussy. My cum spills down her leg and onto the bed. Blood mixes with my cum, and I stare at it as the room stops spinning and the natural sounds of the space come fully back. I can hear my heavy breathing and her cries, which are soft but filled with pain.
She tries to crawl away from me, but I grip her thighs. Her head swings around, fire burning in her blue eyes, tears staining her cheeks.
“Don’t move,” I order and leave her to go to the bathroom, where I clean myself and return with a cloth for her.
She hasn’t moved, and I take my time cleaning her up. She flinches when I touch her pussy with the cloth. I’m gentle, but no doubt she’s tender. Once she’s cleaned, I pull her skirt back on.
“Now you can move.” She doesn’t instantly, but when she does, it’s like a wounded animal.
Once she manages to get off the bed, she spins around and faces me. Folding her arms across her chest, I can see she’s fighting a million emotions.
“The next time you taunt a man, be sure you’re ready for the outcome.” I don’t want there to be a next time, and the idea of any other man putting his hands on Evie has me pulling the covers off the bed so she can’t see my face.
She poked me, and I responded.
Tomorrow the doctor will examine her and see she isn’t a virgin.