[ZARA]“What the hell?” Glaring up at the man who seemed to have the best time of his life, I scowled. “Get these off me, you jerk! What the hell is wrong with you?”Maddox chuckled. “Darling, if that’s what you call begging, I hate to break this to you, but you’ve learnt it all wrong.”Asshole. There were no words to explain how much I hated him right now. Fucking bastard!And myself, too.For being stupid enough to let him in the previous night and do what he always did. Use me as per his liking. Not that my head hadn’t been in the same gutter as his, but I could still find excuses for giving in. First of all, I was half-asleep. My guards were down and I hadn’t been thinking straight since the moment I returned from my so-called blind date. I didn’t have the first clue what the heck even happened yesterday.When Josh showed up on the date, I was shocked beyond sanity. How could it be? And what were the freaking chances?All the while we talked and sat together in that lavish ambienc
I swallowed really hard, wheezing, the chill in the room causing me to shiver ever so gently. A little annoyed that my chest was on complete display now. Ugh, I hated this situation. Naked. Cuffed. And sweaty as hell.Not able to think of any other resort, I tugged harshly on the cuffs, hissing when the metal cut through the skin.“Stop it!” I heard Maddox shout. “You’re hurting yourself.”But it was as if I had to do what he asked me not to. I tugged on them harder, almost turning my wrists red with the harsh friction.In one swift motion, a pair of hands arrived and released the cuffs from the posts of the headboard. I quickly scrambled to sit up. Only to realize my hands were still cuffed. I was just not tied to the bed anymore.It was still better, though. I could at least cover myself. Speaking of which—I bent by the waist to grab the sheets and pulled them over my shoulders.“Are you done?” he asked, annoyed, no more squeezing his balls to relieve the pain I might have caused. I
[MADDOX]“Look, I don’t have all the time in the world,” I shook my head, getting up and walking over to the other side of the bed where my jacket lay. I slipped it over. “There’s an important meeting that I need to attend in half an hour. And later this evening I might have to fly to London. But for obvious reasons, I can’t leave you all by yourself. So, the sooner we get over this part, the better.”“What do you mean, you can’t leave me all by myself? What does that even supposed to mean?”I quirked up an eyebrow at her, but I should have probably seen this coming. She was mad at me, and might I say, for all the right reasons. But that didn't make me a fan of all questions she was tossing at me. I hated repeating myself and by asking the same question over and over again, she was making my head hurt.“It means—I don’t trust you with yourself. You’re impu
[ARMONICA]“Wait, wait, wait—slow down first. I can’t understand a word you just said.” I sat up straighter the instant my phone rang and Zara’s half-panicked, half-furious voice blasted through the phone.“You need to come here right away!” she shouted over the phone and I had no choice but to move the phone a little away from my ear, flinching. If she continued to scream like that, it wouldn’t take long before my ears bled rivers.“OK. OK.” Despite not being aware of the kind of emergency she might have gotten herself into, I hopped off of the couch in the living room and rushed back to my bedroom to grab my car keys. I dropped them in the bowl while changing for the shower.“But you still need to tell me what happened, Z. I’m kind of panicking here. Are you alright? Should I call Brandon? Wait—no, he isn't here,” I cringed nervously. “Sorry, I for
I took an entire circle to see where the sound was coming from. Only to realize it was from Zara’s apartment. Was she inside? Locked? What the—?“Zara, are you in?” pressing my ear to the door, I asked.“Yeah, it’s me.”“But how?”“It’s a long story!”“How long could it be? I don—”“We don’t have time for this Armonica. You need to do something for me. You’re the only one I can trust right now.”“You’re scaring me, Zara.”“Just do as I say. I’ll explain everything to you later.”“OK. I’m listening. Tell me what I need to do.”Zara asked me to get the guard on duty upstairs. I did as she said and went down to fetch the man. While he assessed the lock of the door, I stood behind him, tapping my heel on the floor.“So, you’re saying
[ZARA]“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked Armonica as she pulled up the car in front of an enormous mansion. Damn. Whoever owned this place sure had an extravagant taste."Pretty sure!” she grinned, her eyes sparkling as she moved out of the car and waited for me to catch up.With a deep breath, I drank in the glorious sight in front of me one more time and finally got out.After Maddox left me to deal with that embarrassing situation, I swore to teach him a lesson. A lesson he would never forget. A lesson about boundaries and lines he should dare never cross. How could he do that to me? The fucking bastard! Leaving me naked and cuffed and vulnerable. How I gathered up the courage to ask for help, only I knew the pain and shame that caused me.I could have called mom for help, but that would’ve made her suspicious and worried. I wasn’t sure if I had the stamina to deal with all her concerns right now. It was better to keep her out of this, anyway. I couldn’t afford to hurt her
[ZARA]“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET GO OF ME!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, but this man kept pushing and pulling and grinding and grunting.What the hell was wrong with him?Why the hell was he so drunk?Most importantly, who the hell was he?But I didn’t get the answer to any of the questions because no matter what I said, he couldn’t be bothered or distracted. The situation was getting out of hand super fast. If I didn’t do anything as soon as possible, I might get raped by this asshole.Shit.What the fuck did I get myself into?Running away from one psycho and landing in the lap of another!Was that how my life had become?Not that I had the time to ponder on that.Pushing against his chest, I grumbled loudly. “GET OFF ME!”“Yeah? And why would I do that?” he growled back, straddling my thighs and restraining me harshly on the mattress with his heaviness. “Haven’t you been looking for trouble for the last few weeks, Ms Rodriguez?” he hissed in the crook of my neck. “Isn’t this
“Yeah. Mr Gracias is here. Not sure when he came home but I think he might have been the one to chase away the hooligan. Although I was already coming up to check up on you, he asked me to request your presence if you’re feeling up for it. He probably wants to make sure you’re doing alright. Nothing to be worried about.”“Oh, I’m not worried about him,” I brushed off her concern with a wave of my hand. It was just….didn’t Armonica say he wouldn’t be back until Saturday? What was he doing here this soon?Not that it was my business to mind. It was his home. He could leave and arrive at any hour of the day. How the hell did that matter to me?“Are you willing to come?" pulling me out of my thoughts once again, Susan asked. "You don’t have to if you don’t—”“No. It’s fine. I’ll come with you," it would be rude to not show up if he had asked for my presence. After all, it was because of him I was able to avoid Maddox until he was gone and I got more time to get out of this contract situat