Chapter 8

Marissa

I push against him and he reluctantly releases me. I swim to the edge and climb out of the pool. Luca is nowhere to be seen but someone has placed two towels on a lounge chair. I take one of them and wrap it around myself like it’s a shield protecting me from the man in the pool.

A glance back at the pool shows that Mr. Falaguerra is hanging on the edge watching me. “You have to get used to my touch and my kisses.” He says and tilts his head to the side. I turn towards him but don't answer. “There is no way for you out of this arrangement. Your parents knew the price they had to pay and they willingly took the risk.” I feel my anger rise at his words pushing down my fear of him. I don’t think he would physically harm me so I decided to speak.

“I am not a possession to be sold or bought!” I grit out between clenched teeth. With the agility of a panther he climbs out of the pool and stalks towards me. I take a step back in fear that I am wrong about the beating part. He continues to stalk me until my body is pressed between his and the cold wall. He puts a finger underneath my chin and angles my head to look up at him.

“Your parents could choose to sell themselves. To be hacked into little pieces and sold on the black market. Kidneys, livers, hearts. Even skin and hair can be sold. But they chose to sell you.” His voice is cold and my eyes fill with tears but I hold them back.

“They wo-would never-”

“Oh but they did.” He raises a hand and I flinch which has him pausing but then he continues as if not noting my fear. He gently strokes my face, starting with my forehead, down my temple, along my cheekbone, over my lips down to my chin again.

I hold my breath. The touch is gentle and strangely erotic. His eyes follow the motion of his fingers and his tongue comes out to wet his lips when he touches mine and an involuntary whimper leaves my lips. His lips quirk up as he leans in and gently brush his lips against mine. Only a light touch, that is all he gives me and when he leans out once again I give a small whine in protest. A low vibrating chuckle rumbles his chest, obviously pleased with my reaction to him.

Now I can’t hold back my tears that are filled with betrayal from my parents and shame about my reaction to him. He dries my tears with his thumb. “There is no need to be ashamed of your reaction. You are a young, beautiful woman and I am a handsome man. There is nothing shameful about wanting each other.”

“You are my kidnapper. My jailer.” I hiss at him, anger flaring once again in my chest.

“No. It is true that I have taken you from your life, but it was not kidnapping. And this is not a jail. True that you are mine now. Mine to have. Mine to hold. Mine to love. But you will have freedom as well.”

I turn my face away from him and he takes a step back from me. “I am going to swim for a while. During that time I want you to either sit and watch me or swim with me. You are forbidden to leave this room.” His face is impassive and his voice is hard and commanding. I glare at him but I can’t take his hard gaze for very long. I shift my gaze to the floor and give a small nod. “That's my good little angel.” He says and gently caresses my head. He heads for the ledge and gracefully dives into the water.

I sit down on the lounge chair with a frown on my lips and grab one of the magazines from the table. It is a business magazine and not something that I find that interesting and after a few minutes I find myself following Mr. Falaguerra as he gracefully slices through the water.

The thoughts that mom and dad chose to sell me, pains me. I have to talk to them and hear what they have to say about this. Their behavior the past few months makes sense now. The paranoia, the lack of money, the fear that was always lingering beneath their smiles. They were trying to run away from Mr. Falaguerra.

I wonder if an escape across the country would have made a difference? Ten million dollars is a lot of money so the possibility of him letting them escape seems small. Did they even have a choice of death or selling me? Or was that just a facade for the real price? Would I have been left out if they had chosen death or would he have taken me anyway? If what’s true and the real debt he wanted was me then I don’t think it would have made a difference if they chose to die. And escaping by moving across the country would not have helped either. 

But why would they even borrow that amount of money? I feel anger build in my chest at the thought. They couldn’t repay the money they had borrowed earlier so they took an even bigger loan and wasted that money as well. How could they do something so stupid? These thoughts only make me angry so I change direction instead.

I think about my attraction towards Mr. Falaguerra. Would I have gone with him if he came to me as an ordinary man with interest in me? Probably. His mere presence is enough to wake up my body and senses. But now that feeling is overruled by fear, disgust and shame. Fear for what he stands for and disgust from the way he has treated my parents and me. But the fear is also there because I feel this attraction. It feels like he can control me, my wants and my needs. That he can satisfy all of my darkest desires. Desires that no one knows about. About being controlled, needed and worshiped.

I am lost in my thoughts when Mr. Falaguerra climbs out of the pool and walks towards me. I look at the water as it slowly runs down his well defined torso, admiring the sight. I’m still lost in my thoughts when he reaches down to pick up the towel that lies by my feet. He is gorgeous. Perfection incarnate.

His body is tall, lean and muscular. Strong muscular arms that flex as he slowly dries himself. Broad shoulders and a well defined chest covered in dark and neatly trimmed hair. A trail of hair seductively leads down over tight abdominal muscles and into his tight swim trunks. Swim trunks that leave little to imagination. His legs are lean and muscular. He has a body made for speed and endurance. Hell, even his feet look good!

“Like what you see?” His voice is deep and husky. I jerk my eyes up to meet his amused gaze and I feel a blush covering my face. “Nothing wrong with looking at what is yours.” He chuckles and drops the towel back on the chair. He slowly leans down and starts to climb onto the chair over me and I press myself deeper into the chair. “As much as you are mine, I am yours.” 

My breath hitches and again I feel my body reacting to his. I bite my bottom lip and his eyes follow the motion and with a groan he leans in to brush his lips against mine. I gasp and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, closing his lips over mine and lightly dragging his tongue over my bottom lip. I moan into his mouth and my tongue carefully comes out to meet his. His hand cups the back of my neck to angel my head for better access. The kiss is gentle and teasing and much too soon he breaks off to look at me.

My breath is labored as if I’ve been running and my hands are tightly closed around the towel that still covers me. His smile is pleased as he climbs off me. “Go and change. When you are done you wait for me here and we will go to the sitting room together.” I look down at my hands and give him a nod. He enters another changing room from the one I used. With a hollow feeling of shame I go into the changing room and remove my bathing suit. The shower’s warm water cascades down my body and sets my feelings free. I lean against the wall and gasp as sobs tear through my body.

In next chapter we get a peek into the mind of Antonio. I hope you all look forward to that. 

Please leave a comment and vote if you like my story about Marissa and Antonio.