I try my hardest to play it cool through an excruciating dinner with upper class gangsters. It’s obvious that’s what they are, yet everyone is living the fake normal life out here and it’s all behind closed doors. There are smiles and polite conversation about their monotonously boring lives and over-primped wives as they guzzle down overly priced food and act like they like their present company.
We are sat in one of this town’s most prestigious restaurants, surrounded by opulent settings and a sparkling chandelier over my head that is practically blinding us with light. A group of porky men with way too much cologne and wives that have had to be tied into their frocks to hold in the overindulgence. A lot of jewellery on display, so much so the dazzle has given me a headache and the men can’t seem to keep their bulging eyes off my cleavage.
Seems Alexi isn’t impressed with my choice of outfit and I did dress to just piss him o
Sliding a possessive arm around my waist, a little tightly and almost frog marches me to the dance floor. He does an up and down look of my dress with obvious disdain and tenses that square jaw of his. ‘‘I hate this fucking dress you look like a hooker.’’ He is all charm tonight isn’t he?‘’Thank you, that’s the look I was going for.’’ I answer smugly as he hauls me into position on the floor and starts dancing me slowly to a very boring piece of classical music, pulling me into his command and almost lifting me off my feet with how tightly I’m held. It’s hardly loving or comfortable and is just an aggressive show of how pissed he is at me.‘’You think I am not tallying all this shit up in my head … for later?’’ He almost growls it with furrowed brows and tone husky as hell as my blood turns to ice in my veins. Heartbeat escalating as weakness waves through me. I thin
‘’Goodnight.’’ I whisper so softly and turn to make an attempt to slide away from him, relieved I am escaping unscathed, and he seems to have forgotten he’s pissed at me, but he catches me by the throat, softly cups it and pins me back to the wall so fast I gasp at the surprise of it.‘’Can’t end a date without a kiss.’’ He smirks at me salaciously, and that’s when I know I’m done for, he knows it too and this was all just meaningless teasing. Prick was playing me all along. He likes my little attempts at turning him down and I hold my breath and will myself to numb this out. Knowing I won’t be able to dodge him.‘’You said it wasn’t a … …’’ Alexi swoops in without warning and locks his mouth to mine. Silencing me and like the stupid weak fool I know I am, I kiss him back. Defeated as my body instantly heats and tingles; that same irrational impulse
I try digging my nails into his wrist to try and stop him, but he’s got me held and gagged like he intended, and I can’t get him off no matter how much I thrash, twist and turn. I can barely breathe or open my mouth to attempt biting, as the floods of tears hit me, through the veiled mist of panic.He’s stronger, more powerful and my slight body is no match. Alexi fucks me for only seconds, until I am in the throes of emotional hysteria so great my legs give out, and I end up being held up completely by him before he stops. The point of his effort was not his sexual gratification—it was a plain and simple lesson in my defiance. A tool to hurt me for standing up to him again and it was never about sex at all.My eyes are blurry with tears and my nose pouring from the instant sodden mess I have become. My heart is destroyed, my soul torn in two and I can’t see from the blind panic of being unable to get free. Pain wracking through me from th
The Hamptons is as dull as I thought it would be and Mico is like my parasitic shadow. He never lets me out of his sight no matter what reason I give him for going out, even for lady’s products; he still stands right there, three feet away as though I’m going to crawl under the tampon shelf and make an epic escape. Alexi left after that night and I haven’t seen him since. He was gone when I got up. and it’s been five days with absolutely no word from him at all. Not that I should expect word as he never told me he would contact me, and after he left I am certain I don’t want him to. I don’t ever want to see him again after what he did to me and the furthest away I can get from him, the better. I feel nothing for him right now, except hatred and loathing and if I never saw him again, it would be too soon.
I literally feel like I have walked the streets of the Hamptons for days, alone and afraid, and yet it’s only been hours. I have never felt so distraught and sick with regret in all my life. I have walked in circles and gone through a million doubts and emotions in the meantime, and feel completely ravaged mentally.I got to the bus depot not long after I got away from Mico, and then lost my courage when I saw two boys who could have been Alexi’s brothers at the terminal and realised I am in the land of Carrero. They all live and breathe around this part of the world, word would fly fast about wherever I was heading. I mean there are not many harlot redheads in this part and I stand out like a sore thumb.Five foot six, slender with large breasts and a trim body, red hair, pouting red lips on a pretty attractive face and dressed head to foot in designer black, figure-hugging tailoring and high-heeled boots. I am hardly easy to hide even with a mismatc
I am rooted to the spot, paralysed and I literally start to tremble; that look never breaking, and he doesn’t blink once. I can almost feel myself getting faint as my body gives way a little. Gino is talking at him, getting minimal response, but it’s holding the beast at bay. Gino looks at me over his shoulder and I can see the tension, the air of concern that he knows he’s only just marginally keeping Alexi under control and has doubts as to whether he can keep it up. He looks genuinely concerned, and it just fuels the wave of nausea which overpowers me. ‘‘Go upstairs, Camilla … Now!’’ Gino snaps and I can almost see Alexi’s muscles bulging and tensing with growing anger, hating me and barely keeping himself under control as I turn and hightail it upstairs. I get to the upper balcony
‘’Don’t do that, she wasn’t part of that life, and she didn’t have it in her to shoot anyone, she still couldn’t—so leave her out of this.’’ Alexi is warning him; and a hint that he loves his mother comes through, a hint that he’s capable of loving his family properly.I find that hard to digest, and also saddened that he can feel for people yet still can’t for me. Gino mentioning the kingdom crumbling though? He thinks that kind of love will make him weak? Somehow affect who he is and how he does his job? It makes no sense to me.‘’Still protecting her Lex, even after all this time? She failed you and turned you into this monster. You changed. Instead of dealing with the fallout, she pushed you towards dad and hushed you up about what you did, so she didn’t have to admit it happened.’’ Gino sounds ready to cry and I cry instead, aching for a little boy who shot someon
My tears drying up when my brain moves to curiosity instead, and the smirk I see tugging at his face tells me I am not going to like the answer.‘’I replaced you. Well, added to you, so when you come back, Joanne … My new girl is your co-hostess. Santagato is taken with her and as I rebuffed him on her too he thinks I’m just a possessive fuck. You’re not in his sights anymore, especially with your absence and my screwing Joanne a little publicly in the VIP lounge. It means he just thinks I don’t share my girls at all.’’ Alexi seems completely deadpan now with a tiny smug look in his eye as I completely churn around inside, my heart wrenching. I literally feel sick as tears sting, but I blink them away and swallow them all down hard.Hating him more, wounded with the thought that he has slept with someone since he touched me. I know it’s stupid, and he’s been screwing women all along, but I don’t know, I
I’m standing staring at myself in the mirror, nerves eating away at me and fidgeting with my dress a little obsessively. It’s long, fitted, ivory, and very classy. A sleek, full-length, fishtailed number that looks great on my body, with my toned-down neutral face and minimal jewellery. Stomach in knots and anally checking my appearance like my life depends on it. Despite knowing, I look flawless. Déjà vu from the morning I met his mother and yet this is way worse. I’m terrified. “You look gorgeous, stop fretting.” Alexi’s voice comes from behind me and he sways to the side of me as he approaches. I stop him mid-step and lean my body against him gently. Backing myself against him. This is something I have been working on for a while now. Letting Alexi get behind me, touch me when standing there and leaning against him. He doesn’t object, just stands still recognising my attempt and lets me fall back against him gently. It’s stupid and weird, I guess, that it’
Soon as we get out the door Mico flanks me on one side with Alexi on the other and we are instantly surrounded by more Carrero security. Like a black wall that’s impenetrable and offers instant calm to my frazzled brain. Guiding us efficiently and shielding us from all angles. Overkill, but I guess I’m thankful for it.“What about the rest of her outfit?” Alexi asks as we walk briskly out of the building, the first to leave, but I can already hear chairs scraping as others depart, now we have. Some of them eager to walk away now they've found a resolution to this debacle.It’s weird how something that hung over us for months is tied up with a bow in one very brief sitting. I can’t get my head around the fact the threat is gone, and I no longer need to live under house arrest for any reason. A sudden lightness to my mood as the heavy weight of burden is lifted.“Most departed as soon as they heard their source of income w
They lead us to a large, carved, ugly wooden door depicting nude women mid-orgy, and I eye roll at the crassness. Suits Santagato to a T. Mico slides in front of us quickly, knocks on it several times in a coded bang while we wait silently and patiently. Tension making the air so thick I can almost cut it with a knife. I have to still my trembling body, clinging onto him for dear life, focusing on his warm hand encasing mine snugly as a form of grounding and I repeat the mantra ‘he will always protect me’ inside my head.It’s opened immediately and two men move aside as we are let into a dark, smoky room where several men are sitting at a long table. I cannot count how many there are, eyes scanning the crowded scene quickly as my focus tries to adjust rapidly. I swallow my breath, my heart plummets and I just let him take the lead.Alexi walks us in behind two of his men and Mico. I can tell at a glance which ones are the bosses, by their suits and gr
“Please,” I whisper it so quietly, begging him to stop questioning, to just take what I’m offering him. He surely understands my reasons. I close my eyes when he finally leans up and pulls one end of the strap and tugs it off my wrist slowly. The material sliding coldly and making me shiver. Eyes on what he’s doing, and I exhale, appeased that we are still going ahead even if a part of me dies a little inside. Like an idiot because I started this.I wait with bated breath for the dreaded feel of leather on my skin, but nothing happens. Anticipation makes me tetchy, heightening my senses to alarming levels and I notice every noise and sensation. I'm antsy and I can’t stand it anymore.Instead, the slide of the one around my neck startles me and I gulp in air, jumping slightly, realising he might start with leashing me and tying me after he gets a makeshift collar on me. A lot of men like Alexi like to have you leashed and tied up for full c
Teeth, tongues, lips, coming together of a rather aggressive game of tonsil tennis as his hands slide up my body and I wrap my legs around his waist. Moaning quietly with the way he ignites every nerve ending in me. Body tingling and on fire within seconds as I rub myself against the button and rough zip on his trousers, pushing myself into a fevered frenzy of longing.There is no real foreplay, just a sudden need to consummate our passion right here and now and I reach down and unbutton him so he can spring free from the confines of fabric. Alexi feels me out, probing my warmth with his fingers, finding me wet and willing and doesn’t waste time on formalities.He slides into me soon as he leans back over me and presses down on me as he does so, so our bodies fit snugly and muffle my moans of pleasure as they overtake me. Snug as a hand in a glove, he fills me up in the best kind of way, spreading that pulsating, gorgeously good feeling up through my pelvis and i
These are things people figure out before they marry someone, and here we are, already invested and now I’m thinking about the fact I should have told him this already.Babies! Not a fucking chance in hell. He won’t know, unless he did read all my journals, but even then. I wouldn’t say it was obvious from those diary excerpts that my inability to have kids was permanent or even a blessing. I went over the abortion and such and the after-effects and recovery, but I don’t think I ever spelt it out, in black and white, that my body no longer produces eggs for any chance of fertilisation.How do you tell the man cradling a newborn like he was born to do so if that’s where his hopes lie then it won’t happen with me?How do I tell him that I can’t give him this and wouldn’t want to even if I could? Is this what he wants?The happy 2.4 children, family home a
It’s not the expected outcome; grown woman turning to childish puppy dog mush, pawing at her angry husband like a devious minx; I find myself eye rolling at the lamest form of female manipulation there is.“You knew? You met her?” Accusatory tone as she tries to regain some footing. Alexi sighs loudly and I glance his way to see him turn and butt himself against the table, throwing me an unreadable look before he downs another drink and I try not to count how many that is. By the look of his sudden lack of trying, I guess he has been prone to scenes like this before, where his father had to steamroll in to defend him, and Alexi mentally goes off on a cruise and leaves him to it. I just stand here like an idiot, a third wheel and in no way wanting to witness this shit.“He’s my son. He has no secrets from me, he never did. Unlike you, he confides in me and comes to me often!” It’s putting her in her place and any other mother mi
The house is huge and beautiful like some sort of movie set for the lifestyle of the rich and famous. A towering white mansion set in a beautiful green manicured garden like some modern painting. Set in the sunny Hamptons, near the coast in a very picturesque area that comprises of nothing but huge grand houses, that just spew wealth. I can see why the Carreros reign supreme here. It’s like the real housewives of Orange County.Their home a show house for sure, completely devoid of lived in family life and we are let in by a maid who ushers us into a sitting room in what appears to be a deserted house until she runs off to find our host. Marble entranceway not dissimilar to that of Alexi’s nearby abode, huge sweeping staircase in a flawless neutral palette. It’s glossy magazine worthy with massive professional vases of floral arrangements dotted at key points on expensive furniture around the edges of the room.I find it odd that Alexi is being treate
“I can’t do this, Lexi.” My heart is hammering through my chest and I have checked my appearance three dozen times in the full-length mirror of the bedroom we stayed in for the rest of the night. Obsessed with my appearance as anxiety strangles the life out of me. Trying to focus on something I can control and getting a little preoccupied with its importance.We were busy most of last night, making up for our strained day with lots of gentle lovemaking, kissing and caresses, and I’m aglow with his attention today. Cheeks flushed, skin dewy, and a twinkling happiness in my eyes I’ve never seen before. I felt completely chilled when I got up this morning, well almost completely. That was until he dumped this little announcement on me that we’re having a cosy family brunch at Mummy’s house.Ugh. Last night was a repeat of the night he first made love to me, after the failed kidnapping at the club. Only without him