Heartless Lover by Faith Summers

16

Summer

Ihave that dazed feeling when I awake and it takes me a moment to figure out where I am.

It’s sad to say I’ve experienced this feeling more than enough times in my life. the worse was when I woke up behind a dumpster days after I lost my baby.

At least I’m not there and I’m not in that horrible position where I have to figure out where I’m going to get my next meal or find shelter.

Instead, I’m here in Eric Markov’s room and now that I’m fully awake I remember the night I spent with him.

I also don’t just have the pain flaring over my ass to worry about. The soreness between my thighs is testament of everything we got up to and how he owned every inch of my body.

I touch my cheeks which are red and hot from the memories that keep running through my mind. There isn’t anywhere left on me that hasn’t been claimed by him and it’s left my head spinning.

I must be seriously deluded if I think last night was supposed to be the alternative to my punishment. Even I know I can’t call it anything close to being punished. I’d be lying to myself again.

Eric and I had unprotected sex more times than I remembered to count and even though he asked me if I was clean, he didn’t ask me that other important question. The question about contraception. Thankfully I have a three-year implant so I don’t have to worry. That’s one of the things the past taught me.

Be prepared because they won’t be. They won’t care enough to be.

Ted taught me that lesson well.

The morbid thought makes me sit up.

I need to get up and leave this room. The clock on the wall says it’s after twelve so I need to start the day, or at least think about what I’m going to do. I’m not sure what type of hell door last night opened, but I’m pretty sure it’s the door that contains Pandora’s Box. I didn’t just open the box, I jumped inside and poked the beast that was waiting to devour me. I don’t know what I’ll be like when I see him later.

In a way waking up like this is better—with him gone. This way I get to figure out the next steps on my own.

I release a breath and look around. When my gaze settles on the nightstand I was so curious to look in the other night I remember what I’d found in there.

There’s no way I think the memory chip would still be in there but that doesn’t stop me from looking.

I open the drawer and all that’s in there now are the condoms, lube, and restraints. The memory stick is gone. I’m sure Eric probably took it out that same night.

I remind myself again that there is nothing to achieve by watching the recording, just more pain.

That makes me think of Dad again. I’m getting really nervous about seeing him now. I wanted these few days to gather strength but if anything I feel weaker.

This craziness with Eric has made me worse.

I blow out a ragged breath, grab one of his shirts, and make my way to my room. Thankfully no one sees me and Lyssa isn’t here yet.

I shower and change into a simple t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts I brought with me from Monaco.

By the time I’m ready I can hear Lyssa walking around and the scent of fresh bread wafts into the room when I open the door.

“Good morning,” she says first.

“Morning.”

“I hope you enjoyed dinner last night.”

“It was perfect.” For what little I had.

“Have you eaten yet?” She gives me that cautious stare.

“Not yet. I woke up late.”

“Let me make you brunch. Eric left specific instructions to make sure you eat whatever you like today.”

“Did he?” As harmless as that sounds, it annoys the hell out of me and reminds me of last night.

“He did. So I thought I’d ask you what you’d like for lunch before I make it.”

I decide not to give her any trouble. “The chicken wraps you made the other day were great.”

“Ahh, I’m glad you liked them. I can have those ready in next to no time.”

“Thanks.”

Lyssa makes the most delicious chicken wraps and some little pastries on the side. Once I’ve eaten I feel stronger but as the time rolls on I get antsy because I know Eric will be back soon.

I find myself watching the clock even when I’m trying to distract myself with a movie or watching the news. Nothing works and as it gets dark outside I find myself feeling afraid of what will happen tonight. Not because I’m worried Eric will hurt me physically, but the problem was last night unearthed something inside me I never knew existed.

He made me feel things I didn’t think I could feel and even when I tried not to, I gave myself to him. Last night he had all of me and the scary part of it was he made me lose control.

I don’t want to feel like that with a man like him. A man who will be temporary in my life the same way all men have been.

Before Ted ruined my life, I was always thinking about acting. When he ruined my life, relationships were the last thing on my mind. I dropped out of high school and I dropped out of life. That’s me in a nutshell. The men I’ve been with since just wanted me for sex and I didn’t want anything from anybody.

At eight, Lyssa calls me for dinner and that’s when Eric arrives too. Perfect timing.

I know my fate for the night the instant he walks in and looks at me. The look he gives me oozes sex appeal and there’s no mistaking that I’ll be his fuck toy again tonight.

Lyssa made another grand feast fit for a holiday celebration. One I hope we’ll get to eat tonight.

When I go to sit at the end of the table, Eric stops me and beckons me to sit where I did last night.

“This is your seat,” he says with a little smile.

I don’t answer and that makes him smile even more. I sit and my ass hurts like hell even though the seat of the chair is padded. All day I’ve been sitting on cushions or curled into one on the sofa so I didn’t feel the pain as much.

Now I do and he notices.

He leans close to my ear when Lyssa goes into the kitchen and his hot breath tickles my skin.

“Don’t worry, I’ll kiss those bruises of yours better later,” he mutters, running his finger along my jaw.

I pull back. “You don’t have to do that. In fact, don’t.”

He inches away and rests his right elbow against the edge of the table. He resumes staring at me and I stare back.

Lyssa notices the tension between us when she brings out the wine. She looks at Eric and says something to him in Russian that makes him look away from me.

He laughs and glances back at me, but resumes the conversation in their language which is alien to me.

I only know their talking about me when Eric says the word kukla. Lyssa looks like she might be either cautioning him or telling him off.

I doubt it’s the latter because he’s her boss.

Eric makes a show of putting his hand to his heart. The gesture and his charm brings a little smile to her face but infuriates me.

“You may take your leave now Lyssa,” he says.

Hearing the sudden shift back to English sounds weird now.

“Thank you. I will see you both tomorrow,” Lyssa gives me her usual good natured smile and I return it.

“See you tomorrow,” I tell her.

When she leaves I make a point of ignoring Eric and he puts the same effort into watching me while we eat.

“I heard you spoke to your father the other day,” he states.

I chance looking at him. “Yes.”

“How did it go?”

Awful.I want to say it was awful and hard but I don’t. The less I say about anything the better.

“It was difficult but I managed.”

There’s a moment of silence and I return to the food on my plate. I know he’s getting ready to strike. What I can’t stand about him is he’s unpredictable.

I return my gaze to him when he continues watching me.

“What now?”

He finishes chewing on a piece of chicken before he answers.

“I’m still trying to figure you out. It’s not often that I come across people I can’t make heads or tails of.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t bother. I’m sure a man like you has better things to do than worry about trying to figure out one woman.”

The corner of his lip turns up into a predatory smile. “Depends on the woman, Babydoll. Men like me have spent their entire lives obsessing over a woman who intrigued them.”

“There’s nothing intriguing about me.” I shake my head.

“Oh Summer Reeves, it’s never good to lie to yourself. Shouldn’t do it baby. Not when there’s a fuck ton to intrigue me about you. I’m still wondering what sent you to Club Montage.”

This again. At least I got to finish half of what’s on my plate before there was any discussion of my former life to turn my stomach.

“Are you going to tell me to put me out of my misery?” he adds.

“No.”

He holds my gaze and I can practically see him thinking about whatever the hell he would have seen on the website. I know what pictures were on the main site and they were all designed to make me look like a slut.

“Are the pictures still on the website?” I ask in a weak voice.

That asshole Cassius—and Robert, for that matter—are the kind of people to keep them. As Cassius was the main owner, he came up with the most disgusting ideas. It won’t matter that they think I’m dead, he’d still find a way to use my pictures.

“They were.”

“Were?” I narrow my eyes. “So they’re not there anymore?”

“I have them. All of them.” He speaks with a deadly calmness that grips me. “I removed all of them from the site and any private files containing images of you and any information. As far as anyone is concerned, you were never there.”

My lips part and while I can hear everything he’s saying to me, I just can’t believe it.

Everything he said is good and something I could only dream of, but there’s an element to it that’s not good. That part is illustrated by the wealth of dark possession brimming within the depths of his eyes. And the fact that he said he has all the pictures.

Why would he need them?

A playful smile inches over his lips and he looks me over.

“Speechless?” he asks.

“How did you do that?” that’s a stupid question to ask a man who went to M.I.T. and owns a weapons company.

The more important question to ask is why he did that.

“That’s the kind of shit I can do.”

“Why did you keep the pictures?”

“Maybe I wanted to keep them for myself.” He swivels his chair around and moves mine out too so we can face each other.

“Why?”

“Maybe I like the idea of being the only man who sees you that way.”

I don’t know how to react.

I should be happy my information and images aren’t on that God awful website for the seedy club members to see and in the hands of men like Robert—even if he thinks I’m dead. At the same time, I don’t know what the hell to make of Eric’s words.

“I think it’s time to continue your punishment, Babydoll. I want to fuck you again.” He smirks and when he stands, I realize I’ve already been drafted into tonight’s game.

This is just the start of it. His goal was probably to throw my emotions off and paralyze my mind with the juxtapose of emotions. Just like last night.