Pain and Pleasure by Callie Vincent

4

Esmeralda

I'm alreadyon my second glass of bourbon when I sink into the bubble bath.

I found a drawer of rich smelling soaps in the bathroom and chose the most calming one that I could find. The traditional lavender scent I've loved since I was little. My body is warm from both the liquor and the water, and I melt into the tub.

I've had the day from hell, but I'm slowly letting my brain become numb, blocking out all of today's hideous events. I bring the glass to my lips, about to sink beneath the surface of the water, but I hear the bathroom door open and jump. Some of the bourbon falls from the glass and onto my shoulder.

Dante walks in and all the hard work that I've done to block out the horror of today goes out the window. He approaches the tub and kneels beside it, his cheek resting in one of his palms. He looks so serene like this, like some sort of dark angel.

I'm glad he can relax so easily. I down the rest of my bourbon and start to rise, but his hand reaches out and pushes me back into the water, his large hand resting on my sternum. One of his fingers touches my nipple and a jolt goes through me, and we both notice it. It's hard to not notice this strange pull between us, even if we're both trying everything to ignore it.

We sit like that for a while. With me in the tub, wide eyed and a little drunk, while he kneels over, his hand touching my breast underneath the suds in the water. It warms me from head to toe.

Dante eyes the empty glass in my hand, his expression dark. I can't help but grow wet by the sight and touch of him, it's purely chemical and I am too weak to stop it. I'm so weak when it comes to him, and I hate it.

"Feeling stressed?"

His voice is low, dangerous and desirable. I can't help but miss moments like this with him. They're the most desirable moments I've had in my entire womanhood. I set the glass down on the stone shelf to the left of the tub, careful not to knock over the lit candle.

"Yes, and I was doing just fine and fixing that before you showed up."

His eyes darken to almost black and his lips look so full right now that something inside of me wants to make me lean forward and bite them. He smells so fucking good that it overpowers my lavender soap.

"And now? Now you're distracted? I can still remedy your stress, you know. I think I can do it a lot better." He caresses my nipple between his rough fingertips and my legs clamp together in response.

"A lot better than bourbon and bubbles ever could."

His hand travels from my breast to my navel, my mind racing the entire time. He's just about to touch the wet flesh of my sex when my hand jerks out and grabs his wrist, pulling him away from me.

"Dante, stop." I say with a hoarse voice.

My eyes close and I grit my teeth, absorbing every ounce of power to not sink into his touch and let the pleasure he gives me so well finally take over. If I let him fuck me now, my stupid heart will be vulnerable to him once again and I can't afford that now. He pulls away immediately, his hand leaving the water as he sits back on his heels.

I open my eyes when he speaks, and stare into his turbulent, amber orbs.

"We can't keep denying this, Esmeralda. We can't keep putting off the inevitable."

"And what's the inevitable, Dante? Another night of fucking and then days of silence? I'm done with that. There's too much at stake to be immature like that."

His hands grip the rim of the tub, his knuckles whitening. He's so frustrated that his anger is coming off him in waves. Now he finally knows how I've felt.

"You're in my protection, Emmie. Nothing is at stake while you're here under-"

"My life is on the line! I've had a fucking gun held to my head today, Dante! By my own father."

He's silent as I lean back in the tub, the water and suds covering my bare breasts. His eyes are still dark, but they hold concern and another emotion I can't pinpoint.

Is that...empathy?

"I promise you, I will do everything in my power to destroy that monster. I will protect you from him in every way that I can. You have my word, Esmeralda."

I sigh, my eyes holding his.

"And who will protect me from you?"

He doesn't answer, just stares at me wildly, as if he's at war. I get lost in his gaze, not even flinching when he suddenly jerks forward, hands out, and grabs my face as he pulls my mouth against his.

He kisses me wildly, his kisses are unhinged. They are desperate and stinging and everything I've missed, everything I pine for. He kisses me like he's starving, like he's obsessed. He kisses me like he missed me.

I moan into his mouth, my hands grabbing at his neck. My nails scratch his skin and he growls in response, lifting and pulling me from the tub. He sets my naked and soaked body down on his lap, my legs wrapped around his waist. I feel his erection press into my pussy and the contact makes us both moan, the sound is beautiful.

I begin to ride him, my hips and sex greedy for his flesh. This moment right here, is the moment that makes me forget about today's troubles. It wipes every dark thought from my mind and propels me to pleasure, freezing me in time, locking me in this moment with him.

My desire is so strong that my hands go to his chest, ripping his shirt apart as buttons scatter across the floor. His face is both shocked and amused, but lust laces his every feature. He stares at me with dark eyes as I push him down to the floor, undo his belt and fly and sit on top of him.

I free his cock and pump it slowly. He bites his lip and it unleashes the monster inside of me. I lift up slightly, angling his cock at my entrance before sliding down his entire length. I begin to fuck him like a women possessed, the sounds of our flesh meeting and slapping echoes through the bathroom.

"Finalmente." Finally, he groans as I let out a loud moan.

I begin to bounce on him, his thickness filling every empty crook inside of me. It's so overwhelming and full that I grow wetter around him, making him growl darkly in response. My breasts are shaking so much from my movements that his rough hands cup them, his thumbs circling my nipples.

I let out a wild moan and grind my hips against his, crying out when my orgasm rushes to the surface. It is blinding and long, so long that Dante comes inside me at the tail end of it, his shout mixing with mine.

His hands rub up and down my sides as I come down from my high and back to reality. I allow myself to look into his eyes and realize that it was a mistake. Usually, he is already withdrawing at this point, but now he stares back at me with wondrous eyes. His hands are still rubbing up and down my sides, kneading my sore flesh.

It feels so good and right that I immediately get off of him, grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping it around my exposed flesh. Suddenly, I feel exposed and too intimate with the way he's looking at me. He gets up and reaches for me, but I back away.

He zips his pants and straightens his belt before standing, his hands trying to pull me to him once again. I can't handle it. He's so off and on that I can't keep up. I can't keep playing this game of cat and mouse with him.

"Just let me fucking touch you, Emmie."

He sounds desperate and it makes me wonder what the hell has happened in the last twenty-four hours to make him behave this way. To make him actually...care. It's a fucking facade and not only do I know it, but I refuse to fall for it.

"I need space, Dante. Please. Please, just go."

His eyes go back and forth between mine, searching for something. I can't read this man anymore. He's an enigma.

"We can't keep denying this, Esmeralda. Quit denying us what we want. Quit torturing yourself."

I close my eyes, trying to shut him out. Really, I'd love for him to hold me more than anything, but I won't give in. Not this fast.

"We may want it, but I don't deserve it. I don't deserve the hot and cold, the back and forth with your emotions. The only thing torturing me is you, Dante. You."

He's silent for a while, watching my every move as I leave the bathroom to put on a silk nightgown. I brush my hair in the vanity mirror and he appears behind me in the reflection, his eyes wandering over my body and darkening slightly.

I back away from him and point my hairbrush towards the bedroom door.

"I mean it, Dante. I need space. Please."

He doesn't move an inch and I sigh, my eyes now pleading with him.

"I'm asking you nicely. Just... please."

He stares at me for a while longer, standing there in silence, but I know there are words frozen on his tongue. Words that he chooses to swallow because eventually he walks away and out of the bedroom.

I turn to finish brushing my hair when Ricky then walks in, raising his eyebrows at me.

"I'm not going to ask why Mr. Yummy and Terrifying just left your bedroom, because I'm already sure that I have the answer."

I stay silent and keep brushing my hair, yanking the knots out with force. I guess alone time wasn't happening tonight. No offense to Ricky, every time that we have a chance to talk, Dante's already gotten to me first. My mood is already sour by the time I see my friend.

He leans against my closet doorway, mesmerized but trying to keep his concern for me in his features. I sit down at the vanity chair and look at him.

"I know you have questions for me." My voice sounds so tired. He picks up on it and gives me a sympathetic look.

"I do, but I won't bombard you with them now. No offense baby, but you look like the dead."

I laugh at him, but it's humorless and empty sounding. He gets up and hugs me, his long and lanky arms wrapping around me. I feel so comfortable like this, so comfortable that I start to cry. Breathy, shaking sobs that come from deep within my belly.

"I want to tell you everything." I get out between sobs. He just holds me tighter in response. I wipe my eyes and take slow and steady breaths before I speak again.

"I want to tell you so much, but I can't risk your life. You're all I have besides my mom, and I barely even have her. He's got control of everything, Ricky. Even my heart."

The dam holding back the rest of my tears breaks again, but I don't let the flood last long. After a few minutes, my tears subside and Ricky pulls back to look at me, a small smile on his face.

"I see the way he looks at you, Em. He's obsessed with you. If you play your cards right, you could have him wrapped around your little finger."

He kisses my fingertip and I scoff in disbelief.

"I'm serious. No matter how terrifying a man is, he's still a man. And when his desire for a woman is as overpowering as his is for you, then you have the key to whatever door you want to open. You just have to be smart and careful in order to get that key."

He's not wrong, but am I strong enough to be able to do that? To be able shut my heart off and get what I want from him? I need answers regarding my father, and I need answers regarding Dante himself. Because I need to know what I'm up against.

"I need to be able to see what's beneath his layers. I need to be able to crack him."

Ricky messes with my hair before going to my closet and playing with the contents of my wardrobe. The smile on his face makes one appear on mine as well.

"Then put your silky little heart to bed and let your mind come out to play. Protect everything at all costs, but play smart and play dirty with him, Emmie."

Play dirty with him. How the fuck do I even do that?

"Can you help me, Ricky?" I ask.

He turns around with a Versace piece held up to his chest, his eyes round with excitement.

"Oh, absolutely. I'm bored already anyways."