Keeping My Captive by Angela Snyder

CHAPTER25

Mateo

THE INFORMATION I found in connection with the name Aria gave me last night proved quite fascinating, to say the least. Constantine Carbone is currently in jail for the kidnapping and false imprisonment of Selina McCall. Also included in that article was the fact that police are searching for another woman he kidnapped that very same night — Aria Vitale.

I now know her full name. And I must admit it suits her.

With a few strokes of the keyboard, I found out some interesting information about her parents. The Vitales are a powerful mob family in New York; but, to my surprise, they work together with law enforcement and the government to bring down human trafficking rings. How ironic it is that their own daughter was ultimately sold into the flesh trade.

I’m sure Aria’s father has some sort of deal with important higher-ups in the government. The Vitales probably clean up the trash no one else is willing to touch; and in return, the police look the other way on their extracurricular activities that earn them the money and power attached to their family name.

In my obsession to find everything about her, I ended up not even sleeping a wink last night or this morning. Curiosity literally had a stranglehold on me as I Googled everything I could think of, not being able to stop myself. Knowing her full name led to a whole new door opening of endless possibilities, and I willingly fell down the rabbit hole to gather as much information about my little captive as I could.

Aria is on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and there are numerous news articles about her kidnapping and disappearance. None of that bodes well for me considering I’m currently holding her captive in another country. I’m very careful about covering my tracks and keeping my identity and compound private and secure, but the U.S. government is a force to be reckoned with. They could invade my entire empire and shut it down in minutes, taking everything I’ve worked so hard for and killing me in the process without even a second thought.

But I can’t dwell on something that might or might not come to fruition.

The fact of the matter is that I could easily return her to the U.S., to her family and wipe my hands of this entire situation altogether. I can’t say the idea hasn’t crossed my mind a time or two. But the thought of letting my little captive go does not sit well with me. I like to think that it’s because Aria could rat me out and I could lose everything, but I don’t truly believe that’s the only reason. And I simply won’t allow myself to dwell on what else could be keeping me from letting her go.

Even more interesting than her family connections was the fact that I found all of Aria’s old social media accounts. I shamelessly spent hours combing through her Instagram. Aria was quite a popular socialite in the States. She never wore the same thing twice; always appearing in designer clothes and dresses with expensive high heels.

One thing I noticed in all of the pictures, however, was that she was never alone. There are bodyguards in every single picture. Even the one of her by the pool in a bikini. That picture affected me the most. The fact that so many people have seen her half naked pisses me off.

She’s not yours, I have to remind myself. Not yet, a voice in the back of my mind says.

I sit back in my chair, bringing myself back to the present while I watch the seamstresses work with Aria, measuring her and speaking in Spanish. Aria can’t understand them, but I can. One of the women comments on how she wishes she had Aria’s figure, and the other one emphatically agrees.

Aria is petite, perfect in every way, like a real-life doll. But she’s definitely not docile like a little doll. No, she’s a hellcat when she wants to be, and I have the scar on my stomach to prove it. A smile tugs at my lips when I think about her attempt to kill me. That’s definitely a first for me. And for some fucked-up reason…it still turns me on.

I adjust my hardening dick in my slacks before finding a more comfortable position in the chair. I listen to the women chatter about which designers they think Aria would look best in, and I nod in agreement when they glance in my direction.

After seeing Aria’s Instagram photos, I want her to look more like her former self. I want her to feel comfortable here. I could dwell on the motives behind that all day, but I refuse to even acknowledge them. I’ll chalk it up to my selfish desire in seeing her tan legs in high heels and walking around in skirts, giving me easy access to her pussy.

Fuck, my cock painfully presses against my zipper at just the thought of tasting her again.

She’s still a virgin, but I would love to remedy that. And soon. I don’t know how much longer I can restrain myself and stay away from her. But I’ll never ever force her or take what I want. I need her to come to me willingly. And that in and of itself would be a heightened sense of pleasure. Just the thought of hearing Aria beg for my cock has me biting back a groan.

Perhaps with enough pressure, I could finally break her. Give her enough pleasure that she would finally give in to me. And, fuck, it would be fun trying.

But I need to face facts. The moment I take her is the moment she will become mine. And no matter how much I would love to give in to the temptation, I’m not ready to commit to that yet. It would change everything. Aria would become not only a danger to me but to my entire empire; something that I can’t afford right now when I have people constantly trying to overrule and undermine me. I would never be able to set her free, and that type of commitment is not something that either of us are even remotely ready for.

No, I have to maintain my distance even if it’s killing me inside. I have to remain in complete control of my emotions…and my cock. I can’t let pussy get in the way of what I want the most — power.

Standing, I reluctantly walk out of the room with my cock pressing painfully against my zipper, begging to be released, and a deep scowl on my face.