I fucking swear she does this shit just to incite me. It’s like she knows I thrive on it. This morning, I unlocked the door to her room and let her go. She wasn’t giving me what I wanted. I knew I couldn’t keep her in there too long without hearing about it from Ellis. He knows she’s back, and I’m sure it was only a matter of hours before he discovered what I had done. Ellis has his place wired with security. He doesn’t need to text or call Vivi to know what she’s up to. He can just pull up an app on his phone. One I’m sure he’s been glued to, knowing that she’s back. So, of course, I had to hack the system and run a loop of older footage that showed her coming and going, but I knew my time with that trick was quickly coming to an end. In fact, I know he suspects something because I received a text from him today.
Ellis: Be nice to my girl.
It came through after I left the house this morning, so I’m not sure what exactly he knows. She either finally broke down and decided to call him to inform him of what I had done this past week, or he caught on to my loop.
But none of that matters now. What matters now is that I fucking let her go, and she’s here, choosing me over him, and I’m on the edge of not giving a fuck about what happens anymore. Truthfully, I’ve been there for months, and not just as it concerns Vivian Fiori. She just happens to be the tastiest morsel currently caught in my web.
I was turned on the second I realized what she had done here tonight. The balls of this woman to go up against me and think for a second she would win is commendable and certifiable all at once. She is crazy to think I wouldn’t hit back at all costs. I am not Ellis. We were not cut from the same cloth, and tonight she’s about to find out just how different we are.
After she stabbed me with her stiletto and took off down the hall, I was livid and rock hard. A better man would have let her go, but I am no saint, and there was no way I could let her go. Not tonight.
Here’s the thing: I know I’m fucked up. I know my emotions don’t translate like a normal person’s. ‘Normal’ being someone who wasn’t raised by their six-year-old brother from infancy because their parents were complete deadbeat drug addicts. Ellis did his best, but he was a kid himself, for fuck’s sake—but I saw a different kind of ugly. He wasn’t always there to protect me. Some people can forgive and grow from the hate in their hearts, but not me. I embraced it until all I had left was my anger. Some may say that makes me a cynic, but I say it makes me smart. People are shit. It’s not a matter of if they will let you down, but when.
In my wrath, I am wise. My enemies don’t dare try and take a measure of its bounds. So tonight’s turn of events more than excites me.
After she headbutted me and took off down the hall, I knew precisely where she was going, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s where I was trying to get her all along, but of course, she had to be defiant. She couldn’t just come willingly, but I won’t balk at all this fun. The little vipera wants to play, but she doesn’t know I don’t lose.
The offices at all of our clubs double as lockdown rooms. Our father, Nico Serra, is a tech giant, holding cyber security contracts with three top G7 countries. If Nico suggests anything, Ellis will follow suit without question, and since he was a silent partner when we went into business, it stuck. The room can only be opened by those with fingerprint access to the biometric scanner, something I’m surprised Ellis granted her, but fuck if I’m not happy about it now. The little vipera thought she was escaping by running in here. Little did she know she was running right into my lair.
While the room does seal upon hitting the button on the wall, my fingerprint, as a Lykos, is programmed to override any system-issued command. Her fake bravado is failing her now. Clearly, she fears me. The panic I caused her is no doubt coursing through her veins and pounding loudly in her ears because, in her haste to keep me out, she missed me slipping in, and now I have her right where I want her.
Rising to her feet, she’s still oblivious to my presence at her side. It’s not until she holds up the tablet for light that she finds me waiting in the shadows, ready to pounce.
‘Looking for something?’ I say, my voice dripping with malice.
I don’t give her a chance to respond before I strike, grabbing her by the throat, restricting her ability to speak, and nearly cutting off her air supply. ‘Is this what you wanted? You like pissing me off?’
Her hands frantically grip my arm as she tries to loosen my grip and find air. I’m just about to give it to her when I feel the sting of her nails bite into my skin, and the idea of her marking me is more than I can handle. I release her throat, and she gasps for air. In her moment of respite, I take the upper hand once more, ensuring there is no mistake about who is in charge. Spinning her around, I pin her arms behind her back before pushing her onto the desk hard.
‘Let me go, asshole.’ She yells hoarsely as her voice cracks with strain.
I can’t help but smile, knowing she’ll remember my hand being wrapped around her dainty throat for days. ‘I did that once, but rather than leave, you sought me out for more, and since you’re hell-bent on getting it…’ I adjust my grip, holding her wrist with one hand so that the other can lift up her barely-there dress that she wore to taunt me. Once her perfect ass is exposed, I slap it hard before pressing my erection against her firm cheeks, grateful and pissed for the barrier my pants provide all at once before adding, ‘This is what you wanted, right? It’s why you thought to wear this dress that barely covered your ass and a garter belt set with no panties.’
When she doesn’t immediately answer, I pump into her harder, lifting her feet and nudging the desk simultaneously. ‘Where’s that fight now, Vivian? You think Ellis will still want you back after his brother fucked his girl?’
‘I fucking hate you.’ She rasps out before pushing back into me, making me bite my lip hard so that I don’t hiss out my desire to be buried balls deep right now. ‘You’re clearly enjoying yourself.’
Releasing her wrist, I reach for her hair, tugging it back while bringing my lips to her ear. ‘No, la mia piccolo vipera, that’s where we seem to differ. I don’t enjoy hurting my brother, but I will, gladly, if it rids him of you.’
Before I can make a move I’m sure I’d regret, the alarm on my phone sounds. Fuck. I knew it. There was a pattern until suddenly there wasn’t, and I was confident that after the moves I made this past week, something would go down this weekend. It only seems fitting it would be on the same damn night Vivian Fiori decides she wants to play games. Letting her go, I swiftly make my way to the conference table across the room where I left my phone earlier, adjusting myself as I do, then make my way toward the panel to flick the lights back on and bring up the security footage.
The only reason I was trying to get back to this room before leaving was to grab my phone. Once the lights are back on, I find Vivian pulling her dress down with a scowl on her face. When her eyes catch mine, they’re ablaze with hate that matches my own, and I can’t help but smirk, which only fuels the flames. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love every second of her discomfort, opposition, and overall distaste. You can’t hide behind your anger. It will beat you every time. Many people will tell you that you will regret what you do in anger. That you will be punished by your sharp tongue. But is anger not a truth—an unguarded, raw emotion? Why would we not harness it and let it be our strength?
‘Don’t look at me like that, and get out of my spot,’ I say as I return to my desk. Of all the nights for this shit to go down, it would be while she’s here. Given the current company she’s choosing to keep, I’m wondering if the two aren’t related. I’ve been so focused on the other things that brought me back to San Jose that I haven’t even explored that avenue. But before I can give it another ounce of thought, Vivian starts heading toward the door, stealing my focus again.
‘Don’t even fucking think about walking out that door.’
Spinning around, she scolds, ‘You can’t fucking keep me here. I’m not a damn possession—’
I cut her off before she can continue giving me lip service we all know is false bravado. I saw the fear in her eyes when I found her in here. ‘Wrong. Tonight you are whatever I want you to be. We both know you won’t win.’ I keep my eyes pinned on hers, ensuring there is no misunderstanding that her presence is not a request but a demand. If necessary, I will gladly chase her down once more. ‘Sit down, Vivian, before I make good on my threats.’ I practically growl out as my patience for her games runs thin.
She raises one brow in question as she rolls her lips. The woman is a master at getting under my skin. As I wait to see how she wants this to play out, my eyes slowly drift to her neck, where the skin is red and blotchy from where I grabbed her moments ago. My mark on her neck makes me happier than it should.
She catches my knowing glare and breaks my stare. Bringing her hand up to her neck, she gently caresses the abraded skin and clears her throat. She doesn’t miss a thing. I’m not sure what she dissected from the seconds my eyes were locked on her neck, but whatever it was has her walking away from the door and back to me.
I force myself out of my thoughts of her and back to the task at hand, pulling up the club’s security system after the reset Vivian forced everything into by pressing the panic button.
‘You really hate me so much that you would force yourself on me just so that you could run back to Ellis and tell him you fucked his girl?’ she asks as she throws herself into one of the black leather chairs flanking my desk.
I should have known she wouldn’t concede quietly. Rather than give her my eyes or the attention I know she is seeking with that statement, I keep focus on the task at hand. Deep down, I know I should ignore her. The little vipera is trying to provoke me. For the past week, I’ve done the same.
Locking her in her room, trying to get her to cave into her traitorous desires, I was more than positive my nightly escapades would bring her to her knees. The first two days were more than taxing on her nerves. I could tell by watching her on the cameras I had strategically placed around the room. She seemed borderline distraught, but it didn’t deter me. If anything, it spurred me on knowing I was that much closer to winning. It wasn’t until Thursday night that I discovered she was onto my scheme. I’m unsure if her laziness in hiding her knowledge of my plans was due to hunger or jealousy. But the more time I spend with her, the more I’m confident the latter is true. She can pretend all she wants with Ellis, but we both know she can’t fool me, and I refuse to let her hide. It’s not that I want to hurt my brother, but I’ll do it if it means he’s not with her.
With that in mind, I throw fuel onto the fire. Who am I kidding? It’s in my nature. I was never going to let her have the last word. ‘I can’t force myself on you, vipera. We both know that pussy is still wet for me.’
‘You’re such a self-absorbed asshole. My pussy isn’t—’
Holding up my hand, I say, ‘Don’t lie to yourself and me by trying to deny what we both know is a fact.’ I give her my eyes for the first time since I’ve sat down and add, ‘Shall I stand up and prove it?’
As if the heat I felt there hadn’t been confirmation enough, when I walked across the room to grab my phone and adjust my raging boner, I felt her wetness all over my pants. She’s wearing no fucking panties. Her juices coated the outside of my pants while I pinned her to the desk. She loved every second of my length pushed against her greedy pussy.
Her eyes hold mine as she purses her lips, no doubt contemplating how far she wants to push me in my rightness. ‘Fine. What’s so important that we can’t leave? The club is empty, and I’m sure you have a fire marshal to meet with downstairs.’ She quirks an eyebrow in challenge. Vivian may have called off my staff, but I took it a step further and emptied the club by pulling the fire alarm. However, the authorities can wait. I need to look at the footage and see if my suspicions are right. I need solid proof of what I’m certain is true.
‘I refuse to be ignored, Sebastian. If you don’t want me to run, you better start talking. What the hell is going on?’
My business is mine and mine alone. It is not her concern, but I’ll give her what I gave Ellis. It’s significant and enough of a distraction to keep from revealing my real motives for returning to San Jose. While I am not one to be browbeaten into anything. I don’t care to play any more games tonight, especially with what’s going on downstairs.
‘If you must know, someone has robbed the club tonight.’
‘What? Oh my god, Sebastian. Why didn’t you say that five minutes ago? Should I call Ellis?’ I can’t help but laugh at her response, which earns me more lip service. ‘What is so fucking funny, Sebastian? There is something wrong with you. This is serious.’
She stands, and before she can do something stupid like forget that she’s not allowed to leave me, I say, ‘What’s funny is that you think my brother isn’t aware. The robberies are the whole purpose for my being here in San Jose.’
A lie, one that falls from my lips easily. Before I can give Vivian any more attention, a brunette on-screen at approximately 9:46 pm catches my eye, and it’s the exact one I expected to see. I knew it was one of the girls making the drop, and I had a feeling it was her. It’s why I’ve been keeping her close. I had some cameras installed in an area where we had blind spots. Seeing as how the cameras are not on my property, it’s not technically one hundred percent legal, but neither is stealing. I’m not looking for law enforcement to do a job I can handle. I don’t need this evidence to be submitted in a court of law. I just need it to be legit.
‘Robberies? As in plural?’ she queries, and I can’t help but be snide.
‘Yeah, I thought Ellis would have mentioned them to you.’
I know damn well he hasn’t. After Vivian left, I asked one time what was going on, and all he said was, ‘She needs time.’ I remember despising that fucking response and giving him a piece of my mind right then and there regarding what I thought about her. I even told him about how she had walked in on me fucking a girl whose name I can no longer recall, and that’s when his entire demeanor changed. For a second, I thought I had finally gotten him to see what I have seen all along. She is not the marrying type, not the type he deserves, but all he said was, ‘When she comes back, you will fall in line. She is the one.’
My brother is a man of few words, so the ones he does choose to say, you listen to intently and take notes. It’s those words that have kept me from doing something unforgivable in proving my rightness that she is not wifey material. She is not worthy to stand at his side and be all he deserves.
‘Sebastian, let’s get one thing straight. I don’t need your approval to date your brother. Your comments now do not make me insecure. Is our relationship perfect? No, but I dare you to show me one that is.’ She pauses and stands before adding, ‘Now if you’re done grandstanding and trying to push me out of something you know nothing about, why don’t you tell me what put that little smirk on your face? Maybe I can help. I did manage the girls for two months before leaving.’
Before I can even argue, she’s coming around the desk to look at the screen and the brunette that has caught my eye. ‘Is she new? She doesn’t look familiar to me.’
Well, that answers one of my questions regarding her involvement with another person on my radar.
‘Her name is Sayward, and you wouldn’t know her. She started working at the club a week after you returned to St. Louis.’ That little detail is one of the reasons I have yet to look into Vivian’s potential involvement. Sayward came on board after Vivian had already left town, but the ties are loosely there nonetheless. Whether Vivian is aware or not is left to be determined.
‘Well, if you suspect that she’s stealing, why wouldn’t you ask Lana to look into it, or better yet, fire her?’
I quickly shut off the computer, wishing I hadn’t shared anything with her. ‘Sayward hasn’t exactly been the easiest employee to work with. The girl is smarter than she lets on. Let’s just say she’s laid the groundwork for a wrongful termination suit if I let her go without good cause.’ That’s not a lie. It’s also not the entire truth, but neither concerns Vivian.
Opening the top drawer, I pull out my keys, grab my phone and say, ‘Come on. I have a fire marshal to meet with.’
We’ve been in the car for almost two hours now, and Vivian is still asleep. After we left my office, we headed downstairs to meet with the fire marshal. I was concerned about how Vivian might act around people after our little spat upstairs. But, surprisingly, she did well. She didn’t try to make a peep and even stepped in to supply a few details the fire marshal asked about the amount of staff and safety protocols we had for evacuating. The woman dutifully stood by my side as if I hadn’t borderline assaulted her upstairs. Even if I hadn’t been holding a firm grip on her hand the entire time, I believe she still would have played the part. I might have been rough, but so was she, and I know she reveled in every minute of it. It’s one of the things I hate about her. The one woman who could take me the way I am belongs to the one man I could never hurt. The irony.
‘Where are we?’ she mumbles, finally waking in the seat beside me. Ellis’s penthouse is about thirty minutes from the club, but it only took Vivian five minutes to pass out. The woman barely slept this week with my antics. I drove her to the brink of insanity with my need to break her and bend her to my will.
‘We are ten minutes from the Serra Estate.’
She perks up, pulling her dress that had ridden up down and wiping the edges of her eyes to fix the black eyeliner that had smeared. I wish she hadn’t done either of those things. I appreciate seeing her as less than perfect.
‘Why are we going to the Serra Estate? I can’t go in looking like this, and why did you let me sleep so long?’ She flips down the mirror as she attempts to smooth her wild hair, and I quickly flip it back up. I want her to go in the house looking exactly as she does now so my brother can see for himself the games she plays when he’s not around.
‘Hey, what the hell?’
‘Stop trying to hide what you are. This is the card you played tonight, and now you get to own it.’ I don’t have to look at her to know that her brown eyes are attempting to burn me alive from the passenger seat, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. Pissing her off is one of my favorite things to do. ‘I have business to discuss with Nico as it relates to what happened tonight, and since you were there playing an active role in my loss of revenue for the night, I thought it would only be fair to let you explain in person.’
Crossing her arms, she huffs a sigh of aggravation before giving me her bratty attitude. Why I expected anything less is beyond me. ‘Fine, I’m not shy. I have no problem giving Nico a detailed account of the fuckery that took place against my bedroom door all week.’
I’m pulling into the circle drive that leads to the sprawling Tuscan-inspired estate that overlooks Napa Valley just as she utters the last word. I give it to her for the moment, but she should know better by now. I never back down. If she pushes me, I’ll push back harder. I quickly exit the Range Rover and round the car to open her door, ensuring I get my chance to make myself clear before we enter the estate.
As her feet meet the cobblestone drive, I close the door and pin her to the car. ‘Seb—’ she goes to yell, but I bring my hand to her mouth as my body crushes her with my weight against the car.
When her eyes finally focus on mine, I say, ‘You will not mention a word of what I did to Nico unless you would like me to explain in detail how much you liked it.’
The cameras never caught her masturbating, but they did catch her relentless shifting as she tried to create the friction I knew she desperately craved. They also caught multiple changes of underwear that I’m sure were soaked from her desire. ‘Do I make myself clear?’
She may not be shy about airing my dirty laundry to dear ole Dad, but I doubt she cares for him to hear hers. I loosen my hand enough for her to speak and she says, ‘For now.’
The fucking vipera. She’s just like me. Venom is running through her veins, dying for release, but I’ll take ‘for now’ because I know what’s waiting on the other side if she chooses to disobey me.
