Buttons & Lace Read online

  When he had meals, I didn’t join him. Lars brought food to my room or wherever I was hiding. He seemed to understand I was avoiding his employer, but he never questioned me about it.

  Crow usually wanted sex in the evening, so I made sure I was in the pool when that time came. It was far too late to be outside, but it was a better alternative than being under him.

  I sat in the hot tub and rested my head on a rolled-up towel. I could see all the stars in the sky. They shined brighter here than they did in America, probably because we were far away from the city. I stared at them and tried to identify the different stars and planets. When I put my mind to a task, all other thoughts ceased. It was the only peace I could find.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  As always, I hadn’t heard him approach. I nearly jumped out of my skin at his question. I removed my head from the pillow and saw him standing there in sweat pants and a black t-shirt—the same thing he always wore. “I just want to be alone.”

  “You’ve been alone all day.”

  “And it wasn’t long enough.”

  He didn’t venture closer. His hands rested in his pockets, and he looked across the fields. They were enveloped in darkness but still present nonetheless. The breeze moved through my hair, tickling the back of my neck as the moisture still clung to it.

  I laid my head back and waited for him to walk away. He only came looking for me because he wanted sex. I refused to give it to him—not tonight. “Good night, Crow.”

  Instead of leaving, he undressed himself and slipped into the hot tub beside me. “I’ve done something, haven’t I?”

  I kept my eyes on the sky. “No. I just don’t like you.”

  He chuckled. “It didn’t seem that way last night.”

  I wanted to kick him in the nuts.

  “Button.” His playfulness evaporated like the steam rising from the water. His voice held his command, telling me to obey.

  I refused to.

  He moved through the water until he was directly beside me, his hand moving to my thigh. His fingers slowly crept up to the apex of my thighs. My body tensed in preparation, immediately wanting him to rub my clit. But then logic returned, and I sat up straight. “What?”

  He returned his hand to my thigh, keeping it at an appropriate distance. “Talk to me.”

  “I won’t accept a button tonight. Go away.”

  The disappointment didn’t emerge, and he pulled his hand away, understanding I couldn’t be seduced. “I’m not just your master. I’m your friend as well.”

  “You aren’t my master.” Venom flew from my mouth along with drops of spit. “You don’t own me, and you never will.”

  All patience and understanding ceased. It shattered inside him, leaving the ruthless man behind. “I. Own. You.” He grabbed my wrist and twisted it, holding it in an uncomfortable position. If he pushed any farther, he could break my arm.

  Despite the discomfort, I didn’t react. I didn’t give him any hint that I was in pain. I just took it, refusing to break.

  He jerked my arm violently, forcing me into his chest. He grabbed my chin with lightning speed, keeping me in place with two fingers. My gaze was forced on him. “You. Are. Mine.” He squeezed me tighter, making me tense. “The sooner you realize that, the easier this will be.” His hand moved to my neck, squeezing me with threat. “Now say it.”

  “Never.” I would never bow to him. I may give him my body, but I would never give him my mind. My body reacted to him physically, loving the way his cock felt inside me. My mouth reacted to him, loving his lips pressed to mine. But he would never infiltrate my mind. He would never break my will. If Bones hadn’t succeeded, neither would he.

  He squeezed my neck tighter. “Just because I’ve granted you mercy in the past doesn’t mean I’ll give it to you now. Don’t test me.” He constricted his fingers until I could hardly breathe.

  “I’ll die before I say it.” He could drown me in this hot tub, and I still wouldn’t cooperate. “I don’t break for my captors. I didn’t break for Bones, and I sure as hell won’t break for you.” I held his gaze without flinching. I wouldn’t back down, not now and not ever.

  He moved his face closer to mine, his dick hard under the water. The more I pushed him, the more he wanted me. His eyes darkened like that was the answer he wanted to hear. Every time I fought against him, his obsession only grew. He squeezed my throat so tightly he cut off my air supply. “We’ll see.”

  ***

  I’d had enough.

  I wasn’t putting up with my imprisonment any longer. I was only two buttons down from my debt, and I’d had to sacrifice a lot just for those two. Could I sacrifice any more?

  A part of me respected Crow. He didn’t hurt me when he could have. He could have just forced my legs apart and taken me like he wanted. When Cane wanted to hurt me, he could have let it happen.

  But I still hated him.

  I hated the fact I actually cared for him. I hated the fact he wormed his way deep inside me. I actually enjoyed his presence, even the cryptic conversations we had. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

  I wasn’t supposed to like my captor.

  I had to get out.

  I snuck through the house and made my way to the kitchen. The place was dark with the exception of the moonlight. It gave enough illumination to find the knives on the counter. They were stowed in the slots of a metal box, sitting right next to the sink.

  I grabbed the biggest one I could find.

  His bedroom was on the top floor. I’d never been inside his room, but I deduced it was next to his study. I climbed two flights of stairs without making a sound then ventured down the dark corridor. There was a paper clip in my nightstand, and I used that to pick his lock.

  I worked silently, listening for the distant click of the lock when it came unhinged. My heart was beating fast, but I held my breath, too afraid to make a sound.

  When the door was unlocked, I crept inside. It was dark like the rest of the house, but it was the biggest room in the mansion. It had a private living room with a flat-screen TV, a full bar, and a desk against the wall.

  I shut the door behind me and tiptoed through the room. The hilt of the knife was gripped tightly in my hand. I was ready to slaughter the man who captured me. I was ready to slit his throat and let him bleed out and die. They wouldn’t find his body until the morning, and I would snatch his car keys and drive to the airport with his cash in my pocket. I’d be on the next flight back home before noon.

  Home.

  I left the living room and found the hallway that had to lead to his bedroom. My feet moved slowly across the floor. They were bare, and all I wore was a long t-shirt that reached my knees. If I got caught, I could lie and say I was looking for something.

  His bedroom door was open. I spotted the king-size bed in the center of the room. The sheets were pristine white, and his walls were gray. His furniture was rich mahogany and designed with Italian craftsmanship. Over the bed was another one of his unusual paintings, constructed with buttons.

  I crept to the bed and breathed quietly. He lay perfectly still, on his back with his face pointed to the ceiling. His eyes were closed, and his jaw was covered with a thick line of hair. When he was asleep, he looked just as handsome, even more so. The lines around his eyes were nonexistent, and the slight scowl he sometimes wore was absent. In sleep, he was just a man.

  I held the knife steady as I leaned over him. I’d killed a man before, and I would do it again. Nothing would stop me from escaping this prison. If men didn’t want to be murdered in their sleep, then they shouldn’t mess with me. It was that simple.

  I moved my knee to the bed and leaned over him, placing the blade right against his throat. All I had to do was slide the blade straight across, and Crow Barsetti would be no more.

  He would finally stop haunting me.

  My hand remained steady just before I made my move. I cherished his face for one more second, remembering the way his li
ps felt against mine in his gentle embraces. Just the fact I took a moment to savor a memory said too much damage had been done. He’d already played enough mind tricks.

  His eyes opened unexpectedly, but he didn’t flinch. He stared at me like he’d expected me to come to his bedroom. Calm radiated in his eyes. He could feel the cool blade against his skin, but he didn’t move an inch. He watched me just the way he did from across the dinner table.

  I held my breath, terrified that I’d been caught.

  “Do it.”

  What?

  “Do it.” He moved one hand behind his head, becoming more relaxed. “You’ll be doing me a favor. I’m too much of a coward to do it myself.”

  It was the first time my hand shook. My grip on the hilt was no longer strong. My fingers felt weak, and my resolve disappeared.

  His eyes locked on mine. “Come on, Button.” He grabbed my hand and placed the blade farther against his throat, drawing a faint line of blood.

  My hand automatically pulled away, my heart aching for the blood I’d just drawn.

  He wrapped his arm around my waist and adjusted me on top of him, pulling the sheets off his waist. “After everything I’ve done, you have every right.” He grabbed my panties and pulled them far to the side, his hard cock pressed against my ass.

  My determination disappeared when I looked into those green eyes. Sometimes, they seemed harmless, full of goodness and promise. Sometimes, I could fall into them if I stared for too long.

  He slowly sat up, the knife still pressed to his throat. “You want to kill me so bad, then do it. This is your only chance.” He pressed his face to mine, the back of the blade touching my neck.

  Come on. Do it.

  My hand didn’t press into him. I barely held the knife at all. All I could think about was how much I had already hurt him. Drops of blood dripped down his neck and to his chest. The last thing I wanted to do was kill him. I only wanted to help him.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  He pressed the head of his dick deep inside me, moving all the way until he was completely sheathed. He released a quiet moan when he felt me, feeling my slickness that seemed to appear from nowhere. He pressed his lips to my ear, taking a deep breath. “Button, your cunt was made for my cock.” He moved his arms underneath my thighs and slid me up and down his length.

  He stretched me in the most delectable way possible. Every thrust felt better than the one before it. I forgot why I’d come in there to begin with. Nothing else mattered besides riding his cock. When he was inside me, all I could think about was our bodies moving together. The slick friction between us ignited us both. I became wetter for him, enjoying the way he stretched me more than any other man had before. My arms hooked around his neck, and I rocked my hips back and forth, falling deep into him.

  He grabbed the knife from my hand and nicked me slightly along my neck.

  It happened so quickly I didn’t even know it happened. It didn’t hurt, but it burned when it was sliced open.

  He pressed his mouth to my neck and kissed the drops away, drinking my blood like a beast.

  It should’ve disgusted me. It should’ve horrified me. But it made me burn with a fiery longing.

  He pulled away and exposed his neck, wanting me to do the same to him.

  Without thinking twice about it, I licked his blood away. I tasted metal on my tongue. The intimate act brought us closer together. All my hatred died away, and my walls came down. I let him in for the first time.

  He pulled my face to his as he rocked into me from below. He eyed my lips, seeing the remnants of his own blood. Then he kissed me, our tongues tasting each other.

  My nails dug into his back, holding on tightly as I bounced on his dick. I moved harder and faster, fucking him harder than he fucked me. “Crow...” It was the first time I said his name. And it felt so good, like he was mine. “Crow.”

  He moaned against my mouth, his cock twitching in response. He kneaded my cheeks, squeezing them and massaging them aggressively. “Your pussy is always so wet for me, Button. Just me.”

  “Yes...” My body never reacted to anyone else like that. I was never that aroused. Even when I lost my virginity, I wasn’t that excited. Crow brought out the strongest emotions in me, from hatred to passion. They were all so extreme they felt like the same emotion.

  “I can’t wait to fill you...so much come.”

  The tender area between my legs burned. I’d never wanted a man’s come more than I wanted his. I thrust onto his length harder, feeling my own orgasm approach. “I want you to come with me.”

  He sucked my bottom lip then bit it with his teeth. He thrust into me harder, stretching my legs apart with his weight. His thick cock rubbed against my clitoris with every stroke, pushing me closer to the edge.

  I couldn’t hold on much longer.

  “Come for me.”

  I gripped his shoulders for balance as my pussy constricted tightly around him. My entire body tensed as the avalanche of pleasure radiated through my body. It started deep in my core then spread like wildfire everywhere else. I was drenched in sweat and exhausted, but I didn’t want to stop. It felt too damn good.

  His cock hardened inside me as he released. I could feel the squirts fill me deep inside, his heavy come sitting exactly where it belonged. It was warm and thick. I’d never willingly let a man come inside me before. He was the first, and it was the sexiest thing I’d ever done.

  Crow’s eyes lost their darkness once the heat had dissipated. His cock softened inside me, but he still stretched me with his natural thickness. He wrapped his arm around my waist and rolled me to the bed. The knife was placed on the nightstand, out of the way so neither one of us would roll on it.

  Like nothing happened, he curled up beside me and closed his eyes. My leg was hooked around his waist, and his arm was still around my ribs. Now that the fun was over, he wasn’t worried I might make another attempt on his life. He didn’t have a care in the world, like nothing could touch him. He fell asleep almost instantly, his warm body keeping me comfortable.

  I stared at his face before my eyes closed. The scowl left his lips once again and his eyes softened. They didn’t hold the strain of a criminal. He returned to being a man.

  A man I’d never met.

  ***

  I hadn’t gotten a good night of sleep like that since the last time I slept in my own bed. There were no nightmares to make me jolt upright in bed. There were no dreams that made me cry silently in my sleep. All I felt was peace. Crow’s arms were wrapped tightly around me all night long.

  It was the first time I felt safe.

  The next morning, his alarm went off, and he slipped out of bed. The second his body was gone, the bed felt a little colder. He walked into his bathroom and showered to get ready for the day.

  I pulled the sheets tighter around me to fight off the cold and slipped back into sleep. It seemed like mere seconds when he was out of the shower and putting on one of his designer suits. He pulled the jacket over his massive shoulders and placed the flashy watch on his wrist. He eyed himself in the mirror, checking for wrinkles in his clothing. He looked like a model for Armani about to hit the runway. His confidence permeated the air, slicing through it like a sword.

  I sat up in bed and pulled the sheets over my chest to stay warm. I loved watching him move. He had the kind of grace that still seemed innately masculine. He carried himself like royalty with the air of pretentiousness. He owned everything in every room he walked into. That kind of power was sexy—even if I refused to admit it.

  He spotted me in the reflection of the mirror. He adjusted his tie, making it perfect enough to display on a mannequin. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” The knife still sat on his nightstand. The steel glinted under the light of the lamp. The memory of last night came back to me. I came here to kill him, but instead, I fucked him like I needed him.

  He came around the bed then leaned down to kiss me. He didn’t seem to c
are if I had morning breath. He kissed me just the way he would during our evenings together.

  I melted at his touch, turning to butter on a hot roll. My hands gripped his arms because I didn’t want him to leave. I wanted to strip off those expensive clothes and pull him on top of me.

  He pulled his lips away but kept them close to mine. “Return that knife to Lars. He’ll be looking for it.” Threat was in his eyes. He wasn’t happy with my behavior the previous night. “I’ll punish you when I get home.”

  “Punish me?”

  “Yes.” He grabbed the back of my hair and kept his hold on me. It was unbreakable, made of iron. “An assassination attempt on your master’s life won’t go unnoticed. I suggest you rest before I get back.”

  ***

  I wasn’t worried about his threat. He could try to hurt me, but I would fight back. Just because I didn’t have any weapons didn’t mean I couldn’t throw a mean right hook. Growing up in the ghetto gave me a steel spine. It was difficult to intimidate me.

  Very difficult.

  He came home at his regular time and retreated into his room to shower and change. He didn’t stop by the bedroom to greet me. Without his saying a word to me, I knew he expected me to come to dinner dressed in something nice.

  If I didn’t obey, it would lead to a fight, and I’d rather save my energy for whatever he had planned for me. When it came to Crow, I had to pick my battles. I may be a worthy opponent, but so was he.

  I sat across from him at the dinner table, wearing whatever I found in my closet. Most of my wardrobe consisted of dresses. Crow preferred the classy look, a woman dressed in elegance that showed off her shoulders and legs.

  He sipped his wine then started to eat. He didn’t make conversation with me. He didn’t mention what happened last night. Sometimes, he was in a talkative mood, and sometimes, he wasn’t. His moods were unpredictable. Being his captive for over a month wasn’t enough time for me to figure him out.

  “So, when are you going to punish me?” I probably shouldn’t mock him, but I couldn’t help it. I liked to thwart him, to remind him I couldn’t be easily overcome.