The Skull Crusher Page 5

  I shouldn’t care, but I wasn’t going to pretend that I didn’t.

  He said nothing happened, but I didn’t know if I could believe him. He was a man of his word, a man who wasn’t afraid to do whatever he wanted. He snuck into Lucian’s house to fuck me without caring about getting caught. He didn’t care about anything. So why should he care about being with other women? Why would he lie? I was his prisoner regardless of whether or not he pissed me off. Whether or not there were other women in his bed didn’t change the fact that I belonged to him.

  I was angry with him anyway. I believed him the first time, but the sight of that lipstick made my skin burn like it was on fire.

  I didn’t leave my room the entire day because I didn’t want to see his face. I didn’t want to look at those pretty blue eyes and that handsome face, not when they might soften my anger.

  I hadn’t had a phone in almost two weeks, and I hadn’t checked in with my brothers. If I went too long without contacting them, they would really start to worry. I needed to negotiate some kind of freedom soon—and I suspected that meant I had to sleep with him. If I ever wanted to leave this building, I would have to give in.

  At three in the afternoon, there was a knock on my door.

  I refused to open it. “Go away.”

  The sound of something solid tapped against the hardwood floor on the other side of the door. The clatter of utensils followed. His footsteps sounded again a second later, retreating as he moved back down the hallway and into the living room.

  My curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the door.

  On the ground was a plate of food. A turkey sandwich with a bag of chips and a pickle. There was a cold bottle of beer and a glass of water too. The sight softened my heart just a little, but I took a deep breath and tried to brush it off.

  I took everything into my room and ate, comforting my starving belly with food. I ate the entire bag of chips and downed the beer like water. A slight headache formed at the front of my right temple because I’d fasted for too long.

  I finished everything and left the plate on the coffee table. I still refused to leave the room, so I took a bath then read for a few hours. After a late afternoon nap, night fell.

  He knocked on my door again, close to eight in the evening.

  I didn’t open it. “What?”

  “I’m leaving for the night.”

  Disappointment washed through me. He seemed to be gone most evenings. When we were sleeping together, he always seemed to be home, but he must have changed his schedule so he could be with me then.

  He set something on the ground. “I got you a phone. My number is in your phone book if you need me.”

  “What if I call the cops? Tell my family?”

  He chuckled in his deep voice. “You do that, baby.” His footsteps sounded as he walked off.

  I wondered if he would come home with lipstick on his neck again. Was he going out for work? Or was he hooking up with someone? I’d never cared who Lucian was screwing, but I couldn’t fight the pain and jealousy when I imagined Balto coming inside someone else. It haunted me.

  But I refused to vocalize my thoughts. I refused to share my vulnerability. Even if he already knew how I felt, I refused to confirm it. As a Cardello, I was much too stubborn. That would only mean I actually had feelings for this man, feelings for the man who had captured me like I was an animal rather than a person. So I would stick to my guns…as long as possible.

  JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER NIGHT, I couldn’t sleep.

  I paced around the floor and looked out the window, seeing the city lights and the streets I used to frequent all the time. It’d been so long since I lived a normal life that I could barely remember how that used to be. I’d lived in a little apartment in the city, and Evan slept over all the time. We would cook dinner every night, make love, and then he would leave for work in the morning.

  Then everything changed.

  My life had never been the same.

  Living with Lucian was straightforward because I knew exactly how I felt about the situation. But living with Balto was much more confusing. I was attracted to the man, more attracted to him than I’d ever been to anyone else. The second I saw him in that bar, my heart skipped a beat. When he left food outside my door, I couldn’t help but think it was sweet. He could have ordered me to come out or dragged me by the hair. Lucian slugged me in the stomach, but I couldn’t imagine Balto treating me that way—even if he was the more dangerous man.

  I moved into the kitchen and grabbed a few cookies before I made my way to the couch. It was midnight, so he wouldn’t be home for hours. My ears focused on every little sound I heard throughout the floor. I didn’t believe someone could manage to make it up the elevator to me, but sometimes I feared Lucian would line the building with explosives and detonate it. I would die from the explosion or be buried under the rubble of the building. Having Balto there couldn’t prevent that, but it made me feel safer anyway.

  There was something about that man that made me feel untouchable.

  I’d never seen a man stand up to Lucian so effortlessly, let alone twice. He’d burned a cigar into his hand without retaliation. He’d shown up at his home and took me like a product off the shelf at a grocery store. This man had unquestionable power, and I had to admit it made me feel invincible.

  But when he wasn’t around, I felt powerless.

  Vulnerable.

  Afraid.

  I turned on the TV and pulled a blanket over my shoulders. My beer sat on the coffee table untouched, and my eyes grew heavy from the late hour. I wanted to hear the elevator the second he came home, and I wouldn’t be able to do that in my room. It took a while for my brain to finally drift off to sleep, and when I did, I started to dream.

  And I dreamed of my captor.

  As if I was back in time, I was in my old bedroom at Lucian’s. It was dark because it was late in the evening, but I wasn’t alone.

  Balto peeled off all my clothes and gave me a look of such possessiveness that I didn’t feel like a married woman anymore. My ring was gone because I belonged to him exclusively. His massive body dipped the bed as he moved on top of me, all muscle and beautiful skin. His sculpted thighs separated mine, and he shoved his large size inside me, our bodies skin-to-skin.

  “Balto…” I felt the goodness between my legs, the fullness every woman should feel when they were with a man. My nipples dragged against his chest as he moved with me, the sweat starting to slicken both our bodies. My arms circled his neck, and I kissed him as I felt him inside me, my body tensing and tightening in preparation for another climax. I buried my face in his shoulder and felt my teeth drag against his collarbone as I did my best to keep quiet. Another man was pleasing me, and I didn’t want my husband to overhear. It was just like the last night we were together, our passion hotter than an inferno. My ankles locked together around his waist because I never wanted him to leave.

  I was pulled from my dreams when I felt my hips being dragged across the couch. My boxers were yanked off my long legs, and the blanket that had been on top of me was absent. My eyes snapped open in alarm, and that’s when I saw Balto, gloriously naked. His enormous cock was at full mast and ready to pound into me.

  He moved on top of me and hooked his arms behind my knees. “Miss me, baby?” He smothered me into the cushions and pressed his crown against my entrance. After a gentle thrust, he pushed inside, becoming smeared in the arousal that was flooding from my body. “Fuck yes, you did.” He sank inside me slowly, sliding so perfectly because I was slicker than I’d ever been. He moaned from deep within his throat, getting every single inch inside me until his balls tapped against my skin.

  I’d just woken up and couldn’t distinguish dream from reality. I was just at Lucian’s house a moment ago, this man deep between my legs. Now I was back in reality, sleeping on the couch and waiting for Balto to come home. His cock inside me felt better than the dream, and I was so hard up that I didn’t stop him. My hands sli
d up his chest, and I widened my legs farther to give him complete access.

  Skin-to-skin, I felt the incredible sensations, just as I did the last time we were together. I looked forward to the finale, when my cunt would be stuffed with this man’s come. The lipstick on his neck became an afterthought, along with my imprisonment.

  He thrust into me while keeping my legs pinned back, our limbs a tangled mess as we screwed on the couch. He didn’t just fuck me, but he got his dick deep inside me with every thrust. All he wanted was to feel me, to glide through my tightness because he forgot how good it felt. He stared down at me with a clenched jaw, the moans uncontrollable. He was coming apart right before my eyes, too weak to fight the goodness between my legs. “Jesus Christ…I can’t believe you made me wait so long.”

  I held on to his lower back and pulled myself back into him. His body ground against my clit, and his dick stretched me wide apart. My breathing hitched as my body tensed. All the muscles in my back shivered as I prepared for the orgasm that would make my toes curl. My fingers dug into his ass, and I yanked on him harder. “Balto…” I bit my lip as the climax hit me like a ton of bricks. It was so good, it was actually painful. My pussy struggled to contract because it seemed to have forgotten how. A low moan turned into a scream, and then I pulled on him harder because I wanted every inch of that dick. “Yes…” Both of my toes cramped, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the greatest euphoria of my life. Now I was wide awake, drunk on the pleasure this man gave me.

  “Fuck…” He pressed his forehead to mine and gave his final thrusts, pushing his body deep into mine so he could give me every single drop of his arousal. He was usually quiet when he climaxed, but now he was vocal in his pleasure. His hand snaked into my hair as he gave another grunt. “Baby…” Even when he finished, he kept rocking, like he didn’t want it to end just yet.

  Now that the pleasure had passed, reality hit me hard. I’d given in to my desire and fucked this man as hard as he fucked me. Truth be told, I missed it so much. I missed the intimacy, the connection. Maybe it was just sex, but it was the strongest human relationship I’d had in years. It was a way for me to vent my frustrations, a way for me to feel like a beautiful woman with needs. He was still an escape—even if he was my prison.

  Instead of softening like usual, he stayed hard inside me. “Damn, he missed you.”

  I was soaking wet, so we both knew I missed him.

  “Was that better than your dream?”

  The desire I’d felt just a second ago evaporated. How did he know I was dreaming about him?

  He lifted me from the couch while staying deep inside me and carried me down the hallway and into his bedroom. His eyes were on me, full of that obnoxious arrogance that pissed me off. “You were bucking your hips and whispering my name.”

  Embarrassment flooded my veins, but I refused to show it on my face. I had no control over my subconscious, over the internal desires that needed to be fulfilled. There was no other man in the world I would ever fantasize about. My list of lovers wasn’t long—and Balto was at the top of the list. “Shut up and fuck me.” I moved to my hands and knees on the bed so I could enjoy the sex without having to see that stupid smirk on his face. It didn’t matter what position he took me in, I always came.

  He grabbed my hips and rolled me to my back. “No. I want to look at you.”

  “Well, I don’t want to look at you—”

  He silenced my outburst with a kiss, a soft kiss that was purposeful and slow. He held his strong body on top of mine and slowly positioned himself between my legs. His wet cock pressed into my lower lips, and he applied gentle pressure right against my clit. His soft lips moved with mine, instilling the same desire within me just by touch. His mouth moved a little faster, picking up the pace for both of us. His mouth opened, closed, and then opened again, breathing out gentle breaths across my mouth. He sucked my bottom lip before his tongue moved into my mouth and greeted mine in an erotic dance. Slowly, it moved, embracing the inside of my mouth with a kiss so sexy my thighs squeezed against his hips.

  He was one hell of a kisser.

  His arms locked behind my knees just as they did on the couch, and without breaking our kiss, he tilted his hips and gently sank inside me.

  I moaned like it was the first time, like he hadn’t just made me come in the living room.

  He slid inside me perfectly, moving until his fat dick was exactly where it belonged. His kiss continued, passionate and sexy. His cock throbbed inside me as he forced both of us to wait before the fucking began. “You want to be the only woman who gets my dick?” He pulled back slightly so our eyes could meet.

  My hands felt the muscles of his stomach and chest, and I was so buried in sex that I couldn’t think clearly. Being with him was when I felt most alive, when life was worth living. The experience wasn’t just passionate, but spiritual. I could feel heaven from my scalp to my toes.

  “Baby.” He slowly pressed into me, making me feel the extent of his enormity. He was so big that he could barely fit inside me, that his crown tapped against my cervix painfully if he pushed too far.

  I’d hated seeing the lipstick on his neck. I hated wondering what he was doing while he was out so late. I hated the idea of sharing him with someone else, whether it was a whore or not. “I hate you…” This man was just as evil as Lucian for keeping me as a prisoner. I was locked away in a tower with no rights. He was dangerous, criminal, and lethal. I wanted a normal life with a normal man, but this was what I got.

  His eyes narrowed as he stayed deep inside me.

  “But I don’t want to share you with anyone else…” Shame reverberated through me, cascades of embarrassment and humiliation. I asked for his fidelity, for his monogamy. I was possessive over a man I didn’t even like. It was a twisted feeling, so convoluted it was disgusting.

  Normally, he would have worn that boyish smile, the one where the corner of his mouth rose in a grin. It would shine in his eyes too, his mirth at my conformity. This time, he didn’t display his typical arrogance. His eyes deepened as they locked on mine, desire and lust heavy in the expression. Instead of triumphant, he seemed aroused. It wasn’t a victory for his ego, only his dick. “I don’t like to share either.”

  8

  BALTO

  When I woke up the next morning, I was noticeably warmer than usual. I was aware of the subtle weight on my chest, the slender woman who used my frame as a mattress instead of the bed. My eyes opened, and I remained still so I wouldn’t disturb her.

  On her stomach with her hair across my shoulder lay Cassini. She was naked underneath the sheets, and the muscles of my body kept her warm throughout the night. She seemed perfectly comfortable even though she was lying on solid rock.

  It was the first time I’d woken up to a woman hogging me like that. Women never slept over, and if they did, they stuck to their side of the bed. There was no touching unless it was during sex. But this woman took all of my personal space for herself.

  I didn’t mind it.

  I liked the way she smelled. I liked the way her soft skin felt against mine. I liked the way her hair lightly tickled me whenever she moved. My arm was hooked around the small of her back, and I loved how deep the curve was. This woman was all curves from head to toe, but I particularly liked that one most of all.

  She was perfect.

  Lucian said she needed to lose weight. That only proved my theory—he was a spineless scumbag. Who said that to their wife? What kind of man said that to any woman? Especially when it couldn’t be further from the truth. I liked her thighs. I liked the curve at the bottom of her stomach. I’d never been attracted to women who were exceptionally skinny. If they were skin and bones, I wasn’t interested. Despite the fact that I was in great shape, I didn’t find fitness attractive in women. Call me old-fashioned, but I liked a woman with an ass, tits, and a belly. Curves were the distinguishable feature in a woman, the epitome of sexuality. If Lucian couldn’t appreciate this beautiful woman
for all that she was, there was something seriously wrong with him.

  It didn’t matter anymore. She was mine now.

  Listening to her ask me to be hers exclusively was the biggest turn-on. It was sexier than all the dancers at the strip club, sexier than all the kinky shit I did in my lifetime. Listening to this drop-dead gorgeous woman want me all to herself…was something I could beat off to for the rest of my life.

  Thankfully, I didn’t have to.

  She would sleep for several hours, so I carefully rolled her to her back and slowly moved away. The sheets fell slightly, exposing the tops of her tits to the nipples.

  I stared at her and debated fucking her, whether she was conscious or not. But I knew I needed to get my day started. And I knew she would be there waiting for me when I was finished. I got dressed and headed to the gym.

  The gym was on the bottom floor, so I took the elevator down and stepped into the weight room.

  Heath was there, using the barbell to work on his chest. Two hundred pounds was on the bar, and he finished his reps quickly.

  “I hope that’s just a warm-up.”

  Heath racked the bar then sat up. “Shut up, asshole.”

  I set my jug of water on the counter and grabbed the weights I wanted to use. I hit the gym every single day religiously because my life depended on it. Respect was much easier to garner if I was a fighting machine. I could intimidate anyone with just my appearance. I could get anyone to fuck me with just my appearance too. Cassini didn’t want to share me for a reason.

  “You seem to be in a good mood.”

  I did three sets of bicep curls. “Sarcasm?”

  “No.”

  “What makes you think I’m in a good mood?” I did another set then started shoulder presses.

  “Because you don’t look like shit.”