Elliot

Desire is a lie that preludes love … it can be countered with control.

 

Natalie reported Ilaria was looking into Oren Demetri and I could only smile. That, at least, was going as I’d planned. She hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask to go see him, but I figured it had more to do with the distance back to New York City than any sort of fear. I had Natalie set up an excursion to the city later in the week for the sole purpose of her attempting to reach out. She’d been in my home for a week now, and it was easier to focus on moving her closer to my ultimate goal, like a chess piece.

Sex with her, or the chance of it, would be on my terms and with my rules.

I pounded out another mile on my treadmill. It hated me by now. Every time I thought of taking Ilaria over my desk and fucking her within an inch of her life, I exercised to calm myself down. It barely worked, but it was enough to keep my head on my shoulders and my eyes on the prize. Still, as the sweat dripped down my back and I took rough breaths with each pump of my feet, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way she tasted on my tongue. The way she moaned and arched her back to give me better access.

Fuck.

The treadmill could go fast enough to kill me and I’d still wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of her much longer. I didn’t like it, the way she challenged my control without even trying. Here I was, master of my domain, hiding away in my gym because a slip of a girl tasted better than my favorite meal. I slowed the treadmill to a stop. This had to end. The faster I pulled her under, the better for me. I pressed the intercom button just to the left of the gym door.

“Yes, sir?” Natalie answered.

“Send Ilaria down to the gym.”

“She’ll be there soon.”

I disconnected and stalked to the corner to pull my free weight bench to the corner of the room. Maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong. Why should she have the freedom to live separately from me? I’d let my dick get in the way of getting my hands on the proof her mother had left behind, and it wouldn’t happen again. She’d stay on my fucking hip and I’d find what I was looking for sooner than later. The minute I had it, I could get rid of her. I didn’t need her sort of distractions.

Yeah, I felt a bit like a fucking spinning top trying to get a handle on how to deal with my latest acquisition, but I’d chalk that up to over-zealous excitement about being so close to the endgame. It was nothing more.

Her soft steps echoed just outside the door, and I sat on the bench to greet her. She stepped in and her eyes zeroed in on me. I hadn’t put my shirt back on, and I liked the way her gaze traveled down my torso before she caught herself and lifted her eyes.

“You needed me?”

Yes, but first … “What have I told you about how to greet me?”

“I can’t remember. It’s been so long since we last spoke.”

I swallowed my chuckle. She’d marked those days too. And despite her obvious irritation, she’d shown a crack in her armor. My disappearing act had left her confused and irritable.

“Did you miss me so much, Ilaria?”

“I just don’t understand what this all is. You want me, and then you don’t. The first night it seemed … And then there was nothing. Just nothing but shopping and lounging around all day.”

“I’ve never met a woman before who was upset about spending my money.”

“Then you’ve been around the wrong sort of women.” She sighed roughly and ran her hands through her hair. “Look, with my mother … everything is just wild and crazy. I took this job for the money, and I accept that. I needed something to make sense while I got my life back in order. The money is good enough to make your bad attitude worth it, but wouldn’t a year be so much easier if we actually liked each other?”

What she wanted made sense, but it was a fairy tale. Life was about taking what you could get because no one would give you anything. If you were weak, you fell to the strong. Ilaria was no different. She had a weakness, and I’d exploited it to make me stronger. She didn’t know it, but she was nothing more than a pawn in my game.

“Is that what you want me to do? To like you?” It was a simple question, but it could make my plans so much easier. Say yes.

She nodded. “At least enough to make this work. Isn’t that the point of Infidelity?”

I cocked my head to the side and studied her. “You need the money, you want a life, security, and a safe place to live,” I started as I stood. She bit her lip, her hands in fists at her side. My statement wasn’t a question. I knew the answer already; it was why I chose her. “I can give you all these things, Ilaria. And I can even like you while I’m doing it, if that’s all you’re asking for.”

“Love doesn’t happen to people like me. I’m not some stupid girl. I wouldn’t ask for that.”

And because she didn’t, it made her perfect. She wanted love. It was written in her trembling form, her wide eyes, and the naïveté that made her believe this argument would lead to anything more than her in the palm of my hand.

“Very true. Such a pretty girl, and smart too, but there is something you’re missing. Love doesn’t happen at all. It’s not real. It’s all smoke and mirrors, lies we tell ourselves, and it’s the cruelest one of all. If you can accept that is a lie, and the rules I’ll need you to follow, I can give you much more than the year Infidelity has promised, and with a greater boon.”

She frowned at me. “What do you mean?”

“Me, Ilaria. You can have me for as long as we mutually want this, as well as access to my fortune as needed. The agreement will just be the starting point. And in return …” I let my voice trail off, waiting for her to ask.

Her gaze traveled down my body again, and I became hard in my shorts. Her desire was plain in her gaze, and it rolled over me, heating me from the inside out.

“What do you want in return?” she finally managed to push out breathlessly.

“Your obedience. Absolute obedience.”

“I get you and your fortune, your care, and all you want is for me to do as you say? Will you hurt me?”

“Only if you require being punished, but I will never harm you past a spanking, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Her pupils dilated, and my palm itched to show her just how glorious a stinging ass could be—much more than I’d showed her before in my living room.

She sucked in a deep breath before taking one step back. I followed her, not letting her get away. She exhaled, and I inhaled, taking her mint-flavored essence into my lungs. This is what I lived for—the demand, the chase, and the ultimate submission when I came out on top. It was better than I’d hoped for when I planned to take her on the floor of my gym to prove the point I owned her. She’d delivered herself into my hands.

“Will you obey, Ilaria? Will you kneel when I require, suck when I demand it, fuck when I need it, and spread your legs across my table so I can devour you when I crave it? Will you call me Sir and give me everything, all your secrets and lies, your truths and hidden fantasies?”

Will you give me the proof to set my life free?

She didn’t hear the last question, but her answer irrevocably answered them all.

“Yes, Sir.”