Jaya waited. One, two, three, four, five seconds passed. Finally, Ivan looked up. She grinned and waved at him from where she was sitting cross-legged on the ledge of the balcony. The look of deep concentration that had been stamped across his features twisted into a fierce scowl. He straightened from where he’d been bent over, grappling with one of his men in what she could only assume was some kind of fake combat situation; though the punches, elbows and kicks they slammed into each other’s bodies looked real enough. She’d been enjoying her bird’s eye view, watching the sweat drip from Ivan’s hair, down his naked, rippling torso to soak into the low-slung waistband of his workout pants.

Ivan pointed a finger at her and growled something completely inaudible. Jaya laughed, swung her leg over the ledge and blew him a kiss. His opponent took advantage of Ivan’s momentary distraction, driving a fist into Ivan’s stomach. Ivan barely flinched, instead swiveling around, grabbing the man’s head and bringing it down sharply onto his knee. Jaya winced as his nose shattered, spraying blood all over the beautiful tiles surrounding the pool deck. The guy dropped to his knees but bravely kept his hands down while Ivan spoke to him, presumably explaining where the guy went wrong.

Jaya’s hand twitched to her face and she wrinkled her nose in sympathy. In a mock deep voice, she said, “If you manage to land a punch on your victim then you finish him. Don’t wait for him to turn around and break your nose. We like to break shit around here. You’re lucky I didn’t stab you in the throat, I like doing that too.” She switched her voice to a nasally falsetto when she noticed the bloody nosed guy speaking. “Yes sir, anything sir. I enjoy broken bones. Should I lick the shit off your shoes now, sir?”

Someone giggled from behind Jaya. She glanced over her shoulder catching sight of her new keeper, a young woman around the same age as Jaya. Her name was Ndari. The woman had been shadowing Jaya since the disappearance of Siti two days before. Jaya had tried hating the other woman on sight, but Ndari was oddly endearing. She chattered nonstop, enjoyed modern conveniences, laughed at her mistress’s shenanigans and, best of all, didn’t zap Jaya.

Jaya found it completely incongruous that Ivan would hire such a woman to care for her. Yet, he’d also felt really bad about the whole Siti-electrocution situation, though he hadn’t removed the bracelets yet. She glared down at them darkly.

“Oh my holy mother!” Ndari exclaimed, taking a peek over the balcony. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this post, but I will thank the gods when I die and go to heaven because nothing beats the treats in this place. Oh my god, Jaya, look at that one,” she squealed, nodding her head toward the pool patio in a direction which could easily indicate any one of the dozen of half-naked sparring men. “I swear to god his six pack has a six pack. Is that even legal?”

Jaya burst out laughing. She’d been finding it difficult not to laugh in Ndari’s presence. Her arrival had been a burst of much needed fresh air in a seriously oppressive atmosphere. “I don’t think there’s anything legal about any of those men down there,” Jaya replied, her own eyes glued to one man. He still watched her, but continued to spar, mindful of the distraction she created.

Ndari nodded seriously and then leaned more heavily against the concrete barrier for a better view. “So true. Arms dealing is dangerous work I suppose. They need to keep in top shape.” She watched happily for a few moments, then her brows knitted together. “Oh shit, is the Master looking up here?”

Jaya laughed, “Not sure he’s stopped looking up here, Ndari. I’m actually pretty impressed with his ability to kick ass while not looking at his opponent.”

“Holy crappola! Quick, pretend you’re being scolded!” Ndari turned to Jaya with a concentrated frown and began wagging a very dramatic finger in her face while still side-eying the guys. Jaya burst into laughter again and slapped a hand over her face. Ndari groaned. “He’ll never believe I’m trying to get you down from there now. Quit laughing!”

“I’m sorry!” Jaya snorted trying to look like she was being properly chastised. “But seriously, where on Earth did Ivan find you? So far I haven’t met a single person in his organization that hasn’t had the personality beaten out of him.”

“He can try, I suppose. But then he’d have to contend with my brother, his royal highness, Prince Sal Kamala,” Ndari huffed, still frowning and waving her arms around while checking out the men at work. “Sally isn’t super fond of me on the whole, but he wouldn’t like to hear that I’m in pieces either.”

“So your brother just handed you over to Ivan?” Jaya asked curiously. “To work as my keeper or something?”

She shrugged. “More like a companion. And yes, Sally was a little annoyed about the whole swimming naked in the Sea of the Ancestors thing, so he needed an expedient solution after my arrest. I’m actually not sure if it was the naked thing I was arrested for or being drunk as a skunk in a sacred place. Neither is acceptable behaviour for a female member of the royal family. Or a female. Or a human person in our country. Apparently, Ivan was looking for a new companion for you rather immediately and Sally needed to get me out of the country for a while. Things worked out well, didn’t they, new friend of mine!”

Jaya stared at the other woman as though she were a unique creature that one didn’t experience often in the wild. From the outside Ndari appeared to be everything the companion to a rich man’s mistress should be: demure, conservative, somewhat pretty but not extraordinarily beautiful. But once she started chattering she lit up like the sun and revealed all sorts of interesting secrets. Her light brown eyes sparkled with curiosity, and dimples flashed in her round cheeks when she smiled. She had even, white teeth, and small hands painted in henna. Her dark hair was cut to just past her shoulders and clipped behind her ears. She had a brightly patterned head scarf, but at the moment it was pushed back onto her shoulders. She wore jeans with rips in the thighs and knees and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt.

“Oh my god, look at that one, over there by the cabana! Does he not look like a god of war with all those muscles and that long rippling mane of hair, like a lion?” She made a growling sound. “The things I could make that man do once he was acquainted with my skillful tongue.”

Jaya erupted into loud giggles again, drawing the attention of not just Ivan, but several of his men who glanced up at the watching women. As soon as Ivan realized his men were looking toward Jaya’s bedroom, he snapped something that brought their attention quickly back to combat training. He pointed at Jaya, telling her silently to get off the ledge, but she refused, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin defiantly.

Ivan snarled something at his sparring partner, who nodded sharply and stepped back. Ivan turned swiftly toward the penthouse, his long legs quickly eating up the distance. He seemed utterly careless that his men knew exactly where he was going, that he was drawn by his rebellious woman. It surprised her that he didn’t care about his reputation. Was he that much in control of himself and the men around him?

“Well, I think it’s around my break time,” Ndari said quickly, backing away from Jaya, toward the safety of the bedroom and the doors beyond. “Not that you aren’t perfectly wonderful to spend time with, but the thunderous expression on the Master’s face doesn’t bode well for the future comfort of anyone in this room.”

Jaya swung her leg back over the ledge and hopped back onto the patio. She waved at Ndari as the woman made a beeline toward the exit. “See you later! Maybe take the east stairwell. Ivan will be coming up from the west.”

“She is as smart as she is lovely,” Ndari exclaimed before dashing out the door and running full tilt down the hall toward the east stairwell. Jaya was still laughing when Ivan slammed the door against the wall and strode into the room seconds later.

“Not even fucking locked,” he snarled in disgust, throwing the door shut again and twisting the lock. He turned toward Jaya, a glower marring his ruggedly handsome face. “What’re you looking so pleased about. I intend to blister your ass for continually putting yourself in danger. Maybe if you can’t sit down, you won’t sit on the fucking ledge.”

She bit her lip in an attempt to look more serious but knew her dancing eyes were giving her away. His gaze swept over her, a habit that he seemed to enjoy each time he saw her after a few hours’ absence, taking in her bared belly in the light green and gold sari she’d chosen. She’d left the wrap laying across the end of their bed. “Sorry, Ivan.” She tried to sound chastened.

“No you aren’t,” he growled, taking a step toward her. Jaya’s pulse sped up in anticipation of his touch. Whether rough or gentle, her body wanted him exactly the way he was right now; annoyed, half-naked and glistening from his morning workout.

“I could pretend I was sorrier than I really am,” she said in a sultry voice, looking at him from beneath her eyelashes.

He stiffened, catching the drift of her thoughts. “Don’t try to distract me,” he snapped. “That’s the second time I’ve caught you up there.” That he knows of, Jaya thought, but wisely kept the thought to herself. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” she said, licking her lips. She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He reacted quickly, gripping her ponytail tightly and pulling her head back until she was forced to look up into his face.

“What are you doing, Jaya?” he asked, his voice dropping, the anger ebbing away. She enjoyed their sexual encounters, but so far, she hadn’t initiated anything yet.

She smiled up at him and traced a finger across his jaw, teasing the days growth of whiskers there. “I’m showing you what I was thinking while I was sitting out on the ledge.” Her voice dropped to a husky whisper, “Trust me, you’ll like it.”

He grunted and loosened his hold on her ponytail but didn’t let go. She leaned forward, her hair sliding through his fingers, and licked him. She placed her tongue flat on the bottom of his pectoral muscle and ran it in a path over the tip of his nipple, which peaked and hardened, up to his shoulder where she stood on her toes and bit down, sinking her teeth into the muscle. Ivan groaned deep in his throat and slid his hand to the back of her neck, cupping her and holding her hard against his chest.

“Fuck, Jaya,” he growled. “Were you really thinking about tasting me?”

“Yes,” she whispered against him, her lips brushing his skin and sending a cascade of goosebumps across the smooth flesh, save for a small pucker inches away from her nose. She brought her hand up to touch it, dragging her nail across the scarred ridge.

“Bullet,” he grunted, sifting his fingers through the fine hair of her ponytail. “Do you really want to taste me, Jaya?” he asked huskily, his grey eyes searching her upturned face. “All of me?”

She nodded and licked her lips, staring up at him wide-eyed. She lowered her lashes and then looked back at him, giving him her best hit of sultry. Apparently it worked. One hand tightened in her hair while the other wrapped around her waist and dragged her into his body for a quick, stinging kiss.

He released her lips and growled, “On your knees, sweetheart.”

Her breath caught and her system flooded with sexy signals, urging her to do exactly as he commanded because the treats would be so worth the effort. She sank to her knees, his hand still wrapped in her hair, guiding her down. When her knees touched the floor, she placed her palms next to them too steady herself and looked up at him for his next instruction.

“Good girl,” he growled and sifted his fingers through the ends of her ponytail. “Now take my cock out.”

Jaya reached up eagerly. The bracelets jingled on her wrists, reminding her of her current incarceration. Instead of feeling anger though, she felt warm stimulation flood her system. Though she wanted to despise her captor, he was getting to her. The way he looked at her, touched her, protected her. Even the way he commanded her.

He wore sweat pants for his morning workout so she was able to easily roll the top down a few inches, reach inside and grasp his already rigid cock and pull it over top of the grey material. It bounced against his flat abs before she could properly grasp the hard flesh. The moment her fingers touched his penis, wrapping around him, he gasped, his fingers tightening in her hair.

“Now what?” she whispered.

He cupped the back of her head and urged her gently forward. “Now lick, sweetheart.”

She happily complied, leaning forward on her knees, pressing her toes into the stone tiles beneath her for balance. She placed one hand on his thigh to steady herself while the other one remained firmly wrapped around his cock. First she licked her lips, anticipating licking, tasting, fucking him with her mouth. The thought made her mouth water.

She licked around the top edge, savouring the salty, masculine taste. She breathed him as she did it, wondering what kind of Ivan aphrodisiac seeped from his pores to drive her so wildly crazy. She could feel herself growing wet, her heartbeat pattering within her chest, picking up speed as her excitement grew. She flicked her eyes up and watched the heavy-lidded predatory enjoyment on his face. His granite jaw knotted and relaxed with each lick and swipe of her tongue. The hand at the back of her head just rested there, touching, not guiding or forcing her. She loved the comforting feel of his touch against her hair as she pleasured him in the most intimate way possible.

“Fuck, not going to last long like this,” he grunted.

She glanced up and grinned around her mouthful of hardened cock. She could feel his gradual loss of control in the tightening of his stomach muscles, thighs and ass. In the way his nails scratched against her scalp around her ponytail as though he was holding himself back from grabbing her and forcing her down his length until she gagged and choked.

She slid her hand away from the base of his cock, giving herself more room to take him into her mouth. She choked a little, saliva pooling in her mouth and spilling out. He grunted as she bobbed up and down, further and further, using her now lubricated hand to explore his testicles. They were big, hairy and tight to his body. She felt them pulse as she raked her nails gently down them, sliding her forefinger along the seam.

“So fucking good, baby,” he groaned, widening his legs.

“Mmmm,” she murmured around him, vibrating him in her mouth. She lapped luxuriously at his cock and smiled again when it grew bigger, hardening further in her mouth. She loved the velvety feel of it gliding along her tongue and touching her lips. She loved playing with him, experimenting, sucking in her cheeks and seeing how he would react. Licking the ridges and then pretend swallowing while watching the ecstasy on his face.

“Going to come, can’t stop.” His gripped the back of her head in both hands and held her, but still he didn’t force her.

She rolled her eyes up to watch him. He was staring down at her through half-closed eyelids, his eyes a stormy cauldron of heat. The look on his face was savage and beautiful, completely untamed. It was stunning. It stole her heart.

The first salty jets of liquid hit her tongue. She closed her eyes and swallowed, savouring the taste. Then she opened her eyes, moved her head back a little, opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, taking the next hit across her lips and tongue. She licked her lips and swallowed the rest.

Ivan dropped next to her, dragged her onto his lap and took her mouth in a devouring kiss. She was surprised at first, but quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted him into her mouth, enjoying the glide of his tongue over hers, rough compared to his cock. When he finally released her lips, she sighed happily and smiled.

He swiped a thumb over her slightly swollen lips and murmured, “Thank you, Jaya. That was a gift I won’t soon forget.”

“You’re welcome,” she whispered. “I hope it was good. I don’t have a lot of experience.”

His arms tightened around her and for a moment she thought he might get upset. He was such a possessive man when it came to her, she wouldn’t put it past him not to get jealous over the two times she’d given blowjobs years ago and demand the men’s names and current addresses.

“It was incredible, sweetheart,” he told her. “But I must confess, it was my first time.” She stared up at him in shock, speechless. She knew she was inexperienced, but she never in a million years would have thought Ivan lacked experience. He was just so… powerful and sure of himself. It didn’t seem possible. He smiled grimly and continued to smooth his thumb over her lips and chin. “I’ve had plenty of opportunity, maybe a little desire. But women have always been a nuisance, a commodity, easily disposed. I haven’t fucked the same one twice in years, I don’t care if they get off, and I don’t stay much longer than it takes to ejaculate into a condom.”

Disgust began to replace the harmony that had filled Jaya. This was the man Father had warned her of, the Ivan that used people and discarded them, murdered them. She tried to push him away, but his arms locked around her, forcing her to stay on his lap.

“I’ve never trusted a woman enough to allow her to touch me with her mouth,” he growled down at her, his steel grey eyes penetrating. “Never wanted that kind of vulnerability or loss of control. Only with you, Jaya.”

“But you can’t trust me,” she blurted out, wanting to set him straight.

He smiled, his face hardening into its usual mask. But his eyes… they remained a heated liquid. They told her that she was wrong and that she belonged to him.