“Passed the fuck out.” Dom strolls into his bathroom like nothing’s wrong and squats next to me by the tub.

I give him a forced smile as I say, “Good.” I take a deep breath.

“What’s bothering you, doll?” I look back at him like he’s lost his damn mind. Am I taking crazy pills? I was kidnapped by a group of men who wanted and tried to kill me, and now I’m being held against my will with my son by a man that’s no good for me.

My arms splash the water as they rise up and cross over my knees to pull them into my chest. The movement of the hot water on my wounds makes them sting slightly, but it’s instantly relieved by the salts in the water. It feels so fucking good. “What are the plans, exactly?” I like order; I like plans. More than that, I like knowing where my life is going so I can direct things to an appropriate path. Right now I have none of that. I have no control. And I don’t fucking like it. But I also don’t have a choice.

“De Luca’s a dead man.”

I’m quick to answer, “He wasn’t when he took me.” Hearing that name makes my body cower in the water. I hate it. I hate that I can’t control how much my body hurts thinking of what he’s done to me.

He shifts on the edge of the tub. “I’m sorry for that. I really am, babe. But I’m gonna make sure he pays.”

“Is he the one with the tattoo?” I close my eyes, remembering the vibrant green against his tanned skin.

“I thought you didn’t see anything?” He leans closer to me with his eyes narrowed. As if he suspects I lied to him. I should be scared, but I’m not. Instead I’m pissed.

“Don’t fucking look at me like that. When they took me, that’s all I saw.”

His hand shifts up to grip my chin. “That mouth of yours. I swear to God it’s going to get you into trouble.”

“Why’d he…?” I try to push the words out, but my teeth grind together and my body stiffens. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to go back to what happened.

“His dad used to be a big deal, but he got busted and De Luca just got out of prison. He’s playing fast and loose. Targeting the big guys, and being sloppy about it. He’s only been out for a week, and there’s already a target on his back. Him and the few people he has following him around will be dead by the end of the week. No one gets away with the shit he’s pulling. Not in this business.”

I pull my knees further into my chest. I want to ask him again. I want to know everything. But I keep reminding myself that curiosity killed the cat.

“Talk to me, doll,” Dom says then gets up from his seat on the tub and walks behind me. I look over my shoulder as he gets something from the wooden shelf in the corner and then drags a bench from the stall over to the back of the tub. I turn and face the wall as his hands come down on my shoulders. Massage oil. It smells so good, like chamomile and some kind of citrus. His thumbs dig into my sore muscles. It reminds me how much my body hurts.

The punches I could take, but being hung up like that, fighting my restraints? My head hurts remembering how I smacked it over and over against the edge of the sink. But it worked. I saved myself. If I hadn’t fought... My heart stills, and my body tenses. I force my body to relax and close my eyes. There’s no reason to think like that.

“Ask me again, and I’ll tell you. You just relax and talk to me.” I don’t believe him. He’s not going to answer a damn thing.

I take a deep inhale as his hands work my shoulders and then glide up my neck. Fuck, it feels so good. My head goes limp, and I struggle to think of a question. I remember asking him earlier and not getting an answer, so I settle on asking that one again. “How many men have you killed?”

“A lot. I can’t tell you how many, doll.” My eyes pop open at his confession and my shoulders go stiff, giving away my fear. “Relax, babe. They all knew it was coming; they all had a gun aimed at me, too.”

“If I hadn’t had the money, would you have killed me?” He huffs a laugh.

“First of all, dead men can’t pay you. It does set a bad example letting people get away with not paying you, though. The first thing, the smart thing to do, is to not let a man make a bet he can’t afford.” His hands stop, and I hear him swallow before he continues. “I knew… your ex could pay. If he hadn’t shown up with the money, then we would’ve had a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” I have to ask; I need to know.

“I’d have drained his bank account.” I look up at him in absolute shock. “Yeah, doll. I have my ways.” He pushes my shoulders enough to get me facing the wall again, and his hands continue rubbing soothing circles over my body. “But that wouldn’t be enough. I’d have to make an example of him.”

“What…” I want to ask what he’d do specifically. I try to push it out, but I can’t.

“What would I have done? Do you really wanna know, babe?” I hesitate to answer. “I would’ve hurt him really bad, but it would’ve ended with him. Johnny should’ve told you that when you answered your ex’s text. His debt wasn’t on you.”

He places a small kiss on my neck and says, “Don’t worry about it, doll. The money’s already in your bank account.”

His words shock me. My body splashes the water as I turn to face him. “For real?” I ask.

“Yeah, doll. You didn’t owe me. You never did.” A small smile pulls at my lips as I settle back against the tub.

A moment passes in silence while he continues to rub my sore body.

“What if I was the one who owed you?” I want to know.

“If you owed me and you couldn’t pay?” he asks.

“What would you have done to me?” I ask to clarify and again his hands pause, but then they continue to rub along my back, moving deeper and lower. His breath tickles along my back.

“Doll, I would’ve never hurt you.” He kisses the crook of my neck and I find myself relaxing into him, but I don’t believe him.

For some reason, my lips open and the words tumble out, “I don’t believe you. You would’ve hurt me.”

He chuckles, and his hot breath on my neck sends shivers through my body, but heats my core. His arms dip into the water and wrap around my body. “What do you think I would’ve done to you, doll?” His hands run down my stomach and then lower, rubbing my hips and then massaging my upper thighs. My legs part, giving him access to my heat. My clit throbs for his touch. I’m so fucking hot for him. My chest rises as I breathe in deep and tilt my hips for him.

His hand cups my pussy as he asks, “You think I would’ve made you pay with this, babe?” His fingers play along the folds of my pussy and circle my clit.

My head falls back; my mind is consumed with the thought of him fucking me in his office. Taking me on the floor. Forcing me.

“Would you have liked that?” He lets out a deep, low and breathy laugh. “I know you fucking liked it when you paid that way for the interest. How many times do you think I’d have taken you for owing me that much?”

“Hmm.” I can’t answer. I just want him to keep touching me while I think about how he took me against the wall.

He laughs again and then moves forward to push a thick finger inside me. “You would’ve loved to pay your debt to me with your pussy.”

His finger moves in and out of me, pushing against the front wall and forcing soft moans through my lips. A tingle grows through my body, making my legs tremble. “I don’t do that though, babe. I don’t make bets with women.” He adds another finger and rubs along that hot bundle of nerves, sending a radiating fire spreading through my trembling limbs. “I don’t take pussy as payment.” I hardly hear his words as my back bows, and he pushes against my clit with his thumb.

“Only you; I couldn’t resist that temptation.” His words set me off, and my orgasm rips through me. His fingers continue to pump in and out of me roughly. He fucks me without mercy as my thighs close tightly around him, and my body twists. His other arm wraps around my chest, holding my body still while I thrash with my release riding through my body in waves. He draws my orgasm out, forcing me to take it. As I scream out my pleasure his lips cover mine, sealing my moans in our kiss.

My body settles as the aftershocks slow. He slips his fingers out of me, and I miss his touch immediately. He gently places me back against the tub and leaves me to lie limp in the warm water. My eyes close, and I nearly fall asleep. I’m so relaxed and exhausted.

His arms wrap around me, one under my bent knees and the other behind my back as he lifts me out of the water. He dries my body off, and I make a weak attempt to help. He pushes my hands away and continues patting my body dry, then leaves the towel on the ground to carry me to the bedroom. I try to sit in his arms, but he whispers in my ear, his voice a little more than a murmur, “I got you, doll.” With his breath on my neck and his lips placing gentle kisses on my neck, he lays me on the bed and I drift off to sleep.