Bowles, Jan - Love Slave to the Sicilian Billionaire [Guilty Pleasures 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (5 page)

Max had thought his best buddy was a little edgy, but he’d put it down to Kirk being upset, because he believed Ella was having an affair. How wrong he’d been.

“Ella, have you spoken to any of Kirk’s buddies in the Marines? Maybe someone from his platoon? Surely it’s worth a try. Perhaps he was becoming paranoid before he even returned home?”

“Some of the guys in his platoon turned up for the funeral, but I didn’t have time to speak to them in private. Joey, his closest buddy in the Marines, said he had something important to tell me, and that he’d talk to me later on that evening, but he never did. I guess no one knows what to say at funerals.”

Max put his hand on Ella’s shoulder. “Ah, Joey, yeah that rings a bell. Kirk used to speak about him a lot when we were out together. He’d always wanted the three us to go out on the town. He said I’d like Joey, and that Joey would like me.” He sighed resignedly. “Now Kirk’s dead, that’s never gonna happen. I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do, Ella. I’m gonna seek out this guy Joey, and find out what he knows. If only to put our minds at rest.”

“Does that mean you’re going to help me, Max?”

“Count on it, baby.”

The cool evening breeze ruffled her hair, swamping him in her perfume. He breathed in, enjoying her feminine aroma. In another lifetime, Ella would have been a woman he’d want for himself.

She had a rare beauty. An elegance that pervaded everything she did. Just the way she held her glass sent his pulse racing. The way her fingers wrapped delicately around the crystal stem.

With her back straight, and head held high, he imagined placing a slave collar around her slender neck. Would her eyes appear meek and passive, or would she be proud and defiant? The image branded itself in his mind, making his cock harden. Max tried to force the sexual domination of Ella from his head. In her present state of emotional turmoil, he would be a selfish prick if he took advantage of her. And yet his mind refused to play ball. He wanted to bury his prick deep inside her wet cunt. He wanted to own her. He wanted to make her submit to his will. He wanted her to shout out his name as she came. He wanted her to claw his back with those long, painted fingernails of hers as he spilled his seed inside her. To take his mind off the beautiful, sexy woman sitting next to him, he decided to stick to mundane conversation from now on.

“Did you say you and Kirk were gonna get divorced?” He’d been close friends with Kirk for years. Why hadn’t his best friend mentioned it? And more importantly, why hadn’t he spotted the signs that their marriage was on the rocks?

Ella breathed out. “You know how life sometimes is, Max. Things don’t always turn out for the best.” Max saw frustration etched across her beautiful face. “I thought we were okay, I really did. But after he came back from his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, I sensed that he’d changed. I couldn’t put my finger on it. But somehow Kirk was a different man.” She turned to Max, her sad eyes betraying the inner turmoil. “He wasn’t the same anymore.” Her brows drew together. “We went on as normal, but I knew he’d already left me, emotionally.” She tapped a finger to her temple. “In here he had. Physically, he was still there, but mentally, he’d moved on. Does that make sense to you, because I can’t explain it even to myself?”

Max took a sip of his bourbon. Kirk seemed the same to him as always. He was still the same guy, laughing and joking around as normal. Kirk had a wickedly funny sense of humor.

The tears began to flow in earnest down her cheeks. Ella had done well to keep them at bay for so long. Max reached out and stroked her head. “Shhh, Ella, everything will be all right.”

“No, nothing will ever be the same again.”

“It will, I promise.”

“How can it? Kirk’s dead, and it’s all my fault.” Her eyes opened wide, and she looked scared as she stared across the pool. “Oh, my God. Please, no.”

“Can you see him?” When she nodded, he continued, “Ella, look at me. It’s just your imagination playing tricks. He’s not there. I promise you.”

She sobbed. “He looks so real. Why does he keep tormenting me? It’s God’s way of making me suffer.”

Chapter Six

Max took the wineglass from her trembling hand and pulled her into his arms. Her head rested against his chest as he gently caressed her cheek with his long, masculine fingers. Ella closed her eyes, enjoying his warmth and strength, savoring his intoxicating, spicy scent. Max was all male, and he filled her with a calmness she’d been unable to achieve since Kirk’s gory death. His comforting, sensual touch made the image of her dead husband slowly recede, until she finally caught her breath.

“Look at me,” Max commanded. Unable to resist his deep, sexy voice, Ella stared mesmerized into his silver-gray gaze. His presence filled her thoughts. He overwhelmed her. He controlled her with just a look, a simple glance. It was breathtaking. This must be how his submissives felt when he dominated them. Her whole body buzzed when he brushed the hair from her tear-stained eyes. “He’s gone, and he won’t be coming back.” He said it with such authority. Surely she had to believe him? Only she doubted herself. She didn’t feel strong enough to cope on her own anymore.

“Max, I don’t want to be alone tonight,” she whispered breathlessly.

“Baby, you won’t be. I’m just across the courtyard. Only a few steps away. Trust me, I won’t allow you to come to any harm.”

“That’s just it. I feel safe when you’re around, but if I wake up and he’s there, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Panic flared once more within her, making her tremble uncontrollably.

He breathed in and rubbed a hand across his chin. She heard the rasp of bristles against his fingertips. “Ella, I can’t deny I’m attracted to you. If you stay in my room, things may happen that you later regret.”

A quiver of anticipation ran through her veins. Max wanted her? When did that happen? She couldn’t help blurting out the words, “Does that mean I get to see your playroom?” Fuck, why had she just said that? The words seemed to tumble from her mouth. During her visits with Kirk, Max had never allowed either of them inside the playroom. The mysterious room where domination and submission took place both frightened and intrigued her. It had always been strictly off-limits. Wondering just what it was like had fuelled her fantasies for years.

He laughed and playfully tapped her nose with a finger. “No, the playroom is reserved for bad behavior that needs correction, and besides, I need to get to know a woman intimately, before I take her there.”

“Oh? I’m not a child, Max. I know what goes on in a D/s relationship.”

He raised a brow. “Really? You surprise me, Ella. I didn’t know you knew about such things.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Dom. You can find out just about anything on the Internet. Besides, Sara gave me an explicit book on the subject.” She’d keep him in suspense as to how much she really knew.

“It figures.” Max’s derisory tone said it all.

“You don’t like Bill and Sara. You don’t like Kevin, either. Why?”

“They’re on the fringes. They practice something I have no interest in.”

“Which is?”

“Humiliation. I’m not into humiliation. Just like I’m not into pain, for pain’s sake.”

“Then what are you into?”

“Total possession.”

Those two simple words sent a shiver down her spine. The way Max looked at her now, she was in no doubt what he meant. He wanted to consume a woman until he controlled everything about her. She saw by the look in his eyes that nothing short of complete ownership would satisfy him. It scared and excited her in equal measure.

“I see.”

He laughed again. “Don’t look so worried, Ella. I’m just a very sexual guy, but I’m not a monster. I have enormous self-control. I just thought it best to lay my cards on the table, so there can be no misunderstanding.”

She knew her panties were soaking wet. How did Max make this happen with just a look? She took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t notice her chest rapidly rising and falling. “Thanks, Max. I appreciate your honesty.” She guessed Max wouldn’t take advantage of her emotional fragility tonight. She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, knowing that he wouldn’t make the first move. He’d laid down a marker though, a line in the sand so to speak. He was warning her what could happen, if she kept pressing.

He glanced at his watch. “It’s gone midnight. I don’t know about you, Ella, but I’m ready to turn in. I’ve been up since six this morning. I’ve had a long day. If you want to, you can come across to my room. I’ve already laid down the ground rules, so there can be no ambiguity. I promised I’d be there for you.”

Ella walked across to her room and looked at the nightdress she’d placed on her pillow earlier that evening. The tiny pink baby-doll nightie was made of a flimsy, see-through material. Apart from a blue silk gown, and a change of clothes for the morning, it was all she had. She sighed. After packing her bag that evening, she’d hardly thought she’d end up sharing a bed with the gorgeous Sicilian, Maximiliano D’Alesandro. Or did she? Her nightie was way too sexy. She smiled. Kismet came to mind—what will be, will be. Perhaps she and Max were always meant to be.

She’d always liked Max. He had an aura of power and sophistication that few other men seemed to possess. If he chose to, he’d keep her safe and secure from harm. His BDSM lifestyle had always intrigued her. So much so that she’d read everything she could lay her hands on. Not just the book that Sara had given her. The Internet was an unending source of information. As she understood it, a D/s relationship epitomized control. But who controlled whom? Was it the dominant that demanded the complete acquiescence of his slave? Or perhaps, the submissive was the real winner in the power play struggle. It was the submissive, after all, who got to enjoy all the delicious, wicked things her dominant did to her body, without any form of guilt.

Once she’d changed into the flimsy nightie, she stared into the full-length cheval mirror. Who was she kidding? She looked far too pale, and she knew she’d lost weight since Kirk’s untimely death. She certainly didn’t measure up to the beautiful Jessica, Max’s voluptuous, ebony girlfriend. She felt a certain satisfaction that their relationship was now over and Jessica had returned home to St. Lucia, but how could she ever hope to compete with such a curvaceous, dusky beauty?

Ella released her ponytail and pulled a brush through her hair. All she had to do was focus on getting through tonight. Tomorrow was another day. She realized, as she pulled on the blue silk gown and wrapped it tightly around her body, that she needed Max to find her attractive. It had been a long time since she and Kirk had even made love. Their marriage had faltered to such an extent that she felt unconfident about her own sexual allure. Would anyone ever want her again? Max said he did, but those were just words. Throwaway lines. Maybe he’d said the very same words to a thousand other women?
 

When her whole body shivered as she walked across the dimly lit courtyard to Max’s room, she put it down to the cool night air. Yet deep down, she knew it was the unrelenting flow of adrenaline coursing through her veins. Ella had finally come to the decision that she should lay her cards on the table, too. After all, life was too short.

The subdued lighting from his bedroom cast an eerie glow over the cobblestone pathway, which led to the impressive glass door. It was slightly open, and she pulled it back to enter. Her heart somersaulted. Max was already in bed, and reading a book. His naked chest showed the well-honed signs of a man who kept in tip-top condition. A dark smattering of hair covered the bare flesh and disappeared seductively below the sheets.

Perhaps enjoying her embarrassment, he smiled as she entered. “There you are.” As she began to slide the door closed, he added, “Leave it slightly open. It’s soothing to hear the fountains late at night, especially if you can’t sleep.”

Ella did as he asked, and then walked confidently into the room, feeling anything but. This was Max. She’d known him for years. Surely she could speak openly with him on any subject? Yet all she could manage to say was, “Max,” whispered so quietly she felt sure he wouldn’t hear.

“Yes, Ella,” he answered, proving his hearing was as impressive as the rest of him. He patted the empty space beside him. “Why don’t you get into bed?”

“That’s just it, Max. I want to say something first.” Instead of slipping under the sheets, she walked and stood in front of him. She watched him close his book and place it on the bedside table. He turned back and looked expectantly at her. His silver-gray eyes burned brightly.