Delusive (21 page)

I was absent, and because I was, he’d turned forgetful and had forgotten to take his medication. I blamed myself for not being here, the only person who could take care of him when he got this way. He must’ve felt alone for too long, rendering him unable to function. “I haven’t lost my focus, Dad.”

“Oh? Oh?” He rocked on his heels and wagged his index finger at me. “I see it in your eyes. I tried to deny it, but I see it. Don’t believe his lies, Hanley. Don’t fall for him. Don’t disappoint Frankie and me.”
 

“I needed to spend the weekend with him. It won’t happen again without what we talked about. It will go back to what we planned. I promise.”

He grabbed my face, hurting me with his grip. He was so far gone, I knew it wasn’t intentional. “I’m losing her. What am I going to do if things go wrong again, and instead, I lose you?”

“You won’t lose me. Elias means nothing to me.”

The man who raised me knew when I lied no matter how hard I tried to hide it. There was nothing I could do to make him believe that I felt nothing for Elias. It was a lie I couldn’t make sound convincing.

As if I had said the truth, he closed his eyes. Despondency clouded his face as he slumped to the floor. “If I had the strength, I would keep you from seeing him again. You will focus on what matters, even if I have to force you to.” He brought his knees up to his chest and stared at the wall. “Do not disappoint me again.”

Disappointment: A word which tore me apart whenever he said it. “I won’t,” I swore to him, my voice quavering with regret. “I’ll go get your meds and a glass of water.” I walked down the hall before my legs failed me. I slipped down against the wall and, for a moment, let down the wall of strength I always had in place—the wall that was decrepit and barely together.

FOURTEEN

WHILE GATHERING MY KEYS from my clutch as I walked in the parking lot—ready to go home after my grueling shift—I was greeted by Elias sitting on the hood of his car, in the place my car should’ve been. It further pushed me into bitchy territory, being that I got the car back just yesterday.

He gave me a grin I couldn’t match as he took me in his arms and kissed me. “You stood me up last night and didn’t answer my calls or texts. I was worried about you, Hanley.”

“I had to leave work early yesterday for a family emergency,” I explained, trying to take his hands from my waist, but his strength overcame mine. He held me tightly, pressing my body against his. “Where is my car, Elias?”

“Being detailed,” he said nonchalantly. “What’s going on with you? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“It was just my father…having an episode.”

“Episode?” he asked, the word slipping slowly from his lips.

“He has his good and bad days.”

His eyes shot up to the sky as though he suddenly realized the truth. “Is that why you live with him? To care for him? He needs professional assistance. Assistance you can’t and shouldn’t be expected to provide. It pisses me off that his burden is being carried on your back.”

“Look,” I snapped, “I understand you missed my mouth around your cock, but there is this crazy little thing called a hand. If that’s all you wanted, you could’ve used that, or the stripper slash housekeeper slash Jaco’s friend with benefits. You don’t have to insult my father or my relationship with him because you were horny last night.”

He held steadily to his wry smile. “I’m in a good mood, Ley. Don’t persuade my mood to swing somewhere else. If I only wanted to see you so I could fuck your mouth, nothing would’ve stopped it from happening.”

I lifted a brow at him. “You have to earn the right to talk to me like that. Making me come countless times in a weekend doesn’t grant you that privilege.”

He chuckled and brought a hand down his face. “I was right about how dangerous you were, but for all the wrong reasons. Ah, Hanley.” He came forward, his fingertips grazing the side of my face. “You don’t want me to fall too hard for you. It’s a very scary state for me to be in, and do you know why?”

I shrugged, urging him to answer.

“Because I’ve never completely fallen for someone before.” He slipped a small piece of paper from his back pocket, slowly unfolding it. “The title. Real. Authentic. Officially yours.”

“I’m worth more than a car.”

“I have full knowledge of what you’re worth,
minha amada
. Come home with me and I’ll show you a little taste of what I think that is.”

“I can’t.” I averted my eyes, the words paining me to say. “It bothers me that you seem at odds with a man you’ve never met. It’s important that you are at least indifferent, if you can’t like him. Maybe it would help if you actually met him?”

“I don’t do that—the meeting of the parents,” he rejected the idea quickly. “Never have and never will.”

“No, you wouldn’t do anything out of the ordinary for me,” I said with enough irritation to cloud the air between us.

“Of all the women I’ve dated, there are many things I’ve done out of the ordinary for you. With all that your father is putting you through,” he leaned down, whispering against my lips, “let me take your mind…and your body to a better place.” The moment my lips parted, inviting him to kiss me, he began to walk backward. “I have plans for you, and I promise when you find out what they are, you’re going to beg for what I want to give you.”

HE DIDN’T SAY a word nor did he kiss me when we reached his bedroom. The moment the door slammed behind his entry, I turned around to regard him.

His eyes were cast to the floor, a cruel smirk pressed across his lips. He stood there, stilly, in a pensive state for too many uncomfortable moments.
 

“Elias?”

He held up a finger, stalking toward me. “I have an issue with being disrespected and ignored…again. I have an even bigger issue with the way you spoke to me earlier.” He grabbed my head, his palms pressing into my cheekbones. The abrupt and possessive touch startled me, provoking a gasp. “Apologize to me.”

I blinked, stunned by the sudden change in his mood.

“Stubborn silence, is it?” He pushed me back until I fell back on the bed. He reached for his belt, removing it slowly. “Hold up your hands. And please, shut the fuck up until you are asked to speak.”

My hands shook as I raised my wrists up to him. Inside, I wanted to fight and say something worse than I had in the parking lot. Another was full of desire, wanting him to do whatever he wanted to me as long as it meant a repeat of the weekend we’d spent together.
 

He looped the belt around my hands and pulled it through the fastener until the belt tightened, biting into my skin. He pushed my arms up and back, forcing my arms above my head. Wrapping the free end around the exposed base of the headboard, he intertwined the end of the belt around the pole, ensuring it was secured tightly. Crawling on the bed, he pushed my legs open until they draped around him. “I can do anything I want to do to your body and there is nothing you can do to stop me.” He held my trembling thighs firmly, steadying them. “Does knowing that make you wet?”

I shook my head.

“You’re lying to me,
minha amada
.” He roughly slid my panties down my legs. The once soft lace cut into my legs and scratched my sensitive skin. He loosened his tie, removed it, and unbuttoned a few buttons at the top of his collared shirt. He slipped down and pressed his mouth against my slit.

My mouth opened to release a surprised gasp. He wasn’t gentle; he aimed to make me feel his mouth on me and bring about the pleasure quickly.
 

His fingers slid inside me, his mouth and tongue lashed at my clit with a constant harsh pressure. My body fell into shock, turning stiff underneath him. My mouth remained open, unable to expel any coherent word-sounds. My legs began to shake with a violence that rattled the bed. He stopped, leaving me lingering at a peak. Slamming my legs down, he forced them to lay flat against the bed. He moved forward and up to hover over my body. His hand wrapped around my neck, threatening to cut off my air supply. His free hand worked deftly to remove his cock from his pants. The head pulsed at my slit, wanting inside.

“Apologize to me, Hanley, or you will remain tied to this bed. I will fuck, suck, and lick your pussy until you’re on the verge, and stop. I’ll never let you come.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. The thought of feeling what I did a moment earlier—over and over again—elicited a riot inside me. I wanted the release. I wanted him.

Taking pleasure in my agony, his teeth sank into the corner of his smirk and his eyes glimmered under the dim light. “You think that’s enough? If you want me to make you come…” His hips shoved forward, only the head of his cock slid inside me. He rocked shallowly and at a dismaying pace. My wet sex contracted, hoping vainly to keep him inside of me. “Make me believe you are very”—his hands pressed across my throat, cutting off enough of my air supply that I fell into a panic—“very sorry.”
 

My mouth flew open desperate for more air.
 

“Hanley,” he warned.

“I’m sorry,” I said through strained breaths and a hoarse voice. “Please forgive me and make me come.”

He raised a brow, his grin broadening. He continued, entering only a small portion of himself and withdrawing in a slow aggravating manner.
 

“I won’t disrespect you again,” I promised effusively. “Please, please give me your cock. I want it. I want…you.”

“Oh? And how badly do you want me, Hanley?” He reached down and began to strum his thumb against my clit, awakening a sensation that felt like I was stuck in limbo. He circled the sensitive part of my nub, bringing forth tremors from my thighs.

I sucked in air, choking on what little his hold would allow. The rush crept up slowly, and as if sensing it, he stopped touching me. “Please, I’ll do anything.”

Grabbing his cock he directed the head to slap my clit repeatedly. “Would you cry for me?”

“Yes,” I cried out, my eyes watering. “Please, please. I need it.”

“What is it you need, Hanley?”

“Your cock.”

“And why do you, a disrespectful, foul-mouthed brat deserve to be fucked so hard you soak my bed with your cum? What will you do for it?”

“Anything you want me to.”

“Good.” He withdrew and shifted on the bed to lay beside to me. His hand settled on my pelvis as his head rested in the crook of my neck. “I’m not going to wish you sweet dreams. You won’t get to sleep long enough to dream. Every hour on the hour, I’m going to bring you to the edge and never let you come.” He kissed my shoulder and sighed as though he was at complete ease.

I stared at the ceiling, tormented and wanting to scream every obscenity I knew at him. I lay there, allowing him to do whatever he wanted to me. It wasn’t because I didn’t have a choice; deep down, I wanted it.

He was a man of his word. Every hour on the hour his tongue, fingers, or cock teased me, bringing me to the brink of an orgasm, and he never allowed me to be fully satisfied. His torture endured until it was time for me to get ready for work.
 

We showered together in the morning, and he took the opportunity to tease me one more time by fucking me against the shower wall and stopping on the cusp of my orgasm.

He drove me to work in silence. I had nothing to say. I was too busy focusing on the agony.

I nearly ran out of the car when he pulled up to the main entrance of the mall. He grabbed my arm, halting me before I could exit the car. “Every two hours I want you to excuse yourself. You can use the bathroom or a dressing room, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re out of sight. I want you to emulate what I did to you last night. If you come, your punishment won’t end. But if you obey”—he neared me, holding my head as he brushed his lips against mine—“I promise you, the reward will be worth every second of your suffering.” With a smugness that irritated and turned me on all at once, he kissed me gently. “Have a good day at work.”

THE INSTANT I had time to steal away to the bathroom, I tried to disobey Elias. The moment I began to slide my hands up my skirt and into my panties, my phone rang. I thought to ignore it, but I couldn’t.

“Hello?”

“Are you being disobedient, Hanley?”

Sighing, I whispered, “No, Elias. I don’t know how I’m going to get away with this. Penelope—”

“She won’t give you an issue.”

“Right, because your father’s company owns the building and could make the situation bad for the retail space.”

“It’s an oversimplification of what would happen—what happens to most people who cross me. Now that I’ve given you a reminder, you’re going to behave, correct?”

Fuck you, Elias.
“Yes, Elias.” I clicked end call with gusto, poking my finger harshly on the screen as though it was Elias’s disarmingly beautiful face. I ignored his threats and slid my hands back inside my panties. Knowing my hands were a fraud, my body rebelled. My hands did nothing to alleviate the torture he forced me to endure. I was thrust into complying when I no longer wanted to.

IT WAS OBVIOUS to anyone who saw me that I was in anguish. Penelope periodically asked me what my issue was during the day, and there wasn’t an answer I could give her.

At closing, I continuously rocked, uncomfortable with the persistent wetness lingering at the crux of my thighs. “Are you done yet?” I asked Penelope, swearing she purposely took too long. It was her fourth recount of the day’s profits.