Fighting Fate (15 page)

‘I’ll get my mouth down there and let you fuck my throat ‘til you fill my belly, if you take me to your place.’

He let her keep going for a few more seconds then took her hand off his groin and curled her fingers around his knee.

‘We have to go to the mansion. If we go to mine they’ll just come over to find out what is going on.’

‘So we tell them,’ she said. ‘Isn’t that what you said that you were going to do?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I haven’t had a chance to talk to Mauri in private. I have to talk to him first.’

‘You’ll get that chance if you take me to yours.’

‘Mauri won’t be the one who comes over and even if he did, he wouldn’t be alone… there’s a line of respect, babygirl—‘

‘Don’t say babygirl to me in that patronising tone,’ she said, removing herself from his person and taking his hands off her. ‘I thought you were a man, Dax. I guess I’ve been sucking too hard on those balls you carry around in your pants, I seem to have more ‘nads than you do.’

‘If you start running your mouth you’re gonna make me do something that we’ll both regret.’

His fingers worked the steering wheel, squeezing and twisting around it. ‘I’m not afraid of you, Dax. Do your worst with your superior fighting talent.’

Surging forward, he fired the car into a rest area and slammed on the brakes to bring the vehicle to an abrupt halt.

‘Have I ever hit you?’ he asked with a snarling rage.

‘Well the spanking—‘

‘That’s a different thing and you know it. Have I ever hit you in anger?’

‘No,’ she confessed, confused by the fury he displayed now. ‘But you just said—‘

‘Let’s get one thing straight, babygirl. Just because I don’t do things your way doesn’t mean I’m a coward. I do things my way and you better get damn used to that, fast, because from now on that’s how you’ll be doing things as well.’

‘So I’m supposed to sit tight in this guy’s big house because you tell me to? And if his men choose to take turns of me—‘

‘I’ve already told you that won’t happen.’

Seizing her wrist, he wrestled her back to his side. ‘Let go of me!’ she protested, trying with her other hand to get him off her, to no avail.

‘I’ve claimed you, Minx. You’re mine.’

‘Claiming me in private means nothing,’ she hissed. ‘Are you afraid of them?’

‘Mauri’s given me everything and now I’m stealing his son’s girl.’

‘You’re ashamed of your feelings for me?’

‘Yeah,’ he said, without hesitation and his scowl deepened. ‘I vowed never to screw Mauri over and that’s what I’m doing. So yeah, I’m gonna send you in there and you’re gonna play along just like you have been. I’m not going to embarrass Mauri, we’re gonna handle this right and give him the respect he deserves. That way, when I tell him what’s going on, he might be open to the idea of not forcing you to marry Trystan. Mauri shouldn’t be inconvenienced just because I can’t get the scent of your skin off of mine, or that vision of your god damn smile out of my head.’

‘Because he’s not the one who has done anything wrong, we are,’ she said not meaning a word of it, which she figured Dax knew except he showed no hint of acknowledging her sarcasm.

‘Yeah. We are. This was never supposed to happen. And it’s not Mauri’s fault that touching you makes me wanna slam the door and keep us alone and naked all day. It’s not his fault that whenever you look at me with that goddamn unimpressed scowl I wanna go out and find myself a no-bell, no-forfeit fight. I’m a guy who is always in control, that’s what Mauri knows, I’ve worked hard for him, I have. I’m the problem-solver, not the problem-creator and you, Minx, are one major head-fucking problem! One I could do without!’

‘Do you love me, Dax?’

His grip loosened with the jolt that question gave him, it was obvious now that his adrenaline was coursing. ‘You looking for a fucking ring?’

‘No, but this is a rough call for you. From what you’ve said this situation could rip your family apart. You’ll have to dishonour the man you consider to be your father in order to be with me. If you’re not sure that you love me, then is this worth it?’

She was aware that her question could backfire but what she hoped was that it would give him some clarity, which might push him into action.

‘So if I don’t plan to keep you forever then what? You’d rather marry Trystan?’

‘I would rather not be the cause of conflict in your family for you to decide to dump me in six months. Then none of you are happy with me and I’ve lost all hope of protection.’

‘You won’t get the chance to fuck around with other dudes,’ he said. ‘It’s my job to make sure of that—‘

‘What does that have to do with—‘

‘The only thing you could do to make me mad enough to maybe hate you is fuck around. I won’t let that happen.’

‘Do you love me? Don’t tear your family apart and ruin your life unless you’re sure. You’ll only end up resenting me.’

His face hardened, but his eyes left hers and for every passing second she prayed that he was coming to the conclusion that his feelings for her were deep and true.

‘If you love me then we have to get out of here now,’ she said, linking their fingers. ‘We don’t have to go back to that place, we can’t reason with the illogical.’ It was illogical to assume that she would marry Trystan without putting up a fight, but the Stark family had believed that she would. ‘Let’s not walk into another of their prisons, I might not get out of this one, Dax. Baby, let’s just go… please?’

‘No,’ he murmured and his eyes crept back to her. Now stony and cold, they littered ice across her. ‘Mauri’s going to listen; this is all going to work out.’

Slamming the car back into gear, he sped away from the rest area sending a scattering of loose chips firing up behind them. Their speed was greater this time and her anxiety kicked up.

‘Where are we going?’

‘The mansion,’ he said, his focus fixed out the windshield.

‘But… if we go in there—‘

‘We’re going in there,’ he said. ‘You’re right. If you force me to betray him now and leave with you… I will end up resenting you for forcing my hand. Mauri gave me a job, to get you to the mansion, and I’ve never let him down yet.’

‘You’re not letting him down,’ she said, swamped with the dread of panic. ‘We didn’t intend for this to happen and—‘

‘And I’m going to explain that to him, Mauri will get it, he will.’

‘Why do you need them so much?’ she asked, seeing his determination grow. ‘Why can’t you just walk away with me?’

‘Because they’re my family. Mauri didn’t have to feed me and train me and watch out for me, but he did. He’s a good guy. You’ve never even met him, you don’t know him, not like I do.’

‘I’m scared, Dax. I don’t want to go in there and never see you again.’

‘You will see me again. You’re gonna keep playing along, just like you have been. You’re a good actress.’

‘Implying what? Are you accusing me of lying about my feelings for you?’ she asked.

‘Maybe. Best way to save yourself, right?’

‘You don’t believe that. Are you scared of loving me? Is that why you cling to them? You can’t really believe that I don’t feel for you, I do, Dax. It’s no easier for me to admit that than it is for you to admit it to me.’ The closer they got to the house the faster her words became. ‘Please, Dax, I do, I love you. I don’t want to go in there, I want to get out of here with you. Please, Dax, please don’t take me in there.’

Then they turned the corner and drove into the entrance of the mansion through the already open gates and she fell into silence.

Pressed to the back of her seat, she dug her nails into the leather by her thighs, frozen with the futile terror of what was to come. Part of her couldn’t fault Dax for not trusting her completely and being torn in his loyalties. If he had dropped Mauri in a heartbeat she’d have questions about how deep Dax’s respect for Mauri went, and about how long Dax’s loyalty to her might last. But right now, given the circumstances, she couldn’t forgive him this. He would leave her here to her fate and she had no idea what that would be.

Past the tall, swaying trees and the lawns, which were being watered by an immense sprinkler system, she saw a large white house accented with deep red and dark grey. The long covered portico was where they were headed. When Dax stopped the car, she immediately jumped out. She didn’t manage to get too far, he caught up with her at the trunk. Grabbing her arms, he slammed her down on the searing metal using his bent body to restrain hers.

‘Where do you think you’re going, Minx? You’re going in there to be a good girl.’

‘No,’ she huffed, spitting out her hair and turning her head to rest her cheek on the trunk. ‘I won’t. It’s over, Dax, I trusted you for too long.’

‘You’ve got no choice,’ he snarled into her ear. ‘You disobey them and you’ll ruin my rep, big deal, that’s not what you should worry about. They’ll fucking torture you if you defy them. Do you remember what it is to exist in the state of starvation and dehydration? They’ll beat you, might even rape you… you remember what the fear of that is like, don’t you?’

‘You’re a fucking jerk!’

‘That anyway to talk to the man you love?’

His pelvis thrust forward, locking her in place. Undulating his hips, he rubbed his erection on her ass. ‘I didn’t mean it,’ she sneered. ‘You were right, I was using you.’

He laughed. ‘No chance. I know that you meant it, Minx.’

Clamping her wrists in his hand, he held her down at the small of her back and lifted her skirt, coiling the fabric around her imprisoned hands.

‘No,’ she said. ‘No, don’t think about—‘ The first smack silenced her and she grit her teeth for the second.

‘You’ve got to stop misbehaving.’

His body bowed over hers, covering her bare derriere. ‘Don’t you dare put your hands on me again you sonofabitch.’

‘The girl who loves me will take what I want to give,’ he growled, smoothing his palm down her ass cheek and across to slip two fingers into her panties to seek out her clit, which he began to stimulate in circular motions.

The warmth of her juices began to ooze from her central canal so she squeezed her eyes closed, trying to prevent the rush of blood to her swelling tissues.

‘You love it, babygirl, and you know that you do. No other guy can make you feel like I can, you’re ruined for them all, which means you’ll do whatever I say and still beg for your reward.’

‘Go fuck yourself,’ she snapped.

‘I plan on fucking you, again and again because you are my female, Minx,’ he said through grit teeth. ‘How many times have I told you to trust me?’

‘You can’t ask me to do that when you’re dumping me here.’

‘You’re going to go in there and keep your mouth shut. I’m not bored of you yet, I want more of you. You’re going in there to wait for me.’

‘Wait for you?’

He flipped her over and pulled her to her feet. The door was opened before they got there and he yanked her against his side. ‘You’re going to wait for me and you’re going to trust me, understand?’ he whispered.

Looking over her shoulder, their eyes met, and the ferocity he returned was calm fortitude. With him at her back and the thugs coming out of the mansion, she had little choice except to accept his terms.

The grip on her arm was swapped from Dax’s hand to another man’s and with another glance back she was swallowed into the Stark mansion and there was no going back.

For two days Ivy speculated as to what was going on behind the scenes. She had not seen much of the grand mansion. After arriving, she was led up one side of a double staircase, then she was taken to the back of the building and put into a bedroom, which had a pale carpet and grand oak sleigh bed.

She felt a bit like the princess in the ivory tower; alone and waiting for rescue. She had her own shower room and Rita brought her food, other than that Ivy saw no one.

Late on the second day, Rita came to her room again, this time with Serg in tow. ‘We’re going upstairs,’ Rita said. ‘Mauri wants to talk to you.’

Serg and Rita took her out of the bedroom and through corridors, presumably their destination was wherever Mauri was located. At last Ivy was going to meet the Great and Powerful Oz. Her fizzling anticipation didn’t know whether to be in the range of fear or excitement.

Without word from Dax, all she could do was maintain the façade of obedience she’d upheld at the beach house. The dream scenario was that Dax had done what he had said he would and spoken to Mauri about the feelings they had developed for each other. If he had, hopefully she was about to get her reprieve and by tonight she would be back in Dax’s arms ensconced in his apartment.

But if their last conversation was any kind of barometer for where their relationship was headed, it was as likely that Dax had washed his hands of her and chosen Mauri Stark instead of choosing to be with her. If Ivy found herself in that situation then her future would be bleak. Dax had once told her that she’d never win against him if they were on opposing sides. From what she herself had witnessed, she knew that was probably true.

She, Serg, and Rita stopped at broad double doors, Rita opened one of them but didn’t go inside, so it was Serg who urged Ivy forward.

Inside this large office, three men stood by the window and Brad sat at the desk addressing the two men opposite him. Two of the three men at the window, one of whom was Bruno, stopped talking to look at her while Serg closed the door.

Opposite Bruno was Dax, who had his back to her meaning he hadn’t seen her yet. Dashing over, she made sure that he’d notice her because she fell to her knees at his side, just as Bruno had conditioned her to do. It wasn’t the conditioning that made her do it, but the need to confirm if her ally was indeed still her ally. She didn’t even care that the men in the room laughed, she just looked up, waiting for Dax to look down, which he eventually did.

‘Get up,’ Dax murmured and she rose.

‘No, leave her down there, see what else she’ll do,’ one of the men guffawed.

‘Ivy.’

Turning toward the voice, she saw Brad coming toward her, he held a hand out, and she looked at Dax before touching him. ‘It’s ok,’ Dax said with a roll of his eyes.

She took Brad’s hand and he kissed the back of it. ‘You gentleman can excuse us. We have family business to discuss,’ Brad said.

The men began to file out and Dax went right along with them. Ivy watched his every move, but Dax didn’t look at her again. A compulsion to join him, to stay at his side despite their cross words, overwhelmed her, but while Brad still had a hold of her hand she had no choice except to remain here.

‘Would you like something to drink?’ Brad asked when everyone was gone, and she shook her head. ‘There’s no need for you to be nervous here. You’re part of the family now. You’ve proved yourself.’

A door at the back of the room opened, in walked a tall man with dark grey hair. His suit matched his hair colour and he came straight over to the desk, carrying with him a confident air. Brad led her toward the chair on the opposite side of the desk and as she got closer she noticed white flecked through the grey hair and his equally grey eyes.

‘Ivy,’ the older man said. ‘I am Maurice Stark.’

He held out a hand and Brad handed her over to Mauri, the men exchanged a look, then Brad evaporated from the room.

‘Please, take a seat,’ Maurice said after he let her go.

Keeping her eyes front, she took a half step backwards and her calves hit the leather of a chair, so she sat down.

‘It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,’ Maurice said. ‘I have heard about you from many sources, and you are just as beautiful as I have been told.’ It didn’t seem, from this genial air, that Dax had said anything about their relationship.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘Do you know why you are here?’ She shook her head, she didn’t want to reveal what Dax had told her, in case he hadn’t been supposed to say anything. ‘My son, Trystan, has taken a shine to you and we want you to formally join the family. You have seen some of what we can offer. The Stark family are very successful, we own a dry cleaning firm and a haulage company and as you can see from where we are, we live very comfortably. Bruno assures me that you will be happy to accept our invitation, is that correct?’

What Ivy needed was time alone with Dax to find out if there was actually a plan in place, or if she was on her own. If it was the latter then all bets were off and she was going to find her way out of here by any means necessary. Not that she’d been ignoring chances to escape, her windows didn’t open and her bedroom door was constantly locked.

The life that the Starks were offering was one of extravagance, and she would never again have to worry about paying a bill, or being alone or in trouble. But that wasn’t enough to offset what it would mean to be joined with a man like Trystan Stark. He wouldn’t be a good husband or a good father, and he wouldn’t treat her well. She would sacrifice luxury for principle, because to her there was no better reason.

At the moment, she wasn’t in a position to say any of that to Mauri. This was as deep into the dragon’s lair as one could get, there was nowhere to run to, and so she went with plan B.

‘I… I do what my master tells me to,’ she said, portraying herself as weak and vulnerable, giving Mauri an ego boost with regards to his power of intimidation, while simultaneously lulling him into a false sense of security.

‘Your master?’

‘Dax.’

‘Ah,’ he said, and a broad smile adorned his face. ‘You have become enraptured by him?’

‘I must admit I’ve… I’ve been a little lost without his direction over the past couple of days.’

‘But you will do as he tells you?’ Maurice asked, peering closer. ‘If he instructs you to join the family then you will do so?’

‘He is my owner,’ she said, blinking a couple of times, and managing to smile. ‘I want to make him happy.’

‘Good. That’s excellent,’ Maurice said and stood up. ‘That is all that I wanted to hear from you, Ivy. You can go back to your room now.’

Springing to her feet, she nodded once, and went toward the door, hoping that she would be allowed to return to her room alone thus enabling a getaway, except she wasn’t. Serg was waiting on the other side of the office door when she stepped out into the corridor and he took her back to her bedroom, locking her safely inside. She hadn’t seen Dax again, but she knew he was still around, and Ivy just had to believe that he’d find a way to get to her.

Dax had anticipated that he would get to go home when he finished his business with Mauri. But as he pulled on his helmet and kicked away the stand from his motorcycle, he glanced up and saw her figure in the window. Ivy was there, right there, almost within reach, and it was too tempting an opportunity to pass up. So he set the bike back on its stand and shoved the helmet over one of the handlebars.

Stalking back up the stairs, he was determined that this conversation wouldn’t last long. He wasn’t allowed to touch her anymore, but that didn’t prevent him from making a stop on the way to her room to pick up the bag of things Bruno had cast aside from their time at the beach house.

He knew this house well and where she was located was actually part of the staff quarters, meaning it wasn’t a frequently trafficked area. No one was guarding the bedroom when he reached it. The Stark mansion was secure, Ivy would struggle to get out of here without being noticed, especially since she didn’t know the layout, not like he did.

Seeing Ivy again, in Mauri’s office, gave Dax a new purpose. Her skin had been pale and her spirit dampened, but there was no doubting that she still had fire, she still had fight, and damn if she wasn’t as beautiful as ever.

Picking the bedroom lock took no time at all, and he would be able to lock it again on exiting. If he wanted to go downstairs and get the master key, he could, but he didn’t want to waste any time in getting to her.

Opening the door, he strode in, and dropped the bag, kicking the door shut behind him. There she was, standing at the bottom of the bed. She gasped and turned, and her hand flew up to her chest.

‘Oh my god, Dax, you scared me,’ she hissed.

‘Have you been visited at night by anyone else?’ he asked, suddenly concerned that he hadn’t fulfilled his duty of caring for her and protecting her as he’d promised he would.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Hence why you scared me.’

She was wearing a satin night gown thing that hung on lace straps and was short enough that he could admire the full length of her legs.

‘Are you going to give me shit?’ he asked.

‘I should,’ she said. ‘You brought me here, you left me here… I thought…’

‘What did you think?’

‘I didn’t know what to think, Dax. You let me see who you are and I fell in love with that man, but… then you throw up the shutters and you become what they want you to be. You become what they made you. I don’t want to be with that man. I want to be with the man who won’t let go of my hand all night. I want to be with the man who turns me over his knee when I piss him off then caresses and kisses me to make me feel valued. All I’ve ever wanted in life is to belong somewhere. I realise now that it’s not about where, it’s about who.’

He’d expected her to be angry after the way he had treated her in the car. She was definitely hurt and maybe confused, but she wasn’t the only one. She came over to him and her arms rose as though to encircle his neck. Capturing her wrists, he held her arms together, while keeping their bodies apart.

‘We can’t do that,’ he said. Being with her, kissing her, was actually the thing that he wanted most in the world. But if he let her lay those lips on him then he’d lose all of his restraint.

‘If you’re not here to have sex with me then why are you here?’ she asked, shaking her hands free of his.

Sensing that she was becoming defensive, he knew that he had to defuse her wariness or they would end up in another fight. He didn’t have the time to soothe her from that, or the inclination to appease her. Although that wasn’t entirely true because appeasing her did things to him that he always had the time for. But if she started screaming bloody murder and he was caught here then they could both get into serious trouble.

So to put her at ease he reached for honesty, and was surprised by how easy it was to be open with her. ‘Because you’re damn beautiful and I can’t keep myself away… Come here.’ Grabbing up the bag, he caught her wrist and tugged her toward the bed. ‘Lie down.’

‘Are you kidding?’ she asked. ‘You won’t let me touch you, but you want me to get on the bed?’

‘I want you to get naked too,’ he said, shirking his jacket and tossing it aside. ‘Come on, babygirl, let me have some fun.’

‘What does that mean?’ she asked, slipping the lace from her shoulders to let the satin shimmer to the floor. ‘You want to torment me into frustration and then leave me hanging?’

She crawled onto the bed, giving him a bare ass view and he shivered as he licked his lips. Not touching her would be the toughest thing he’d ever done. He knew how perfect the glove of her body fit onto his, and how the slick heat of her clamped around him when he took her to climax. He’d never experienced anything like it in his entire existence.

‘Lie on your back and relax,’ he said. Dumping the bag on the bed, he unzipped it.

She rolled to her back, lying horizontal on the bed, from one side to the other, and pulled up her knees to let her legs flop apart and for a moment he forgot his own name.

‘That’s just perfect,’ he said, still unable to remove his eyes from her centre.

‘Dax, we need to talk. I told them that I’d do whatever you said, but—‘

‘We’ll talk when I’m through.’

‘Through with what?’ she asked and he drew the pink, metallic, bullet shaped object from the bag. ‘What is that?’ Her tone had become more wary and she clamped her legs together.

‘Just relax,’ he said, taking his proper place on the bed beside her. Lying on his side, Dax touched the tip of the toy to the inside of her knee when she loosened her muscles enough to let them part by an inch.

‘I don’t want you to…’

He turned the base of the object and the gentle buzz made her words disappear. Very gradually, Dax traced the cool metal down the inside of her thigh, letting the vibrations relax her legs further apart. The leg closest to him relaxed onto his and the contact was almost enough to shatter his resolve, despite the denim barrier of his own jeans that kept their flesh from touching.

‘Does that feel nice?’ he murmured and she nodded. ‘Close your eyes.’