Coming Undone (2 page)

“What do you know about the woman whose shoes you’re filling?”

She frowned. “What woman?”

Oh, Salim. He hadn’t told her. “The last woman Salim
kept
,”—RJ spat the word out like it was poison—“disappeared three years ago. No one’s heard from her since.”

McKenna’s big brown eyes grew wider with each word he spoke, but RJ saw the denials forming before she spoke a word.

“What does this have to do with me?”

RJ had to smile. “She lasted two years with him.” He held her gaze and asked quietly, “You’ll hit the two year mark in April, correct?”

She stared at him in silence while the words fell between them, registering later than he thought they would. When she caught his meaning, she actually gaped at him.

“You think Salim’s going to what…kill me in April?” She shook off his hold with a laugh. “Listen, I don’t know where you came from, and I don’t really care. I just want you out of my house so I can get some sleep.”

“Salim’s house.” RJ retained his hold on her waist.

“Huh?” She squinted at him.

“This isn’t your house,” RJ reminded her. “It’s Salim’s. Just like the money in your bank account is his, the food in your fridge is his, and the clothes on your back are his.”

Her eyes flashed fire.

“Sure, you’ve earned it, but let’s face it, your cunt is also bought and paid for with Salim’s money. He can fuck you however and whenever, but you, like all the others before, have an expiration date.” RJ dropped his hold on McKenna’s waist then.

She crossed her arms and looked him over with a prejudiced eye. “What’s this about really? You’re not getting any play so you hone in on someone else’s action?”

Well, he had given her the opening to lash out at his manhood. RJ couldn’t hold it against her. He kept his face impassive, and let his gaze wander over her heart-shaped face and down to her breasts straining against the tight material of her dress. A small purplish bruise marred the skin above her left breast.

RJ sighed and met her eyes again. “Do you honestly think Salim will keep you forever?” She opened her mouth and he rushed on. “Matter of fact, do you want to be kept forever? Will you keep taking the rough treatment and the bruises indefinitely?”

“You know nothing about me, whoever the fuck you are,” she snapped. “My business is mine alone.”

“No.” RJ grabbed her wrist and held it up. The marks were still there, but fading, restraining marks from being tied down, no doubt. “Your business is Salim’s business, and his is mine.”

She tugged her hand, but RJ tightened his hold.

“You won’t be able to keep him blinded with sex forever, not that he is now.” RJ had no idea if he was getting through to her. She had a damn good poker face when she tried. “He’ll tire of tying you up, of whipping you one day.”

Her throat worked.

“One day soon he’ll get bored of sharing you with his friends, of watching them fuck
you, and you’ll be gone. Disappear without a trace.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. Why would he? All he has to say is it’s over, and I’ll be history. He won’t have to kill me.”

RJ barked a laugh. “Jesus, for a whore you’re really naïve. Salim isn’t just a diplomat. His reach goes beyond that to drugs, prostitution. Murder. The men he shares you with are the same, his partners in crime. You know their names, their faces. You can hurt them.”

“But…” She shook violently. “I… Why would he go through all this,”—she waved a hand at the room—“only to kill me later?”

RJ shrugged. “It’s a game. One you’re not aware you’re in the middle of until your time runs out.” Salim was sick like that.

McKenna curled in on herself on the floor. “I want you to leave. Now.”

“Help me help you, McKenna. I can get you out of the mess you’re in, but I need your trust and your silence.”

She snorted. “Like I’m going to put my fate in the hands of a creepy, scarred stranger. Fuck outta here.”

RJ took much offense to the creepy part of her statement, but he held his tongue on that. “I don’t have to be a stranger. I want to help, if you’ll let me. I can make it so you never have to deal with Salim ever again.”

“Then do it,” she snapped. “Without me. I want no part of your plan.”

He got to his feet and looked down at her. She’d looked taller, bigger from far away when he’d followed her and Salim, but here, now, she looked beaten down and frail. Helpless. RJ frowned.

“I’ll go, for now.” He walked to the doorway and looked over his shoulder. “Make no mistake, McKenna, I’ll be taking Salim down. It’s up to you if it’s going to be before or after he kills you.”

Chapter Two

For a whore you really are naïve.
McKenna stared down at her phone without seeing it, hoping it rang. Praying it didn’t. She sat in the lobby of the spa with two of Salim’s men as they waited for their boss to arrive.

It was Wednesday, after all, and on Wednesdays they had lunch. And daytime sex. Routines McKenna had gotten used to over the past couple of years. Routines she’d depended on. The man in her bedroom the night before was not a part of her routine, but he appeared hell-bent on fucking with hers.

That wasn’t going to happen.

For a whore…for a whore…
She didn’t like that word. It was the correct one, but still, she didn’t like it. The man with scars on his face and the black patch over his right eye thought her naïve. He assumed, like she’d hoped, that she had no idea of Salim’s darker side. The violent sex was no big deal. She considered that her penance. The occasional gang bang kept her alive, as long as she played her part. No, she knew all about Salim’s darker side, but it wasn’t like she could drop in to one of the precincts in her neighborhood and divulge any secrets.

Salim liked to think he had her properly in her place, too scared to do anything but lie on her back and think of freedom. He’d know soon enough she wasn’t the passive sort, but first, McKenna had to get rid of the son of a bitch fucking with her plans.

A phone rang, loud in the quietness of the lobby. McKenna startled upright and looked around. One of the bodyguards, she couldn’t remember his name, flipped open his phone and spoke in hushed tones. The tall bodyguard then got to his feet and motioned for McKenna to follow him. She did and was immediately flanked by him on one side and the shorter guy, the one with wild eyes and black unruly hair, on the other.

She grimaced and pulled on her gloves in deference to the cold temperatures outside. Spa day was an illusion she splurged on every other week. The massages didn’t do a damn thing once she hopped off the table. Relaxation was as elusive as everything else in her life.

They walked outside the building and up to the black town car parked at the curb. She couldn’t help glancing around, looking for anyone lurking. She’d bet good money that fool from last night was around there somewhere. Imagining him stalking them messed with her concentration, and she needed all of it to deal with Salim. Tall Bodyguard opened the back passenger door. McKenna took a deep breath, mentally squared her shoulders, and allowed the mask to slip into place.

You’re up.

When the bodyguard stepped aside, she crawled into the back of the car, sliding right into Salim’s lap, face tipped up for his kisses. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her, hard and bruising. McKenna clutched his upper arms and moaned for him, exactly the way he liked. She parted her lips when he nipped her bottom lip, and he swept his tongue inside, stabbing deep with the one stroke.

She straddled him, one knee on either side of his body on the car seat, and writhed. Not too much, but enough to let him know she missed him and wanted more of what he had to offer. This was her forte after all, the tease. The chase. There was a time when she’d welcomed Salim’s kisses, when the sounds he got from her weren’t faked.

That time had long come and gone.

After a while of strictly tongue action, Salim broke the kiss and nipped her jaw and neck. McKenna arched, riding the ridge poking her ass through her tights and his pants.

“I’ll have to cancel our date,” Salim murmured against her throat.

“No!” She leaned into him, arms wrapped around his neck and pouted. “I need you.” Brushing her lips over his ear, McKenna closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer.
Thank fuck.

“It can’t be helped.” Salim lifted his mouth off her skin and smiled up at her. She stared down into his black, bottomless eyes. “I have a meeting that can’t be canceled or rescheduled.”

She pursed her lips. “Okay.” She moved off his lap and took a seat opposite. “When do I get to see you?”
Never
came to mind, but her luck didn’t run that way.

“I should be home later tonight.” He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “I’ll send for you.”

There went her plans for an uneventful night’s sleep, but she nodded silently. She couldn’t come off too eager, but she also didn’t have the option of not caring.

His eyes glittered and a familiar smile curved his full lips. At one time she’d loved that smile. Now she knew better. Shit.
Only one thing made him smile like that.

“Take your pants off,” he said softly. “Climb onto the seat with your back to me, legs spread.”

McKenna shrugged off her jacket and kicked off her boots without a word. She kept her eyes on her task, ignoring Salim, the two bodyguards also in the car, and the driver up front who hadn’t bothered to put up the partition. With her lower half bare, she turned and got onto the seat, knees spread wide as she waited.

Modesty was nonexistent with Salim. He liked an audience, liked to show off his prowess. Liked for his men to see him take her, use her. He wanted them envious, jealous of what he had. What he owned.

Which at the moment was her.

McKenna got it. She got him. She didn’t have to like it, but she got it.

A warm palm smoothed over her ass. She moved with the touch then hissed when Salim’s touch went from soft to rough in a heartbeat. He pinched her on each cheek then slapped her. Hard. Over and over.

She bit her lip to stifle the sounds falling from her lips, but that didn’t work too good. Salim didn’t touch her to give pleasure. He was a taker, but in the beginning, he’d taken care with her body, and there were times when her body remembered.

Like now.

The slaps and pinches hurt. Tears of pain burned her eyes. Her body pulsed for him. Her pussy got wet for him. Her body liked the way he played it, so well and familiar, but her mind knew better and tried to shy away from the physical pleasure.

As quickly as the slaps and pinches came, they stopped. She held herself still, tense. Two fingers plunged into her, digging deep, and she cried out, knees shaking. He hooked his digits, pressed against her, and McKenna found herself rocking back, riding the wave of pleasure.

They were so few and far between nowadays.

The only sounds in the stifling confined space were her hungry cries and the harsh breaths from the men around her, all watching, witnessing her struggle to stave off the climax and lose. Big time. She came hard, clenching around Salim’s fingers. She couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t silence the gasping breaths. Her chest burned and heaved. Sweat rolled down her spine and itched on her skin.

Finally, finally, Salim removed his fingers and she fell face forward into the black leather seat. She struggled onto her back and faced the men. They all watched her; furious hunger in the eyes of the bodyguards, smug pleasure on Salim’s face as he brought the two fingers coated with her cream to his mouth and sucked them.

She swallowed then offered him a grin. “To tide you over until later?”

He nodded. “Until later.” He nodded to the two men who hadn’t taken their eyes off her yet. “Get dressed. The guys will take you home.”

McKenna did as told, righting herself under the men’s heavy scrutiny. She finger-combed her hair then gave Salim one last kiss before exiting the car. They hadn’t moved from in front the spa the entire time, but with Salim that wasn’t unexpected. He liked to get his wherever, whenever. It took her a long time to get used to having people watch her during sex, to having men openly eye-fuck her while Salim did her.

Outdoors, in cars, public bathroom stalls.

He didn’t discriminate. Being vulnerable didn’t sit well. It never would, but she’d learned to go with the flow. She had no other choice at the moment.

Tall Bodyguard drove them back to her house, only about ten blocks away from the spa. She stood outside in the doorway while they went into her place to make sure no one lurked in the closet or under the bed. She shook her head. If they’d done that last night, Psycho Guy wouldn’t have had the opportunity to fuck with her concentration all day.

The men came back out moments later and waved her in.

“Bye, gentlemen.” She slammed the door in their faces and headed straight for her bathroom, stripping, dropping clothes in her wake as she went. The time had come to wash away Salim’s touch, drop the mask for the time being, and reevaluate her options.

In the shower she washed her hair, inhaling the piña colada-scented shampoo with a moan. Her shoulders ached as she scrubbed her scalp, maybe a warning that she had the entire world on her shoulders and the time drew near when she’d have to make choices.