Double Blind (17 page)

Some of the fire leaves me. How could Jack do this to me?

My jacket buzzes and I curse under my breath, opening it to read whatever the fuck someone’s texting me.

Come home. We need to talk. - Ade

I read it several times until the white burns my eyeballs. Come home now? My lips touch the screen.

Jack stares into the darkness, almost as if he can sense me there. He digs the cigar in the heel of his shoe, the red light snuffing him out. Then his back turns towards me. He walks towards the sliding glass door, and opens it.

Then he’s inside.

I sit there, stewing. I inhale the scent of the trees and think about her message, imploring me to wait.

Fine, Adriana. I’ll wait.

One day won’t make much of a difference for me.

For Jack? It might just be his last night alive.

ADRIANA

What the hell am I going to do?

I pace in the darkness of my dorm. I
finally
got rid of Carmine after giving him an excuse that I didn’t feel well, and then he dropped me to my dorm. Maria’s out with her boyfriend, so I have a few, precious hours of blessed silence and solitude.

When I think about my problems a few months ago, I want to laugh. A few months ago, all I had were a few debts, a crazy mother, school, and a dead dad. Compared to this, it was child’s play. I have threats hanging over my neck, making me so ill that I can barely move. On the way to the casino the other day, I had to stop to vomit in a trashcan.

My gaze flashes towards the mini-fridge where I know there’s more liquid poison to drown it all out. And it makes it worse, but I can’t stop.

Even if it’s destroying me.

I stoop down to my knees. Powerless, I open the door and grab the cool bottle of vodka. I grab the coffee mug and pour. Then I wince and down it.

It slips harmlessly down my throat. Water. Maria must have dumped it all.

Shrouded in darkness, I almost trip over the abandoned mathematics books from all my classes and my heart sinks. Maria lets me squat in the dorm, even though I’m technically not supposed to be here.

Goddamn it. I’m so completely screwed.

Is there no escaping this?

I’m sick of being his pawn. I’ve sacrificed everything and I let him control me.

Not anymore.

I have to let go of my fear and accept the possibility that I might die, and be okay with that. I chose this when I chose Vincent. This life is anything but glamorous. It’s murky and deadly.

Vince is going to do something. I know he is. I knew it when I saw the shadow in his eyes when I went to Carmine. He won’t stand for this, and he’ll be killed. He won’t see it coming.

But I do.

I can stop it.

Adrenaline sears through my veins, clearing my mind of all that foggy poison. The steps are laid out in front of me clearly. It’s so simple that I don’t know why I never thought of it before. I know exactly what to do.

My hand dives into my purse to grab my cell phone. I open it and quickly type a text message to Vince:
Come home. We need to talk. - Ade

I won’t play by Tony’s fucking rules anymore. I won’t stay away from him. The monsters who destroyed my life when I was a child won’t destroy my adult one, too. No more.

It’s time to fight fire with fire.

* * *

I let myself in Vince’s apartment with the same key I was supposed to get rid of months ago. He never changed the locks. I allow a small smile to myself.

Nothing has really changed, except the place looks a bit messier. His clothes are haphazardly thrown in the laundry basket, which looks like it’s been piled up for days, and there’s a stack of dishes in the sink. He was always so meticulous about keeping everything clean.

Somehow this little derailment of his habits makes me choked up. I collapse onto the couch and my fingers graze over a discarded jacket. It still smells like him.

I’m tired as fuck and I could sleep for years. My head sways a little. I get up to keep myself awake and I wander into Vince’s study. He never used it. It was always my place to work. The big mahogany desk was perfect for spreading all my books to study. Sometimes, Vince would keep me company and read a book. I smile at the memory.

A jacketed arm suddenly slides around my neck and yanks me hard. I grapple with the steel arm around my throat and utter a scream as he spins me around. My back hits the wall and I stare into Vince’s livid eyes.

“Shit, it’s you.” He shoves me, suddenly angry. “I could have killed you.”

I didn’t even hear him coming. My heart’s still beating in heart attack territory, and I smooth my hands over my neck, coughing. For a moment, he looks just as scared as I feel, but then his eyes narrow.

His hand wraps around the back of my neck and squeezes. My heart thumps wildly as he forces my head to look up, and then his hot lips are on mine. His body rustles against mine, pinning me against the wall as I respond hungrily. It’s like he’s stolen every drop of energy in my blood and now there’s only a faint buzzing. My hands lift to his sides and I wrap my arms around him, squeezing so hard that he grunts.

I missed him so fucking much.

I pull his head against my mouth, my lips trembling into a moan as warmth spreads over my skin, where he’s touching me. Desire, so absent these days, flames into a raging forest fire. I haven’t touched him in weeks, and now we’re alone and he’s all mine.

He pulls back, breathing hard, his face only inches from mine. “I had to do that after watching that fucking asshole with his hands all over you.”

The grittiness in his voice makes the heat rise in my cheeks. I feel faint. Dizzy. Like the first time he kissed me. I place a palm on his chest to steady myself.

“Vince, I—”

“You have some balls coming here, you know. I could have taken care of that prick. Why did you stop me? Is this another one of your fucking games?”

“I’m not supposed to be here, but I can’t stay away from you. I can’t do it without you anymore.”

Vincent’s angry breath blows a strand out of my face. “You’re speaking in fucking riddles.”

“I’m sorry.”

His hand is still balled in my hair and his fingertips brush the base of my neck. A cruel grin spreads across his face. “You’re sorry? Oh, that’s fucking nice. I’ve just spent the last couple months looking like Joe Jerk-off to everyone I know, because the woman I was going to marry dumped me and ran into the arms of another fucking mafioso.”

His fingers curl in my hair and I wince at the pain. I want to defend myself, but then he runs a thumb down my neck and a violent shiver runs up my leg. The sharp contours of his body dig into mine, and I slowly move my hands around his rock hard waist to the base of his lower back.

“Do you know what that was like for me? People in this business don’t respect a man whose fiancée runs off to another guy. Especially one that’s fucking connected. I should kill Carmine. You had my ring on your finger. He should have left you alone.”

“It wasn’t like I had a choice. I can tell you everything if you just—”

“I’m not in the mood to listen. Do you want me back, Adriana?”

The condescending tone makes me flinch, but his free hand wraps around my breast and squeezes hard. His hot mouth and lips wrap around my ear as his erection digs into my hip. My core clenches when I feel the outline of him.

Of course I want you back.

“Maybe I don’t want you back. Maybe I’m just going to fuck you and throw you back outside. I’ll leave you with a lasting memory of my cock before letting you go back to that
fanook.
But before you even touch it, you’re going to have to beg for it.”

So we’re playing that game.

His hand still wrapped around my neck, he leads me out of his study and guides me down the hall by using his palm to push my ass forward.

“Vince, I should tell you—”

A loud, ringing slap on my ass cuts off the rest of my words. My body flinches again as his digs his fingers in my flesh painfully.

“Shut up and keep walking.”

We stop at the foot of the bed and Vincent’s hand finally drops from my neck. I need to tell him!

“Vince, I need to tell you something!”

“It can wait.”

A low growl reverberates in his throat before he rummages in his drawer for something and a loud noise that I instantly recognize as duct tape makes my limbs tremble. He walks in front of me and tears a strip off with his teeth.

“Maybe you’ll learn to shut the fuck up with this on.”

I’m horrified as he approaches me with the piece of tape. The Vincent I need—the one who will listen to logic and reason, isn’t present. The darkness took over him. He’s in a mood and I’ll have to appease the monster to get Vincent to listen to me.

His lips quirk as he flattens the tape over my lips, his forehead against mine. The fingers trace my cheek and lips, and he leans in ever so slightly to kiss the imprint of my mouth. I can see a flash of him—the man I love, in his tender gestures.

Then he moves behind me and yanks my arms behind my back, and the sweet moment is lost. Something metallic jangles as he slaps cold steel around my wrists and tightens. I try to pull them apart, but an unyielding chain prevents me. Fuck.

His low laughter washes over me as he watches me struggle. Taking my handcuffs, he twists them so the metal digs into my wrists and pushes me over the bed. My face hits the bed and his peals of laughter dig into my brain.

“Aw, are you angry with me?”

I am.

I try to twist around, but he has his hand on my back. I’m not sure if I want to kiss him or scream at him. Then I hear the sound of scissors snapping. I moan into the duct tape as I feel them scraping against my skin. My t-shirt falls from my back as he slices it off.

We’ve never done this before. A rush of energy goes straight between my thighs. There’s something incredibly hot about being wanted so badly that he’ll rip the clothes right off my body.

He sets the scissors down and tears my shirt off with his hands. I feel his fingers moving over my bare skin and barely suppress a shudder. I hear it ripping. Then he bundles the ruined fabric in his hands and throws it on the opposite side of the bedroom.

The coolness of the metal stings my shoulder as he slips them under my bra strap.

Snap.

The cool air makes my nipples contract, but then I feel a bounce on the bed and a silk tie trailing on my back, and suddenly his hands are wrapped around my breasts. The heat from his hands feels incredible, and then he bends over to kiss my naked shoulder, and I want him so badly that my entire body convulses when I feel his lips on my bare skin.

“Your body betrays you, Adriana. You want me. You
need
me. And I’m going to hear you beg for me.”

I moan into that little strip of tape covering my lips as he gives my breasts a final squeeze and then the bed bounces again as he stands up over it. His hands move around my jeans. Fingers laboriously unbutton my jeans. The sound of the zipper makes me moan in anticipation and then I feel him tugging them down. They glide down my legs and I kick them off. Vince returns to the bed, the mattress groaning. He slips a finger down my panties and I feel his body against my back. I want to turn over, to touch him. I miss him so badly that tears of relief bead in my eyes.

He gives a deeply satisfied sound as his finger slips down my incredibly wet core. Then he squeezes my ass after slipping his hand out, and I know he’s dying to spank me and hear my screams lift to the ceiling.

But instead I feel something cool and metallic slipping inside my underwear.

“Let’s see how well you handle this.”

There’s a clicking noise, and suddenly the small, metal ball is vibrating inside my panties. Vince reaches around my waist and slips his hand in between my panties he adjusts it until I can feel it vibrating against my clit, and then my back arches almost as if there’s an invisible hand pressing down.

Oh my God.

He rotates it so that I never really get the full blast of pleasure, but it’s electrifying. All of a sudden, I want his thickness inside me to ease the screaming ache. The vibrator teases every nerve ending around my sensitive clit, making me scream into my duct tape.

Once again, his chuckles cut through my moans as he plays with me. “I think you’ll be begging me before long. Too bad I won’t be able to hear you.”

My chest heaves and I squirm against his hand, fighting against the ball vibrating against my most sensitive area. Every part of it calls for something thick and long to plunge inside my pussy. Vince turns my head and kisses the tape covering my lips.

“Stay there and don’t flinch. I’m going to watch you.”

He walks around the bed. I’m still bent over my waist, my hands handcuffed behind me. My nipples are as erect as his cock, and they rub painfully against the comforter. Vince takes a seat at the chair beside the bed, crossing his legs. Dark eyes flash at me as I feel myself peaking. I’m going to lose it if he doesn’t take it out soon.

He crosses his legs and stretches himself over the arms of the chair. His face lights up with a seductive smile. Vince wants me just as badly as I want him, but I’ll need to put on a show for him.

It vibrates between my legs, sending harsh, electrical shocks to my core. Holy shit. It’s touching me in just the right spot. It’s increasing and increasing, and I try to twist to get away from the constant stimulation, but another jolt sizzles through my clit. My legs convulse and I groan through the tape as a wave of pleasure crashes over me, but the fucking thing continues to buzz and almost immediately the pressure ramps up again. And Vince knows this. His smile lets me know.

I look at him pleadingly, helpless with my arms handcuffed on my back. I try to plead him with my eyes.
Please! I can
’
t take this!

“You have no idea how sexy you look right now.”

Another jolt strikes my core. With a muffled cry, I buckle my legs. He unwinds his legs smoothly and rises to his feet. Within seconds he’s beside me.

Tsking, he winds his head around my shoulder. “I told you not to move.” He picks up a remote and I heave air through my nose as the frantic buzzing stops.