I need to find Nina and Arlo, now.
My heart has turned to ice with them gone. I have power now. I control the entire Carini empire along with hundreds of men and money at my disposal. What good is having all this power if I can't use it, especially to deal with the one matter I care about?
Getting Nina and Arlo back is about so much more than claiming the woman I love and punishing my brother. It’s much, much bigger.
My alarm clock goes off, but I don’t need it to wake me up. I rarely need an alarm clock, but I’ve been struggling to sleep even more since I took Eden. I climb out of bed and stretch before I dress in jeans and a dark gray T-shirt. I walk over to the small living room in my quarters where Eden is snoring on the couch.
She spent the last three days handcuffed to me, stuck following me everywhere. Her dreams are the only thing that gives her the illusion of freedom. I can't have her in my bed though. I like having my own space. And I haven't had a woman in my bed since Nina. My insomnia would get worse with her in my bed anyway.
So instead, she sleeps on my couch with her leg attached to a hook on the floor I had Maximo create to ensure she wouldn't run off or try to shoot me during the few hours of rest I actually get at night.
My head jerks back every t
ime I see her lying on the couch in the morning when I come in. It isn’t the only part of me that is drawn to attention at the sight of her. My cock quarrels with my brain for me to fuck her.
Soon. Very soon.
Eden doesn't normally seem like the kind of woman who would allow herself to let her guard down when her enemy is so close. Vulnerability is seen as a weakness to her, and she will do anything not to appear fragile. Either she’s too exhausted to stay awake, or she doesn't believe I’ll hurt her while she's out.
"Wake up sleepyhead,” I shout, grabbing the couch and shaking it violently like I have the last two mornings.
She drops off the couch, the weight of her body crashing to the floor with a smack.
“You bastard."
"Just a bastard today? I must be growing on you then."
She bares her teeth at me as she stands up and lunges at me, trying to can grab ahold of me and cause any damage she can. But like every other morning, the chains take her by surprise, and she’s pulled back to the ground.
I smirk, as her round ass hits the floor again. "You're not a very fast learner, are you?"
She pulls against the restraints, trying to pummel me. "I learn just fine. I've learned how much of a heartless ruler you are. I’ve come up with a dozen ways to kill you. It only takes one night of forgetting to lock me up. One time to get careless with the knives or the guns, or for me to find a way to pick the lock. That day will come soon. That's when I'll murder you."
"And that's when my men will kill you."
"It will be worth it." Her eyes taunt mine with a smugness that I want to wash away with my cock down her throat.
Patience, I remind myself.
I place the shackles back on both our wrists, joining her to me. I can't decide whether I love or hate tethering her to me. I love having the control over her, but I hate having her around me all the time. It’s as much of a torture to me as it is to her. She’s starting to mess with my head.
Today is when the real fun starts. Nina is Eden’s weakness, but there are only so many ways I can use Nina against Eden. Eden has to have more than one fault, so I plan on finding and exploiting them to my advantage.
I turn and start walking out the door, not giving Eden any warning. She's relatively used to my abrupt changes by now, and can keep pace with me effortlessly. She's starting to anticipate my moves before I make them. Probably because I have a routine she has already learned.
Today that ends.
I sneer back at my little slave. Her face is bored and restless. Her body tired. She has no idea what's about to happen to her.
I walk into the dining room. A long rectangular table stretches across the center of the room, able to hold two dozen people, underneath the antique chandelier, which sparkles brightly overhead. Half a dozen men are at the table already eating breakfast, ready for their daily orders from me.
I walk to my usual spot at the head of the table, and Eden follows. She ordinarily takes a seat next to me at the table, but not today. I snap my fingers and motion for my two closest men to claim the seats next to me. Even when Eden isn’t here, they rarely sit next to me. I like being alone in my thoughts in the morning.
They pick up their breakfast plates and move down until they are occupying the two chairs on either side of me. I take a seat knowing there's nowhere for Eden to sit. The chain, attaching us, isn't long enough for her to sit in any of the other open chairs at the table.
I wait for her to complain or make a snarky comment, but she doesn’t. Apparently, she's going to pretend I don't affect her when I clearly do. I crawl under her skin like no one else.
She’s giving me a dirty look, one that I’m sure is meant to display her hatred for me. It does. But her cheeks are flushed, her lips slightly parted, and, every so often, she wets her bottom lip. She can pretend to hate me all she wants, but she can’t deny her body craves mine. She's an uptight woman used to getting her way, but I have a feeling after one kiss she’s going to be putty in my arms.