“There’s my angry kitten.” I patted her head in a patronizing gesture.
She scowled and twisted her face away. “Fuck you.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad we understand one another.”
She started wiggling in my hold, and I allowed her to escape. Her small struggle coincided with my smart watch buzzing against my wrist. I’d indulged myself with Carmen for far too long. There were pressing matters to deal with if I was going to leverage my new control over her former territory.
“I have some meetings to attend,” I informed her. “I’m going to give you a longer leash, so you can move around the room and use the bathroom.” I gestured in the direction of the half bath and then got to work removing the padlock I’d used to secure a shorter length of her chain to the bedpost. Once I removed the lock, I slipped it into my pocket along with the key I kept stashed there. The leather cuff was still locked in place around her ankle, but she had several feet of movement with the longer chain.
I double-checked the tightness of the cuff, making sure it wasn’t restricting her circulation. Her feet needed to heal, and I didn’t want to accidentally create any complications.
I rose to my full height, pinning her with a forbidding stare. “Stay in bed unless you need to use the bathroom. If I come back here and find that you’ve damaged your feet by walking around too much, I will punish you.”
She glowered up at me, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. Even though I’d given her more room to maneuver, she didn’t attack me. My clever girl was picking her battles.
I didn’t bother to demand her compliance with my order or extract a promise that she would obey. She’d been given the warning, and she could choose to heed it or not.
Already, anticipation raced through my veins, the thrill of the game reengaging. I wasn’t certain how she would choose to act in my absence, and the unpredictability delighted me.
Of course, I’d removed all sharp objects and potentially lethal weapons from the room.
I remembered the sight of Carmen clutching that ice pick and gold statue, glaring at me in defiant fury as she faced her own death.
Another chuckle rumbled from my chest. My naughty kitten was inventive and determined. I wouldn’t even mind if she tried to kill me. In fact, I was certain she would try. She wouldn’t succeed, but the power play would be thrilling.
Her lips curved with her own dark pleasure. “Good luck at your meetings,” she said with saccharine sweetness.
My laughter faltered, the swing in her demeanor throwing me off. I quickly covered my reaction with a wide, vicious smile.
“Thank you, darling,” I said, in a mockery of domestic bliss. “Be a good girl, and don’t try to think too hard for yourself while I’m gone. You’ll get a headache.”
She batted her lashes, her own smile cutting. “I’m sure I can manage.”
My watch buzzed again, calling for my attention.
Damn it. Just when the game was getting fun again. Sparring with Carmen was far preferable to her silent trembling.
“I would kiss you goodbye, but I don’t think that would end well,” I teased, knowing she would punch me before I got close to her lips.
“Try it and see,” she invited, her tone light and breezy but her eyes glittering with malicious promise.
I settled for blowing her a kiss instead. She reached out and mimed catching it in her fist. Then, she lifted her middle finger, silently cursing me with a smile.
I barked a laugh and forced myself to walk away from her, shutting the bedroom door behind me. There was no need to lock it; even if she opened it, she wouldn’t get through the threshold with her ankle cuffed and chained to my bed.
Once I was separated from her entrancing defiance, I quickened my pace across my penthouse. Lingering with Carmen had already made me late. Considering how much was at stake, it was unthinkable that I’d allowed a woman to distract me from consolidating power. The Ronaldo Cartel was decimated, their former territory mine for the taking. With Pedro’s death and the destruction of his estate, their organization would be in chaos. The smart ones would ally themselves with me. The proud, foolish ones would end up dead.
I made my way to the elevator, punching the button for the third floor. I owned the entire building, conducting business and pleasure from within the safety of my personal playground. The nightclub on the ground floor would be closed at this time of morning, and the second floor was my own VIP level of the club, where I could oversee the revelry. I’d found that both friends and potential enemies shared their thoughts more freely in a celebratory atmosphere.
Unfortunately, it was too early to throw a raucous party, and the situation was too tense to leave until the evening. That meant I had to use the much more serious, sedate library on the third floor to stage my meetings.