Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

RICHARD

" F ind her," I demanded.

The men in the room shifted in their seats.

Harris cleared his throat. "We can't be certain it's her. All the reports from Bahrain say she is still on Sheikh Hamad's compound."

"I'm telling you. She's in London. She got into this house," I raged as I pounded the desk for emphasis, "into my bedroom. And now this attack on Elizabeth? I won't fucking stand for it."

"We have a team of men en route to Bahrain now. There were no security cameras at Maxine's but we are combing the area for CCTV footage. We also lifted some fingerprints from the scene. If it's her, we'll find her, Your Grace."

Turning away, I stared out the window. Dark grey clouds had rolled in. There were already several drops of rain clinging to the windowpane.

A storm was coming.

"It's her," I said to no one in particular.

It was Nicole.

Nicole Fleming.

The woman I was with before I found Elizabeth.

At first the relationship suited both of our needs. Nicole was from a privileged family. She had no ambition or need to work, so it reserved all of her attention for me. Something I had enjoyed at first but came to despise.

The only thing we truly had in common was our mutual fascination with pain. In the beginning, I'd thought she understood. My interest was purely in how pain allowed the body to experience more intense pleasure. There was no need to use it for discipline with Nicole, perhaps because I didn't care enough about her to want to control her behavior.

Things were different with Elizabeth. The driving need to control her and everything in her world still burned deep within me. This fierce need to be everything and all to her. I begrudged the world everything about her… even one of her soft smiles… the world wasn't worthy of them… didn't deserve them. They were mine. Everything about Elizabeth was mine.

Things had deteriorated quickly with Nicole.

Suddenly, the kiss of a leather belt or whip wasn't enough for her. She wanted more. Began to beg me for more pain. She wanted to bleed, to carry my mark. My scar.

One dreadful night, my resolve weakened. I had wondered what it would feel like to have another human being be completely subservient to me, a blood bond. I was a man possessed. The more she begged for it, the harder I gave it to her. We crossed a line that night. I had become Frankenstein and she my monstrous creation.

The next day, I went for a walk in St. James's Park, wondering if I would ever cleanse my soul of the crimson stain.

That was when I saw Elizabeth. She was sitting there on the grass in the sunshine, reading Frankenstein of all things. She'd looked so innocent and pure… so clean of any corrupting stain. I craved just the sight of her. Returning to the park each day for a week hoping just for a glimpse as I furiously collected all the information I could find about her, until the day I saw her reading Pride and Prejudice and I knew, in that moment, I would be her Mr. Darcy.

I had become the villain of Nicole's story, but I would be the hero of Elizabeth's.

I broke it off with Nicole that day. Sent her the usual gifts of diamonds and money. Nicole ran in the same social circles as me. She knew the score. She knew this was how these things were handled. Usually, the partners went their separate ways with no unseemly public displays, but Nicole would not relent.

I did my best to hide all this from Elizabeth. That was until the day Nicole dared to accost her on the street. I thought I had made my displeasure known then. I thought Nicole finally understood it was over.

Then came the night of the masquerade party. Although I couldn't prove it, I was certain she had something to do with the gilded cage falling, putting Elizabeth's life at risk. One of the men involved was photographed meeting with Nicole a few days later.

It was then I knew I had to hide Elizabeth away… from the city… from everything for a while till I could figure out what to do with Nicole.

It was decided by me and her rather influential family that Nicole would be safest out of the country and out of the public eye. I had a business associate in Bahrain who owned a compound where they indulged in some of the more extreme sexual pursuits Nicole had craved.

For me, the solution was not so easy.

The stain on my soul remained… as did the cravings.

Sometimes I looked at Elizabeth and worried that one day I won't be able to rein it in, that the beast would truly come unchained.

Unlike with Nicole, I wanted to see my mark on Elizabeth.

I wanted to brand her as mine. Each time I'd seen a welt from my belt on her creamy skin, my blood rose, wanting it to be permanent. I wanted to know that each time I saw her in public, that under her clothes, on her skin where only I could see, was a mark I gave her. Other times, I wanted to tattoo my crest on her body. Wanted to watch as the ink sank deep into her flesh, a permanent symbol of my ownership of her body and soul.

The more she fought me, the stronger these urges to dominate and brand her became.

The wicked side of me fed on her screams as much as her laughter.

I knew that inevitably, one day, I would go too far. Push over that irredeemable line. My only hope was that by then Elizabeth will be so bound to me in the eyes of God and the law that she would have no choice but to forgive me.

And if she didn't?

Deep down, I knew I was capable of doing anything… anything … to keep her by my side.

It would be best for everyone if that was never… ever… put to the test.

For now, I needed to focus on the latest threat to our relationship. Clearly Nicole had escaped the compound and returned. Now a more permanent solution would have to be found.

I walked into our bedroom right as the doctor was finished examining her. Elizabeth, wrapped in one of my cashmere robes, sat on the chaise before a nice warm fire.

The doctor patted her on the shoulder in what I was sure he meant to be a reassuring gesture. That didn't stop a momentary surge of anger at the thought of another man touching what was mine. It was stupid of course, but part of me didn't even want him to examine her. It was why I'd had to step out of the room. I was certain my baser instincts would cause us all embarrassment and impede her getting medical attention.

Standing near her, I stroked her hair as she leaned her head against my thigh. "Well, Doctor?"

"She will be fine. I imagine the scare was worse than the injury. They are all superficial punctures and scrapes that should heal in a few days. Hot bath and a pain reliever with a sleep aid and she'll feel much better in the morning."

"Thank you, Doctor. There is a security guard just outside the door. He'll escort you out."

Forcing myself to smile, I said teasingly, "Well, you heard the doctor. Hot bath. Sex. Bed."

"That is not what he said."

I shook my head. "You're tired and overwrought. You weren't listening carefully."

Giving her a kiss on the top of her head, I sternly admonished her to stay put until I had fixed a bath.

A few minutes later I carried her into the bathroom. The air was thick with steam and the scent of eucalyptus. Carefully removing my robe from her shoulders, I had to keep my fists from clenching at the sight of her beautiful skin marred by a hundred tiny pricks. Because they had hidden the pins within the seams of the bodice, the small wounds actually formed a macabre pattern of delicate swirls and loops, almost like a tribal tattoo.

"Do they hurt?" I whispered as my hand hovered over the top curve of her right breast, wanting but worried about touching her.

Elizabeth grasped my hand and put it over her breast. "No. Like the doctor said, it was more the fear of what was happening. Once I wash the blood away, you won't even see most of them."

Once I wash the blood away … a phrase I never wanted to hear my baby utter ever again.

Holding her by the forearm, I helped her step into the circular marble tub, which was now filled with silky bubbles and hot water.

Looking over her shoulder, she said, "You're joining me, right?"

Already loosening my tie, I winked and replied, "Try to stop me."

After pulling my unbuttoned shirt off my shoulders, I paused and watched her worriedly. Waiting for the moment the soapy water hit her skin. Praying it didn't sting. When she leaned back with a throaty moan of contentment, I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding and finished getting undressed.

Heading over to the double sinks, I opened one of the mahogany drawers in between and pulled out a few toys just in case my girl needed a distraction.

Setting them on the edge of the tub, I stepped in and took my place behind her, stretching out my long legs on either side of her slim hips. Pushing her damp curls aside, I kissed the top of her shoulder, then her neck, then her ear before whispering, "If I start up the Jacuzzi jets, do you promise to be a naughty girl and let them tease your cute pussy?"

She rubbed her hips against my already hard cock as I watched her nipples pebble. "Yes," she moaned. "Please, make me forget today."

Her innocent words sent a stab of pain through my chest.

Never again.

Never again would I let someone get near my baby.

No matter what it took.

Wrapping my arms around her, I cupped her breasts, giving her nipples a light pinch.

"I'll be gentle, my love."

Elizabeth groaned as she reached one soapy arm behind her to hook it around my neck. The movement crushed her breast against my palm. "Richard, the last thing I want from you right now is to be gentle."

Damn, I loved this woman!

Reaching to the right, I pressed the button that started the Jacuzzi jets. Hooking my feet under her ankles, I spread her legs wide and shifted my hips, knowing it would position her cunt right in front of one of the jets.

"Oh! Oh! Oh, my!" exclaimed Elizabeth as her hips shimmied against my cock.

"Lift up your ass," I growled.

Placing her hands on either side of my hips, she lifted her bottom.

Fisting my cock, I gave it a few pumps before positioning myself at her pussy entrance.

"Press down. Impale yourself on my cock."

Her hands shifted under the water as she slowly lowered herself onto my thick shaft.

We moaned in unison at the tight joining.

Elizabeth dropped her head back on my shoulder. "Should I try to move?"

Running my hand down her front to tease her clit, I shook my head. "No, my love. I just want you to feel every inch of my cock inside of you. Can you feel it pulse each time you squeeze?"

Elizabeth moaned as her hand slid up to grasp my thigh, her long nails digging into my skin.

"Does my baby need it rougher?"

"Oh, God, yes. Yes!"

Reaching out, I grasped the crystal jellie dildo. At only about an inch and a half wide and smooth and straight, it was perfect for what I had planned. Adjusting its twelve-inch length in my hand, I placed my free hand at her throat. "Open your mouth."

Elizabeth obeyed.

Placing the purple dildo just out of reach of her mouth, I further commanded, "Lick it. Get it nice and wet before I shove it down your throat."

She whimpered before her pink tongue stretched out to lick and swirl around the thick head.

"Tell me what you want."

"Oh, God."

"Say it, baby. Tell me to choke you with this dildo as I fuck you."

Elizabeth's nails dug harder into my thigh. "Choke me, Richard. Use me," she begged.

Placing the tips of my fingers just below her jaw, I angled her head and slowly pushed the dildo into her waiting open mouth. The moment it struck the back of her throat, she gagged. I pulled it up slightly before tapping the back of her throat again.

Her shoulders jerked as she choked.

"Come on, baby. Do it for me. Open your throat."

This time I forced her to work past her gag reflex. Pushing till I felt the toy pop past the resisting muscle at the top of her throat. She breathed noisily through her nose as I carefully pushed several inches deep into her throat.

Waiting till she struggled, I pulled free but only let her suck in a ragged breath before once more thrusting the dildo down her throat.

"That's it, baby. Swallow it."

I pulsed the long dildo in and out of her throat just as I moved my hips.

"Touch yourself," I growled against her neck.

The soapy water splashed as Elizabeth anchored her feet and raised her knees then placed a hand between her legs, adding her fingertips to the steady pulse of water already hitting her sensitive clit.

Matching the pulse of the dildo down her throat to the pulsing shallow thrusts of my cock, I could feel her body shake and tremble under the assault.

The moment I felt her body tense then relax from her orgasm, I pulled the dildo free.

"On your knees."

The water splashed over the edge onto the floor as Elizabeth shifted position.

Holding the dildo in front of her face, I demanded, "Fuck your throat."

Her small hand grasped the dildo as she braced her other hand against the rim of the tub.

Rising on my knees, I wrapped my hand around my cock. Placing my thumb at the head, I slowly pushed into her cunt, watching as my thick rod stretched her open before disappearing deep into her body.

"Oh, God," came her garbled moan as she tried to speak around the dildo.

Placing my hand over hers, I ruthlessly pushed the dildo down her throat. "Harder. I want to see you swallow half of it down that beautiful fucking throat of yours."

Elizabeth's body bucked and splashed in the water, but she wasn't able to dislodge my grasp on the dildo. As I fucked her from behind, I made her fuck her own mouth, reveling in every tremor of her body.

She came a second time just as I released a hot stream deep inside her waiting cunt.

Her breath still coming in heavy rasps, I leaned back and pulled her onto my lap. Reaching behind me, I once more started the taps. Hot water snaked around our bodies as it warmed up our bath. Placing a hand on her head, I pushed her down onto my shoulder.

As I watched the whirls of steam rise above the water, although they should have been, my thoughts were not on the woman in my arms. They were on a woman from my past… and how I could use her reappearance to my advantage.