RUTHLESS KING

14 BEST PUNISHMENT EVER

Stella
With the water still running, I tiptoe out of the bathroom and streak across
the bedroom. I reach the door, my heart hammering against my ribs. I can
just make out the rush of water from the neighboring door. Good. Luca’s
still in the shower. Peering through the doorway, I scan the hall one more
time. Empty. My eyes lift to the ceiling, searching for the eyes of a roving
camera, but there’s nothing. Probably hidden, duh.
Praying to all the saints my mom so fervently believed in, I creep out
into the corridor and sprint toward the elevator. I jab my finger at the
button, and it lights up, sending my hopes soaring.
Come on, come on.
My foot taps out a manic beat as the floors tick by at a snails’ pace. Of
course, he has to live in the penthouse. How high are we for fuck’s sake?
Ninety-one. Ninety-two. Ninety-three. I glance over my shoulder at the
master suite. Doors still closed. Ninety-six. Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight. I
didn’t even know a building could be this high. The elevator doors finally
glide open, and I dart inside. The slap of footsteps across marble sends my heart catapulting up my
throat. Cazzo. I stab the L button, and the doors glide closed, the echo of
heavy footfalls inching closer. The elevator descends at an alarming rate,
and I brace my hands against the gilded walls. My stomach leaps up, and
I’m totally regretting that last cannolo from Mrs. D.
Get a grip, Stella. You’re almost home free.
I haven’t quite had time to form a plan, but the gist is easy enough.
Disappear. Dad screwed me over big time so I shouldn’t feel guilty about
abandoning him to deal with the Kings, right? No. I should not. My stupid
heart pinches all the same. Ignoring it, I continue to formulate my plan. I’ll
just take my measly savings account and hop on the first bus to Florida.
Done. Plan made.
The elevator dings, and the doors glide open. I choke on a gasp as my
gaze lands on a wet, completely naked Luca barring the doorway to the
empty lobby. I gasp and stumble back, my heart hammering.
So much skin. So much perfectly toned, muscled, scarred and tattooed with
a smattering of dark hair leading down—I force my eyes up.
Luca glares down at me, fury raging through those bottomless pits of
darkness. “Oh, princess. I’m going to have to punish you now….”
I’m speechless. My brain can’t seem to form a single word with all that
fine nakedness sprawled before me.
A big guy in a suit appears behind Luca, jerking my attention from the
miles of carved perfection. Even the white bandages across Luca’s shoulder
don’t detract from his flawless form. “You want me to take care of this,
boss?”
“No, Albie,” he grits out. “She’s mine.”
A chill cascades down my spine at his tone. I should’ve been scared,
hell terrified, but all that godly nakedness has my brain muddled and my hormones raging.
He steps into the elevator, and I stagger back until I hit the wall. My
heart kicks at my ribs, desperate for an escape. He hasn’t killed you yet.
There’s no reason he’d do it now, right?
The mob boss glares down at me, rage pulsing across those midnight
irises. “I told you to behave.” His tone is lethal, barely restrained fury
ticking the tendon across his scruffy jaw. I try to pull myself together.
“And I told you I never agreed to be your good little captive,” I rasp out.
Cazzo, why do I sound so out of breath? I lie to myself and blame it on the
spiking adrenaline and my missing inhaler. But that doesn’t explain the heat
pooling between my legs.
My gaze drops to the minute space between us and rakes down his
muscled chest, the whirling tattoos, then I get distracted by those rippling
abs, and that deep V….
“Eyes up, princess.” Luca’s fingers close around my chin, and he tips
my head back, capturing me in his piercing gaze. “If you fight me on this,
I’m going to have to treat you like my prisoner. Is that what you want?”
I release a shuddering breath.
“Don’t make me a monster. I don’t want to be that man with you, but I
will be if you push me. Your absolute obedience is not only expected, it’s
necessary. For the safety of us all.” He drags a hand through his wet hair,
and tiny droplets cascade down his broad shoulders and across the white
bandage. “This deal could be beneficial for both of us, trust me.” His warm
breath ghosts over my lips.
He inches closer and something smooth and hard nudges my belly. The
desire to look down is overwhelming, but Luca keeps my eyes pinned to
his, fingers locked on my chin. My heart pounds out a ragged beat. “Now,
answer me, Stella. Do you want me to punish you?”
My thoughts flicker back to the town car and that spank. To the feel of
his palm on my ass, and the heat that had raged as a result of it. I’d never been spanked … not in the sexy way anyway. Now it’s all I can think about.
“No,” I finally grit out. “I’m not some disobedient child. I don’t need to
be disciplined.”
He grunts. “You’re certainly acting like one.”
The elevator doors glide open, and he takes a step back, freeing me
from his intoxicating presence. I draw in a breath untainted by his musky
scent, and my heart stops thundering. He spins around, giving me a close-up
view of his magnificent ass, and my traitorous eyes trail his perfect form.
More scars riddle his back, but somehow they only enhance his raw,
untamed beauty.
I swallow hard and force my feet to move. Where exactly? I’m not sure.
Maybe he’s right, and I should just suck it up for the next month. If I
behave, I’ll be free. How bad could it be to live in this penthouse and go to
a couple of fancy parties? It certainly beats Bo’s proposal.
“Come with me.” Luca’s command echoes across the quiet hallway.
As I cross the living room, a thought niggles to the forefront of my
mind. “How did you get downstairs so fast?”
Luca stops in front of the guest room door and swings it open. “I have
my own private elevator in my bedroom. Having only one exit would be
risky in my line of work.”
“Which is what exactly?” I cross my arms over my chest and meet his
hard gaze.
“C.E.O. of King Industries.”
Holy cannoli. How did I not make the connection before? Probably
because my life was enough to handle without understanding the inner
workings of the mob. I may not know much about big business in
Manhattan, but even I’d heard of King Industries. That name was stamped
all across New York City, including that brand new towering skyscraper on
Park Avenue. And Luca was the C.E.O.? He must’ve been a freaking millionaire, and
from the look of him, he probably only had about five years on me.
I must have been staring like a gaping idiot because his finger ends up
under my chin again, tipping it up this time. My jaw snaps shut. His hand
slides from my face down to my upper arm before he finally releases me.
He watches me for an endless moment. “Any more questions,
princess?”
I inhale a steadying breath and force out the words I’ve been too
nervous to voice. “If I behave, you promise not to hurt me?”
“I don’t hurt women,” he barks, his tone so sharp my head snaps back.
As if he senses my discomfort, he clears his throat, and the tense set of his
jaw softens. “You still want that shower?”
I nod quickly and he tows me into the bathroom once again, the scent of
stale scotch swimming beneath my nostrils.
He reaches for a towel and wraps it around his narrow hips, and a deep,
dark part of me is disappointed. I tell that lusty little vixen to shut up. Then
he jumps up on the countertop, and with a wicked grin, ticks his head at the
glass stall. “Go ahead.”
“Excuse me?”
“You lost your privilege of showering alone.”
“Sei un pezzo di merda, Signor Valentino,” I growl.
“I’m a piece of shit?” His grin only grows wider. “Trust me, with that
stunt you pulled, this is the gentlest punishment anyone’s ever endured. If
one of my guys had disobeyed me like you did….” He shakes his head, an
evil glimmer in his eyes.
“So now I’m an employee?”
His head dips slowly. “Mmm, yes. I like the sound of that, princess.”
“You just promised not to hurt me,” I snap.
“Have I touched you? Laid a hand on that beautiful face or perfect
body?” He grins. “Some would enjoy a steamy hot shower.” I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at the smirking bastardo. “I’m
not stripping in front of you. That was not part of the deal.”
“Why not? You’ve seen mine; I think it’s only fair.”
“I did not—” Heat surges up my neck and blossoms across my face.
“Please, you couldn’t get enough of it.”
I whirl around, teeth clamping over my lower lip before I say something
stupid. I eye the shower and the massive rainfall showerhead. Dio, after the
day I had it would be like heaven.
“Or you could try the bath. The bubbles would probably cover more….”
Without turning around, I can hear the smile in the idiota’s voice.
He’s not wrong either. I can’t remember the last time I took a bubble
bath. Our shitty apartment had no such luxuries.
I spin at him and stalk toward the tub. “Will you at least be a gentleman
and close your eyes until I’m in?”
“Then I’d only be punishing myself, princess, and this is supposed to be
your punishment.” He smirks wider, and irritation gathers along my brow.
“Seriously, Luca?”
A dark chuckle splits his full, pouty lips. “Fine. But you’ve got ten
seconds before I open my eyes.”
I spin both faucets until steamy heat pours out and dump a capful of
scented bodywash into the tub.
“I’m starting now,” he calls out. “Ten, nine….”
I cant my head over my shoulder to make sure his eyes are closed
before peeling off my sticky tank top and tossing it onto the marble floor.
Then I shimmy out of my jean skirt and hazard another peek. Even with his
eyes shut, every nerve ending prickles at his scrutiny. Unclasping my bra,
the weight of his unseeing stare bores into me.
“Five, four, three….”
I slip out of my panties and tuck it under my skirt.
“Two, one….” Dipping my toes into the warm water, a faint groan escapes my lips.
Dio, this is heaven. I sink into the bubbles, and the sweet scent of lavender
fills the room. My eyes slowly close, and I lean my head against the edge of
the tub. For an instant, I forget all about the broody mob boss perched by
the sink.
A piercing gaze rakes over me, the intensity so powerful it forces my
lids to open. I meet a pair of dark, bottomless orbs, pupils so blown out they
completely eclipse his irises. My center begins to throb at that unrelenting
stare, and I’m filled with the most overwhelming desire to touch myself to
relieve that aching pulse.
Dio, I’ve never had such a primal reaction to a man. My own father
abandoning me to the mob must have broken something. I’m completely
pazza.
Luca’s tongue glides over his bottom lip, and I imagine that tongue
licking up my center. Cazzo, what is wrong with me? This man is keeping
me here against my will. Sure, he says he won’t hurt me, but how can I
believe this criminal? And still some stupid gut feeling trusts this man that
I’ve only known for a few hours. This must be some sick Stockholm’s
Syndrome or something.
“Do you mind?” I hiss as I strategically move some bubbles around to
make sure all my important parts are covered.
“No, not at all, princess.”
“It’s kind of hard for me to wash myself with you staring.”
“Why’s that?” A devilish grin curls the corners of his lips. “You prefer
to touch yourself in private?”
“Yes … I mean, no!” Ugh. I sink beneath the bubbles to escape his
piercing stare. When I finally emerge, it’s only because my lungs are about
to explode. Those eyes latch onto me again, and the sparks only grow
hotter. “Stop staring,” I hiss. “I can’t help it. You’re all beautiful and wet…. Why shouldn’t I enjoy it,
and why shouldn’t you?”
“Oh, I don’t know, a perfect stranger, the head of a freaking criminal
organization, nonetheless, watching you bathe shouldn’t be uncomfortable
at all, right?”
“I’m not a—I can’t believe you don’t remember….” His jaw snaps shut
a second later, and I’m not certain I heard him correctly.
“Remember what?” I blurt.
He shakes his head, the mischief lighting his eyes only a second ago
vanishing, and his expression shutters. Then he slides off the counter and
stalks toward the door. “Punishment over. Finish up and get ready for bed.”
Without another word, he slams the door behind him.
What the hell was that?