Chapter Twelve
Nina's POV
I couldn't sleep.
The bed was too soft, the room too quiet, and my mind wouldn't stop spinning. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the ocean closing over my head. Felt the water filling my lungs. Heard Dante's cold voice promising punishment.
I sat up, pushing the blankets away. The oversized t-shirt I wore, Enzo's shirt, smelled like cedar and gunpowder. A constant reminder of who owned me now.
No. Not owned. I wasn't owned.
I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to think. There had to be a way out. There had to be someone who could help me. My father was useless, worse than useless. He'd sold me like cattle. But Jenny . My best friend Jenny . Her father worked in military intelligence. If anyone could get me out of this nightmare, it was him.
I just needed to call her. One phone call. That's all.
Nana had a phone. I'd seen her use it in the kitchen, texting her grandchildren in Miami. If I could just get to her room, borrow it for five minutes, I could fix this.
The clock on the nightstand read 2:17 AM. Late enough that everyone should be asleep. Early enough that I might actually pull this off.
I slid out of bed, my bare feet silent on the cold floor. The door to the connecting room was closed but unlocked, just like Enzo had promised. Or threatened. I held my breath as I eased my own door open, wincing at the soft click of the latch.
The hallway was dark except for the dim emergency lighting along the baseboards. I moved quickly, keeping close to the wall, my heart hammering so hard I was sure someone would hear it.
Down the stairs. Through the main living area. Toward the staff wing where Nana's room was.
Then I heard it.
A sound that made me freeze mid-step.
A woman's voice. Low, breathy. Moaning.
It came from the balcony off the living room, the one that overlooked the ocean. Moonlight spilled through the open doors, casting silver shadows across the marble floor.
I should keep walking. I should get the phone and get out of here.
But my feet wouldn't move.
The sound came again. A soft whimper, then a man's voice, deep and commanding.
"Quiet. You know the rules."
Enzo.
My stomach dropped. My skin prickled hot and cold at the same time.
I knew I shouldn't look. I knew it was wrong, dangerous, stupid.
I looked anyway.
I crept closer to the balcony doors, staying in the shadows, barely breathing. Through the opening, I could see them.
Enzo had a woman pressed against the railing. Her dress was pushed up around her hips, his hand fisted in her dark hair. The ocean breeze lifted the fabric, making it dance around their bodies. Moonlight painted them in silver and shadow.
He moved inside her with deep, controlled thrusts. Not rough. Not violent. Something else entirely. Something that made my breath catch in my throat.
"Please," the woman whispered. "Please, I need to…"
"No," Enzo said, his voice like silk over steel. "Not until I say."
His other hand wrapped around her throat, gentle but firm. Not choking. Controlling. She arched into it, a broken sound escaping her lips.
"That's better," he murmured against her ear. "You take what I give you. Nothing more. Nothing less. Understand?"
"Yes," she gasped. "Yes, sir."
Heat flooded through me, shocking and unwanted. My thighs clenched. My hand found the doorframe, gripping it hard enough to hurt.
This wasn't the Enzo I knew. The cold, controlled man who looked at me like I was a problem to solve. This Enzo was different. Raw. Passionate. Commanding in a way that made something low in my belly tighten with need I didn't want to feel.
I couldn't look away.
His rhythm changed, deeper, harder. The woman bit her lip, trying to stay quiet. Her fingers white-knuckled on the railing.
"Come," Enzo ordered, and she shattered, her whole body trembling as she tried desperately not to scream.
My own hand had somehow found its way to my throat, mimicking where his hand had been on hers. My breathing was too fast, too shallow.
Then I shifted my weight.
The floorboard creaked.
Everything stopped.
Enzo's head snapped toward the sound, toward me. Even in the darkness, I felt his eyes find mine.
"Go inside," he told the woman without looking at her. "Now."
"But…"
"Now."
His voice left no room for argument. The woman pulled away, adjusting her dress with shaking hands. She hurried past me without meeting my eyes, practically running toward the front entrance.
I should run too. Should disappear before he reached me.
But my legs wouldn't work.
Enzo walked toward me slowly, adjusting himself as he moved, every step deliberate. Predatory. He was still half-hard, I could see it, and the knowledge made my face burn.
I backed up. He kept coming.
My back hit the wall.
He caged me in, one hand on either side of my head, his body close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him.
"Going somewhere, princess?"
I couldn't speak. I couldn't think. Could only stare up at him, my heart trying to break out of my chest.
"I asked you a question." His voice was soft. Dangerous.
"I was… I was going to find Nana," I managed. "I couldn't sleep. I needed…"
"You needed what?" He leaned closer, his nose almost touching mine. "Water? Fresh air? Or were you looking for another dangerous way to escape and put us in danger again?"
My blood turned to ice.
"How did you…I mean, no . I am trying to just get some fresh air because I am tired of lying down all day" I lied
"Little princess, you shouldn't lie to me if you don't want to get in trouble. I suppose you have never seen the dungeon right?"
Tears burned behind my eyes. "I just wanted to take some fresh air,you can't keep me locked up forever. I am not some kind of animal !" I complained
"You're more than alive. You're safe. Fed. Protected." His thumb brushed my cheekbone. "But you keep trying to run. Keep breaking rules. Keep crossing dangerous lines."
"I wasn't…"
"You were watching me." His eyes burned into mine. "For how long, Nina? How long did you stand there watching me fuck her?"
The crude word made me flinch. Made a heat pool between my legs.
"I didn't mean to. I just heard sounds and I…"
"You got curious." His hand moved to my jaw, tilting my face up. "You wanted to see. Wanted to know what I'm like when I'm not playing nice with scared little girls who think they're prisoners."
"I am a prisoner."
"No, baby. You're something much more complicated than that." His thumb traced my lower lip. "And you liked what you saw. Didn't you?"
"No."
"Liar." He pressed closer, his thigh sliding between mine. "Your pulse is racing. Your pupils are blown. You're breathing like you just ran a marathon." His voice dropped to a whisper.
"And if I put my hand between your legs right now, I'd find you soaking wet. Wouldn't I?"
I shook my head, but we both knew the truth because my nipples were already hard against his shirt , poking out of the shirt.
"You need to learn boundaries," he said. "You need to understand what happens when you cross lines in this house . You have been a bad bad girl and I will make sure you're punished accordingly."
Fear and something darker tangled in my chest. "What are you going to do?"
"What I should have done the moment you arrived." He stepped back, grabbed my wrist. "Come with me."
I didn't want to follow him till I saw the outline of the gun on the waistband of his jeans which made me still with fear.
He pulled me toward the living area with his large strong palms which is heavily tattooed till
It runs up to his entire arm, toward a leather armchair positioned near the fireplace. I tried to dig in my heels, but he was so much stronger.
"Enzo, please. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"You're right. You won't." He sat down, pulling me forward until I stood between his knees. "Because you're going to remember this every time you think about breaking the rules."
His hands went to my hips.
"No. No, please…"
"Over my lap, Nina. Now."
"I won't. You can't make me."
He looked up at me, and something in his eyes made my protests die. "I can. And we both know it. You can fight me, make this harder on yourself. Or you can accept your punishment like a good girl and we'll be done."
I bit down on my cheeks, crossed my hands and tried to hide my hard nipples. "I hate you."
"I know." His voice was almost gentle. "Over. My. Lap." His baritone voice ordered and my body betrayed me because it obeyed faster than I would admit.
My body moved before my brain caught up. Some part of me, some traitorous, broken part, wanted this.
I laid across his thighs, my hands bracing on the opposite armrest, my ass up in the air. The t-shirt rode up, exposing my thin sleep shorts.
"Count," Enzo said. "In Spanish. If you lose count, we start over. Twenty."
"Twenty?" I gasped. "That's…"
The first slap cut off my words. Sharp, shocking, right across both cheeks. Not hard enough to really hurt. Hard enough to burn.
"Uno," I choked out.
"Good girl."
The second came. Then the third. By the fifth, I was biting my lip to stay quiet. By the tenth, tears were streaming down my face. Not from pain. From humiliation. From the awful, shameful heat building inside me.
"Doce," I whispered after the twelfth.
His hand paused, resting on my heated skin. "You're doing so well, princess. Almost done."
My tummy was tingling with sensation because I could feel his cock getting really hard and the handle of his gun still kept tugging at the sensitive part of my belly button.
The next slap landed lower, closer to where I was shamefully wet. I couldn't stop the small sound that escaped.
"Trece."
"That's it. Keep going."
Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Each one building on the last, creating a rhythm that my body started to anticipate. Started to arch into.
No. No, this was wrong. I shouldn't want this.
But I did. God help me, I did.
"Diecinueve," I breathed.
The twentieth slap landed perfectly, right across the center. I bit down on my hand, but the moan escaped anyway. Loud. Needy. Unmistakable.
"Mmmnhnn arrrrh" Enzo's hand stilled. His other hand came to my hip, holding me in place as I trembled.
"Up," he said quietly.
I pushed myself off his lap, unsteady, my face burning with shame. I couldn't look at him.
He stood, adjusted my shirt, pulled it down to cover me. His hands were gentle. Careful.
"Look at me."
I shook my head.
"Nina." His fingers under my chin, lifting. "Look at me."
I met his eyes. They were dark, intense, but not angry.
"You're going to go back to your room now," he said. "You're going to think about what happens when you break rules. And tomorrow, we'll discuss what your real punishment will be for trying to contact the outside world."
"That wasn't the punishment?"
"No, baby. That was a warning." He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. "Next time you want to watch me, you ask permission. Understood?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
He walked me toward the stairs, his hand on my lower back. Possessive. Guiding. At my door, he stopped.
"Sleep well, princess."
I stumbled into my room, closing the door behind me. My legs barely held me as I walked to the bathroom. In the mirror, I looked wrecked. Hair wild. Face flushed. Eyes bright with unshed tears and something worse.
Want.
I pressed my hands to my hot cheeks, trying to calm down. Trying to think clearly.
But all I could think about was his hands. His voice. The control.
My hand slid down my body almost without permission. Between my legs where I was soaked, throbbing, desperate.
I shouldn't. This was wrong. He was my captor. I should hate him.
But my fingers moved anyway, circling, pressing. I bit down on my other hand as pleasure sparked through me.
I thought about Enzo on the balcony. His hand in that woman's hair. His voice commanded her. The way his eyes had burned when he caught me watching.
The way his hand felt against my skin.
I came hard, my knees buckling, a moan escaping despite my hand clamped over my mouth.
"Fuck, what's wrong with me? I hate these motherfuckers for making me feel this way!"
The sound echoed in the quiet room.
Then I heard it.
Footsteps in the hallway outside my door.
Walking away.
Someone had been there. Listening.
And I had just given them exactly what they wanted.