Caught In The Crossfires - Spinoff

3

CHAPTER 3

Cristiano

I clenched my jaw, sighing as the SUV pulled into the underground parking deck of Envy. This place wasn't my first choice to have a business meeting, but our client couldn't be swayed. Waiting for my driver to open the door, I looked over at the blindfolded woman I'd asked to accompany me.

Stacy wasn't anything close to my type, all bleached blonde hair and fake tits. But she was obedient, and that was what I needed tonight.

Unlike that mess of a girl who I couldn't get off my fucking mind.

Lorella Mariano hadn't known who I was when I entered her coffee shop this morning, but I knew exactly who she was. I'd been watching her for a few months.

At first, it had been my mission to find out if she had a hand in her brother's business dealings though it soon became apparent that she had no idea what they were into.

Yet, for some reason, that was beyond me. I still found myself watching her. Today, however, was the first time I'd let myself be stupid enough to interact with the little minx. It caught me off guard how affected I was by the girl when she gazed at me with those big blue eyes and that breathtaking smile. I found myself wanting to bite those pouty lips that framed her pearly white teeth.

In a knee-jerk reaction, I said something incredibly insulting, hoping to silence the tiny traitorous voice in my head. I expected her to be pissed because that was the goal. What I hadn't anticipated, though, was for her to punch me in the mouth. It had taken everything in me not to drag her into that back office, bend her over her own desk and redden her ass with my burning twitching palm.

Lola Mariano was a fucking brat—a disaster on legs. That shit never intrigued me before. I'd never tolerated that level of disrespect in the women I had chosen to deal with, yet somehow with her, something was different.

I had a primal urge to break her into submission—a ravenous need to make her obey. The sick fuck part of me hungered for her tears—the tears of my enemy's little sister.

I needed to get a fucking grip.

The door swung open, grabbing my attention. I breathed out through my nose before taking the woman's hand and pulling her from the car. I already wanted this night to be over. We walked into the sex club, getting stamped before the hostess directed us to one of the back rooms.

My client and friend Santiago Rojas was already seated with a collared woman on each side of him, kneeling on the ground. I sat down, pulling the blindfold off Stacy, and snapped for her to take her place on the floor between my legs as he and I spoke business.

Santiago got off on the twenty-four-hour master/slave thing, whereas I sought extreme control during a scene and was willing to be more lenient in an everyday life setting. I also didn't do attachments or any of that love bullshit. I wanted you when I wanted you. Then I needed you gone. I couldn't afford to have any weaknesses, and in my line of work, personal relationships were a liability.

That's why I joined the club scene in the first place.

My subs knew their place. They understood that whatever arrangement we had would end. No feelings. No dating. No wanting more.

Well, most subs anyway. My body shuddered, thinking about the last young woman I took on. She was by far the youngest submissive I had ever dealt with. I was hesitant for that reason, but a colleague recommended her. Going against my better judgment, I took his word, bypassing my routine screening. Huge misstep on my behalf. Huge.

Needless to say, she became attached too quickly. When I started noticing this, I ended the arrangement. She was not happy and begged me to reconsider. But I didn't. Let's just say she lost her shit for lack of a better term. She began stalking me and my newest sub to the point where she scared the poor woman off. She'd show up at my job or random work events, creating a scene. Why don't you wanna be with me? Why don't you love me? She'd scream in front of my colleagues and friends alike. I tried to have her arrested, but it never stuck. The last straw was when she broke into my home and cut her wrists. I found her clinging to life in the bathtub of my en suite.