Obsession (25 page)

“Ms Barnes, I’m waiting.”

I panted, wanting to grind myself into the vibrator but knowing Leo wouldn’t like me making myself come without his permission. “Because criminals know what they’re doing is wrong, are fully aware they’re breaking the law, they have no delusions about right and wrong. They know they’re criminals.”

I slumped and groaned, my head rolling back as the vibrations increased even more, to the point where I was jerking with each powerful pulse.

“Good girl, so smart,” he said in a low, dark voice, and I hovered on the edge of orgasm. “Come for me.”

Tilting my hips forward, I pressed my clit fully to the wonderfully pulsating device between my legs, the rope biting into my shoulders as I arched, the orgasm rocking through me. As I panted, the vibrations mellowed, but even that was too much and I tried to stand—only to find Leo’s big hands on my shoulders, pressing me back down, forcing me to take more. I made little pleading noises, but didn’t fight him as he ran his fingers soothingly through my hair, letting my face rest against his thigh.

When I’d recovered enough to sit on my own, he returned to his desk as I shifted uncomfortably, my arousal soaking my underwear until it felt like it wasn’t even there. My poor clit was beyond sensitive, but I still craved more, craved Leo’s approval and soft touch. Resting my head against him while I coasted down from my climax had been one of the best moments of my life, and I was eager for more, to bask in the sometimes painful light of his attentions.

“Now: What is the main factor that decides if a behavior is socially acceptable or not?”

The hum started again and I sat back, which only ended up pressing my anus against the vibrator, sending entirely new sensations through me that had me squeaking out a startled, “Oh!”

“Is something wrong, Ms. Barnes?”

“No—no professor.” My words came out in a moan, but I was proud I managed to speak at all. “It’s umm, people have their own beliefs and…and…oh God.”

My whole body was one big ball of need as I spread my legs wider, then cried out in dismay when the vibrations stopped.

“Wrong.” The harsh tone of his voice brought my attention to him and his disappointed frown devastated me.

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“Don’t think your tears and big sad eyes will gain you any sympathy. They make me hard, Ms. Barnes, my dick is like granite, and it pisses me off that I’m not inside of you. Makes me want to punish you.”

I bit my tongue as a tear rolled down my face. “Yes, Sir.”

“What are the signs of Ghost Sickness?”

Wanting to please him so badly, I composed myself enough to answer in a watery voice, “Because of a suppression of anger, people become panicked and depressed.”

“And what do you think, Hannah. Is this true?”

“I think it’s mostly true. You can’t paint everyone with the same brush, people’s minds are so different and they react to things differently, but I’d say in general, hoarding your anger does have a negative impact on both your psychological and physical health.” Thoughts of how often I’d repressed my own anger came to mind. “You know how they say you can be worried sick? Well, I know you can also be angry sick, like so mad your stomach cramps but you can’t let it out, have to swallow it down like bitter poison. Know what I mean?”

He’d stood from the desk while I was talking, making his way over to the now silent Sybian before lifting me off of it and carrying me over to the couch. “No, I don’t know what you mean. If I’m angry, I don’t bother to hide it.”

With my arms still bound, he had me straddle his lap, his thick and rock-hard cock replacing the Sybian—warm flesh instead of plastic. He felt infinitely better than the toy and I rubbed against him as much as I could, relying on his hands spanning my back to keep me steady. I swear his cock pulsed against me and I wished my hands were free so I could touch his face, trace his lips and rub my fingertips over the thick fringe of his eyelashes beneath his heavy brow.

“I don’t like people being mad at me.”

“That’s the difference between you and me, I don’t give a fuck. I’m a selfish bastard, while you have a heart so big, it could love the whole world. But you need to protect your heart, keep it safe for me, and that means even if someone gets mad at you, I want you to stand up for yourself.”

The rope around my arms loosened and I let out a hiss as I shook my wrists out, pins and needles filling me. “I do stand up for myself.”

The look he gave me clearly said he was calling me on my bullshit and I frowned. “What? I do.”

Running his hands through his hair, Leo glared at me and I glared right back. “Your roommate, Kayla…how often do you do things for her, like getting her dry cleaning and watching her aunt’s dog?”

Even though I knew it was totally wrong, I automatically defended Kayla without thought, just like I always did. “It’s not that bad, I mean, I obviously like dogs.”

I didn’t, however, like to clean up after dogs that were over five years old and still pissed and shit everywhere.

“How many times have you shown up at one of Kayla’s classes to take notes for her because she was too hungover to get out of bed?”

“I was already on campus, all I did was sit in her class and record it on my laptop for her.”

And take notes, and forge her signature in the giant lecture hall, but I wasn’t going to tell Leo that.

When I tried to push away from him, he snarled, “How many times has she ditched you to leave with some random guy at a club? When I took you home with me, Hannah, Kayla didn’t give one fucking shit about if you were safe or not. She was too busy doing coke in the bathroom to care, then too busy fucking some guy in his car in the parking lot and doing more coke before going home with him. Your friend is a drug addict who is going to eventually hit rock bottom, and she’s going to try to drag you down with her so your body can cushion the fall.”

“No she wouldn’t, and she doesn’t do hard drugs.”

“Really, Hannah?” He scoffed at me, making me feel like a fool even as I grew more irrationally angry. “You don’t think that spoiled bitch wants to waste her life away being either drunk or high and avoiding all her responsibilities? Pull your head out of your ass, Hannah, before she sucks the life out of you.”

I shoved myself out of his lap so violently that I almost got away, but he gripped me tight and I had no choice but to stay in his embrace. “Let me go!”

“So you can run and hide from the truth? No.”

“Fuck you,” I shouted. “Let me the fuck go, now, Leo! I’m not kidding. Let. Me. Go!”

He abruptly released me and I stumbled away from him, my chest heaving as I pointed my finger at him. “You have no idea who I am, who Kayla is, and what we’ve been through. You have no right to judge me or her when you don’t know either of us. So she has some problems, we all do, that doesn’t mean I should just abandon her like her parents did.”

Tension filled the air between us as Leo stood then stalked across the room to me, close enough that his wide chest bumped my accusing finger. “Why are you defending someone who is such a shitty friend to you? Someone who uses you, someone who treats you like a doormat, and you let her.”

“She loves me!”

“She loves herself more. Are you really so desperate for acceptance that you can’t see that?”

Pissed, so pissed I was seeing red, I swung out to hit him, but he gripped my wrist before I could make contact.

“Fuck you!”

Quicker than I could blink, he had me wrapped up in some kind of crazy submission hold and taken down to the ground, his weight pinning me as I writhed and raged, calling him all kinds of names. Adrenaline pounded through me, turning me into a spitting-mad mess as I took out my rage on Leo, venom spewing from deep inside my soul.

I’d never, ever lost my cool like this but it felt good to let loose some of the pressure I’d pushed down deep inside of me. I liked to pretend that I’m normal, that I’m just like everyone else, but I’m not. My emotional shields are as fragile as glass, and it doesn’t take much to shatter them, which is why I avoided confrontation. My mother had freaked out like this, became inconsolable as she gave her wrath free reign, and the thought of being like her terrified me.

“Don’t let me,” I sobbed to Leo.

With his weight still pinning me to the floor in complete submission, he shifted the slightest bit so I could breathe easier. “Don’t let you what?”

“Don’t let me become my mother. I don’t want to hurt people like she does.”

“You’re worried about that? Hannah, you are nothing like your mother.”

“You don’t know her.” My throat tried to close up and I shivered. “Her words can cut you like a scalpel, peel your skin from your muscles and flay you alive.”

A low growl rumbled through his chest. “Anyone that would do that to their own child doesn’t deserve to live.”

“It’s not her fault—”

“If you say it’s not her fault because your sister died of cancer, I’m going to have to strangle you,” Leo cut in as his hands tightened on my bruised wrists, sending jagged shards of pleasure-pain spinning through me. “Your mother was an adult who decided she didn’t give a fuck anymore about anyone or anything but herself. That was her
choice
, not something that was thrust upon her. People die every day and their loved ones manage to go on, manage to honor their memories without eviscerating an obviously sensitive kid on a daily basis.”

I almost said it wasn’t that bad, but bit my tongue, because it was.

Rolling off of me, he stood up, then leaned down and lifted me off the floor, his body barely straining. “You deserve so much better, and I’m going to make sure that from now on, you get it.”

Four weeks later, I stood next to Leo in my lime-green, crocheted Valentino sundress, nervously playing with the delicate gold bangles stacked up my left wrist. I had matching gold bangles on my right wrist as well, hiding the bruises on my pale skin that never really seemed to go away. Probably because I’d beg, cry, and pout to get Leo to tie me up and hurt me into an orgasm coma when they did. I liked knowing they were there, liked knowing proof of his obsession with me was visible on my skin, a branding.

My nipples tightened and I threatened my body with no sex if it didn’t behave. This was an important night and I didn’t want to screw it up by acting like a horny bimbo. I’d spent hours going through the massive closet Leo had filled for me with designer duds at his place, finally resorting to begging him to help me pick out what to wear because I had too many choices. He’d happily agreed to. I think Leo had a not-so-secret fetish for dressing me, but he had great taste so I was happy for his help.

While I’d hung out with Leo’s friends—we had them over for various dinners—the elder Cordovas were the closest thing Leo had to parents, and they wanted to meet me.

So basically, Leo was introducing me to his mom and dad for the first time.

Yikes.

The urge to check my hair was strong, but I knew Joy had sprayed the hell out of it after she’d put it up into a high ponytail, secured with a decorative gold band. We’d had an unusually rainy few days and the humidity didn’t give my hair any extra body, just made it look lanky and greasy. So up it went, and I hoped no one noticed the fading bite mark on my shoulder. Joy had commented on it, but we’d doctored it up with makeup while she told me to tell Leo to take it easy on me. If she’d seen my hidden bruises, she would have no doubt freaked.

The creak of the large, weathered oak front door opening drew me out of my thoughts and I clutched Leo’s hand in mine, hoping he didn’t notice how sweaty my palm was.

To my relief, a familiar face appeared and I smiled at Ramón. He’d been over a couple times after the kitchen incident and had been nothing but nice, going so far as bringing me a bottle of wine from his family’s vineyards in El Salvador after we’d talked about it one day. Leo had been grumpy over that, but I ignored him.

I’d learned he got grumpy a lot when it came to men paying me what he thought of as too much attention, even his friends. While I thought it was sweet that he got jealous, I wanted him to know he had no reason to be, so I made sure I touched him in ways that left no doubt we were together and I was his, whenever he felt insecure. Not that I’d given Leo a hand job at the club after some random guy had hit on me, but I did give Leo little touches and maybe a kiss, soothing the savage beast as well as letting everyone know who I willingly belonged to.

And what a magnificent beast he was.

Ramón dipped his head at me, the loose fall of his coal-black hair sliding forward to partially obscure his deeply tanned face. “Leo, Hannah, so good to see you. Please, come in.”

We entered the front doors of the monstrous home perched on the side of Camelback Mountain, the grand Spanish-style foyer, with its gleaming white marble floors with bright sage-green and red tile work around the edges, took my breath away. One wall was covered with an enormous storm-pattern Navajo rug that must have cost a fortune, and the other held a really cool stainless steel and mirrored glass mosaic. This place was big enough to be a hotel, and I marveled at all the corridors branching off the large main foyer.

Leo had explained that Judith and Jose, Ramón’s parents, had built this place large enough that each of their sons had their own wing of the home. Though all their sons had moved out, Judith and Jose hoped that someday this place would be large enough to house all the grandchildren they hoped to have for holidays and parties. It sounded like something I would do if I had the means, and knowing that helped me to relax somewhat.

I gave Ramón a brief hug, breathing in the citrusy cologne clinging to his silky black dress shirt, while Leo snarled behind me.

Used to it, we both ignored him.

“It’s good to see you. I love this house, it’s amazing. Like something you’d see in a movie.”

He winked at me then held out his arm, the darkness of his dress shirt complimenting his bronzed skin and charming white smile.

Before I could move, Leo was between us, looping a possessive arm around my waist. “Where is everyone?”

“In the kitchen.” His hazel-brown eyes moved between me and Leo, an amused glint lighting their normally chilly depths. “Come on.”

My anxiety returned as we traveled through the massive, but empty house. It was odd to see so many beautiful, interesting rooms completely devoid of people. Even a little eerie, like we were walking through the empty set of some movie, just waiting for the cast and crew to bring it to life.

Any unease I’d felt disappeared when I walked into one of the biggest kitchen/dining areas I’d ever seen. The pocket doors across the room were opened to a fabulous garden and patio enclosure, making it feel like we were outside. Glazed bricks made up the floor and the dark wood cabinets created a U-shape with a massive slab of bronze, blue, and white marble in the center. A tall, comfortably rounded, silver-haired woman with cinnamon brown skin stood next to another lady dressed in what appeared to be a maid’s uniform. Their voices were lowered as they spoke in Spanish and pointed to whatever was cooking on the stove in various copper pots and pans, which smelled amazing.

Ramón cleared his throat then said, “Hey, Mom, this is the girl that’s stolen Leo’s heart. Hannah. Pretty, isn’t she? Hannah, this is my mother, Judith.”

I smacked his biceps, but Ramón remained unrepentant as I blushed while Leo grinned down at me.

The elegant woman with the kind smile and silvery hair was dressed in a sharp teal blouse and black slacks that complimented her coloring perfectly. She crossed the room towards me with her hand held out, a big sapphire ring sparkling like the deep ocean on her right ring finger, a dazzling marquise-shaped massive diamond on her left. She had plump cheeks and a motherly smile, but I wasn’t fooled in the least. According to Leo, Judith was the power behind the throne of the company he worked for, and shouldn’t be underestimated. But she was also Ramón’s mother, and the look she gave him was one hundred percent exasperated parent.

“Hannah,” she said as she gave me a brief hug, the scent of her chic perfume momentarily enveloping me. “Welcome to our home. Can I get you anything to drink? Some wine perhaps?”

“Yes, please.”

“It’s such a pleasant evening, I thought it would be nice to eat outside tonight.”

Leo kissed Judith on the cheek, and I didn’t miss the way her smile softened. “Good to see you again, Judith.”

“I’ve barely seen you at all these past few weeks.” She took a bottle of wine from a wine refrigerator beneath one of the cabinets after giving Leo a fond but scolding look.

Leo smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back, the affection and pride in his gaze fizzing through me like champagne bubbles. “I’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

“Ahh, young love,” she said as she led us out the open doorway and to an elegant black wrought iron outdoor seating area. The dining table was surrounded on two sides by mature palm trees before opening to a luxurious grass lawn that flowed down the side of the mountain. “I remember when I first met Jose, we were inseparable.”

“How did you meet?”

The surface of the large table was made out of what looked like polished granite, and I took a moment to admire all the effort Judith had put into making everything look nice. During my time with Leo, I’d learned about all the crap involved with throwing a dinner party, and I had to hand it to Judith, she had quite a spread going on. A black Native American style vase filled with fresh orange and purple flowers stood in the middle of the table and it complemented the colors of the cushions covering the chairs perfectly. Gas lights flickered around us and dozens of tea lights in crystal votive holders threw a golden light over our faces. To my delight, tortilla chips were laid out in big black stone bowls, surrounded by smaller matching bowls filled with what I assumed was salsa.

My stomach faintly growled. I’d been too nervous to eat earlier and now I was starving. Thankfully Leo didn’t hear it, or he’d have been at my side with a cheeseburger in an instant. I couldn’t help but smile as warmth filled me over the thought of how much Leo enjoyed taking care of me, and how much I enjoyed his endless attention.

Leo held out Judith’s chair, then mine right next to hers, before taking a seat himself on my other side. Right away he held my hand in his, and I relaxed, enjoying the splendor of a warm desert night in a fabulous setting.

While Leo poured the wine, and I chowed down on chips, Judith told me how her family had immigrated from a beautiful coastal city in El Salvador when she was in her early teens, and how she had trouble fitting in with her upper-class peers in America. One boy had been giving her a particularly tough time about her heavy accent when Jose had overheard then beat the bully to a pulp. From that point on, they’d been inseparable, and many years and three children later, they were still deeply in love.

By the time she finished her charming tale, I’d sucked down a glass of wine and was feeling rather mellow, yet giggly. We were waiting on her husband and other sons, who were on their way back from a business meeting, and passed the time chatting and laughing. Leo looked on fondly while I answered her questions about myself, flattered by Judith’s genuine interest. As we talked, he leaned in his chair so he could put his arm around my back, his hand softly rubbing my shoulder, the warmth of his palm welcome in the cooling night air.

“Sorry we’re so late, Mom,” a husky male voice said from behind me.

I turned in my chair to find Ramón with men I assumed were his father and two brothers. All four men were cut from the same cloth, tall, dark and handsome, but there were slight differences between them. The man I thought was Jose had shaved his head bald, his salt-and-pepper eyebrows standing out on his tanned face. Next to him were two men in their early thirties I was sure were Diego and Fernando. Both Leo and Ramón had mentioned them before, so I knew they were twins, but they sure as hell didn’t look like it.

The guy on the right had hair so long he wore it in a braid down his back, giving him a vaguely Native American look. His copper skin glowed with good health and he filled out his khaki shorts and white t-shirt nicely. The man next to him was lean to the point of being unhealthy, a scraggly black beard matching his scraggly hair. His clothes were clean, but something about him just seemed…wrong. Maybe it was his overly bright eyes, or his jerky motions, but his presence set me on edge.

He completely ignored me and instead took a drink from a flask he pulled from his pocket, smacking Diego’s hands away when he tried to take it from him.

Frowning, Jose cleared his throat. “Fernando, not now.”

Fernando finally looked at me, and when he did, it was with such contempt that my entire body broke out in a cold sweat. “Why, afraid I’ll scare off the
pendejita
?”

Leo started to stand, but Ramón was there. He whispered something in Leo’s ear that took some of the fire out of his eyes, but boy was my man pissed. I’d never seen him this mad, and it was a terrifying sight.

My heart raced as anxiety took hold, and I wondered how I should handle the moment. Fernando was obviously sick, probably an alcoholic, and I could see how utterly mortified his family was by his behavior. And he was so thin, I hadn’t really noticed how bad it was until his virile and healthy father and brothers stood right next to him.

“That’s enough,” Jose growled out, deep red burning on his cheeks as he glanced over at me with an apologetic look.

“What the fuck does it matter? He can just do his voodoo shit again and turn her back into his good little puppet.” For a brief moment, sympathy crowded out the empty anger in Fernando’s glazed, bloodshot eyes. “Why the fuck would you want to taint something so good with our filth? What the fuck is wrong with you people? When will innocents stop dying for our sins? People…
demons
like us don’t deserve her.”

“Fernando,
controlate
!” Judith said in such a loud, pissed-off voice, I couldn’t help but swing around to look at her.

A loud crash came from behind me and I jumped, but Judith and Leo were already out of their chairs, blocking me. I tried to see around them, to figure out what the commotion was, but I couldn’t see beyond Leo’s broad form from my seat, all I could hear were angry male voices speaking in a mixture of English and Spanish.

Fernando was now yelling—no, screaming something in Spanish that was so rage-filled, it made me instinctively cower into a ball.

Judith said something in Spanish in a loud voice and Fernando’s crazed shout got closer, switching to English as he said, “Like I give a fuck about meeting his mindless little sheep, like having some braying woman at my side is going to make everything better! She’s nothing more than a puppet, a little whore puppet. Fuck this—leave me alone and let me rot in peace!”

Leo snarled and practically leapt forward, landing on Fernando with a roar as he put him in a headlock. Ramón and Jose struggled to both break them up and drag them into the house. To my surprise, Jose was unexpectedly strong for being in his sixties, and he was the one who managed to rip Leo off Fernando as I lost sight of them.