He leaned forward. “I want you completely at my mercy for two weeks. I want to use you as a fuck toy, doing to you whatever I want, however I want it, for that time until I get tired of you and throw you away like you threw me away eight years ago. That’s what I want.”
Her mouth went as dry as a mile of Texas backcountry road. She couldn’t have made joke at that point if her life depended on it. But more upsetting than his request was her body’s response to it. She could feel herself moisten, at just the thought of being with Alexei again, even if it were in such a degrading way.
She closed her eyes and could hear her father’s voice ring in her ears. Do whatever it takes to fix this. She also thought of Aaron who would be safe from discovery if she just allowed Alexei to exact his revenge.
Aaron was what sealed it, really, because she could tell that even if she said no to his terms and let him kill Drummond, Alexei would come at her with something else. No, he wouldn’t be satisfied until he fulfilled his revenge fantasy.
“Just so we’re clear on this,” she said, her voice more than a little shaky, “If I agree to spend two weeks with you, then you’ll let the Drummond Oil headquarters stay in Drummond for good? And you’ll also leave the funding Drummond Oil has put in place for our town as is? No backsies?”
He regarded her with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. “Yes, I will allow Drummond Oil to stay in Drummond after I’m done with you. And you may keep the funding scheme.”
She folded her arms and averted her eyes. “Fine,” she mumbled.
“What’s that?” he asked, cupping his ear. “I did not hear you.”
“Fine,” she said, clear as day, over-enunciating the word. “If completely degrading me will make you feel better about yourself, then I’ll do what you want, if it means you’ll leave me and my hometown alone.”
His scowl deepened. “You will need to learn to be careful with your mouth before we meet again on Sunday. If you continue to act unpleasant when we are together next, I will consider you in violation of our agreement and I will send the order to close your precious headquarters.”
“Wait, Sunday? I only have two days until I have to…” She couldn’t say it. “…do what you want me to do? But I have a ton of paperwork. I can’t just disappear from my job with only two days notice. Plus two weeks is a long time. I can’t clear off my desk and pack in just two days.”
“I am sure the good people of Drummond will be able to get along without you for two weeks.” He gave her a smile that didn’t nearly reach his eyes. “As for packing, bring nothing but yourself. I willl provide your clothing. That way we can both be sure what you are wearing is to my liking.”
The thought of someone else picking out her clothes for two whole weeks was appalling on several different levels, but she didn’t dare protest since every time she did, he just seemed to come back at her with an even more ludicrous demand. If she didn’t shut up, he’d have her running around buck-naked for two weeks just for his amusement.
“Fine,” she said. “May I go now?”
“No, not yet. Your hair…”
She touched her straightened locks. “You want me to at least bring a flat iron, so I can keep it like this?”
“No,” he said. “I want it to be curly the next time I see you. I do not like it this way.”
She started to tell him she didn’t usually wear it down like this. She had straightened it for Layla’s wedding just for fun and, of course, she’d been ambushed by little old black ladies before she got on the plane. But then she remembered who she was talking to and just went with another “Fine.”
“And when was your last STD test?”
Her cheeks warmed. She wasn’t about to tell him how low-action her life had been in the sex department since leaving him. Drummond was small and her job and motherhood took up a lot of her time. So even if there was a great guy dying to date an overworked single mother, she hadn’t had time to find him. “My last physical was in May, and all my blood work came back clean. But the last time I saw you, you were keeping company with Ms. Threesome, so I’m thinking condoms are in order.”
“I will get the necessary tests before our excursion, but I assure you I am clean as well.”
“How about birth control? I’m on the pill, but I’d rather use condoms just to make sure.” She didn’t add that she’d been on birth control eight years ago, and apparently that hadn’t been enough to prevent her from getting pregnant with Aaron.
“There is no need to worry about this. I received a vasectomy a few years ago to prevent this from happening.”
Eva nearly choked on her own breath. “I always knew you were anti having kids. But I thought maybe one day you might change your mind.”
“I did not,” he said, his eyes going distant like they used to when there was a subject he’d rather not talk about. “The point is there will be nothing between us.”
He gave her a heated look. “The next time I see you, I will be clothed, but you will be completely naked, except for a bow in your hair, which will signify you are a gift, sent to this Russian, courtesy of your beloved town of Drummond. You will open your legs wide to me, and there will be nothing between us when I enter you. After that, I will fuck you and you will welcome every thrust until we both come with me buried deep of inside of you. “
He let his words sink in for a few seconds before saying, “Now you may go.”
She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until he dismissed her, and even then she didn’t move to leave right away. His words had made her so wet she was half-afraid she’d squish if she dared to stand up. Back when they’d been together, Alexei had often made it hard for her to cover her true feelings with jokes, and it looked like he was still in possession of this particular talent. For several moments, she just sat there feeling rattled to her core, both hot with lust and cold with dread.
But eventually, she managed to pull herself together and rise from her seat. On shaky legs, she picked her way to the door in the ridiculous stilettos. But just as she put her hand on the glass handle, he said, “Eva, one more thing…”
When she turned back to face him, his expression, which had been so heated just a moment ago, visibly cooled. “Say hello to your father for me.”
Chapter Seven
THE only good thing Eva could say about her trip to New York was it really didn’t take that long. Thanks to the convenience of Alexei’s on-call jet, she was back in front of the computer in her den in time to Skype with Aaron in Italy.