Mafia Captive (3 page)

When they arrived at the house, Faith’s mouth fell open.
House
was an understatement. It was like calling an ocean a quaint body of water. She was glad he’d gotten rid of the blindfold, ropes, and gag. With all the guards and household staff, it would be mortifying to be brought in like a prisoner, though that was her status.
Slave
, her mind whispered.

She tried not to look like a starry-eyed tourist outside a celebrity home as they made their way inside.

Leo exchanged a few hushed words with a man that looked like head of security while Faith looked around the entryway. It was decorated for Christmas, and there wasn’t a nook or cranny that didn’t have an ornamental flourish or a string of glittering white lights. A high-quality sound system played Christmas carols just loud enough to notice if you paid attention, but still unobtrusive enough to go about your day without undue annoyance.

“Faith. Come with me.” Leo took her hand and led her through the marble-tiled foyer, up a grand staircase, and down a hallway.

Her heart was in her throat as he urged her inside a room with a large and ornate bed. A fire roared in the fireplace, and a Christmas tree stood near the windows. A golden retriever hopped off the furniture to greet them, tail wagging and tongue lolling out.

“Hey, Max,” Leo said, bending to pet the dog.

How monstrous could the man be with a golden retriever? Though Faith knew this wasn’t a real marker of a man’s overall goodness or evil, it gave her a spark of hope.

The sitting area in front of the fireplace had a small coffee table, a couple of high-backed chairs that looked comfortable despite their opulence, and a love seat. A bathroom led off to the side, and Faith had no doubt the closets alone were probably the size of her studio apartment. At the back of the room was a large set of three bay windows with thick drapes that reached the floor. In front of the windows was a writing desk with fancy stationary and pens.

“Sit and write down your address and make a list of everything you need. There’s a heated pool here, so you might factor that in.”

Faith didn’t say anything. She couldn’t say anything. She just sat, uncapped a fountain pen, and stared dumbly at the paper. Was she a prisoner or Cinderella? Had she experienced the worst luck of her life or the best? What he was doing wasn’t okay, but here she was, surrounded by people in a nice place with a man who, despite realities she couldn’t yet cope with, was prepared to… what? Take care of her like she was his girlfriend or wife?

“Leo …” she said, forgetting herself for a minute.

He patted the dog one last time and straightened, his face stern. “Master. Not Leo to you. Ever.”

With that pronouncement, her silly little-girl fantasy came to an abrupt and screeching halt.

“I’m sorry, Master.” She’d never get used to the title. “Why are you doing all this? I don’t understand why …” It wasn’t a question of why he was doing something so immoral. The real question was why was he wrapping it so nicely, making it a seduction that part of her couldn’t help wanting to fall for?

Aside from the slavery aspect, wasn’t this what most girls fantasized about from childhood—Prince Charming swooping in and taking care of all their needs, showering them with safety and security, and living happily ever after?

Despite escaping her foster family, things hadn’t gotten much easier. The brief party of college and dorm life had been fleeting, only to give way to a cold world that demanded she produce or sleep in a gutter. She’d barely been eking out a living, squirreling away every spare penny she could, hoping it would be enough to keep surviving. Because what if she lost her job? She had to have a safety net.

It had taken a lot of nagging from her friends to get her to go out drinking, but she needn’t have worried. There had been plenty of men to buy her drinks so she didn’t have to dip into her own funds.

Leo strode over to her and she couldn’t help cringing, afraid of what he might do. So maybe it wasn’t such a dream-fantasy after all. She was still bone-chillingly terrified of him.

He stopped at the other side of the desk, regarding her calmly. “I have specific requirements in a relationship. Certain… kinks and desires…”

Faith’s mind immediately flashed to images of whips and chains. But with the title he’d demanded, hadn’t that idea drifted through her mind already, no matter how much she’d tried to push it away? She might not be into that, but she wasn’t oblivious.

Given her current circumstances, it would seem most appropriate that such things would happen in a dirty, dank basement where she’d be fed crumbs and kept in a cramped cage, but she imagined whips and chains with this man would be dressed in refinement.

“A-are you going to hurt me?” Plenty of women lived in abusive relationships that looked like pampered luxury on the outside. Faith didn’t want to be one of those women. Give her a simple studio apartment with an uncertain financial future any day over riches that obscured a nightmare of ongoing torment behind closed doors.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but if you obey me and honestly seek to please me, you’ll remain safe and may even come to be happy here. Now make your list.”

She tried to quiet the whirring questions and relentless fears. His word meant nothing. He could promise anything he wanted, but trusting in such a promise would be too naïve—no matter how much she wanted to. Her only desire was to find safety here. All thoughts of rebellion and escape left her in light of the hope she had of garnering his favor.

Faith scribbled down her list, hoping it wasn’t asking too much, and handed the sheet to Leo. He looked it over briefly and nodded. “I’ll take care of it. Stay here.”

Chapter Three

Saving Faith from Angelo’s bullet had given Leo an irrational sense of entitlement. But the girl wanted him. In between her moments of fear and indignation, he’d glimpsed the half-starved glances she’d aimed his way. It was the effect he’d always had on women. The combination of danger, money, and looks was too irresistible for most females of the species—even a captive like Faith.

He intended to make this as easy on her as possible, if she’d let him. Each tiny step toward complete submission would be rewarded. Each misstep, punished. By the time he was finished with her, she would crave him so deeply, she wouldn’t remember this had all started with her forceful loss of freedom.

It had been a long night, especially so close to Christmas. Though he couldn’t imagine the men in the family caring one way or the other about how Faith had come to be here, the women and the children didn’t need to know. He’d have to come up with a cover story before family started streaming in for the holidays.

Once he’d made the choice to get involved in Angelo’s warped offer, he was committed, the course of his life irrevocably changed, his own options narrowing. Her death wouldn’t only be a sin on Angelo’s soul, but on Leo’s as well.

He couldn’t get bored with her or decide it wasn’t working out and send her packing. Not without the price of her life. He’d been kidding himself if he’d thought he could be in this family without being tainted by his environment and pulled into an increasingly amoral world.

Leo dropped the list off with one of his men and went to take care of some business. When he returned a couple of hours later, he found her on the love seat with Max’s head resting on her lap. The dog had an uncanny ability to sense distress and bring comfort, and right now he was doing what he did best. Her hand trembled as she stroked the dog’s fur.

“Faith.”

She looked up, startled. The fear in her eyes pulled at him. He wanted to lock the door, toss her down on the bed and ravage her within an inch of her existence. But instead he rolled the cart in, letting it come to stop next to her.

“Are you hungry?”

Her gaze drifted to the floor as if she couldn’t look into his eyes while she acknowledged her status with him. “Y-yes, Master.”

There was a hesitance in her reply, though Leo guessed the hesitance wasn’t about the title he’d insisted on. From the look in her eyes, she was afraid of what she might have to do to earn the food. He brushed a stray tear off her cheek and put a plate on her lap. Max repositioned himself on the floor beside her feet, looking up at Leo with accusation in his gaze. Or maybe Leo imagined it, needing someone to disapprove of his actions. No one else in the house would.

If a dog was to be his moral compass, so be it.

He sat across from her with a plate of his own, watching as she hesitantly brought the sandwich to her lips. God knew what kind of fears the poor girl harbored. And he couldn’t promise that at least a few of them wouldn’t come to pass. Though there existed sadists far worse than him, if she was a complete vanilla, any of it was going to terrify her. And on some level that excited him more.

“You’ll share this room with me.” Leo pointed to the far end of the room. “That closet is empty, so you can use it for your things when they get here. It shouldn’t be long now.”

Faith’s hand shook as she raised the sandwich to her lips.

“Are you listening to me?”

She looked up, her face alert like a rabbit about to be pounced upon. “Y-yes, Master.”

He smiled at the remembered title. She was so sweet. Given her attempt at fighting both him and his brother, he’d been surprised when so little pain and threat had resulted in obedience. He’d expected attitude and mouthiness at least, but she was surprising him. Even if she didn’t classify it as a kink, there was a submissive current that ran through her like electricity, a deep need to appease a stronger party.

“You just want to stay safe, don’t you? That’s why you’re being so agreeable.”

“Yes, Master. P-please don’t hurt me.” She chanced a look into his eyes. “Please.”

He tried not to let her pleading affect him. “Ignoring for a moment the circumstances of your presence here, do you find me attractive?”

“Please don’t make me answer that.”

“Because you’re afraid to make me angry?”

She looked down at her hands. “No, Master.”

“I see.” So she
was
attracted. “I’m not going to fuck you for a while. Be a good girl and you have nothing to fear from me. And… you’re allowed to speak.”

“I don’t have anything to say.”

When Angelo had been assessing his type, he should have remembered Leo liked conversation. Before he could have much time to brood over this, there was a short knock on the door.

“Come in.”

As the door pressed open, a gray cat with a face that looked like it had been flattened trotted into the room, meowing angrily at the sight of another animal lying at her owner’s feet. Despite the flattened face typical of its breed, it was cute.

Faith looked up, relieved to see her pet. Instead of coming up to her, the cat bypassed her to sniff and rub up against Leo’s legs. He picked her up and placed her in his lap, whereupon she began to purr as he stroked her.

“What’s her name?” Leo asked.

“Squish.”

He looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Squish?”

Faith shrugged. “Well, look at her face.”

Leo glanced at his watch. “I imagine you’re exhausted. Go ahead and do whatever you usually do before bed.”

***

Faith let out a slow breath. She was safe for a moment behind the locked door of the bathroom, holding a pile of things from her apartment in her arms. Could she wash her face and brush her teeth and floss like nothing scary was going on? Could she slip into her pajamas and get into bed with this man?

She went back to the question he’d asked about if she was attracted. Hell, yes she was. But she shouldn’t be. She was ashamed that she found him appealing on any level.

She should be kicking and screaming and fighting. She should be running. But she didn’t want to die. It was easier to be his slave in a mansion than run and wait to be gunned down in the streets. It was hard to hold the idea in her head that he was her captor when he was also her rescuer. The roles were too different. If she let herself, she’d forget the captor part and latch onto the rescuer part.

When she’d brushed and flossed and scrubbed her face and changed, she sat on the edge of the tub. She should go back out there. He might get angry and take this fantasy away if she stayed too long. But she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t make herself leave the room. It was easy to pretend he could forget about her in here and she could stay, unmolested forever.

But the knock on the door burst that irrational bubble. “Faith. Are you all right in there?”

She held back the hysterical laugh as it danced in her throat. Was she all right? She was so not all right. But she could never explain the reason she wasn’t all right was because none of this was playing out as she’d imagined it would. If he kept playing his hand like this, he might actually succeed in seducing her. The thought made her recoil.

When she opened the door, Leo blocked her path, wearing nothing but a sinister smile. She tried to avert her eyes from his impressive erection, tried not to hyperventilate. Not going to fuck her? Like hell he wasn’t going to fuck her. The next thing he’d be saying was “Don’t worry, I’ll just put the tip in.”

She was beginning to wish she’d gotten a lot more drunk tonight.

He gave her a once over then shook his head. “No.”

She forced herself to look at his face and nothing else. “No?”

“I don’t recall saying you could wear pajamas to bed. I want you naked.”

She took several steps backward. “E-excuse me?” What happened to his promise to leave her unmolested for a while? Did “a while” translate into fifteen minutes in his world? “I-I thought you said…”

“I said nothing about sleeping attire. Take it off.”

His words were clipped and hungry… nearly a growl. If she did what he said and took it off, what would protect her from him? Nothing. But what was protecting her from him now? Did she think her pajamas had magical powers?

“Leo, please…”

His eyes glinted dangerously as he gripped her wrist and pulled her closer, causing his hard-on to brush against her thigh.

“What did we say about that? Address me properly.”