Sacrifice

Chapter Ten

S tretching, I groan and feel the ache in my body. My eyes pop open and I feel the shame instantly hit me. How could I sleep with Vincent? He's a monster who kills at the drop of a hat. Not only that, but he's also treated me like I owe him everything.

"God, I'm so stupid," I mutter to myself. Tears threaten to fall as I swallow the bile that rises in my throat.

Meow . I'm now pretending my cat is here. I turn from my back to my right side and a fluffy tail hits my face.

A rough tongue hits my nose and I giggle. Meow .

"Espresso!" I practically scream, and pull my precious baby to me. "How?"

Looking around the room, I see Vincent looking at me, amused. Sitting up, I hold Espresso as he curls his paws around my neck. I cry with the joy I'm feeling.

"You didn't kill him." Holding it together is hard as I stroke his fur and he continues meowing at me. My heart doesn't ache as much, knowing he isn't gone.

My baby is still here. It's on repeat, like a song in my mind. "You tricked me."

"No, I didn't. I needed you to get in line, Aribella. Fear is a wonderful tactic for that." He doesn't sound remorseful and I guess he doesn't have to; considering I did indeed fall in line. And straight into his bed.

Vincent gets up from the chair and comes over to me. Even if Espresso is alive, I shouldn't have let Vincent take me. Why not? You enjoyed it. My brain is at war with my heart and I can't seem to reconcile the trust issue I have with him. You want him, my brain teases me. No . I remind myself firmly.

As he sits down next to me, he places a hand on my leg. "I can see how conflicted you are, mi reina ." His words are gentle and I almost don't hear them.

"Yes. I don't know how to take in all of this. I shouldn't have slept with you. And... and you lied to get me in line. Only a psycho believes fear is the way to get what you want."

He pushes a stray hair out of my face and smiles at me. Well, don't stop. You're on a roll, I chastise myself. The man gave you back Espresso. Besides, you liked it when he was inside of you. Vincent smirks and moves his hand along my face and down to my neck.

The clench in my womanhood is hard to ignore. I wish my brain would shut up. A blush creeps along my face as a naughty thought crosses my mind.

"Tell me what you just thought about."

Espresso climbs from my hold and sits down on the covers, watching us. Great, now my cat is totally judging me. Vincent's hand moves upward and I moan. His touch is amazing, but I'm not ready to admit that to him.

"I... Um..." There's no way I can have sex with him again. Right?

His free hand moves through my hair and tightens. "Tell me, mi reina ."

I gasp as one of his fingers flicks my nipples and makes its way down toward my private area. "We..." I lick my lips and blink to clear the fog, trying to overtake me. "Are we going to do it again?"

My question causes Vincent to throw his head back and laugh. "Yes. Many times over. Does my peque?a mariposa enjoy when I spread her legs and make her cream all over my dick?"

Wow, I didn't think I'd like dirty talk, but the way his deep voice drops an octave, and his eyes blaze, I know there's no stopping my need. I'm scared of him and what he could do to me. Yet, he didn't kill my baby. Can I trust him? My heart tells me to be cautious. I notice Espresso chewing at the shirt Vincent is wearing and I sigh.

"Yes," I whisper, and he chuckles at me.

"Good." He kisses me and pushes one finger into my wetness. "You've made me happy by admitting it."

When he pulls back, I whimper and try to stop him from leaving my heat. He kisses my lips and releases me. "We have some business to take care of. Why don't you get cleaned up and meet me in the kitchen?"

Wait. What? I'm ready for him, and he's talking about business? The blush deepens on my cheeks when he stands up and looks down at me.

"Alright." He bends down and picks up Espresso.

"No. I'll be good." The panic gets to me and I grab his arm.

"Calm down, mi reina . I'm taking him downstairs to get him settled in the kitchen." Vincent strokes my cat's forehead. "If you keep being my good reina, Espresso's toys will be brought up from the basement."

Good. I have to be good. I need Espresso with me. "I understand." There's nothing else I can do right now. Besides, being bad gets me heartache.

"By the way, I must inform you, my right-hand man has become somewhat attached to Espresso."

This excites me. "Really?" I step out of bed, not realizing I'm still naked. Vincent groans and I look down.

"Oh, no." I grab the blanket, but he stops me.

"Don't hide from me," he warns,and I stand in front of him, embarrassed and exposed.

A shy giggle escapes me, and I look at my feet. "I'll try not to."

Vincent steps closer to me and kisses my nose. "Mossimo will take good care of your baby. He didn't want to give him to me to bring to you."

He laughs and I smile. "Well, Espresso is a good boy and loves people."

"Yeah, well, Mossimo is a cold-hearted bastard, but he was smiling. And Aribella, he never smiles."

This is a great thing. Maybe Mossimo can be an ally for when the other shoe drops. Tentatively, I hug Vincent and kiss his cheek.

"It means he's happy and probably melting with furry bliss." Slowly, I kiss him on his lips and he growls.

"You're a distraction, mi reina . Go, you are too fucking sore for me to take you. Go before I forget myself."

He turns around and huffs as he walks out of the room. I rush to the bathroom and if maybe, hopefully, alright, I'll be honest - wishfully hoping I'm not being stupid by letting my guard down.

Perhaps he is genuine in not wanting to hurt me. 'Gah!" I gasp when I step into the water. There are too many questions and feelings. I don't like not knowing what his mood will be. It seems to change so rapidly.

Why… why do I feel like I’m going to orgasm? My body shivers and the pleasure tingles within me. Moving, I feel the pleasure spike and I yelp. Feeling my body, I shift and notice there’s something in me. Whimpering, I lower my hand down to my private area.

I’m pulsating with need, unsure of what is happening to me. Slowly, I move my hand down to my opening and hesitantly feel inside of me. I moan at my touch and my eyes close as I feel the smoothness of metal inside of me.

What did Vincent put in me? I touch one and I fall to my knees as pleasure explodes in me and I scream out in shock and need. My whole body shivers as I pull the first ball out of my quivering body.

My goodness. I can barely catch my breath as I reach in and touch the other one. It slips further into me and I scream again. Vincent bursts into the room, and I should be embarrassed at how exposed I am, but I’m not.

“He… help me,” I beg as I pull my hand away, afraid to touch the other ball again.

He stalks toward me with a power that is dizzying. “ Mi reina found my little surprise, I see.”

Watching him get on his knees, he reaches for me and I don’t move. “Such a good little girl, opening your legs for me.”

Those devilish lips smirk as he kisses me and plunges two fingers into my body, causing the metal ball to move. Another orgasm hits me and my hips thrust wildly. “That’s it Aribella, feel the pleasure,” his words are gruff as he plunges his fingers into me, forcing me to feel every single movement.

He pushes the first ball I was able to get out back into me and they hit one another. I scream his name as the pleasure intensifies. “Give me another one.” He demands of me as his two fingers push the balls together.

“That’s right, my dirty girl likes this. Fucking my fingers like it’s my dick. Keep it up,” his words come out breathless as he watches me come once again all over his hand. My eyes are stuck on his, as my entire body shatteres into a pile of boneless need.

WIth a quick yank, he takes the balls out and chuckles with satisfaction. “When you are ready, come downstairs.”

Sitting down at the kitchen counter, I watch Vincent work with the stove. Espresso is in the corner, eating greedily. The man has some serious skills in the kitchen that I'm jealous of. I can cook basic things, but he's making knife work look easy.

Once he's done throwing everything in the pan, he starts flipping the food with the spatula. I'm fascinated with the way he moves, and by the time he has the food on the plates, I'm starving. Now if the food tastes great too, I'll be impressed.

He brings the food over to the table and stands in front of me, scooping some of the omelets with his fork. He takes a bite and watches me. The eggs are fluffy and cheesy with onions and peppers in them. I've never had an omelet taste this good.

"This is so yummy," I gush, and he laughs. Taking my eyes off my food for the first time, I look at him and he looks pleased. It causes me to blush.

"I'm happy to hear you are enjoying the food I made for you." He goes back to eating his food, so I do the same. Once I'm done with the seasoned hash browns, I sit back and sigh.

"I'm stuffed."

Vincent takes our plates and washes them. As he dries his hands, I sip my coffee. He takes a couple of pills out of their bottles and hands them to me.

"Take them, mi reina . I don't want you fainting on me."

I don't fight him, even though I'm not sure the meds will help. But, I'm not in the mood to argue. It seems like there's a fragile truce between us.

Mossimo comes in, wearing all black, and Espresso walks over to him. "Ah, you cutie patootie. You want to be picked up, don't ya?"

Cutie patootie? This man is known to be one of the most ruthless killers and he’s calling my cat by a pet name? Vincent doubles over laughing and I stare open-mouthed as Espresso stretches up his front paws to be held. Mossimo smiles, bends down, and takes my baby in his arms. He starts singing and I'm in shock. The man is almost seven feet tall, muscles for days, and tattoos starting on his forehead going down. Who would have thought that this tough man who looks like the killer he is would be soft for a cat?

" Mi reina, we need to talk." Vincent holds my hand and Mossimo snorts.

Before Vincent can say anything, his phone rings and he excuses himself when he looks at the screen.

"He's such a sweet boy, isn't he, Mossimo?" I stand up and get closer to him. Espresso meows and paws gently at Mossimo's beard. The whole moment seems surreal.

"I've always wanted a cat like him. He's definitely a sweet little boy, Aribella."

Vincent returns a moment later, looking angry, but he comes over and kisses my forehead. "Now, mi reina , we need to be distraction-free."

He pulls me into his arms and holds me. "Let's go to my office."

Mossimo looks between us and turns away.

"Wait." I walk over to him and kiss Espresso on the head. 'We'll play later," I whisper to him and he bumps his head into me.

Vincent takes us to the office and, as I sit down on the couch, he locks the door. My body trembles with nerves and worry. "What's going on Vincent?" No matter how nice he's being, I'm still a little scared.

Standing a good foot away from me, he puts his hands behind his back. I dislike how my heart rate has skyrocketed as he stands there in silence.

"Your brother sacrificed you to me as payment." As if I didn't already know that. My gut drops at his words, though, and I look down at my knees.

"Yes." It's the only word I can say. The truth of the matter is that I'm nothing more than a transaction. I knew my moment of easiness and happiness wouldn't last. "I'm property. A trade for a debt," the words come out in a harsh whisper.

"Carlos didn't leave the casino with his life."

"What?" My head whips up and I try to focus around black spots trying to appear in my vision.

Vincent hasn't moved from his spot, but he looks at me with regret. "The minute he traded you for himself, I shot him. He's dead, Aribella."

My mouth opens twice as sweat breaks out along my neck. The pressure is growing to a fever pitch. No. Not now. I demand myself. I cannot be fainting.

"How... how could you kill him?"

Vincent comes over and sits down next to me, and I flinch away from him. " Mi reina, he was going to die one way or another." He grabs my hands and I yelp, yanking them away from him.

"Don't..." I blink and he grabs my hands again. My shock is too severe to find the words I need. Seriously, what can I say? If I don't behave, he'll take Espresso away. But how can I behave? He truly did kill someone that I loved.

"The families in this world demanded his entire bloodline to be wiped out. In a way, he did you a favor by giving you to me."

My head and heart hurt. The need to scream haunts me, but I can't even open my mouth. Numbness is like a cold body of water settling around me. What does he expect me to say? I stare at him, unable to process the stark reality that I was happy five minutes ago.

"I'm never going to be free, am I?" I thought my truce with him would grow, but I’m realizing I was wrong.

Vincent growls and pulls me to him. I close my eyes, too scared to look at him. "You want to be free?" He grips my face so harshly, I cry out in pain and look at him. "Go. You won't make it five minutes out there before you realize you aren't safe."

He laughs menacingly. "The families will hunt you down and kill you. But, sure, Aribella, go. Be free," malice permeates his words.