Page 17 of The Sicilian Heir
"What is the cause? These factions normally don't come together and form alliances." I stroked my face in thought.
"They want to break our syndicate." Luciano threw me ano shitlook.
"We need to create rifts between these factions, maybe even create an alliance with the Italians in the southwest. If we can't create an alliance, then we will wipe them out."
Luciano nodded his head in agreement. His eyes gleamed with thoughts of violence. This was why he was the greatest enforcer we had. He enjoyed killing. He made it into his own art form. It was one of the reasons Father dissuaded us from forming a familial bond with him. He would rather not think on our mother's infidelity.
Women in the outfit normally didn't cheat. Those who did hadn't lived to tell the tale. Except my mother. Not that the way she lived was easy. Sure, she dressed nicely, but behind closed doors, her life was a living nightmare.
"I'll go dark and get started on breaking them down then." Luciano rose and headed out.
I knew it was going to be a few weeks before we saw him again. It was his process. He would go weeks and even months without checking into the compound, but one thing he had was my trust. I have never doubted his loyalty to the famiglia. I have doubted his love for our mother and sperm donor, but those were things we didn't speak of. The only one who spoke ill against our parents was Rosalina. She was female, so it was okay for her to have outbursts, as my father described it. The rest of us siblings couldn't show our disdain for our parents.
Sometimes I looked at Luciano and saw the madness that caused him to spiral. After I found him with that girl in his quarters, the one he had as a child, the one whose mother he stole, I knew I needed to give him another outlet for his violence. If not, I was certain I would lose him. Frustrated, I paced the office trying to find solutions to all the problems piling up. There were no easy ones.
A foot soldier walked into my office without knocking and I had to hold back my growl of annoyance. They acted like they weren't trained at all.
"What?" I snapped.
He jumped and flushed, but I noticed he was panting from exertion. "The girl left the compound," he hedged.
"Rosalina?" I needed clarification.
"No, the Chinese one." As soon as he said it, he knew he'd made a mistake.
I was on him fast. I whipped out my knife and stabbed him on the top of his left shoulder. Over his screams, I roared, "She is Korean. Not Chinese. Not Japanese.Korean.Remember that or the next time you will die." I let him go and he collapsed on the floor like the little bitch he was.
I stalked out of my office and out of the compound as quickly as possible. It was time to track down my wayward lotus. Then I was going to tie her to my bed and fuck the shit out of her. I would force her obedience and feel pleasure doing it. I didn't care anymore if she was ready. She was mine and it was time I claimed her.
We pulled up at a bakery in neutral territory and filed out of our vehicles. I had only brought a handful of men with me. I didn't want to have attention on us, nor did I want Eunji to run in fear. I needed her to come with me calmly. Then, when we were safe at the compound, I would teach her a lesson she would never forget. I walked into the bakery solo and my eyes lock onto Eunji's immediately. She had a muffin and cup in front of her.
Why would she leave the safety of the compound to come eat when I had chefs on call who would make her anything she wanted? Her eyes widened when she realized I had come after her. Then she flushed. It was like she knew exactly what I was going to do to her body. Dirty little girl. I stalked toward her and sank down into the seat across from her.
"What are you doing here, little lotus?" I kept my voice light and gentle as I scanned the rest of the customers in the bakery. No one could be trusted. I needed to be on high alert.
"I just came to get away for a little bit." Her eyes were looking everywhere but at me, and I knew she was lying.
"Come." I rose and held out my hand.
As soon as her slender fingers slid into mine, a bit of myself settled. I was feeling like a caged animal pacing until we touched. Now I was soothed. At least for the moment. I escorted her outside to the waiting car and helped her in. Then I slid in next to her and nodded for the driver to take off. We didn't speak. Her heart rate was erratic. Why she was so nervous, I had no idea, but I was going to find out. My pants grew tighter at the thought.
In a blink, we were back at the compound and I relaxed a fraction. I dragged Eunji straight to my bedroom and closed the door gently. I leaned my head against the oak, trying to calm down. I didn't want to frighten her.
When I turned, she was already nervous. She was pulling at the hem of her shirt and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. I knew then something had happened while she was out. If she wouldn't tell me to my face, then I was going to have to coerce the truth out of her.
"Take your clothes off," I ordered.
I pulled off my tie and started taking off my cuff links. Eunji hesitated and I snapped. "Now, little lotus. I am not in the mood to fight with you, but if you'd like to fight before we fuck, I can grant you that boon." I knew I was being crass, but I had been waiting for my lotus to be ready for my cock for months. I gave her time to heal. I gave her space. And yet, she was hiding from me. She was lying to me. She would give me her trust, or I was going to take it. Either way, it was mine. Just like she was.
Shaking, Eunji took her clothes off slowly. I leaned back against the door and watched her with hooded eyes. I was no gentlemen and wasn't going to take my eyes off her for a moment. When she was naked and shivering in front of me, I shot her a feral grin.
"Time for punishment, little lotus." I walked into my closet and grabbed the items I needed for her.
First, I was going to take away her sense of sight. I dropped the items I had in the center of the room. Eunji watched me with distrust in her gaze. Her arms crossed and her head lifted in defiance. Good. I didn't want to break her. I just wanted to teach her a lesson she would never forget. I walked behind her and placed the blindfold over her eyes. She gasped but didn't say anything else. I led her to the bench.
"Straddle this and stick your arms bent outward. You'll feel cushions for them. Then the same for your legs; you'll be on your hands and knees but comfortable." Even though I was frustrated, angry, and concerned for her, I made sure my voice was soothing. I didn't want to scare her. I just wanted her to submit. She whined a little, but other than that, she followed my directions, allowing me to strap her down. I double checked the straps and pulled, to make sure they had a little give. She was going to struggle, and I wanted to be able to give her the option.
"The only rule for this punishment is that you call me sir. Never master and if it gets too much, I want you to say, 'I love you,' as your safe phrase."
