Page 52 of His Beautiful Revenge
She couldn’t bring herself to respond, but she didn’t pull away. Lucian kissed her sore, tender mouth gently. “I love you so much, Norah.”
She felt something cold press against her belly and when Lucian drew away, she saw it. The muzzle of the pistol was hard against her skin. Lucian smiled, but his eyes were cold.
“This is just a reminder, Norah. Don’t fuck with me or I’ll have to use this on you, and I really, really, don’t think either of us wants that. I love you, baby, but I will shoot you dead if you try to run.”
Norah felt cold at his words.This was really happening, wasn’t it?She waited until Lucian was asleep before she let the tears fall.Please let me see Giacomo again. Please.
She sobbed quietly until, just after midnight, she fell into an uneasy sleep.
Giacomo made sure Norah’s abduction was all over the news and that Lucian’s name and image were flashed up everywhere. California State Police was on alert, and because of Giacomo’s position and wealth, the FBI got involved.
After the statutory twenty-four hours had gone by, he sent an exhausted and drained Zulika home, telling Orlando to take care of her. In his apartment alone, Giacomo stared out at the city.
“Where are you,il mio amore?”He leaned his head against the window. In the other room, he could hear the FBI agents talking in low voices, but he had never felt more alone than now. He slumped into his chair, the chair where he and Norah would sit with her cradled in his arms, her long legs swung over the arm rest, and her lips against his neck. They’d even tried to have sex on the armchair one time, but had to give up, laughing when it became awkward and impossible. He could still see her smile now, and the way she’d wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.
He had wrestled her playfully to the carpet, spreading her legs wide and seeking her clit with his tongue. God, the taste of her …
She had moaned and writhed under his touch, his mouth on her, and he’d given her two orgasms before she had moaned that she needed him inside her. His cock was almost painfully swollen and as he grinned down at her and pushed inside, her long sigh of pleasure sent his pulse racing. They moved together, their gazes locked on the other, each wanting to give as much pleasure to the other as possible. He’d pinned her hands to the carpet and she’d smiled at his dominance.
“I would do anything with you, my love,” she whispered. “Anything you’d ever wanted to try, anything you dreamed about. Just ask.”
“Right now,Principessa, all I can think about is how your silky cunt feels on my cock …”
Her breath had quickened at his coarseness and he had chuckled, beginning to thrust harder and longer with each stroke, wanting to be deep, deep inside her.
Giacomo choked back a sob. Could it be possible he might never see her smile again?No.Wherever you are, il mio amore, fight.He grabbed his car keys and headed out of the apartment, not knowing where he was going, just knowing that he could not,would not,ever stop looking for her.
Orlando had driven them both back to his home without asking her if she would like to be there. Zulika realized he knew how much she would need him around, especially if, god forbid, they got bad news.
The house was quiet when they arrived. “Where’s Ferma?”
“At a friend’s …I called them and told them what was happening. They offered to throw an impromptu sleep-over.”
Zulika sighed. “All this disruption in her young life.”
“I know. Listen, sit. I’ll make us some Irish coffees. I think we could both use the boost.”
Zulika smiled at him. “That would be nice.”
In the living room, she flicked on the television, turned to the news, and watched the reports of Norah’s abduction. She wondered if Norah hadn’t been the fiancée of billionaire Giacomo Conti, how much of this news would simply be buried. A half-Indian, half-African-American girl goes missing in big city. Would it evenbereported? Zulika gritted her teeth. She knew the answer to that already.
“Why are you glaring at the television?” Orlando was back with their coffee and giving her a quizzical, half-amused glance. She told him and he sighed.
“I hear ya. It’s why I’m overprotective with Ferma. When I was a kid out in the projects, dozens went missing. Not a peep from the T.V. news. It was almost …expected? Is that the right word?”
Zulika nodded. “Understood. I’m torn between being outraged that Norah is deemed important enough to report on because of who she’s sleeping with and being glad that they are reporting on her, regardless of circumstances.”
Orlando nodded, but said nothing. They sat in companionable silence, watching the news, listening to the same sound bites and interviews over and over, and not hearing any progress. Zulika got more agitated as ‘experts’ commented on Norah and Giacomo’s relationship, Norah’s past, and even at one point herfashion sense.
“What has that got to do with anything?” Zulika screeched at the television, then looked at Orlando, who was trying not to laugh at her indignation. He cracked and that set her off, laughter giving her blessed relief from the tension.
“God, why am I laughing?” She said eventually, “It’s so inappropriate.”
Orlando patted her leg. “You know what? Admittedly, I haven’t known Norah that long, but I know she would be laughing too.”
Zulika nodded, a pang of sadness hitting her. “She would.” She was silent for a moment. “I can see her now …wearing the latest in hostage chic… God.”
She was trying to make a joke, but she got choked.
