THE TAKING OF CLARA 2(6)
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Matthew left her in the shower to finish. He walked down to his office, packed away the contract and then walked through to his playroom. Slapping her ass wasn’t going to be enough. Her need for pain with her pleasure meant he needed to get her into this room soon.
His phone rang pulling him out of his troubled thoughts.
“Hello,” he said the moment he lifted up the phone.
“I need more money. Surely you want my daughter enough to pay highly for her,” Edward Baines growled down the line. His words sounded panicked to Matthew. The man remained in the background like a plague. Glancing at the door, Matthew eased behind his desk and sat down.
Clara was nowhere in sight.
“I told you, Baines. You get no more money from me. I’ve given you more than enough. Make it last.”
“How about you give me money to be quiet? I’m sure you don’t want me interrupting your playtime with my daughter.”
He’d expected the blackmail. Tough for Edward that he never responded to such a tactic.
“You talk to Clara and I’ll destroy you, Baines. I don’t give a shit that you’re her father. I’m sorry for the women who graced your bed. You’re nothing but a gambling, alcoholic bastard and maybe it’s time you learn to pay for your crimes.”
Edward yelled down the phone. “You’ll fucking regret this you sick fuck.”
The line went dead. Matthew put the phone down as Clara walked to the door. She smiled at him. Her raven hair lay wet around her.
“I’m going to make an omelet, do you want one?” she asked.
He smiled even thought his thirst for her father’s blood lived inside him. The bastard was a liability. “I’d love anything you cooked, baby.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen.” She stared at him several moments. Her hand went to her throat and then she moved away.
The door to the playroom lay open like a taunt to him. All he needed to do was call her back. She trusted him.
Don’t push her, Matthew. You want her too much, losing her like this would be a nightmare.
Relax. Take it easy.
He tried to listen to all the calming instincts inside him. Grabbing the phone he dialed Luke Arnold’s number. His friend answered on the third ring.
“This better be important,” Luke yelled down the line. A feminine giggle erupted in the background. His anger started to leave him at the sound of his friend’s voice. “Matthew?”
“The very person. Am I interrupting something?” he asked, knowing the truth.
“No. I’ve always got time for you.”
Shuffling came over the line and then silence. “I’m here, Matthew. What’s up?”
“Why does anything have to be up?”
Luke grew silent.
Matthew moved to close his playroom door then his office door.
Sitting behind his desk he looked at the picture of Clara. She looked too innocent to be in his world. What kind of man was he? All he really needed to do was pay off her father’s debts and then leave her alone.
Leaving her never entered his head. His need for her controlled him.
“I know about the girl, Matthew. The one you won in a card game.”
“How do you know about that?”
“A card game with a daughter thrown in the mix is never going to be left alone. You of all people should know that.”
Matthew cursed. He’d talked about Clara to Luke many times. All of their conversations filled his mind in that one moment.
“It’s the woman from work, right?” Luke asked.
“The very one.”
“This is bad news. Edward Baines is not the kind of man you want to associate with. I’ve heard a lot of shit about him and none of it is nice to know. Using his daughter is the lowest of the low.”
Matthew didn’t need to hear these words from Luke. He’d met Edward and knew what he was capable of.
He hated the connection between Clara and Edward. In his heart, Matthew knew Clara would get hurt. If he didn’t solve the problem soon with her father then she’d become a target.
“I’d like you to meet her sometime. She’s beautiful and submissive,” Matthew said, cutting the conversation away from her father.
“You’re in love with her?”
“She’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman and more. You’ll see how amazing she is when you meet her.”
Luke stayed silent for several minutes.
“You can’t keep her in the dark about her father. He’ll find some way to get to her. Desperate men always have means to get what they want.”
Matthew closed his eyes as his anger increased. The thought of Clara trying to help Edward made him angry. The anger left a bitter taste in his mouth.