"Darius, we've been friends a long time. You know I do things when I'm good and ready." It’s how I’ve always been. I wait for the perfect moment and orchestrate events to my satisfaction. He should know that by now. Fuck, it’s partly how we’ve made a lot of our millions together.
"I don't know how you're able to keep it together when she's around. Valentina is gorgeous, no question. But she's fucking crazy."
I just smile at him and take one last drink of my beer. She is fucking crazy, but harmless, and for some reason I find myself toying with her. I hope it doesn't blow up in my face. I push the half-full bottle away and check my watch.
Fridays are normally guys’ night, and a few of us meet here to have some drinks, play some darts or pool, and then head home. Most of us are in our mid-thirties, but only a couple are attached. It's a good way to end a long work week, but I'm not feeling it tonight.
I feel anxious, and I’m ready to go home, I say my goodbyes and head out. I hop in the back of my town car, and my driver takes me to my building.
I wave to the three security guards manning the desk, and go to the elevator. When I get inside, I can feel my hands starting to twitch, so I take deep breaths to relax myself. I'm almost home.
The doors open, revealing my penthouse, and I nod to the guard standing outside. I key in the access code, unbolt the front door, and as soon as I'm inside, I bolt the door again.
Strolling in, I toss my suit jacket on the back of the couch as I make my way to the bar. I see a glass perfectly set beside the bottle of scotch, and I smile. I pour myself two fingers, bringing the glass to my lips and tilting it, but not actually drinking it. I'm not sure if she's watching so I try to make it look good. I walk through the house as I normally would, getting ready for bed. When I go to the bedroom, it's all I can do not to laugh when I see her shoes peeking out from under the curtain in the corner.
I brush my teeth, and then decide at the last minute to get completely naked. No sense in making her do all the work.
Not touching my cock is torture, and I keep thinking about everything else besides Valentina and her body. I climb under the covers and lie back. After a few minutes, my breathing is slow and even. I'm nowhere near sleep, but I need to appear to be.
A little time goes by before I hear her. The chair scoots a little across the floor as she sneaks out, and I can barely keep my face expressionless. God, she's fucking adorable.
Once I feel her presence at the end of the bed, I try to relax. As she pulls back the covers, I will my cock not to respond. I should get a Purple Heart for this because it's pretty goddamn painful.
I can feel her eyes on my cock she looks over my naked body. Does she like what she sees? Am I enough for her? God, I wish I could see her. She's so beautiful and perfect. To see her looking at me like this would be heaven.
A second later I feel something soft wrap around my wrists, and I try not to flinch. Holy fuck. Did she just tie me to the bed?
When I feel the binds around my ankle, I just decide to go with it. I want to see how far she'll take this. These binds won't hold me from her, but I'll let her think that. I let her think a lot of things.
After she spends a moment admiring her handiwork, I feel her climb onto the bed.
CHAPTER SIX
ARCHER
I look down as she climbs onto the bed, and I see her naked body. It’s all I can do not to pull free the restraints and grab her. But I just breathe and try to give her the illusion she’s looking for. She wants to be in control, and I want her to think she is. It’s how it’s been from the beginning.
All this time she’s thought she’s had the control. It’d be a shame to change that now. All that work for nothing.
From the first moment I saw her, I knew I had to have her. She was mine the second my eyes hit hers, but she seemed so innocent and shy. I wanted to keep my distance and give her time to come around, to get used to me. I didn’t want to go full-on stalker right away, so I just played it cool. Little did I know she was the one stalking me. And then our game started to play out. Cat and mouse. Sometimes I wasn’t quite sure if I was the mouse or the cat when it came to her—something I rather enjoyed. She was so different. I don’t think she even knows how much she stands out in a room, I could never miss her. I had put a security guard on her to watch her. I was surprised when I found out from the guard she was following me. I told him to let her. In fact, I told him to make it easy for her.
I remember the first time she broke into my office. I’d gotten a call late at night from security, alerting me that Valentina was in my office, and they asked if that was okay. I immediately made up a story about how I asked her to go find something I’d lost, and not to disturb her. Meanwhile, I pulled up the cameras in my home office and just watched her go through my things.