The Assassin's Bride Ch. 06

You're ruining everything.

Michael's eyes flew open and he immediately released Carina, who backed away from him so abruptly he was scared she might fall over the balcony.

"Carina, I...I got carried away-" he said shakily, running a hand through his dark hair and setting it on end.

"I don't like this 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' bullshit!" she snapped, crossing her arms across the ruined front of her dress.

"You have every right to be..."

"We had a fucking deal!"

"And I haven't broken it."

"Is it only a matter of time?" she sneered, but her eyes glimmered with startled tears.

"Carina, I'm sorry."

Angrily shaking her head, Carina left the balcony. She'd almost reached the suite exit when his voice sharply stopped her.

"You will sleep in here, with me. That was never negotiable."

"I want to be alone."

"Not at night."

"I wish he'd take me sooner," Carina said bitterly, making a disastrous error.

"Who?" Michael asked, his voice suddenly so cold with fury it gave Carina goose bumps.

"I...I mean..." Carina faltered, afraid to turn around.

"Who?" Michael growled from right behind her, briskly spinning her to face him. "Finish the fucking sentence, Carina."

"C...Carlos..." she finished lamely, not daring to meet his eyes. She flinched as his fingers pressed into her arms.

"Gavin said he would take you with him? Is that what he said?" Michael snarled, his ire gathering to monstrous proportions as Carina remained stubbornly silent.

"Answer me!" he shouted. "And I'll know if you're lying! Did he say he was coming for you?"

Staring at his chest in front, Carina shook her head.

"Look. At. Me," Michael softly ordered, in a terrifying tone. The second Carina's eyes met his, he saw the truth.

"I see," he said quietly, releasing her. "So you were leading me along in our nice little arrangement, keeping my cock in my pants, all the while waiting for him to take you away from me?"

"N-No!" Carina exclaimed, as Michael began to unbutton his shirt. "No, Michael, I-!"

"As an expert in deception, I know when I am being deceived. And you have deceived me Carina."

"Stop!" she recoiled as he reached for her, but there was no point resisting.

Carina was abruptly lifted and carried to his bed. What was left of her dress was ripped apart, dark sequins brilliantly scattered across the sheets and she tried to scramble to the other side of the mattress, but his hand seized her plait.

"Ow!" Carina cried out, and she was slowly pulled back to him.

"Do you know what you're going to do now?" Michael said, wrapping the plait around his palm and drawing her closer.

"No, Michael, please. Don't make me...not that!" she pleaded, her face forced close by his crotch. She could see his cock was hard and straining against his pants.

"Yes, that. I think it's time you are taught a real lesson, and admit I am your master. I think gentle niceties have been wasted on you," he mused, his handsome face cruel. "To be with a man like Eduardo, I suppose it makes sense..."

"I'll bite it off!" Carina snapped, losing her temper at her dead boyfriend's mention.

Michael's cold smile disappeared, and he tugged her head up so their lips almost touched.

"I dare you to try it," he said softly, but he'd known Carina long enough to tell she wasn't bluffing. "Fine."

Carina lost her balance as he suddenly released her, pushing her back onto the bed. Then he stalked from the room.

Alone and naked except for the pendant around her neck, Carina's chest heaved with fright and relief, until Michael returned.

"I warned you," he said roughly, getting some satisfaction from the look on her face.

Carina shrieked and clambered off the bed, but Michael was too quick for her, and again her plait was brutally yanked back. Forced to the bed, Carina frantically kicked and scratched at Michael, but nonetheless something was forced over her head.

It was a musty, unwashed piece of material that was soft in some parts and crusty in others. The tight-fitting garment adhered to her body. It smelled like her perfume, sweat, and blood. It smelled like the night Eduardo died.

In a blind panic, Carina paid no attention to Michael trying to undo his trousers. She thrashed about so much he could barely restrain her. Then Carina opened her eyes and looked down to see the peach dress clumsily covering her, knowing the abrasive, dry parts were saturated with her lover's blood.

Fear, revulsion and a suffocating panic possessed her entirely, and Carina lost her senses and began to scream. She screamed and screamed in a way she'd never thought she was physically capable.

"I warned you!" Michael yelled, feeling slightly inferior in the face of her powerful hysterics. But trying to berate her was pointless - Carina's shrieks drowned him out completely.

Disturbed, Michael seized Carina's shoulder to hold her down, trying to get a grip on the hem of the dress. He was very taken aback by her extreme reaction, having clearly underestimated the impact the act would have on her.

"Jesus, alright! I'll get rid of it! Carina, hold still!" he shouted, relenting. The dress was quickly pulled off her, and Michael tried to hold her in his arms.

Carina curled up into a ball and covered her face with both hands. The ringing in her ears subsided, and she took in several deep breaths, fighting nausea. Then a large hard curled under her arm and urgently pulled her upright.

"No! No!" Carina sobbed, and her jaw dropped as she looked up at Gavin towering over her, looking very alarmed.

"What did he do? Are you hurt?" he barked, kneeling by the bed to inspect her.

"B-But-" she whimpered, then looked around and saw Michael lying on the ground, out cold.

"Carina, answer me!" Gavin said sharply, bending to wrap a blanket around her. "What the fuck was he doing?"

"He..." Carina's lip trembled as she pointed to the dress on the bed, before bursting into tears.

"What the hell, Carina-? I thought you were being murdered!" Gavin exclaimed, sounding exasperated.

Realising he'd needlessly made a big, risky move, he shook his head. "I never thought he'd really hurt you, and I was right. But..."

Looking back to the dress, Gavin slowly rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it's vile, but I wouldn't have intervened for something like this. But the way you were screaming!"

As a troubling memory surfaced, he fixed her with a piercing stare and decided to make the most of their brief time alone. "I saw you at dinner, in that dress. And earlier, you seemed...happy." He watched her expectantly and waited.

"He said he wouldn't rape me if I became friends with him. Like...like before," Carina tearfully answered, wondering if he'd understand her predicament.

"Reinstate your friendship," Gavin said distantly, staring at the wall ahead. Then he made the connection.

"Ah, clever Ethan. The spider who waits. I'm impressed," Gavin sneered, before looking down at Carina. "You understand what he is doing?"

Still sobbing, Carina looked confused and traumatised.

"You were very fond of him as a friend, weren't you?" Gavin shrewdly asked, raising an eyebrow as Carina's eyes filled with sadness.

With a wry smile, Gavin looked away as he saw the light. "Of course. And he knew I'd be watching. What a manipulative-!"

"Please, please, please, Gavin," Carina blubbered, wrapping the blanket tightly around her and staring at him desperately. "Please take me with you."

"If I take you now, he will immediately come after us," he brusquely replied. "And I almost have what I need." He glanced down as Michael stirred. "I have to go. I'm sorry, but you have to be patient. And for heaven's sake..." he looked a mix of sympathetic and put-out. "Never mind."

Quickly stepping forward, he kissed Carina's cheek, then her mouth.

Some time later, with a pounding pain in the back of his head, Michael groaned and rolled over. Opening his eyes, he saw Carina tensely watching him from the bed.

"What happened?" he grunted, struggling to remember how he ended up on the floor. Slowly getting to his feet, Michael rubbed the back of his head, wincing.

"What happened...? Did...?" Then his eyes narrowed at the ground, noting distinct soil and boot prints on the floor. "He fucking dared...!"

Michael turned on Carina with a frighteningly calculative look. "And he left you behind. Now why would he do that?" he voiced the same question Carina had earlier, his mind clearly whirring on a new tangent.

"Ah, Gavin," Michael grinned, but his dark eyes were mean.

"Maybe I am wrong, but I think your hero might be stranded. Is it true? Does your new boyfriend have a fuel problem? That would make sense," he said serenely, rubbing the back of his head. Dwelling on the thought, Michael threw back his head and laughed heartily.

"Gavin was never organised when it came to emergency supplies. Maybe he hasn't kept an eye on his usage. And I am sure he didn't expect to spend extra time here, coveting you. He should have killed me."

Carina was too frightened to voice her agreement to the last part of his statement.

"He should have killed me," Michael repeated, slightly trembling with adrenaline and fury.

Then anger faded and fear crept in, as he realised how close he was to losing Carina. Gavin was not impulsive, reckless or frivolous in his dealings. To tell Carina he will take her, means he will do exactly that. For him to voice such a confirmation meant their departure was imminent. When Gavin expressed this intention and Carina accepted, Michael's compromise was pointless.

All the stress and grievances in his life could melt away so easily if he had the support of the one woman he wanted. But by throwing in the towel with this last job, he was forced to acknowledge that he was gradually falling to pieces, and the comfort he needed was stubbornly withholding.

He was slowly giving his life up for her, and she didn't give a shit. Life and all its challenges would be so damn easy with Carina by his side. But even though it was proven she could like him, that she could find him desirable and enjoy his company, she still rejected him at every opportunity.

With growing dismay, Carina watched Michael's mood visibly disintegrate before her eyes. When he approached her she shrank back, shocked by the violence in his expression.

"What's the saying?" he asked softly, and Carina was too terrified to look away from him. "You have not upheld your end of the bargain."

Carina crawled back on the bed, but Michael stepped forward and seized the blanket, yanking it away and dropping it on the floor.

"That's better," he smiled, his eyes cold.

Now she was deliciously naked, except for his pendant beautifully glinting above her breasts, his token of ownership. That was how it should be. Carina was too exhausted to fight as she was hauled to her knees and held tightly against his chest.

"Kiss me," Michael huskily ordered, capturing her mouth before she had a chance to respond.

Carina dimly felt her plait undoing, the release felt good after so much hairpulling. Michael's hand gently crept through her hair, sensually massaging her scalp while his lips moved from her soft lips, along her jawline.

"I won't let him have you. I can't let you go," he breathed against her skin, his hands settling on her breasts to knead and slightly pull her nipples.

Overwhelmed, Carina closed her eyes. When she opened them again she immediately met Michael's smouldering stare. He was good looking, physically desirable, and Carina wondered what their connection might have been if they'd met without Eduardo in her life.

Carina wondered if she might have fallen in love with him, with no idea what he'd be capable of if she rejected him. Carina wondered how many couples happily existed without knowing how ugly their other half would turn if their feelings changed. She fleetingly wondered if Eduardo would have done the same to her, if she hadn't loved him back.

Carina's thoughts dissipated when Michael groaned. Keeping Carina trapped in a crushing embrace, he slowly pressed forward so she lay on her back. Carina helplessly watched him straighten to remove his shirt and undo his trousers, before lowering on top of her. In addition to his frightening temper, the last episode with the dress had completely sapped her strength.

Then he pressed close and kissed her cheeks, caressed her breasts, and reached between them to line his cock up.

"Uh," Carina dimly frowned against his bare shoulder as he gently moved, his cock slowly pushing inside her, stretching her wide and joining them together.

"Yes," Michael moaned, burying his face in her hair as he paused to let his full length settle inside her. Then he began to slowly move.

"Michael!" Carina pleaded, squirming as he stretched her repeatedly.

"Relax. I'm taking it easy," he murmured against her temple.

"I just want it to be over," she mumbled wretchedly, her fingers digging into his shoulders with each thrust.

"Then talk to me, Carina," he breathed, rhythmically grinding. "Beg. Tell me you like it. Talk to me, and I'll finish quickly."

With a pained look on her face, Carina shut her eyes and bit her lip, until Michael kissed her again and forced her lips apart, his tongue intimately delving into her mouth.

"I can go all night," he warned against her lips, intently watching her.

"I like it," Carina blushed, looking away. Michaels hand quickly turned her face back.

"What else?" he encouraged, shuddering with lust. "Come on, sweetheart. Tell me."

"I...I..."

Michael chuckled and continued his slow assault.

"Please, I like it," Carine feebly offered, her tone desperate.

"Not good enough, Carina. I know you can talk dirty."

Though they were joined together, Carina slightly recoiled as she remembered just how much Michael knew about her sex-life with Eduardo. She'd pulled off an orgasm with Michael that first time, but she was grieving Eduardo, and drugged. Could she manage again?

"I love your cock," she ground out, burying her face in his shoulder to escape his heated gaze.

"Good girl," Michael encouraged, moving more urgently.

Carina closed her eyes and focused on the heat of Michael's smooth skin against her own. She traced the muscles in his shoulders, arms and back. She thought of Gavin.

Gavin was taller. Gavin was sexy. Gavin wanted her.

"Yes," Carina whispered, beginning to move against Michael. "Fuck me..."

Michael groaned, reaching under to squeeze a taut buttock and drive into her.

"Oh...Fuck.." His eyes widened as he made an unanticipated, split-second decision.

"NO!" Carina implored. Her desperate eyes met Michael's intense stare at the same time his cock flexed and erupted inside her.

"STOP! No! Get out!" Carina screamed, straining against him, but Michael held her down and continued, pumping her full of a huge load.

"I'm sorry," he breathed against her neck. "But I don't regret it."

"No, no, no, no!" Carina sobbed, furiously trying to detach herself. But Michael held her steady beneath him, still enjoying the blissful afterglow of being inside her.

"Yes, Carina. I'm ready to be a father."