Blacklisted Read Online Free Page B

waterworks began. I cried silently to myself, clinging to my pillow as minutes passed.
    I should have left with them. I shouldn't have been working in a gentleman's club to begin with. What if something happens to them? As I continued to torture myself with endless questions, I heard my door open. I quickly spun to my other side, not wanting him to see just how broken I was. This is exactly what he wanted; my spirit to be so utterly crushed that I would just go along with whatever he needed. But, to my surprise, he had no condescending tone when he mumbled, "I'm sorry."
    He sat down in my bed next to me, and began to rub my back in slow circles, sighing under his breath. "I know this is scary for you, but I told you, in the end it'll all be fine."
    "Oh really? You still have yet to tell me how you're going to prevent his pisanos from coming after me after you get your vengeance," I said, pure venom seeping through my words. "Or how about how are you going to protect my parents? Huh, Michael? You thought that far? Or does it not matter because yours are already gone."
    By the time my words had left my mouth, I knew it had been cruel—but honestly I didn't care. Was I supposed to be sympathetic, when he was putting my parents and I in harm's way?
    His hand stopped abruptly. His once soft touch turned to him gripping my arm, spinning me over so that I faced him. His eyes had already darkened, his words eerily quiet and calm, regardless of the anger that was behind them.
    "Perhaps I've been too nice to you, Gabriella. You seem to be under the impression that you can still talk to me however you please. I don't care if I have to break you, over and over again, you WILL behave." And with that, I was pinned beneath him, his lips pushing against mine. His fingers began to dig into me, small pain indicators registering in my brain as his tongue forced its way into my mouth. He greedily slid his hands to the edge of my nightgown, pulling it up roughly. I whimpered against his mouth, unable to get out the "sorry" I wanted to say. Instead, I weakly kissed him back, hoping he would calm down.
    His fingers slid to the edge of my panties, causing my eyes to widen. I whimpered again, kissing him harder, my tongue pushing against his in hopes that I could distract him. He chuckled quietly and pulled away from my lips, his body weight pushing against me so that his free hand could trail up to my face, brushing a few hairs out of my cheek.
    "Shhh…" he whispered, his eyes locking on mine. It was there that I saw it—no longer were his eyes darkened with anger. Instead, determination had filled them, and desire?
    Before I could get a word out, he stood up and pulled his cellphone from his back pocket and took a few shots of me, my eyes widening as I realized the lower half of my body was still exposed, my cheeks flushed, my hair messy.
    "The way you look right now—it will drive him crazy. You don't know how delectable you look," he smirked, tucking the phone back into his pocket.
    "I left towels in the cupboard next to the bathtub, and that Garnier shit you like is in the cupboard as well. And that body wash… strawberry smoothie? I didn't really understand the purpose of that until I was close enough to smell it on you, it's intoxicating," he said as he turned and made his way out the door.
    I laid there, stunned, not sure what to think about the morning so far. I had spent half of it crying and half of it wishing that Michael would put me out of my misery and fuck me already. The way he consistently made me feel by kissing me made me second-guess the idea of getting away from him. But—after the kiss, it's like I became a project to him. He could so quickly detach himself, snap a few pictures of me and be on his way. He had seemed so…into it.
    I sighed and pulled my nightgown down, closing my eyes for a moment. I had been here less than three days and so much had already happened. I found it hard to wrap my mind around just what he had