Past the tall, swaying trees and the lawns, which were being watered by an immense sprinkler system, she saw a large white house accented with deep red and dark grey. The long covered portico was where they were headed. When Dax stopped the car, she immediately jumped out. She didn’t manage to get too far, he caught up with her at the trunk. Grabbing her arms, he slammed her down on the searing metal using his bent body to restrain hers.

‘Where do you think you’re going, Minx? You’re going in there to be a good girl.’

‘No,’ she huffed, spitting out her hair and turning her head to rest her cheek on the trunk. ‘I won’t. It’s over, Dax, I trusted you for too long.’

‘You’ve got no choice,’ he snarled into her ear. ‘You disobey them and you’ll ruin my rep, big deal, that’s not what you should worry about. They’ll fucking torture you if you defy them. Do you remember what it is to exist in the state of starvation and dehydration? They’ll beat you, might even rape you… you remember what the fear of that is like, don’t you?’

‘You’re a fucking jerk!’

‘That anyway to talk to the man you love?’

His pelvis thrust forward, locking her in place. Undulating his hips, he rubbed his erection on her ass. ‘I didn’t mean it,’ she sneered. ‘You were right, I was using you.’

He laughed. ‘No chance. I know that you meant it, Minx.’

Clamping her wrists in his hand, he held her down at the small of her back and lifted her skirt, coiling the fabric around her imprisoned hands.

‘No,’ she said. ‘No, don’t think about—‘ The first smack silenced her and she grit her teeth for the second.

‘You’ve got to stop misbehaving.’

His body bowed over hers, covering her bare derriere. ‘Don’t you dare put your hands on me again you sonofabitch.’

‘The girl who loves me will take what I want to give,’ he growled, smoothing his palm down her ass cheek and across to slip two fingers into her panties to seek out her clit, which he began to stimulate in circular motions.

The warmth of her juices began to ooze from her central canal so she squeezed her eyes closed, trying to prevent the rush of blood to her swelling tissues.

‘You love it, babygirl, and you know that you do. No other guy can make you feel like I can, you’re ruined for them all, which means you’ll do whatever I say and still beg for your reward.’

‘Go fuck yourself,’ she snapped.

‘I plan on fucking you, again and again because you are my female, Minx,’ he said through grit teeth. ‘How many times have I told you to trust me?’

‘You can’t ask me to do that when you’re dumping me here.’

‘You’re going to go in there and keep your mouth shut. I’m not bored of you yet, I want more of you. You’re going in there to wait for me.’

‘Wait for you?’

He flipped her over and pulled her to her feet. The door was opened before they got there and he yanked her against his side. ‘You’re going to wait for me and you’re going to trust me, understand?’ he whispered.

Looking over her shoulder, their eyes met, and the ferocity he returned was calm fortitude. With him at her back and the thugs coming out of the mansion, she had little choice except to accept his terms.

The grip on her arm was swapped from Dax’s hand to another man’s and with another glance back she was swallowed into the Stark mansion and there was no going back.

Chapter Fifteen

For two days Ivy speculated as to what was going on behind the scenes. She had not seen much of the grand mansion. After arriving, she was led up one side of a double staircase, then she was taken to the back of the building and put into a bedroom, which had a pale carpet and grand oak sleigh bed.

She felt a bit like the princess in the ivory tower; alone and waiting for rescue. She had her own shower room and Rita brought her food, other than that Ivy saw no one.

Late on the second day, Rita came to her room again, this time with Serg in tow. ‘We’re going upstairs,’ Rita said. ‘Mauri wants to talk to you.’

Serg and Rita took her out of the bedroom and through corridors, presumably their destination was wherever Mauri was located. At last Ivy was going to meet the Great and Powerful Oz. Her fizzling anticipation didn’t know whether to be in the range of fear or excitement.

Without word from Dax, all she could do was maintain the façade of obedience she’d upheld at the beach house. The dream scenario was that Dax had done what he had said he would and spoken to Mauri about the feelings they had developed for each other. If he had, hopefully she was about to get her reprieve and by tonight she would be back in Dax’s arms ensconced in his apartment.

But if their last conversation was any kind of barometer for where their relationship was headed, it was as likely that Dax had washed his hands of her and chosen Mauri Stark instead of choosing to be with her. If Ivy found herself in that situation then her future would be bleak. Dax had once told her that she’d never win against him if they were on opposing sides. From what she herself had witnessed, she knew that was probably true.

She, Serg, and Rita stopped at broad double doors, Rita opened one of them but didn’t go inside, so it was Serg who urged Ivy forward.

Inside this large office, three men stood by the window and Brad sat at the desk addressing the two men opposite him. Two of the three men at the window, one of whom was Bruno, stopped talking to look at her while Serg closed the door.

Opposite Bruno was Dax, who had his back to her meaning he hadn’t seen her yet. Dashing over, she made sure that he’d notice her because she fell to her knees at his side, just as Bruno had conditioned her to do. It wasn’t the conditioning that made her do it, but the need to confirm if her ally was indeed still her ally. She didn’t even care that the men in the room laughed, she just looked up, waiting for Dax to look down, which he eventually did.

‘Get up,’ Dax murmured and she rose.

‘No, leave her down there, see what else she’ll do,’ one of the men guffawed.

‘Ivy.’

Turning toward the voice, she saw Brad coming toward her, he held a hand out, and she looked at Dax before touching him. ‘It’s ok,’ Dax said with a roll of his eyes.

She took Brad’s hand and he kissed the back of it. ‘You gentleman can excuse us. We have family business to discuss,’ Brad said.

The men began to file out and Dax went right along with them. Ivy watched his every move, but Dax didn’t look at her again. A compulsion to join him, to stay at his side despite their cross words, overwhelmed her, but while Brad still had a hold of her hand she had no choice except to remain here.

‘Would you like something to drink?’ Brad asked when everyone was gone, and she shook her head. ‘There’s no need for you to be nervous here. You’re part of the family now. You’ve proved yourself.’

A door at the back of the room opened, in walked a tall man with dark grey hair. His suit matched his hair colour and he came straight over to the desk, carrying with him a confident air. Brad led her toward the chair on the opposite side of the desk and as she got closer she noticed white flecked through the grey hair and his equally grey eyes.

‘Ivy,’ the older man said. ‘I am Maurice Stark.’

He held out a hand and Brad handed her over to Mauri, the men exchanged a look, then Brad evaporated from the room.

‘Please, take a seat,’ Maurice said after he let her go.

Keeping her eyes front, she took a half step backwards and her calves hit the leather of a chair, so she sat down.

‘It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,’ Maurice said. ‘I have heard about you from many sources, and you are just as beautiful as I have been told.’ It didn’t seem, from this genial air, that Dax had said anything about their relationship.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.