Chapter 39

"What if I leave?" she asked. "Won't they find me? Like you said at the club, if you could find me then they might find me."
His dark eyes bored into hers. "Dante Marquez and Franco Delgado you mean?"
She flinched at the names of the Mafioso guys that were most likely trying to track down her whereabouts at this very moment. The ones that she had betrayed. She nodded.
"They won't find you here. Niccolo DeLuca is an old friend of mine. You've heard his name before?"
Claudia nodded slowly, her eyes wide. She had heard the name of the Italian whispered in tones of awe and fear by her former boyfriend and many of his crew. Though she had never laid eyes on the man, she knew he was a powerful person.
Tyson continued. "I've already discussed the matter with him and assured him that Dante's ex-girlfriend, the bird who flew the nest with information that should never have been found, has no interest in his affairs. Nic is in the process of severing his Miami connection, which will take care of Dante. As for the other, he may think he's all powerful in his Vegas tower, but he's a bug that can be crushed if need be." His voice was meant to be reassuring, but the way he spoke told her what she already knew: she was way over her head in his world.
Her mind worked furiously. "If this Niccolo DeLuca is taking care of Dante, does that mean I'm safe? I can leave, I don't have to stay here."
"Claudia, you seem to be under the misunderstanding that you'll be leaving my home, which is most definitely not the case. Now that I have you here, you won't be leaving."
"You can't just decide to keep me here against my will," she gasped, her green eyes snapping. "That's kidnapping, asshole!"
He grinned at her, white teeth flashing in his face. "How can it be kidnapping when you don't actually exist, Claudia Cantore? You're an illegal immigrant living under an assumed name. You've basically given me the means to take you, no strings attached."
Fury sparkled in her eyes, the whisky warming her veins giving her courage. "I'll call the Canadian consulate, they'll have you arrested for this. My testimony against Franco, Dante and this Niccolo DeLuca should ensure my safe passage back to Canada."
Reaching out, Tyson plucked the empty glass from her fingers before she decided to do something stupid with it, like smash it against his skull. "You were too smart to go to the feds before. We both know that's an empty threat. Baby, if you went with your information to the authorities now, you wouldn't last one night without my protection. There's no one that can protect you from the guys that are looking for you, except me. It's time to stop fighting the inevitable."
"I haven't even started fighting yet," she snarled, slapping her hands against his shoulders and shoving with all her strength. He didn't move an inch, only stared at her, drinking in the incredible beauty of her anger.
He let her push until she realized there was no moving him and cringed back into the plush couch as far as she could go. "Let. Me. GO!" she yelled in his face, emphasizing each word.
"That's not going to happen Claudia."
"Fuck you, Tyson King," she snapped.
"Enough," he growled. "Settle down."
"It's not enough, you fucking mobbed up asshole," she snarled at him, anger finally eclipsing her fear. "How dare you walk into my life like you somehow own me. I didn't let Dante get away with that shit and I sure as hell am not letting you do it. I will not stay here with you for a minute longer. I don't for a second believe that I'm in as much trouble as you say."
She dove under the arm that had her trapped against the couch and kicked out at his legs blindly hoping maybe she could get him in the crotch. A grunt of pain greeted her effort as her heel struck his thigh. She tried to wiggle across the couch, counting on the bruised thigh to slow him down a few seconds. He was faster than she thought possible considering his bulk. His hands clamped down on her and forced her face down into the couch where she had been trying to crawl away. He was on top of her in seconds, crushing her into the cushions.
The waft of cigar smoke from his shirt and the leather scent of the couch filled her head as she gasped for air. Pinned underneath him, she couldn't move an inch. She yelled in protest when he leaned back, straddling her hips and reached for her arms, pinning them over her head. She struggled in his strong hold, only managing to wiggle her hips against him. He grunted in response, his hips rocking forward to thrust his erection against her backside, as if he couldn't help himself. Claudia froze.
"Good girl," he mumbled. "Hold still and I may be able to refrain from fucking you right here on the couch."
Claudia moaned, caught between wanting to struggle against his hold and knowing if she did she would likely end up getting herself into worse trouble. Her head was turned to the side, away from the couch. "Let me the fuck up," she managed to gasp. When his fingers only tightened on her wrists she cried out, "Please, just let me go!"
Tyson held her that way for a moment as if considering her plea. She knew what his answer would be, but it was still devastating when it came. "I won't let you go Claudia, not now that I have you."
"I hate you!" she cried out weakly.
He used his free hand to brush long strands of blond hair away from her face. "Maybe you do, and maybe you won't enjoy your stay here with me. I can promise you, Claudia, the more you fight this the less satisfied you'll be. As I said, I'm not a good man. I'll break you, if you give me no choice. But you'll live, which is more than I can say if you leave my protection."
She remained silent for a minute, digesting his words, then asked, "What do you want with me Tyson?"
He didn't answer her at first. Instead, he swept the hair off her neck and kissed the soft skin there, dragging his lips across her shoulder then back, following a path up the back of her neck and across to her ear. Her breath strangled in her throat and she let out a tiny moan as his lips whispered across the delicate shell of her ear. His tongue flicked out, tracing the nuances of her small ear, licking a fiery path back down to her neck. He lightly grazed his teeth across the skin, causing goosebumps to rise in his wake.
The gentle tenderness of his assault combined with the effects of the whisky caused a spike of pleasure to pass through her body from her ear down to her breasts, which were crushed into the couch, and further to her pussy, which responded with wet heat. She bit her cheek to stop a moan from escaping her lips. She swore at her traitorous body and demanded it stop responding to the giant kidnapping asshole holding her down. But her body continued to react as he kissed his way across the upper part of her bare back. He tilted his hips forward, pressing his erection into her ass again, branding her with the heat of his body.
His voice was deep and firm when he finally answered her, moving up her body again to speak in her ear, his big chest pressed against her back. "I want you in my life Claudia. I want to keep that beautiful smile I saw at the bank to myself. I want you living in my home, where I know no other man will be able to touch you again. But most of all, I want your gorgeous body in my bed, where I can fuck you whenever and however I want. I want to make you scream out loud as I take every part of you for myself."