He tugged his trousers at the knees and sank down. His fingers combed through her disheveled blonde strands.
“Your hair looks so good when it’s brushed. Makes it more shiny and neat,” he mumbled, balancing a cigarette between his lips.
“Please, Carl. Untie me,” she begged.
Ash tumbled from the end of his cigarette and twirled in the air, settling in her hair. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t be upset. You and I will have loads of fun. I’m a great guy, I promise.” He pinched the grey cinders from her silky tresses and rubbed them between his thumb and forefinger.
“Why this?” She tugged her wrists pointlessly.
He chuckled with a throaty rasp. “I know, I know. It seems a little drastic, sweetheart, but this is what we both want…what you wanted, Lana. You wanted me...remember?”
She rocked from side to side, but her body was weak and her head heavy. “Untie me!”
Carl inhaled smoke deep into his lungs and breathed it back out steadily, filling the room with an intoxicating fog. “I’ve been a member of Verto Veneri for years, and I’ve never been jilted. How do you think that made me feel?” His words came sputtering out as anger bubbled to the surface.
He raised to a stand, stubbed the butt out on the dresser and paced a track amongst the strewn clothes. “Donna Marie tried to palm me off with an ugly red head, as a replacement for you! Like, what the fuck, Lana! Why would you do that to me…why?” His voice strained like he was muting hurt. “You and I need to have a chat - to set the record straight.”
He slotted his hand into his trouser pocket and teased out a lacy bundle—her pretty pink panties. Bringing them to his nose, he sniffed, long and deep into his lungs.
Her gut churned, feeling a swell of vomit rise. “What..have you.. done?” Her words stammered as tremors shook her from the inside.
“Nothing, sweetheart. Not yet anyway.”
Lana watched him twist around to face his reflection in the long mirror by the window. Her heavy-lidded gaze followed his hand as it brushed down his baby pink fitted shirt that closely followed the curves of his back and gripped his lean biceps.
He neatly tucked in the fabric around the waistband of his pale blue jeans that sagged at the knees like he’d been sitting around all day. His dark chocolate eyes trailed up and down his physique while his fingertips teased the strands of hair at his forehead.
Silvery flecks scattered the shorter lengths above his ears and twinkled in the afternoon sunlight. His knees dipped as he checked out the flick of his hair from the side.
“I’m a good-looking guy, right?” He looked back over his shoulder, eyeing her struggle. “Lana, sweetheart, I’m talking to you? Stop wasting your time and answer me.”
Her skin burned from the inside, heating her cheeks to an angry crimson. “I won’t fucking surrender. I won’t!” she panted, using up what little energy she had as the remainder of the sedative still trickled through her blood stream.
Carl swivelled and marched to her head. He crouched down and weaved the lengths of her hair around his fingers, then he yanked her head back. “I asked you a question!”
She gulped loudly, feeling the strain on her neck.
“I’m good-looking? Handsome? The type of guy you would go for, obviously, or you wouldn’t have propositioned me?” His eyes searched her face seeking redemption.
Lana’s heart stuttered. She wanted to bite his nose off, but she couldn’t reach forward to inflict any pain, even though his face was too close.
Carl Reed had been left waiting for her in the penthouse suite, the one and only night she had gone to Verto Veneri. He had approached her at the bar after the heated encounter with Marcus.
She hadn’t felt any sexual chemistry, but he had kind eyes, and admittedly, he was good-looking, if not a little too old for her. It wasn’t her intention to lead him on and then leave him hanging without an explanation.
“TELL ME THE TRUTH.” The force of his words hit her face in little spats of saliva.
“Yes, I thought you were attractive,” she gritted out.
He released his grip and her face dropped to the floor. “I knew you fancied me. That’s what makes me your hero, sweetheart.”
“Hero?” she rasped.
“Yes! Against all the odds, I brought us back together. I heard your fiancé has hit hard times. Good timing, huh? He won’t get in the way now!”
The fact she’d split up with Rory was none of his business and she planned to keep it that way. It was her choice to try and help Rory, her decision to leave Fermanagh without telling Marcus why, and it was her fault she ended up in the path of Carl Reed.
Her nostrils flared. “What do you mean? What did you do?” The words cracked in her dry mouth.
