Painful pleasure

Lightening flashed on a girl's sleeping face and she screamed, jolting upright, grey eyes staying wide into open space. The scene...It felt familiar even though she hadn't looked around yet.

She was in a bedroom, one designed for a little girl, wrapped in a little white sleeping gown. She blinked, and her room seemed to fade away into the background as her legs carried her off the bed.

"No no. Not again. Not again." She muttered in a sweet little voice as she walked out of the room.

The hallway loomed largely and was brightly lit, highlighting her black as night hair that was tied in pigtails. She knew what to do. She always knew what to do. Little pit-pat sounds of her small foot hitting the ground echoed in the large hallway. Her nerves trembled, her lips quivered and with each step, she clutched her dress tighter as her belly rolled in anticipation.

A loud crashing sound stopped her in her tracks and she covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Her childlike bright eyes filled with fear. Fear of what was coming.

"Who are you?" Her father's voice boomed from their bedroom. Their door was only a few meters away.

She could hear a foreign voice reply, but her head felt woozy and her senses dulled into a high pitch signal as she moved closer to the door.

"Mama!" she called out and everything else seemed to slow down at that point.

The door burst open and her mother rushed out, barely clad in a sleeping gown and frantic as she gathered up her child into her arms and sprinted back the way she had come from.

"Faster, Katherine! Get her to safety!" Her father yelled behind them and the girl twisted in her mother's arms so she could see him.

She stretched out her hand at him, grey eyes glistening with tears. Somehow, she knew what was wrong. Because she had seen it a thousand times before. "Papa!"

In her mother's arms, the girl saw everything happen. She saw her father suddenly halt, his blue eyes widened then slacked and he fell to the ground, a knife sticking out his back. A man stood behind her father's falling body, grinning manically.

Sobs wrenched out of the little girl as her mother carried her farther away, towards the backdoor of their mansion. She set the little girl down, holding her face in her palms and placing kisses on her forehead.

"It's okay." Her mother panted. "Kimberly, it's going to be okay."

But it would not be okay. The killer was back and closer than they had known. Kimberly watched her mother smile one last time and push her out the back door screaming the last words.

"Run Kimberly!"

In the few seconds, before the door closed, concealing her mother from her, She saw the killer's face, stark and clear as he raised a gun and shot her mother.

The little girl screamed on and on until her voice blended with a shrilling alarm clock and Kimberly gasped awake, sitting upright in her bed, shivering. A shrilling sound from an alarm clock next to her made her head hurt and she experienced vertigo from moving too quickly.

Her eyes closed and she swallowed, taking deep breaths to steady herself. It was just another nightmare.

Reaching out her hand, she slammed the alarm clock, cutting it off, and slid off her bed, ignoring the headache that threatened to pound her brain to mush.

It was another day of pain and hell and she was determined to make it as fiery as possible.

***

"Your first meeting is due in four hours, with the Italian Investors. We also received word from the contractor in San Antonio, he says the building is going on quite well."

"Mhmm." Kimberly droned, polishing off a buttered toast as she listened to her secretary rant on the phone that was placed on her dining table.

The dining room was spotless and brightly lit

With chandeliers and large windows that showed the glistening pool beside the building. She sat facing the windows, sunlight filtering in and encasing the room with warmth. A clock hung on the wall and it read a few minutes past eight.

She was dressed in black suit pants paired with a grey crop top with flannel sleeves. Texas was hot in July and while she enjoyed looking professional, Kim wasn't ready to be baked into a hot potato by the sweltering heat.

"Also..."

She looked up then, cocking her head to the side as she wondered why her secretary had stopped. "Speak."

"Uh..that...Mr Wades has been blowing up the office line ma'am-"

Kimberly parted her lips in hard harsh laughter, flicking her raven black hair out of her face so that it fell in silky waves over her shoulder.

"Is he now?" She murmured dryly. "Let him. He deserves to stew in his misery."

The Secretary at loss for what to say simply muttered a "Yes ma'am."

"Cancel my morning meetings. I'll be driving to San Antonio to check on the building project." She announced, raising her hands and delivering three sharp claps.

A maid scurried in, dressed in a simple black cotton gown and cleared the plates on the table and scurried back out.

"But...ma'am, the investors-"

"Tell them I'll be rescheduling. And I'll contact them when I am pleased to." She ordered and cut the call. She didn't need to explain herself to a bunch of crappy investors who thought they could make a load of cash off her. She had dealt with their types before, she knew her shit.

Rising to her feet, a solid 5"8 that towered elegantly in the lavish dining room, she grabbed her Hermes Birkin purse and strutted out of the house.

"Andrews," She called as she stepped outside her duplex and watched as the young man in question rushed toward her.

"Good morning ma'am." He bowed, creasing his chauffer uniform lightly.

"Bring the car around."

****

By the time she was done checking the building project, Kim was certain she would be a baked potato anyway. It was barely eleven in the morning and she felt immensely heated up as she walked to the car.

Pursing her lips she turned to the contractor, a middle-aged man who had leered at her all through the meeting. She gave him a nasty glare, setting her grey eyes on him like sharp icicles.

"You've done a very good job, Mr Moore." She stated coldly and watched him grin proudly.

"Thank you, Miss-"

"Too bad your job here is done, yes?"

The man frowned confused. He glanced back at the uncompleted building and then at the young woman before him. "I don't quite understand."

"I can see that. Your eyes are narrowed in a rather unsightly way." She sniped, her lips curling in a sneer. "I suggest that next time, if you ever get a job after this, that is, to remain in a job, you control where your gazes go."

Outraged, the man's face reddened in anger and he screamed. "You bitch!"

Kimberly tsked, grinning widely as she stared down at him. "Now you're just sinking in mire dear Mr Moore. I'm afraid you'll have to see me in court for slander and verbal assault. My mental health cannot simply afford these insults."

The man blanched and she watched the look of total defeat slide across his face and he slid to his knees. "No... Please, Miss Lockwood."

A smug smile tugged at her lips. Oh, how she loved to see them suffer. To see them grovel and beg. Raising her chin, she opened the car door, slamming the man to the side and slid into the backseat.

"Let's go Andrews." She ordered, nose in the air as they zoomed onto the road.

Men! She thought in disgust staring down at the grey too she wore. It was high necked and there was no way he could have seen her breasts but she had seen the leer in his eyes, ogling them as he explained the building project to her.

"Bastard!" She sighed dryly. He probably got off watching young women and fantasizing about them. Kimberly shook her head, she should've insisted on suing him to court.

The car slowed to a halt suddenly waking her out of her thoughts.

"Andrews, what the hell is happening?" She demanded frowning at the driver.

"Uh," Andrew scratched his hair and pointed to the front.

Right in front of her car was an... He had to be an apparition. Because she couldn't understand for the life of her, what sane person stood in the middle of the road, shirtless, hiking thumb up.

"Is he insane?!" She asked and the driver simply shrugged at her question. Shaking her head she reclined in her seat and waved a hand. "Keep driving."

Andrew looked back at his boss with wide eyes. "Ma'am?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No ma'am." He grumbled and started the car, driving towards the man on the road.

Move away, she silently ordered, her grey eyes fixed on the figure. He would have to step aside when he realizes that she wasn't the least bit interested in giving him a ride.

But the man on the road proved to be more insane than she had thought. Kimberly gasped as she watched him launch himself in the air and land on the bonnet of her car.

For a moment, everything seemed to pause. Appalled, she stepped out of the car, lips parted in shock as she approached the brute.

"Are you mad?!"

Tyler grinned as a madass raving woman stepped out of the car he had landed on, stalking towards him with consternation. It wasn't that he got a kick out of making women mad... Okay, that was wrong.

He did. He loved making them go crazy that they didn't know what else to do but melt at his feet in exhaustion. But that hadn't been his motive when he had bounced on her bonnet.

Now that he thought about it, he must've dented the fragile thing. It had creaked and stumbled to a halt when he laid flat on it, his face facing the sun as it warmed his skin.

"Are you mad?!" The lady raved, standing before him.

Shooting her a wider grin, he rolled off his back to a sitting position. He had to give her credit, she had the gut to face him, most people just bolted when they saw a six-foot hulking male land on their bonnet. His dark black eyes were known to pierce the soul and his long copper brown hair told people he was not to be messed with. He would know, he had hijacked several cars that way in the past. It wasn't his fault people were too afraid to know all he wanted was a ride.

"I need a ride." He told her, resisting the urge to wince when his voice came out thick and deep.

Dammit, he needed rest. Scratch that, he needed a bed, two huge steaks and a glass of ice-cold beer. And maybe a few women on the side. Women that didn't glare down at him with icy grey eyes and threatened to turn him to stone.

The woman before him was beautiful he had to admit. He had taken his sweet time, a mere few seconds to admire the wet patch on her crop top right around her breasts and had imagined them sweaty and pointy in the sun. They would be golden honey-coloured judging from the smooth skin of her belly.

She scoffed in surprise and outrage. "Of all the nasty things in the world! Get off my car right now!"

Tyler's grin disappeared off his face and he shot to his feet. It was time to bring out the big guns. He smiled when her eyes widened a fraction as he loomed over her but she maintained her stance.

What the fuck was this woman made up of? Titanium?! He had scared countless women shitless, just by standing close to them and here she was, staring him in the eyes, lips pressed in utter irritation. He ignored the stirring in his loins and wondered if he was losing his touch.

He wondered what would happen if he backhanded her out of consciousness and dragged her behind the hills that surrounded them. But her driver still sat in the car, he could see the wimp from the corner of his eyes, ready to run Tyler over if he made a move against his mistress. One wrong move and the man could bolt or worse call 911.

Tyler mentally slapped a hand over his face. That was the last thing he needed. They were still on San Antonio's grounds and he needed to leave as quietly as possible. Especially with the San Antonio police on his tail.

Looking back at the defiant woman before him, he realized she was talking.

"....Total rubbish. Get the hell out of my sight or so help me, I'll run you down like crap! Andrews!" She yelled, storming away from him and the heat must have addled his brain because, despite her insulting words, he couldn't take his eyes off the sway of her ass.

"Mahn. For someone pretty, you have the attitude of a shitty hoe." He spat as she opened the car door and she paused briefly, grey eyes ready to bore holes through him.

"Run him down, Andrews." She ordered, slipping into the backseat.

It was all good, Tyler assured himself as he stepped away from the road when the car's engine revved. He would let her go simply because she had to be the first woman to look him straight in the eye and not have a breakdown.

Kimberly's heartbeat roared in her ears as they drove past the mountain man who sent her another heart-stopping grin as they drove past him.

Lord, he was huge!

She hadn't realized how much until he had risen to his feet, hooded black eyes staring down at her in a way that made her breath catch and her stomach drop in fear. For a few seconds, she had struggled to keep her breathing under control, refusing to panic. If he was a murderer, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being intimidating.

Unable to resist, she glanced back through the back screen and saw his slowly receding figure. He had looked like he needed a ride. His black pants were rough and had a few tears on them. She had no idea what had happened to his shirt and she was rather curious about it. He looked so formidable, so...strong. And he had smelled so earthly male, she had almost reached out to touch him, to see if he was real. The car suddenly halted again and she cursed.

"What now for all the fucking gold in the world?" She hissed.

Andrew looked at her sheepishly and stuttered. "I-I think there's...s.. something wrong with the car."

"Wonderful. This day has gone quite perfectly well, Andrew don't you think?" She said sarcastically and slid out of the car.

On reaching the front of the car, she closed her eyes at the sight. The crazy hulk of a man had dented her car and she had been too wrapped up in him to notice it!

"He did this?!" She bit out in horror, looking at Andrew who finally decided to step out of the driver's seat. "What the hell does he eat? A fucking cow?!"

"Actually," A strange voice that was beginning to grow distastefully familiar quipped behind them and Andrew yelped, running to her side. "I prefer pork, but I am partial to a cow as well. And where I come from, Women shouldn't swear."

He approached them with quick lightning strides and Kimberly felt anger boil within her as she stared at the triumphant grin on his face.

"You did this!" She accused, narrowing her eyes.

"Woah," The man held up his hands before him and her mouth dried at the sight of his bulging biceps. "Hold on, if we're talking about the dent, that's me, if not, then I don't know what we're talking about."

Oh, she had had enough. He spoke with her as if he was so familiar with her. As if they were buddies and it irked her. He was a measly, good-looking yes, but incredibly annoying man. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. But there was no way she would allow him to go scot-free after all the damage he had done.

"You have to pay for this." She tried to explain coolly. The keyword 'tried'. There was something about him that constantly irked her and made her lose her cool and Kimberly hated that she had been yelling for the past few minutes.

"Hmm," he hummed, pushing her aside so he could pop open the bonnet. After rummaging through the car, he looked up at her, black eyes threatening to suck her in. "I cannot do that. But what I can do, is fix this. On one condition-"

"You have no right," she seethed, "To give me conditions. I will not stand here and listen to your low-life self tell me what to do."

"Fuck this!" He snarled. "I'm not asking for you to suck my dick woman, it's just a damn ride!" He bellowed. "Do whatever the hell you want and fucking rot here!"

Shocked at his outburst, Kimberly watched in stunned silence as he walked away, muscles rippling under his golden skin with each step he took. She hated to admit that he was right. It would take a while before her mechanics would reach her, and she was sure with the way the sun burned up in the sky, she would be toast before they did.

"Fine!" She yelled but he kept on walking. "Did you hear me? I said fine!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around, his facial features morphed in anger and for a minute, all she could do was pant as he drew closer.

"Fucking say Please," he ordered when he reached her. "And maybe I'll consider it."

Panting and confused by her body's reaction to him, she mumbled a "Please" and turned away from him, knowing that he was grinning like a fool behind him.

***

"This is my stop," Tyler told the wimpy driver and watched in amusement as the latter nodded repeatedly.

They had reached Austin late in the afternoon and the park they currently were was teeming with people.

He glanced behind him at the backseat, where the Boadicea of a woman nailed holes into his head with her eyes. She looked like she wished him dead. But still he could see a soft woman calming tough.

"It was nice giving you a ride." She sulked. And he knew vividly that was sarcasm.

He gave her one last smirk and shook his head. "Ah Spitfire. Lovely as always."

Stepping out of the car, he threw her a wink before slowly disappearing into the crowd.,

The door to his room opened and a lady was standing right there. Tyler felt he'd met her somewhere, but he was too drunk to remember.

"Look at me," she commanded softly. Walking towards him.

He had few questions to ask but this moment was magical, deeply intimate, and she compelled obedience. Tyler obeyed. The thick hot night wrapped around them like wet, crushed velvet. Everything seems to have stopped, frozen in time. The air, her heart. In the lamp light she could make out the glistening sheen of his damp body, were his shirt hanged open, and his tight trousers.

The air was sticky. And a wet heat seemed to have risen all over her skin. There was a shortness of her breathing, making it difficult to feel her lungs. And Kimberly became aware of the strange tension throbbing between them, mesmerizing her.

"Don't be scared," he Said gently, trying to reassure her.

Tyler smiled, the smile was lazy and sensual, but he felt tense and determine. His chest rose and fell hard. He stalked her, and she backed up a step.

"Don't be scared I won't make move if you don't want," kim stopped, they were so close, his eyes commanded that she stood still. There was fire there, like the one that runs through her vein. She looked at his mouth, sensually sculpted, parted slightly. She felt an insane desire to kiss him. Taste him. He gripped her hands forcing it down partly.

"I want you, and I know you do same,"

"No," she said not meaning it.

Regardless of her response he pressed her hard against his erection, her eyes flying to his, she felt him pulsating beneath her palm, felt the burning heat.

"Hold me," he said still staring into her eyes

Kim was motionless, her heart slamming as if the devil's were instructing her. She curled her hands around his waist .

He slipped an arm around her and guided them to the ground. Kimberly felt his warm breath in her neck his mouth brushing there. She gasped, reaching for his shoulder. Crazy desires trailed in the wake of his lips. Kimberly lost control of herself, his face buried in her neck. His wet hard body covered hers, his powerful hands crushing her in his embrace. And he was rocking his hip against her softness, and for a moment Kim thought she might die. Wrapped between heaven and hell.

"Please," Kim moaned, her nails digging into his shoulders. She whimpered, unable to make a coherent sound.

Then his hands went in her gown, she gasped as he anchored her by a Hank of hair, while flipping up her gown, his other hand went for her breasts.

Kim fell back, spreading her legs readily.

"Take off your clothes," he said

It was an order that made no sense, it didn't matter. He was stroking her thighs rhythmically, expertly, she couldn't bare it.

He locked his hands around her hip, and buried his face between her legs. Kim was shocked, she felt his tongue. Any desire to protest ceased instantly. As he stroked her intimately, she began climbing peak, racing from one to the other, her wall shattered, she fell. And he thrust inside of her, felling the warmth of her body. And soon they both passed out.

*****

When Kimberly slowly came to her consciousness, the first thing she felt was warm steady breathing against her neck. Confused, she shifted around wondering when she had gotten a cat. A sudden pressure around her stomach tightened and she realized she was feeling rather hot which was weird, considering that she always had the air conditioning on in her room.

But the heat felt wonderful, like soothing licks against her skin and she snuggled deeper into it. Her backside hit something uncomfortable and the pressure around her waist tightened and her eyes flew open.

What the hell?!

There were no grey-painted walls or humidifiers on the bedside table. Heck, there was no bedside table! This was not her room!

Eyebrows furrowed above her sleepy grey eyes and she tried to stand up, dread filling her as she realized what the pressure wrapped her was.

A hand. No, to be precise, she blinked several times just to make sure she wasn't in a darned dream. A man's hand. His huge biceps clenched and unclenched as his hands tightened around her waist and his breathing fell harsher on her neck from behind her.

"Oh no," she whispered in horror, grey eyes flicking around the room uneasily. It was a cheap-ass hotel room that Kimberly could bet her entire fortune had housed plenty of sex-deprived souls and yesterday, she had been one of them.

"Damnit!." She mouthed, slapping the arm around her in irritation. She was screwed. She, Kimberly Lockwood, had spent the night with some man she didn't know. Oh, the press was going to have a field day when they found out. She could imagine the headlines on those shitty tabloids.

The man grunted and loosened his grip. From the sounds he made, she knew he would wake soon.

Good, she needed him as awake as he could be, she thought as she slipped out of the bed, staring down at her naked form as she picked her clothes from the floor. Her breasts were sore, tender and littered with hickeys.

"That's new," She murmured, sliding her hands over them and sighing softly. No man she had ever slept with had ever given her hickeys.

"Hmm, If you're touching yourself without me, that's a bummer," A deep sleepy male voice rumbled and she whipped around swiftly as his voice settled and sunk in her memory.

Dear God, how much had she drunk the night before? She must've been extremely knackered if she had allowed the scumbag before her to touch her. She clutched her forehead, feeling a headache ensue as the memories from the previous night plagued her.

Tasha had dragged her out for a drink. They weren't friends, she was merely someone Kim could stand for a long time without wanting to kill her. She had been feeling quite lonely over the week, having completed her work quota for the week already, and when Tasha had suggested Clubbing, Kimberly hadn't thought it was a bad idea.

Oh, but it turned out to be. Because now she had the cursed mountain man before her, grinning at her boobs as if they were gifts from Santa.

"You!" She hissed, clutching her dress to her chest.

"I guess that means you remember now." He hummed. His hair which had been long last week was now chopped into chocolate brown curls that sat atop his head. Dark eyes stared piercingly at her and she shuddered.

Oh, she remembered alright. She recalled how she had kept doing shots until she couldn't stand straight and bumped into everything.

"I hope no one got that on video." She murmured to herself as she dragged on her dress. Damn! How could she screw up so bad? She had done a lot of crazy things, but getting drunk in a public club and having sex with the man whom she had spent every day of the week loathing had to top the list.

"Breathe." The mountain man murmured, sitting up and stretching. "You look like you're about to pass out. I know I'm an awesome lay, but you don't have to look like I took your breath away literally."

Her heart pulsed harder with each stretch he made. She could recall those hands spanning her length, large palms enclosing her breasts, kneading them until she became putty in his hands. She didn't even know the idiot's name and she had ridden his thighs like a depraved wanton.

If the world found out about it, she was finished.

"Don't say a word." She ordered as she adjusted her black dress, trying to smoothen out the wrinkles.

Looking around for her purse, she found it peeking at her underneath the bed and fished it out while the man before her watched in amusement.

Tyler was entranced. When he had stepped into the club the night before and had seen her staggering her way toward him, looking very seductive with her hooded grey eyes and rich red lips, he had been bewitched. And when she came on to him, he hadn't found it in him to resist her.

Damn, he hadn't expected to see her again. She had plagued his dreams ever since their encounter a week ago, and now, as his dark eyes roamed her lovely figure, his dreams were nothing compared to the real thing.

She was beautiful. Her hair had felt silky in his hands. Her breasts were heavy and well proportioned, he hadn't gotten enough of them and sadly it seemed that would be the last he would see of them. Especially with the way she fished a book out of her purse and scribbled hard on it.

"If you're journalling about my di-"

"Here!" She said, trying all her possible best to remain calm, ripping a piece of paper out and placing it on the bed gingerly.

"No one must know about this." She hissed, grey eyes losing the passion he had seen in them last night.

"Why? Because they'll discover you're not made of stone after all?" Tyler grinned. Who was she and why was she so concerned about what people said?

He reached for the paper she had dropped on the bed. "A cheque?"

"For your silence." She stated stoically, walking towards the door. "I believe twenty grand should be enough to keep your lips shut."

Tyler could not help it, he burst into laughter. She glared at him and harrumphed before walking out the door.

What sort of woman just dashed out 20,000 dollars to men she shagged? Oh, he was intrigued. Terribly intrigued. He held up the cheque, arching a brow as he read the name at the top right corner.

"Kimberly Lockwood." He drawled and glanced at the door. She was interesting. And Tyler Tien loved interesting women, they were fun to pick apart and conquer. But, he frowned puzzled, after their intimacy that night, she had whimpered in her sleep several times.

He wondered what could make a defiant woman like her, cry in fear.

Tossing the cheque aside along with his thoughts of her, he got out of bed, cracking his neck to relieve the slight ache in them. It was time he began what he had come to do in Austin. He had fooled around for a week, but he knew it wouldn't be long before the police caught up with him. He had to find a safe place fast and as soon as possible.

Picking his clothes that were strewn across the cheap hotel room, he grinned when he found a ruby ring on the floor glaring at him.

"Twenty grand and a ruby in one day." He said, tossing the ring in the air and catching it. "Looks like today's going to be a good day."

On cue, his burner phone lying on the bed vibrated.

"Finally." He muttered, swiping it off the bed.

"Boss," A voice said on the other line but Tyler remained quiet.

There was no way he was speaking unless he confirmed that the caller was one of his own. He had already been betrayed once and he was determined to make sure that it would stay that way.

"If I die, I forgive you. If I live, I kill you." The person said and Tyler grunted in response.

It was a legendary omerta that he had made his men swear before him. They had to know that if anyone betrayed Don Tien, they had just betrayed themselves.

"Good, Victor. I told you not t call unless you have news." Tyler stated, his voice rough. "You have news then?"

"Yes boss," Victor replied. "We found Benito."

Tyler hummed. "Seen or found?"

"Found boss. He just walked into Maggie's. She called us and had us surround the area."

Tyler nodded satisfactorily. "Good. If I'm not there in twenty minutes, You know what to do."

"Yes, boss."

Ending the call, Tyler switched off the burner phone, cracked it open and popped the sim in his mouth, spreading it into an evil smile.

"If I live, I kill you." He said into the air. Benito had betrayed him. And like famous love stories, he was going to let Benito go.