"So what the hell should we do?" Petra whispered as she studied her row of chess pieces. Levi did not answer for a while, only made his move. He took one of her pawns and went back to brooding over the game. She had told him of Marie's words last night; she was trying to work out if it had been a catty comment thrown out there to catch her off guard, or if Marie had seen anything. Heard anything.
Had she known they were fucking in the closet?
"Levi?" She moved her rook. "What do we do now?"
"I told you we shouldn't have done that." His lips barely moved. Petra frowned.
"I didn't force you to do anything."
"Stop. Fucking. Talking." He took her knight with more force than necessary. Petra was hopeless at chess at the best of times, but right now she was too panicked to play even a little well. "We don't know who's around."
Petra had not slept last night because she was in such in agony, wishing she could rush straight to Levi and tell him about Marie. She'd had to wait through her morning swim, through breakfast, even through the gym because too many people came in and out while they were on the treadmill. Petra had been relieved when Levi agreed to a game of chess. They were left alone on the veranda.
He hadn't reacted no matter what she said.
"So?" Petra whispered, heart pounding.
"We can't press her for information." He moved one of his pawns. "We don't know what she knows. Saying anything could open the door for spilling more shit by accident."
"I shouldn't even deny it?"
"The more you talk to her about it, even if it's a denial, the better she can read you. Pretend like you didn't hear shit, or didn't understand it."
Every time someone entered the room, Petra wanted to scream. She kept waiting for security to grab her and tie her up. To douse her in gasoline. To burn her alive while Erwin watched.
"Erwin wouldn't believe her. Would he?"
"He's obsessed with you." Levi's cold gaze bored into her. "He could be looking for an excuse."
"But he trusts you."
"That can change. Anything can change." Levi cracked his knuckles absently as he studied the board. "Fuck. I'm not good at this shit. Games."
"Yeah. Me, neither."
"My advice? Stay as far away from Marie as you can." Levi grunted as he moved his queen to a gap on Petra's side of the board. "Oi. Check."
Petra realized that he had, in fact, killed her king. She tipped the piece over to signal her defeat.
"How long do they have to stay here?" she asked.
"Until Erwin's got this thing under control. Could be days. Could be weeks."
Petra sunbathed later on, lying on a chaise with the top of her white bikini undone. She gazed at the world from behind her sunglasses. Erwin, Levi, and Nile were seated beneath an umbrella at a table on the other side of the pool. Petra wondered where Christa kept herself these days. It would be nice to let the girl have a swim on such a hot day.
"Mind if I join you?" Marie asked. She laid down upon a chaise next to Petra, her body sleek in a black one piece. Petra wanted to scream and shove the woman into the pool, but only smiled.
"Of course."
Petra picked up her book and started to read, hoping that Marie wouldn't say anything. They were in plain sight of Erwin, and Petra could feel Levi's darting glances from one woman to the next.
"This is a bore, isn't it?" Marie asked as she rubbed lotion onto her arms. "The men with their business. As if I don't know everything that Nile does."
"Erwin likes to keep things separate." Petra didn't look up from her book.
"Yes. He does like to compartmentalize."
Petra could feel the woman watching her. She did not stop staring at her book. She would spend the rest of her life reading this one page if she had to.
"Tell me," Marie said, leaning back with her arms folded beneath her head. "How long have you two been sneaking around?"
Petra needed to be careful. If she got up and abruptly left, Erwin would notice and might ask questions. If she said nothing, Marie could take it as confirmation. She decided to misunderstand.
"I know we're very self-contained in the villa, but I wouldn't call our lifestyle sneaking around exactly. As soon as this business with Willy Tybur is settled, Erwin and I can start traveling around again."
"I meant you and the bodyguard, darling." Marie smiled and stretched. "You should smile, by the way. Or laugh. We don't want Erwin questioning why I'm talking and you refuse to look at me."
Alarms were blaring inside Petra's head. Fuck it, Marie was right. Petra laughed as she folded her page to mark it. Still smiling, she tilted her head to look at Marie.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" she said, beaming. She giggled, then looked straight ahead.
"Fucking him in a closet in Erwin's house? That's either the bravest or stupidest thing I've ever seen." Marie offered the sunscreen. "Do you need me to do your back?"
Petra's whole life was exploding before her eyes. She wondered if she shouldn't sneak away and kill herself right now. She could hang herself with one of Erwin's ties, or find a way to nab one of Levi's guns and shoot herself. She wanted her death to be quick. No prolonged fear, no torture, no pain.
"What are you trying to do, exactly?" Petra sat up and stretched, making sure to look as relaxed and lazy as possible.
"In a moment, I'll suggest we go to the sauna. You'll agree. We can talk more there." Marie checked the cover of Petra's book; she was a fantastic actress, Petra had to give that to her.
"Is this a threat?" Petra took the book back. "Do you want money?"
"In a moment."
Marie played it all fabulously. To the men, it looked like Petra and she had been chatting and decided to visit the spa room together. Erwin looked as though he suspected nothing.
Petra sat on one of the cedar benches inside the sauna, arms clasped around her knees to try to stop the shaking. Marie felt far less inhibited, and took her towel off. She lay naked upon the bench, shut her eyes, and exhaled slowly.
"This is heavenly," the woman said.
"What the hell do you want?" Petra could feel tears burning her eyes. She wondered how much longer she had left to be alive.
"I ought to thank you, you know," Marie said. "I needed to find a pressure point. I had no idea you'd hand me one so quickly."
"You can't prove anything."
"Do I need to prove anything?" Marie smiled. "Wouldn't a suggestion be more than enough?"
Would begging help? No, it would make Marie hate her more; Petra was sure of it.
"Why do you want a pressure point?" Her voice cracked. Damn it.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Do you want to kill me so you can have Erwin again?" Petra's voice almost failed, and she got pissed when Marie cackled with laughter.
"Oh, God! You pretty little fool, no." Marie wiped a tear, laughing so hard she'd cried. "I had him in his prime, when he was at his most beautiful and brilliant. Why would I want him now?"
Petra began to see why the relationship had failed; Marie was as dominant and pitiless as Erwin. They deserved each other.
"Then what are you trying to do here?" Petra swallowed a lump in her throat. "Do you want to kill me?"
"It's not my priority, no." Marie took up a bottle of eucalyptus oil, adding it to the steam. The gummy, sweet-and-spice scent made Petra's eyes water. "But if need be, I'll sacrifice you."
"Tell me why you're doing this." Petra spoke through clenched teeth now, her fury eroding her fear.
"Here's what we're going to do, sweetie." Marie made herself comfortable. "You're going to get Erwin to let us leave this villa and take a little trip to Rome. Just the two of us."
"Are you insane? He won't let me leave the grounds without an armed escort, and you think after what happened he'll let me go to the city?"
"I imagine he'll insist on sending Levi with us." Marie wrinkled her nose. "That would put a definite crimp in my plans."
"What are your plans?"
"If you think I'm going to discuss with you here, you're stupider than I thought." Marie tsked. "Find a way to get us both into Rome the day after tomorrow. I know Levi will likely have to come, and I'll work with that. But it has to be just us three, or there's no deal." Marie rolled onto her side and stared across the rippling heat of the sauna at Petra. "If you don't make this happen, I'll tell your hubby everything I've noticed."
Petra tried desperately to imagine some scenario, some way to fight back against this woman. She could threaten to tell Erwin…something. Anything. A lie to make him hate Marie, get rid of her.
But Petra also knew that if she went up against Marie, she would lose. The woman was older, wiser, and smarter to boot. Petra thought again of the chessboard, most of her pieces gone; she didn't know how to play this game. Any game.
Petra was a simple person. The rules here were simple: get them to Rome, she lived. Fail, and she died.
"Do we understand each other?" Marie asked.
"Yes." Petra's voice was lifeless.
"Excellent. And one more thing: if you try to speak to Levi about our little conversation, you'll only put him in greater danger than before."
"Why do you think I care about that?" she croaked.
"Oh." Marie smirked. "I believe you can guess. Now add some more eucalyptus oil, dear. It does wonders for tension in the body."
Even if she'd wanted to confide in him, Petra did not have a chance to speak with Levi privately for the rest of the day. He continued about his duties with that same grim expression, playing tennis against both of the women (he won, naturally), watching them as they had afternoon tea and chatted pleasantly. Petra was performing as though her life were on the line…which it was. Hers and Levi's, and yes, she actually did care about him. It made her a real idiot, but she couldn't deny the truth. God, she was scared and angry as hell. She wanted to claw Marie's eyes out, slash Erwin's throat, throw herself out a window and die. But she couldn't.
She had to get Erwin to let her go. How?
That man would not let her do anything unless he wanted it to happen. Arguing would do less than zero good, and she couldn't threaten him. Withholding sex would only make him angry, as would displeasing him in any way. Hell, his whole thing was how much he loved her complete submission to him! He'd never do anything she asked.
Unless…
Petra stopped in the middle of dinner, almost dropping her fork as she realized. Erwin would not give in to her on anything; but if she satisfied him, satisfied him in body and soul, he loved to spoil her. There was no guarantee it would work, but it was the only way forward that might yield results. Even if it made her want to vomit.
Petra hurried to their room the moment she was at liberty. She ordered the maids to help her with the set up, lighting the candles, helping Petra choose the most alluring 'outfit' possible. When she was ready, Petra asked one of them to request Erwin's presence, and draped herself across the satin top of the bed. The summer wind sighed through the curtains, moving them ever so slightly. Petra shut her eyes and imagined that she was waiting for Levi, waiting for him to lie on top of her and fuck her problems away.
The mere thought of him made her slippery and sore. When she heard the hush of the bedroom door opening, she kept his image in her mind's eye for one extra second.
"Oh." Erwin sounded surprised in a way she'd never heard before.
Time to act like her life depended on it.
Which it did.
Petra opened her eyes and arched her back, almost like a cat. She'd chosen the white satin underwear and white lace bra that practically glowed against the warm cream of her skin. The candles surrounding the bed created the most sensual shadows across her body and face. Petra crawled to the edge of the bed and slid onto the floor.
Levi. Oh, Levi.
"Erwin," she whispered. Petra knelt and kept her hands in her lap, her eyes downcast. She stared at his shoes. "Oh God, I can't stand it."
"Can't stand what?" He sounded hoarse, almost undone.
"I've wanted you inside me all day. I want to please you." She tilted her chin down and looked up at him through her lashes. "Please make me yours, sir. Do whatever you want to me. I want it so much."
He shut the door, looking more lost and wondering than she'd ever seen. He stepped nearer to her.
"You want me, then?" he whispered.
"Every day. I want you every day." She moaned as he reached down and touched her chin, fluttering her lashes with the barest contact of his flesh. "Is this too forward?"
"No, sweetheart." His fingers ran lovingly through her hair. "It's never forward to say that you want me. Not when you do it as sweetly as this."
"May I?" She looked at him with gentle pleading, her hands on his belt buckle. He nodded.
"You may."
Petra unbuckled him and unzipped him. When his cock emerged, the impossible length and width of it, she gave a breathy sigh of pleasure. He was too big, too thick, unlike Levi who was perfection itself.
Petra kissed the tip of his cock, and heard Erwin's almost pained cry of pleasure. She wrapped her lips around the head and sucked lightly. Her right hand stroked the velvet shaft of him, and she took him as far into her mouth as possible. Her tongue slid along his cock, and when she had her lips just around the end of him again, she used the tip of her tongue to rub back and forth upon the little divot beneath the swollen crown.
Erwin called her name as he exploded in her mouth. She forced herself to swallow, forced herself to whisper how good he tasted as she kissed the now-flagging length of his penis.
Erwin yanked her up and crushed his lips to hers. Petra gasped as he pushed her onto the bed. She lay there, hands over her head, helpless as he loomed over her. That piercing gaze of his traveled along her lingerie-clad body. Left her bare for him.
"You want this?" he whispered.
"Yes, Daddy."
That word from her lips aroused him, made him give another breathless moan. He slid open a drawer on his bedside table and removed a loop of silk cording. Petra held her breath as he bound her wrists above her head carefully, as he tied her to the decorative iron curlicues of the headboard. Once she was tied up, he kissed her.
"I can always buy you new lingerie," he whispered, and then ripped her panties away. He pushed up her bra, allowing her breasts to spring free beneath the wire cup. Erwin suckled her, nibbled at her while she squirmed and moaned. Once she was as sensitive as she could be, he returned to that drawer and emerged with…she didn't know what. It looked like a chain.
"The Marquis de Sade first described nipple clamps in his novel Justine," Erwin whispered, tracing the cold metal tip of the chain across Petra's already sensitive areola. "In my experience, a little pain heightens the pleasure immensely."
Oh shit.
Petra winced as she felt the bite of a clamp on her nipple. She whimpered as the teeth of the clamp dug in deeper, sending a bright thread of agony all the way through her body. As she started to thrash, Erwin forced her to lie still.
"You can take this pain for me, Petra." He removed one last thing from that cursed drawer: a scarf of deep violet silk. Petra gasped as he laid the scarf tight over her eyes, tying it on the back of her head. "You know how I love to see you like this."
"Yes, sir. Yes, sir."
"Yes what?" She felt him pulling her legs straight, felt silk cords tighten around her ankles. He was tying her spread eagle to the bedposts. She couldn't move, couldn't see. She could only feel the tight, burning agony in her nipples and the pulsating button of pleasure growing between her legs.
"Yes, Daddy."
She felt his breath on her inner thigh and then her clit. Erwin began to lick her, kissing her clit and stroking it with his tongue. The pleasure swelled in her, which only seemed to increase the pain in her nipples. Petra sobbed, shaking with an oncoming orgasm while tears slid down her blindfolded cheeks.
"Good girl." Erwin sucked her clit into his mouth; she was so sensitive she was going to come until she passed out. "My sweet little girl."
He licked her until she was on the threshold of orgasm…then stopped.
"No," she moaned, hips jerking as he left her. She was going to die if she wasn't allowed to come; her entire body itched with the need for release. "Please, Erwin."
"I'll let you come, sweetheart." He was at the foot of the bed, standing. She didn't know what was going on. The burning pain in her nipples was increasing to maddening levels.
Then she felt him strike her between her legs. One hard, short, blistering sharp rap with a whip or riding crop directly on her swollen clit.
Petra screamed louder and longer than she'd ever screamed before; she jerked against her bonds as the orgasm turned her whole body to fire. The digging pain in her nipples was driving her to the brink of madness. When Erwin took off the clamps, it was the most wonderful sensation she'd ever felt. It felt like running water was putting out the fire all over her body. He licked and sucked at her nipples, now so sensitive that she felt like they'd been touched with a hot iron.
She wailed in pain and groaned in pleasure as his cock slid inside of her. Erwin rode her hard as Petra kept gasping and sobbing.
"You love me, don't you?" he whispered.
"Y-Yes."
Once more, he slid out of her and got off the bed. Next time he touched her, he made her open her mouth. A rubber ball blocked her voice completely; he secured it so that she couldn't spit it out, no matter what. Now gagged and blinded, unable to move, she had to lie there in burning near-silence as he sucked on her painfully sensitive nipples. As he flicked that riding crop against her clit again, and again. She came, each orgasm more agonizing than the last.
Levi. Where was Levi?
She screamed his name a few times, out of her mind with panic. Thank God for the ball gag, or Erwin would have understood what she was saying.
If I want to save myself, I have to play his game.
Petra laid back and forced herself to survive every second that passed as Erwin finished tormenting her body with pain and pleasure. He fucked her again, harder than ever, until Petra wondered if she wouldn't be split down the center with it all. When he came at long last, she kept her eyes shut and prayed that it was done.
He removed the ball gag, then the blindfold. Petra's whole body shook as he untied her. Her arms lay limp at her sides as she shivered, naked against the night air.
"Erwin," she breathed. Act. She needed to act and act well. "I've never experienced anything like it before."
"Did you enjoy that?"
She knew how to anticipate what would please him most. "If you enjoyed it, then I loved it. I love to give you pleasure."
"My angel."
He kissed her and covered her with the sheets. He called for the servants and had them bring up a bottle of champagne and fresh fruit. He fed Petra by hand, loved to watch her meekly obey him. She looked at him with adoration, hating herself all the while.
"Would you like anything else, Daddy?" She kissed his thigh, feeling his cock already starting to twitch.
"What would you like?" he whispered, kissing a line down her naked back. "You've pleased me, Petra. I can't remember ever being this satisfied before."
She knew not to ask right away; that would only make him believe she'd done this with a purpose.
"More," she moaned.
This time, the lovemaking was less extreme. Petra got on her hands and knees and let him fuck her from behind, making sure to look over her shoulder with longing at him. He slammed into her until he came. She lay against the bedspread and shut her eyes as he cleaned her. At least he was meticulous; probably Levi's influence.
Levi. Did he know what Erwin had been doing to her in this room?
She wanted to run to him, even though she knew intellectually he would not save her. She wanted him to hold her and keep her safe from the fucked up madman she'd married.
When they'd finished the second time, she lay against Erwin's chest a while, waiting for the moment. The only right moment she'd ever get.
"What can I give you?" he mused.
"You've given me everything I want."
He growled with pleasure. He kissed her again. She wanted to die.
"When this is over, we'll go anywhere you like. I want to spoil you," he whispered. Petra purred in happiness as he got out of bed, ready to clean himself…ready to leave…
Wait. Wait.
"I'd just like to go back to Rome. I didn't get to see everything I wanted." Petra stretched like a cat. She pouted like a child. "Marie said she knew the best restaurant near St. Peter's. I'd love to go with her."
"You and Marie are getting along?"
"Better. I forgot how much I missed having another woman to sightsee with." She giggled. "Levi's a good bodyguard, but it's hard to have a shopping day with him."
Erwin chuckled at the image. "Well. Soon, I think."
"Erwin?" Now or never. Petra bundled the sheets across her chest and lay upon her side. One of her feet poked out from the rumpled sheets; she knew that she looked like the epitome of fragile femininity at the moment. She saw him get hard just by staring at her. "Couldn't Marie and I go to town for the afternoon? We'd take Levi with us!"
"No, sweetheart." Kindly but firm. "It's too dangerous."
Shit, shit. She had not gone through all that to lose now.
"Oh, please? Just for an hour or two? What if we took extra security this time?" Marie had said only Levi, but better to figure out a new obstacle than to never leave the villa.
"I said no, Petra." He was growing stern. "I can't allow you to be put in any kind of danger."
If she pressed again, it would be defiance and Erwin hated that. She didn't want to be punished tonight; her pleasure had been punishment enough.
"Yes, sir." She curled into a ball as he kissed her and then went to clean up. He and Nile had more business to talk tonight. Petra's body felt raw and sore, and her heart was empty.
So that was it, then. She was dead.
The next morning, Petra toyed with her oatmeal and berries and wondered how she could kill herself. Maybe she could have Levi draw a bath and then cut her wrists. She'd have to push through the instinct to save herself, but it was either die quickly or wish she were dead after Marie told Erwin.
"Morning." Marie sat opposite Petra with a cappuccino, a roll, and some fruit. Marie spread some apricot preserves onto a section of roll. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Petra's gut lurched.
"I'm afraid we won't be going." She sipped her orange juice. "I couldn't convince him."
Marie frowned. "Odd. I just heard Erwin and Levi clearing the security detail for tomorrow."
"What?"
Petra dropped her spoon, tears flooding her eyes with bewildered relief.
"Your hubby doesn't tell you anything. How sad." Marie tsked, sipping her cappuccino. "He seems to have brought it up to Levi last night. Your bodyguard must be most convincing. He assured Erwin that you and I would be safe."
Levi had saved her life. Petra couldn't pick up her spoon, her hands shook so badly.
"Oh. How nice," she breathed.
"We'll have such a nice time." Marie pushed back her chair and smiled. "However you softened that man up, it was impressively done. I almost didn't believe you'd succeed."
Marie sauntered away, leaving Petra in tears of relief.
"Oi." Levi appeared at her side, slick and quiet as a shadow. His hands were in his pockets. "You all right?"
"Thank you for convincing Erwin."
"Why you wanna go to town so bad, anyway?"
She wanted to tell him about Marie, about her threats, but Petra knew Marie was right: the more he knew, the greater the danger. If he knew the details, Levi could start a whole domino chain of disaster if he tried to keep Marie from her goal, whatever the fuck it was.
"I'm tired of being stuck in here." That was true at least. "Plus, if I take Marie along it won't look suspicious."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, only the two of us together." She flushed.
"I told you to stay away from her, you know."
Petra found she hated to lie to him; maybe when this was all over, she'd tell him the truth. He'd be angry at her, but better they both be alive and him angry than the reverse.
"She's still acting like a bitch, but nothing worse. I know you'll keep things from going wrong, anyway."
"Glad you're so sure of me," he drawled.
"Really, though. Thank you." She peered up at Levi; he refused to sit with her, only stared across the sunlit lawn. "I've been desperate to get away."
Levi cleared his throat, still wouldn't look at her. "I, uh, heard from Loretta what was going on last night. You and Erwin." She swore that a muscle feathered in his jaw; it looked like he was struggling against something. "Figured you could use a break."
So he knew, then. All the painful pleasure of last night throbbed throughout her body again. Petra felt so tired.
"You gotta do what I say, though. We've got a couple of guys who'll be shadowing us, dressed in plainclothes and shit. We go to town, you get some lunch, and we're back here. Okay?"
"Okay."
Petra's heart pounded louder than before. She'd solved one problem, but what was Marie going to do about the extra security?
Well. Fuck it. Petra had done her part; whatever insane idea Marie had now, she could set it into motion on her own.
"I can remember when drinking rosé was painfully gauche." Marie gave a dickish, benevolent smile as Petra sipped her glass of pink wine. "But you young people have a tendency to make everything old new again."
Levi made a grumbling sort of noise, like a surly bear. He was drinking iced tea and glaring at the women as they enjoyed their lunch. Marie had told him it was a crime against nature to eat his lunch with iced tea, but he told her he wasn't a wine guy. When she pressed him again, he didn't say anything, just stared at her.
Sometimes Petra almost thought she could fall in love with him. She smirked as she twirled some pasta on her fork.
"I'm so glad to get out of the house." Petra lifted her glass. "To lunching with friends."
"Indeed." Marie clinked with her. "When this is all over, you must come to Switzerland. Erwin has his own chalet, naturally. You'll never want to ski anywhere else ever again."
I've never skied before in my life.
"I'd like that."
"Last thing a bodyguard wants to hear," Levi muttered. "Keeping you folks alive's trouble enough. Put you up a mountain and slap planks to your feet? Dumb as fuck."
"A lively conversationalist as ever," Marie drawled. "It's always a treat to spend time with you, Levi."
At least Marie hadn't mentioned Levi and Petra in any dangerous sense. In fact, the woman behaved as though she knew nothing of their idiotic tryst.
The meal was winding down. The security detail was stationed around the restaurant, blending in with the diners.
Marie didn't have much time left to make this move of hers. Petra wondered if she'd lured them out here to gun them down in a hail of bullets. Her heart pounded at the thought, but that sounded better than spending another night as Erwin's sex toy.
Levi seemed tired whenever he looked at or spoke to her now. Like he felt guilty for what had happened.
His concern was sincere. It made her want to kiss him, a mad impulse.
After they'd paid the bill, Levi began escorting the women to the town car.
"I had a thought." Marie stopped. "I'm in desperate need of a spa day. Petra?"
The meaningful look told Petra that this was it. Whatever Marie had planned, this was the destination she had in mind. Petra didn't know what to do. Her mind whirred.
"That's not on the itinerary," Levi said, looking pissed.
Marie nodded at Petra. Show time.
"Ugh, that sounds fabulous. I need to settle my stomach after that lunch, anyway." Petra was becoming a better actress if she said so herself.
"I know the place, and it's only a block up that way." Marie pointed along a sun-drenched boulevard. "Nothing too fancy. A steam, some time in the sauna, a massage and we're done."
"Excellent!" Petra motioned to the security. "Small change of plans."
"Erwin's not gonna like this," Levi growled. And Petra could feel his appraisal of her change; he was starting to wonder why she'd want to hang out with Marie so much voluntarily. She had to defuse the situation.
"Oh, it'll be fine," Petra said, moving towards him. She tilted her head towards his, made her voice soft. Conspiratorial. "I'm trying to keep her happy, just in case," Petra muttered. "Play along, would you?"
"Tch." But he seemed inclined to believe that, and relaxed. "Gotta clear it with Erwin first. And we've gotta sweep the place."
"It's a ladies-only spa, so I'm sure that will be quite interesting," Marie drawled.
Levi called Erwin, and Petra held her breath. Since Levi was with the women, however, along with the rest of the detail Erwin allowed it. Though Levi had to stay with the ladies at all times, women-only spa or not.
Shit.
Marie seemed unfazed, though. They strolled down to the spa, a contemporary, minimalist space placed inside a rather old-looking building. A strange clash of aesthetics to be sure. Unsurprisingly the staff didn't want to allow Levi inside, but he had a manner of being persuasive. They really did not like the security detail, either. Levi agreed to leave most of the men outside and along the hall if he got to inspect the place first. They had to agree; no one said no to Erwin Smith.
After Levi checked every room once, even the mud bath (which elicited some indignant screams), he grudgingly acknowledged the place was clear. Petra and Marie took off their clothes in the locker room, grabbed towels and robes, and had to pretend the sullen bodyguard was not there as they walked and chatted along the halls.
They stopped at the steam room first, which Levi inspected. He coughed as he opened the door and a cloud of dense steam emerged. Petra choked as well; it was going to be so close in there. She didn't know how long she could last.
Levi poked his head inside, apologizing to a woman in a towel. She wrapped it around herself in indignation as Levi jerked his head.
"Looks like it's clear. Don't take too long."
He would stand watch outside, of course. Sighing, Petra followed Marie into the steam and shut the door behind them.
Petra coughed, already hating the experience. It was like standing outside on the hottest and most humid day of summer, only much worse.
"Here." Marie tugged Petra to sit beside her. The other woman sat on a bench perpendicularly placed to theirs. "Enjoy yourself, dear. You need to learn to relax."
Petra's patience was gone.
"What the hell are we doing?" she snapped. "Is this why you brought me here? For a spa day?"
"Not quite." Marie glanced at the other woman. "Well?" she said.
The fuck?
"How do you do?" The other lady looked up at Petra. Even in the dim light and close steam, Petra saw that the woman was attractive, in her early to mid thirties. Her blond ringlet curls were pressed down with steam, and her eyes were bright.
"Hi. Who are you?" Petra said bluntly.
"My name's Giulia Tybur," the woman said, stretching her arms overhead. "Willy Tybur's wife. He wanted me to arrange this little meeting with you." She smiled, tilted her head back. "I have a proposal I think you'll want to hear."
Right now, Petra was in that steam room naked and glistening with moisture. Levi had to yell at himself, force himself not to get hard at the mere idea of it. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot with impatience as he waited outside the door.
Tch. Well, the girl deserved a relaxing spa day. If half of what Loretta, the maid, had told him two nights ago was true, Petra deserved a lot more than that.
Levi wasn't a big believer in punishment for pleasure, but again, if someone liked it that was fine. But he also knew there were supposed to be ironclad rules. Specifically, the submissive person gets to set the pace. Decide what they can and can't handle.
Erwin gave Petra no options. He forced her to endure whatever he wanted, no matter how painful or frightening it was to her.
Spanking? Riding crops? Fine, whatever, kinky shit but basically harmless. But nipple clamps and whips applied directly to her swollen, sensitive clit? Fucking her even while she cried?
It sent Levi back to dark rooms and darker men, men who whispered threats at him, shoved his face into the pillow. Men who told him to keep quiet and take it if he wanted to survive another day.
Levi had to stop thinking about this, because he could feel himself start to tremble. His vision grew blurry. Erwin had never done any of that shit to Levi, and he loved the man for it.
But for what he'd done to Petra, Levi found himself start to hate the man a little.
I don't hate you, Erwin. I love you. You're the only thing in this fucking world I know it's safe to love because they'll never beat you. No one can beat you. You're here to stay, and I can rest my life against yours.
But then he thought of Petra gagged and blindfolded, weeping in pain and fear…and the hate came back.
When Loretta told him, Levi had wanted to go upstairs and slide into bed with her and hold her. Just hold her, stroke her hair and let her cry against him. No one should lie in that kind of pain, loneliness, and fear and feel like they were sitting at the bottom of a well. Unreachable. He knew that agony.
And those bright eyes of hers, that smart mouth, the sass and the sugar of her was such an unexpected joy to him, he realized. If that brightness dimmed inside of her, it would be a loss for Levi, for the world. For Petra.
I have to talk to Erwin about this. It ain't right.
But Erwin was too obsessed with this girl. And Levi loved the man too much to upset him. After growing up as Erwin had, wasn't it natural he'd be a little rough? Marriage could change him over time.
But Levi didn't want marriage to change Erwin. Not marriage with Petra. The thought ate him alive with jealousy…
Finally, the door opened and the women exited the steam room. Looked like a pair of pink, boiled lobsters or some shit.
"Everything cool?" he asked. "Or, I dunno, hot? Steam, I mean."
"Very witty." Marie rolled her eyes. Petra looked a little quiet.
"You okay?" He frowned.
"I think I need some water. Too much steam dehydrates you," she said.
She looked better after some water with fancy slices of cucumber floating around in the glass. The women enjoyed their sauna and their massages. Levi kept waiting for shit to go down, but it was all fine. They got dressed, paid, and were escorted back to the town car with no hassle. When they drove through the gates of Erwin's villa, Levi felt he could properly breathe again.
"Did you girls enjoy yourselves?" Erwin asked when they walked inside. He kissed Petra, slid a hand down her back in a possessive gesture. Levi had to look away; he got a weird, irrational surge of rage at the sight.
"We did. Thank you, Erwin," she purred.
And that was it. Marie went to call her girls, Petra sat down with a book, and the afternoon slipped into evening. Yet Levi felt it tingling in his gut, the sensation that something was wrong. That he'd missed something.
There was a freak bit of weather the next day, gray clouds and wind and rain more suited for autumn than summer. Marie was off doing some work or reading of her own while Erwin and Nile secluded themselves and made plans or some shit. Levi sat with Petra in the parlor with that weird ceiling painted with goat people. Satyrs. Whatever.
Since it was unseasonably chilly, Petra wore slacks and a cozy yellow sweater. She looked like a teenager curled up in a chair, chin resting in her hand, watching the rain ripple across the lawn out the window. She'd had a fire laid, and the smell of wood smoke and the snap of burning logs made the whole situation feel kinda moody. Morose.
"You okay?" Levi asked at last. He'd been flicking his switchblade open and closed for a while now. It was a move that made him look kinda badass; he found he wanted her to see it.
"I'm fine." Petra shut her eyes and listened to the rain.
"You sure?"
"I never took you for the type of guy to pester somebody."
"'Scuse me for fucking caring, then." Levi scowled at the floor. Silence.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For caring."
And he saw it, the tears in her eyes. Petra rubbed her face, curled into a tighter ball. He should leave her alone; he should stay silent. But he stood and went to her side, sat in a chair next to hers. Didn't touch her, though he wanted to.
He knew what that hair felt like sliding through his fingers. He knew the taste of those lips. He knew how good she smelled, musk and sex and lilac. He wanted to be inside her again.
But he wanted also to lie there with her in his arms, give her comfort and wait for daylight. And when the sun rose, they'd spend that day together, no need to hide.
"Are you still hurting?" He didn't know how else to phrase it.
"What does it matter?" She chewed her lower lip. "Even if it hurts me, I can't stop it. Can I?"
"You can talk to him." Levi frowned. "Maybe I can talk to him."
"We both know how dangerous that would be."
Probably, but he'd risk it for her. He realized that now. When he'd heard how she'd been sobbing as Erwin took her, Levi had wanted to bash the man's brains in. He'd lost all sympathy and loyalty for one brief, blinding instant.
That realization still shook him.
"Look. I can't go against him; you know that. I wouldn't if I could," he added quickly. "But if it gets to be too much, don't keep that shit inside. I can talk to him, really. I can swing it so he hears me out and doesn't get paranoid, I promise."
"Why would you do that for me?" Tears slipped down her velvet cheeks. He wanted to cup that elfin face in his hand.
"You're not a bad kid, all things considered." I like how you fuck. I like fucking you. I like…you.
But he said nothing.
"That's nice to hear." She gave a sad smile.
"I mean it. It's not due to, uh, anything else." He didn't want to help Petra because he'd fucked her and now his, like, dick had imprinted on her or anything. He wanted her safe. He liked her kindness and sensitivity to other people. He'd seen how pleasant she was with the staff, how she inquired after Christa. One time he'd seen her push her way into the kitchen and bake some kind of apple pie or some shit, a mother's recipe or something. The cooks had watched in amazement as she did the whole thing herself, and all because she thought Christa might like it. She wanted the kid to feel something besides pain and fear. She wanted the girl to feel like someone cared about her.
Petra was a good person. She didn't deserve to cry while being fucked.
"Hey, Levi?" She wiped her cheeks. "You're a good man."
No one had ever said those words to him before. No one had ever looked at him with such softness and tenderness before. He was a good employee, a good killer, a good bodyguard, but a good man?
He hadn't known how much he yearned to hear those words until she spoke them. And he was so fucking glad that she'd been the one to say that.
"Yeah. Thanks," he choked.
"Maybe things will get better," she said dreamily. Like she was seeing into another world. "Who knows?"
That was the last they spoke that day; Erwin returned and took her off for sex, for a private dinner, for himself and himself alone. Levi wandered the halls of the villa, given a rare evening off. He sat by the pool; he had some tea in the parlor, stared at the chess board and its assembled pieces. The most excitement he got that evening was when security thought the perimeter had been breached by an assassin, but it turned out to be that Romani girl from the city. That tall, skinny, freckle-faced brat with the weird name, Ymir or something. Despite the warnings from men with fucking guns, the girl found her way in and out of the villa sometimes. She almost got her head blown off tonight, but Levi managed to keep them from firing on her.
One day, that brat's luck was gonna run out. Why the fuck did she keep coming here?
He knew that if he saw her again, he'd have to kill her. These days, you didn't know who could be the enemy. But his gut always told him it wasn't like that, and he trusted his gut.
He trusted Erwin.
And he trusted Petra.
Fuck.
Three days later, the other shoe dropped. It was a bitch of another shoe.
Levi heard the shots fired on the eastern lawn. He let the security detail handle it while he hustled Erwin and Petra to safety, and then after locking them in the safe room he went on a fucking rampage.
Three men had managed to get inside the perimeter. Three men carrying guns, three men who could be working for Willy Tybur, or three men who could be working for the phantom who'd targeted Levi and Petra weeks ago.
Levi wanted to save at least one of them for questioning, but they died in a shoot ou. Insanely, Levi had a moment where he thought it seemed like they'd wanted to be killed. Maybe to avoid having to talk.
No. That was nuts.
Levi and everyone else hoped that was it, until something exploded outside the front gate of the villa. A bomb of some kind, a car bomb, whatever it was, they'd left it and it had gone off and now the front gate was obliterated.
They didn't know how many might be watching. They knew nothing. All the security detail remained on high alert, guarding every inch of the perimeter while Levi went back in to find Erwin, Petra, and the Doks on lockdown. Erwin looked calm as ever, but Levi knew when he was mad. The bulge in his jaw pulsated a little.
"What do we do?" Marie looked stricken, clinging to Nile.
"They don't know who may be inside at this point," Levi said to Erwin. "This feels like the first part of a planned attack. We have to assume they've been watching our movements for weeks. This wasn't random."
"I allowed us to sit in a cage and let them draw nearer," Erwin snarled. "I'm a fucking fool."
Petra murmured endearments and offered comfort, but he shoved her away. Pissed Levi off, but Erwin didn't want to be coddled in a moment of weakness. He wanted to show strength to his woman, always.
Levi had some idea of how sweet Petra's comfort could be; Erwin was a fool to reject it.
"I say we stick to the plan," Nile said. At least he and Erwin had hashed something out. "The villa's no longer secure. We head for the safe house."
"Where's that?" Petra asked.
"Only Erwin and I know," Nile said. "It's privileged information." Prissy bitch. It was just a question.
"We go now," Erwin said. He'd never looked this furious before. He'd been made a mockery of; someone had spat in his face and he'd been unprepared. He'd never forgive them for making him look foolish. "Levi, you're with us."
Levi followed his boss and Petra, ready to pull a gun or a knife at the slightest provocation. In the garage, they were loaded into an SUV and driven out and down the sloping driveway as fast as could be allowed.
Levi looked around, ready for anything. When he focused on a task, the world vanished around him. It was silent and cool in this little bubble of intense focus. His pulse slowed; his breathing calmed.
But Petra remained always out the corner of his eye, a bright light. She needed to be kept safe. Even Erwin did not pull Levi's attention in the same way.
"Please tell me where we're going," Petra said as they drove fast through the streets. Even by Italian driver standards, this shit was nuts.
"South." That's all Erwin would say. Even Levi wouldn't get more from him.
Once outside of the city, their SUV took a hard right and went off the beaten path. After a few miles of increasingly desolate area, they rolled up to a small ramshackle building where Erwin asked Levi to hurry Petra inside to their other car. Levi soon realized that Erwin was going to drive himself; the SUV drove away without them.
"You sure this's a good idea?" he muttered. They had no backup now.
"I can't trust any of them," Erwin said. He looked kind of wild-eyed. Petra clicked in her belt, sat beside him while staring at her lap. "Someone helped those men who attacked us. Someone inside of my house." A traitor. Fuck, that wasn't gonna make Erwin any jollier. "The only people I can trust absolutely are in this car."
"Let me drive at least."
"No. You need your hands free in case anything happens."
When Erwin got like this, tunnel vision-ed, his jaw clenched, you had to shut up and buckle up until he'd done what he needed to do. Levi hunched in the backseat, limber and ready to move in any direction. Erwin drove them out of the barn. The car they were in was pretty nondescript, the windows tinted.
"You had this really planned out," Levi muttered. Petra said nothing.
"All eventualities must be accounted for. Nile is the only one who knows the real plan." He guided them along, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Ugh." Petra leaned back in her seat, eyes squeezed shut. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"We'll be safe soon, sweetheart." Erwin sounded madder than hell.
They drove for almost twenty minutes in total silence. Petra began to breathe shallow, putting her head between her knees.
"Erwin. Please, I need to stop," she moaned.
"Stopping right now's a bad idea," Levi said.
"We have to press on," Erwin murmured.
"Please. I need to throw up. Oh God." She trembled, put a hand to her mouth. "I think I'm pregnant."
To say that was a bombshell would be an understatement. Levi didn't have to see Erwin's face to know the man was looking hungry. Greedy, even, for this supposed baby.
"Sweetheart," he breathed.
"I know I should've said something sooner. I wasn't sure. I could be wrong, but maybe I'm not and…" She moaned again, put both hands to her stomach as she bent over. "Oh God, is it supposed to be like this?"
Erwin pulled over. He was making a damn idiot mistake in Levi's opinion.
"We shouldn't," he growled. Erwin stared at him, that icy killer stare Levi had only seen a few times before. Never once had it been directed at him. That look would shave ten years off anyone's life.
"Keep watch. Protect us. It's your job," Erwin snapped.
Oh, fuck everyone.
Levi stood in front of the car, staring this way and that along the quiet road. It was out of the way, this place, which did some good. He could see anyone who tried to sneak up on them from a mile away. Still, it was too quiet. Levi's gut curdled. Away from the car, Petra was on her hands and knees spitting into the dirt, giving agonized gasps and cries. With no danger immediately present, Levi started asking questions. Was she really pregnant? If she was, it had to be Erwin's, yeah? Levi had only come inside of her back at the safe house, and if she was pregnant enough to throw up she had to be further along than a couple of weeks. Or a month. However long it'd been.
Levi wasn't the father. Pretty damn sure he wasn't.
Oh fuck, this was gonna be a fucking nightmare. Nine months of this shit? He'd lose all his hair and go outta his fucking mind by the end.
Stay focused, shithead. The moment you start daydreaming is the moment Erwin's gonna get popped.
"Petra, are you all right?" Erwin sounded grimly determined. He even knelt on the ground beside his wife, looked at her like she was a precious antique poised to tip over and shatter if he wasn't careful. "Petra?"
"I should be fine. I just need to rest a minute." She sounded weak. "Everything happened so fast."
"You're safe, angel. I have you." Erwin cupped the back of her neck, his lips curled in a sneer. He was raging at whoever had put them on this fugitive path, whoever had brought his pretty little wife into violence a second time.
Petra jumped a little when her purse buzzed. She took out her phone.
"It's Marie," she said. "She wants to know if we're okay."
"You can say yes, but nothing more." Erwin kissed her forehead as Petra texted back. "We need to move on, sweetheart."
"Please. I just need another minute. Just one more." She put her arms around her waist and bent over. "I think he's settling down. I just need to rest."
"You think it could be a boy?" Erwin sounded delighted, despite all the shit surrounding them.
"I don't know. My gut says yes." Petra rested her head against his shoulder, and Erwin put an arm around her. Levi had to stay focused on his job, not think about Petra and babies and Erwin and him all mashed up together in a horrible stew, to say nothing of being fucking hunted and shot at. He could feel drops of sweat beading on his forehead, and he was not a man to sweat easily. Something felt fucking wrong.
"We gotta go," Levi said. The yellow lightning in his brain was lighting the fuck up, screaming the same message over and over: MOVE IT. NOW.
And then, a spot in the distance appeared; quickly, it began to grow. A car. Levi's instincts started screaming, bells clanging and whistles sounding.
"Both of you, get down on the ground," Levi growled. He took a gun from out his jacket. "Now!"
Petra shrieked as Erwin obeyed Levi, covering his wife as the car drew nearer. Levi moved behind his own car, hand on his gun, finger on the trigger. The car began to slow. Fuck. Fuck.
"Stay down," Levi barked, bringing out his gun as the other car's window rolled down…
To reveal a middle aged woman wearing sunglasses, and a sundress, and a floppy summer hat. She looked like the housewife type on her way to or from the beach. Not real terrifying. He made sure to hide the gun in case she started screaming.
She waved at Levi and began speaking rapidly in Italian. Levi's grasp of the language had never been excellent, but he could sort of parse what she was asking. How to get back to he main road?
"Uh." His head spun and he hoped she didn't notice the Glock in his hand. He used his non-gun-wielding hand to point east. He told her in badly accented and grammatically incorrect Italian that she should keep going straight. The woman thanked him, rolled up her window, and drove on until her car disappeared into the distance.
Okay. So. Maybe he was a little jumpy today. But he had every fucking reason to be.
"I'm feeling better," Petra said. She wobbled to her feet, Erwin holding her. "We can go now."
"Fucking finally," Levi growled. He made sure his piece was secure, then covered Erwin until he was back in the car. Petra sat up front again, and they were moving west once more.
This would be fine. Levi was just nervous, that's all. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror, looking over his shoulder at the miles of nothing behind them. Okay. They were okay.
"Wait," Petra gasped. "Oh God. We need to turn around. Please!"
Oh what the ever-loving shit was happening now?
"Petra?" Erwin cried out as she slumped forward again.
"Please, please!" She started screeching, a sound that pierced Levi's brain. "We need to go to a hospital. Oh God, it hurts. I think something's wrong! I think something's wrong with the baby!"
"Dammit!" Erwin bellowed.
Levi gritted his teeth, trying to work out what the fuck to do. Push onward? Try to find a fucking hospital? If Petra was pregnant and lost that kid, Erwin was going to go absolutely apeshit. If Erwin lost his fucking mind, then they could all be dead and very quickly. Levi tried to think fast.
And then, while Petra screamed and Erwin wavered behind the wheel, Levi glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a car approaching.
It was coming up fast behind them. Very fast indeed. He recognized the car from earlier, the one with the woman who needed instructions.
She seemed to know just where she was going now as she floored it and headed for them. Levi's gut became ice. His skin prickled with gooseflesh, prickled all over his body.
"Turn around!" Petra wailed.
"We can't do that," Levi said. He sounded so calm. He felt so sedate all of a sudden, watching that car as it sped towards them, faster and faster. Did the woman have a gun? Levi was willing to bet she did. Levi took out his Glock, looked over his shoulder. "Erwin. Keep your head down and drive straight and fast. You too, Petra. Hold onto your gut and stay low."
Levi would know when to aim and when to pull the trigger. He would know when to shoot that bitch through the fucking throat. Even if Petra miscarried, at least she would be alive. She and Erwin would live, all that mattered now.
Levi hissed out a slow breath as the car gained on them despite their own speed. He saw the woman's face. He saw the glint of a gun barrel somewhere in the backseat. Goddammit, he should've fucking checked. Maybe the bastard had been hiding in the trunk. But how the fuck had they found Erwin anyway?
Didn't matter. In five seconds, both the driver and gunman would be dead. Levi took careful aim. Four, three, two—
Petra screamed. Erwin shouted something. And the car spun to the left, hard. It veered off the road and raced down a small incline. Levi swore at the whiplash motion; his gun went off by accident, the bullet smashing out the side window of the car. The glass shattered. Screams were all Levi heard in the chaos.
Up front, Erwin was struggling with the wheel, Petra was flailing against the window, and the car streaked towards a head on collision with a tree.
It got real quiet again in Levi's head. He entertained whole memories that seemed to last hours. His mother singing him lullabies; him putting a knife in that Russian bastard's throat, Levi's first kill; lying safe in Erwin's arms; in bed with Petra, her riding him and crying out in ecstasy as her climax neared.
Petra screaming in agony up front.
The car went face first into the tree, and the screaming stopped.