My back pressed against the wall by Nevio’s body, I craned my head back to look at his face. We were on a dark side of the house. Light only reached us from around the corner, where it illuminated the patio and living area.
Nevio’s face appeared foreboding, angry even in the twisting shadows. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
He was right. After the incident with the knife, which still brought up an equal amount of shame and desire in me, I couldn’t be around him anymore. Our relationship wasn’t going in a direction I’d envisioned in my fantasies, and I was worried I’d lose myself and what I really wanted along the way.
“I needed time to think. I still do,” I got out.
Nevio bent down, bringing us even closer. He smelled good, like sin and temptation. Musky and fresh. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only low-cut workout pants. He must have been on his way to the gym when he saw me outside. My nights had been filled with fantasies about Nevio, things I wanted to do to him and wanted him to do to me, everything I tried to suppress during the day.
“You can’t escape your desire or me,” Nevio growled into my ear. The little hairs on the nape of my neck rose as his hot breath hit my skin. He was in a strange mood tonight, erratic and on edge. His lips pressed against the skin below my ear, then he scraped the same spot with his teeth, making me shudder.
I pressed my palms against his chest, wanting to push him away before he left a hickey. He felt perfect. Strong, his muscles firm and hot beneath me.
“Rory, I can’t stop thinking about you, about how wet you were, how my knife looked in your pussy.”
I didn’t want him to voice what had happened. It made it too real and sent a new wave of mortification through me. “If you don’t stop, someone will find out,” I gritted out, but I hadn’t taken my hands off Nevio’s chest yet.
Nevio cupped my neck, his thumb against my pulse point. “About us,” I added a little breathless.
Nevio’s intent gaze had little to do with concern over being caught. In the distance, I could hear Gemma and Kiara laugh, soon followed by Mom and Serafina.
“Nevio,” I pressed out, trying to move past him but his lips came down on mine. His tongue met mine, and his fingers around my throat closed possessively. I kissed him back, my hands moving lower to his abs with a mind of their own, feeling his heat and strength, growing high on it.
My body came alive violently, my core pulsing with a terrifying need that my own fingers would never be able to satiate.
Nevio’s kiss demanded full surrender. I lost myself, lost track of time and our surroundings. His hand slid under my shirt and cupped my breast, his fingers tugging hard at my erect nipples. Nevio kissed me even harder, then ripped away from my lips, shoving my shirt up higher to reveal my bare breasts. Fabric ripped, and then his lips latched onto my nipple, sucking hard. I gasped, my eyes squeezing shut as I tried to keep down my sounds. Nevio’s thumb stroked along my throat, and he nipped at my nipple, making me jump from the pain. I gripped his head to shove him away, and he sucked my nipple slowly, now sending spikes of lust through my body, right down to the already damp spot between my legs. Who would have known that the nerve endings in my breasts were so closely linked to my pussy? I sank my teeth into my lower lip. I wanted this; there was no denying it. That I also wanted more seemed inconsequential to my body.
I needed to shove him away. I needed to stop this, whatever insanity it was. Nevio licked, bit, and sucked my nipple while one of his hands twisted and teased the other.
Soon, I wasn’t sure if I was trying to drag him away or keep him in place. He fell to his knees and pulled me toward him with one hand as his other ripped my panties off, leaving me bare under my skirt. His mouth covered me, his tongue shoving between my pussy lips and licking me out. My legs trembled, so he hooked them over his shoulders until I was only kept up by my back pressed against the wall and Nevio’s shoulders. His face was buried in my lap, his tongue alternating between teasing my opening and flicking over my clit.
I could hardly breathe, my pants coming too quick, my body pounding with pleasure I’d never thought possible. My heart throbbed madly in my chest, from pleasure but also from fear of being caught. I held Nevio’s head, my core beginning to tighten in a giveaway sign…when I heard Mom and Dad’s voices as they stepped outside.
Cold fear washed over me. Nevio must have heard it too. He was the hunter, after all, but he only pressed harder against my pussy and slammed his tongue into my opening while his thumb rubbed my clit. I tugged at his hair hard to get him to stop. I didn’t dare say anything for fear that Dad would overhear me.
That would be the ultimate catastrophe.
Steps crunched on the patio. Mom and Dad were just around the corner.
I opened my mouth to tell Nevio to stop right this moment, even if that posed the risk of being overheard. Then we might still have time to jump apart, and I could maybe put my clothes back in position. Everything was better than being caught with Nevio’s tongue inside my pussy. Before I could utter a sound, Nevio’s hand clamped over my mouth. His lips closed around my clit, and two fingers took the place of his tongue, slamming into me.
My body started spasming, my orgasm unstoppable despite the situation. I tore at Nevio’s hair, my lips parting against his palms, my eyes squeezing shut and then pleasure pounded in my clit, my core, up through my entire body. My walls trembled around Nevio’s fingers, and he kept pumping into me and sucking my clit, intensifying my orgasm.
“Do you think I should check on her?” Mom asked. “She seemed upset when I left.”
“She obviously doesn’t want to share whatever’s bothering her. I’ll go to the pool and see if she’s there. If she wants to go back to her place, we need to leave soon.”
“Okay,” Mom said quietly. “I’ll wait for you inside.” The sliding door sounded, and steps crunched. Then I could see Dad’s back as he headed down to the Falcone part of the huge garden.
Nevio kept his hand on my mouth as I slowly came down from my high, my thigh muscles trembling. Nevio put me down on the ground and bit the inside of my thigh, then soothed the spot with his tongue before he licked back up to my pussy. I shuddered at the new onslaught. I loosened my hold on his hair, a little shell-shocked. Staying away from Nevio wasn’t going well.
Nevio
I smirked against Aurora’s pussy as I tasted the remnants of her arousal. My own need pounded angrily in my pants. This was only the starter.
I shoved to my feet, my hand still pressed against her mouth. I lowered it and grinned at her stunned face, but then I kissed her. I couldn’t stop kissing her.
“If my family finds out, they’ll force me to move back in with them to keep me away from you, then I won’t be able to babysit Battiste for you anymore.”
“There’s not enough blood left in my brain to worry,” I said. “This is the third orgasm I’ve given you, and you haven’t returned the favor yet.” The thought of having Rory blow me behind her parents’ house made my cock even harder.
Aurora shoved my chest. “It’s only fair after my shitty first time, and I never asked you to do that.”
She couldn’t even put into words what had happened. Adorable.
“I have to go inside before Dad comes looking for me here. This isn’t a game,” she hissed. “Give me my panties back.”
With a smirk, I bent down, enjoying the sight of her glistening pussy under the hem of her skirt as I picked up the remains of her panties. I held them out to her.
She picked them up with two fingers, her eyes widening in realization. “You ruined them.”
I leaned toward her. “I love ruining your underwear in every way possible. But what I love even more is ruining every shred of your innocence, sweet Rory.”
She tossed the panties at me and slipped away. This time, I didn’t chase her and allowed her to escape into her parents’ home.
Stuffing her ripped panties into my pocket—I’d add them to my collection—I strolled away from the Scuderi mansion.
Luck would have it that Fabiano crossed my path.
He barred my way, his expression one that would have spiked my hunger for violence with a stranger. “Where’s Aurora?” he demanded in a hostile tone.
“I’m doing a nightly workout. I haven’t seen Rory,” I lied easily.
“And your workout led you into my garden?”
“I wasn’t aware that I wasn’t allowed on your premises.”
He moved closer. I had half a mind to show him Rory’s ripped panties. I was fucking tired of his obvious aversion to me being around her. Sure, I was bad news, but that didn’t mean I had any intention to hurt Rory.
“I don’t care if you’re on my premises, but it’s strange to find you here when I can’t find Aurora anywhere.”
“Dad?” Rory called from the patio.
“See, your daughter is safe and sound.”
Fabiano glanced between Aurora and me.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to do my workout now,” I said sarcastically.
Fabiano gave a terse nod before he headed toward Aurora, probably on a mission to interrogate her. As expected, Aurora ignored me, but her flushed face made up for her lack of acknowledgment.
I headed toward the pool for an unplanned swim exercise, which would also serve as a cool-off after another encounter with Rory that left me with a case of blue balls.
Rory thought I’d lose interest once I’d fucked her, but every encounter with her only left me hungry for more. Rory wanted more; she wanted parts of me that I didn’t want to share with anyone, but I wondered if maybe we actually had a chance if I tried hard enough. Maybe following my demons was really just me choosing the easy way.
Alessio came to the pool when I did my last lap and squatted beside the edge, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. “Massimo and I are wondering when you want to head out tonight.”
“I think I’ll pass tonight.”
Alessio raised an eyebrow. “We didn’t go on raids for two nights because business kept us busy, and you want to go without for another night?”
I swam toward him. “You sound as if I’m addicted to it.”
“Your actions indicate you are. You are addicted to the highs it gives you. The thrill of the hunt and the torture is your drug.”
“I’m not a fucking pussy. I can control my urges. They don’t control me.”
“That’s probably a phrase an addict would say,” Alessio said. He pushed to his feet and stomped his cigarette out with his steel-tipped boot. Admittedly, seeing the shoes he always wore during our raids made me eager for the hunt.
“Is this your attempt to better yourself for Aurora. If so, kudos to you for even trying.”
His tone made it clear I wouldn’t succeed.
I sat up with a hoarse roar, sweat covered and with my knife clutched in my fist. Where was I? I shoved to my feet and turned on the light, searching my surroundings for signs of the horrid scene I saw playing out mere moments before.
My room wasn’t covered in blood, not a single droplet. I ran a hand through my damp hair, my heart slamming into my rib cage.
“Fuck,” I breathed out and stared down at my hands, turning them around. Of course, they weren’t stained in blood and neither was my knife, but it wasn’t difficult to imagine they were. I’d lost count of the times my skin had been sticky with blood. But the image of Aurora’s and Battista’s blood hit differently.
A knock sounded, and a second later, Dad poked his head in, a look of weariness on his face. “I heard your scream.”
Had I roared that loudly? Fuck. What a goddamn nightmare. I didn’t believe in premonitions. If a fortune teller tried to tell me my future, I’d end theirs. Still, I couldn’t stop staring at my hands.
“Nevio?” Dad asked as he stepped into the room. He too was holding a knife in hand. My scream must have really worried him.
I shook myself and gave Dad a twisted smile. “I guess all the killings are getting to me.”
Dad came toward me. “You’re pale. Do you need me to pull you from your current tasks?”
It had been a while since Dad hadn’t looked at me with anger in his eyes. His honest concern was a nice surprise. Of course, I was fucking undeserving of it, considering the nature of my dream.
Would it help me to stop killing? Or would it only lead to a frenzied killing spree I’d be unable to control. The last time I’d had a vivid dream like this had been in the months before my twelfth birthday, before my first kill. My dreams had been filled with images of carnage, and when I’d told Dad about it, he’d decided to gift me a victim for my birthday.
“I’m fine. I wanted to kill long before you made it part of my duty as a Made Man.”
Dad regarded me with narrowed eyes, as if he might extract the true nature of my dream from me.
“Maybe you should spend more of your nights actually sleeping instead of creating mayhem with Alessio and Massimo.”
“Sleeps a waste of time.”
“Lack of sleep drives even the sanest person to madness.”
“That’s a very Nino thing to say.”
“Go to sleep.” He turned and left, but I could feel his worry radiate off him in waves.
And fuck, even I didn’t share his worry. This had been a major mindfuck of a dream—nightmare.
Blood everywhere. Screams. My heart pounding, pulse racing. Bloodlust, eagerness, the thrill of the hunt.
But in the end, the two people in the puddle of blood had set my veins on ice: Aurora and Battista.
I didn’t know if I’d killed them, but I was almost certain I had. What did my subconscious want to tell me with this shit show of a dream? That deep down the crazy fucker part of me wanted to kill them and everyone else I cared about? Or was this my subconscious manifesting my biggest fear?
I wasn’t sure. I left my room and strolled through the quiet and dark house. It was three in the morning and everyone was asleep or at least in their bed, even Dad hopefully too. I knew every corner of our home, so I crept through the dark hallways, wondering when my heart would stop pounding.
I wondered if Dad had ever experienced nightmares like that when his life had been in upheaval after he found out he had two kids. I wished I could talk to him, but things had been too tense between us in the last few months, and my dream would probably only confirm his own worst worries, that I was a ticking bomb about to tear apart this family, possibly in the literal sense.
