I didn’t see Enzo for a week after the night he shot Luigi and took me back. When I asked Veda about it while we were going through some of her clothes she was letting me borrow until the stuff I’d ordered online came in, she told me as far as she knew he was out of town on business for Luca. I was surprised he’d left without telling me. But then again, the last time he saw me, I didn’t exactly make him think I cared.
And I didn’t…or, at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
My back was feeling a lot better. The welts had gone down and there were only a few red marks scattered across my right side and back of my hip where the belt had hit me the hardest. After that first night, Veda and Lisa had helped me when I needed them. By the third day, the pain was more tolerable, and I was able to do everything on my own. I tried to keep myself busy helping Veda take down the Christmas decorations, and not think about the man who had caused such an uproar in my life these last weeks. But it was impossible. No matter how much he’d hurt me, he’d also saved me. More than once.
Why would he do that if he didn’t care?
He’d found me when no one else could. He’d killed for me. He’d shown up on my damn wedding night just to watch me through the window and make sure I was okay. And when I wasn’t, he’d come smashing through the window like some kind of knight in dented armor to save me.
He’d killed the mafia boss to save me. Without a thought for himself or what could’ve happened to him.
But he’d also done some real asshole things that weren’t so easily forgiven. And I wasn’t sure that I wanted to, even if I could, because forgiving him would make it that much harder to leave him.
I was eating dinner at the table in the kitchen with Luca and Veda when Enzo returned from wherever the hell he went. As soon as he came into the room—dressed in his usual fitted black suit, black dress shirt, black shoes, tie, and sunglasses—every cell in my body went on alert like I was a vampire and his blood was the only thing that could sustain me. I felt starved for him. My mouth watered, and I was suddenly entirely too warm as my blood raced through my veins in anticipation, but I clenched my teeth together and returned my eyes to my plate.
Without a word, Enzo came to stand beside me. My skin prickled, all too aware of his nearness. I heard a crinkly sound and glanced over to find a plastic grocery bag in his hands I hadn’t noticed when he walked in. Opening it up, he reached inside and grabbed something, then dropped it on the table beside my plate.
It was a human hand. The stump was still bloody.
My stomach heaved, and I shoved my chair back from the table as Veda slapped a hand over her mouth. Luca kept eating his dinner as though there wasn’t a bloody body part on the table. As a matter of fact, when I looked at him for his reaction, he didn’t seem surprised at all. “What the hell is that?” I asked Enzo.
Instead of answering me, he reached back into the bag and pulled out something else, dropping it beside the first one. It was another hand. Only this one wore a ring I recognized. It was the ring I’d stolen from one of the men who’d raped me in the house in Mexico. The ring I’d given to Enzo when I’d asked him to kill them for me, along with the money clip and the watch.
He dug around at the bottom of the bag and retrieved the last item, dropping it beside the two hands. “I took this first, while he was still alive. He screamed in terror until he lost his voice. I recorded it for you on my phone.”
It took me a second to realize it was a shriveled-up penis.
“I’ve been hunting this man since you gave me his ring. I recognized the crest on it right away and knew where to find him, but somebody tipped him off that I was looking for him and he wasn’t easy to chase down. I would’ve brought him to you alive, but it was too much of a risk. I didn’t even have time to get rid of the body before I had to make a run for my plane and get the hell out of there. Luckily, I was prepared and didn’t leave any evidence. I’m still working on the other two.”
“You’re sure you left no reason for the authorities to look this way?” Luca asked.
Without taking his eyes off me, Enzo nodded.
I was still staring at the penis in shock. “You’ve been hunting them?”
“I told you I would,” he said simply. “I promised you I would kill the men who hurt you. And I keep my promises.”
“Not always.” Tearing my eyes away from the evidence of my revenge, I stared up at him, daring him to deny it.
“Why don’t we go to the other room?” Veda said to Luca.
He must’ve agreed, for they gathered up their plates and drinks and left the room. Neither Enzo nor I even glanced their way.
“You promised me you would never give me back to my father, and then you handed me over to him like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.” My voice broke.
With one hand, he took off his sunglasses and set them on the table. His dark eyes burned with bloodlust and sorrow. “I was trying to protect you.”
I looked around the kitchen, searching for these invisible threats that were so dangerous to me. “From what, exactly?” I asked him. “You brought me here because it was safe. That’s what you told me. So, what the hell did I need protecting from that would make it worth it to give me back to my father?”
Pulling out the chair to my left at the end of the table, he unbuttoned his jacket and sat down. “I told you.” He sighed wearily and rubbed his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of one hand. “From me.” A muscle twitched on his face, right above the scar from my father’s bullet.
“I know what you told me. But if you’re so damn worried about me, Enzo, then why do you keep forcing me to be with you? I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be with you.” Every word caused the ache in the center of my chest to grow sharper, but I wouldn’t take them back. “So just let me go.”
“I tried,” he told me. He sounded angry. With me? Or with himself?
“Giving me back to the man I was trying so hard to get away from isn’t giving me my freedom. What the hell were you thinking?”
“What was I thinking?” he repeated incredulously. And then his shoulders dropped, and he scrubbed his face with his hands before he said, “I thought if I gave you back to him, I would still know where you are. What was going on with your life. Whereas if I let you go…” he paused, and his eyes caught mine. “I would lose you.”
“Well, your reasoning wasn’t quite accurate.” Standing up, I went to walk past him. “Because you’ve lost me anyway.”
Fast as a striking snake, his hand whipped out and grabbed my wrist.
I glared down at the offending appendage, surprised when there wasn’t a drop of blood on it. “Let go of me.”
At first, he wouldn’t look at me. His fingers tightened almost to the point of pain. When he finally did catch my gaze, the burning intensity in his eyes was such that it made me catch my breath and I almost took a step back. “What would you like me to do?” he asked softly. “Would you like me to beg? Get on my knees and swear my undying love and devotion to you?”
At the word “love,” my heart skipped a beat. But I shoved down any empathy I felt for him. “There’s nothing you can do, Enzo. It’s too late. So let me go.”
But instead of doing as I’d asked, he came out of his chair and fell onto his knees at my feet, his hands moving to my waist as he sat back on his heels. His fingers dug into my flesh. “I cannot let you go,” he said as his eyes roamed over my hips before dipping down between my legs. “I will never let you go again, Sera.”
“I’ll hate you if you force me to stay here. You know that.”
He tipped his head back and looked up into my eyes, a crazy smile playing about his sensual mouth. “I don’t care. You’re mine, Sera. And I’ll spend the rest of my life doing whatever I have to do to make you happy. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“I want to be free of you.” It wasn’t true. I wanted to be free of the mafia. Free of this world. But I couldn’t honestly say I wanted to be free of him. I didn’t think I’d ever be completely free of Enzo, no matter how far I ran. I knew in my soul his eyes would haunt me forever.
“Except for that,” he said. “I can’t give you that.”
“So, you’ll keep me a prisoner?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’ll have to go that far.” His eyes dropped back down to my body as his hands slid up my sides to cup my breasts. “I think you could learn to love me.”
And that was just the thing. Despite everything he’d done to me, I think I already did.
I swayed toward him before I could catch myself, not knowing where to put my hands. I wanted to run my fingers through his spiky hair and pull his head toward me until I felt his mouth on my skin, but instead I kept my hands at my sides. They tightened into fists as he gripped my ass and pulled my hips forward.
“Mmmm.” His face was between my legs, and he inhaled deep. “I love the way you smell.”
A whimper formed in the back of my throat, and I choked it down.
“I love the way you taste even more,” he continued. “There won’t be a day that goes by that I don’t taste you here.”
I realized he was tugging on the waistband of the yoga pants I’d borrowed from Veda, along with the long-sleeved, red and white striped shirt I wore. It reminded me of a candy cane and probably looked great with her blonde hair. Not so much with my pink. But it was soft and it kept me warm. My hands flew to his as my eyes went to the open doorway where Lisa would probably walk in any minute. Or worse, Luca and Veda. “Stop. You have to stop.”
“No.” His lips were on my skin. He was too strong for me, and my pants came down easily until they were around my thighs. The muscles low in my belly clenched tight as his hands squeezed my hips. “You don’t want me to stop.”
He was right. My body gave absolutely no fucks at all about our past. And the fact that someone could walk in on us at any moment only excited it. I trembled with anticipation as his hands slid around to the front of my hips and his thumbs parted the folds of my pussy, exposing me to his hungry eyes. I was already so wet, and he’d barely fucking touched me.
“Spread your feet wider,” he ordered, his eyes never leaving my pussy. “As much as you can.”
Black dots danced in front of my eyes, and I sucked in a breath, then eased my feet as far apart as my pants would allow.
“Thank you.” His voice was low and husky.
I cried out breathlessly as he leaned forward and tasted me, his tongue soft and wet and warm as it swirled around my clit… I’d never felt anything as good as his mouth on me. I allowed myself to enjoy it for a few seconds before I tried to push him away. But he only chuckled, the sound vibrating through me until, instead of trying to get him off of me, my fingers dragged through his spiky hair and gripped it tight.
My eyes closed and my legs shook as sweet tension tightened my inner muscles in waves of pleasure until the only thing keeping me upright was Enzo’s strong hands. I knew I should force him to stop. To let me go. Someone could walk in here at any second. But honestly, I didn’t want him to. I was close. So fucking close…
Suddenly, his mouth was gone, and cool air hit my exposed sex as his hair was ripped from my fingers. My hands flailed in the air and my eyes popped open, searching the room as my heart galloped in my chest. But no one was there. It was just us. I looked down. Enzo was watching me with eyes that were black with desire, his chest rising and falling with every quick breath, just like mine.
“Tell me you want to stay with me, and I’ll make you come.”
“That’s not fair,” I whispered.
“Say it,” he ordered. He still held me with his big hands wrapped around my hips, his thumbs holding me open and exposed. As he waited for my response, he ran the pad of one thumb over the sensitive bundle of nerves of my clit. My hips jerked forward as a shock wave of near painful pleasure shot through me, and he smiled. “Tell me.”
“It would be a lie.” My voice was little more than a whisper.
“Would it?” he asked just as softly.
I stood there, wracked with need, but too damn stubborn to give him what he wanted to hear. “Yes.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let me go. “I don’t give a shit what you believe. Let me go.”
“No. Now tell me the truth, Sera. Tell me you want to stay with me.”
My hands covered his and our gazes clashed. There was nothing but raw desperation in the dark depths, the truth he couldn’t hide with his self-controlled attitude, and I nearly cried out at the power of it. Unable to speak, I just shook my head.
His jaw tightened, and with a growl of hunger, he found me again with his mouth.
