I want to kick the shit out of him next, but my focus turns to Sophie first. The other guy is attempting to pull her toward the door, and there is no way in hell I’m letting him get away with her. A low whimper meets my ears and I lose it. My limbs move with inhuman speed. He only takes a single step in the time it takes me to cross the entire room.
Fire pumps in my veins and all I can think about is saving Sophie, protecting her no matter what.
A feral growl slips past my gritted teeth and the intruder lets go of her. She sags to the floor, and I grab her arms and pull her behind me while my other hand is already on the piece of shit’s throat. I squeeze hard, my hands shaking when I realize who is standing a few inches before me.
Andi? What the hell?
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell directly into his face, uncontrolled anger coursing through my veins.
“They offered me a hundred grand. A hundred fucking grand! I couldn’t pass up the offer. I wasn’t going to hurt her, not really. I swear.”
Money? He did this for money? It takes me a moment to piece the puzzle together. I’ve known him since we were teenagers, we’ve been friends for years, and this asshole fucked me over for money?
My hand tightens around his throat as I slam him against the wall, watching as his head bounces off it. “How many are in the house?”
Anger, it’s all I feel. Anger for trusting this fucker—for inviting him into my home—only for him to touch what isn’t his.
“Just me and him,” he wheezes, looking at the guy on the floor. I loosen my grip a little, just enough so he can talk. “I thought we could take you if you were drunk.”
“Take me to do what?” I snarl.
“We were just going to knock you out and take her. That’s what they wanted. They just wanted the girl back. I wasn’t going to hurt her. You believe me, don’t you?”
My anger reaches a new high as I listen to his words. I want to throttle him, snap his neck, spill his blood all over the fucking floor. Stupid. I’m so fucking stupid.
Sophie starts to sob behind me, and I grit my teeth harder, knowing she needs me right now and I won’t be able to do all those fucking things to him. I’ll have to interrogate him later, and that’s when I’ll get my payback, my revenge.
With one hand still on his throat, I hold him in place while pounding my fist into his face. My fist connects with his nose, and blood sprays from the wound. I hit him again, and again stoking the fire deep in my veins. I watch his eyes roll back into his head and feel his body go limp.
Releasing him with a push, he falls backward and hits the floor with a loud thump. I feel murderous rage, but I force it down, swallow down deep. I can’t act out in violence right now, no matter how badly I want too.
I twist around and Sophie falls into my arms immediately, burying her face into my chest while wrapping her thin arms around my middle. I hold her as tight as I can without squishing her. Kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back, I try to calm her down, but she still cries and sobs uncontrollably.
“It’s going to be okay. No one is going to hurt you, you hear me. I won’t let anyone get to you. I’ll kill anyone who tries to touch you.”
Mine. All mine. The words appear in my mind and I let them stick.
The guy that punched me stirs on the floor and I know I need to call Ivan before I lose my fucking mind. Exhaling I pick Sophie up and carry her to the bed so I can grab my phone. Without letting go of her, I dial my brother’s number. He answers on the second ring
“Roman?” His voice is sleepy, but I can still hear the concerned tone in his voice. He knows I wouldn’t call him in the middle of the night unless something was seriously wrong.
“Ivan, I need you to come to my place. Someone just broke in trying to take Sophie...”
“I’m on my way,” he cuts me off, hanging up the phone before I can respond. Before I put the phone away, I call Devin and Mac, asking them to come over as well. I need help deal with these fuckers, but I won’t leave Violet and Sophie unprotected either.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I whisper into her hair. If he hurt her, I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold myself back from killing him.
“No, I’m just scared.” Her voice is trembling just like the rest of her body and all I want to do is wrap her up in a cocoon and protect her from the world.
I hate that she is scared. I don’t want her to have to be afraid anymore. I want her to feel safe and to be happy, she deserves happiness, a normal life. I remember how she kept telling me that she felt safe with me…only with me and even though I don’t understand why, I decide that she won’t be going anywhere at least right now. I don’t care what Ivan says, she’s safer here with me…and I won’t let her go.
“I’m here, you don’t have to be scared. I’ll always be here. I’m not letting you go...no one is going to take you from me.”
I can’t possibly mean that. Eventually, she will have to go. I’m not good enough for her, but for now, I’ll protect her. I’ll ensure she’s safe at all times.
When Ivan and Violet show up, I’m still holding onto Sophie, while keeping an eye on the two passed out guys on the floor.
“Are you okay?” Ivan asks, and I’m not sure which of us he is asking.
“I'm fine. Sophie is shaken up.” Feeling her body vibrate against mine kills me.
“Good. I mean not good, but you understand…” I can tell my brother is frustrated. Leading the compound while expecting a baby, it's all weighing on him. My eyes collide with Violets. She looks like she might be sick at any second and I feel bad for having Ivan drag her out to deal with this. I can't imagine if Sophie was pregnant and my brother called me to help with a situation.
“I've got to help Ivan baby…” I whisper into Sophie's ear, and she nods acknowledging my words but says nothing. I release my hold on her and move from the bed.
“You two wait in the guest bedroom across the hall. Devin and Mac should be here any minute now.” Violet takes Sophie’s hand and tugs her off the bed. I can see the apprehension in her blue eyes, and I know she's afraid but I need to do this. Her safety is the important thing right now. I watch them leave the room,
“Let's take them to the compound, and interrogate them,” I tell Ivan.
“Yeah, let’s tie them up just in case they wake up on the way,” he says as he pulls out some cable ties from his back pocket and hands them to me.
“Thanks, boy scout.” I smirk and press my knee between Andi’s shoulder blades while pulling his arms back roughly and securing his wrists together. He grunts in pain in response to my actions and all I can think is good, I hope it hurts. I tighten the cable tie so they dig into his skin and I enjoy another pained cry that slips from his lips.
As I finish tying the piece of shit up, I hear the front door opening. I push off the floor, ready to defend, to kill, when Mac and Devin’s familiar chatter fills the hallway.
“Bedroom,” I yell down the hall and a moment later the guys appear in the doorway.
“What the fuck happened?” Mac questions.
“Don’t worry about it,” I snarl. “I need you to stay here with Sophie and Violet. You’ll protect them with your lives.”
“Of course.” They both nod and I pull Andi up off the floor by his arms. Ivan finishes tying up the other asshole and we drag them down the hall and out to Ivan’s SUV. I toss Andi into the backseat and slam the door closed as he lands at an odd angle against the seat. I don’t care, though. I have no remorse for this fucker.
You can't call yourself a friend, and then do what he did. An image of him hurting Sophie appears in my mind, of him bruising her soft skin, selling her body to one of those sick fucks and I see red. I can’t stop myself from punching the dashboard and even as my fist makes contact with it, I still don’t feel better. The fact that I let the son of a bitch inside my house only makes matters worse.
Ivan slides into the driver’s seat, he’s cool as a cucumber where I’m secon
ds away from snapping necks. That’s probably why this job isn’t suited for me. All I want to do is kill…
“Are you okay?” Ivan asks, as he drives us to the compounded. The two fuck faces are still passed out in the backseat, most likely wishing for death already.
“Sophie isn’t going to that stupid fucking house you bought.” I ignore his question and instead make my own statement. “I’m not letting her out of my sights, not after tonight.”
Ivan’s thick brow furrows, “I thought you’d want to get rid of her as soon as possible. You said so yourself. And you aren’t exactly in the right mindset to be watching over her. You can barely take care of yourself nowadays.”
His disapproval of me doesn’t matter, all that matters is Sophie’s safety.
“I don’t really give a fuck what you think Ivan. All I care about is Sophie and if you try and take her from me...I’ll…” I don’t want to say it, because I’m not one hundred percent sure what I’ll do but it won’t end well for anyone, especially not him. Sophie’s my new drug…the most potent drug of all. The only thing that matters to me now is keeping her close so I can keep her safe. I don’t give a fuck if she makes my heart beat out of my chest, or my stomach twist into knots.
There's no point in protecting my heart, not when she already owns it.
“Okay...okay, she can stay with you, but only if she wants to that is. I can’t make her stay with you Roman, and I won't.”
As we roll up to the compound, I turn to him, “You won’t have to make her. She already knows I’m the best man for the job.”
Two hours and many broken bones later Andi finally starts talking. I think up until now he still believed that I would let him go. He thought that I would spare his life because we have been friends for so long... except he stopped being my friend the moment he put his hands on Sophie.
“Please, man, they’re gonna kill me if I tell you.” Andi’s pathetic plea rings in my ears.
“You’re going to die either way...whether it’s painful and slow or pain free and fast is up to you.” Those are the only two options he has. I will not allow him to walk out of here alive.
“Okay,” he says, defeated. “Some guys walked up to me at the club the other night. Asked me if I wanted to earn an easy hundred grand. They asked me if I knew you, then told me all I had to do was get you drunk and disable your alarm system. I was told they just wanted the girl back. They said you stole her from them, you and your brother. They just wanted the girl. I didn’t think you would give a shit about her...you’ve never gotten involved with anyone.” With every word that comes out of his mouth, my need to kill him mounts.
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know, man, I swear. They didn’t give me a name, and I didn’t ask—” I cut him off with a fist to the face. His head bobs to the side, and he spits out some blood and along with a tooth.
“Don’t worry, you won’t need your teeth where you’re going,” I snarl, pulling my fist back once more for another punch. Right as I’m about to land another blow, the door opens, and Ivan walks in.
Blood is splattered across his white, button-up shirt, and sweat beads against his forehead. He looks just as hungry for blood as I am.
“I’m done with the other fucker, and I got all the information I need to know who’s behind this.” Ivan’s tone is emotionless, about how I feel. His gaze moves to Andi, then back to me.
“Kill him so we can go home.”
“I guess we don’t need you anymore.” I shrug my shoulders as I speak to Andi.
He stares up at me from the chair he’s tied to, his eyes scared and desperate. I don’t feel the least bit bad for him. Ivan passes me his gun, and I point it at Andi’s head. I don’t even think as I pull the trigger. Just another dead body—another threat taken care of.
His head snaps back unnaturally far. The sound of his labored breathing is replaced with the dripping of blood to the concrete floor. He should be thankful that his death was quick, because if I didn't have Sophie at home waiting for me, I would have taken my sweet time killing him.
Out in the hallway we strip out of our blood-stained clothing and dress in something Ivan brought down from his room. We have Ivan’s men deal with the clean-up and head home as fast as we can. By the time we get back to the house the sun is just coming up over the horizon.
Ivan takes Violet home right away and the guys leave shortly after that, leaving Sophie and I standing in the living room.
“I’m going to reset the alarm system,” I tell her with my arms wrapped around her tightly.
She tilts up her face so I get a full view of her big blue eyes. “Okay, I was thinking about making some breakfast if you are hungry.”
“Starving actually.” I kiss her forehead and let her go into the kitchen while I go to the alarm systems control panel. When I’m done, I find her in the kitchen cracking some eggs into the pan. She looks up at me through her thick eyelashes and I swear my heart skips a fucking beat.
She’s still wearing my t-shirt, but this time with a pair of sleep shorts underneath it. She’s so beautiful it fucking hurts and I’m salivating with need for more than just the breakfast she’s cooking up. Completely sober now I can trust myself not to lose control.
She moves around the kitchen like she belongs in it and for a moment I could see us here, married, her belly swollen with my child. I could see us living a happily ever after... but then blood coats the image in my mind. It’ll never happen...not because I don’t want it too but because I won’t allow it too. Sophie deserves better, more. She deserves a man that doesn’t kill to make his money, that doesn’t need pills to feel normal.
“You’re looking at me like you might eat me for breakfast.” Sophie’s eyes are wide and then she shakes her head as if she realizes what she just said. I step closer and watch her stretch and reach for something high up in the cabinet. I move closer, stopping once I’m behind her. I’m mesmerized by her beauty and enjoy watching how the shirt rises, exposing a little more skin than before. Creamy white skin that would look so much better with my marks on it.
Walking over to the stove, I turn it off.
Sophie’s head turns, and our eyes meet. “What are you do…” I cut her off, shutting her up with a kiss to the lips. With my body pushed up against hers I hold her in pace while I feast on her. I nip at her lips, alternating between hard bites that make her whimper and soft bites that make her melt. When I’ve had my fill of her lips I move down her throat, pressing a feather light kiss over her racing pulse.
Then I move down to her neck sucking at the flesh hard, leaving my mark against her skin. Impatiently I grab the hem of her shirt and pull it off tossing it to the floor at my feet. Sophie makes a small sound in the back of her throat...and it sets me off. I find myself mauling her like a wild animal.
I flick my tongue against her hardened nipple while kneading the other one with my hand. Her nipples are two hard peeks under my touch and when I pull down her shorts and her panties, I find her arousal dripping down her thighs.
With a primal hunger I run a finger down her slit and dip it into her soaked channel while I put pressure on her clit. She thrashes in my arms as if I’ve found her kryptonite.
“Oh god, Roman…” Tiny little pants fall from her lips, as I bring her closer and closer to the edge. I push another finger inside her, stretching her. Her legs start to shake, and when I feel her insides quiver, I pull my fingers out.
“Please?” She looks up at me with a frown that makes me smile. She has no idea what she’s asking for. I turn her and push her forward, forcing her bare chest against the cold marble countertop. She presses up onto her tiptoes to maintain the position.
“I won’t be gentle with you this time,” I announce, shoving my sweats down. My cock springs free and hangs heavy between our bodies. I stroke the angry looking bastard a couple times, hissing at the rough contact of my hand wrapped around my cock.
“Okay,” Sophie merely whispers, pressing he
r cheek to the cold counter, and for a second, I wonder if she can handle this side of me. I’d never really hurt her, but I want to be rough. I want to make her feel all the emotions she makes me feel. I want to fuck her until her heart is bleeding, until she can only ever think of me.
The need to hold her down and fuck her relentlessly consumes me. I’ve done far more for her then I would ever any other woman. I’ve been gentle. I’ve tried to control myself. Fuck, I’ve killed for her...more than once now and I would kill a hundred more times too, just to have her, just to make sure she is safe, but I can’t protect her from me anymore, and I’m done trying.
I’m done pretending to me something that I’m not.
“Tell me to stop if it gets to be too much.” I not sure if I’ll be able to, but I really fucking hope so.
I nudge her thighs apart with my knee, and she willingly spreads her legs as far as she can standing up. I line my cock up with her dripping pussy.
I tell myself to start slow, even after everything, but when the head of my dick enters her tight channel, I lose all fucking control. I slam into her, burying myself as deep as I can go. A cry that sounds like equal parts pleasure and pain escapes Sophie's lips.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I think about stopping to make sure she’s okay, but I am hovering right on the edge of insanity and it feels like the only way to stop myself from giving into the beast completely it to keep slamming into her.
I grip her hips with bruising force holding her in place well pulling out of her all the way before I slam back into her, my groin pressing against her ass, making a loud slapping noise with each thrust. I keep doing that, every thrust more intense than the last.
My eyes roll to the back of my head. Fuck she feels like heaven, I want to live inside her, just like this every single day. When she tries to push up off the counter with a whimper, I take my hand and place it between her shoulder blades pushing her back down.
“I told you I wouldn’t be gentle, so remain against the counter top and let me fuck that pretty pussy of yours.” I can see her eyes attempt to meet mine as I hold her in place, and though I want to give her the trust she’s seeking I can’t. Not right now…right now I just need this from her. I need to own her body just like she owns mine.
Tame Me: A Mafia Romance (The Rossi Crime Family Book 5) Page 11