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His (Ties That Bind Book 2)

Page 18

by A. Zavarelli


  I exhale but my relief is short-lived.

  The man is taller than my father. He’s more than a foot taller than me and I’m wearing four-inch heels.

  His disheveled hair is dark, eyes hazel and I think he’s drunk. He must be. Only a drunk man would enter Gabriel Marchese’s daughter’s bedroom.

  Or one with a death wish.

  “Who are you?” I ask.

  He doesn’t answer my question. “I came with a gift,” he says instead.

  He tucks his hand into his pocket and for a moment, I wonder if he’s going to pull out a knife or a gun. If he’s going to kill me after all. Because I know this man is not my father’s friend. Not even a business associate. And for the first time in my life, I think about the protection I’ve always lived under. The protection that often felt more stifling than anything else.

  “It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” he asks, cocking his head to the side, setting one hand on the door above my head. He’s leaning so close that I can feel the heat coming off his body.

  I swallow.

  “How did you get up here?” There are guards everywhere.

  He lets what he’s holding dangle and my gaze shifts to it, to the pendant hanging off a gold chain. It’s too dark to make out the details.

  “You shouldn’t be up here. The party—”

  “I’m not here for the party. I’m here for you, Gabriela.”

  My blood runs cold at his words.

  My father, as much as I hate to admit it, scares me. But this man is terrifying.

  His lips curve into something wicked. A grin. A sneer. I wonder if he can feel my fear. Maybe smell it coming off me. Men like this can, can’t they?

  “Turn around.”

  “Why?” I ask weakly.

  “So I can give you your birthday present.”

  “I don’t want—”

  “I said turn around.”

  “Please just go,” I manage.

  “Turn. Around.”

  It’s an order.

  I swallow. Turn.

  He moves his hand from above me once my back is to him, so when he lifts the chain over my head and brings it down to set the pendant against the swell of my breasts, I smell that smell again. On the sleeves of his suit. On the skin of his hands.

  I look down at the pendant, but he pulls it higher so I can’t see it. Instead, I notice the ring on his finger, a heavy, dark ring.

  But then those fingers touch my skin and it’s like touching a live wire. I gasp, listen to the hammering of my heart, wonder if he hears it. If he feels that shock of electricity.

  I don’t move as he pulls the chain tight, the pendant at my throat. He tugs and a new panic takes hold. I think he’s going to strangle me with it.

  I make a sound, a pathetic whimper. I should scream but it’s like my throat has closed up.

  “It’s broken,” he says. “That’s rude, isn’t it? To give you a broken gift?” His deep voice is low, his breath on my neck sending a strange sensation down my spine. “But that’s how I got it, too.”

  I realize what he’s doing. He’s tying the chain. He must be.

  I reach my hand to touch the pendant and when I do, something crusty flakes off.

  A glance at my fingers shows a flake of dark red and I know it’s blood. I know it.

  My stomach heaves and I tighten my muscles, trying to quell the urge to vomit.

  “There,” he says. I smell whiskey on his breath now that he’s closer and hear him inhale as the scruff of his jaw scratches my bare shoulder and I shudder.

  Undeterred, he tilts my head to the side and presses his lips to the curve of my neck. To my pulse.

  My breath catches and I can’t move.

  It’s not a kiss, this.

  This man isn’t kissing me.

  But his lips, they’re warm. And that disgusting smell of chemicals and death, it’s going to make me sick. He must feel my knees give out because he wraps one powerful, muscled arm around my middle, tightening his grip as he holds me against him.

  He brings his mouth to my ear, breathes in a deep breath.

  “I want you to give your father a message for me,” he starts, pausing for so long that it feels like the air is heavier for the unspoken words. For those that are still to come. “Tell him I’ll be back to take something precious too.”

  An eternity passes before he steps backward.

  My knees buckle, and I catch the doorknob to remain upright. It’s suddenly freezing in my room and I’m shivering.

  “You won’t forget to give him my message, will you?”

  I shake my head. It’s all I can do.

  He nods, eyes narrowing, a smile that’s not a smile at all turning the corners of his mouth upward.

  “Happy birthday, Gabriela,” he says, and with that, he’s gone.

  Collateral: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance is available in all stores now!

  Also by Natasha Knight

  Ties that Bind Duet

  Mine

  His

  Collateral Damage Duet

  Collateral: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance

  Damage: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance

  Dark Legacy Trilogy

  Taken (Dark Legacy, Book 1)

  Torn (Dark Legacy, Book 2)

  Twisted (Dark Legacy, Book 3)

  MacLeod Brothers

  Devil’s Bargain

  Benedetti Mafia World

  Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance

  Dominic: a Dark Mafia Romance

  Sergio: a Dark Mafia Romance

  The Benedetti Brothers Box Set (Contains Salvatore, Dominic and Sergio)

  Killian: a Dark Mafia Romance

  Giovanni: a Dark Mafia Romance

  The Amado Brothers

  Dishonorable

  Disgraced

  Unhinged

  Standalone Dark Romance

  Descent

  Deviant

  Beautiful Liar

  Retribution

  Theirs To Take

  Captive, Mine

  Alpha

  Given to the Savage

  Taken by the Beast

  Claimed by the Beast

  Captive’s Desire

  Protective Custody

  Amy’s Strict Doctor

  Taming Emma

  Taming Megan

  Taming Naia

  Reclaiming Sophie

  The Firefighter’s Girl

  Dangerous Defiance

  Her Rogue Knight

  Taught To Kneel

  Tamed: the Roark Brothers Trilogy

  Also by A. Zavarelli

  Boston Underworld Series

  CROW: Boston Underworld #1

  REAPER: Boston Underworld #2

  GHOST: Boston Underworld #3

  SAINT: Boston Underworld #4

  THIEF: Boston Underworld #5

  CONOR: Boston Underworld #6

  Sin City Salvation Series

  Confess

  Convict

  Bleeding Hearts Series

  Echo: A Bleeding Hearts Novel Volume One

  Stutter: A Bleeding Hearts Novel Volume Two

  Twisted Ever After Series

  BEAST: Twisted Ever After #1

  Standalones

  Tap Left

  Hate Crush

  For a complete list of books and audios, visit http://www.azavarelli.com/books

  About A. Zavarelli

  A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of dark and contemporary romance.

  When she’s not putting her characters through hell, she can usually be found watching bizarre and twisted documentaries in the name of research.

  She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.

  Want to stay up to date on Ashleigh and Natasha’s releases? Sign up for our newsletters here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/x3s0k6

  About Natasha Knight

  USA Today bestselling author o
f contemporary romance, Natasha Knight specializes in dark, tortured heroes. Happily-Ever-Afters are guaranteed, but she likes to put her characters through hell to get them there. She’s evil like that.

  Want to stay up to date on Ashleigh and Natasha’s releases? Sign up for our newsletters here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/x3s0k6

 

 

 


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