by Bella J.
Unease settled in the pit of my stomach, and I turned my attention to Karina and Doe who stood by the barrier overlooking the club.
Doe’s dark purple dress fit her body like a glove, and her legs seemed like they went on for miles with the shoes she wore. A mental note was made to make sure she kept those on once we got home. Dress off. Sharp, high heels on…at all times.
“So, what’s the plan, brother?”
I focused my attention back on Dante. “I assume you’re referring to Vadik?”
He nodded.
“I’m sure the fucker will make an entrance soon enough.”
“Are we ready for him once he does?”
I placed my glass down on the side table. “I’m working on it.”
“What does that mean?’
I shrugged. “It means I’m working on it.”
Lorik and Dante looked at each other, their confused expressions annoying the fuck out of me. I shifted in my seat. “We’ve been trying to get a lead on him, but the man’s like a goddamn ghost. Truth is, I don’t even know if he will come for Doe.” Liar. I knew. I knew all too fucking well. He was coming for her. For her and that goddamn chip lodged under her skin.
Dante’s eyebrows slanted inward, studying me. “You don’t have a plan, do you?”
“I said I’m working on it.”
“Okay, then.” My brother got up and walked to the bar.
Lorik swallowed the last of his drink. “Trust the Valenti brothers to always piss on the party.” He joined Dante at the bar, and I turned my attention back to Karina and Doe still talking by the barrier. Doe laughed at something my sister said, and she looked absolutely stunning. It felt so fucking good to see her laugh. To see her smile. To see her just be a normal human being.
“She looks good.” Lucio sat down across from me.
“If you weren’t my cousin, I would have cut out your tongue for saying that about my woman.”
Lucio snorted. “It still feels fucking weird seeing you act all possessive and shit.” Then his face turned serious. “Why don’t you tell them? You know, about the chip?”
I took a new glass from the waiter’s tray. “The less they know, the better.”
“But why? Dante and Lorik can help us figure all this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out.”
“Of course, there is.” Lucio fisted his hands together while placing his elbows on his knees. “It’s been weeks, and Vadik’s been a no-show. Something ain’t right, cousin. She has a goddamn chip—”
“Keep your motherfucking voice down.” I shot him a warning glare, clenching my jaw. “If we tell them about the chip, we’ll have to tell them about Mancuso.”
“We don’t have to tell them shit about Mancuso,” he argued, and I snorted.
“Do you know Lorik? Do you know my brother? They are like fucking bloodhounds, and once they catch a scent, there’s no goddamn way they’ll lose it until they’ve figured everything out.” I exhaled, frustration and anger shoving my heart up throat little by little.
“I still don’t get why we can’t tell them.”
“Because that will mean I have to worry about two more fucking mouths spilling everything to Doe.” I shot back my entire drink, cringing.
Lucio shook his head. “Are you that fucking determined to keep her from finding out who her real father is?”
I moved forward, getting closer to him, my face stone and my glare deadly. “If you weren’t blood, Lucio, you’d be dead.” Without taking my glare off him, I leaned back, stretching my arm across the headrest of the couch. “Does that paint you a clear enough picture of just how fucking determined I am?”
In typical Lucio fashion, he didn’t take my warning as a threat or an insult. It wasn’t meant to be either. It was the truth. He knew it. I knew it. If he wasn’t blood, he would have been granted one breath after Mancuso before I would have ended his life as well.
Lucio straightened. “To the grave, cousin.”
I nodded. “To the grave.” It was our pact. Our vow. No matter what, we would take our secret to the fucking grave.
Karina and Doe walked over to Lorik and Dante, said a few words, then Doe turned to look at me. Her smile was shy, beautiful, innocent—like a girl who had just caught the eye of the boy she liked. With a single nod, she got my message. My demand. I was summoning her over, and she obeyed with every step she took.
The music, the lights, the alcohol, the way her dark eyes settled on mine, excitement sparkling in her chocolate irises—she seemed like a goddess. Right here, right now, there was no trace of Nessuno the slave. In fact, the way she swayed her hips, shoulders squared, head held high, she looked more and more like the woman she was meant to be. Alessia Mancuso, daughter of the now deceased Stefano Mancuso. The last of a bloodline. The heir. The queen.
My cock hardened. It was such an ironic turn of events. Two enemy bloodlines together. The universe sure had one sick fucking sense of humor.
I placed my drink on the table just as she reached me. With a tug, I pulled her down into my lap, her tiny frame fitting perfectly against mine.
“Have I ever told you what a possessive fuck I really am?” My finger gently stroked down her arm, and her breath hitched. “I see the way other men look at you—”
“Antonio—”
“I can’t blame them, you know. For wanting you.” I lifted my chin, brushing my lips against the skin of her neck, loving the way her body trembled. “I’ve already had you over, and over, and over again.” My hand touched her knee, greedy fingers moving up on the inside of her leg. “I’ve fucked you every goddamn night for the last few weeks. Some nights more than once, yet I just can’t seem to get my fill of you.”
Her chest rose and fell, her breathing labored as I slipped my hand under her dress, fingers prodding against the thin fabric of her panties.
“Now, imagine how all these other poor fuckers have to feel knowing they will never have you, never know how it feels to be inside you.” I moved her panties to the side and smothered a moan when I felt how wet she was. How ready her body was for me. My dick was concrete just thinking about how easily I would be able to slide inside her, deep. Oh, so fucking deep.
I pushed a finger inside her, earning a deep, low moan from her heart-shaped lips. “This pussy belongs to me now.” I spread the wetness of her cunt all around her inner lips then applied the slightest amount of pressure on her clit. Another moan escaped her mouth.
I glanced over her shoulder. Everyone was still standing by the bar, deep in conversation, laughing and drinking. No one was paying any attention to us, to me fingering Doe as if we were in the privacy of our own room.
My arm tightened around her waist, fingers digging into her hip, and I nuzzled down the side of her neck. “Spread your legs a little wider.”
She didn’t question me. She obeyed. She always fucking obeyed.
“Next time, you don’t wear panties. Understood?”
“Yes, Master.” Two words that sounded like an angel’s prayer on her lips. Yes, Master.
This time I drove two fingers inside her, her thighs starting to quiver while I kept steady pressure on her clit.
My teeth grazed along the soft skin of her shoulder, my cock aching, pressing hard against her ass sitting on my lap. I bucked my hips, moving my dick against her, needing a little friction to tame the need.
“I want to watch you come, right here, right now. With all these people around us. I want you to come simply because you have no fucking choice.”
Deeper and harder, my hand worked her wet little cunt.
“Master, please.” Like this. Always like this. I was her man in every goddamn way. But I dictated everything when it came to her body because I owned it. Man, and master.
I let my finger slip out, dragged it around her weeping hole before shoving it back in…hard. With my eyes fixed on her beautiful face, I watched as she came undone. I witnessed the ecstasy paint the prettiest shade of pink on her cheeks.<
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Cum gushed down her thighs, my hand soaked in her pleasure. It never failed. Each and every goddamn orgasm I gave her thrilled me to no end. Witnessing the pure bliss on her beautiful face was indescribable.
Dark eyes met mine, her warm breath skidding along my cheek. “Finally, my body has found a master it wanted to obey.”
A low growl echoed from the back of my throat, and I dug my fingers into her hip and thigh. “When we get home, I’m fucking you until dawn.”
My lips found hers, my kiss hard and desperate—just like my fucking cock. I explored her mouth with my tongue, tasting the sweet tang of cranberry juice.
I let go of her mouth just as Karina approached. “You two should really get a fucking room.”
“You should mind your own fucking business, little sister.”
Karina pouted, her hand on her hip. “Can you tear your goddamn hands off her for a few minutes?”
“Why?”
Karina reached out and pulled Doe off my lap. “I need the powder room, and girls like to go in pairs, remember?” She winked, turned on her heel, and I watched Doe disappear into the ladies’ alongside my sister.
With a smile on my face, a rock-hard penis the size of Japan in my pants, and an empty glass, I sauntered over to the bar.
Lorik looked at me with a smirk. “Having fun?”
“Fuck off.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Dante laughed then turned his attention to Lucio. “Not drinking tonight?”
“Nope. I prefer to be sober these days…just in case I get the opportunity to slaughter some Russian fuckers.”
Lorik’s eyebrows almost touched his hairline. “I’m pretty sure you’re a certifiable psychopath.”
Lucio shrugged. “That’s exactly what my psychiatrist wrote at the top of my file, dude.”
Lorik blinked, and we all burst out laughing.
I ordered another drink, patiently waiting for the women to return. It was just past midnight, and even though the party just started, I was ready to take Doe home.
The bartender placed my drink on the counter. I thanked him, picked up the glass…and my heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe as I read the black handwriting on a white napkin.
It’s time to take my pretty, broken girl back…
My blood froze solid. My gut filled with concrete. But there was no time. There was no fucking time. “Jesus.” I grabbed the napkin, but just as I turned to run, a bone-chilling cry came from the ladies’ room, the sound slamming against my chest. “Jesus Christ. Doe!”
Chapter 12
Doe
Ten minutes earlier
My legs were weak, my entire body electrified. With every step I took, I felt the remnants of my orgasm pooled between my legs. It was surreal, the way Antonio managed to own me so easily. One touch. One kiss. One breath. That was all it took for him to enrapture me, to make me want to surrender. I didn’t care that we were in public. I didn’t care who watched. All I cared about was feeling him, letting him do with me what he wanted. The more he touched me, the more he pushed my body over the edge, the more I craved it. Craved him. I was like a little girl, and he was the candy I could never get enough of. All these years, I hated every man’s touch, repulsed by the way their skin felt on mine. Locked in a cage or prison cell at night, I would fear the next time hands and mouths and teeth would bite into my flesh. Even now, just the thought of another man coming near me made my skin crawl. But not him. Not Antonio. In fact, I wanted to feel his touch every minute of every day.
“I still can’t believe how much my brother has changed since he found you.” Karina pushed the door open, and we walked into the ladies’ room. “But it’s weird, though. He’s changed, but he’s still him.” She frowned. “Does that make sense?”
I just smiled, my head fogged from the pleasure that still lingered throughout my body.
Karina narrowed her eyes and stared at me. “You look flushed.”
“Oh…um—”
She let out a laugh. “Oh, my God. Your face just went from pink to bright red.”
I placed my hand on my cheek, the warm skin burning against my palm.
Karina turned and placed her purse on the marble countertop, and I looked around. Above every black sink was an individual oval mirror decorated with black steel forming swirls and circles. The floor was black and white checkered tiles, bright silver steel lights hanging from the ceiling.
“I have to admit it’s awesome to have the bathroom to ourselves. One perk of having an overprotective brother with enough money to spend, and a girl to protect.” She winked at me in the mirror then applied more mascara, one eye closed to focus. “Are you at least having fun?”
I nodded. “I am. It’s strange, though,” I let my fingertip brush against the cold marble, “being this free. Being out in the world without…” My voice trailed off.
Karina stilled, watching my reflection in the mirror. “Without?”
I bit my bottom lip, hating the memory. “Without a collar and a chain.”
“Jesus.” She threw the mascara back in her purse and turned to face me. “I won’t pretend to know what you’ve been through. And frankly, I don’t want to know. Your whole story, Doe, it’s not a story I ever want to know.” Her dark eyes softened, saddened. “But what I do know is that you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. If your past is half as bad as I imagine it was, the fact that you survived it tells me exactly how strong you are.”
I swallowed hard, tears starting to sting my eyes. “I’m not strong, Karina.”
“You are.”
“It wasn’t strength that kept me alive.” I fixed my gaze on hers. “It was my fear of dying.”
Two short sentences that carried an ocean of truth. Everyone mistook my survival for strength, but it was fear. “I knew what kind of hell I was in. I didn’t know what hell awaited me on the other side.”
Karina leaned against the countertop. “Rather the devil you know than the devil you don’t?”
“Something like that.” I nervously scratched at my cuticles then gently touched my necklace, somehow thankful for the tiny sliver of safety.
“Okay,” Karina straightened, “enough of the heavy. Let’s go out there and enjoy the rest of the time we have here tonight. Knowing my brother, he’s already itching to take you home.” She winked then took my hand. We turned, only to stare straight at a man standing by the door. For a second, there was utter silence, and it was just the beat of my heart echoing in my ears. Then the click of the lock sounded around us, and my spine turned to ice.
“Who are you?” Karina slowly urged me behind her. “Unlock that door, now.”
The man wore black pants and a white dress shirt. I recognized him. He was the waiter with the friendly smile who had been walking around with drinks all night.
With light brown hair and green eyes, he leaned his head to the side as he studied us, as if he was calculating exactly how big of a threat the two of us could pose to him. Immediately, I could see the cruel intent in his eyes. It was a look I had seen so many times before in my life. A look that never meant anything good.
“Listen, asshole,” Karina started, “you better open that fucking door right now, or you’ll end up with your balls in your brain.”
“Relax, bitch. I’m not here for you.” He sneered her way before looking at me. “I’m here for you…Nessuno.”
Bile made its way up my throat the second I heard that name. Barbed wire tightened around my stomach like a vise, and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to vomit or scream. Ice spread through my lungs, and all I could think was that he had finally come for me. Master V had finally made a move. How I knew, I wasn’t sure. Call it a basic instinct for a woman like me. I just knew.
Karina pushed me behind her even more. “You stay away from her,” she warned. All I could do was stand there. Cemented to the spot. Unable to fucking move.
The man launched forward and grabbed Karina by her face, a knife pushed agai
nst her throat. My back hit the countertop, but I didn’t make a sound while I watched the man push Karina against the wall. “I would suggest you stay out of this, Valenti bitch. It would be a shame for this pretty little face to get skinned off.”
“Please don’t,” I heard myself say. “Don’t hurt her.”
Green snake eyes peered my way, and I held my breath. “He said to bring you to him alive. But he said nothing about this little beauty.” With his eyes on mine, he pressed the knife harder against Karina’s skin. My heart was beating so loud, I could hardly hear the music coming from the club. The black and white checkered tiles were starting to make my head spin, adrenaline and fear tearing my mind in two.
Do I try to run to get help? Or do I stay?
“Here’s the deal,” he said. “There’s a fire escape just outside that window.” He gestured toward a large window at the other side of the room, the blackness of night making it seem like a hole in the wall. “You’re going to take the fire extinguisher and smash the glass. Then you’re going to jump onto the fire escape, and you’re going to run down those stairs like you have the devil himself on your heels. Once you’re out that window, I’ll let the little Valenti tramp go.”
“No!” Karina tried to shove the man off her, but he grabbed her throat and slammed her head against the wall, digging the knife deeper into her flesh.
“One more fucking sound out of you, and I’ll slice your face from ear to ear.”
“Please stop.” I took a hesitant step forward. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Yes, you will, if you want the Valenti bitch to keep her beautiful smile.”
I nodded frantically, the blade against Karina’s throat making me nervous. Scared. And I didn’t for one moment think about what would happen to me once I went down the fire escape. All I thought about was what would happen to Karina if I didn’t.
Karina tried to glance in my direction, but the knife against her throat kept her from moving. “Doe, don’t do it. He’s fucking bluffing.”