by Jax Hart
“Who might that be?”
“Mine. Inexplicably, undeniably mine and I never thought you existed. That a woman like you could exist for me.”
“This is crazy. You… we are crazy. We barely know one another.”
“That’s a lie if I ever heard one and you know it.”
I bit my lip, trying to figure out how this could work. How do I keep the biggest lie of all from spilling between us? Would he love me, desire me more if he knew I was Romina, the girl from his past? Or would he feel bound to finish what family honor demands?
The SUV cuts down familiar streets. Before I knew it we were in Princeton and pulling down the drive that leads to the sprawling mansion where we first met again.
He turns to me. “Stay for a while? I’ll drive you home later.”
I shrugged not having much choice since we’re already here. Sebastian led Tati up to his room. Johnny took a call and cursed in Italian, gripping his cell close to his ear and me…I was led by my dark devil past the room with the paneled closet and into a neat corner with dark wooden furniture.
“I need a shower. Join me?” He dared holding out a hand, all the while knowing I’d decline. So, I took the devil by his horns and turned the tables. I peeled my shirt off, kicked off my shoes and stripped. My skin was so pale it almost glowed.
“Fuck, Blue,” he hissed through clenched teeth as my tiny breast buds peaked in the moonlight under his lust-filled gaze. “I’m going to make you come so hard.”
I shivered under the heat of his gaze. All of me was willing to take my dark one as it was always meant to be.
His hand gripped mine as I walked closer, he shuddered as my hand landed on his chest and slid down his pecs and abs to boldly cup him between his legs. “Mine. No one else’s.”
“Making demands already?”
I nodded. “As much as you are going to take, you must give to me.”
He studied me then dipped his head. “If you want every last piece of my damned soul; it’s yours.” With that promise, he swept me up in his arms and laid me down on the thick duvet. Caged in his embrace, his head lowered to tease my breast. The whole damn thing fit in his hot mouth. We groaned in unison as his tongue rolled my nipple.
I’ve never been touched like this before. Petted. Stroked.
Desire swept through me, thrusting my body into some kind of fever. Wetness grew between my legs, joining the heavy need for something more. I knew what it was. I needed him, filling me there, completing me.
He turned his attention to my other breast while his hand moved between my legs. “Baby Blue. So wet. So utterly mine,” His fingers delved through my soaked folds, found the tiny nub begging for his touch and he pressed it hard. I yelped, hips rising off the bed as he circled it and circled it, plucked and rolled it before three fingers plunged deep, stretching my small channel.
His dark head was bent over me as his mouth sucked at my nipples, teeth scraping across them causing pain and pleasure. His fingers moved faster and faster. Fingers fucked me in a rhythm. I’m so close to falling. My body rose up and a deep flutter rolled like a wave deep inside my womb and moved until it ripped and roared, crashing over his hands.
He stopped playing with me and gripped me by the neck, choked the air I needed to breathe as I came. His knee moved, pressed down on my soaked core making it burn more as he pressed into my throat. “Come for me Blue, keep coming. This will make it more intense.”
I hovered, with no air, my body singing for him even as he stole my air. I came and came as my body fought so many dueling sensations.
Finally, almost on the verge of dying in ecstasy he released me.
I gasped deeply just as he freed his cock and stroked himself to the sight of my bruised neck and flushed breasts and soaked pussy.
“Fuck yeah, Blue. You are my queen,” he grunted, coming all over me. “All fucking mine,” he ground out collapsing on top of me and taking my mouth. He stole my air again, but it felt good, like I’d pleased my dark god—delighted him in a way only I could.
Because it’s true. Only I could bring him so much pleasure. I squirmed beneath him, grasped his lowering gaze, focusing on his work of art and brought his head back to mine before he noticed the flame he touched and caressed didn’t match the rest. I never dyed my pussy; never thought I’d give him so much of me.
What a mistake. I vowed the first chance I get to wax it completely.
“Feeling shy? Did you like it? You came hard for me didn’t you Blue?” His ocean-like eyes searched mine. I nodded. “Good girl. The second you turn eighteen, there won’t be one place in you where you won’t feel my touch.”
I nodded dumbly. Wanting it all. Wanting him. I’m not Diana the strong warrior woman. I’m a slave to him, I’m reduced to need and want. I only aim to please my dark lord.
He left me to shower and I laid, staring at the ceiling, still feeling incomplete. Burying my face in his pillow, I sobbed fat tears of shame. I’ll never avenge the Fiorelli’s or my dead family by being our enemy’s lover. But maybe it’s time I just live for the girl I am today. A girl who might be willing to let the past go if it meant having a chance to be loved. Even if it’s by the man who has the power to take everything away from me all over again.
11
He’s perfect. Utterly perfect. and more than I could have ever hoped for. Not like I ever thought I’d find someone who’d match me anyway. But somehow, I did. In New Jersey, nonetheless.
She’s young though and as the night sky gave way to dawn, my hands curled around the wrought iron rail as I peered out into the darkness giving way to the light. Should I take what’s mine or wait? Thoughts pestered me one by one. I’ve never waited for anything just simply took. I’m not a man ruled by law or religion so why should I? But then the hole she pierced in me lets reason and a speck of good through. Every dark thought I’ve ever had; every deadly deed is why I should wait.
Maybe she’s my chance to get it right. A chance to finally grasp that elusive thing called love.
But I must be careful. My cousins want us to make our mark and go after the remaining families. They agreed to give me this time to just be “Ralph.” I convinced them having an Ivy league MBA would make me look more legit while I’d use the education to find loopholes in the system. The mob needed technology, needed real brains to survive the millennium world.
The warm water runs over me, and I let it rinse over my back for a few more minutes before I shut it off and slung a towel around my waist. “Blue? You want to clean up?”
But she’s gone. I knew she wouldn’t get far with the security cameras and invisible guards, but still it burned that she would just leave and here I was thinking she felt the electricity between us just as much as I did.
I slipped into some sweatpants, not even bothering with a shirt and padded out on bare feet to find her.
“Blue? Baby, you won’t get far…”
“…I have to go. I can’t stay the night.”
“Your parents?”
“My parents are dead.”
“Mine too.” I reached for her, but she held herself stiffly and played with the frayed edges of her sleeve while her other hand stilled on the doorknob.
“Feeling shy, Baby Blue?”
She evaded my question, “Look I need to go alright. My Uncle is going to flip his shit if he wakes up and finds out I’m not home.”
Something tightened in my gut. She doesn’t belong to me yet. Even the thought of a guardian, an Uncle—some other man having more say over her legally and otherwise makes me want to break shit. Or kill something. Hell, both.
I blew out a breath. “I’ll find your friend and take you both home.”
She nodded barely looking at me. My fists clenched. I had her. I knew she felt this… this… thing between us.
I lifted her chin, caged her with my body, “This thing between us isn’t going to go away just because you want to ignore it.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean that I
wish…maybe it would.”
“Scared, Baby Blue?”
“Terrified.”
“And here I thought you were some badass, super girl with mystical powers,” I teased while fingering a lock of her blue hair.”
“Oh, I am. I’m just not convinced you’re worthy of all of my awesomeness.”
“I’m definitely not. But I’ll still take it all anyway.”
“I know.”
Her hesitant eyes finally met mine and I did something I never do. This time when my mouth lands, parting hers—I woo the fuck out of her with my kiss. It’s tender. Slow. The seduction my high school girl deserves. I felt the second she gave in to me and her body became soft and pliable.
“Tell me your name. We can do this the easy or hard way, Blue. Up to you.”
“Diana. Diana Palermo.”
“Palermo?”
She nodded. “My great-grandparents left during WWII for America. They didn’t want to forget their homeland so when they emigrated, they made Palermo their last name.”
Something ugly twisted in my gut. Could she be a test? A trap? Did Constantine’s family finally want vengeance. Did they finally figure out it was me? Or did one of my enemies put her in my path as a way to derail me or test my will?
My hips moved closer. My grip on her chin became a demand. “Who are you?”
“Nobody. Just a girl with no family.”
I snorted, “Oh you are somebody alright. Don’t underestimate me. I’ll love you and break you all the same.” I want this girl something fierce, but was I ready to risk everything I worked toward for her? The scale hasn’t completely tipped her way yet even though momentum is swinging her way.
Her tiny hand rested on my forearms. “I promise the same. I could love you or kill you with the flip of a switch.”
My lips smirked because her answer was so perfect. “Ah, you are Ying to my Yang, Blue.”
She smiled faintly, “You have no idea.”
I don’t know where in the fuck this is heading. All I know is that I’ll do anything to make this magic last before the reality of what and who I need to be awaits after graduation.
12
I had Roque drop me at Tati’s. I lied and told him it was my house. He’d find me sooner rather than later. But I fucked up again and need to either come clean with Zio about my conflicted feelings or we needed to decide to run. Again.
With a heavy heart, I lifted the corners of the curtain framing Tati’s window. An untrained eye wouldn’t notice all I saw.
He left security on my ass. There were two men on either ends of the street. One was smoking while nursing a coffee, the other was in an SUV wearing shades despite the fact it was barely dawn.
I let Tati sleep and pulled on a hoodie that I found in her closet. Hopefully, it’d help disguise my blue hair as I snuck out. Zio had been lighting up my phone with texts. I grimaced knowing I was about to break the only man’s heart who truly loved me. The one person who knew my complete truth and who championed me through it all.
I pulled up my Uber app and ordered one to pick me up three blocks from here. Sneaking out of Tati’s house was easy. None of the hired surveillance noticed me creep out the backdoor and race into the woods.
I hopped into the backseat of the Uber after double checking it was the right car and head home to face the music.
Zio’s back was stiff as a board as I walked in. He wouldn’t turn to face me. Instead he sipped his black coffee while staring out the kitchen window.
“I’m sorry, Zio.”
“Scusi?”
My head hung with shame. My cheeks flamed as red as my real hair. “I tried to fix what happened.”
“Did you?” He turned to face me.
“I don’t know.”
“Sit,” he commanded before pouring me a coffee and adding a smidge of cream. “Tell me everything Romina. Everything.”
I swallowed hard. “I-I think… he likes me. Really likes me.” Zio studied me hard for a few seconds.
“You foolish girl. A man like Roque Salvatore cares for nothing. Especially a slip of a girl he almost killed decades ago. Did you fuck him, mi amore?”
I shook my head. “Well at least you’re still a virgin. We can use that.”
“I’m not using my body in this war I’m not sure I still want to fight.”
“How easily did the mighty Diana fall, eh? All it took was your first taste of passion. He’s just the first man to awaken the pleasures of the flesh in you. That’s all.”
“It’s not that simple Zio. I’ve told you every detail of us… of him. But unless your me, you can’t really understand. It’s like our souls twisted together that day, during the massacre. We were both practically kids caught up in some war we were born into. He didn’t want to kill me. I know it.”
Zio raised his head. “And yet he did. He did kill you. The girl you were died that day and you changed. You became someone else, literally.”
“I don’t feel the same need for vengeance anymore, Zio. What if I could win? What if we both win by making him love me? Love us? Doesn’t love trump evil after all?”
“You could try. But heed my warning, that man will never love the way you think he will. Roque Salvatore has been training his whole life for one thing only: To be the most powerful mob king the world has ever seen. You have two choices now: Cut and run or stay and seduce the dark king into letting you be his queen. There are many ways to take a man down. And I love you too much, I’ve cherished you too much to set you on this path, but it seems you’ve already set yourself on it. You could hold his black heart in the palm of your hand and decide if he’s worthy of yours. If he betrays you, break it. You break him and get your revenge. But you’d have to give him all of you. You’d be his lover, his confidant, be everything to him, but the danger is he’d have the power to break you too. Are you willing to risk it all to find out if he can change for you?”
I held my head in my hands, confused. Because I really wasn’t sure. Roque is a tornado; he’d consume all of me I just know it. But the high I get from just breathing his air makes me stupidly want to risk it all.
My phone pings with a text: Get ready Baby Blue, the big, bad, wolf is coming for you.
Me: How did you get my number?
R: I can get anything I want. You are at the top of my list.
Me: ***Eyeroll***
R: So, going to hurt you for that.
Me: ***Double eyeroll***
Zio frowned, muttering in Italian under his breath. With a sinking heart I knew how much I’ve let him down. But maybe you can change fate? Maybe the Fiorelli’s and the Salvatore’s don’t need to be at war anymore? Maybe just maybe it’s our destiny to change all that and start a new era together?
After a long, hot bath, I opened up my laptop and connected to the wireless spy devices I planted the night of the party. When Roque was in the shower, I moved two to his room. I might be a stupid, foolish girl who just got her first taste of passion, but I will be somewhat careful about it.
“…yo! You in there, bro?”
“What?” I hear Roque bark. It sounds like Johnny entered the room. “
“Rafe and I are going into the city tonight. You in or are you going to sit here pining over that high school piece of ass?”
I gasped, as the sound of a fist meeting a face ensued as well as tumbling furniture and grunts. “Don’t ever disrespect my girl again.”
I closed the app. I’d heard enough. Roque really does care for me. Maybe his soul isn’t so lost as we both thought. Maybe there is hope for the dark one after all and that hope is me.
13
“That girl has you all jacked up.”
Sweat dripped down my face but I ignored Johnny and lifted the rack of weights above my head, doing five more sets than he did.
“Are you seriously going to a Homecoming dance? At a high school?”
“You’re going with me.”
He shook his head, “Fuck, Roque. You are losing som
e serious street cred, pining over some steampunk girl.”
“She’s so much more than that.”
“Is She? Talk like this is going to get you in trouble, bro. Your primed to take it all. Game over. Your cousins got Chicago locked down. They took out the Chinese and the Russians. All you have to do after graduating is build that empire man. You and I are going to be unstoppable. I’d never put a hit on you, bro and I know you’ve got my back. Don’t let some voodoo pussy fuck with our plans.”
Brushing past him, I grabbed 75lb dumbbells and worked on some bicep curls. “She’s perfect for me, bro. She’d fit in our world.”
“Nobody fits in our world. Your deluding yourself. Love isn’t in the cards for us. Wake the fuck up, Roque. You already know that.”
I did. But I was a stubborn mother fucker. Too stubborn to listen despite my inner voice screaming I should.
14
My temples throbbed. “What in the heck was I thinking taking a coding class?” My eyes burned from the glare of my laptop monitor. I’ve been working on this app project for weeks and not getting anywhere.
Roque’s been texting all day trying to get together. But I can’t. As much as I want to run away with my rogue Roque. I still need to be a regular high school girl pulling decent grades.
A sharp tap interrupted me as my fingers hovered over the keyboard. “Diana? There’s someone here for you.”
Zio’s face was flushed. The vein in his temple throbbed. His fists clenched and his eyes were narrowed.
“You let him in?”
“I thought about pulling the Glock from the back of my pants and putting two in his head.”
“Zio…,” I sighed, rolling my eyes.
“Are you sleeping with the enemy, Romina?”
“Not having this conversation with you.” I shut my laptop, fluffed my hair and got pissed that I even did that for Roque. I was fierce. Fierce girls don’t fluff, right? I passed him at the doorway and whispered, “One: don’t embarrass me. Two: don’t kill my boyfriend and three: don’t blow our cover.”