by Dani René
With the agility of a predator, he slides over me, pressing a kiss to my lips, and I taste myself on his tongue when he slides it along mine. His movements are not at all what I’m expecting, it’s … romantic.
Something shifted when he slid inside me seconds ago. It wasn’t rough or angry. There was a gentleness to his kisses and the way his body took mine. I’m lost in the way his hands hold me, in the way his lips steal mine, swallowing every moan and whimper.
As my lashes flutter closed, I attempt to hold back the tears as realization hits me in the chest. I care about him. It can’t be love. Not just yet, but the way he seems to be claiming me tells me that he feels this connection as well.
He is everything I never knew I wanted.
This is everything I never knew I needed.
And I realize in that moment, this would be everything that would haunt me until I admit the truth to him. But in doing so, I might lose him. His body moves over me, his hips slapping against mine as I take him deep. He thickens, stretching my walls, and I welcome the bite of pained pleasure that shoots down my spine.
I dig my nails into his back, holding on, craving more. His mouth captures my nipple, biting down harshly, which sends pain zinging from the hardened bud down to my clit. My toes curl when he mimics the action on the other breast.
Arching my back, I press my body closer to his, needing to be against him. To feel every hard valley and every dip of his muscles as he works my body into a frenzy of euphoria. I can’t look at him, but I feel his gaze burning me, boring a hole right to my soul.
Even in this pleasurable moment of bliss, I know I have to tell him why I was arrested.
“Come for me,” he pleads, his one hand circling my clit as he thrusts into me, harder, faster, and I cry out when he pinches the bundle of nerves lighting my veins on fire with pure, unraveling hedonism.
In the dark, we’re safe with our dirty little secret, but the harsh light of day would forever scorch us for our actions. The room is bathed in shadows, but when I open my eyes tomorrow morning, I know there will be harsh sunlight spilling the truth to the man who’s now cocooned against me.
I hid my pain for so long that as Elian’s arm wraps around me possessively, I find the tears I’d been holding back slowly trickle down my face. Every person I’ve ever loved has left me. And I know that Elian will also disappear. I force the images of him walking out from my mind, but there’s only so much I can fight because I know I can never fully expunge him from me.
“This could never be more.” His nighttime admission snaps me from my thoughts, but even as he says the words, his hands never strayed, his arm never left me. “You know we shouldn’t have done this.”
I nod to the darkness. “I know. I realized it the moment you kissed me.”
“And you didn’t stop me?” His question isn’t meant to hurt. It’s genuinely curious.
I smile. There’s no way I could ever have stopped him. Even if I wanted to. My heart is slowly splintering when I realize what he’s saying. But I whisper, “How could I?”
He flips onto his back, pulling me astride his hips, my body looming over his. His guilt-ridden stare bores into mine, searching, making me blink because I’m afraid of what he’ll find there.
His rough hands give my ass one last hard squeeze before he leans up, resting his weight on his elbows. I’m still straddling his waist, not wanting to break the connection of his cock against my pussy.
Heat sizzles through the air, warming my skin, and I can’t help touching his smooth, tanned skin one more time. As if I’m memorizing every line, each sip of his abs and peak of his muscles.
Perfect.
Only, he isn’t.
He looks at me for a long time, as if he’s trying to tell me something but not wanting to admit the truth. His gaze holds secrets, just like I’ve kept mine safe. His mouth opens, then shuts. And it’s as if he makes his decision.
“I can’t do this without hurting you. It has to end.” He finally utters the words I’d been dreading to hear. Cold seeps through my veins, understanding that he’s not mine. The lump in my throat threatens me, growing thicker with every second. My eyes burn, the watery emotion about to spill, but I blink it back and nod.
“Yes.” My voice is scratchy, and I admonish myself for the lump in my throat.
Stupid girl.
33
Elian
I left Arabella at home. Her house is the safest place for her to be tonight. I’m not sure if she felt the pain that I had experienced when I made love to her last night, but I have a feeling she did. Her intelligent mind may be playing out a variety of scenarios right now, but the one that’s the truth will never even pass her mind.
All the lies that we were built on had come to a head, and it’s my fault she was in danger. That’s not something I can live with. Guilt ate away at me. I needed to ensure her safety. I started out thinking she would be nothing more than a passing phase, but it turns out, Arabella Davenport has burrowed herself into my fucking soul.
I never realized I even had one until she looked into my eyes last night and told me what she’d been hiding. I knew about the boy, but the truth that spilled from her lips has my blood burning hot in my veins. The thought of anyone forcing themselves on a woman is not something I abide by. Which is the reason I’m out here in the dead of night.
The rage that passes through me as I pull into the lot of the old abandoned warehouse is nothing compared to the violence I’m about to inflict. Shrugging on my jacket, I make my way to the door which is slightly ajar. When I sent that message earlier, I had made the decision. This is what I was born to do. My father would be proud of my dealing with bullshit. A rogue bastard needs to be dealt with.
My footsteps crunch on the cold, wet concrete. The floor has been ripped up in places, which breaks as I head deeper into the chilly expanse. Waiting for me is the asshole I’m about to rip to shreds. He’s watching me as I near him.
“What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?”
He doesn’t respond right away. Instead, someone walks out into the dim light, and her gaze locks on mine. “Mr. Donati,” she greets with a sly smile that makes my stomach coil. I didn’t think I’d come face-to-face with her, but here she is.
“You came a long way just to see me,” I remark, meeting the same stormy eyes I’ve been looking into for the past month. The only difference is that the woman standing before me is much older and much more sinister than her daughter.
“When I last spoke to you, I was under the impression you were going to do as I asked,” she tells me, which only makes me laugh.
“Do you really think I’m going to obey you when your fucking husband killed my father?” I bite out, my teeth grinding against each other, causing my jaw to tick with frustration. “I don’t bow down to anyone. I’m a Donati. And your little boytoy over here has gone too far.”
“I’ll decide what’s too far,” Pandora Davenport tells me with a smirk creasing her lips. No wonder her husband was happier disappearing than spending time around her. The bitch is a psychopath.
“Actually,” I respond, pulling the gun from my pocket. Cocking it, I lift it slowly, aiming it at the bastard’s face. “I’ll decide where we go from here.”
“Have you fallen in love with her?” The sheer shock that’s painted across Pandora’s features is clear as it drips from her question. Have I? No. I can’t love her. She’s just a girl I enjoyed fucking.
“I don’t deal well with men who do bad things.”
“Does she know who you truly are?” Her challenge has me gripping the gun harder, my fingers wrapping around the handle, my finger hovering over the trigger. “Because I think if my dear little girl found out about the man she’s spreading her legs for, she’ll run in the opposite direction.”
“That’s better than someone raping her when she’s underage?” I sneer, my gaze locked on the piece of scum whose expression tells me he didn’t realize I knew the truth.
/> “That’s just a story she’s made up to get attention.”
“Is it?” This time, my glare lands on the older woman. “Why don’t we ask him?” My focus zeroes in on the man I’m about to kill. “Tell me.”
“Hey man, she was up for anything when she walked into my bedroom. You would know. The little bitch opens her pretty pussy for any dick offering.” He chuckles, his words dripping through me like poison, and my finger slips, sending a bullet flying, hitting him right in the shoulder. “What the fuck man?”
“Tell me the fucking truth.” My command bounces off the metal walls that surround us. “I don’t like repeating myself.” Another bullet hits him in the knee, and I aim the next for his crotch, which has the asshole howling in agony.
“Okay! Okay!” His hands hold onto his dick, which is gushing blood. “I did … I mean, she was …” I cock the gun once more before he finally admits, “Wait! Okay, I did. Yeah, I forced her. I didn’t think it was an issue.”
That’s all I needed to hear, and the last bullet hits him right in the chest, just missing his heart. Stalking toward his shuddering form, I straddle his body before gripping his neck with one hand, and squeezing, watching his eyes bulge from their sockets.
“You’re filth. Rot in hell.”
“Quite the dramatics,” Pandora says when I finally rise to meet her stare. The stench of metal fills my nostrils, but I’ve never felt more alive. Taking someone’s life is intoxicating.
“Where is your husband?”
“I don’t know. He flew to Europe to hide out, but my men lost him. We haven’t been able to track him again.” The woman came to me when she found out about her dear husband’s illegal activities within the political sphere. He had bought votes, paid off informants to learn more about his competition, and not long after being elected by a landslide, he had been caught with a prostitute, which sent Pandora over the edge.
She found out about his underhanded business with my father and three months ago, she came to me and asked for my help by appealing to my need for revenge. Pandora poked the proverbial sleeping bear and here I am.
Pandora realized her husband had hired guns to come after my dad, and that’s when she realized I would help put an end to her husband. But then I made the deal when I saw the one thing her husband would never leave behind. I wanted something for my trouble. I didn’t need money, so I asked for the one thing I knew she couldn’t refuse me—Arabella.
“Go to her. Tell her everything, but mark my words, she’ll never believe you. Her father will never come for her.”
Her words cause my chest to tighten with anxiety. I don’t know why. I never truly wanted to hurt Arabella. Pandora has just confirmed her husband is alive. Now, I want him to come out of hiding. But even as I think it, I know it’s a lie because I ended up falling for the beauty who was merely a pawn in my game.
“I don’t necessarily need her to believe me,” I inform the woman before me. “I just need her to have a life free from the darkness.” My admission has her dark brow arching.
“You’d be surprised what my daughter is capable of. Personally, I think you’d make a good couple. She’s a deviant, and you, Mr. Donati, are now a cold-blooded killer. Surely, you can see it’s a match made in heaven.”
Shaking my head, I shrug at her words, but I do believe them because Arabella was made for me. I turn to leave before I call over my shoulder, “When that man you married returns, he’ll pay for his sins. When I find him, your daughter will be an orphan.”
She doesn’t run even though she knows what’s coming. She just waits for it, and when I pull the trigger, I hear the slump of her body.
“She will never forgive you,” Pandora speaks with finality before I walk out, leaving both bodies for cleanup. You can take the man out of the organization, but you can never cleanse the violence from his blood.
34
Arabella
I haven’t seen Elian since he dropped me off at home. He didn’t even explain what was happening. All he told me was to stay indoors. Our goodbye wasn’t confirmed, and even though he hasn’t contacted me today, I’m nervous about what’s coming. It’s as if a storm is about to hit, and I’m caught in the center of it.
“Hi.” A girl grins at me with a wide smile and perfect teeth. She’s dressed in the academy’s uniform, but I’ve never seen her before. Granted, the place is massive, so she most probably is a student and I’ve just never met her.
I don’t want to be rude, so I greet, “Hi.”
“You’re Arabella, right?” she says. Lowering her voice, she continues before I can respond. “I’m Evette,” she informs me, although I’m still unsure as to why she’s introducing herself.
“Nice to meet you. Is there something you wanted?” I shrug my blazer off and throw it along with my backpack into the car before shutting the door.
She’s close, like really close to me because I can feel her beside me. “I have a note from your dad,” she tells me, causing my stomach to drop to my feet like a lead weight.
Spinning around, I stare at her in confusion. “What?”
Instead of responding, she hands me an envelope. It’s not big, but it’s thick, as if something has been folded a few times before being shoved into it. Sealed shut, I can’t even glimpse what’s inside to make sure she’s not bullshitting me.
“Are you playing some fucked-up game?”
“Arabella,” my name is called before the strange girl can say anything more, and I turn to find Elian stalking up to us, urgency painted across his expression. His gaze lands on the girl. A hint of something flashes in his eyes—recognition perhaps—before he turns toward me. “Are you okay?” he asks me, and I realize I must still have shock painted across my expression.
“Yeah. I guess.” My response to Elian is whispered, and I glance over to ask the girl who she is or why she had this, but she’s already disappeared into the crowd of students. “That was fucking strange.”
“What?” Elian questions. I wish he could just wrap me in his arms right now, but we can’t do that since we’re on school property. And even though he’s standing at my car right now, it doesn’t look as if anything is going on because he’s kept his distance.
“She said she had a message from my father and then handed me this,” I tell him, glancing at the envelope in my hands once more. There isn’t anything written on the front nor the back, which begs the question—was she just some psycho from back home?
“If you want me to get rid of—”
“No, it’s okay,” I interrupt him, needing some space to clear my head. I shouldn’t even be near him. After the cabin, we didn’t say anything more. Even though the weekend was romantic, I knew it was his way of putting distance between us. “I’ll talk to you later.” I don’t look at him again before sliding into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. But as I’m pulling out of the lot, I notice Elian’s rage-filled expression as I leave him behind.
I’m not sure how I manage to get home. Even though the drive is short, I’m not focused on anything other than the girl and the envelope. After I’ve parked, I’m out of the car, heading into the house with my belongings, and make a beeline for my bedroom.
Things in Black Mountain have been amazing. I’ve had time to focus on school, and I’ve also become attached to Elian. I shouldn’t have, but each day I’m with him I feel myself falling. My emotions are all over the place when I finally sit on my bed and rip open the envelope before pulling out the thick letter.
Unfolding it, I take in the familiar handwriting, and my heart stutters. A lump forms in my throat when I read the first two words, “Dear Princess,” and my eyes prickle with tears. Setting the letter down, I attempt to breathe through the pain lancing my chest. It’s been almost four months, yet it feels like yesterday when my mother told me dad was gone. That he died.
The moment replays in my mind, over and over again. So real. It was so real, I never questioned it. I didn’t ask why we couldn’t have an ope
n casket. I just accepted what she told me as the truth.
As much as she’s been aloof with me most of my life, I didn’t think she would lie to me, not about something like this. It makes no sense for her to have fabricated a story like this to hurt me.
I pick up the letter again as confusion settles in my gut. With a watery gaze, I settle against the headboard and prepare myself for an onslaught of emotions I’m certain will rip me apart.
Dear Princess,
All my life, I’ve tried to make sure you’re safe. I failed because if you’re reading this, I’m gone. Not dead, but I should be. None of this will make sense to you but know that I’m always watching from afar. I never once wanted you to get in the middle of my mistakes, and I always kept you from finding out the truth about me. I wanted nothing more than to be your hero, but instead, I was the villain in this particular story.
It’s time you find out who I am, and I wanted to be the one to tell you. The job got to me. After years of playing by the rules, I ended up breaking them, and it took me down a dark path, which forced me to do things I’m ashamed of, and I never wanted you to see me in that light.
I took a life.
I stole from a family who will happily see me dead before they forgive me. When I made the choice to do it, I never thought of the repercussions, and that was my mistake. I should’ve focused on my family instead of wanting my seat in the White House. Promises were made, and vows were broken.
I got into bed with a dangerous man, and I ended up putting our lives in danger. But, in saying that, I now realize that having you in Black Mountain has not only put you in danger’s way, but you’ll find out my dirtiest secret.
Three years ago, I killed a man. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I may as well have. His name was Ezra Donati, and I ensured he was dead before I walked away. I didn’t think anything would come of it because I had the power of my job to keep me safe. That is until the men of his organization found out who put the hit out on him.