by W Winters
I hear the distinctive sound of a gun with a silencer going off, but I don’t bother to look and verify that the bullet landed just behind Romano as a warning shot. My eyes stay fixed on Stephan’s. Just as his are on me.
“This is a show for you, Romano,” I finally speak when he stands abruptly. “Help him sit, Jase.”
Without a word, my brother rises and I can just barely see Aria in my periphery. My sweet, haunted girl. She grips the table and watches intently as Jase pulls out the chair for Romano, waiting for him to sit a few feet away from the table where his hands can easily be seen.
Jase stays behind him, his gun still trained on Romano although now he could easily shoot Stephan as well. But his death is for Aria, and Aria alone.
“The knife, Aria.” I address only her. She’s so small on my lap as she looks at me and then slowly around the room. She’s hesitant to pick the knife back up and the cursing yell from Stephan nearly startles her into dropping it again.
The rage in my blood turns from a simmer to a boil. “Even now he holds a fear over you, my Aria,” I tell her in a low voice of reprimand. “I won’t allow it.”
I can feel her skin turn cold as she waits for my command. She’s barely breathing, still scared and confused. With the knife in her hand, I pull her back into my lap, taking my time to calm her so she can see clearly.
Fear can cloud everything, turning reality into falsehoods.
“Are you mad at me, songbird?” I ask her gently, cupping her jaw in my hand. I can feel her swallow tightly and peek back at Stephan before looking at me. “Why?” she asks me with such sadness.
“You needed this,” I whisper against her lips, nearly pressing mine to hers in an effort for her to understand how crucial this moment is, both for her and for us.
Her bottom lip quivers as tears prick the back of her eyes. “I thought you were giving me to him,” she confesses as her voice cracks and her shoulders shudder.
Gripping her tighter I speak clearly, loud enough for everyone in this room to hear. “You are mine and Romano lied to me when he gave me to you,” I hiss.
“Bullshit!” Romano dares to interrupt me and my hackles rise, the anger brimming. But I’ll deal with him once I’m through with Aria. She will always come first.
“You were damaged.” Her expression crumples at my words, shame filling her hazel eyes as I add, “You were so fucking broken I couldn’t have my hand in it.” I turn my head to sneer at Stephan. “Not when someone else has such control over you.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, and the tip of the knife hits the table as her grip loosens.
“Did I tell you to drop the knife?” I ask her and instead of taking the hint and holding it tighter, she drops it to the table, covering her face with her hands and leaning into my chest.
“I really thought…” she pauses as her chest heaves and I give her this moment. I comfort her and make the men wait. They will wait for her. And so will I.
For this I’ve waited so long already, another minute can be spared for her pain.
“I thought,” she continues to stammer, and I kiss her hair, rubbing her back as she tells me, “I thought you were done with me.”
Pulling at her shoulders, I force her to arm’s length in my lap. “Never,” I tell her with all sincerity, feeling the truth down to my core, coursing through my blood and in every thought I could ever have.
Aria’s breathing calms as she stares into my eyes, while a softness I’ve never felt drifts over me. “You scared me,” she whispers.
Running the tip of my nose against hers, I whisper against her lips, “It’s a gift for you.”
When I pull away, her eyes are still closed, but slowly they open and I nod toward the knife.
“Kill him, Aria.”
Romano curses, but one of my men presses the barrel of his gun to his head.
“Pick up the knife and end him.”
I watch Aria’s shaky fingers pick up the knife, and then she stares at her prey. He scowls at her, but she doesn’t back down. Her chest heaves again and the way she holds her chin up lets me know she’s scared but doing her damnedest not to be.
Fear can never hide though.
“I won’t be with you if you don’t,” I tell her and instantly regret the words. Her eyes widen, and she sucks in a breath. “I can’t let you continue like this,” I tell her, wishing I could take back the first words I gave her.
Her eyes flicker from me to Stephan and she nods her head slightly, but still, she doesn’t move.
Even knowing she has the knife in her hand, I lean forward and rest my head against her chest. “This is for you, Aria,” I whisper in the hot space between us. “It’s all for you.”
Inhaling her scent and feeling her body against mine, I kiss her throat and move to the crook of her slender neck. Her nails dig into my shoulder as she gasps.
It’s an apology for the threat I just made that never should have left me.
My lips slip down her shoulder and she moans softly, relaxing into me as my hands travel up her waist.
“Kill him, Aria,” I command her and continue kissing her neck, my touch turning ravenous.
Raking my teeth down her jaw, I worship her.
My brothers are witnesses to what I’d do to have her be completely mine. Romano and the dead fuck Stephan watch with a series of slurs and profanity.
Let them all see. Let the entire fucking world see.
My cock is hard when I pull away, seeing her breathless and in need.
“First, you take care of him.” I nod toward Stephan and then tell her, “And then you will be truly mine.”
Aria’s nod is swift and she’s quick this time to leave my lap, although her touch lingers on my shoulder as she steadies herself.
Three guns are pointed at Stephan, but he’s only looking at her as she rounds the table. I follow her at a distance, giving her this.
Stephan’s smile is grim and unnerving as he sneers, “She’ll never do it. Just shoot--”
Before he can get the last word out, Aria whips her hand through the air, slicing his neck open and forcing blood to pour from his neck. As his hands reach up to his throat, she screams a bloodcurdling sound, slicing again in the same pattern. Only this time, it cuts through his hands, nearly severing one of his fingers.
She doesn’t stop. She stabs frantically into his chest, hitting his arm, his shoulder, his throat again. Her aim is reckless, and my men take a step back, blood drenching his shirt and spraying from his cuts.
She’s savage in the stabs. Chaotic even. For a moment, I want to tear the knife from her for fear of her cutting herself.
She screams out as the knife pierces through the expensive fabric and into his soft flesh, the blood seeping through his clothes. The cry from her is sickening. Not because of the piercing scream, but because of the overt sadness. She kills him with her pain.
“Let it out,” I say without conscious consent. I can see Daniel turn his attention from her to me, but I ignore him. None of them matter right now.
She needs this more than anything.
Romano stands from his seat, backing away and it’s only then that I break my focus on Aria.
“Sit,” I practically snarl. The anger is mostly because he dared distract me from this.
He grits his teeth and feigns irritation as he slowly obeys me, but he can’t deny the utter fear I can see in his gaze.
With both hands on the armrests, he slowly takes his seat and I can focus on Aria again.
Her energy has waned and she’s silent as tears stream down her face. Her small body looks weaker and weaker, but she doesn’t stop stabbing into Stephan’s lifeless body. She’s obviously exhausted, but she doesn’t stop.
Not until I give her the command, my low voice foreboding and dominating in the silent room. “Aria. Give me the knife.”
Her wild eyes glance at me, only for a moment as the knife trembles in her hand and she shakes her head, no.
“Aria,
” I raise my voice, forcing it to echo in the room. The only sounds I can hear are the blood rushing in my ears and Aria’s ragged breathing as I grit my teeth and tell her one last time. “Give. Me. The knife.”
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Carter and Aria’s story is far from over. Their story continues with Heartless… Click here to read more!
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Haven’t read Addison and Daniel’s story yet? Possessive is available now! Keep reading for a sneak peek!
Sneak Peek of Possessive
From USA Today bestselling author W Winters comes an emotionally gripping, standalone, contemporary romance.
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It was never love with Daniel and I never thought it would be.
It was only lust from a distance.
Unrequited love maybe.
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He’s a man I could never have, for so many reasons.
That didn’t stop my heart from beating wildly when his eyes pierced through me.
It only slowed back down when he’d look away, making me feel so damn unworthy and reminding me that he would never be mine.
* * *
Years have passed and one look at him brings it all back.
But time changes everything.
There’s a heat in his eyes I recognize from so long ago, a tension between us I thought was one-sided.
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“Tell me you want it.” His rough voice cuts through the night and I can’t resist.
That’s where my story really begins.
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Possessive is an emotional, gripping story. Filled with heartache, guilt and longing! Possessive will take you on a journey of obsession and jealousy...it's emotional, raw and captivating. - Beyond The Covers Blog
Preface
Addison
It’s easy to smile around Tyler.
It’s how he got me. We were in tenth-grade calculus, and he made some stupid joke about angles. I don’t even remember what it was. Something about never discussing infinity with a mathematician because you’ll never hear the end of it. He’s a cute dork with his jokes. He knows some dirty ones too.
A year later and he still makes me smile. Even when we’re fighting. He says he just wants to see me smile. How could I leave when I believe him with everything in me?
My friend’s grandmother told me once to fall in love with someone who loves you just a little more.
Even as my shoulders shake with a small laugh and he leans forward nipping my neck, I know that I’ll never really love Tyler the way he loves me.
And it makes me ashamed. Truly.
I’m still laughing when the bedroom door creaks open. Tyler plants a small kiss on my shoulder. It’s not an open-mouth kiss, but still, it leaves a trace on my skin and sends a warmth through my body. It’s only momentary though.
The cool air passes between the two of us, as Tyler leans back and smiles broadly at his brother.
I may be seated on my boyfriend’s lap, but the way Daniel looks at me makes me feel alone. His eyes pierce through me. With a sharpness that makes me afraid to move. Afraid to breathe even.
I don’t know why he does this to me.
He makes me hot and cold at the same time. It’s like I’ve disappointed him simply by being here. As if he doesn’t like me. Yet, there’s something else.
Something that’s forbidden.
It creeps up on me whenever I hear Daniel’s rough voice; whenever I catch him watching Tyler and me. It’s like I’ve been caught cheating, which makes no sense at all. I don’t belong to Daniel, no matter how much that idea haunts my dreams.
He’s almost twenty and I’m only sixteen. And more importantly, he’s Tyler’s brother.
It’s all in my head. I tell myself over and over again that the electricity between us is something I’ve made up. That my body doesn’t burn for Daniel. That my soul doesn’t ache for him to rip me away and punish me for daring to let his brother touch me.
It’s only when Tyler says something to him, that Daniel turns to look at him, tossing something down beside us.
Tyler’s oblivious to everything happening. And suddenly, I can breathe again.
* * *
My eyelids flutter open, my body hot under the stifling blankets. I don’t react to the memory in my dreams anymore. Not at first. It sinks in slowly. The recognition of what that day would lead to getting heavier in my heart with each second that passes. Like a wave crashing on the shore, but it’s taking its time. Threatening as it approaches.
It was years ago, but the memory stays.
The feeling of betrayal, for fantasizing about Tyler’s older brother.
The heartache from knowing what happened only three weeks after that night.
The desire and desperation to go back to that point and beg Tyler to never come looking for me.
All of those needs stir into a deadly concoction in the pit of my stomach. It’s been years since I’ve been tormented by the memories of Tyler and what we had. And by the memories of Daniel and what never was.
Years have passed.
But it all comes back now that Daniel's back.
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Click here to keep reading Possessive!
About W Winters
Thank you so much for reading my romances. I’m just a stay at home mom and avid reader turned author and I couldn’t be happier.
I hope you love my books as much as I do!
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More by W Winters
www.willowwinterswrites.com/books/
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W Winters Reading Order
Sinful Obsessions Series:
It’s Our Secret - FREE!
Little Liar
Possessive
Merciless
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Standalone Novels:
Broken
Forget Me Not
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Sins and Secrets Duets:
Imperfect (Imperfect Duet book 1)
Unforgiven (Imperfect Duet book 2)
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Damaged (Damaged Duet book 1)
Scarred (Damaged Duet book 2)
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Happy reading and best wishes,
W Winters xx