by Julia Sykes
“I’ve got you,” he promised again.
I stared up into his beautiful eyes, imploring. “What’s happening? Why is he here?”
I recalled Marco telling me that he was taking me to Joseph. I wasn’t frightened of the man I loved, but I didn’t understand why he wasn’t shielding me from his terrifying friend. I didn’t understand why he wasn’t coming to my rescue and taking me back to my apartment at Harvard.
“He’s here to protect you, just like I am.”
Joseph’s words didn’t make any sense.
“He kidnapped me.” There was no way Marco was trying to protect me. He was my enemy, a threat. He certainly wasn’t a white knight, not like Joseph. Joseph had always kept me safe, defending me from crass college boys who wanted to touch me without my permission. He wouldn’t allow his scary friend to get away with abducting me.
“To keep you safe,” Joseph countered calmly, but his eyes tightened with anxiety. “I’m sorry, Ashlyn. This is my fault.” His arm firmed around me. “But I can’t leave you alone and at risk. I tried, and it didn’t work.”
My mind churned, struggling to piece together what he was saying. My heart had shattered the night he’d walked out of my life. Now, he was trying to tell me why, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
“What are you saying? Why did you leave me?” My voice was small, the familiar pain of his loss stabbing through my chest. He might be holding me, but that didn’t fully erase the torment he’d put me through when he’d left.
“I’m not… good for you.” He stumbled over the admission. “I don’t deserve you. I knew it from the beginning, so I tried to keep my distance. I saw you at the bar for weeks, but I didn’t let myself near you. Then, that asshole Stu touched you, and I couldn’t hold back. It was selfish of me.”
I remembered that night vividly. Joseph had always served me free drinks, and he’d lingered at the bar as he pressed the plastic cups into my hand, his eyes devouring me. I’d doubted the attraction since he hadn’t made a move, but then one night, a frat boy had grabbed me. Joseph pulled him off me and escorted me home. From that moment on, we’d been inseparable. The relationship had been short, but I’d never felt so connected to any man. I’d fallen for Joseph, hard and fast.
But then, he left. And I still didn’t understand why.
“What do you mean?” I pressed. “Why do you think you don’t deserve me? All you ever did was protect me and make me happy. I…” I stopped myself from confessing my feelings for him. We’d never gotten to the point of exchanging the words I love you. With the uncertainty that plagued me, I knew now wasn’t the time.
His lips pressed to a thin line, and his eyes dropped so he was no longer looking at me. He was shutting down, shutting me out.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded, frustrated. I was rarely so assertive with Joseph—he usually took the lead—but when he was trying to isolate himself from me, I couldn’t allow it. Especially when I needed to know what the hell was happening. He wasn’t really answering any of my questions.
“I don’t understand why you’re being such an angsty teenager, Joseph,” Marco said, his voice clipped with annoyance that mirrored my own. “If you won’t tell her, I will.”
Marco paused, giving him a moment to speak. Joseph swallowed hard and kept his gaze averted from mine. He still didn’t put an inch of space between us, as though he couldn’t stop touching me. I didn’t want him to. After a month of emptiness without him, I craved his nearness.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t want answers.
“Fine,” Marco sighed. His black eyes fixed on me, and I couldn’t look away. His expression was cool, detached. But there was something sharper in his eyes, a deeper emotion that I didn’t understand.
“We’re mafia, Ashlyn. Joseph and I are part of the Lombardi crime family. We were born into it. This is who we are.”
I shook my head, an absolute refusal to believe it. Joseph might have a bad boy sense of style and an intimidating physique, but he’d always treated me with tenderness. He was kind, good down to his core. He couldn’t be a criminal.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not. Tell her, Joseph.”
His aquamarine gaze lifted to mine, his eyes tight with anguish.
“Tell me he’s lying,” I begged, but I could read the truth in the taut lines of his face.
“It’s true.” The admission was little more than a whisper.
I pulled away from him, my stomach turning. Everything we’d shared—trust, love—began to crumble in my chest. He’d never told me much about himself; we’d always talked about me. Well, we’d talked when we weren’t tangled in the sheets, communicating our feelings with our bodies.
I put more distance between us, realizing I didn’t know the man beside me at all.
He didn’t reach for me. He dropped his arms at his sides, his hands clenching to fists. He wasn’t looking at me anymore.
“Jesus, Joseph, what happened to your balls?” Marco asked, exasperated. “This whole Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers thing is stupid. Get over yourself and explain what’s happening. You owe her that much.”
Joseph glowered at him. “You’re the one who kidnapped her. You explain.”
“You’re acting like a child,” Marco drawled. “But fine. If I have to be the bad guy, I’ll be the bad guy. You can keep pretending to be noble, but that’s bullshit, and you know it. You want to keep her. Admit it.”
“Keep me?” I demanded. “I’m a human being. Stop talking about me like I’m an object.”
Marco fixed me in his implacable stare again, and I froze. “I can see that you’re going to be just as dramatic about this as Joseph. Calm down and listen.”
It was a clear order, and there was a subtle threat behind it. And unspoken or else.
I didn’t want to find out what the or else was. I didn’t think Joseph would let him hurt me, but then again, I didn’t know Joseph at all.
“I took you because you’re in danger, Ashlyn,” Marco explained away his crime as though he’d done me a favor. “Joseph was hiding out in Cambridge for a few months. I found him, though. And he was lucky I did. His father has enemies, and they were looking for him, too. Even after I dragged him back home, they kept digging. They found out he’d been dating you while he was living there. If I hadn’t taken you out of there, they might have gotten to you first and used you as leverage against us.”
“This is insane.” I shook my head, struggling with everything he was telling me. Yesterday, I’d been a normal college student, pining for my first love. Now, I was involved with the mafia? It was crazy. Absolutely nuts.
“This is reality,” Marco said harshly. “You led a charmed life at Harvard, with your fancy apartment and your fancy education. But you need to start living in the real world, little girl.”
I skipped past indignation at being called little girl. I went straight to royally pissed off. The way he described my life made me sound like a cosseted child. He didn’t know me at all.
“Take me back,” I seethed. “If you are who you say you are, I don’t want to be anywhere near you. Take me back to school.”
“No.” It was an unequivocal refusal. “If I take you back, you could get hurt. I won’t do that to Joseph.”
“You won’t do that to Joseph? What about what you’re doing to me?” I folded my arms over my chest, imitating his hard stance. “Take me back.” I enunciated each word, righteous anger giving me the courage to stand up to him.
Suddenly, he moved toward me. He’d been intimidating while standing still as a granite statue. When he closed the distance between us, he prowled with lethal grace. My breath caught in my throat, and when he got into my personal space, I forgot how to breathe.
He leaned over me, bringing his arms up around me and resting his palms on the headboard behind me. His huge body caged me in, his powerful aura pinning me in place. His face was inches from mine, his black eyes swallowing me up.
My mouth went dry, and my hands began to tremble as the awful words rumbled from his chest.
“Back off, Marco,” Joseph growled. “You’re scaring her.”
Marco didn’t move away from me. “She should be scared. She needs to know what will happen to her if she tries to leave.” He was speaking to Joseph about me again, but I couldn’t muster up any anger over it this time. I was too frightened to be angry.
“You’re not going anywhere. Certainly not back to Harvard. You’re not going to leave this house until we say you can. Do you understand?”
I shook my head slightly, a weak denial of the horror I faced.
“Back. Off.” Joseph tried to come to my defense again, but Marco didn’t listen.
“You’re going to tell your family, friends, and professors that you’re taking some time off from school,” he informed me, his hard tone brooking no discussion over the matter. “You’re going to stay here with us. Do you understand?” he asked again, demanding only one answer.
I swallowed and nodded, knowing he wouldn’t accept anything else. He’d stay here, trapping me, until I agreed. Or maybe he’d do worse than getting in my personal space. Every word he spoke dripped dark authority, and I was too intimidated to continue defying him.
“Good girl.” He finally withdrew, and I heaved in a gasping breath.
My heart hammered in my chest as though I’d run a mile, and my hands shook. Fear was venom in my veins, coursing through my body with insidious intent. Tears stung at the corners of my eyes, and I tried to take deep breaths to stave them off. My chest seized, and drawing in air became difficult as my breaths came faster and faster. I was close to hyperventilating, panic setting in as Marco’s horrific words echoed in my mind.
Maybe they’ll pass you around until they get bored, and then they’ll kill you.
He had told me this was my new reality: remain his captive or face rape and death at the hands of their enemies.
I couldn’t process it. I was just a privileged, damaged girl from Georgia who had worked hard to earn her place at a prestigious university. My whole life had been about getting a good education and making my father proud. Then, Joseph came into my life, and my world shifted to revolve around him. I’d yearned to have him back, but now that I was with him again, everything was horribly wrong.
Mafia. Joseph is a mobster.
The concept could barely penetrate my consciousness. Not only was it abhorrent, but I’d been convinced that the man I loved was gentle and good, despite his fierce protective streak.
I blinked hard to clear the tears from my vision, searching for Joseph’s gaze. He was watching me, his jaw tight and his fists still clenched at his sides.
“I’m so sorry, angel,” he rasped.
I latched onto his contrition. “You don’t have to do this,” I pleaded. “You don’t want to hurt me. I know you don’t. Just take me back to school. I won’t tell anyone about this. I swear. Just let me go.”
His chin lifted, and his eyes blazed with a possessive light I’d seen before. In the past, it had made my toes curl. Now, the depth of his obsession made my stomach drop.
“I can’t do that. I won’t.”
“Finally, the truth,” Marco said, smugly satisfied.
“You can’t keep me here!” I railed. “I don’t want to be part of this. Just let me go back to my life.”
“Marco already explained that we can’t do that,” Joseph said, his resolve hardening to match his friend’s. “You’re staying right here. With me.”
He reached for me, but I shoved at his chest. “I don’t want to be with you,” I shouted, my tears falling faster as my heart broke all over again. I could taste the lie on my tongue, but my head knew better than my heart. It didn’t matter that my body still longed for his touch; Joseph was toxic, every bit as dangerous as Marco. I just hadn’t been able to see it before.
His expression darkened, his jaw ticking. He stopped hunching in shame, sitting up to his full, impressive height. This was the powerful man who’d made my mouth water and my panties damp. Even now, my sex heated in response to the sudden shift in his demeanor.
My helpless response made rage surge alongside panic. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand cracked across his face.
I instantly regretted it. Not only did my palm smart where it had connected with his sharp cheekbone, but his expression darkened further.
My animal brain kicked in my flight response, and I tried to scoot away from him.
I didn’t make it to my feet before he was on me. He easily caught my wrists as his body settled over mine. His weight pinned me down, his vastly superior strength keeping my hands trapped above my head.
My rage and fear left me on a defiant shriek, and I writhed beneath him. I felt his cock stiffen against my thigh, and my sex swelled and grew slick for him: an ingrained response.
I should have been terrified that he’d violate me, but that thought never registered. Deep down, I knew Joseph would never hurt me. He wasn’t capable of it, no matter what kind of violent lifestyle he led. Even now, he held me carefully, restraining me firmly without causing me pain.
But I couldn’t stop fighting. He’d denied my instinct for flight, and fight was all I had left.
I turned my head and sank my teeth into his forearm. He cursed and jerked his arm away, but he didn’t back off. Keeping his hold on my wrists, his free hand settled over the front of my throat, his long fingers wrapping around my neck. He didn’t apply any pressure, but the act of dominance shocked me into silence. My screams stopped abruptly, and I went still beneath him.
He stared down at me, a dark satisfaction in his eyes that I’d seen before but never fully understood. He liked overpowering me. I’d thought it was a kinky game when we’d engaged in this kind of play.
But Joseph wasn’t playing. He was demonstrating his absolute power over me, showing me that there was no point in fighting him. He would always win, and he would enjoy subjugating me.
My lower lip quivered, and Joseph leaned in to press a gentle kiss against it.
“Don’t cry, angel,” he cooed. “I’ll keep you safe.”
His calloused fingertips stroked the column of my neck, lighting up my sensitive nerve endings. I bit back a moan as memories of ecstasy at his touch assailed me. My body was conditioned to respond to him. Or maybe I’d been this powerless against him from the very beginning.
I certainly felt powerless now; conquered and completely overwhelmed.
He brushed his soft lips over my cheeks, kissing away my tears.
His hand was still around my throat. He was still pinning my wrists above my head. And his cock was still hard against my hip.
“Are you finished with your little tantrum, then?” Marco’s drawl penetrated the intense connection between Joseph and me. I was almost grateful for his diminutive words. At least they freed me from the power Joseph held over me.
Heat creeped up my neck, and I turned my face away from Joseph’s kisses. Embarrassment flooded my system. Marco was watching us, observing us. His keen black eyes studied me, and I got the sense that he could read every nuance of my emotions.
“Please,” I begged Joseph. “Get off me.” I couldn’t bear his touch for one more second, especially not with Marco watching.
He didn’t comply right away.
“Are you going to continue acting like a brat?” Marco asked me. “If you’re ready to behave, Joseph can let you up.”
My cheeks burned. I didn’t want to agree to behave. It was tantamount to admitting that I’d been acting like a naughty child. I didn’t understand how Joseph could allow Marco to talk to me this way.
But Joseph wasn’t letting me up. He was waiting for my response. Again, I knew there was only one answer they would accept.
“Okay,” I managed o
n a whisper. “I’ll…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words I’ll behave. “I won’t try to fight you.”
Marco’s hard lips twitched with amusement, and my embarrassment burned into indignation.
Still, when Joseph finally released me, I didn’t try to run. There was no point. Marco stood between me and the door, and Joseph had just proven how easily he could catch me and trap me.
With as much dignity as I could muster, I sat upright and smoothed my hands over my hair, straightening the places where it had become mussed during my struggles. When I felt somewhat more collected, I took a breath and faced Marco head-on, spearing him with a defiant glare.
A wide, wicked grin spread out on his face, the first true smile I’d ever seen him wear.
It was even more intimidating than his cold stare, and I wouldn’t have thought that possible.
Chapter Four
Ashlyn
“Here.” Marco handed me a notebook and a pen.
“What’s this for?” I still sat on the bed, but I’d scooted as far away from Joseph as I could manage. Marco remained standing, and that unnerved me even more than Joseph’s nearness.
“You’re going to write some emails,” Marco told me.
I blinked at him, nonplussed. “Emails. With a pen and paper.”
He nodded. “You write them, I’ll type and send them. If you think we’re letting you anywhere near a laptop, you’re mistaken.”
“What am I supposed to write?” I was pretty sure Help! I’ve been kidnapped by mobsters! wasn’t going to be an acceptable message. Just the fact that this was my new reality had barely begun to sink in. If it weren’t for Marco’s intimidating presence, I might have giggled at the absurdity of it all.
But there was nothing funny about Marco’s dark stare.
“I want three emails,” he said, ticking each off his fingers as he spoke. “One to your family, one to your roommate, and one for your professors. You’ll explain that you’re going through a hard time—I’m sure they’ve all seen what a mess you’ve been after losing Joseph—and you’ll say—”