Talia let out a low exhale and her shoulders squared, as if she was getting ready for a battle. A battle she already lost.
“I can pay you. Money, that’s what you need, right? I have money.”
I clucked my tongue, a merciless taunt to her words. Talia wasn’t a smart girl. If she were, she wouldn’t have walked into my territory, looking for a man like me to help her. Or… maybe she was just that desperate. A desperate maiden, falling right into the arms of the villain. What a lovely, fucked-up fairy tale.
“You can’t afford me.”
She seemed taken aback by my words. “What?”
I ducked my head to her level, leaning closer to her face. The top of her head barely came up to my shoulders. Her small frame trembled when I spoke, my voice low and provocative. “Do you know how much I’m offered for one job? Millions, Little One.”
“Millions?” she stuttered, sounding almost indignant.
“How much are you worth?” I enjoyed mocking her, reminding her that she was at my mercy. I enjoyed watching the fear flashing in her brown irises. I fucking loved the way she was vulnerable and open for me… to take, to tease… to taunt.
“Not millions…” Talia muttered, regretfully.
“Then, you’re worth nothing to me.” Her eyes watered as she flinched at my sharp, cold words.
“But… but, I will do anything. I’m sure there’s something I can offer you,” she rushed to say. “I can offer you… I mean, my sister’s got money. I could ask her and find a way to get the money.”
Chuckling, I rubbed my calloused thumb over her full lips, smearing her red lipstick. “You have no idea who and what you’re messing with. You don’t know the outcome of this. Too young, too innocent to understand my world. Yet… here you are, trying to bargain with me.”
Talia let out a choked sob, desperation masking her pale face. I was a sick, sick fucking monster. My cock grew harder at the sound of her soft cry.
“Go,” I said. “Run back to where you’ve come from and hide before you make a very, very bad decision.”
Her hand came up and she circled my wrist with her small fingers. “No,” Talia uttered, her voice coming out shaky despite trying to sound confident, in control.
“No?” I taunted. Blood pulsated through my thick, heavy length and I throbbed at her small defiance.
Her eyes pleaded to me. “I know what I’m doing. And I know what I want. Please, I’ll give you anything you want. Money… I’ll find a way… but if it’s not enough… Just name your price… I’ll give you anything. Please, please.”
Desperation clung to her words and I knew… she'd do anything, like she vowed.
“Anything?” My chest rumbled with a low growl at the possibilities. Careful, Little One.
Talia nodded. “Whatever you want,” she rushed to say, almost breathless. Realization at what she just said, what she just offered, dawned in her pretty eyes and she then snapped her lips shut.
I pushed closer, bringing our bodies together. Touching. My hands curled around her hips, my fingers digging into her flesh. Her lips parted with a silent gasp and her cheeks flushed. I pressed my thigh between her legs, forcing them apart.
Talia looked completely scandalized. She blinked; her surprise evident in her expression, but fear quickly masked it. She made a panicky sound at the back of her throat and her eyes widened, in both terror and… a ghostly curiosity.
From her reaction alone it seemed she was quite a sheltered princess. Her pussy was most likely untouched. Pure and ripe for taking. Fuck, I’d guess she probably never even had a man this close to her. But her need for vengeance brought her to me. Away from her safety net, away from her home… and all the way to me.
Young and forbidden…
“What if you can’t give me what I want?” I brought my face to the crook of her neck and I inhaled. Goddamn it, she smelled sweet. Sweet like fucking candy. I’d bet her cunt tasted like it too.
“What do you want?” she breathed. Hmph. Brave and stupid. But how far was she willing to go?
My hands slid up, my fingers brushing over her flat stomach and her rib cage. Her chest rattled with a harsh breath as my palm came up to her breast and I cupped the heavy weight in my hand. She wasn’t a big girl, her tits a size too small for my preference but fuck it, she felt good. Soft and full.
Talia gasped, turning into a frozen statue in my arms. She looked paralyzed in the moment, her lips parted, her eyes wide, her face pale. Her heart pounded, almost erratically. I gave her tit a soft, but firm squeeze, watching for her reaction. Her eyes grew darker and her face flushed a deep red. My thumb circled her stiff nipple and she bit down on her lower lip, her body quaking.
I lowered my head, my lips brushing against hers. Barely a touch. Barely a kiss. Her knees threatened to buckle and she grasped onto my forearms, her nails digging into my skin.
I waited for her to push me away, to run away, to scream. She did nothing but stayed pliant and submissive in my arms.
How desperate was she? How… much was she willing to give me?
My teeth grazed her wet lips and I gave her a sharp nip. “I want to bend you over, slide right into your virgin pussy and hear you moan my name as I fuck you… then watch you bleed on my cock.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Talia
For a moment I was sure I hadn’t heard him right.
But the way his eyes undressed me and he pressed into me, there really was no doubt about the reality of his words.
Shaking out of my shock, I gave a sharp shake of my head. “No. Never.”
He brought his face even closer, smelling my throat. “So, it’s true, you’re a virgin?”
My pulse throbbed fiercely in my veins and I wondered if he could see it, if my fear turned him on. Probably. After what I’d witnessed in the cage, his depravity shouldn’t surprise me anymore. “Of course. That’s how I’ve been brought up.” I pressed my lips together, shocked by what I’d almost revealed. If he found out who I was, everything was over.
“So fucking innocent,” he murmured, his tongue darting out to lick over my pulse point. Slowly he raised his head and the eager look in his dark eyes thrilled me in a terrifying way. “Your virginity for a life taken, that’s what I want.”
I brought my palms up against his chest, wanting to shove him away, needing to, but he didn’t budge. The mocking gleam in his eyes intensified and his smile turned darker. The muscles in his chest flexed against my hands, and a small shiver shot through my body. Despite my terror, I narrowed my eyes at him. “You can have everything, but not that.”
He stepped back with a cruel twist of his mouth. “You don’t have anything else I want, Little One. Either you bend over and offer me your pussy or nothing at all. Unless you have a few million bucks to spare?”
I stared at him. Maybe my sister could give me a few thousand dollars, maybe even more. After all, her husband earned plenty of money as Enforcer. And my cousin as Capo of the Famiglia was one of the richest men in the States. Of course, talking to Killer was already a betrayal.
“I don’t have that much money, but I could try to pay it off in rates?” I realized how stupid that sounded. How long would it take to pay off millions of dollars?
He laughed cruelly, his eyes sliding over my body. “I’m not a fucking bank. I want my money all at once and before the job. I’d say you’re a lucky one. It’s more than anyone else ever got. I can have all the cunts I want. That I offer you my services for a simple fuck is a bargain.”
“I’m not a whore,” I said with forced bravado.
“Then you’ll have to find someone else to kill for you. I don’t hand out freebies.”
I swallowed. He turned. I grabbed his arm. He looked down at my thin fingers around his muscular forearm then up at my face. “Wait. Please. Help me.”
His expression turned mocking. “I made you an offer. Take it or leave it.”
“I can’t. You don’t understand.”
He shook his he
ad then shocked me by grasping me and pulling me brutally against him, his mouth pressing against my ear. “I don’t want to understand. I don’t give a fuck. You can either give me what I want and get your biggest wish or you don’t. I won’t be waiting on you forever. Decide now what you want.”
Part of him wanted me more than he wanted to admit and the knowledge gave me a surprising sense of power. “Who said it’s my biggest wish?”
“If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have asked for a man like me. You crave revenge. You crave it more than anything else.”
I looked away from his penetrating stare. He was right. I wanted Pasquale dead. Even after all the years, I still remembered how he’d dragged me through his house, how he’d thrown me to the ground at his feet and spat down on me, calling me a traitor, when it had been my father and not me who had betrayed his oath. Remembered how he’d told me what he’d do to me, how he’d brutally fuck me once he got the okay from his Capo. I had been fifteen and if Growl hadn’t saved me, I probably would be dead by now.
I wanted revenge. I needed it.
But sleeping with Killer would ruin me in my world. Maybe the Bratva followed different rules, but the Italian mafia was still ruled by old-fashioned traditions, and that included that girls needed to lose their innocence on their wedding night. If I gave Killer what he wanted, I’d be shunned once I returned to New York. Unless I managed to hide the truth. I wouldn’t be the first woman who faked her virginity on her wedding night to appease the traditionalists.
Killer watched me with a dark smile as if he could feel my resolve slipping. My eyes took in his tall frame, his scarred hands, the harshness of his expression. I was terrified of him. He didn’t strike me as a man who was gentle in bed.
He’d said it himself. He wanted me bent over so he could take me from behind like an animal. That wasn’t how I wanted my first time to go. I shook my head and backed away. “No. I can’t.”
“Scared?”
Yes. He scared me senseless.
“Then run, Little One.” This wasn’t an endearment. He was taunting me with the pet name. “Run.”
And I did. Again, I ran from him, from his offer. But I couldn’t run from the part of me that wanted to consider it.
CHAPTER SIX
Killer
Talia didn’t realize that every time she ran away, she was driving me insane with lust. It was my instinct to chase her, to hunt after my prey. This was basically foreplay before the fucking.
Run, Little One. She could run, but she couldn’t hide from me.
Talia tempted the monster inside of me.
A few days ago, she ran away from me. I’d say it was shocking, since I truly thought she was desperate. And she was. But not desperate enough to bargain her virginity to a savage beast.
I told myself to slow down, to give her time to think about my offer. After all, I was the only man who could help her. Talia would have to crawl back to me… I was her only option.
For two days, I watched her. From afar and in the shadows. Stalking her like a hunter would stalk its prey. Sometimes, I’d make my presence known. Just to annoy her. To watch her eyes widen in fear. She’d bite her lip, nervous and wary of me.
Like today. Day three and Talia was still just as overwhelmed by my presence as the day she had watched me fight in the cage.
I sat alone in the corner of the bar, watching her. Talia worked silently behind the bar, but I didn’t fail to notice the way she sneaked glances at me. She tried to act like I wasn’t here, like I didn’t matter… but her nervousness was palpable.
Talia struggled with her principles and beliefs. She needed me, but she couldn’t have me. She needed me, but she was… scared of the outcome.
So, I didn’t approach her. A skilled hunter is always patient.
“Killer.” A breathy voice forced me to look away from Talia and I focused on the woman who had succeeded in forcing herself into my personal space. Candy – a Kazan’s whore – placed her hand on my shoulder. Just like I belonged to the cage, she belonged to the Kazan. Passed around between the champions. She was fifteen when she first stepped foot into the bar and begged for our protection. And so, we gave it to her.
Some people – the decent, lawful people – would call us evil for taking ‘advantage’ of Candy.
Some would say it was immoral. Many would belittle Candy for her choices. But fuck it, she was safe, fed, protected, happy… and well-fucked.
“You haven’t visited me in a while,” she said, her voice husky.
I grunted. “Busy.”
Candy let out a small laugh and placed herself on my lap. She tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear and licked her red lips. Tempting, very tempting. “Too busy to visit your favorite? Don’t lie, Killer.”
She pushed her ass against my crotch, grinding a little. “C’mon. Don’t sit here like a loner. Let’s go to my room.”
Candy leaned forward and her lips met mine. I spared Talia a quick glance as Candy kissed me and our eyes locked. Her brown eyes flared with something unreadable and even with the distance between us, there was no mistaking the flush in her cheeks.
Hmm.
Candy let out a low whine as I pulled away from the kiss. I turned her around in my lap, so she was facing Talia, with her back against my chest. She straddled me that way and I spread my thighs, forcing her legs open. Candy was wearing a mini-dress that barely covered her ass. I pushed the hem up around her waist, keeping my eyes on my prey – Talia.
Her shocked expression was quickly replaced by a look of disgust as I shoved my hand into Candy’s panties, rubbing her pussy in an obvious manner that couldn’t be mistaken.
My lips twitched with a smirk as Talia looked completely affronted by the act of me bringing Candy to an orgasm in front of her, right in the open for anyone to watch.
Talia couldn’t seem to look away from my eyes. She was completely ensnared as I silently pushed my message across. I don’t need you. I got all the pussies I want. YOU need ME.
She seemed to understand my unsaid words. Talia squinted at me, nudged her chin high and stalked away.
I hadn’t expected her to be so… stubborn.
She was firm on her principles and beliefs. After all, I was forbidden to her. Talia was disgusted, frightened, overwhelmed… but there was a hint of something else. Surprise and curiosity. She could be as rigid as she wanted, but I had caught her reaction in the staff room three days ago. It was slight and if I hadn’t been paying careful attention, I wouldn’t have noticed it. It wasn’t exactly lust… but she didn’t hate my touch as much as she wanted to.
Candy came on my hand, her choked moan bringing my attention back to her. She looked back at me; her eyes hazy. “Let’s go to my room.”
“I have unfinished business.” I nodded toward the man staring at us with avid hunger. “You can satisfy Pike’s needs tonight. He won last night’s fight.”
Candy glanced at Pike and grinned, her smile seductive and inviting. “Of course. He deserves some extra love.”
She got off my lap and Pike lunged forward, curling his arm around her hips in a possessive manner and practically lifting Candy off her feet as he stalked away.
I downed the rest of my whiskey and in the same moment, Talia walked out of the staff room, dressed in her coat. Her night shift had ended. I chuckled as she kept her head down and practically sprinted toward the exit.
I pushed away from the table and followed her.
Talia didn’t notice me. I kept a distance between us, blending into the night as we made our way to her apartment. She didn’t know that I knew where she lived. She didn’t know that I had been inside her apartment.
Talia didn’t know a lot of things.
The walk was about twenty minutes to her apartment. We were halfway when something else caught my attention. Talia and I weren’t alone. Someone else was following… her.
I paused. I crouched low, hiding in the darkness. I waited.
My instincts kic
ked in as he grew closer to her, but I… waited.
He grabbed her. She screamed. My blood roared between my ears. Fury pumped through my veins. I. Waited.
She struggled, her tiny fists beating at the man who dared grab her. Talia screamed again, his hand muffling the sound as he dragged her into a dark alley.
Tick. Tock.
I counted the seconds in my head.
One. I moved away from the shadows.
Two. I stalked forward.
Three. Four. Five.
I stood at the entrance of the alley.
Six. I found the man on top of Talia. He had ripped away her coat and her shirt was in shreds.
Seven. She was crying, struggling, fighting.
Eight. A growl rumbled from my chest.
Nine. His head snapped up and he finally noticed me.
Ten. Talia’s tearful, frightened gaze met mine. There was instant relief in her brown eyes at the sight of me.
I lunged forward and grabbed the man by his throat, throwing him off her. Talia let out a small frightened sound and curled into herself.
My fist made contact with his face, without any mercy. Bones crunched. He screamed and clawed at the filthy ground, trying to get away from me. I punched him again. And again and again. The sound of mangled bones and wet flesh filled my ears until he was unrecognizable. He was barely breathing, his face bleeding, swollen and broken.
My hand wrapped around his fragile neck. My fingers dug deep until I broke through his skin and practically ripped open his throat with my bare hands.
He bled and bled until his chest stopped moving and my job was done.
Turning around, I faced Talia. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks tearstained and she swallowed back a cry.
I took a step toward her and she flinched. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I spoke gently, to soothe her.
She was completely shaken. Talia looked so vulnerable in that moment. My chest… tightened. A fathom of an ache.
Tales of Darkness & Sin: An Anthology Page 24