My legs were weak, my entire body electrified. With every step I took, I felt the remnants of my orgasm pooled between my legs. It was surreal, the way Antonio managed to own me so easily. One touch. One kiss. One breath. That was all it took for him to enrapture me, to make me want to surrender. I didn’t care that we were in public. I didn’t care who watched. All I cared about was feeling him, letting him do with me what he wanted. The more he touched me, the more he pushed my body over the edge, the more I craved it. Craved him. I was like a little girl, and he was the candy I could never get enough of. All these years, I hated every man’s touch, repulsed by the way their skin felt on mine. Locked in a cage or prison cell at night, I would fear the next time hands and mouths and teeth would bite into my flesh. Even now, just the thought of another man coming near me made my skin crawl. But not him. Not Antonio. In fact, I wanted to feel his touch every minute of every day.
“I still can’t believe how much my brother has changed since he found you.” Karina pushed the door open, and we walked into the ladies’ room. “But it’s weird, though. He’s changed, but he’s still him.” She frowned. “Does that make sense?”
I just smiled, my head fogged from the pleasure that still lingered throughout my body.
Karina narrowed her eyes and stared at me. “You look flushed.”
“Oh…um—”
She let out a laugh. “Oh, my God. Your face just went from pink to bright red.”
I placed my hand on my cheek, the warm skin burning against my palm.
Karina turned and placed her purse on the marble countertop, and I looked around. Above every black sink was an individual oval mirror decorated with black steel forming swirls and circles. The floor was black and white checkered tiles, bright silver steel lights hanging from the ceiling.
“I have to admit it’s awesome to have the bathroom to ourselves. One perk of having an overprotective brother with enough money to spend, and a girl to protect.” She winked at me in the mirror then applied more mascara, one eye closed to focus. “Are you at least having fun?”
I nodded. “I am. It’s strange, though,” I let my fingertip brush against the cold marble, “being this free. Being out in the world without…” My voice trailed off.
Karina stilled, watching my reflection in the mirror. “Without?”
I bit my bottom lip, hating the memory. “Without a collar and a chain.”
“Jesus.” She threw the mascara back in her purse and turned to face me. “I won’t pretend to know what you’ve been through. And frankly, I don’t want to know. Your whole story, Doe, it’s not a story I ever want to know.” Her dark eyes softened, saddened. “But what I do know is that you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. If your past is half as bad as I imagine it was, the fact that you survived it tells me exactly how strong you are.”
I swallowed hard, tears starting to sting my eyes. “I’m not strong, Karina.”
“You are.”
“It wasn’t strength that kept me alive.” I fixed my gaze on hers. “It was my fear of dying.”
Two short sentences that carried an ocean of truth. Everyone mistook my survival for strength, but it was fear. “I knew what kind of hell I was in. I didn’t know what hell awaited me on the other side.”
Karina leaned against the countertop. “Rather the devil you know than the devil you don’t?”
“Something like that.” I nervously scratched at my cuticles then gently touched my necklace, somehow thankful for the tiny sliver of safety.
“Okay,” Karina straightened, “enough of the heavy. Let’s go out there and enjoy the rest of the time we have here tonight. Knowing my brother, he’s already itching to take you home.” She winked then took my hand. We turned, only to stare straight at a man standing by the door. For a second, there was utter silence, and it was just the beat of my heart echoing in my ears. Then the click of the lock sounded around us, and my spine turned to ice.
“Who are you?” Karina slowly urged me behind her. “Unlock that door, now.”
The man wore black pants and a white dress shirt. I recognized him. He was the waiter with the friendly smile who had been walking around with drinks all night.
With light brown hair and green eyes, he leaned his head to the side as he studied us, as if he was calculating exactly how big of a threat the two of us could pose to him. Immediately, I could see the cruel intent in his eyes. It was a look I had seen so many times before in my life. A look that never meant anything good.
“Listen, asshole,” Karina started, “you better open that fucking door right now, or you’ll end up with your balls in your brain.”
“Relax, bitch. I’m not here for you.” He sneered her way before looking at me. “I’m here for you…Nessuno.”
Bile made its way up my throat the second I heard that name. Barbed wire tightened around my stomach like a vise, and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to vomit or scream. Ice spread through my lungs, and all I could think was that he had finally come for me. Master V had finally made a move. How I knew, I wasn’t sure. Call it a basic instinct for a woman like me. I just knew.
Karina pushed me behind her even more. “You stay away from her,” she warned. All I could do was stand there. Cemented to the spot. Unable to fucking move.
The man launched forward and grabbed Karina by her face, a knife pushed against her throat. My back hit the countertop, but I didn’t make a sound while I watched the man push Karina against the wall. “I would suggest you stay out of this, Valenti bitch. It would be a shame for this pretty little face to get skinned off.”
“Please don’t,” I heard myself say. “Don’t hurt her.”
Green snake eyes peered my way, and I held my breath. “He said to bring you to him alive. But he said nothing about this little beauty.” With his eyes on mine, he pressed the knife harder against Karina’s skin. My heart was beating so loud, I could hardly hear the music coming from the club. The black and white checkered tiles were starting to make my head spin, adrenaline and fear tearing my mind in two.