“Isn’t it risky?”
“I pay them a lot.”
I pushed him away, slipped off the desk, and covered my face. I felt a strange shift within myself.
“What’s wrong?” His tone was low and different.
“I don’t know!” I wanted to shake right out of my own skin. “I sure as hell didn’t think I was being kidnaped by you, for starters.” I glared at him, and he glared right back.
“And?”
“Don’tandme.” I tossed a hand in the air. “That was terrifying.”
“It was for a reason.”
“I’m sure it was.” I put more distance between us, and I could tell he didn’t like it. “But right now, it’s like part of me is connected but the other half isn’t.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“Where to begin.”
“Name something, and we’ll start there.”
All right, he asked for it. Here it comes.
“There’s a part of me that is terrified of the person who looks back at me in the mirror. There’s a bigger part of me that likes it.” I stared at him and slowly walked backward to sink onto the leather bench. I crossed my legs and drew his gaze to my thighs. “I like that I’m manipulating those people, worming my way in, like certain others have done to you. I kind of feel like a cancer feeding on their blind spots and vulnerabilities.” I lowered my voice and laced it with a dark and seedy undertone. He loosened his tie and tossed it on a chair as he undid a few buttons. “I like that I have this secret that will eventually tear them down, stone by stone, leaving nothing but me on top.” I breathed, heavily turned on by my own words. I strained my neck to look up at him as he moved close to me. “But most of all, I’m excited to see Nonna Rosa’s face when she learns the truth that her dear little abandoned granddaughter is actually the mastermind behind their downfall.”
Elio’s eyes flared with excitement, and something strong passed through us.
“Don’t deny who you are, Sienna.” He traced his fingers down my jawbone. “You say you don’t belong in my world, but I think you just proved yourself wrong.”
I snagged his hand and slid his middle finger into my mouth, sucking lightly. He smirked, and his other hand brushed along my collarbone and dipped low across my breasts.
The fireplace flickered behind him, darkening the grooves in his face and showing me a darker side of Elio. In this very moment, it was exactly what I needed. To feel normal with this new me. I gently pulled his finger out from between my lips and slowly stood, dragging the length of my body up his.
“I killed someone the other day,” I whispered. “It was a test, and I didn’t think twice about it.” I licked his neck, wondering when he was going to take me. “Shot him right in the chest and carried on a conversation with Nonna Rosa while the life slowly drained from him.”
His fingers drew circles on my bare thighs, and I grew impatient. I wanted him to take this wound-up, claw-me-from-the-inside-out feeling out of me.
So, when he didn’t react, I played dirty, walking backward toward the wall.
“Salvo tried to kiss me.”
He chuckled and painfully, slowly drew his hands up under my dress circling my needy nub.
“Aww,bella,” he said quietly, almost eerie, “are you trying to get me angry?”
“He told me he liked me.”Come on, Elio, give in.“Told me he wanted to marry me.”
“And?” His lips hovered over mine in his dirty game of power. I ground my hips, seeking more from his hand.
“And I said I’d think about it.” I felt and heard my lace thong ripping. His fingers moved to break the seal and slowly teased my entrance. His other arm came up and leaned on the wall by my head. Our shadows, cast on the wall next to us, moved in unison.
Elio was broad and tall and had a way of carrying himself that oozed confidence and danger. It was something I’d felt when I was younger and clung to for safety. Now, as an adult, I felt it awaken every tiny part of me, and it made me feel alive and sexy.
“Good.” He licked my bottom lip.
“Good?” I tried to focus, but his skilled fingers were doing all the right things. He hummed as his teeth nicked my lip again. “All right. I’ll give in to him, then.”