Vengeance: DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

Fifteen

Natalia

My whole body aches as I stand in the bathroom, wiping off my back with a towel. My skin's practically steaming. He's made it clear that I can stop this with a single piece of information, but my hard nipples and flushed cheeks make it clear my body doesn't want me to cave. Something like hope is starting to stir inside me, despite the circumstances. Maybe I'm not broken after all.

"Hurry up," he calls in that deep voice of his, made even more velvety with desire and satisfaction. I return to the bedroom, giving him an eyeful of my body as I climb back onto the bed. My wiles work, and impatience overcomes his desire to tease me. He grabs me and throws me on my back on the soft covers, pressing his bulge between my legs and pinning my arms with his hands. Breathing roughly into my ear, he grinds against me, tearing sounds of pleasure from my mouth which he blocks with a kiss. He tugs on my panties, pulling them tight against my clit, the friction sending sparks of pleasure through me.

Forgetting myself, I bite at his well-muscled shoulder and I feel his cock immediately hardening again as he makes a choked sound. His hand finds my neck again, pinning me gently but firmly, rocking against me.

Suddenly, I open my eyes. The ceiling above my head isn't the smooth white of Savio's bedroom, but an industrial loft covered in copper pipes. My body can't feel anything, arms lying limp by my sides. The only thing I'm aware of is a faint rocking back and forth as the man on top of me rams me again and again. This is my world. I have no escape, I have no hope. Laughing, the man on top of me grabs my throat in both hands, squeezing. I'm punching him with all my strength, thrashing with the panic of survival instincts, but he's so much stronger than me. The world around me is slowly fading. He's going to kill me and fuck my corpse and that will be the end of Natalia Fiore.

When I come to my senses, Savio is standing naked at the foot of the bed, staring at me in shock. A fresh black eye is already darkening his cheek. I can see several other red marks on his chest. I'm curled on the bed, using my arms to cover myself. Shuddering, gasping in fresh, clean air, I look around in confusion. "What happened?"

He gestures to his face. I'm surprised to see not a trace of anger in his expression. "You panicked. I'm pretty sure you didn't want to continue." I marvel at his control. He has me completely trapped, a slave to his every whim, but he immediately backed off when my mind left my body. He hands me my clothes and I pull them on, still struggling to distinguish dream from reality. This happened once before, with a guy in college. The last time I had sex with anyone but myself, in fact. I blacked out and practically assaulted him, screaming for him to leave me alone. The therapist I could only afford for one session called it PTSD. The act of sex instantly puts me back in my uncle's power, specifically the time he was too drunk and nearly killed me.

Dying with embarrassment, I hurry to leave the room, but Savio is standing against the door with his arms crossed. For the first time, I notice a massive, white scar traced across his chest, forming a shattered pattern over his heart. At the center, the scar tissue is raised, ropey and thick. I want to touch it, but his voice snaps me back to the present. "Are you going to explain why you just punched me?"

"No." It's my hell, I don't share. Especially not with another mob boss like the one who ruined my life. His brows furrow. "I'm asking you again. Who mugged you last night?"

I force himself to look straight into his eyes, forgetting the shame. "Look, I'll do whatever I can for you. I'll even start sleeping in bed with you. And I won't run away again. But I'm not talking about this."

He moves aside, opening the door. "You're going to tell me, Natalia. I'll give you a few days to decide when and how, but this isn't optional." For a second, as I walk past him, I want to stop and lean into him, letting his gorgeous scent surround me. I want the Savio who said he'd protect me, no matter what. I want to ask for another round in bed, promising I'll keep my head. I'm storming away from him when in reality I want to thank him for his thoughtfulness and control. I expected a lot of things when I chose to come back here, but this wasn't one of them. I don't know what to think. Instead, I silently pass him and head down the hall, grabbing my book and sitting in a chair in the backyard, ignoring the chill in the air.