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“Tell me who hit you?” He growls.
Casey shivered but lifted her chin defiantly. “Who do you think?”
“Don’t give me that shit, Casey,” he snarled, rage vibrating thickly in his voice. He took hold of her chin and impatiently brushed the hair back from her face so he could see the marks
better. “Did Ignacio do this to you?”
“Of course it was my husband. Do you really think he would allow anyone else to do this without permission?” she confirmed jerking her chin, but he refused to release his hold on her
face. He smoothed a finger across the graze on her cheek, his touch gentle despite his seething anger.
“Why the fuck would he hit you, especially knowing I would see you tonight?” Reyes asked incredulously. “Does he have a death wish?”
She stared at him, at the threat of violence glittering fiercely in his eyes. All for her, all over the momentary pain Ignacio had caused her. She sighed and brought her hand up, closing it over his and forcing his hand away from her chin. Her bracelet slid along her arm as she moved, a reminder of the ownership another man had over her.
“Why do you think he hit me? I told him I didn’t want to see you again,” she admitted.
She could feel the heat of his fury rise further and flinched back, pressing against the railing of the balcony. She expected him to have the same reaction as Ignacio. To attack her for not wanting to see him. Instead, he slowly reached out so she could see what he was doing and pulled her away from the railing. She shivered as the cool evening air washed over her bare arms and shoulders.
He gently brushed her hair back from her face once more and touched the bruise with the back of his fingers. “He hit you because you were reluctant to see me again.”
She nodded miserably and stood stiffly in his hold. He cupped the back of her head, holding her still and leaned forward to touch his lips against hers. Her lips parted in surprise at the feathery light touch of his mouth to hers. He took advantage by licking the cut on her bottom lip where she’d bitten herself. She jerked back, but he held her immobile with one hand at the
back of her head and another around her waist. He brushed his lips back and forth across hers, with gentle purpose.
Heat sizzled through her veins with the force of a lightning strike. She tried to concentrate on not passing out as every nerve ending in her body lit up with pleasure from the soothing touch of his lips against hers and the firm hand wrapped around her, forcing her to hold still while he overwhelmed her senses. Her legs wobbled on her heels, and she probably would have collapsed if he hadn’t been holding her up.
Finally, he pulled back from the most perfect kiss she’d ever had, his mouth only a few inches from hers when he spoke. “I was already planning to kill your husband, cariño. Now that I
know he’s put hands on you, I will make it so much fucking worse. He’ll beg me for death long before I let that miserable fuck go to hell.
”Casey’s eyes widened in shock, and she opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, he interrupted her, his hands falling to her waist in a tight hold. “I know what you will say, and I want you to think, Casey. Think hard about who your husband is, what he’s done to you and what you want.”
She shook her head, her hair swinging. She pushed against his chest, but he wouldn’t let her go. She dug her nails into his chest over his shirt, trying to hurt him, to force him to release
her. His hold was unbreakable. “Stop it, Casey. Hold still and listen to me.”
She whimpered and shook her head.
He shook her until her head came up and they were staring at each other, her eyes wide and fearful, his snapping with fierce energy and anger.
“He’s fucking handed you over to me to use however I want. He gave you to me bruised and...” he grabbed her hand and lifted it, her wedding rings glinting in the faint evening light, “wearing his fucking rings. Why? So I could fuck his wife, knowing I was taking a woman I want but can’t keep? He’s a disgusting, degenerate fuck and you know it. He deserves worse than the death I’m going to deal him.”
Continue reading The Ultimate Dark Mafia Romance Bundle if you like:
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What readers are saying:
"Loved the characters and the sex and the storyline was fierce! Tyson and Claudia were great! Lots of action too!"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ~Suzy
"Nice different story line from other mafia books, can’t wait to read more book in this series, thank you Nikita" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ~S. Rogers
"Solomon and riley! This was so freaking cute! I swear.. this author is one of the queens when it comes to mafia romance stories." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ~Jane
~QUEEN'S MOVE~
“Vee!” Sotza snarled, finally losing his cool. “Answer me, right now. Tell me you’re alive.”
“I’m here,” she yelled through her tears. “He shot my a—”
“Touch Desi one more time,” Nico interrupted, “and the next bullet goes through her skull.”
“You have five minutes to bring my wife to the house,” Sotza snapped and hung up.
He was still at the house, Vee thought as dizziness swept through her. Nico crouched in front of her, took her wrap where it was already torn, and ripped a strip off. He shoved Vee’s hand away from her bleeding arm and wrapped the strip of fabric around the wound.
Nico got to his feet and followed her, his gun trained on her head. She wanted to say something, to try reasoning with him, but she knew it was pointless. He was past the point of reason. He moved the safety back and began pulling the trigger. Vee kept her eyes open, watched as death sped toward her.
“You would risk your woman’s life like that?” Sotza said, his voice as dispassionate as Vee had ever heard it. He was not the loving husband she’d spent two days getting to know. He was the boss now. The Butcher at work.
Nico’s finger eased back, though he kept the gun on Vee. “Desi is alive?” he demanded.
“For now,” Sotza replied coolly.
“You will give her back… and any of my other people that you have?” Nico asked, no hint of the desperation that Vee could see in every line of his body.
“Once Vee is released into my care we will talk.”
“Not good enough,” Nico snarled. “You could kill them.”
“There is only your woman left. The others are dead,” Sotza said, his voice so disembodied, so cold, that Vee shivered, even though she knew they were on the same side.
“You killed four men?” Nico said incredulously.
“Five,” Sotza corrected. “John would make six, but I’m saving him for later.”
Vee could tell from Nico’s complexion that he was now alone. There were no people left to help him fight. Sotza had hunted them and cut them down. All except the bodyguard that had turned on them. He would find his justice later.
Nico stared back at Sotza, clearly seething, wanting to respond in kind with his own threats. But his eyes strayed to Desi, the damage done by his decision to attack Sotza.
“This is between you and me, Sotza. She has nothing more to do with this anymore.”
“You attacked my wife,” Sotza replied, ice dripping from his words. He stepped in front of Vee, shielding her with his body, showing the other man that she was now protected. “You laid hands on her, you shot her. There will be no pardon… for either of you.”
The door finally slammed shut behind Nico and Desi. Silence fell over the room, broken only by Vee’s ragged breathing. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground.
Sotza caught her before she hit the floor. He lifted her effortlessly into his arms and carried her into the kitchen. Placing her gently on the counter, he examined her bleeding arm with clinical precision.
“You’ve lost a fair amount of blood,” he muttered, unwrapping the makeshift bandage Nico had tied around her wound. “I’ll clean this, stitch it, and rewrap it. Afterward, we leave. The house is compromised.”
“Sotza,” Vee whispered, her voice shaky, “thank you.”
He didn’t respond immediately, his jaw clenching as he worked. Finally, he said in a low, steely voice, “This is not over, Vee. But you are mine to protect. Always.”
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