Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Her body tenses further before she slowly starts to relax against me.
"That's it, principessa."
The potent fear in her scent does something to me—stirs a desire to possess and fuck that's as intoxicating as it is dangerous. I'm not that man. I shouldn't want to be that man with her…and yet, I want to be. I want to drive into her again and again until she feels only pleasure, until she remembers only ecstasy. I revel in the feeling, relishing in the shiver that courses through her body as she melts against me.
"You're safe with me." My voice is a low growl, foreign to my own ears.
She stares at me with wide eyes, her body trembling against me. I see the plea in them, the silent question: can she trust me?
I brush my hand over her arm, tracing a path up to her shoulder and then along the column of her throat. She stiffens at my touch but can't hide her soft little whimper.
There's an innocence about her that's almost magnetic. A purity that makes me ache. I've never wanted to taste heaven as much as I do right now.
"I won't hurt you, principessa." The promise feels foreign on my tongue, like a sweet lie meant to soothe her fears. Except, it's not a lie at all. Hell itself couldn't make me hurt this frightened little mouse.
She's mine.
Loud footsteps echo from down the hall.
Coda? One of Brio's men?
I don't have time to fuck around and find out.
I grab the syringe from my jacket pocket and press it against her neck, releasing the potent sedative into her veins before she can even struggle against me. It's not the way I'd choose to do this, but we're out of time.
I need to get her the fuck out of here before we get caught.
"I'm sorry, cara mia," I whisper in her ear as the drug begins to take effect. "But there's no time."
Her wary eyes flicker with betrayal before they flutter shut, her curvy body collapsing into my arms.
I scoop her up, hoping she'll forgive me one day.
I have a feeling it might be a cold day in hell before that happens, however. This frightened little mouse has teeth and isn't afraid to bite.
She curls into me with a sigh as I carry her across the room, and my fucking heart flutters, something stirring inside me. Something darker, deeper, and more dangerous than anything I've ever dealt with before.
Need.
If she is Rafe's sister, he's going to fucking kill me for what I'm about to do.
Chapter Two
Aurelia
Idrift toward the surface, fighting against the darkness clawing at the edges of my mind. It threatens to drag me back under, but I refuse to let it. An urgent need to stay awake beats at me, though I can't remember why it's so important. Everything is fuzzy and scrambled.
What happened?
I search the depths of my mind, trying to remember. All I manage to pull forward is a deep voice and steely gray eyes.
A delicious scent tickles my nose—rich and decadent. It's familiar, soothing and exciting at the same time.
It reminds me of…
I'm not going to hurt you, cara mia.
There was a man in my room. A strikingly beautiful, intimidating man with gray eyes and a possessive touch.
My heart pounds at the reminder, fear striking through me like a gong.
I lay completely still, trying to get a sense of my surroundings, but nothing feels familiar. I'm not in my pretty cage at Brio's, I know that much. I'm not in a room at all. The vibration of the road beneath me is too obvious. I'm in a vehicle, going…somewhere.
Where?
I frantically search my mind, trying to remember.
Why can't I remember?
"Rafe is going to lose his fucking mind, Mattia."
Mattia.
I know that name. He said it to me.
Memory floods in like the sea. The man in my room was Mattia Agostino, Rafe Valentino's consiglieri. My brothers came for me…exactly like Brio said they would.
"I'm aware," Mattia murmurs to his friend.
My heart stalls as his chest vibrates beneath my ear.
He's holding me.
Heat shoots through me like a rocket, even though it shouldn't. It's an instinctive, unwelcome reaction. I don't want to enjoy the thought of being in his arms. I don't want to enjoy the thought of this man at all.
But part of me does anyway.
Good job, Aurelia. Out of the pan and into the freaking fire.
I fight to keep my breathing steady and my body lax so he doesn't know that I'm awake and listening. He drugged me. He doesn't get to know that I'm listening to every word he and his friend say.
"It's the best plan we have, Coda."
Coda. The other man must be Coda Passero, one of Rafe's captains.
"It's a shit plan," Coda mutters. "When Rafe finds out, you'll pay with your life."
"If that's the price I pay to protect this family, then that's the price," Mattia says. "The judge will meet us at the house to do what needs to be done." His hand drifts over my arm. "But this conversation is over. She's awake."