Page 44 of De Luca: The Sinister Game

Dante and I both sit on the bed, waiting for our Pretty Girl to attack us. It’s coming. He knows it and so do I. It’s going to be fucking beautiful. I can’t wait. However, my brother is a fucking idiot and neither of us sees what’s coming.

She charges out at us with a knife that Dante must have left in the bathroom. Natalia holds it up in a threatening stance as her wide, fierce eyes dart between us as if she’s deciding who to stab first.

“Put the knife down, baby,” Dante says calmly as he holds his hands in the air.

“Who did the tattoo?”

I sigh audibly, “I did.”

She steps closer to me. “Give me one reason to not kill you.”

Natalia looks so fucking beautiful like this. The anger flowing through her bloodstream is palpable, like a fourth person in the room. This is what I wanted, her standing up for herself, although I don’t particularly wish to be stabbed to death.

“Reason number one, you love me.”

She narrows her gaze at me and snorts, “Too bad that means nothing. Give me a better reason.”

“I love you.”

Her expression of anger is quickly replaced with one of shock. “So you drugged me and tattooed me against my will as a sign of love? Or do you do this to all your women? Brand them with your fucking name?”

I attempt to give her a reassuring smile. “No, Pretty Girl, only you.”

Natalia steps even closer to me and presses the tip of the sharp blade into my chest, “Is that supposed to be a comfort to me, asshole?”

“Yes,” I answer as my heart races but not from fear but from excitement. Maybe she’s right and I am a psycho because I’ve never been more turned on in my entire life.

“Cut me, Pretty Girl. If it makes you feel better, slice my skin. I don’t mind. In fact, I hope you do because I will rather enjoy punishing you like I never have before.”

Her hand shakes slightly. “You’re going to kill me?”

I chuckle as I shake my head. “I said punish you, Pretty Girl. There is nothing you could do that would ever make me end your beautiful life. If you think for one second I’d choose to live without you, think again, Pretty Girl. My life has been a different experience without you and now with you. I won’t go back to knowing what it’s like to breathe without you. I’d rather fucking die.”

Dante chuckles when the knife slips from her hand and clanks onto the hardwood floor. “I knew that would do it,” he mutters under his breath.

Natalia climbs onto my lap. “And you said you couldn’t be poetic. I’m still pissed at you, though. You should watch your back in case I change my mind.”

I rub my thumb across her bottom lip as she watched me with fascination. “Is that so, Pretty Girl? Do you think you could live without me? What about my brother? Are you going to kill us both and go on with your life as if we meant nothing to you?”

She kisses the tip of my thumb sweetly. “No. I couldn’t bear it even if you are both psychopaths.”

Dante chuckles loudly. “I suppose we should get the rest of the truth out of the way.”

Natalia glares over my shoulder at my brother as I wrap my arms around her waist, making sure I’m not touching where we’ve marked her. “What now?”

He admits to her, “I removed your IUD last night.”

Her response makes me laugh because I expected her to be upset about him removing it without her consent. “How the hell do you even know how to do that?”

I glance behind me and see him shrug his shoulders, “You Tube, baby. There’s literally a video for everything.”

She hits me in my chest when I laugh. “Why?”

I kiss her neck softly. “Isn’t that obvious, Pretty Girl? It was impeding you giving us beautiful babies.”

“Yeah, that’s the point,” she groans before adding, “You two really need therapy. Possibly more than the De Luca money can afford because nothing you’ve done says you’re sane men.”

She motions for Dante to move closer and he sits beside me and she swings her right leg over his lap. “You are both certifiable. The most insane men I’ve ever met, but you’re mine.”

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