Page 47 of Dario DeLuca

"Words, Tesoro." I grind against her slowly, relishing the tremors wracking her body. "Tell me you understand."

Mia doesn’t answer, so I slam into her, one for punishment and another for good measure, before I wrap my fingers around her neck, forcing her gaze to mine.

"Tell me you fucking understand."

"Y-yes," she rasps, squirming against the vise around her throat as I continue to fuck her. "Only you."

I capture her lips in a bruising kiss, swallowing her cries as I snap my hips forward, driving into her welcoming heat over and over in a ruthless cadence. The slap of flesh on flesh echoes obscenely in the cramped space, mingling with her breathless whines.

"That's my good girl," I growl against the slick curve of her neck, sucking a mark into her skin. "Taking my cock so well."

Her lips part on a soundless cry, cheeks flushed, and damp tendrils of hair clinging to her skin. I could watch her come apart beneath me forever.

I notice the darkening bruises decorating her inner thighs.Mine.My mark on her body. I increase my pace, snarling praises through gritted teeth.

Mia shudders, her walls fluttering around me as she teeters on the edge. I reach between us, finding the swollen bud of her clit and rubbing tight circles until she breaks with a guttural moan. I bury my face in the valley of her breasts, inhaling the sweet floral scent of her perfume as my hips stutter.

"Fuck, amore." My voice is gnarled, wrecked. "Your cunt was made for me."

Mia nods fervently, beyond the ability for words as I rail into her. Her nails rake fire lines across my back through my blazer, silently urging me on.

The dam finally shatters with a hoarse shriek of my name. I feel her walls rippling and fluttering in release, pulling me deeper. It's all I can do to hold myself at the brink, extending her climax with thorough strokes.

Only once her tremors subside do I surrender to my release. I bury myself to the hilt, spending my seed in thick jets that leave us both gasping. While still inside her, I slump forward, caging her curvy frame beneath mine, and press a rough kiss to her swollen lips.

I brush her now sweat-drenched hair from her face to see the sweet aftermath in her features. Then I trail my hand to the nape of her neck, forcing her eyes to mine as I ride out the aftershocks.

"If another man so much as looks at you…" I trail off, letting the unspoken threat hang heavy between us.

Mia swallows thickly, giving the barest nod of understanding as I withdraw. A trickle of my release follows, covering the insides of her thighs.

The clearing of a throat has me spinning, shielding Mia's naked form instinctively as Rafael averts his eyes. Though his ears are undoubtedly burning crimson at the unholy sounds he overheard. His hand extends, a thick envelope gripped between his fingers.

"We have a problem," he says gruffly.

I take it from him, and the leaden weight in the pit of my stomach intensifies as I tear open the seal, Mia peering over my shoulder. A photograph flutters to the floor—the same image Evelyn shared with the press of our engagement. Her familysurrounds us—parents and best friend alike—with the chief of police lingering in the periphery.

They're all smiling, ignorant of the turmoil yet to come.

"Flip it over," Rafael instructs, mouth set in a grim line.

With a sense of dread coiling in my gut, I comply. The envelope slips from my suddenly numb grasp, scattering its contents across the tiled floor. My world has frozen over, replaced by a suffocating blanket of ice.

Because scrawled across the image in harsh, blood-red letters...

You've been keeping her from me, but who will protect the others?

TWENTY

MIA

As I leantowards the mirror, carefully applying mascara to my lashes, the soft sounds of my breathing fill the quiet bathroom. The dim light casts a gentle glow on my face, emphasizing the anticipation in the air. Dario's footsteps approach behind me, their steady rhythm echoing the uncertainty that tugs at my heart. I meet his piercing gaze in the reflection, our eyes locking in a silent battle of wills.

"You're not going to the opening tonight," his deep timbre reverberates through me, an undercurrent of concern beneath the commanding tone. Defiance simmers beneath my composed exterior as I meet his unyielding stare. With a swift movement, I spin to face him, my hands finding their place on my hips.

"Excuse me? Of course, I'm going," I retort, my voice laced with determination. "I've worked too hard on this project to miss the culmination of all my efforts. I've poured my heart and soul into this community center. I need to see it through."

He crosses his arms, his muscular frame filling the doorway, a formidable presence that challenges me. "It's too dangerous, Mia. There could be…complications," he warns, his words laced with a protectiveness that both infuriates and touches me. "Ican't allow you to put yourself in harm's way like that. I'll make an excuse; say you fell ill."

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