Page 25 of Vicious Vows

I shouldn’t doa lot of things, but that never seemed to stop me.

When Marchello slapped the leather belt against his palm, I should have been terrified, but my nipples peaked against the silk of my dress, and the tingles between my legs said otherwise.

“Your impulses infuriate me.” He gripped the strap in his hand. “If you can’t control them, I’m going to have to do it for you.”

“You’re mad at me?”

“You don’t think I should be?”

“I helped you.”

“What did I tell you about helping me?” He cracked open the patio doors, allowing the warm sea breeze to flow into the room.

He took a seat in the chair by the doors, eyeing me like a hungry wolf.

“You don’t need my help.” When I started toward him, he held up his hand and halted me. “But you benefited from it tonight.”

“That remains to be seen.” He set the belt on the floor and then slipped out of his jacket. “I could have done without your flirtatious demeanor.”

That’s what this is about?

“Are you jealous over what I did eight years ago when I was barely a teenager?” I laughed. “For such a confident man, sometimes you make me wonder.”

“It’s your confidence that bothers me.”

“Well, it worked for you tonight. Without me, Lorenzo wasn’t going to negotiate with you.”

I had Lorenzo wrapped around my finger as tightly as I had when we were kids. Marchello may have been a hardened mob boss back in New York, but I could tell as soon as I walked into that room that the situation was going to require a certain finesse. One that my brooding mafia don didn’t possess.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” I said.

“You never do.” Marchello unbuttoned his shirt down to his belly button, revealing all of his impressive ink and muscles. “That’s how you got yourself kidnapped.”

“That seemed to work to my advantage.” I placed my hand on my hip. “It’ll work for you too.”

He reached around to the back of his waistband and removed his gun, setting it on the small table by the chair. I tucked my hair behind my ear, twirling the ends around my finger. The moonlight seeped in from the glass doors behind him. In the distance, the sounds of the waves crashed.

“Take off your dress.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” He picked up the belt.

Anticipation gnawed in my stomach as I reached down to take off my shoe.

“I said take off your dress.” He kept his voice low and steady as he stared into my eyes. “Leave your shoes on.”

I glided my hand up my stomach and over my breasts, making my way to the strap on my shoulder. The other side was strapless, so it would only take one swipe of the thin material and my chest would be bare to him.

“Take it off.” He ran the leather through his fingers.

I slipped the strap along my shoulder and let the top of the dress fall to my hips. Placing my hands on either side of my waist, I pushed the silky material down my thighs. Once the thousand-dollar dress fell to the floor, I stepped out of it, leaving me exposed to him in my black thong and silver stilettos.

He curled his finger and summoned me to come to him.

Five steps. That was how many it took to get to him. Once I stopped, he spread his legs so I could stand between them.

“Turn around.” He didn’t wait for me to comply as he moved me to face the opposite wall with my back to him.

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