Page 8 of Violent Delights

Her eyes flit closed for a long moment as a single tear slips free. “Because you were never just my enemy. I was only taught to hate you and your family.”

No. I’m not an enemy to her, and she’s not one to me. Not anymore.

And she was never just a forbidden desire I was toying with.

I want to make her happy. I want to see her smile.

“What do you want?” I ask her, taking her hand in mine and bringing it to my lips. Her gaze lingers on mine, holding me hostage in those pretty eyes.

“You.”

One word slams into me as if I were punched right in the gut. If she told me to walk away right now, I would. Her decision issomething I would respect, but she’s asking me to stay. And I don’t know how to handle that.

I breathe in once more, taking in the soft scent of her before I lean in. I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. My lips linger close to hers, and when she doesn’t pull away, I press my mouth to hers. For one breathless second, she leans into me like we are allowed to want this.

Like we are free.

But the moment passes far too quickly for my liking. She steps back again.

“We can do this,” I tell her, hoping she doesn’t walk away from me. I feel more fragile than she looks right now.

“But what if my family find out, and they hurt you?” The fear in her eyes is palpable, and the anguish in her words twists at my gut.

“Then I’ll die holding your heart in my hands.”

It’s a promise. One I will keep.

“I have to get back,” she tells me. “They’ll be wondering where I am.”

“I know.”

As she leaves, I keep hold of her hand, not wanting to let go just yet. And as our fingers graze each other’s for the final moments I have her with me, I feel it. My heart aching. I watch her walk away. Every step she takes is like a punch to the gut.

And I don’t stop her because I know she’s not leaving me, but instead, she has to get back to the prison she grew up in.

I will see her again.

I’ll make sure of it.

I’m not prepared to lose something that is so precious to me.

Chapter 5

Domenico

Life begins and ends one way, with nothing you thought you owned.

I’ve always pictured my life differently. Even though I have been born into one of the most powerful families in the world, I still don’t find satisfaction in being alive.

As a second-in-command to a mafia clan, you’re nothing more than an errand boy until your father, or the Boss, deems you worthy. And my father, he doesn’t think I’m even close to ready for that throne.

No matter what I do. He doesn’t believe I’m the king, merely a pauper, begging at his heels for a place in the sun. But one day, I’ll show him just how well I’ve learned from him. The ruthless, soulless man who’s trained me, made me the person I am today, will realize I have been watching all along.

Twenty-six years is a long time to want your father’s approval. It’s also a lifetime when you never get it.

“We should go out tonight,” one of my best friends, Romano, tells me. He’s focused on my sour face. I should smile more, but that would mean I’m happy, and I’m not. “You’ll see Gisela or whatever the fuck her name is.”

It’s tempting.

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