Page 36 of Taken By the Mafia King
“I’ve heard of him.” I sipped from the whiskey, enjoying the burn as it slid down my throat. “Are you alright, Killian?” It was so incredibly risky to address him so informally, but also so intimate. He was hurting. I could see it in his eyes. It was something he didn’t want anyone else to see but let me witness freely. Why?
He said nothing, his eyes gliding down the column of my neck where his hand had been just before I’d stolen that kiss. He returned his gaze to his drink.
“Are you hurt?” I pressed.
He stood up and walked toward the door, opening it wide. “Go back to your room.”
I drained the rest of my drink and set the glass down. Why had I come down here? What was I thinking? Sneaking around and wasting time when I could have run?
“I’m sorry about your friend,” I whispered as I attempted to pass him. I meant it wholeheartedly. I meant every word.
But just as I crossed the threshold of his office, he grabbed my arm and pulled my body into his, crushing me with his weight against the wall. His hand cupped my cheek as he cursed under his breath.
His lips brushed over mine, soft and tender, before he parted my lips with his tongue. I opened for him, my body going slack in his arms as he slid his tongue over my lower lip. Nibbling softly as if just to taste me, he pressed me harder to his chest and balanced his weight against the wall, his free hand gliding up my neck and into my hair.
But just as I started to wrap my arms around his waist, he pulled away, and whatever trance we’d been in snapped. A crushing, brutal reality followed.
“Upstairs, now.”
I stared at him, unsure of what to do or say. I touched my lips as I held his gaze. “No.”
CHAPTER 29
SERA
Killian stared at me for a long moment, his body only inches from mine. Despite the fire in the hearth, the air between us felt chilled. He panted like he was holding back. I tilted my chin up to him and ran my fingertips over his jaw.
He’d kissed me because he wanted to. He had no reason to seduce me other than desire. I had many reasons to seduce him—freedom, privileges, not getting killed.
But there had been no reason for me to lean into his touch and accept that kiss, other than that I wanted to. And I hadn’t wanted it to stop.
He grabbed my wrist and whirled me around, shoving me into the hallway before slamming the door shut behind me.
Sudden fury swept over me, igniting the instincts I’d been ignoring.
Again, I questioned why I’d come down here in the first place. Why hadn’t I put on some shoes, at least? It was fall, so it would be cold. And I was an idiot for using what I knew would be my only chance of escape in trying to comfort a beast like Killian. Comfort him! Like the Mano Della Morte needed something like that.
“God,” I cursed. “You stupid idiot.”
I was angry at myself and angry that I’d started to have feelings for him.
No. I would not admit that whatever feelings I had toward Killian were more than the sheer need to survive. I wasn’t falling for him. I wouldn’t fall for him. I couldn’t love a man who killed for sport and ruled with an iron fist.
A man who’d killed my beloved brother and beat Jim within an inch of his life.
I hadn’t realized where I’d been walking until I curled my hand around the knob on the front door. I twisted, finding it unlocked.
It was like he wanted me to leave.
I threw open the door and stormed out into a frigid, rainy night. But before I had a chance to even walk down the stone steps leading to a circular driveway, a waft of cigar smoke hit me and I stopped in my tracks.
“Bad idea,” Francesco said as I turned to face him. He puffed on his cigar and blew a smoke ring. “You’ll freeze before you reach the gate. Then it’s roughly, I don’t know, ten or eleven miles to town, on foot, through the woods if you want to stay hidden.”
“I wasn’t going to run away,” I lied, tightening the belt of my robe and sneering up at the giant of a man. One of his hands could wrap around my entire head. Of that, I was sure.Big oof.“I was getting some fresh air since I haven’t been allowed out of my room since I was dragged here.”
“You got a big mouth for such a small person.”
I trudged down onto the driveway with my arms crossed over my chest against the chill creeping through the thin fabric of my robe, not sure how to respond.
