Page 40 of Shattered Diamonds

“Don’t hurt the kid. We don’t need the blowback,” the guy Demetri referred to as G says before walking away.

Demetri stares Ciarán down. “He’ll stay alive for tonight. Can’t promise what tomorrow will bring.” My arm and waist are grabbed with strength, and the next thing I know, I’m in the air, landing with a thud, the air expelled from my lungs because his shoulder is embedded in my stomach.

“Put me down.” I gasp. “The room is spinning.”

“Was it spinning when you were up on that box dancing for all to witness?”

“I have to pee. Put me down.”

He continues walking through the crowd, ignoring my demands. People part for him in fear. He continues in the opposite direction from where we came in. With each step he takes, I flop over his shoulder as we get deeper inside the building. I’m high as a kite with the added fuel of alcohol running through my veins. I finally let loose tonight and now I have to deal with a raging madman for reasons unknown to me.

My body jerks at the same time I hear a loud crash. I brace my hands on his back and twist around to see the bathroom door swinging back after Demetri’s booted foot kicked it in.

“Get out!” he thunders. “All of you. Now!”

I watch the crowd. Everyone stands there, stunned, until one person whispers to another, “Do you know who that is?”

Then it’s like wildfire. People start scattering like mice. Before the last few people exit the bathroom, Demetri walks through the scurrying crowd. That’s when I notice Luca standing just off to the side watching everything and everyone in the hallway. He reaches in and grabs the door handle. Just before closing the door, he grins at me. Demetri turns and flicks the lock. With rushed steps, he drops me on the vanity and brackets me in when he braces both arms on either side of my hips and leans down getting nose to nose with me.

“You want to tell me what tonight was all about?”

“Feck off. What is it any of your concern?”

“I told you last night. You belong to me.”

“I belong to no one.”

“You don’t think so? Remember that promise I made you?”

“What promise?”

“The one where I told you there would be consequences to your actions.”

“Oh, feck off.” I jerk my head back. “Talking to me like I’m some child. Fuck you,” I blurt, pushing at his chest thinking he will let me climb down, the liquor and drugs speaking for me.

His eyes turn black. He looks down at his chest then slowly, he lifts his head back up to look at me. Within a split second, I’m yanked off the counter, spun around, and my jeans and panties are ripped down my thighs.

Panic sets in.

I’m twisting and turning, fighting him while watching him in the mirror that is two inches from my face.

“Demetri!”

“Sir or Mr. Carbone,” he growls before landing his first punishingwhack.

The sting is shocking.

I even saw his hand rise and fall. The radiating heat from his open hand against my skin lingers with an unbearable heat. I yelp, shocked, and twist my body, but he holds me in place as his fingers lace through the strands of my hair. The second one connects with double the force. I turn and try to bend my body, but I still and close my eyes as the heat radiates across my tender skin. The third one comes down twice as hard and I can’t help but wail a defenseless howl that turns into a groan as my insides tighten.

Demetri watches me in the mirror, his eyes piercing.

The fourth one rains down on my behind with so much force my knees buckle, forcing my hips against the counter. My core clenches and my thighs become slick. Embarrassment flushes over my skin as I gasp for air.

“Stop!” I cry.

He releases my hair and wraps his arm around my waist, holding me up while his other hand rubs my sore flesh.

“Cosabella.” He hums. “There she is. Spanking you turned you on, firefly.”

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