I want to press her into my world until there’s no air left, until the only thing she breathes is me.I want to stain her with the darkest parts of myself, keep her tucked away where no one can reach her, pure only in the way I decide.I want her in my palm, trembling, marked, mine.Then I want to devour her.
But I can’t say that.
Not yet.
So I shrug, pushing the monster back down, chaining it behind the casual smile I’ve perfected over the years.
“Because it suits you.”She rolls her eyes and laughs, teasing me, unaware of how close she is to the edge of a very steep cliff.
And all I can do is smile, while my fingers itch for her throat and my heart wonders how much longer I can keep pretending I’m a man…when all I really want is to be her monster.
* * * *
I slam the empty glass on the table.
“Rough night, Romeo?”Luc smirks.
“Shut up, dickhead.”I signal the waiter for another glass of whiskey.
We’re sitting at our usual spot in the back of Teo’s private club, Second Circle, a place that serves as the perfect front for his far more lucrative business.Beneath the polished surface of this upscale club he runs a complex web of surveillance and data trade, gathering and selling information through every available means.
As my enforcer, his skills with technology have been invaluable more times than I can count.The club itself?He doesn’t need it, but I suspect he enjoys playing the part of the club owner, hiding in plain sight.The whiskey he imports is damn good too, one of the few things in this city that never fails to satisfy.So this place became our hangout spot, a refuge to blow off steam when the weight of everything gets to be too much.
The whiskey, and the other amenities that come with the club, I remind myself.
Second Circle is a very private, very exclusive place, a haven for those with money and power to indulge in their most secret desires without fear of exposure.The price of admission is steep, a financial barrier that ensures only those who can truly afford to play can step through its doors.Every patron and employee are bound by ironclad NDAs, their lips sealed tighter than any vault.It’s a sanctuary for those who wish to explore darker, more forbidden games.There is no need for the pretense of pleasantries nor for wining and dining a partner first.Here, everything is laid bare.There are no expectations beyond the unspoken rules of the game.
What happens in the Second Circle of Hell stays in the Second Circle of Hell.
“Let me guess, she said no?”Luc’s smug voice yanks me out of the pit I’ve been stewing in.
“Let it go,” I grunt, nursing my drink like it personally betrayed me.
“All right, all right.No need to get all growly.”He leans back, cocky as ever.“Y’know what you need?Some fresh pussy.That’ll clear your head right up.”
“I don’t need your bullshit advice,” I snap.“Why don’t you takemyadvice and shut the fuck up.”Luc just grins.Bastard lives to poke the bear.
Teo strolls over with a glass in hand, calm as always.He’s the level head between the three of us, which makes him the designated peacekeeper every time I’m this close to putting a bullet through Luc’s smug fucking grin.
“What’s going on?”he asks, glancing between us.
“Our fearless Don’s nursing a case of blue balls,” Luc supplies cheerfully.
Teo raises an eyebrow, clearly amused.“Let me guess.The girl you had me look into?Lily Bianchi?”
Luc snorts.“Yep.She told him no, and apparently that’s not in his vocabulary.”
“Go ahead,” I mutter darkly.“Why don’t you two dickheads talk like I am not fucking sitting here?”
They continue to ignore me and Luc fills him in about my unsuccessful endeavor while Teo listens with increasing interest.
“She’s got some grit, that one,” Teo says after a low whistle.Then he smirks.“Let me know if you want me to sway her.I could always persuade her with my—”
I’m on him before he finishes the sentence, my fist curled in his collar, slamming him against the wall so hard the glasses rattle on the table.
“Don’t you fucking come near her,” I snarl, low and lethal.“I’ll tear your limbs off one by one and make you choke on your own teeth if you so much as glance her way.”
Silence drops like a bomb.