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Alessio takes another step, and before I can back away, he’s right in front of me. My hand shoots up, ready to shove him away, but he’s faster. His fingers wrap around my elbow, stopping me mid-motion.

I huff, trying to wrench my arm out of his grip, but all it does is pull me even closer. “Oh, please. You think you’re that irresistible?” I roll my eyes and scoff. “Pshh, I was trying to leave, not sign up for your littleFifty Shadesfantasy.”

That damn sinful smirk deepens. “Funny,” he muses. “You don’t seem like the type to run from what scares you.”

“I’m not scared of you,” I snap, but the crack in my voice ruins it. But Alessio catches it. His grip tightens around my chin, tilting my head up until I have no choice but to meet those sharp blue eyes.

“Liar,” he murmurs. There’s something raw in his voice that makes my cheeks burn.

“You are scared. But it’s not the fear you think it is.” His gun skims down the valley of my chest to my belly, and instinctively I suck in a breath. “You’re scared because you already know who this body belongs to.”

A shiver rolls through me, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of looking away. I hate how close he is and how his words get under my skin. I hate how my body feels stuck between fight and freeze, every instinct screaming for me to do something, but thinking is impossible when he’s this overwhelming.

Yanking my chin out of his grip, I glare up at him. “You don’t get to decide who I belong to.”

He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t even blink. “You already decided that the moment you came after me.” Alessio leans in closer, his breath warm against my ear. “And you know damn well I’m not letting you go.”

I notice something shift in his expression, amusement that turns into something darker. Before I can decode it, Alessio spins me, pressing my back against his chest so I’m facing the bed. He tries to push me forward, but I plant my feet, locking my body into place. No chance in hell am I letting him shove me around like some ragdoll. I shift to my left, just enough to keep him in my peripheral. No way I’m turning my back on him.

Alessio’s eyes narrow, and his tongue slides out to wet his bottom lip. “I think it’s time I teach you a lesson,” he growls.

I arch a brow, forcing a smirk even though my pulse pounds in my throat. “Oh, really? And what lesson would that be?”

His eyes darken, the look in those icy-blues is damn near predatory. “That every action has a consequence.”

Before I can throw some snarky remark at him, his hand is around my throat. Not tight but firm enough to send a wave of heat through my body. “And this,” the rough pad of his thumb skims over my pulse, like he’s feeling how fast it’s racing, “is yours.”

I swallow hard, my brain screaming at me to panic, to shove him off, but I don’t. I hold his stare, refusing to be the first to look away. Instead, I press back against him, my spine meeting solid muscle.

And that’s when I feel it pressing against my lower back, something big, and it’s not his gun. A smirk tugs at my lips despite the mess in my head. “We’ll see about that.”

19

Alessio

Liv fights me every step of the way, and it’s both frustrating and fucking intoxicating. Her body thrashes under me, twisting, kicking, trying to break free. I let her struggle, let her feel what it does to me. She’s fast, I’ll give her that, but I’m stronger. And much deadlier than she will ever know.

“Fucking hell,” she growls through gritted teeth, twisting under me. I catch her wrists and force them behind her back, locking them in one hand, and pinning her down against the bed. She thrashes a little, and her body bucks against mine.

I kneel beside her, setting my gun on the bed with a soft thud to free up my other hand. My palm drags down her back, my fingers tracing the line of her spine before I give her ass a sharp slap. It was over her dress, definitely not as satisfying as a bare-ass slap, but it’s a warmup. It was enough to make her go still for a split second.

She whips her head to the side, those wild green eyes blazing. “Did you just spank me?”

I don’t respond. We both know the answer.

Her breath hitches, but she recovers fast. “You think this is gonna scare me?”

“Not at all,” I murmur, leaning close to her ear, letting my lips just barely graze the shell of it. “But it might teach you some fucking manners.” Her struggles are useless, but damn, her spunk makes my dick hard. It’s almost cute how she thinks she can overpower me, as if there’s a reality where she’s in control.

She tenses, only for a second, but I feel it. The way her thighs squeeze together just a little tighter, like she doesn’t want me to notice. But I notice everything.

“Now,” I murmur, my breath hot against her ear. “If you take your punishment like a good girl, this will be quick and easy.” My hand trails up her back, brushing her hair off the side of her face before trailing back to her ass.

From all of Liv’s wiggling around, the fabric of her dress starts to ride up just enough to reveal more of her thighs, thick and soft. God, I can’t stop imagining what it’d be like to be buried between them.

I can feel the shift in her; the fight is still there, but she stills for a moment. “Oh?” I taunt. “No more fighting?”

“Fuck you,” she spits venomously.