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He touched me as if it were his right. And like some starved for attention woman, some feeble creature led by hormones and curiosity, I soaked in the heat of his touch that seeped through my body and made me all achy.

This has to end. I am going crazy with each passing day. His nearness alters everything in me.

Picking up the binoculars, I see him getting ready for the day. All I have to do is set my rifle and pull the trigger, and his blood would paint the leather of his car. But it’s also bulletproof.I checked. I almost killed his men for not paying enough attention. They’re supposed to protect the entrance to his garage and elevator, but I went in and out undetected.

I could shoot him when he enters his office building, but he deserves better. And that’s the problem. Now I am thinking of ways of killing him that are worthy of someone like him.

No one has cooked for me.

No one has treated me like a person.

No one has looked at me and seen through me—all I’ve been hiding. But it’s like he strips me bare, and I am left vulnerable, longing for something more.

For the first time, I feel like a woman who is desired, not for my looks but for the whole messed up package. Men have wanted me as a status, as a body, as a simple tool to satisfy their ego and pleasure. And that’s why none of them got me. Yet, with Enzo, there’s this strange desire to explore. I can’t believe I’m contemplating letting a man touch me, kiss me, fuck me—something I swore I’d never allow. But if I kill him afterward, it will forever be our secret.

Being Augustus’s protégé has offered me an almost untouchable status. Plus, I’ve made a reputation for myself. I killed a guard who dared to touch me as he passed by, right in front of Augustus and the Council of Twelve, just to make my point clear. Augustus let that one slide, knowing it would give him even more control over the others.

Democracy is only in name. Everyone knows he’s the unofficial leader. No one even approaches me, afraid of my wrath and my cunning ways. It’s not only about what I do but how I do it. The other members of the Council prefer to stay outof my way, giving me a wide berth while secretly they want me gone.

My attention shifts back to Enzo, incapable of withstanding his addictive allure. He can wear a suit like no one else. He drips of money, the kind you make, not inherit. He oozes an “I can kill you, so don’t cross me” vibe. Reno is more peaceful than Venice, even though I’d never thought that possible. He and Mikail have a tight grip on their city, and that’s impressive.

Something that doesn’t work anywhere else in the world, they make it happen. When Enzo’s out, it’s always with him, and you can see their bond, friendship mixed with brotherhood in every interaction.

Once he’s done for the day, he holes himself in his penthouse, ruling over his multiple businesses from his laptop. I wonder about him liking his solitude. Maybe to compensate for the public persona he presents. He’s wearing a mask too, but not having to juggle as many as I do.

Knowing he’s about to leave, I think of the explosive sitting in the safe, ready for me to use it. It has been taunting me, but I think it’s better for him to die in his beloved car. I am not so cruel after all.

With the plan in motion, I wait, knowing it will all end tomorrow morning. I hope he enjoys his last day on earth.

It will be hours before he comes back, so I use my time to get pampered.

I go shopping, buying some new dresses and lingerie. Then I go to the hotel spa where I get a massage and a facial. The service here is top-notch, and once they’re done with me, I look and feel way more refreshed.

By the time I return to my suite, the sun has long set. Darkness kisses the day farewell, and sinners get ready to take over, protected by the night.

I am about to go to bed when a knock sounds at my door, and I glance down at my silk negligee. A slow smile curves my lips. I’ll let him have a good look at me. He deserves something pretty to see before he sees nothing at all.

When I open the door, I put a hand on my thigh, the movement raising the skirt higher over my thigh. His eyes burn with a hunger he doesn’t even try to hide as he rakes those sinful greens all over my body, unleashing a cascade of goose bumps to trickle all over my skin.

“Waiting for me?” he asks in that deep, husky voice of his filled with self-assurance.

It does the strangest things to me––makes me feel beautiful even though I know I am strictly aesthetically pleasing. I’ve done nothing to earn it, so until this moment, my looks felt more like a nuisance. But under his intense gaze, I love how I can wield my beauty to captivate him. I own all his attention and it’s so heady I could get drunk on the surge of power.

I don’t answer as I turn around, giving him permission to come inside. He’s staring at my ass, not even trying to conceal it when I peer at him over my shoulder. Goddamn it, Luciana, he might very well be here to kill you while you try to do what exactly? Seduce him?

“What do you want?” I snap, losing my composure. He rattles me so easily. No wonder I am all over the place.

“I thought we were beyond that.” He sighs and closes the door. The click has a final quality to it, as if he has trapped us and there’s no escape.

Do I run? Do I find the first gun to kill him? No. I just stare at him, leaving a freaking man to lead.

“And disillusioned,” I scoff.

He turns predatory, walking over to me while I step back until he backs me against the window—the same window I stalk him from.

“Am I? Hmm, I missed my shadow today.” He brushes his nose along my cheek, down my neck and places the softest kiss on the spot where my neck meets my shoulder, making me weak in the knees.

“I haven’t reconsidered.”