Page 51 of Cinder (MC Fables #2)

E lla

I listen intently to Lars, and I hear every word.

Every cold-blooded detail.

“That’s me, Ella. That’s who I am,” he says. “I’m a cold-hearted killer.”

My heart aches for him. For the pain he’s carrying around.

“That’s not all you are,” I say softly. “You’re more than your revenge.”

“I’m a killer, Ella. It’s what I choose to do. I’ve made peace with it. But my question is, can you?”

If only he knew where I came from. What I’ve witnessed as the daughter of a mafia boss. The blood spilling. The revenge slayings. The heavy weight of knowing you’ll never escape it because it is a part of who you are and what your future is meant to be.

I reach up and touch his face, my fingers trailing down his high cheekbones. He closes his eyes and leans into my touch. His lips part with a soft breath.

I can’t change his past. I can’t erase years of pain and feelings of loss and loneliness. But I can ease his pain right now.

I push him down and slide onto him, and I feel his cock swell between my thighs.

“I accept all of you.” I reach between us, and he trembles when I take him in my hand. “I trust you.”

“I would never hurt you.”

“I know.”

And I do.

I know this man would burn down the world for me.

With my fingers wrapped around him, I rub the crown of his cock through my soaked pussy and feel him tremble again.

“I only ever use protection,” he rasps, his eyes heavily hooded with arousal.

“And I’ve only been with you,” I whisper. “So we’re both safe.”

I guide him inside me, then sink slowly down his length, taking every naked inch into my body. The intrusion is a snap of pleasure and pain as I’m stretched around his thickness .

Lars drags in a hungry breath. “Oh baby…” His voice thick with lust.

I start to move gently against him. A slow rock of my hips. Taking my time. Moving my body in a way that milks his length. Clenching tighter around him and earning a groan that vibrates through me.

His face ripples with lust as he grips my hips.

We make love slowly in the soft light. There is no urgency. No desperation. Just the slow movement of warm skin against skin and two gazes fused together in the moment.

He’s so beautiful.

His gorgeous inked flesh laid out beneath me as I ride him. His strong hands on my hips. His beautiful face tight with restraint as I rock slowly back and forth.

A sweet tension coils in my belly.

An orgasm being conjured slowly.

Rising. Straining. Taking me to the edge.

I’m desperate to increase my pace.

My body begs for it.

But I force myself to control it.

Because this isn’t about the end game. This is about right now. What is happening between us. Something more than the crash of ecstasy ripping through us.

My breathing quickens.

So does his .

And when we both unravel, we unravel together in a moment of intense emotion.

Pain and heartbreak collide with pleasure.

I know this is probably goodbye.

I won’t be able to come back after tonight because I’ve fallen in love with him.

And that puts him in danger.

I need to put him in the past to keep him safe and go do what I need to do.

Which is to kill Luca.

Tomorrow I will visit the mansion and either leave a king slayer or die trying.

I collapse against Lars and sink into the warmth of his chest, finding peace in the rapid beating of his heart against my cheek.

It’s done.

We are done.

And it’s time for me to go.

But I don’t want to leave the comfort and safety of Lars’s embrace.

I slide off him and he secures his big arms around me.

Just a few more minutes.

My eyelids grow heavy, and I give in to the pull of sleep. It pulls me under its soft waves, and in Lars’s arms I fall into a deep and content sleep.

My eyes flick open in panic, and they dart to the clock on the nightstand. Glowing green letters tell me I well and truly missed my curfew.

No, no, no, no.

Beside me, Lars is deep asleep.

I can’t wake him because he’ll want to know why I’m leaving in the middle of the night.

And why I am so panicked.

Fear burns in my chest when I think about walking out the door, not knowing what awaits me, but knowing this is the last time I will see Lars.

If it wasn’t for Lucretia, I would have told him everything.

Maybe I should’ve anyway.

But it’s too late, and I close the door behind me and slip into the night.

The cab picks me up at the end of the driveway, and during the ride back to my motel, I brace myself for what waits for me. I’m more than an hour late.

I look at my phone. There are no messages, which is a good thing, right? After all, if Luca was aware of me missing curfew, he would enjoy sending me a warning. A promise of what is to come. But there are no text messages.

Have Thug 1 and 2 fallen asleep?

It’s okay. You’re okay.

I lean back into the head rest and let out a deep breath, closing my eyes.

Just breathe.

My phone vibrates in my hand. It’s Lars.

Pick it up and tell him everything.

My heart aches. I can’t.

Not until I get Lucretia away from Luca.

Because if I tell Lars and he brings in the rest of the club to help, Luca will retaliate by hurting her.

No, before I do anything, I have to find out which boarding school she is in and get her to safety.

I let the call go to voicemail.

But it rings again.

Then again.

I put it on silent and focus on my breathing, trying desperately to calm my racing pulse.

But when we pull into the motel parking lot, my heart clamors against my ribcage when I see the giant Rolls Royce parked out the front.

I have a visitor .

All the lights are on inside my room, and the door is open.

Leaving the safety of the cab, I lift my chin and walk toward my fate.

My brother is going to hurt me.

But it’s not Luca waiting for me.

It’s so much worse.

“Hello, Ella,” Viktor says when I walk in. He has his back to me. “Didn’t I warn you not to break curfew?”