Page 54 of Darkest Desire

“There’s still a code in the Mafia. Honor to some degree.”

I scoff. “I’ve seen you kill men left and right who were associates.”

“That was because they broke that honor. They tried to hurt you and I cant have that. I’ve made a lot of friends in the Mafia. Not many of them would want me dead. But I can think of a couple who might. Because of the majority I do trust, I can fall asleep easily at night. Most of them know how ruthless I can be. Most do not want to mess with me. So why did Lorenzo mess with me? Who has the fucking balls to mess with me like this?”

I swallow hard and stare down at my plate. Mikhail has the balls to do it. I guess I do too in a strange sort of way.

Will Nico hurt me once he finds out that it was Mikhail who sent Lorenzo to save me from him?

Will his code of honor apply to me when I let Lorenzo try to kill Nico and I did nothing to stop it?

“I will find out,” he states. “Sasha? Sasha, look at me.”

I force my gaze up. “Yes?”

“Are you hiding something?”

“What could I be hiding?”

“I know you lied about not being a virgin. You told me so last night. You told me I would get all of your firsts. Is that still true? Or was it the drug talking?”

My face turns to flames. There’s no point in lying about that anymore. The truth is out. “It… wasn’t the drug talking. I did lie to you about all of that. I just didn’t want you to have any power over me, thinking you would get all of my firsts.”

“So you let me think you were a whore instead?”

I gasp and without even realizing I’m doing it, I stand up and smack him across the face. “I am no whore. And even if I wasn’t a virgin, I still wouldn’t be a whore.”

Slowly, Nico stands up and towers over me. “Careful, beautiful. I may be your husband but that doesn’t mean I won’t spank you for that.”

“So you get to spank me but I don’t get to smack you? How is that fair?”

He stands so close to me, chest to chest, that I can feel the warmth radiating off him. It’s addicting. “I can do whatever I want with you.”

“No. You don’t get to do whatever you want with me. If you truly believed that, you would have taken me already against my will. But you want my consent. You want me to want you. That gives me power.”

“I’m thinking I’ll spank you right now for this.” In one quick motion, he grabs my waist and presses me against the table, my ass in the air. Before I can react, he brings his hand down in quick succession. Thankfully, this time, he spanks me over my pants instead of my bare skin like he did back in the maze that night of the orgy.

Nico doesn’t spank me today to hurt me. He spanks me as a warning not to test him.

And I hate how my body responds to his power. To his strength. It’s something I never thought would happen and yet, here I am.

Shame creeps into my mind and I’m not sure there’s any way of getting it out.

Nico spins me back around to face him. “I have power over you.”

“Yeah? And where is that getting you?”

He smirks as he tilts my chin up, forcing me to look him straight in the eye. That’s always the hardest part. “I’m going toask you once, Sasha. Do you have any idea who might have sent Lorenzo?”

“What? Why would I know that? I don’t know who all of your enemies are.”

“Mmm. But you do know one.”

I frown and pretend that I don’t know what he’s talking about. Then I pretend to have the realization. “Are you saying that… Mikhail sent him?”

“I don’t know. Mikhail doesn’t know where I live. It’s not possible. But I just have to ask.”

“I don’t know anything.” Another lie straight to his face. Nico was able to pick up on my lie about me not being a virgin. Will he be able to pick this one up too?