Page 105 of Dirty Mafia Sinner

“And if I say no?” Because I should. Violenceiswho he is, and who’s to say he won’t actually harm me?

He stares at me blankly, his expression unreadable. So in control. So dominant. So beautiful, it hurts. And then, his lips lift into a maddening grin, and I’m thunderstruck.

It takes another minute to realize why he’s smiling.

He was waiting for me to say no.

Right here and now, my decision’s made.

“Mark me. Claim me. Show me in every possible way you’remineas much as I’m yours.”

His smile vanishes. “Fuck.”

I grin, then turn away. “Go on. Punish me, then.”

The first lash makes me jump, and it stings a lot more than I anticipated. As do the next few lashes. I grit my teeth and brace for more, willing myself not to cry.

He surprises me by placing a palm over the burn. “You’re so fucking beautiful, you know that?”

The reverence in his tone quickens my heart.

“Goddamn it.” He wraps his fingers around my ankles and tugs me backward until I’m hanging over the bench. “I hate how much I want you.”

“What?” His words sting in a way that’s ten times more powerful than his belt. A compliment followed by a low blow is like receiving roses only to discover nothing but thorns in the bouquet.

“I fucking hate how I can’t get enough of you. How I can’t follow through on one simple act and punish you the way I do the others.”

Theothers.

I kick him in the knee and, as he falls back with a muttered curse, spring from the bench. All my what-ifs crescendo into no-more.

“What the fuck?” he demands.

“You hate me?”

“That’s not what I said.”

We glare at each other. The tension between us grows thick enough that you can cut a slice of it.

“Get your ass back on the bench.”

“Let me go.”

He frowns in confusion, then steps closer and mutters my name in warning. “Riley.”

Before I can stop myself, the words spill out. “You hurt me.”

Alarm flashes in his eyes as he spins me around, and my heart skips a beat. He cares.

“Which blow?” he demands.

For someone so clever and controlling, he’s utterly clueless, isn’t he? I face him, take his hand and press it against my heart. “Here.”

He snatches his hand away like I doused it with gasoline and set it on fire. “What the fuck?”

If he truly wants me on a deeper level, he needs to toughen up. “You, with thoseothers, hurts me.”

I brace myself, expecting him to throw his hired harem in my face.