Page 60 of Taken by the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #1)

SERA

K illian released my neck before shoving me away, a dark, furious look behind his eyes.

“You have no authority over me, Serafina. Your death will be my choice, not yours.”

I balled my hands into fists. The veil of shock from my run-in with his mother and my fall lifted, and I could finally see and feel clearly.

“You’re an asshole,” I hissed.

“Glad to see the fire is back,” he snapped, towering over me.

“I’ll do everything in my power to get out from under you, Killian, even if it kills me.”

“Oh, please,” he taunted, taking a step toward me. “I would love to see you try. You’re nothing but collateral, Sera. A loose end. If you want to test me, you’ll only find out how little I care about you.”

“I think that’s a lie,” I replied, my eyes dropping to his throat, then his chest before I met his gaze again. “You care a lot about whatever game you’re playing with me. Giving me freedom then taking it away!”

“You act like you want freedom so badly, but you ruin every opportunity to prove you’re worthy of having that freedom.

” He closed the distance between us, taking my chin in his hand.

“And this game, mia cara ? Oh, I do love to play it with you. I’ll miss this when I watch your life bleed from your eyes. ”

“If you won’t kill me,” I breathed, my eyes steady on his. “Maybe I’ll kill you. The way you killed my brother.”

He flinched a little. “Don’t mention things you have no idea about, Sera. You will be the death of me. Of that, I’m certain. You have threatened my life in more ways than one. You’ve threatened my business, and my home, and the safety of my men. You will never be free of me after this.”

“You think you’ll ever be free of me either, Killian?” I whispered, moving closer to him, my fingers trailing over his waist as I walked a slow circle around him.

He sucked in his breath as my finger dragged over the buttons of his shirt.

“Do I not haunt every thought you have?” The question was risky. The fire was lit, and I wanted to dance in the flames.

An image flashed before my eyes from the night before. The woman staring back at me dressed in black silk had power in her eyes. Determination. Skill. It still thrummed through me, setting that fire into a blazing inferno.

I was not some weak woman without a backbone. I was not the worthless girl my father had raised me to be.

I loved my mother dearly, but I saw the way she cowered to my father. I would not be the sort of woman who lived in the shadow of a mob boss.

My death would be on my own terms, even if Killian was the one to make the final blow.

His eyes flicked to mine, and I saw a different fire burning there, one full of lustful thoughts. The ache I vaguely remembered from my drunk state the night before ignited anew, my core beginning to ache for him.

Thoughts of my mother were shoved into the farthest reaches of my mind. I came to a stop behind Killian, my hands snaking around his chest.

He grabbed my wrist and held me there, my arms around him. His icy facade thawed for a split second as his voice shivered through the room.

“Your life is mine to decide what to do with. You will live on my terms, in my house. You will obey me. You will kneel before me when I say so. You will shut that pretty mouth when I tell you so. You will stay in this room unless I summon you, or come to you.”

“No,” I whispered against his back. His grip tightened on my wrist. “I’m not your pet.”

“You will never say no to me again.”

I splayed my fingers wide over his chest, my mouth brushing over the fine fabric of his shirt.

I could feel his heartbeat. I could sense him starting to break against my touch. I had one power over him, one card to play. And that was his obvious desire for my body.

Could I break the Hand of Death, and beat him at his own game?

“If I go down,” I whispered. “You’re going down with me.”

He whirled around, moving so fast I didn’t have time to register that he’d picked me up and thrown me onto the bed. He pinned me down, my hands over my head and his face hovering just above mine.

“Threaten me again. I dare you.”

I arched my back, grinding my hips against him before biting down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. He reared back, growling as he let go of my hands and covered his bleeding mouth. I sprang into action, launching at him. We tumbled off the bed, rolling to a stop against the wall.

“Stop,” he hissed, grabbing me by the throat.

I swung at him, but he flipped me over and pinned me again, squeezing my neck.

A sharp, hoarse laugh escaped his throat.

“So much drama with me, but you let my elderly mother toss you down the stairs.” He leaned down and brushed his mouth over mine, stealing my breath away.

“Is this what you want? Violence? Does it excite you, Sera, knowing you’re seconds away from the end of your life? ”

It did. He did.

His free hand cupped me between my thighs, only the thin fabric of my pajamas shielding me from his demanding touch. Heat rippled through my body, a tingling sensation settling in my core.

He gritted his teeth as I rocked my hips against his hand. He roughly pulled down my pants and dragged his fingers through my slit. I gasped into his hard chest.

He thrust two fingers inside of me. He wasn’t gentle. But I didn’t want gentle. My hips bucked against his hand, aching.

“So wet,” he breathed, drawing out his fingers. “I should leave you here like this.”

“I’m yours, aren’t I?” Desperation gripped me in an iron-clad embrace as he slowly circled my clit. “If I was sold as nothing but a whore, why not use me like one?”

“Is that what you want?” His mouth lowered to my neck, teeth sinking over my pulse. I let out my breath in a sharp moan. But then his mouth went lower, and lower, until his lips brushed over my navel.

He was what I wanted. It was wrong, but I didn’t care.

“I said that if you behave, you get rewarded,” he said in a clipped, wicked tone. “Get up and show me you can behave.”

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