Page 101 of The Ecstasy of Sin

Theroomisbathedin darkness, and I’m cocooned in the luxurious warmth of Dominic’s enormous bed.

My bladder is screaming at me to get up and take care of business, otherwise I wouldn’t budge from this ridiculously comfortable nest that smells like him.

I can’t remember the last time I experienced comfort like this. It’s been forever since I’ve had a bed of my own, and the cots at the shelter can hardly compare to what you can have in a real home.

Not to mention the cold, hard ground I was forced to sleep on when I didn’t manage to secure a place for the night.

I roll to my side, expecting to find Dom asleep beside me—only to be met with an empty, cold stretch of mattress.

Frowning, I sit up and glance toward the bathroom. The light is off, and the door is cracked open, so I know he’s not in there.

Hunter isn’t in his bed either. Which means the two of them are likely together somewhere in the house. Maybe Hunter needed a potty break, too?

I slide out of bed, instantly missing the warmth, and tiptoe into the bathroom. I take care of business, wash my hands, and takethe opportunity to brush my teeth and comb out the tangles from my slightly damp hair.

When I walk back into the bedroom, I’m surprised to find Dominic still hasn’t returned. Wandering over to his closet, I grab the first t-shirt I can find, pull it over my head, and head for the bedroom door.

The only light I see glows faintly from beneath the door that leads to the basement. The closer I get, the more clearly I hear voices coming from below. Curious, I slowly ease the door open and peer through the crack.

I can’t see anything at the bottom of the stairs, but Ryker’s voice drifts up from somewhere deeper in the lower level.

“Dimitri isn’t going to let this go. He’s going to come after all four of us, and Wren will be caught in the crossfire. The shit he’ll do to her if he gets his hands on her… he’s going to want revenge for what you did to Maksim’s face.”

My breath hitches, heart pounding so violently it echoes in my ears.

Ryker continues talking. “He’s done worse to women in his own family. He’s not going to make it fast. If he takes her, he’ll mutilate her body while she’s still alive. He’s fucked in the head.”

Then Dominic speaks, and the brutal edge in his voice makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“He can try, but I’ll rip him to fucking shreds with my bare hands. I’ll slit him from navel to throat and see what falls out,” he snaps. “The reason he never tried to intimidate me into working for him is because he knows damn well that my psycho tops his.His death would be one more body added to the mountain of dead men at my back.”

“You really are an addict,” Ryker mutters, followed by a low whistle. “What’s your kill count at now, anyway?”

Dominic’s response is clipped. “I lost count years ago. Well over a hundred.”

My stomach churns as I process this conversation, one I’m certain Dominic didn’t intend for me to overhear.

Exactly how many people has Dominic killed—and for what? What kind of man racks up a body count that high?

One hundred lives.

My head swims. Surely a man capable of killing that many people can’t possibly value human life. And if the man that now owns me—body and soul—doesn’t value human life… what does that mean for me?

Between Dominic’s apparent addiction to murder, and the looming threat of Dimitri to torture and rape me to death, am I truly safe here?

Would I rather die a quick, meaningless death on the street—or risk days, maybe months, of agony at the hands of a monster like Dimitri?

Do I really understand what Dominic is capable of? Now that I’m standing here and listening to him talk about killing people like it’s his drug of choice, I’m not so sure.

Tears sting the corners of my eyes, and the strange ache blooming in my chest feels too much like heartbreak.

Ghost’s voice slices through the tension. “We knew what we were risking when we asked Dom to kill Maksim.All we need to do now is stick to the plan. Dimitri and his crew die next, and we’ll let Killian handle the Russian fallout.”

Torin’s gravelly voice follows. “Killian’s in agreement. The Kinahan syndicate will fill the void, and he won’t fuck with us or our business.”

“He knows we bow to no one.” Ryker adds confidently.

Dominic exhales sharply. “If you all had agreed to let me scratch my itch and butcher Dimitri’s men when they first landed in Toronto, we wouldn’t be dealing with this now.”