Page 40 of The Mafia Assassin's Redemption-

One bullet.

And it’s like losing Shiv again, but this time it’d be Harry lying in my arms.

“We’ll fake it,” Harry says.

I sip my drink. She does the same. She’s jumpy, and… excited. It might be a terrible, unwanted feeling of excitement, but it’s excitement.

And my cock twitches, getting harder still.

Everything about her is a come-on, a taunt. A challenge. And I’m aware of a clock ticking in my head. We won’t be allowed to stay in here all night. I need to take her. Fuck her. Seal the deal of this blood marriage.

“No, I don’t…” She gulps down her drink and skirts around me to get to the bottle, filling her glass until it’s almost overflowing.

Jesus. She’s short and slender. She’ll be drunk before long.

Or maybe that’s the point.

Her thoughts are leapfrogging through her mind. I recognize the frenzied look. The one a sub gets before her first time, where she’s itching to know what she’s going to get. Even though the sub and I both know the boundaries because they’re discussed in advance, there’s still a thrill of what’s actually going to happen.

And for me? The thrill is in deciding the type of sub I want.

I like brats. I like when boundaries are pushed and explored, and then I take over. I like making them do what I want, what I need.

Her outfit, her defiance, her fire… it all screams pure brat.

I nod toward her nightie. “You didn’t like the dresses I sent?”

“I like this.”

“You would,” I say softly. I approach her and let her back away until she hits the stone wall. I wait as she downs half the drink. Then I place my glass down next to one of the flickering lamps and box her in, a hand planted on either side of her face.

“Everything about you is a challenge, isn’t it? From the garish cross that’s about to break your neck to your surprising choice of fuck-me-now heels.”

“I wore this getup to embarrass you.”

Oh, that she did, but it failed.

“You didn’t. Very much the opposite, but you know…” I run a hand down her cheek, along the side of her neck, and over the bruise I left with my teeth. Then I slide it under her breast and squeeze.

Her nipple hardens and I flickit with my thumb, watching her face as she bites her lip, her inner struggle against her desire such an erotic show. She should be on a fucking stage making money with that look.

Not that I’d fucking let her.

“I’d prefer you naked,” I say before dipping my head to suck her other nipple. I’m close enough to feel her heart race erratically. Her breaths are short and shallow, her skin flushed pink.

Harry moans.

I bite her nipple.

“Oh God!”

I lift my head, grinning. “You are truly fucking divine.”

Her silver eyes turn almost gold in the light. “Oh yeah? Well, I know what you are, too.”

“And what’s that?”

“A monster.” She throws her drink in my face.