Page 86

Why me?

What God did I please? What mercy did I earn? Because I have slit throats and stolen lives. I’ve buried innocence under ash and never once asked for forgiveness. I’ve been called a monster, a reaper, a weapon with no soul left to save.

And yet… here she is.

Wrapped in my arms, kissing me like I’m worthy of her love. Like I’m not something jagged that will cut her if she holds on too tightly.

Christ, there are no words in the English or Italian vocabulary to describe what I feel for her.

Obsessed? Doesn’t even touch it. It’s something else, something much more profound and dangerous.

I close my eyes and breathe her in. Every shaky breath. Every heartbeat against mine. Her warmth seeps into the coldest parts of me, and for the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel like a man. Just a fucking man .

A man who doesn’t know what the hell he’s done to deserve this girl, but knows damn well he’ll kill for the right to keep her.

“There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do,” I think, “if it meant she’d look at me the way she just did.”

I tilt my head down, brushing my lips against her temple. Her skin is soft. Real. Here.

And I whisper, more to the universe than to her. “I don’t know what I’ve done to be rewarded with you, bambina… but I swear I’ll bring this world to its knees before I ever let them take you from me.”

Because she’s mine. And I’m hers. And whatever comes next, we walk into it together.

It’s been hours. No calls. No knocks. No Enzo tearing the door off its hinges or Luciano delivering some thinly veiled threat. Just quiet. Calculated, deliberate quiet. The kind that always comes before something breaks.

But the house is quiet in a way I’m not used to.

Not dead or cold.

Just… still .

Jordyn’s barefoot, curled on the rug in front of the fireplace, her hair falling in soft waves down her back, one knee bent beneath her as she flicks a string toy across the floor for Ladro.

The little bastard lunges after it with all the intensity of a lion in a kitten’s body, tumbling over himself and swiping at the ribbon with tiny, reckless paws.

Jordyn laughs. Not loud, just a breathy, unguarded sound that slips out like she forgot to hold it back.

And I feel it like a fucking bullet to the chest.

I’m leaned back in the armchair, one arm hooked over the side, a book open in my lap that I haven’t read a single goddamn word of.

I’m watching her instead.

The curve of her cheek as she smiles.

The way she bites her lip when she concentrates.

The soft flutter of her lashes as she blinks down at the cat, whispering something I can’t hear.

She fits here. Without trying. Without effort. Like this house was waiting for her to come in and breathe life into it again.

And maybe I was too. My eyes trace the shape of her in the firelight, the shadows on her collarbone, the slope of her neck, the way her fingers twitch slightly every time Ladro pounces a little too hard.

She looks up suddenly, catches me staring.

“Creep,” she says, teasing.

I smirk, slow and lazy. “You’ll live.”

She grins, then tilts her head, a touch of mischief creeping into her eyes. “Come play with us.”

I arch a brow. “You sure about that?”

She blinks. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

I snap the book shut and lean forward, elbows on my knees, voice low and gruff.

“Because the only pussy I want to play with is under that dress.” Her eyes go wide. Colour floods her cheeks.

“Ares.”

I grin like a bastard. “You asked.”

She turns back to Ladro in a flustered huff, but I don’t miss the smile tugging at her mouth, or the way she keeps glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

And I swear, I could sit right here for the rest of my life and just watch her like this. Breathing, smiling, Soft and so fucking mine.

She tries to ignore me after that.

Keeps shaking the toy for Ladro, pretending she’s unbothered, but I can see the flush creeping down her neck. Can see the way her fingers fumble the string every time she feels me watching her.

She's terrible at pretending. And I’m worse at resisting her.

I set the book down on the table, push up from the chair, and cross the room without a word. The firelight flickers across the floor, casting her in gold and shadow. She doesn't look up, but I feel her body stiffen slightly as I drop to my knees behind her.

“You still want me to play?” I murmur against her ear.

A soft breathy moan escapes past her soft pink lips.

“Not if you’re going to be a perv about it,” she mumbles, but her voice is softer now, inviting.

I reach past her for the toy, fingers grazing hers. She lets me take it, and I flick it once, half-hearted, lazy.

Ladro blinks up at me like I’ve insulted his ancestors. Jordyn laughs quietly, her shoulder brushing mine.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” she says.

I shrug. “Maybe I need you to show me.”

She turns to look at me then, her mouth is close. Very close.

And I don’t care.

I drop the toy, let it fall to the floor where the kitten attacks it like he’s reclaiming his throne, and reach for her instead. One hand on the back of her neck, the other slipping around her waist as I pull her back against me.

She exhales, soft and warm.

“Thought you wanted to play,” she whispers.

“I am,” I say against her jaw, pressing a kiss just below her ear. “Just not with the fucking cat. I want to make you purr instead.”

She laughs again, quiet, breathless, then turns in my arms and kisses me like she was waiting for the invitation.

And just like that, the world is quiet again, but this time, it feels a lot like peace.

The kiss starts soft, tentative, teasing. Her lips brushing mine like she’s still testing the weight of what we are.

But that doesn’t last. Not with her hands threading into my hair, not with the way her breath hitches when I slide my hand down her back and pull her flush against me.

She presses harder and I respond.

My fingers curl against her hip, guiding her gently into my lap as I shift back to sit on the rug, the fire casting flickers of amber across her skin. She follows without hesitation, straddling me, her knees on either side of my thighs, her body pressed close and warm and exactly where I want her .

Jordyn’s lips are parted now, her breathing shallow.

The moment my tongue finds hers the kiss turns hungry.

Her hands are on my shoulders, then my chest, then slipping beneath the collar of my shirt like she’s trying to soak up the feel of me all over again. I let her explore. Let her take whatever she wants. Because there’s nothing I won’t give her.

My mouth drags from her lips to her jaw, down to the side of her neck where her pulse is going wild. I kiss her there, slow, then bite gently, just enough to hear that sound she makes.

The one she tries to swallow.

The one I want to rip out of her until she can’t hide from it anymore.

My name escapes her lips, barely an octave over a whisper. But it hits me like a fucking drug. I tighten my grip, one hand tangled in her hair, the other sliding up the curve of her spine beneath the dress she’s still wearing.

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” I murmur against her throat, voice low and raw.

She doesn’t, she kisses me again instead, deeper, more zealous, fingers clinging to my shoulders like she’s afraid I’ll pull away.

As if I could.

Not when she’s in my arms, trembling from how badly she wants this.

And definitely not when I’ve waited my whole goddamn life to feel something like this.

A low groan emanates from deep in my throat when she starts rocking against me.

My head spins when I feel her pussy grinding against my cock, the heat seeping through the material of my trousers that now feel a little too tight at the front.

“ Fuck, bambina .” I rasp, wandering fingers find the string that holds the dress together and I pull, untying it until it loosens and the thin straps just slips off her skin like liquid silk and pools around her hips, leaving her chest bare for my eyes to feast on.

Her draws in a quiet, trembling breath as the cool air kisses her newly exposed skin, but her eyes remain locked onto mine, a fiery determination burning within them.

I can’t help but admire the view; her breasts are perfect, full and tempting, with dusky nipples that harden under my gaze.

I reach up, cupping one in my hand, and she leans into my touch, her lips parting slightly as she lets out a soft sigh.

I lean forward and take the other nipple into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it before sucking gently.

She tastes sweet, like summer fruits, and I can't get enough.

Her hands find their way into my hair, gripping tightly as she arches her back and presses me closer.

I can feel her heart racing, matching the rhythm of my own.

“ Ares ...” Fucking Christ, the way she whispers it, quiet, aching, like it’s meant for no one else, makes the whole fucking world go still.

“Cristo, abbi pietà… How do you expect me to keep my control when you say my name like that, bambina?” I murmur it against the base of her throat, dragging my lips slowly up her neck before grazing her chin with my teeth.

She moans, head tipping back, bottom lip caught between her teeth, as her hips start to move faster, chasing friction like she can’t help herself.

I murmur the words low against her throat, my mouth brushing skin that tastes like heat and salt and something that’s only ever been hers . I drag my lips slowly up her neck, catching the curve of her jaw, then nip gently at her chin, just to feel her jolt against me.

She does.

Her moan vibrates between us, breath catching in her chest as her head tips back, exposing more of her neck like instinct. Her bottom lip is caught between her teeth, her eyes half-lidded and glassy with need.

Then she moves.