Cruel Mercy (Dark Mafia)

I doubted I would ever be able to stop staring at her.

It took me a hot minute to realize she wasn’t just gorgeous. She was furious. I had a good idea that I knew what it was about too…

Goddamn if that just didn’t make her even more gorgeous.

The girl wasn’t wearing a lick of makeup. She hadn’t done anything with her hair other than brush it. But Jesus Christ, she didn’t need it. She didn’t need any of it.

“Good evening, Terri,” I said with a smooth smile. I couldn’t let her see the effect she had on me. I would never give her that kind of power.

“Good evening,” she said in a very cool tone. I pulled out her chair and she sat. Then she ignored me completely.

I brought her a glass of red wine without being asked, sat down, and watched her. She was trying to work up the nerve to tell me off. Probably for throwing away her clothes.

Perhaps that had been an error in judgement, I mused silently. But the knowledge that she was wearing only things that I had chosen and paid for was highly erotic. From the tips of her toes, right down to the lucky underthings covering her most sensitive body parts… I was harder than a rock, just thinking about it.

Everything she had, I had provided. The bed she slept in. The food she ate. I was starting to realize I didn’t ever want to let her go.

Hundreds of women had hoped to catch and keep me. None had come close. But this girl, who was doing absolutely nothing to get my attention, had become the only damned thing I could think about.

“Something on your mind?” I drawled out, teasing her. I could read the girl like a book. And it was the best damned book I’d ever read.

Oh yes, Theresa was quite the little page turner.

I watched as Terri opened her mouth just as Auntie sailed into the room. The timing could not have been more perfect. My smile widened as I watched Terri realize she wasn’t going to be able to tell me off. Not anytime soon.

Dinner was delightful. Auntie had outdone herself. And the view was amazing.

Terri’s cheeks got pinker as the meal went on. I did my best to keep that fire burning with provocative comments and innuendos. Nothing overtly sexual in front of Auntie, though any one alive could have interpreted the looks I was giving her.

Even my sweet aunt was giving me looks by the end of the meal. When desert was served, she excused herself abruptly, muttering something about having hers in the kitchen, where it was less tense.

I settled back in my seat and waited for the fireworks to start. I didn’t have to wait long. Terri folded her napkin neatly and laid it on the table.

“Go ahead. You’ve been waiting to tear into me for an hour and a half.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s not healthy to keep all that bottled up inside. I wouldn’t want you to spring a leak.”

“How dare you?”

“How dare I what?” I countered mildly. The calmer I was, the more furious she became. It was highly entertaining. Intoxicating, even. I took another sip of my wine, making sure to act as unconcerned as possible.

“Those things- the things you had disposed of- they had meaning to me.”

“Old clothes? You’re joking.”

“I am not joking. I liked my old clothes.”

“Well, now you have new clothes. Better clothes. Honestly, I have never heard of a woman complaining about being given gifts.”

“Gifts? You made me feel like a beggar! Like I wasn’t good enough!”

“That was not my intention. In fact,” I said, standing and walking over to her chair. I tipped her head back and stared down at her. “I did it because you are an exceptional young woman and deserve the best.”

“I don’t want the best until I can buy it for myself.”

“Hmmm,” I said, still gripping her chin and considering her. She was unspeakably lovely in the candlelight. Her skin felt like living silk under my hand. If she had looked down, she would have had zero doubt of my arousal.

Instead she stood.

“Do not buy me anything else,” she said, staring me square in the face.

“Don’t presume to tell me what to do.”

“How dare you? How could you possibly be so heavy handed?”

“I dare,” I ground out. “Because I can.”

I stepped closer. She stepped further away. This continued until her back was against the wall, the colors of the wall paper somehow richer with her mahogany hair pressed against it.

“I’m sorry about your things,” I murmured as I brushed her hair away from her face.

Her eyes widened in shock. She hadn’t been expecting that. Hell, I hadn’t been expecting it either.

But nothing could have stopped what happened next.

Our lips met, both of us moving toward each other at the same time. I inhaled her, urging her mouth open, my body caging her in so she could not move away. Her mips parted and our tongues tangled, hers tentatively at first, and then with instinctual grace. I could tell this was the first time she had been kissed this way. But her lack of experience was more arousing, not less.