Caged: A Dark Mafia Romance

He smiled wide. “Of course you’re in it. I was a damn fool to leave you in that room to go fight, and I realized it every single day that passed.” He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “My pride got in the way, and I felt I had to go down in a blaze of glory, and I would have if Tommy hadn’t dragged me out of there. I should have taken you and ran away instead. But I’ll never make that mistake again. I want you. You are mine.”

“Yours?”

“Mine.” He stood up and pulled me from my chair. He wrapped his arms around my frame, trapping me against his body. “I feel so much more than the dark, angry emotions of before. It’s as if my heart has grown. My entire being has changed. I feel pain, I feel the loss of not having you in my life, and yet I feel emotions such as hope, and love. Love for you.”

I looked up into his eyes and allowed the tears to fall. His confession was all I had ever wanted to hear. He loved me. He’d openly admitted his feelings for me.

“I don’t deserve your love in return,” he said. “I’ve done nothing but hurt you both physically and emotionally. But I want to earn it. I want to prove to you that I can give you what you need. I can honor the memory of the good men in my family by protecting and caring for you like they would have done. I’ll try to be everything a man and provider should be.”

“You will be more.” I stroked his face and gave him a soft kiss before adding, “You aren’t a bad man. You may have done bad things, but like you said so many times before, that was your world. You only did what was in your nature as part of that world. Yes, I wanted the good in you. I still do. But I wasn’t refusing the bad either. I wanted every part of you, and it just took not having you with me to realize that.”

“What part of me could you have wanted? I was nothing but cruel to you.”

“Dominance,” I admitted. “Power. Control. You say all you did was cause me pain, but the pain caused me pleasure. You lit my body aflame with every touch you gave me, no matter how harsh it may have been.”

His eyebrow rose up, and a devilish grin spread across his face. “I see…”

“I thought I loved what I did. I had such ambition and drive. But deep down… I didn’t want it at all. My career wasn’t giving me what I needed. You could… you did. I felt alive and free in that short time even though I was technically held captive. It wasn’t just about my attraction to you and how my body reacted to your every touch. It was more. I can’t explain it. Trust me… I’ve spent the last month trying to. It’s crazy that I’m even here considering this, and maybe I am crazy. But I was back in my apartment, hearing my parents nag me about not visiting the Hamptons, and all I could do was pray I would see you again. That has to say something. That has to be enough. You have a hold on me. No matter how harsh it was at times, I want it again.”

He lightly placed his palm at my neck. “And when I choked you?”

“I haven’t felt claustrophobia since.”

“And when I spanked you?” He swatted my behind, causing me to flinch and gasp at the same time.

“I melted inside. My pussy throbbed.”

“And when I fucked you?” He dipped his hand past the waistband of my pants and toyed with the curls on my mound.

“I never felt more alive.”

He put his lips so close to mine that I could feel his heavy breath. “And if I told you I wanted to fuck you right now, what would you say?”

“I would say no. Just so you can fucking take me anyway.”

I smiled up at Eddie, and we both knew the time had come. When I tried to offer assistance in shedding my clothing, he slapped my hands away. Effortlessly, he rid me of my clothing, never breaking his stare with mine. When he removed his own clothing and stood before me in all his nude glory, I couldn’t help but moan in anticipation.

“Eddie—”

“Don’t talk,” he interrupted and climbed on top of me, lowering his mouth to mine. “Do only what I say.” He kissed me long and deep. He tasted of life, and hope, and sweetness, but there was also the sting and the spice. He stroked his hands up and down my body, batting away my hands every time I reached for him.

“Don’t make me chain you, pet,” he hissed. “Only move when I tell you.”