Violent Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family 2)

In one swift move, his hand is in my hair, fisting it. My scalp burns, and I let out a tiny gasp when he pulls me into his face. I stare into his eyes, and barely controlled chaos reflects back at me. He wants to hurt me. I can see it, taste the danger on the tip of my tongue.

“You think I wouldn’t force you?” He cocks his head to the side, and I know I’m close to seeing a new side of his evilness. A darker side.

Before I can answer, he pushes me down to my knees. The impact on my knees vibrates through my entire body, and I grit my teeth to stop from whimpering.

His free hand wraps around his already hard cock. “Open your mouth.”

“I’ll bite you,” I hiss through my teeth.

A predatory grin appeared on his lips. “I’ll pull every single one of your teeth out if you bite my dick.”

He is lying. He has to be.

“I guess that’s what it’s going to be then,” I say, calling his bluff.

His grip on my hair tightens, and I wince at the sting on my scalp. It feels like he’s pulling my hair out. For a split second, I wonder if I was wrong, if he wasn’t bluffing. Would he really hurt me like this?

The moment passes, and the air in the shower grows tense. If he hurts me, then he does. I can’t stop him. Releasing me with a shove, he growls in anger, curling his hands into tight fists. I let out a startled gasp.

“Finish up and get dressed,” he snarls and briskly gets out of the shower. “You’re going back to the cell. Maybe a night or two in there will remind you what your place here is. I’ve got to go somewhere, anyway.”

He has to be mental if he thinks locking me in that cell will get me to bow down to him. For a whole second, I stand there just staring at the tile. I hear him pad out of the bathroom, and I manage to snap out of it. I wash my body then. Rinsing quickly, I start on my hair and hurry through the process.

I’m just rinsing my hair out when Markus’s voice booms through the space. “You’ve wasted enough of my time this morning. Get out of the shower.”

I twist the knobs, turning off the water. I stand there for a moment and wring my long hair out. “Just drying off,” I reply, not letting my annoyance mixed with fear show in my voice.

“You can dry off in your cell. Get the fuck out here.” I can hear him stomping across the room. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was coming to get me.

I hurry out of the shower and grab a towel. I don’t even have the towel wrapped around my body when his large frame appears in the doorway.

“Hurry the fuck up,” he growls impatiently, crossing his arms over his broad chest while his eyes are shooting daggers at me.

I’m shivering and not because I’m cold. I can’t help but think I might have pushed him too far. On shaking legs, I clutch onto the towel with a death grip and scurry across the bathroom naked. The next two seconds happen in slow motion.

My wet feet touch the cold tiled floor, and in an instant, I lose my footing. Even though time seems to slow down, I’m unable to stop what’s happening.

It’s like a movie playing right before my eyes, only I’m not watching it. I’m the lead, and Markus has the supporting role, standing a few feet away from me, watching me fall.

My feet slide out from under me, and my arms flail in the air. I’m looking for anything to reach out to grab on to, but my fingers catch nothing but air.

Wide-eyed, I see the same shock reflecting back at me in Markus’s eyes. The anger has disappeared altogether, and he looks… scared.

My body slams to the ground a split second before the back of my head does, and before I can even register any kind of pain, I’m out.The next time I open my eyes, I almost forget what happened. I’m a little disoriented when I find myself in bed, untied, and with Markus hovering over me.

There’s a sharp pain that radiates outward across the back of my head and a throbbing, dull pain right behind my eyes. I’m about to ask what the hell happened, and then I remember how I ungracefully slipped on the floor, hitting my head.

Ugh, no wonder it feels like someone tried to crack my head open.

Using my hand, I probe at the back of my head, finding the tender spot easily. A hiss passes my teeth as the pain intensifies.

“Don’t touch it,” Markus growls, still sounding angry and irritated. “I’ve already cleaned the wound.”