And I hate it. I hate myself for letting Marcello wrap me around his finger, for letting him fuck me against the mirror, for letting him have his way with me without fighting back.
I should use his needs to my advantage. Play him with his own selfish, greedy fuckery.
As they say, all is fair in love and war.
Suddenly, my door handle is pushed down. I contemplate sitting up straight and grabbing a pillow to throw, but it’ll probably only worsen the situation. Instead, I close my eyes again and pretend to be asleep.
Marcello’s footsteps are audible. His gait is distinguishable from Mario and the rest of his staff. The door closes. My heartbeat rises, and it’s pounding with every step he takes, closer and closer, until he’s right beside me. Within seconds, his breath is on my skin.
I suck in a breath as his lips graze along my ear.
“I know you’re not sleeping.”
My eyes burst open to find Marcello standing next to my bed, staring straight back at me with a devilish smile on his face.
Then he walks off toward the couch in the back of my room and sits down with his legs spread and his hands on either side of the headrest. He stares at me as though he’s waiting for me to do something, but I don’t know what. Is this another test?
I sit up in the bed and stare right back at him until he opens his mouth again.
“You snooped through Mario’s drawers again today.”
My cheeks flash with heat, and I find it hard to hide the redness flushing through them.
“Don’t deny it,” he says, cocking his head. “I’ve seen the footage.”
Shit. There were cameras there, too. I didn’t see any, so they must’ve been hidden somewhere.
“You won’t find those documents again,” he adds.
“You know something about my parents, and you refuse to tell me what it is,” I say through gritted teeth. “Did you kill them?”
He rubs his stubbly cheek. “No.”
I frown. “You want me to behave, yet you won’t even tell me the truth.”
“That is the truth. I didn’t kill them.” He leans forward and taps his fingers against each other. “Swear it on my mother.”
“Your mother? And how am I supposed to know what that means, if it means anything?”
He balls his fist. “It means everything.”
I swallow. Maybe I should believe him. If he did kill them, he wouldn’t bring me here, would he? Because that’d be like bringing an assassin into your very home, and he’s not that stupid, is he?
“You want some freedom? To know the truth?” he asks, leaning back against the couch again. I nod in response. His tongue darts out to wet his top lip. “You’ll have to earn it.”
He glares at me with insatiable eyes, and I can’t help but clench my legs. Fuck.
I guess I’m going to have to pay for this the hard way, just like I thought.
Harper
With a single gesture, he beckons me to stand. Am I willing? Capable of giving this man my body without losing my heart and mind? Two seconds ago, before he entered the room, I thought I was ready to do exactly that. Use my body to uncover the truth I’ve spent my whole life searching for.
Now, I’m not so certain.
But I have no choice. I must know the truth, even if it costs me everything.
So I get out of bed and stand next to it in my flimsy, partially see-through nightgown that barely covers me.
“Come here,” he commands.
I do what he asks, stepping forward until he holds up his hand.
I’m right in front of him now, and he’s still sitting there like a greedy bastard, taking me in like I’m fine wine or something, and fuck me, it’s making me blush even harder.
Why does Marcello have this effect on me?
He fucked me like I was some kind of sex doll, and I still fawn over him like he’s the only lover I’ve ever had. Not that I’ve ever had this kind of explosive sex before.
His hand reaches for my hip, and he pulls me even closer. “You know … I’ve thought about my behavior these past couple of days, and I realize I’ve been pushing you too much into a corner,” he says, sliding my nightgown up until the pink, completely see-through panties he put in my wardrobe on purpose are exposed. “I fucked you like an animal without thinking of your needs. I was blinded by my desire to own you. But I know you’re more precious than that, kitten.”
He raises the fabric like a shroud until my belly button is exposed too, and then he leans forward and places a kiss just below it, right on my pelvic bone. It’s such a gentle, sweet, succulent kiss I almost melt away into a puddle.
“But you’ve misbehaved quite a lot as well,” he groans as he pulls back and looks up at me with darkened, hooded eyes. “And as my pet, you have to learn your place.”