Make Me Sin (Dark Gods #1)

Chapter 17 #2

She wants freedom, and that's exactly what I'm about to give her. Only is not physical freedom. I will never let her go. It's a different kind of freedom that only a few people encounter in their lifetime.

Serena feels like a magnet that's constantly taking hold of my focus. But I force myself to focus on my next victim, Giovanni. The bastard just had the audacity to threaten me. And there's no telling how the monster inside me will react to that. Because no one threatens me and gets away unpunished.

I feel I can’t control myself, and my men immediately begin to become agitated. They know what happens when I kill a man. They fear what happens when I kill a man.

It's one of my curses, losing a part of my soul each time I take a life. But I can't help myself. I pull a blade from my pocket, pressing it against Giovanni’s neck, and slowly slide it.

Seeing the life drain out of him fuels me like nothing else in this world. It’s as if his energy floods into my veins, feeding the darkness that awakens with each breath he struggles to take . I watch the blood drain down onto the floor. It's almost like I want to taste it, to feel the power I have over life and death, even if that comes at the cost of my humanity.

A black veil covers my eyes, and I can't think straight. My reasoning is consumed by an uncontrollable lust to kill. Before I know it, another wave of satisfaction floods me as I plunge my knife into Canelli’s guts.

The smothered sounds he makes as he falls to his death are like music to my ears. Yet it’s not enough. The stone has just begun to roll down the mountain, and the growing hunger for chaos demands so much more. I guess it's in the family genes. I am the devil's son after all.

It's not long before I need another kill. This is so going to mess up my plans, but I can’t stop myself from yearning for the warm blood of revenge. I need Nick to pay for everything he has done, including ever touching my property.

I want to prolong his death, make it that much more exciting, but the drive to kill beckons much louder than any other self-satisfaction. My full attention is now directed at him. I could end his miserable life in a matter of seconds—at least that's what I thought before my dear Serena decided to interrupt me.

“No, please!” I can't hear her beg for the bastard's life, and my mind can barely register why she's doing it. Is it because she enjoys getting hurt by him? I could very well play around that border. I know it's not that, but something much more twisted—feelings. A knot of anger tightens in my chest at the thought . She still has some feelings for him, and I can't accept that. I have to erase him from her mind completely, even if that would eventually mean breaking her in the process.

There is a violent twitch in my hand I can't control. It's itching to grab hold of her throat again, and I barely stop myself from ending her along with her boyfriend .

The Egyptian hieroglyphs inked on my skin are a constant reminder of the mistakes of my past. How easily I shifted into the demons that haunt me, pushing me to become an old version of myself that I try to keep behind locked doors. I feel them burning, like a spell that keeps the devil locked in—a spell that I feel Serena has the power to break.

I turn to her, but don't walk the full distance. She needs to come to me, not the other way around, so I signal my guard to let go of her so she can come my way.

I see her trying to do that but her feet are too weak to walk in the heels she's been wearing. She tries to obey my command, but she stumbles, almost crashing to the ground. Luckily for her, my guard sees her before it happens, and helps her back to her feet.

Strangely enough, the second I see her fall, something breaks in me. My demons turn into background noise, and I kneel to help her unstrap the belts that keep her heels together, then slowly place her feet back on the ground.

The will of my dick probably just saved her life. That's a thought that makes me laugh, but her goosebumped skin raises much stronger feelings in me. This isn't the first time that I’ve touched her, but it is the first time that she's aware that I'm doing it.

I stretch out my hand, inviting her to join me. She's smart enough to accept without hesitation. It's not the right time to play with me, and I think she can feel it. She comes to me with fragile steps. I realize she can't walk for long. She won't need to either because I take her guard’s position behind her and let her body mold onto mine. It feels like fucking heaven, even though I'm just about to show her what hell really means.

It's Nick's time to pay, so I turn her in his direction, guiding her to walk his way. Her body twitches from the pain with each step she takes, and I feel her stiffening in my arms, trying not to faint while crossing the room.

“Slow, I have time,” I whisper in her ear, letting my lips rest on the nape of her neck. I’ve yearned to be here for too long. But now that she's with me, I have all the time in the world.

Even my monsters seem to have calmed down, and they're being replaced by an impossible need, especially now that I feel her so fragile in my arms. She belongs to me, and nothing will change that. That also means I will be the one who controls her, in the same way I will be the one who protects her. “I've got you,” I whisper again, letting her know exactly what I mean. I have her in every sense of the word.

My grip on her body tightens, making sure she won't fall. She seems spent, but I need her here with me for the show that's about to begin.

I sense her trying to pull herself up to stand, even though she's barely succeeding. It feels like something got her worked up, and as I look at her I notice she's staring at the knife I hold in my hand. It still has Canelli's blood on it, and that seems to freak her out.

“No, Serena, I'm not going to use a knife on you. I was just putting it away.” I put the knife back in my pocket to give her some level of comfort. I don't want her to faint on me before I get to teach her the lesson of the day. “I don't usually kill people. It's bad for my health. But you know what else is bad for my health—my mental health, that is? Being betrayed.” I groan loud enough for only her to hear me. I feel like my anger is returning to haunt me, bringing me one step away from holding her to hurting her.

As if she's trying to make things worse, I hear her quickened breath. “I didn't.”

“You didn't what? You didn't know? You didn't want to do it? You didn't what, Serena? You wouldn't have let yourself be convinced by him eventually?” I'm no fool, and I think she already knows that by now. Maybe she didn't agree to rob me of my artifact, but that didn't mean she wouldn't have silently accepted it.

Nick would have eventually seen to that.

Without even realizing it, I squeeze her onto my chest so tightly that it almost takes the life out of her. It's hard to control my anger when I know someone I care about has tried to betray me. She'll know better next time.

“Come back to me, Serena. I'm not done with you yet.” I don't think I'll ever be done with her. Having her glued to my cock causes my imagination to drift to all the fantasies I'm going to explore with her. My temper is playing tricks on me again, mixing my mood to kill with the temptation to rip her clothes off and have her right on the floor in front of Nick.

“Remember that night at the gas station?” I ask, barely keeping my hands from slipping, even lower on her stomach, and check how wet she really is for me.

“You...” she murmurs, putting two and two together, and finally admitting to herself that I am the man who's been keeping a close eye on her.

I don't wait to confirm it, and since I've been her stalker lately, I need to show her the good that came out of it. I made a little discovery about her boyfriend, and now it is time for her to find out who her heart really belongs to. I ask one of my men to bring my laptop, and I prepare Serena to watch the show of her life. “I need you to be strong now.” It's not really encouragement that I give her—it's more like my self-satisfaction surfacing knowing that Nick's indiscretions are about to be public news.

That's exactly what it is on the video I play for her.

The footage of Nick having sex with that woman feels more like a turn-off than a turn-on, but sensing Serena stiffen in my arms as she looks at the video makes my cock throb with the growing need for her. I want to smell her perfume, and I don't deny myself that sensation, burying my nose between long strands of her hair. She smells like lilies and blood, like love and war—the scent that haunts all my dreams.

Serena's body is growing weaker in my arms with each passing minute of the video. She can barely stand when she sees Nick receiving a pretty decent blow-job from his new girlfriend.

I hold her close, fusing her against my chest, keeping her upright. The sight of her suffering because of Nick flares up my temper. I can't help but feel some kind of sick satisfaction at the knowledge that she's hurting. She deserves this kind of pain for even considering betraying me for a piece of shit like him.

I notice her head turning to the side, so she won't have to watch anymore. But I need to cure her of Nick. So I order her to watch her boyfriend fuck another woman, even if I need to give her more than one warning so her eyes won't turn away from the screen. It's incredibly difficult for her, and that brings me so much more pleasure. Serena needs to pay for choosing his lies over one of my direct commands. She knew she should have brought that artifact to me, and yet I found her as a passenger in a getaway car.

Nick is about to finish faster than I would have wanted, and definitely faster than his partner wanted. I was just beginning to enjoy torturing Serena with that kind of footage, but I could always do it by telling her the rest of the story.

I begin with the time when Nick almost left from between her thighs because his new girlfriend was texting him. But I find the icing on the cake to be him buying an engagement ring with my money. And, of course, it wasn't for Serena. That definitely gets a reaction out of my little spitfire. “You fucking lying piece of shit,” she can’t help herself from cursing him.

Little does she know, hearing her curse awakens my demons. It's like she's summoning them to come to life, so I give her a fair warning. “Don't curse Serena. I don't like it when you do.”

I can't really explain it myself, because I get satisfaction from feeding on her pain, but when it comes to her anger, it's like she's the spark I need to raise up total anarchy.

I ask her to watch the final seconds of the video. I know she got the essentials, but I also like the torture. She's so heartbroken, she can barely breathe. And I want her to be. I want her to see him for the worthless piece of shit he really is.

It's not long before he cums, and I have the feeling that Serena already knows that without even watching the time bar.

I can't keep myself from congratulating her. “You did good. So good. I know you are strong.” Yes, I am breaking her. And still, she manages to listen to my commands and keep her eyes on the screen. I consider that a good start in our relationship—her listening to me. I could even give her a reward for that, but I am keeping the best for last as something else is being brought to my attention. I’m so heated up having Serena in my arms that I almost forgot about my revenge. Nick needs to pay for hitting her two days ago, and I promised myself that I would be the one who collected that debt. My body almost begins to tremble with excitement as I take a knife out of my pocket to settle the score by gluing it to Nick's face until I see his skin breaking underneath the metal. The cut is made to match Serena's bruise. She might be wearing foundation, but I remember exactly where it is. “Is this how it feels to hit a woman, Nick? Because you are my bitch now.” I kiss Serena's head, letting her know this was all for her. Everything I do is for her from now on.

Nick doesn't even try to fight back, and that gives him a few more minutes of life. At least until Serena decides his fate. “What are we going to do about him?” I ask her, knowing that she won't answer. She's not strong enough yet to decide between life and death. And secretly, I'm counting on that. It's all part of my game.

“I can't let him go after trying to steal my artifact, while you, on the other hand... maybe I could overlook you walking away.” I play with her, offering something she might value more than Nick's life—her own. But she's making a deal with the devil, so I add section B to that deal: “ If you kill him . It's very easy; you kill him and you walk away. You will be free. This is what you wanted for a while now, isn't it?”

I expose her deepest desire, and still, she decides to snap back at me, “Fuck you!” she curses at me, igniting a part of my temper I know she won't appreciate. Here I am, thinking she would be a good girl, and she decided to show her fangs at me. But my fangs are much longer and sharper, so I grab her hair into a ponytail, bringing her ear straight to my lips. Maybe now she will fucking hear what I have to say. “Next time you curse, I’ll cut your tongue out. I think we both know you pissed me off enough for one day.” I groan at her, barely stopping myself from turning my words into facts. I do get a kick out of seeing her retaliate, but for now, I want her to be docile. I'm sitting on a fragile edge when it comes to letting go to the full extent of my madness, and she's done enough today to tip the balance the wrong way.

I have to calm down, so I try to turn my attention back to Nick, pointing her head to look at him while placing a gun in her palm. “All you have to do is pull the trigger. Think of it as a game show. This is a very time-limited offer. You don't want to learn what happens when the offerexpires. Or maybe you do.” I can't help myself musing at the thought of what will really happen when the offer expires. Because I know she won’t go through with it. Still, I am planning to keep my word. If she kills Nick on her own, I will let her go. Of course, I have other methods to get under her skin. I just don't plan to waste my time playing Romeo.

Exactly as I expected, Nick begs for his life, like the coward I know he is. He even tries to sell her more lies, but she's smart enough not to believe them anymore.

“End him, and I guarantee you will walk through the door,” I reinforce my promise since this game is beginning to amuse me. I even help Serena's hand raise enough to aim the gun at him. At this point, I want her to kill him. It would be such a perfect ending to this whole disaster. I will figure out the rest, but before I get any chance to get my hopes up, she says exactly what I was expecting of her: “I can't.”

Well, I guess I should go on with my initial game. I think I would’ve enjoyed the fear in her eyes if she pulled the trigger to save herself.

It's actually incredible what she does to me, how every single one of her reactions stirs something so intense within me. So badly that she convinces me to drop my initial agenda just to watch her experience a new chapter of her life.

“Tell me, Nick, how does a man end up cheating on a woman like this?” I ask with disgust, trying to understand what could have led him to do something like that.

And the idiot comes up with the most stupid excuse ever. “You said it yourself; I am a man. That cuts it. The opportunity presented itself, and I just grabbed it. Human nature pretty much took control from there on. You are a man. You get me. Sometimes you can’t help yourself, just like you're doing now with Serena. I've seen the way you look at her.”

I never realized I was that obvious. “How do I look at her?” I ask with an amused tone, having the feeling that he wants to offer me Serena, so he can save himself. Doesn't the bastard know she's already mine? Maybe I should show him. “Like I want to fuck her?” I keep the amused tone, but somehow make it deadly convincing. Yes, I am already fucking her in my mind in every corner of this room. And I am sure that my insistent gaze already betrays my thoughts. I don't give a fuck, but I do need to make my point: “Pull the trigger, Serena.” I only test her to see how badly she wants to get rid of him, letting her know there's only one step left for her to be mine. I want Nick out of the picture. And if that doesn't happen soon, I will take the last drop of pride he has left.

My eyes stop on Serena's lips. The bottom one is broken from the accident, and I can’t resist the urge to taste the red liquid that flows through her veins. My tongue slides over the salty taste of her lips as I keep my eyes locked on hers . I want to see her as I taste her. This kind of touch is even more erotic than a kiss. It's like getting to taste your mate for the first time, allowing the essence of that person to run through your veins.

Just let go of the past, Serena, and come to me. That's all she needs to do. “Look at him. He doesn't even care that I'm touching you. All he wants is to save his own ass.” I need her to hate Nick . No other feeling can ever come between us.

I want to push the limit and let him see how she really vibrates under my touch, but my damn phone ruins my plans. One of my older brothers, Surt, is calling me to help him on one of his missions. And we all go by one rule: never turn your back on family. I’m not the only one responsible for keeping the balance, and things must be pretty messed up if he's asking for my help. “I'll be there by the morning,” I promise him, although this news interferes with my own agenda. “Well, it seems we have to make this short. Serena, I'm giving you one last chance to decide. You either kill him and you're free to go, or you die with him.”

I don't have time to play around, and what angers me the most is that I won't have time to play around with her. Bad timing I guess, but not as bad as Serena's who decides to let the gun fall to the floor.

Once again she chose him over me, and I can't stop myself from feeling slightly betrayed. I know she's weak, but I fear it's more than that, and having her heart still belong to Nick is something I just can't accept.

So I throw the dice in my last attempt to cure her of him. I'm not a patient man, and now, I don’t have time to pretend otherwise .

“Pick it up, Nick,” I order, and he complies almost instantly . “How badly do you value your own life?” I might sound mad for pushing him, but I always have a backup. Of course, he doesn't know that, and presses the trigger, without me even ordering so, only to realize “It's empty.” I can hear him say in disbelief.

“It was empty all along,” I confirm. Maybe now Serena will understand that this was a lesson for her.

Nick sure didn't. “But I've done what you've asked me to. Am I free now? Can I go?” He asks with confusion.

His stupidity is almost amusing. “Did I say you could go if you killed her?” I never said I would let him live. The fool just assumed it out of desperation.

“Now you understand? Do you see who you just gave up your life for?” I ask Serena, hoping that she finally understands the difference between real men and pieces of trash like him. A real man would kill for her, while this fucking coward was just about to kill her to save himself.

It's time to end this. Besides, the matter with my brother doesn't allow me to prolong this get-together. I slip my knife into Serena’s hand and open the blade. She knows damn well what she has to do next.

“I can't,” she cries again, but this time with much less determination. She just needs to be pushed past her limit, and my hand is there to do it. It doesn't let go of hers as it guides hers toward Nick. “Shush.” I urge her to keep quiet. It's not because I don't like her whimpering voice, but she's crying because of him, and that ignites my temper beyond reason. “It's so easy,” I say, pushing her hand under Nick's chin. “Look at him, Serena. Do you have any last confessions to make? Maybe tell him who's really been owning your dreams for the last few days. “Do you want him to know before he goes, how when your fingers were deep into that pretty pussy of yours, you were thinking of me? How you were calling out my name ?”

The bastard needs to know that he stopped owning her from the second she met me. I want him to know how that pretty tight pussy of hers already belongs to me. He's nothing, just a sorry excuse for a man, and it's about time that I end his miserable stay on this Earth.

“Show him you're strong,” I aim the knife at Nick's heart. “He broke your heart. Let us take out his.” I don't give her time to change her mind. I just press the knife into his chest, holding her hand there on the hilt until I can see the light in Nick's eyes dying. He's living out his last moments with the image of me holding his girlfriend in my arms.

Nick's body doesn't get a chance to fall to the ground before panic takes over Serena. She's screaming and crying at the same time, ordering me not to touch her. All because of Nick.

So, maybe it's time to listen to her. My arms open, letting her collapse to the floor. At this point, I don't even care if she's hurt. I want to hurt her myself for being so weak, and especially for thinking that she controls me, not the other way around.

The sacrifices I made for her are more than enough. She doesn't get to tell me what to do—ever. Especially since she keeps betraying me with every single one of her cries and pleas.

“Stop crying over him.” I roar at her, tightening my fists until I feel my fingers crack under the pressure. I'm really trying not to lose my shit, but she's pushing all my buttons. “Don't test me. I can do really bad things to you when I'm angry, and I think you already know that.” I'm not even sure I will be able to keep myself from hurting her. Because she's hurting me with every single gesture.

“Get out. All of you.” I command my men to leave. I don't think they ever heard someone before her order me around. I can see that from the amazed looks on their faces.

I've killed people for way less than that, and I'm still trying to convince myself not to end her. I'm just not sure I'll be able to stop myself from doing it, especially since the knife I hold in my hand is asking for more blood. I crossed a very dangerous line, and it's not bad enough that the dark side of me is already awake; Serena decided to play with it. She’s still doing it, not being able to stop her tears. Although I'm not sure they're for Nick any longer, I think she's finally afraid for herself. And there's nothing more my shadows like than playing with her fear.

They want to hurt her so badly that I’m becoming anxious to hear her screams. But that's not what leaves her lips. “Seth,” she calls out my name in the sweetest murmur. It's like a distant summoning, asking me to come back to her. I don't even know how I heard it or how I managed to push back the coils of anger building up within my veins.

I’m suddenly back in the room with her, I hadn’t realized I’d left .She's been playing with my patience for too long, and I've never been an expert when it comes to holding back. I look around me to make sure no one hears what I’m about to say. I'm about to show her mercy, which is something I’m not known for . “I'm only going to say this once. So you better pay attention. I gave you a chance to walk away, and you refused it against my warnings.”

Oh, she's paying me all the attention I need now.

“I should kill you, but I liked way too much how you purred my name. Therefore, I decided to give you another option. This is the final one. I've already gone back on my word today for you. And I never fucking do that!” I think she knows I'm dead serious, because the truth is, I am. Her earlier breakdown showed me that I wouldn't be able to control myself next time she’d be crying over a different man. So here it is, my final offer: “You can either join Nick... or me. I want you to be mine.” This isn't a confession I've ever made before. Yet, here I am extending my hand to her. For a second, I'm not sure if she'll take it. I’m nervous because I know I would have to kill her if she didn’t. Things didn't turn out exactly my way earlier. I didn’t expect to react so strongly to her feelings for Nick.

But to both of our luck, this time she doesn't disappoint me and lets her hands slip into mine. I help her off the floor and into my life. Welcome home, Serena.

“What a shame I have to leave you alone for the night.” I let out one of my regrets, but also a silent warning for her. I have to leave. Otherwise, I would have loved to help her out of that bloody dress. “You're still not out of the woods for trying to steal something of mine, Ya'amar. But to start things on better terms, I will give you three days before I claim you as mine.” It is both a threat and a promise. I’ll show her my mercy by giving her time to recover. Besides, I'll probably be gone for two days, and it wouldn’t be so difficult for me to give her the space she needs to get better.

“You didn't have to make me kill him.” I can hear her go on with her nonsense, but before she gives me the chance to bring the monster within me back to life, I claim a kiss from her. I know I take her by surprise, but I feel if I don't do this now, I may end up doing something I regret.

I need to remind myself of her taste and imprint mine into the depths of her mind.

I'm not just kissing her; I'm telling her that she is mine.

If her lips are initially still, they slowly regain life. She's almost kissing me with the same lust that I’m kissing her with. Our chemistry is undeniable and gives me a kind of thrill no other person on this planet ever could.

I hear her moan. I'm sure it was without her intending it, but it gets me that much more worked up. I'm almost tempted to ditch my brother over her, but I know hell would break loose if I ever did that. Literally.

Still, I want her to know just how perfect she is right now. “I don't want you innocent. I want you scarred, with blood coating your hands. I want you to be my perfect match.” I whisper, never stopping from kissing her. I feel I won't ever be able to stop kissing her, and that raises a million questions in my mind.

Still, she doesn't seem to agree with my intentions for her future. “Fuck you,” she dares to curse at me again. This time, she stirs up a different kind of demon. It's not my lust to kill that she awakens. It’s the lust to take her to my bed, and show her what happens whenever she dares to defy me.

She needs some kind of punishment right now. And I did say I would cut off her tongue. I won’t do it literally; I think I'm going to want her to hold onto it for at least a few more days. But I do need to show her the consequences of her mistakes . Clasping my teeth on her tongue, I don’t stop until I feel the taste of her blood resting on my lips again. I don't break the kiss for several minutes. I don't even know if it's because I'm trying to hurt her or just because I can't control myself. It just feels impossible for me to leave right now. Besides, I think it's only fair to give her one last warning. “Never...use the word...fuck again...unless it's when asking me to get inside you.” I instantly wish I hadn't said that because the need to make that happen as fast as possible is clouding my better judgment. I'm almost pushing past my limits, trying to stop myself. But I know that if I don’t leave right now, we probably wouldn’t have much time left together anyway before some stupid bastard turns this shithole world into oblivion.

It feels like the drops of my soul break along with me breaking the kiss. “You make it nearly impossible for me to keep my promise. But I have to go.” I have to get out of there while I still can.

I was never one for long goodbyes. Besides, the sooner that I leave, the sooner I return. “Take her upstairs, and put her in the bedroom next to mine,” I called out to a couple of my men who were waiting outside the door to get her out of there, and then made sure a doctor would see her as soon as possible.

I may want her to suffer for being so weak and holding onto Nick, even after I proved to her that he's just a piece of trash. But I don't want her to bleed to death or get septicemia because her wounds aren't treated.

I never imagined that leaving someone behind for a couple of days would come with so much difficulty. I'm even starting to enjoy this new part of my life. That there is something else present in my world besides the numbness that has followed me throughout the centuries. And for once, I need to be patient because I'm sure this kind of wait will only bring me more satisfaction when I claim her as mine.