Seized by the Mafia King (London Mafia Bosses #9)

4. Zane

4

ZANE

I keep the kiss gentle, holding back my sordid desires. I need to feast on this girl, but instead I give her feathery kisses and slides. I reveal what I want a sliver at a time. Using my breath on her lips and presses and drags, I coax her into passion, drawing out a bit more with every moment that flows by. She responds perfectly, arching into me and parting her soft lips in a little moan.

I continue to trap her wrists, not just to force her to take this sweet kiss, but because holding her captive makes my cock hard in a way that I’ve never experienced before. A feral part of me I didn’t realise existed relishes keeping her trapped and feeding her desires.

And if she’s in my hands and out of her mind with lust, she can’t run away.

Cupping her jaw, I angle her head to allow me easier access. I slide my tongue into her mouth and swallow her mewl of arousal as I explore and tease. This kiss should feel insubstantial, but it’s like the ocean lapping at the shore. It’s just a kiss, but my body doesn’t appreciate that, and it’s stronger than anything I’ve experienced before. Wetness slides across the helmet of my cock as I shift against my girl. I’m leaking pre-come.

It’s sheer chemistry. And it’s the same for her, judging by her movements against me. I doubt she is conscious of how she’s showing me her arousal. The hitches in her breath, the way she kisses me back, the involuntary shivers.

I drag my lips over her cheek, and down to her neck. She’s delicious, sweet and salty on my tongue. I want to explore every part of her. My brain is totally disengaged, and my physical instincts have taken over.

“Fuck, I love you,” I mutter hoarsely.

She goes rigid.

Cursing inwardly, I lift my head. Her lips are pink and shiny from our kiss, but there’s a pinch between her brows, and she’s no longer soft and pliable. Have I scared her? I didn’t intend to say that, but it feels right. And sometimes the only way is forward.

“It’s true.” I’m not taking it back.

“You can’t love me,” she scoffs, but a tremor in her voice tells a different story. “You’ve only just met me.”

“I can. I do.” I look into her dark-green eyes and will her to acknowledge this. “The moment I saw you, I knew. You’re my soulmate.” I’ve never believed in that before, but I’ve never been in love before, either. New experiences all round. “I love you.”

I slide my hand up her arm, caressing the delicate skin until I reach where I have her wrists pinned. Then I interlock our fingers and lower our hands. Pressing my body forwards, I keep her in position, captured between my bulk and the solid tree trunk.

She has relaxed, as though she wants to believe.

“Marry me.” She was going to wed that prick Witham. This is no different, except that we’ll be deliriously happy together, and I’ll treat her like a princess. No—she’ll be my queen.

She blinks in disbelief. “Why?”

“Because I love you,” I repeat patiently.

“You think that now.” Shaking her head sceptically, she glances away. “You’ll change your mind.”

“No, I won’t.” This feeling is as solid as the ground beneath my feet. “You’re it for me. I understand that you don’t believe me yet.” Though I don’t like it. “You need more time.”

“ You need to take a sec to realise you’ve gone mad.” She looks back at me, but despite her words, she’s gripping my knuckles with her fingertips, digging her nails in.

“You think I’ll stop loving you? Little bunny, love isn’t like that. It’s not a thing you can turn off. I’ll still feel the same in an hour, a week, a month, a year. A decade, a millennium. I’ll always love you.”

“You’ve been in love before then, since you know so much about it.” Her mouth twists.

Interesting. Is she jealous? My sweet girl. She has nothing to be jealous of.

“Not like you think, no. Not romantically.” That calms her a fraction. “But I’ve witnessed love. I’ve seen the way it wrecks people.”

And until now, I had no idea why anyone would care more for another person than themselves. I thought it was stupid. I didn’t realise that once you found the woman who fits and smooths your every jagged edge, that the sensation of coming home would make it impossible to ever turn away.

I could no more let Willow leave me than give up my tattered soul.

“It’s a permanent mark. You can’t just change your mind because it’s not from your heart. But I’ve seen people die for those they love, and never understood. Until now, because I’d lay down my life for you, if that was what you needed.”

It sounds over the top, but quantum physics is also absurd and true.

“I want you. Whatever you’ll allow, I’ll have. I’ll always crave more, though.”

I touch our foreheads together and tighten my grip on her hands, breathing her in. It’s a simple thing, but another first. This girl is all of them for me. Every first emotion, all the tender moments I hadn’t realised I was missing.

“This is insane,” she mutters, almost to herself, but she’s holding my hands as much as I am hers. “I’m the sister of your enemy, of an Essex Cartel kingpin. You don’t really want this. Let me go. You don’t believe what you just said.”

Ouch.

I grit my teeth to prevent an outright “No” from emerging, and think. She ran away, but she responded when I kissed her.

She’s scared. She’s out of control. So far this morning she has been a bride, watched her groom die in front of her, been very publicly kidnapped, thrown herself from a moving car, and been chased down. Without shoes.

I make a mental note to tend to those bare feet later.

Then an obsessed man twice her age announced that he loves her. And I think she feels the same.

I sigh and look into her face.

It’s not unreasonable that she would be wary, my flighty little bunny. This is a lot to take in.

Maybe she just needs more time, and the illusion of choice.

“Thing is, you’re my payment, Willow.”

She sags.

“Ownership is permanent, but I might be persuaded to accept other assets…” I trail off, leaving her to imagine.

“I don’t have anything,” she says miserably.

I raise one eyebrow.

She huffs. “Literally, I have this blood-splattered dress I’m standing in.”

“I’m sorry about the stains, but it wasn’t like you were going to wear it again,” I point out wryly.

Her lips quirk upwards. “I guess not. Look, I have some money saved,” she confesses in a rush. “I’ll give it to you. But please, not all of it. I’ll need enough to get away.”

“Your finances are safe from me. I have more income than you can possibly imagine.”

“I could work. I’m a hard worker,” she adds, as though she didn’t hear me.

“I’m sure you are, but you won’t have to while you’re with me. I already have a lot of employees. I’m interested in unique delicacies.”

A less observant man might not have noticed when her gaze dipped and stuck. She stares at my lips for long seconds before taking in my jaw, where a dark shadow of stubble forms within hours of me shaving. Her pupils dilate, big and black, despite the sunshine through the trees.

“I could give you something else,” she says breathlessly, then meets my eyes and pink tinges her cheeks.

“What do you suggest?” It’s an enticement.

“I don’t know.”

“Liar,” I respond softly. “You do know.”

“I’ve only got myself.”

And such a pretty self. She’s everything.

“And I haven’t got much experience,” she adds in a rush.

“How much?” I demand, my heart hammering once again. Could I claim all of her? Make her mine entirely.

“That was my first kiss,” she confesses miserably.

“Oh, little bunny. And I stole it from you.” I can’t keep the glee from spreading a smile across my face. “What else?”

“I…” She blushes furiously and I shift my feet to better block her from moving. Then I release her hands and wrap my arms around her waist. Her hands flutter to my shoulders.

Stroking the silk over her warm skin with my thumb, I decide I’ve waited long enough.

“I want one thing from you.” I want everything, but we’ll start with this.

“And then you’ll consider that payment, and let me go?”

I swallow razor blades. Can I really agree to that? I’m usually a man who keeps his promises.

“Yes.” The blood and pain of that word threaten to choke me, even though I’m certain this will never happen. “If you want to leave after you’ve fulfilled your debt, I’ll…” Stalk you and protect you for the rest of our lives . “...Take you somewhere safe myself.”

She’d think I’ve released her, and I’d care for her from a distance, and that amounts to the same thing.

“Okay.” She nods, such a proud creature, liking to imagine this is a negotiation. “I’m listening.”

“You said you’re not experienced. I want all your firsts .”

Not just her kiss. I want to be the first and only man to pleasure and use that perfect body of hers.

She lets out a little whimper.

“Not all at once,” I concede. “You can take as much time as you need.”

But she should have no illusions. She’s mine. And if it takes us forever to discover all the ways to be together? Well. That’s not a problem for me.

Biting her lip, Willow digs her fingers into my shoulders, apparently unaware that her breathing has accelerated.

“And you’ll stay with me, as my guest , until we’re done.”

That should be long enough for her to recognise we’re meant to be. And for me to find out exactly what she wants, and arrange it. I have to know everything about her. I want to spoil her, and look after her, and for that, we need to spend time together so I can understand her innermost desires.

“All my firsts, but I can say when,” she checks.

I nod. “But you stay with me until what you owe is paid, little bunny.”

“Okay.” She licks her lips nervously, but a spark of excitement flares in her eyes. Then it’s my turn to be entranced by her, as she was by me. “No second times, though, right?”

“Agreed.” My imagination is extremely vivid. I feel sure we can manage a lifetime of firsts. Unless we want to.

But damn it, I’ve already had her first kiss.

“Except,” I rumble. I shouldn’t do this. We only just made the deal.

“Yes?” And her word is more than a question. It’s trust, and agreement.

And I’m a mafia boss, not some tame businessman. I need her. Now.

“Fuck it.”