Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sergio
The punch landed square against his jaw, he grunted as blood sprayed across the concrete floor at my feet. I grabbed his jaw, my fingers digging into his bloody skin.
“You don’t fucking speak to her.”
“Fuck you,” he grunted the words barely leaving his mouth.
I punched him in the gut.
My body vibrated with so much rage. She had no business being here.
I stalked to her, and when I stood in front of her, I blocked Dorian from her view. However, there wasn’t anything I could do about his taunting voice in the background short of killing him, and it wasn’t time for that yet.
Her eyes slid to mine, and all I saw was fear and that shit pissed me off even more.
I glared at my brother and he shrugged. “She deserves to be here.” He crossed his arms over his chest like that was a good enough reason for him to bring her down here.
It wasn’t.
I didn’t think she could mentally handle what was happening in this room. Dorian terrorized her, and I was trying to save her from experiencing any more trauma.
“He can’t hurt you.”
I gripped her shoulders with more force than I meant to, so she’d focus on me. Her body trembled beneath my hands. Her wide and glassy eyes stared past me like she couldn’t even see me, like she was staring at a ghost.
“Seraphina.” I gave her another shake, just enough to break the trance she was in. “Hey, baby. Look at me.”
Slowly, she blinked, and her eyes focused on mine. But panic still flickered in them.
“He can’t hurt you,” I said again, softer this time, hoping she believed it. “Not anymore.”
A shudder ran through her, and she exhaled like she’d been holding her breath. Her nod was small and hesitant.
“I can do this,” she said. “I need to do this.”
After a minute, I let out a deep sigh. “If you’re going to stay, you can’t let him feed on your fear. Show him he means nothing to you. His words mean nothing to you. You’re the one with the power in this situation. You decide what happens next. Not him.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak. However, something shifted in her eyes. There was less fog and fear, and more fire.
“There she is.” I pulled her into my arms and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “There’s my girl.” My voice was low, meant just for her and no one else. “Let’s show him why he should’ve never fucked with you. Are you ready?”
She hesitated, a flicker of doubt crossing her face as she stepped back, but I caught her.
I slid my arm around her waist, drawing her close again.
This time, she didn’t resist. Her body softened against mine, the tension draining from her limbs.
After a moment, her breath steadied. She stood taller, more confident.
Then we faced Dorian.
He glared at us from across the room, fury etched into every line of his face. His jaw clenched, his nostrils flared and his eyes burned with hatred that only came from losing control. If he could’ve reached us, he would’ve killed us.
“He doesn’t like us being this close.” My lips brushed the shell of Seraphina’s ear. “We should use that to our advantage. Give him a show.”
Her eyes widened, then a gleam entered. She turned her gaze on Dorian before she looked back at me, then a small smile curved her lips.
Without a word, she slid her fingers into mine, lacing them together.
I didn’t have to coax her. She was choosing this, but deep down I wondered how far she would go to make him suffer.
I knew what I would do. I’d fuck her until she screamed while he watched on in horror, frustration, and need.
Dorian snarled, his body jerking against the restraints like a rabid dog. The chains rattled but held. His rage was useless now. Nothing but the loud and pathetic attempt of a weak man who lost all control of the one possession he wanted more than anything in the world.
Seraphina.
Seraphina stepped forward, pulling me with her, her chin lifted, and her eyes locked on Dorian. She didn’t speak but her silence was louder than any scream.
We stood hand in hand, letting him watch. Letting him feel the power shift. The loss. And Dorian hated every second.
Dorian’s face twisted, veins bulged at his temple. “You think this is a game!” His voice cracked with rage, but beneath all the rage was nothing but helplessness. “I’m going to make sure you suffer, bitch1”
I moved behind her and slid my hand around her waist, fingers splaying across her stomach. Her breath hitched. She didn’t move away.
“Let’s show him what he’s missing,” I murmured, lips grazing the shell of her ear.
She looked over her shoulder at me, her breath caressing my skin as our faces were only inches apart. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m going to fuck you while he watches.”
Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, lashes trembling. When she opened them, they locked onto mine and her gaze was lit with something reckless. Her body leaned back into me, her hips pressing against mine with slow friction.
Her lips brushed my cheek. “Make him feel it,” she whispered. “I want him to watch you wreck me.”
I slid my hand lower, fingertips teasing the edge of her thigh. Her skin was warm, electric. She arched into me, a soft moan escaped her lips, just loud enough for Dorian to hear.
He roared, lunging forward, only to be stopped by the chains wrapped around his wrists. My eyes locked on him as he glared at us.
“You wanted to break me,” she said. “But you never knew how to touch me, make love to me. Make me feel something other than disgust and pure agony. Now watch me break in pure ecstasy for someone I love. For him.”
I kissed her shoulder, slow and possessively because I didn’t give a fuck what Dorian believed. This woman would always be mine.
“Take off your clothes,” I murmured.
“You touch her, and you’re dead!” Dorian screamed. “You’re dead, you bastard!”
A dark chuckle escaped me. “I’m going to do more than touch her,” I told Dorian with a smirk on my face. “I’m going to fuck her until she screams my name over and over again. She’s always been mine. Now it’s time I show you who she belongs to.”
Lorenzo had already slipped out of the room before I claimed the woman I loved, mind, soul, and body in front of the man who believed she was his possession. That she was his property to destroy. Nobody owned Seraphina, and I was about to give her power back to her.
She stood before me, naked and quaking not from fear but from want. It had been years since I’d seen her like this. Even though she wasn’t as curvy as she once was, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
I stepped closer to her, ignoring Dorian’s curses and threats to kill me, and fuck her in my blood, as my fingers trailed down the side of her face, across her collarbone, then down to her left breast. “You’re so fucking beautiful.” I brushed my thumb across the hardened peak. “I missed you, baby.”
I leaned in and her eyes closed, but I kept mine open. I needed to see her. I needed to see every flicker of hesitation, and excitement, every breath between us. I needed to see everything about her at this moment.
It had been so long since I had her this way. I hated it had to be in front of this motherfucker, but I was killing two birds with one stone. I was showing him she would always belong to me. But more than that, I was showing her, too.
She needed to feel it. Not just the heat of my mouth or the weight of my body, but the truth in it.
I’d broken her trust, shattered it in ways I couldn’t imagine.
But this moment was the first step in her reclaiming herself.
And if she could do that with me, in front of him, then maybe we had a shot at something that wasn’t just new, but better.
I cupped her jaw, my thumb brushing the edge of her cheekbone. Her lips parted and a soft gasp escaped her. I didn’t rush. I wanted her to feel the ache of waiting for me. When I kissed her, it wasn’t gentle. It was deep, claiming, a collision of breath, memory, and need.
She gasped into my mouth, fingers curling into my shirt. Her body arched, pressing into me like she wanted to crawl inside my skin. I kissed her harder, tilting her head back, swallowing the sound she made when I bit her bottom lip.
Behind us, Dorian made a noise. Something between fury and disbelief. But I didn’t look at him. I didn’t need to. This was for her. For us. Her eyes opened in the middle of the kiss and that was when I saw it. Something fierce and it wasn’t surrender or forgiveness.
It was power.