6. Mia #3
With his dark eyes still lit up with amusement and that same small smile playing at his lips, he gives me one more kiss before standing up to his full height and taking a step back.
I watch as he adjusts himself, making me instantly remember the glimpse I’d gotten of him earlier.
I know exactly how big he is now, and that knowledge is going to haunt me from here on out.
“Don’t be too quick to hurt me, piccola vipera .” With his hand still on his sizable dick, he adds, “Just think about how much pleasure this is going to give you in two weeks.”
“So you say.” I force my eyes away from him, trying to not show how badly I want him as I check my phone, not at all surprised to see several texts from my brother.
The latest one says that he’ll be shooting his way in if I don’t respond soon.
I quickly text that I’ll be out in a sec and then hop off the counter and shove my phone in my back pocket.
Dario still blocks my path, and when I try to walk around him, he hooks a hand out and grabs onto my waist, pulling me up against him.
I’m eye level with his Armani-wrapped chest, and I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.
“I’d say don’t walk away mad, but I have a feeling that’s going to be a common theme between us.” He arches a dark brow at me. “You’re very temperamental.”
“Says the Italian,” I say, making him grin.
Running his hand down my back, he cups my ass in one of his large hands and gives it a squeeze. “I’ll be thinking about you today, streghetta mia .” He leans closer and confesses, “I can’t get you out of my fucking head.”
“Careful, Dario. You sound like you’re getting a little attached.” I press my hand against his chest, trying to put some space between us, but he refuses to budge. “In two weeks we’re fucking each other out of our systems, right?”
“Right,” he says, far too quickly than I’d like, but it’s the reminder I need to get my shit together and stop acting like some lovesick kid.
Feelings aren’t a part of this. That’s not what’s happening between us.
He’s gorgeous and strong and he doesn’t let me get away with my usual shit.
That’s a powerful aphrodisiac for me, and I’ve obviously fallen prey to it.
“I need to go. Sasha’s waiting for me outside.”
He runs his eyes over me, but he’s careful to not give anything away. I have no idea what he’s thinking, and I’m not about to admit my curiosity by asking. Before he lets me go, he gives my ass one more squeeze and then gives it a hard smack.
“A little something to remember me by,” he says with a grin while I try very hard to not show how much my ass is stinging.
“Fucker,” I mutter as I walk past him. I make sure to tilt every goddamn frame in his hallway before letting myself out.
“Was that consensual?”
“Huh?” I look up at my brother, who’s looking down at me and pointing at my lip. I’d forgotten to look in a mirror to check and see how bad it was, but it must’ve left a mark if Sasha’s immediately calling me out on it .
“Was that something you wanted?” he asks again.
“How do you know he didn’t just get the upper hand while training?” I ask.
My brother raises a brow at me, and it’s starting to feel a lot like déjà vu. I’m surrounded by tall men who want to glower at me.
Sasha calmly explains. “You didn’t have training, and even if you did an impromptu session, Dario never leaves marks on you.”
He’s right. I’ve gotten bruises from training, there’s no way to avoid it, but Dario has never once hurt me, even though there have been plenty of opportunities, especially when I first started learning with him.
I’ve never shown him the same courtesy, and I ignore the quick flash of guilt I feel at that realization.
“Tell me,” Sasha says, reminding me that I haven’t answered him. “I don’t need details, just a simple yes or no.”
“Yes,” I say, refusing to look him in the eye while I say it. “It was consensual.”
Satisfied, he hands me my helmet and says, “It’d probably be best to tell Dad you hurt yourself during training.”
I nod my agreement while he says, “Come on, I’ll take you back to my place so you can change and get ready. We’re meeting everyone at Nat’s.”
Without a word, I get on the back of his bike, and when we reach his place, I wait while he makes sure Chort isn’t in an attacking kind of mood.
I get the all clear and walk in, kneeling down so he can come and smell me.
His pretty brown eyes look me over before he starts sniffing around.
He’s especially curious about all the dried blood on my shirt, but after he’s satisfied his curiosity, he huffs out a breath and then walks off to chew on one of his bones.
“How’s the arm?” Sasha asks.
“It’s fine. I’ll make sure to keep it covered so no one else sees it.” I hesitate before saying, “About last night,” but he quickly cuts off my words with a shake of his head.
“Dario made it very clear that I could’ve handled it better, and he’s right. I shouldn’t have just thrown you into the deep end like that. It wasn’t fair.”
“It’s my fault. I should’ve been able to do it.”
He thinks for a second, trying to understand what I might be feeling and what the acceptable response should be.
“Stop trying to think of what you should be telling me. I don’t like it when you do that. Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
He gives me a small grin. “Why have you never been afraid of me?”
“You’re my brother,” I say with a shrug. “If you wanted me dead, you could’ve killed me when I was a baby. You never did, so I figured that meant you wanted me around.”
He surprises me by laughing. “See? This is why I handed you Greg on a platter. You say shit like that and it makes me think you’re as fucked up as I am, but you’re not, Mia.
Don’t get me wrong, you’re a little fucked in the head, but not like me.
You hesitated with Greg, like any normal human being would have, and that’s fine.
It doesn’t mean you failed, and it doesn’t mean you aren’t cut out for the Bratva.
It just means you’re human, little witch.
” He grins and adds, “And somewhat normal.”
“Thanks,” I say, but I still can’t shake the nagging feeling that I failed.
Thanks to the private school we went to, I learned pretty quickly to not give a fuck about what others thought about me.
I never fit in. I was never interested in the same shit the other girls were interested in, and I didn’t care that they all thought I was crazy and that my family was, too, but I do care about Sasha’s opinion of me, and it would cut me worse than any blade ever could if I felt like he was disappointed in me.
As if to put my fears to rest, he ruffles my hair as he walks by and hands me my knife, the one I’d left in Greg’s chest. Sasha’s already cleaned the blood off for me, and when I thank him, he says, “Don’t worry. I’ll work you up to killing, little witch. We just need to get you used to it.”
I hold the knife, remembering exactly how it had felt when he’d put his hands over mine and slammed the blade deep into Greg’s chest. I push aside the thought, not because it bothers me on a deep moral level, but more that it does make me feel a bit queasy with nothing on my stomach but Dario’s expertly made espresso.
I’d left my bagel on his counter when he’d distracted me with other things, and when my stomach growls, Sasha says, “I’ll get you some breakfast while you get cleaned up. ”
Since I sleep over here so much, I’d brought over a few sets of clothes and shoved them inside one of the ottomans. Grabbing a clean hoodie, I head for the bathroom and do a quick change. When I see the mark Dario left on my lip, I hiss out a curse and send him a quick text.
ME:
Did you have to bite me in such an obvious spot? Everyone is going to see this!
DARIO:
I’ll bite you somewhere hidden next time.
ME:
You are a cocky bastard, you know that?
DARIO:
The inner thigh, maybe the underside of your breast, or maybe I’ll just bite one of your perky little ass cheeks. You’ve given me a lot to think about.
I refuse to let those words or the visual that springs to mind sidetrack me.
ME:
You’re not biting me.
DARIO:
I believe I already did.
ME:
You’re infuriating.
DARIO:
And you’re delicious. I can still taste you on my tongue, streghetta mia.
ME:
I’m about to spend the day with my family, and I’m going to have to lie and tell them I accidentally got hurt during training.
DARIO:
But we both know it’s because I bit you when you wouldn’t submit to me. Every time you see that mark in the mirror, every time you run your tongue over it, I want you to remember how good it had felt to have me dominate you, little viper.
ME:
You’re infuriating and delusional.
I type the message knowing it’s bullshit, and his quick response makes it clear he knows it too.
DARIO:
Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Are you wet for me right now?
I don’t answer, and a minute later I get another text.
DARIO:
That’s what I thought. Your sweet pussy tells me the truth, streghetta mia, even when you don’t want to.