Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ENZO
FIVE WEEKS LATER…
I hear the creak of the stairs and smile. Aurora is awake and most likely coming to find me. On the nights she sleeps with the guys in Sinclair’s room, she always comes to find me when she gets up.
The times I’ve had to pop in to wake one of them, I’ve noticed how at peace they all look in each other's arms. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m jealous of their bond, but I’m not ready to share what I’m exploring with Aurora yet. They have a level of ease with each other that I barely have with myself. When I’m alone, sleep is restless and punctuated by nightmares. The only nights I sleep through past dawn are when Aurora entwines herself around me.
Those are the nights I feel truly at peace.
Otherwise, I’m tormented with images of every implement Max tortured me with. I feel the searing pain of his blades, the burn of the cattle prod and the clouds of confusion that settle on me like a weighted blanket when my nightmares mimic the drug addled state he kept me in.
I reach up, grabbing the back of my neck to stretch out the kink that’s formed while I’ve been sitting going through Sinclair’s latest reports. It’s been weeks since we dealt with Manny and the fallout from his death has been more or less what we expected.
Max didn’t take kindly to us getting our hands on Manny.
He tried to go after a few of our weapons shipments. He only managed to get one of them thanks to Luc’s quick thinking and his close collaboration with Leandro. I’m impressed with how quickly the capos have stopped working in silos and have adopted a far more cooperative approach. By the second shipment, they’d bolstered their security enough to take out the lackeys Max had sent after them. While he may have more bodies on the street, most are novices and simply don’t have the skills to match us one-on-one.
According to the files, although we’ve suffered some financial losses, it’s nothing we can’t easily absorb. Having a healthy catalogue of legitimate business helps keep us consistently cash rich.
I pick up the file on top of the pile on my desk and flip through it. It’s everything we have on The Knights. We haven’t found any answers as to why Max started collaborating with them, and Sinclair hasn’t been able to find out how they’re communicating. I think it’s time I call Gabriella and get her team investigating.
Max is keeping their involvement with him as low key as possible, and that means they’re vital to him in some way.
As I put the file down, a barefooted Aurora appears in the doorway and leans against the frame, crossing her legs at the ankle. I let my gaze wander up her body, tracing along the outer seam of her skintight jeans so I can admire how her slender calves give way to the curves of her thighs. Her hips flare out only for her waist to be cinched by one of the corsets that have become part of her daily uniform.
I let out a quiet rumbling moan and bite my bottom lip when I reach the swell of her breasts. While she’s had many of her corsets customised and reinforced to be resistant to knife attacks, that doesn’t alter the spectacular effect the boning has on her cleavage.
She even has a Kevlar one.
“Morning, babe,” she says, over emphasising the term of endearment and making a soft popping as her lips press together.
“Babe?” I reply, my tone betraying me while a judgemental eyebrow is somewhere up around my hairline.
“Felt right in the moment, so I went with it,” she says with a giggle. “I’m guessing from the look on your face you’re not keen?”
“You would be correct.” I smirk, reaching out for her to come closer. She pushes off the door frame and walks into my arms. She entwines herself around me like ivy around crumbling ruins and I drop my head to kiss the top of her forehead. There’s nothing on this earth that feels more right than when we’re together. I take a long, deep breath, immersing myself in her presence as she shudders beneath me.
With an incredulous chuckle, she asks, “Are you sniffing me?”
“I would never,” I reply, shaking my head.
Rolling her eyes, Aurora takes a perch on my desk and taps the rather large pile of folders. “So what did you think about the latest intel?”
“We need to bring Gabriella in and get her working exclusively on The Knights. There’s too much we don’t know about them and Max wouldn’t be keeping their involvement with him so quiet if they weren’t important to him in some way,” I say and she nods along with me.
“My thoughts exactly. They’re a problem, and we need to know how big. I’ll call in Stefano and Gabriella this afternoon for a meeting,” she says, taking my hand and drawing me towards her. She shuffles herself back and spreads her legs so I can stand between them. Slowly, teasingly, she walks her fingers up the buttons of my shirt.
“I don’t suppose you want to try something with me before the kids wake up?” Her fingers hook into my collar and ensnare me, sending a shot of pleasure straight to my dick.
“What do you have in mind, sweetheart?” I reply, and the term of endearment causes her to scrunch her nose. “You’re not babe , and I’m not sweetheart .” She punctuates each word with a spiky nail into my good shoulder.
“Yes, ma’am.” I straighten my spine, like a soldier standing to attention, and can’t help but give her a mock salute.
“That’s more like it,” she says before pushing me a step back and hopping off the desk and running out the door. She’s gone for a few minutes and I’m beginning to wonder if I was meant to follow her when she reappears, cocks her hip and starts swinging the length of what looks like jute rope.
“So… Enzo. I was wondering if you wanted to take your shoulder out for a test drive now that you’ve been given the all clear to ‘resume more strenuous activities’? Sinclair’s been teaching me some things I thought you might enjoy.”
My eyes drift along the length of the rope as she twirls it in the air. My pulse is hammering hard. I can feel it from the tips of my fingers to the side of my neck. I swallow when the saliva pools in the back of my throat before biting down hard on my bottom lip. There’s a low hum rumbling in my chest, my body muttering its consent before my brain has caught up.
“You know better than that, Enzo. I need your words. I’ll take your moans too, but first I need a yes or a no,” she purrs. Her tone washes over me like the water from a hot shower, soothing my soul instead of my aching muscles.
“Yes, Don Bianchi.” The moment her title tumbles out of my mouth, I instinctively fall to my knees and bow my head.
I don’t know when we developed this dynamic. It’s been building so gradually, it’s become a part of the way we exist in each other's company. That first night I came home, and she placed her delicate hand around my throat, something shifted inside me. Whether it’s the way she strokes my hair to lull me back to sleep after a nightmare, or how she straddles me and holds my throat firmly to settle me when I jolt awake in terror—I know I’m safe with her.
When she’s in control, nothing else can touch me.
She traces the edge of her nails along my jawline, and it sends a shiver rolling down my spine. I lean into her touch, desperate for more, but she pulls away, leaving me feeling empty at the loss of her proximity.
“Hmmm. You’re so tempting, Enzo. Serving yourself up on a platter for me. I don’t know where to start.”
Aurora circles me. I don’t look up, keeping my gaze fixed on the floor in front of my knees.
“Take off your shirt,” she commands.
I bring my hand to my collar. One by one the buttons give way and I shrug it off my shoulders.
“I’ll take that,” she says. I hear her folding it and placing it down somewhere behind me. There’s a tap on my shoulder before she continues, “Turn around, and get comfortable. I want you to stay on your knees and sit back on your feet. Do you need a cushion? You’ll be in this position for a little while. ”
I shake my head. Whatever she has in store for me will be a pleasure to endure. She flicks the end of the rope against my nipple and it stings a little before giving way to a warmth that spreads across my chest and radiates down, making my dick twitch impatiently. “Words. Enzo.”
“No, Don Bianchi.”
“That’s better.” She explores my body with her fingertips before walking behind me and dragging her touch slowly down one arm. “Arms folded behind your back, holding your forearms. Do you think you can hold that position with your shoulder?”
I don’t quite understand her instructions, but she’s one step ahead of me. “Like this, Enzo.” She kneels and reaches for my left wrist first, easing my arm back and then encouraging me to bend my elbow and lay my forearm against my back, perpendicular to the floor. She does the same with the other one and I find that I can hold my forearms comfortably.
Stroking my left shoulder gently, she checks in with me. “Are you sure you can hold this position? I’m not going to tie anything too tightly this first time, but I don’t want to do any damage to your shoulder?”
I shake my head. “It feels fine. In fact, the stretch feels nice, but I’ll tell you if it hurts at all. I promise.”
The warmth of her body at my back centres me, while the hot breath skittering across my shoulder blade teases me. “Good boy,” she says in a sultry tone that sends blood rushing to my cock.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, sinking deeper into the position and relaxing my muscles as much as possible. I lose myself to the sensation of the rope dragging across my skin, the pinch as she pulls it taut, and the calm that settles over me when she ties the first knot.
“I have a confession to make,” I whisper .
Aurora doesn’t falter in her slow and steady pace. The rope continues to wrap around my wrist as she says, “Go on.”
“I love it when you take control of me. I feel like I can’t let my guard down with anyone but you. Like I’m safe with you.” I don’t know why I’m saying this, but I feel like I need to.
“ Mio Re , you will always be safe with me. You get a part of me that no one else does.” Her words are quiet but her tone is firm and makes my cock want to stand to attention, but it can’t. The seam of my jeans pinches where it holds my erection firmly against my thigh. “You’re mine and no one else's.”
She’s standing behind me now, and the next moment one of her hands snakes around my neck and tilts my chin up, before pulling me back into her chest, nestling the back of my head in her cleavage. She dips her head down and stares into my eyes and says, “Your will is mine to command. Your body’s mine to control. Your heart’s mine to protect.”
Her words resonate through me like they’re claiming every part of me. She has this gift, the ability to turn off the world for me and make it feel like we’re the only two people left in existence.
She is my haven.
Slowly, she runs her palms along my shoulders and repositions me so I’m kneeling upright. The initial knots binding my wrists are unyielding but not tight and allow me to hold my shoulders back comfortably. She picks up the rope again and I close my eyes, losing myself to her repetitive movements. It’s almost meditative. The gentle drag as she moves the rope up my arm and the swish as she ties each knot triggers a cascade of goosebumps along her path.
When she reaches my elbow, she threads the rope through, moving to my front, and starts building a pattern of simple diamonds that she mirrors on my back. I have no idea how long it takes, but with each knot, I sink deeper into a feeling I can only describe as blissful.
I never could have imagined being restricted would make me feel so free.
When Aurora is happy with her creation, she stands before hooking a finger in the central knot that lies over my heart. Pulling me gently, she shuffles me forwards so that I’m kneeling at her feet as she leans to perch the curve of her ass against my desk.
She skates her fingers along the ropes, admiring her handiwork before cupping my cheek. “Look at me, mio re .” When our gazes lock, emotion swells within me and a smile bursts forth. “I need to check in with you. Give me a colour.”
I nod. “Green.”
“Good,” she says, and her hand slips down to the nape of my neck. She rubs her thumb over my pulse point before rotating her wrist and laying the full weight of her palm across my Adam's apple, gently squeezing.
“You, Enzo Moretti, are mine. Now and for always. No matter where you are, I want you to know that nothing and no one will ever change that.” I swallow against her grip and the feeling of ownership is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I want to exist in this moment forever, carry it with me always. Every horror I have experienced, every memory melts away and there is only this bond in its place.
“Can you tell me how you feel?”
“I don’t think I can express it in words,” I whisper.
“If it’s anything like how I feel when I’m bound, I think I can guess. I love seeing the expression of serenity on your face. It’s stunning on you. Does this help you, mio re? ”
A lone tear wells in my eye before flowing over my lower lash. “Yes. I feel… more at peace than I have in months. More like me than I ever have.”
Aurora nods gently before leaning down to take my lips in a passionate kiss, one where she pours all of herself into me and I take every ounce.
“If you ever want to talk about what you went through, I will always listen. But separate from that, if you allow me to, I’d like to do what I can to give you this headspace,” she says.
“I don’t understand. You’re asking for my permission to do something we’re already doing?” I reply, and I can feel my brow creasing with confusion.
“I’m not talking about now. I mean going forward. I’m asking if you’ll let me dominate you. I want to look after you, give you what you need, when you need it. I’m asking you to trust me with your submission, mio re, ” she says, her tone low and laden with desire.
I close my eyes and concentrate on the warmth of her skin, where her grip still holds me firmly. The security of the ropes that bind me and the pressure I feel against my skin under every knot she tied. I feel tethered to not only her, but a version of myself I’ve never acknowledged before. These emotions I’m experiencing aren’t simply a side effect of sexual experimentation, they're a realisation of what I want. What I need.
“Yes,” I say so softly I worry she didn’t hear me.
“Mine. Now and for always.”
“Yours, Don Bianchi.”