CHAPTER NINETEEN
Raina
I return to Connor’s lair by climbing in through a back window after disabling the complicated alarm system. An overgrown tree blocks the security camera, preventing my trespass from being noticed by whoever is watching this place.
All the exhilaration I felt last weekend drains from me as dread saturates every breath. Tonight , I’m here to kill him.
Am I, though?
Tiptoeing through a spare bedroom, I remind myself: He’s the killer. He’s dispensing his own justice. Heck, it’s not justice at all. He’s a self-appointed executioner.
I move silently down a hall leading to the open kitchen. I drag my fingers along the cool marble of Connor’s countertops. But my fingers twitch for my Sig tucked into a special holder on my waistband while my 9mm Walther is strapped to my ankle.
I wonder if Connor is in his torture chamber right now beneath the city, finishing off some enemy he’ll never think twice about again.
Looking out at the living room, I consider where I should wait. Greet him sitting on a chair or the sofa with an anxious bullet in the chamber? Or should I hide in the closet again and end his life while he’s asleep?
My mind keeps replaying the exhibit from earlier tonight. His sister Sabine smiled at me, like she could tell I have a thing for her brother. The way Connor looked like he adored her ate at my conscience.
All I’ve seen is the monster side of criminals. Rarely were the men I hunted gentle husbands, fathers, and brothers in the off hours. I’m questioning my crack judgment.
I assume my father was a killer. A man who apparently knew who I was and never tried to find me during his lifetime. Valdrin found me. And now he and Noel are using me to their advantage.
That unraveling, that spin on Valdrin and Noel’s motives, brings my feet to a halt. Am I being used somehow?
I exhale sharply and push off the counter. My pulse is still steady, my instincts are primed. I can do this.
But something doesn’t sit right.
I shouldn’t have stayed at the exhibit so long. Shouldn’t have let myself get drawn in.
I should leave. Before it’s too late, and I’m forced to do something I’ll regret. It’s not like Noel will kill me. I’m a princess, according to him.
I need more details on this murder they’re shoving down my throat.
How Connor decided to just kill the Albanian kyre , when he lived under the rule that you do not kill a don, isn’t adding up.
Feeling good about the decision to wait, I turn to leave the way I came in when a presence fills the space behind me, dark and suffocating.
“Going somewhere, Venom?” Connor’s deep voice strikes a nerve right through my heart.
Nimh . Venom. He knows it’s me .
Fuck.
My body reacts before my mind does. I pivot, reaching for my gun, but Connor is lightning fast, faster than I am. After a sharp twist and a shift of his powerful muscles, I’m pushed against the exposed brick wall in his living room, his body caging mine.
I glare up at him. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people. ”
His jaw drops. “You shouldn’t break into my home .”
I shove at his chest, but it’s like trying to move a mountain. Smirking, he lets me keep pushing, lets me squirm while amusement glints in his blue eyes.
“You’re making it very easy to believe you are obsessed with me.” His voice drips with sarcasm.
“Maybe I am. Maybe I got obsessed after that one night. Maybe I like the way you smell, and I’m stealing one of your shirts to sleep in.”
His grip tightens around my wrists. “Cute. I’m flattered, but we both know that’s bullshit.”
I go still, but my pulse betrays me, hammering at my throat. I suck in a sharp breath, my nails biting into his wrist. “You’d like it if I were crazy about you, wouldn’t you?”
He leans in, his breath warm against my ear. “What I’d like to know is why you’re really in my apartment? Armed to the fucking teeth this time.”
My spine stiffens, but I keep my lips flat. “Why else does a woman dressed like me, packing heat, sneak into a mob boss’s apartment?”
A flicker of amusement crosses his face, but it dies just as fast. Like he’s weighing whether to correct me or enjoy the fact I finally said it out loud.
“Is that why you’re here to kill me?” He lets go of one of my wrists, only to brush a strand of hair from my face. The gesture is too soft, too deliberate. “Raina Riatt .”
I swallow. “You, you know my last name?”
If his hacker brother is any good, they know I was DEA. Getting fired works in my favor, but that could just make me look like a loose cannon.
“I knew your first name before tonight, too. My enforcer team followed you when you left here months ago.” His stance shifts, and with it, the pressure of his thickening length against my stomach. “And I was there when you tried to arrest Havok. I killed the buyer. I saved you.”
“You killed him?” I clutch my chest. All this time, I thought Valdrin iced that buyer. “Did you recognize me?”
“Fuck yeah, I did.” Connor grinds into me, and there’s no mistaking what he wants. “He had a lock on you and was ready to blow your head off.”
I swallow roughly. “Christ, Connor. Thank you.”
That confuses the hell out of me. We had one hot night and didn’t bother exchanging names, let alone phone numbers. Then he saw me wearing my DEA vest. That made me the enemy, but he saved my life.
“You can thank me by dropping to your knees and sucking my cock, Venom.”
“What?”
“You’re blushing.” He brings our mouths together. “Was that offer too lewd for you?”
“I’m tougher than that. You had me once. You know I can dish it out as well as take it.”
“And I remember how it felt to be buried deep inside you. And how badly I want it again. I’ll damn near do anything to be inside you. Even let you live, Venom.”
“Why are you calling me Venom?”
“Because you sink in, slow and sweet, and by the time I’ve felt the poison in my veins, I was already yours.” But Connor drops the flirty mask and gives me a taste of the rage beneath his skin. “Now, tell me. Who sent you to kill me?”
I don’t answer. I can’t. This conversation is heading in a direction I didn’t anticipate, so I just shake my head.
“All right.” His voice lowers, more dangerous in tone. “You have two options, Venom.”
I lift my chin and play dumb. “Let me go, or kill me?”
A dark chuckle breaks from his throat. “Not quite.”
I scowl. “Then what? ”
“I’ll let you live.” His hand ghosts down my arm, slow and intentional. “If you spend the rest of the night naked in my bed with your legs spread for me.”
“Excuse me?” I say to stall, even though I heard every word.
And so did my core.
Meow.
“Sleep with me, Venom,” he murmurs with a sinfully charming smile. “Let me fuck your sweet, tight cunt all night long.”
My neck heats up like a ball of flames is licking my throat. Cocky bastard.
The idea of fucking him again has me wet between the legs. But I can’t give in that easily.
“Why the hell would I agree to that?”
His smirk deepens. “Because if you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to treat you the way I’d treat any assassin who comes to kill me. Male or female.”
“And would you ask a male assassin to fuck you?”
Connor roars with laughter. “My siblings have kids, and it’s all they fucking talk about.” He wraps a strand of my hair around his thumb. “Me fucking a dude would get their attention.”
“I bet.” I bite my upper lip.
His fingers sweep across my collarbone. “What will it be, Venom?”
I swallow even harder this time, ignoring the way my skin tingles beneath his touch.
He pushes his face into mine. “If you were anyone else, you’d be dead.”
I’m horrified at how badly I want to feel him inside me again, too. And knowing how dangerous and powerful he is only makes the ache stronger.
“I’m thinking the people who want you dead won’t like it if I spent all night in your bed. Willingly. ”
“I should torture you until you tell me who sent you so I can kill them .” He unbuckles his belt.
“By putting me over your knee and using that belt on me?” I start to back up toward the door.
“Something tells me you’ll like it.” His eyes sizzle with a hunger I’ve never seen before on a man.
I assess my choices. “I’m not leaving unless I spread my legs for you?”
“Your choice of words, not mine.”
“Do you plan to rape me?” I choke out.
“Wrong.” Stunned into sickness, he releases me, allowing me to take a refreshing breath. “I’m insulted at the implication.”
I scope out more of this apartment to make a run for it. “Then how will you get me into your bed if I don’t want to sleep with you?”
“I know that you do.” He slowly slides off the black leather belt from his slacks.
“Coercion is dubious consent.”
“Coercion, cute.” He takes a step toward me, slapping the belt in his hand. “Look out the window.”
“Window?” I hold my throat. “Which one?”
“The front window.” He gives me the freedom to pass him.
I take a chance and turn around. I doubt a man like him would jump a woman from behind. That’s too easy.
I amble toward the window. I have no idea what the hell he wants me to look at, but the second my eyes focus, I jump back in horror. “Oh no.”
Three men stand guard in the courtyard.
I’m trapped. “They’re not here all the time.”
“There’s never anything valuable in here.” He keeps the belt wrapped in his right hand. “Except right now. And that’s you.”
“Thanks?” I answer, my head spinning .
What in fuck’s sake do I tell Valdrin?
“Perhaps you need more convincing.” Connor strips out of his dress shirt.
A vibrant green and gold tattoo on his chest that looks carved from marble catches my eye, and I’m glued to his body.
“You like my new ink?” He rubs a detailed cobra on his left side.
Looking closer, I see the back is a braid that looks like my hair. “Is that supposed to be me?”
“Aye. For weeks, it’s all I thought I’d have of you. And I endured the pain of thinking I’d never see you, never fuck you again.”
God, yes, please. Hurt me , my soul whispers.
“Let’s reset the game here, Venom.” Connor stands there shirtless.
“You broke into my house. You’re armed to kill me.
We can fake wrestle to build up the sexual tension that is already smoking between us.
I will get your weapons away from you. I can kill you.
I can also open that door and let you make a run for it.
My guards will chase you down and they’ll kill you. ”
It’s all crystallizing for me. “Looks that way.”
“Now, you owe me something.”
“I’m sorry.”
He laughs. “Not an apology.”
“I owe you my body?” My stomach knots uncomfortably, all while my core tightens.
Sick, I’m sick.
“And you deserve my body as a reward for being so bold and brave.” He runs a hand down his chest until he grips the bulge in his pants. “You deserve to ride my cock. Why is this not an easy choice for you? Sex with me or death?”
I need a minute to process that. “And if I say a flat-out no to the sex? ”
He exhales. “Then we go to my tunnel, and I use other methods to find out who sent you. Better men than you have held out until their last breath. Do you want to die, Raina?”
Using my actual name hits me in the chest that I might have pushed him too far. “No, of course not.”
“You’re a lucky lass. I don’t offer my cock to just anyone in exchange for their life,” he says with a surprisingly dignified tone.
“Sleep with you and I walk out of here alive?”
“Walking funny and sore. And counting the hours until you come back for more.”
My mind races with thoughts beyond just spending the night with Connor, which admittedly, I want. I just wish we were still two anonymous people.
I wonder if I can talk Noel out of this insane strike against Quinlan Empire. Killing the don’s brother without a sit-down to negotiate will unleash a fury the likes of a nuclear bomb on this city.
My brain, however, keeps its focus on Connor’s belt, and anticipation tingles up my spine.
“And if I let you fuck me, you’ll really let me leave here alive?” I clear my throat, trying to judge what kind of savage I’m dealing with.
His eyes sparkle. “Unless you decide you want to stay.”
“But—”
“Venom,” he barks, cutting me off. “I can walk out of here tomorrow and be gunned down by someone else.”
“Doubtful,” I scoff.
“Let’s have one more night where you let me do whatever filthy things I want to you.”
I hide my face, embarrassed he’ll see the spark of desire in my eyes and the electricity crackling around me. How I have the unbelievable urge to surrender to a night of pleasure with Connor again. A man who’s wickedly capable of driving me insane in bed.
He exhales, like I’m thinning his patience. He could be seconds away from having those men outside deal with me. Loyal soldiers who can do God-knows-what to me, and no one will care.
“I’m impressed with your courage to defy me,” Connor says reverently. “Let’s let your body decide.”
Guilty. My panties are wet. Staying strong, I pitch my shoulders back. “How? Talk.”
He sits on one of the club chairs and pats his knees. “Lie across my lap. I’ll punish you with my belt. If you don’t orgasm, I’ll let you go.”
I process those words one by one. Once I’m bent over his knee, I’m a melted goner. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing with your life, Connor,” I say, stalling.
“This is a dangerous game you’re playing with your fucking soul, Raina. Lose the weapons,” he orders, voice rough. “And strip, so I see every naked inch of you.”
The minute he touches me between my legs, he’ll know just how much I want him.
How I’m burning for him as much as he’s burning for me.