Chapter 40 – Penelope
T he blindfold was torn off my face with a vicious yank. I blinked into the daylight lit office, immediately focusing on the roguish face in front of me. Alessandro was smiling. That predatorial look was more triumph than anger.
I didn’t back down.
“Don’t worry, little wife, I knew your secret even back in Detroit,” he mused darkly.
I stilled. I’d been so careful!
The chuckle that escaped Alessandro’s lips was like a glass of aged whiskey, smooth and deep. It carried a hint of danger and playfulness, like a predator toying with its prey. It was a sound that could make one melt and shiver at the same time.
“I’ve wondered when you would reveal that little secret. It almost isn’t fun to make you confess it now.” He cupped my chin and leaned in for a kiss.
Damn him, but the gesture consumed me.
His lips tasted of power and vengeance, a heady cocktail that clouded my judgment. When he pulled away, my breath came in ragged gasps.
His voice was husky and sultry. “Anything else you wish to confess?”
It crossed my mind to tell him about the Fed. But that was a far more serious conversation.
And my pussy ached. If we stopped this power struggle because he needed to deal with the threat to his organization, I didn’t think I could survive the denial.
“I confess that I want you to fuck me,” I seethed. “I shouldn’t. Not after you spanked me like a naughty girl, but damn you, I want it.”
Alessandro’s eyes glittered with amusement. “Again, that’s something I already know, vespina.”
“Then why don’t you do it,” I challenged.
With an animalistic growl, the last thread of the monster’s control slipped.
Alessandro gripped me around the waist, lifting me off the ground. I hooked my legs around him as he drove into me.
I was instantly full. Stretched. But not yet sated.
“More,” I demanded, clawing at his shoulders as he pinned me against the wall. The books beside us rattled dangerously.
The wolf’s teeth grazed my neck, biting just hard enough to make me gasp.
“So greedy,” he murmured against my skin. “After keeping secrets from me.”
His thrusts were punishing, deliberate, each one driving me higher. My head fell back against the wall with a thud I barely registered.
“You—” I gasped as he hit that perfect spot inside me “—keep plenty of secrets too.”
His laugh was pure darkness against my ear. “The difference, vespina mia, is that I’m allowed to.”
I wanted to argue, to fight back with words since my body had already surrendered, but he shifted his angle and coherent thought fled. My nails dug crescents into his skin. The pleasure mixed with the smarting from the belt marks to create a heady sensation.
But I wasn’t the only one coming undone.
His thrusts were merciless, each one driving deeper than the last.
“Look at me,” he commanded, his voice a dark whisper against my ear.
I forced my eyes open, meeting his gaze. The pitch-black intensity I found there nearly undid me.
“You think your little games can outmatch mine?” He punctuated each word with a thrust that sent sparks shooting through my core. “I’ve been playing this game since before you knew the rules, little wife.”
My body betrayed me, responding to his dominance with a shameful eagerness. Each stroke pushed me closer to the edge, and I bit my lip to keep from begging.
“Rules can change—or be broken,” I rasped.
“Such strength,” Alessandro murmured, his thumb brushing across my nipple before he gave it a hard tweak.
I gasped.
“It’s time for you to finish,” he commanded.
“Make me.”
His eyes darkened to obsidian.
Alessandro’s hand slid between us, finding that sensitive bundle of nerves with unerring precision. His fingers worked me with practiced skill while his hips never faltered in their punishing rhythm.
“You forget who you're dealing with,” he growled against my throat, teeth scraping the tender skin. “I own every inch of you.”
The dual assault was too much. My body tensed, hovering on the precipice as I fought against the inevitable. Not because I didn’t want it—mother of god, how I wanted it—but because surrendering felt like losing this round in our eternal game.
“Let go,” he commanded, voice like velvet-wrapped steel. “Now.”
My body obeyed even as my mind rebelled. The orgasm crashed through me like a tidal wave, obliterating thought and reason.
“That’s my girl.” The sound of his rough voice was the only thing powerful enough to break through the haze of pleasure.
I watched as the monster came undone, beautifully violent face contorting in a mix of pain and pleasure.
I did that—I brought the beast down.
His roar echoed through the room. His body shook with powerful spasms as he gave one last thrust, his muscles tensing against mine as he emptied himself into me. I could feel the pressure and warmth of his release inside me, filling me and marking me as his conquest. The sensation was both overwhelming and intoxicating, a physical manifestation of the power he held over me. Every thrust and spasm only added to the intensity, consuming me until I was nothing but a vessel for his pleasure. And in that moment, I was completely under his control, my body his to dominate and possess.
But he was equally under my spell. That knowledge was a heady euphoria.
Everything after that collision was a blur. Alessandro untied me. He took me to his desk where he rubbed an ointment from his backpack on my bottom. Then he dressed me. Each small act was done with the utmost gentleness.
As he knelt to place the flipflops on my feet, I got the courage to ask, “How exactly did you discover my secret in Detroit?”
He chuckled softly. “Your journal had passages written in Italian. I didn’t confirm your fluency until we scanned your phone and found the language learning app, but I had my suspicions.”
“You snooped in my room!” I dug my fingers into his scalp, forcing him to look up at me. “What if my uncle caught you?”
A glint sharpened in those onyx depths. “It would have been dangerous, but as I’ve proved on numerous occasions, I don’t mind the challenge, Penelope.”
I sighed and leaned back against his desk.
“So, will you come work for me?” Alessandro rose, bracing a hand on either side of the desk.
I fidgeted with the bottle of Arnica ointment, realizing it came from a first aid kit. “As far as interviews go, that was the strangest one I’ve ever had.”
The wolf smirked.
But he didn’t push the decision. That was up to me.
“You made time for me today. I didn’t think you would,” I admitted, meeting his gaze and letting some of my feelings show. If I trusted him enough to bind me, to spank me, I could trust him with this.
“I promised myself when we married that you wouldn’t feel neglected. You said you needed to see, to understand. So I showed you.”
He showed me as much of the darkness as he dared.
I studied him. He remained still, letting me see what I needed. “Alessio, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Tell me.”
Despite my resolve, my body trembled. “I’m scared to,” I whispered.
With impossible softness, he cupped my cheek. “You have nothing to fear from me, vespina. But if you need time, or something else, you have it.”
That gave me a touch of courage. “I promise, I’ll tell you. Let me find the words, and then I will.”
He nodded. “In the meantime, would you do the honor of joining me for dinner?”
This man—from bondage to a meal invitation. “If that is the don’s wish, so be it.”
“Wear the green dress in the black Atilla bag. Nico will pick you up at seven,” he instructed, that controlling nature still in place.
“So bossy,” I teased.
Alessandro placed a kiss on my forehead. “You like it, vespina.”
He was right. I did.