Chapter 18 Katya #2
Enzo’s presence behind me makes the rush headier. What would it be like to fight him? With no intention of killing, but with the simple act of challenging one another. God, I wish I could show him what I’m capable of. But if he knew, my blood would be glistening on the end of one of these blades.
“The game is simple. Three rings. Three prizes. Whatever ring you hit, is the prize you get.”
“And what are the prizes?” I ask as he rounds to stand next to me. He towers over my small frame, even in heels, my head only reaches his shoulder.
“We choose for each other.”
I suppress a silly grin at the excitement racing through my veins. “But I don’t know how to throw a knife.” I bat my lashes as if I’m some helpless girl, playing into the ruse.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, I’ll show you.” Enzo winks, then steps behind me.
I pick up one of the knives and hold it by the small handle, even though I actually prefer gripping the blade when I throw. I would imagine, Doctor Lucy wouldn’t do that.
“You can hold it here or here.” He points to two different spots before continuing.
“I personally hold the blade but since you’ve never done this, the handle will be safer.
” His fingertips glide down my arm and when he reaches my wrist, he gently lifts it to my ear.
As if he were handling glass, he barely touches me.
“Keep your wrist steady, don’t bend it. Extend your arm straight out and release the blade when it’s aligned with your target. ”
I follow through, purposefully not putting much effort into the throw and the knife hits the dummy and falls to the floor.
“Oops.” I giggle. His gaze meets my lips. For a moment, I think he might lean in and kiss me, but he doesn’t.
“Keep practicing.” He walks in front of the table and picks up the knife from the floor, giving it back to me. “You’ll get there. But now, it’s time to play and because I’m such a gentleman, ladies first.”
“Well, what are my prizes?” I ask as I pretend to awkwardly fumble with the blades.
“The outer ring is worth a kiss. The middle ring, a dare, and the bullseye is worth a truth.”
He doesn’t think I can hit the bullseye.
“Fine.” I face the dummy and take a deep inhale, blowing it out through my lips. I could land all three of these in the center in less than ten seconds, but I have to play like I’ve never done this before. “Can I have one practice throw?”
Enzo’s lips lift in a sideways smirk as he shakes his head.
I huff out a protest, “So much for a gentleman.”
Releasing the first knife, it barely hits the outer ring. Peaking over my shoulder, Enzo steps up behind me. “A kiss. I’ll be gracious and let you choose where.”
“Oh, you’re too kind.” My sarcasm drips from my lips like sweet honey. Pushing up on my toes, I place a chaste kiss on his cheek, and he beams down at me.
“I forgot to mention, if you land in the same ring twice, the kiss, dare, or truth can’t be the same so…
hit the outer ring again, Little Doc, and you’ll have to kiss me anywhere else but my cheek.
” He winks and grips my waist with his strong fingers.
His hot breath hits my ear. “And distractions are 100% on the table.”
He is the definition of a distraction but it’s child play compared to what I’ve had to focus through. The second knife leaves my fingertips and lands in the middle ring.
“A dare,” he whispers. “Do your worst, baby.”
“I dare you to take your turn blindfolded.” I peek up at him, expecting his grin to fade, it grows bigger, exposing his perfectly straight teeth and devilish canines.
“Last knife.”
Taking a deep breath, I eye my target. Before I’m set to throw, his fingers dip between the waistband of my skirt and panties, brushing over my sensitive skin.
“Focus, Lucy,” he whispers before biting where my neck meets my shoulder.
His teeth dig into my flesh, but it’s not painful, it’s a gentle claim.
Yet, everything he does to me elicits a heady response.
I drag out the time, pretending I’m focusing hard, then land the third knife in the bullseye. Now, his smile falls. “Lucky shot.”
“Fast learner.”
Turning toward him, my ass leans against the table and Enzo crowds my space. Quicker than I can blink, he lifts me by the thighs and sets me on the table. Good fucking thing I decided I didn’t need my blades today.
“Ask away.”
I don’t hesitate. If this is my only chance to know the answer plaguing my nightmares, then I have to take it. No matter the consequences. “Could you ever forgive the person responsible for your mother’s death?”
“Straight for the jugular, baby.” His jaw tenses and his nostrils flare.
If he’s surprised by my question, he doesn’t show it, but he can’t hide the vulnerability and hurt pouring from his soul at this moment.
His pain calls to me, draws me near, unfurls a desire inside me to heal the broken parts of this monster I’m responsible for creating.
“But, to answer your question… No.”
The simplest and most painful answer he could give cuts straight through my chest and lodges itself into my useless organ. His response doesn’t change my plans. But a small piece of me, the part of me that used to dream, hoped they could forgive me, then maybe I could forgive myself, shattered.
“What are my prizes, Lucy?” His entire demeanor changes, gone is the jovial, wicked Enzo. In his place, the cold, detached man grits his words through his teeth, revealing the cold mafioso lingering beneath.
“The center is worth a dare, the middle a truth, the outer ring a kiss. Miss the target completely, I’ll let you do what you want to me.”
It’s foolish. Giving myself over to him in this way but if I’m going to die soon, I’m going to take this moment and every one after to experience the life I’ve wanted.
To be cherished. Touched. Desired.
Tilting his head, he challenges my call. “The worst shot is worth the most?”
“Are you willing to give up your pride in order to have me, Enzo?”
A gleaming mirth lights his dark gaze as his thumb reaches up, the pad notching itself in the center of my bottom lip and tugging down, a smear of my red lipstick drags against my chin as he follows the imperfection. “Blindfold me, baby.”
Scanning the surrounding area, I find nothing to use so instead, I lift my hand and block his sight, making sure he can’t see through the cracks. The steady beating of his heart beneath my other palm is like a distant lullaby.
He stands between my thighs, reaching on either side and picks up the knives. In three swift strikes, he launches them into the dummy. When I peek over my shoulder, I find three knives millimeters apart, sticking out of the dummy’s head.
Nowhere near the target.
Before I can fathom what the fuck just happened, his fingers grip my jaw, spinning me to face him once more and he slams his lips to mine.
It’s animalistic, brutal, and everything I’ll always remember when my nightmares return.