CHAPTER 6
Itrace my gaze over her body, and mine burns with rage.
She’s underfed, bruised, pale. She should be living a great life, enjoying her life, enjoying her son.
Enjoying being married to me. She should’ve been with me, but they all filled her head with lies.
Fucking lies I will try to mend. I will always try to help her become the woman she deserves to be.
I’ll help her find herself again, no matter how much it costs.
Her gaze locks into mine. Her face flushes, but there’s a bit of fear in her eyes.
I hate that.
Does she think I’m the villain of the story? I’ll give her the villain she loved. She can’t keep lying to herself her whole life. Killer or not, her heart still belongs to me.
I take a knife from the table and walk towards her. Her body quivers, but her posture doesn’t falter. She clenches both hands into fists at her sides and glares at me with hatred in her green eyes.
If she wants to kill me, I’ll let her. My life and heart are hers.
“Here you are safe—under my care.” For every step I take, she takes two back. “Here, sweetheart, no one will touch your son. Not even me… as long as you don’t need my help.”
“I don’t need you,” she snaps.
“Oh, but you do. You think you’re out of the game since you got married, but the others haven’t taken you off the board.”
“What do you mean?”
She hits the wall. Her chest heaves with each breath.
I press my body to hers and run the back of the knife across her face. Her gasping breath, her pupils dilated with desire, and her flushed face tempt me to take her now, right here. She needs me as much as I need her. There’s no way to deny it. Her entire body gives her away.
“Your family’s and husband’s enemies are your enemies too.
” I lower the knife to her neck. Her body shivers, but I continue my way down.
“If I hadn’t arrived, that arsehole wouldn’t have been the only one dead.
You three would have died.” I reach her swollen breast. Hickeys and bruise marks peek out of her neckline. I clench my jaw. “Or worse.”
“What could be worse than dying?”
I look into her eyes and move a bit closer to her. We’re only inches away from our lips finally meeting. As much as I want to, she has to make the final move.
“They would’ve used you.” I pause. “Do you know how they use women, sweetheart?” She doesn’t answer, so I add, “Yes, you do. You know very well. They use them until they get bored.” I stop the knife over one of her nipples.
Both get hard beneath the pyjamas she wears.
I tease it, running the back from side to side.
She rubs her thighs, and a shy moan escapes her mouth.
“Then they sell them to the highest bidder,” I continue.
“Children, on the other hand, can also be used that way, although they tend not to live more than a day when they are so young.”
Her breath quickens, so I keep moving down.
“It seems you’re an expert.”
I huff. “I’m the only one you can trust—my staff and I.
” I place the knife in her hand. She clenches her fist around it.
A while back, I trusted her with my life, also with a knife.
I just hope that Lana, the one who fell for me so fast, is still there.
“Here you will have everything.” I caress her cheek.
“Your husband’s fortune is in your bank account. You can buy whatever you need.
“Although, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay in touch with your family. Some of them won’t hesitate to reveal where you are. And believe me, Stefan’s family would like your head—and your family’s—in their lounge.”
Her jaw clenches. “My parents will help me.”
Poor, na?ve little thing.
I won’t let her near her fucking father, let alone Finn. That bastard should be dead.
“I’m sorry to break your illusions, sweetheart, but no.” The thought of him makes my body seethe with rage. “They dragged you into this the moment they let another man lay his disgusting hands on you.”
She gasps and pulls herself together, pushing her body against mine. “Is that it?” she snorts. “You’re jealous. You killed my husband because of your bloody jealousy!”
Our noses touch. I wrap my hands around her throat, pinning her to the wall. “No, amore. My jealousy wasn’t the reason. Your well-being is.”
I have no doubt she will accept anything her father says just for Finn’s sake. None of them will get close to Erik Müller again. Over my dead fucking body.
“I was fine; I was happy. You took everything from me!”
“You were living a lie, sweetheart.” I tighten my grip. “With me, you’ll have the truth. I’ll give you back everything we lost—”
“You can’t bring my husband back. You can’t give me my life back. I was safe!”
I lean my head against the wall, beside hers. The skin of her neck lies inches from my mouth. I’m tired of arguing. I bend and press my lips to her skin, and since she doesn’t object, I take what I can.
My memories never did justice to how soft her skin feels, how sweet she smells, or the sounds of arousal slipping from her mouth.
I want to bury myself in her body and never come out again.
I want to kiss her, take her, and love her in every way we both crave.
Hard, fast, soft, slow—I’ll give her whatever she wants.
I’ll crawl to her, kneel before her, offer everything I own. She only has to say the word.
If I haven’t begged forgiveness for something I’m innocent of, it’s only because I don’t want her pity. She would feel forced to forgive me, even if she didn’t want to, and it would be a lie.
I refuse to look desperate, though I am. I want her feelings back because she chooses to give them, because she trust me. I’ll rebuild that trust brick by brick, and I don’t care how long it takes. I could wait a million years and never get tired of chasing her.
“I will give you the best, ragnetta. You’ll realise I’m your best choice.
” I trace a path of kisses up to the corner of her lips, then hover a few centimetres away.
“Not only will I give you your life back, but I’ll give you mine as well.
We’ll make up for the time we lost. Everything will return to normal, and—”
“You killed my normality. Everything was fine—you are the problem!”
I pull back and lock my gaze on hers. Hatred burns so fiercely in her eyes, she can’t see past the lies.
“Are those marks on your body proof that everything was fine?”
She’s on the verge of tears but doesn’t budge. “I. Don’t. Want. You.”
I smirk. “Your body proves otherwise, sweetheart. I bet you’re soaked.” I pause. “Tell me—are you remembering how good I filled you? How loud you screamed my name? How I owned that tight little pussy of yours?”
Her hand shoots to my neck, but I slam her back against the wall. She forces me to squeeze her wrist until she drops the knife with a whimper. Her raging eyes lock on mine.
Now, that’s my woman.
“Why did you touch Finn earlier?” she insists. And when I roll my eyes, she adds, “Did you do something to him?”
“When I walked into the room, he was crying on the floor. He must have rolled over while you were practically unconscious.”
“Maybe you slipped something into my food.”
“Maybe.” I don’t know what I’ve done to make her think I’m a monster. “Or perhaps you forced yourself to stay awake despite your exhaustion, and it slipped out of your hands.”
“Try sleeping after the love of your life—the father of your child—was butchered in front of you.”
I crush her wrist tighter and press my body harder against hers.
The father of her child. The love of her life.
She knows I’m not fool enough to believe that. And I know she’s not weak enough to have been brainwashed. All she needs is to put her trust in the right man again.
“He was nothing compared to me.”
“He was everything,” she spits back. “So much better than you’ll ever be.”
“You settle for scraps.” I skim my lips over hers. “You deserve to be worshipped like a goddess.”
Just one move. That’s all she needs to close the space and kiss me. Her gaze flickers to my mouth, softening for a heartbeat. She licks hers and parts her lips.
She wants to do it. She wants to be with me…
Please, sweetheart, kiss me.
“And yet, you keep me a prisoner.”
“Don’t get me wrong, amore. I’m looking after you. You refusing to receive my privileges is something else entirely.”
She narrows her eyes. “What’s all this for?”
“Don’t you see? You, ragnetta. It’s all for you.”