Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
When our mouths finally part, I’m breathless and so is he. “Franco,” I breathe his name, but he places a finger on my lips, silencing me.
“Don’t. The only thing I need to hear from you is you saying yes.”
“Yes?” My brows crease in confusion as our eyes meld into each other. This man is danger with a capital D, but he’s also a mystery. Tiny hidden pieces of one solid story that I’d like to uncover. Each moment I spend with him, something small is revealed to me. Whether it’s the way he looks at me, something he says. My curiosity wins out, and I find myself wanting to know all the parts of the cryptic Franco Moretti.
“I want you, Raina. But, as much as I want you, I’m warning you, I’ll hurt you. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. My life is… difficult. I can’t give you forever, but for now, give me you. Offer yourself to me, bella. Let me have your body. Just promise me you will not fall in love. This”—he gestures between us—“isn’t love. It can never be love. It’s a contract. An agreement you’ve read. It’s fucking. It’s brutal, ruthless, and violent. If you can handle that, then I want you to say yes right here, right now.”
“If I say yes, what happens? Do I just become your what… slave? Submissive? Fuck toy? You use me when you need me and I’m pushed into a corner when you don’t?” My words are angry, heated with frustration at his push and pull.
“Slave? Submissive? Fuck toy? I like your descriptors, little one. Perhaps all three. I mistook you for an innocent. Someone new to this life, but it seems you’re not?” he questions and I can’t help blushing.
“I read a lot,” I retort, but his gaze narrows, as if he doesn’t believe me. “So, what happens? Tell me here and now, or I’ll walk away.” I watch his eyes flash with something. Fear? I can’t tell because he quickly hides behind a mask of cool control.
“No, you’ll have your job, but at night, you’ll be mine to use as I see fit.” He takes a step back to regard me. With narrowed eyes, I watch his eyes flicker with emotion. As much as this man tells me he doesn’t want love or won’t welcome it, there’s something in the way he looks at me that screams otherwise. “This is sex. It’s a business agreement. My life is my work. My love is my familia. There’s no room for more. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this ends here.”
The thought of him walking away burns. It hits me deep in my gut, but I find myself nodding. “Okay.” It’s a soft, murmured word that echoes around us.
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
11
Franco
When she said yes, something inside me shifted. It was an emotion I didn’t need or want. So, as I gripped her hand and tugged her behind me, I shut it away. Even though the look on her face when I told her this would end if she didn’t agree screamed at me to walk away, I couldn’t. I held my fucking breath until she uttered the word yes. Then my world tipped on its axis.
Steeling my gaze, I stalk through the crowd with her body close to mine. My brothers are sitting in a booth with their women when I reach them. “We’re leaving. Don’t cause shit, but Russo’s men are here. I want you to stay with these two.” I point at the two girls on each of my brothers’ arms.
Both nod. They understand the danger we’re putting these girls in, but I refuse to allow an asshole to rule my life.
“Where are you going, brother?” Matteo smirks. He knows. He wants me to confess that I’ve got feelings for her—more than just claiming her—but I won’t.
Shrugging, I tug her into my arms and pierce my brother with a warning glare. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” That’s all I say before I turn and walk away with Raina’s hand in mine. When we reach the car, I open the door and allow her to slip into the seat. Once I’ve joined her, I signal for my driver to get us back to the mansion.
She’s silent, with a nervous energy that whirls around her.
“Are you afraid, bella?” Her gaze lands on mine. The softness of her skin calls to me. Big eyes lock on mine and she squares her shoulders as if she’s about to tell me something I won’t like.
“No, I can’t be scared of you, Franco.” She purrs my name, which has my cock hardening behind the steel of my zipper. A smirk lifts my mouth as I watch her.
“And why is that, Raina?”
“Because I want you. Your darkness, your mark. Something about it calls to me. As if I was made for it…” Her words taper off into silence. I want to respond. To tell her how much I wish she were made for me, but I don’t. Because this isn’t anything more than a fuck. A contract between two consenting adults.