Page 7 of Twisted In Obsession

I shake my head, ridding myself of the thoughts and forcing a smile. “Yeah. I’m just nervous, I guess. I haven’t danced for over a year now.”

He squeezes my hand. “I’m sure you will be great. Even if you think you’ve forgotten how to do something, I doubt you have. Don’t they say that muscle memory kicks in and it all comes back to you?”

“Apparently so,” I agree.

He grins. “You’re strong Lyra. You can do anything you set your mind to. I know it.” His belief in me warms my insides. Sighing, I lean back in my chair. Harrison’s confidence in me knows no bounds. Now if I could only believe in him and give him what he deserves.

***

“Do you think Patty will be awake?” Harrison whispers, as we quietly pad down the darkened hallway toward the living room. Harrison ended up taking me to a park, where we sat on the hood of his truck and talked for a couple hours. It is nearly midnight by the time we get back to Patty’s. I was going to end our date at the door but after giving myself a pep talk on the ride home, I decided to take the plunge and invite him in for a hot drink and maybe a movie. By the way his face lit up and his eyes twinkled, he was happy with my offer.

“I don’t think so. All the lights are off and so is the television. It’s late, so I guess she went to bed,” I respond quietly.

Moving into the living room, I flick the light switch on the wall. Blinking, I take in my surroundings and freeze. My heart drops, all the air leaving my lungs at the scene playing out in front of me. I blink, then blink again just to make sure this is real and not some sick nightmare, but no matter how much I try to shake the vision, it doesn’t disappear. It’s real. So fucking real, my body shakes and I think I might pass out.

Hestands there like an ominous presence, sucking all the air from the room. The devil himself.

Nico.

Nico Marchetti, leaning casually against the wall of Patty’s living room like he owns the place. And not just him.

Dante.

Leo.

And several other men I have never seen before. I swallow, panic flooding my body as I take it all in. Nico smirks, though his eyes are cold, dead and detached. I shift my gaze to Dante, who watches me with indifference and a hint of annoyance. I jerk my head to Leo. Leo, myfriend,who is hovering over Patty like the Grim Reaper waiting for his orders.

Despite not wanting to look, my eyes drop to Patty. The woman who has been my rock since I met her, has her mouth taped shut and her wrists bound. Guilt heats my veins when I see the look of pure fear in her eyes and, though it’s selfish, I can’t focus on that right now. There is only one thing going through my mind.

Where is Romeo?

Patty must see the silent question in my eyes because she subtly jerks her head in the direction of the bedroom we occupy. I force my body to relax, though I feel anything but. It’s pointless though. Because when my gaze shifts back to Nico, I turn into a terrified statue at the look I find on his face. His eyes flick from me to the man behind me, then down. I didn’t think it was possible, but his eyes darken to almost black when they lock on where Harrison is holding my hand. My pulse kicks up and I think I stop breathing altogether.

“What the fuck? Who the hell are you?” Harrison shouts, making me jump, and pulling me in closer to him as if he can protect me. He can’t. Not from the predator staring us both down with murderous intent in his now dark orbs.

Nico’s eye twitches, his jaw clenching and I know it is taking everything in him to keep his cool right now. Without his gaze leaving mine, he jerks his head. In the next second Harrison is ripped away from me. He shouts, screams, and then it’s muffled. I glance over my shoulder to find a hand slapped over his mouth and his face beet red.

“Don’t look at him,Tesoro. Eyes on me if you want him to live,” Nico hisses. Hearing his voice for the first time in over a year does something to me and my eyes immediately snap to him. From the feral look on his face, he isn’t messing around.

“Nico, please,” I choke out, finally finding my voice.

He holds a hand up, cutting me off and stopping me from saying anything else. “We have been waiting for you,Ocean.”I don’t miss the way he says my name. Condescendingly. Mockingly. “And I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

I flinch. By the contempt and derision in his tone, he knows everything. Everything about who I am. His father must have told him. Fuck. Swallowing, my eyes rake over every inch of him. As much as I don’t want to be affected by his presence, I can’t help it. It’s like he has a direct line to my pussy. Like he trained my body to react this way every time I see him. And maybe that was exactly what he did, all those times we had sex. I don’t know. I just know my reaction to seeing him again is not normal and it’s the only explanation considering I hate him.

“Ocean?” he drawls, and my eyes close at the feelings of unwanted desire running through my body. I don’t want to be that girl, the one whose body betrays her, and she succumbs easily to the man that betrayed her. But right now, I understand how it happens. I have no control over my body or the feelings he is eliciting in me. A throb starts between my thighs. I want to rub my legs together; ease the ache inside me. But if I do, he will know exactly what he does to me. Fuck. Who am I kidding. He is a perceptive motherfucker and can read my body like a book. He knows exactly what he is doing to me.

Nico pushes off the wall, closing the distance between us in only a couple of short strides. The manic look in his eyes makes me want to run, but I stay frozen to the spot. He smirks as if he knows exactly what is going through my mind right now.

Reaching up, he runs a finger down my cheek. I want to squirm, push him away, but I stay put. I don’t think I even breathe as his finger draws circles on my heated flesh. Toying with me. Playing with me. It’s all a mind fuck. I hate it. Nico leans in, my eyes close when his hot breath hits my ear. “Who has been a naughty girl then,” he whispers, the threat in his voice making me stiffen. He pulls back to look at me, his next words soft despite the tension radiating from him. “I’ve missed you,Tesoro.”

My mouth parts. I stare at him in disbelief, while he just watches me with a manic look in his eyes, but there is also a hint of… relief?

“Don’t fucking touch her.” Harrison growls out, snapping me out of my stare off. I guess his mouth is no longer covered if he can talk. I cringe, silently begging him to shut up. Though I appreciate his attempts at bravery, he doesn’t know who he is provoking.

Nico’s cold gaze lands on him. Zoning in like the predator he is. One that has just caught his prey. Panic consumes me, zinging through my body like a live wire. I can’t let Harrison get hurt. He doesn’t deserve any of Nico’s wrath.

“Nico don’t,” I cry out, but it’s no use.

---