Page 22 of Twisted Fate

“You broke up with him before he disappeared.”

“Yes. And I haven’t heard from him since. For all I know, he’s dead.”

“What makes you say that, Alina? Did he do something that would get him killed?” His voice is low, his tone easy, the sort of tone that invites confessions.

I swallow and wrap my arms around myself. “It’s a figure of speech.”

“Who did he work for?”

“I don’t know,” I say again, louder this time. I’m not protecting Enzo. I’m protecting myself. And Markus. Information is power and I’m not going to give it away now in case I need it later. “But I do know that he did things. Bad things.”

“Bad things,” he repeats, a hard smile curving his lips. “Like what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Those are your favorite three words, aren’t they?” Damian stands up and comes toward me, pulling a chair next to me. It scrapes along the floor with the subtlety of nails on a chalkboard. He sits, so close I can smell the faint citrus and spice scent of his skin. “I need answers, Alina.”

“Here are your answers. I dated Enzo for a couple of months. He was an asshole. Sometimes, I didn’t see him for days. Once, I didn’t see or hear from him for a week. A couple of times, he was all scraped up when I saw him, his knuckles split. If I asked him any questions, he liked to yell at me or shake me until I shut the hell up. I learned pretty quickly not to ask any questions.”

Fury flashes in his dark eyes.

“When I find him, I’m going to fucking kill him,” he mutters, and then grasps hold of my chin to make me meet his gaze when I look away. “I’m going to make him suffer. Do you hear me?”

“Be my guest,” I snarl. “But I still don’t know where he is.”

He doesn’t let go of me. His hold is gentle, his skin warm. His attention moves briefly to my lips, then flicks back up to my eyes.

“He hit you that night at the casino.” Not a question, but I nod anyway.

“Because you ended it?”

“No.”

“Why, then?”

“Because I was talking to you,” I say. “Or, well, because you were talking to me.”

A frown creases his forehead. “I asked your name. You didn’t give it to me. That’s all it took?”

“No. I think it was the way you were looking at me.”

“How was I looking at you?”

“Like you wanted to fuck me.” I regret saying this the moment the words leave my mouth. “That’s what Enzo said, anyway.”

Damian’s mouth quirks. “I look at a lot of beautiful women like that. None of them walk away from me without even a glance. Only you, Alina Madsen.”

My full name on his lips makes me shiver. “I guess I’m different.”

“Yeah. You definitely are.”

He hasn’t let go of me yet. He’s close enough now that I can feel his breath, warm against my mouth. He traces his thumb along my bottom lip slowly, so slowly, and I realize that I’m not breathing at all anymore.

I part my lips.

His thumb slides in.

I close my eyes and suck and I’m rewarded with a low grunt. That sound weaves through my body to my nipples, to my pussy. I suck harder, wishing Damian would put a very different body part into my mouth, one that’s bigger, longer, thicker, harder.

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