Page 8 of Merciless & Mated

She swallowed hard.

“No one is ever safe from Bianca. Keep your head down and she’ll forget you exist.”

I nudged her out of the spray and took my time scrubbing down. Pretending to be calm wasn’t as easy as I would’ve liked. I had warned her, but I figured there was little chance of Gianna Mancini going down without a fight. Part of me relished it. Bringing her to heel would be a special pleasure.

I caught the shift in her body out of the corner of my eye and moved just in time to block her knee from bashing into my balls.

I dragged her down to the tile bottom with a growl, both of my fists in her hair. She whined, her eyes pressed tightly shut against the falling water. “What did I fucking say, hellcat? You really want to go into a heat with a bruised ass?”

She strained against my fingers, but my grip was too tight for her to go anywhere.

“I think I should get a little more credit for saving you from being trafficked. Maybe you should make it up to me.”

Her hands pressed against my thighs to keep her distance. “Fuck you,” she ground out.

“Now or later, hellcat. If you’re going to be a pain in the ass, you’re going to learn to pay the price.”

“Later,” she choked out.

I hesitated for a brief moment before letting her go and stepping out of the shower to dry off. Gianna stared up at me like she hadn’t a fucking clue what to make of me.

“I can come back in there if you’d like.”

She dropped her gaze hastily and turned away, scrubbing herself down. I didn’t bother with one of the robes as I stepped out into the bedroom. Everyone in the building would see what I had to offer soon enough.

By the time Gianna emerged, our food had arrived. She stiffened when the door opened, the sounds of fucking filling the space, a fresh cloud of all those heat hormones kicking us both in the chest. The beta staff wore respirators so they could still do their jobs, and this one was no different. I turned back around to see Gianna bundled in a robe, her hand pressed over her mouth and nose, the tremble of her body visible from where I stood.

“Did they feed you while you were locked up?” I asked.

“Barely,” she squeaked out.

I shut the door behind the beta, blocking out the main room for now. She would need to be stronger to get through the heat, and that meant food and rest. The heat would wear us both out, and she needed to be in as good a condition as possible when she entered the compound.

I took the tray over to the bedside table and set it down, sitting where I could look at her and patting the bed next to me. “Come here, omega.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“I’m not letting you starve. You’ll be going into heat soon and you’ll have to meet Bianca after that. If I were you, I would want all the strength I could get.”

Gianna tucked the robe tighter around herself and sat down hard next to me, her arms crossed over her chest, and her gaze averted. When she reached for the food, I smacked her hand away, earning myself a glare and the growl.

“Hellcats need to be tamed. You’re not eating a bite unless it comes from my hand.”

“That’s a good way to lose a finger.”

“Put your claws away. What have I personally done to hurt you? Any pain I’ve inflicted is because you’re a fucking instigator and I’m not going to let you attack me without recourse. Save your vitriol for the ones who targeted you.”

“They’re not here,” she snapped.

I ignored her and picked up one of the peanut butter truffles. “You’re not allergic to peanuts, are you?”

“No.”

“Then open your mouth and eat this like a good girl.”

Her answering growl was music to my ears. Watching her succumb to the heat was going to be a treat. I was going to take care of her whether she fucking liked it or not.

“Open your fucking mouth, Gianna.”

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