Page 115 of Ruthless Desire

"That's my ruthless girl," I growl into the delicate skin of her neck, savoring the rapid flutter of her pulse beneath my lips. "Wielding death like a scythe, cutting down anything in our way."

She shudders in my arms, her nails raking down my back. The pain is exquisite, a reminder of the fire that burns between us. I capture her mouth in a searing kiss, pouring every ounce of my twisted devotion into it.

When we break apart, both panting, I see the unholy need blazing in her eyes. "Show me," she demands, every inch the queen I've molded her to be. "Show me the world that will tremble at our feet."

A savage grin splits my face. I lace my fingers through hers and lead her from the room, leaving behind the cooling corpse of her past. We stride through the halls of my domain, my soldiers' eyes following our every move. I feel their mix of fear and awe, their gazes lingering on Natalie's lush curves and regal bearing.

I pull her into my private study, slamming the door behind us. The click of the lock is like a starting gun. I'm on her in an instant, pressing her against the heavy oak desk.

"Never doubt your place," I rasp in her ear, my hands roaming possessively over her body. "Never doubt what you mean to me. What you'll give me."

Tension ripples through her. She twists in my arms, her nails biting into my forearms. "I'm not your broodmare, Dante," she hisses. "I won't be kept like some prized animal, popping out your offspring on command."

I can't help the dark chuckle that escapes me. I catch her wrists, pinning them above her head. "Oh, moy voron, how you misunderstand," I purr, nipping sharply at her racing pulse. "You're my obsession. My hellish delight. The only light in my eternal dark."

Her eyes widen, pupils dilating with a heady mix of fear and desire. I grind against her, letting her feel the hard evidence of my need. "And the children we create?" I continue, my voice rough with want. "They'll be living proof that you're mine. My legacy, growing in your belly with every thrust of my cock."

Natalie shudders, her pulse pounding like a war drum beneath my fingertips. I watch the emotions war across her face - revulsion twisting with illicit craving at the thought of bearing my heir.

"I-I can't," she chokes out, tears glittering on her lashes. "Dante, we're too broken, too poisonous to bring a child into this world-"

I silence her protests with my lips and tongue, swallowing down her whimpers. "No more fear, solnyshko," I murmur against her mouth. "Only the twisted glory of what we'll build together."

A sharp knock at the door interrupts us. I growl my frustration as Enzo enters, followed by that sniveling worm Marco Moretti.

"What?" I snarl, not loosening my hold on Natalie.

Enzo, unflappable as ever, simply raises an eyebrow at our disheveled state. "Marco claims to have an offer you can't refuse, Boss. One that could broker a permanent truce with the Petrovs."

I fix Moretti with my most lethal glare, satisfaction coursing through me as he visibly wilts. "Well? Spit it out, you pathetic toad. You're interrupting a rather crucial moment."

Marco stammers out his proposal - a marriage alliance between his daughter and Dimitri Petrov. As he rambles, I feel Natalie go still against me, her quicksilver mind clearly whirring behind her carefully blank mask.

I turn to her with a mocking grin. "So, moy voron. What say you? Is dear Marco talking out of his ass to save his own worthless hide?"

Natalie extracts herself from my embrace with sinuous grace. She glides towards Moretti, every inch the deadly queen. "Just one question," she purrs, stopping inches from his face. "This daughter of yours. Lila. Will she be a cherished wife? Or a sacrificial lamb, thrown to the wolves to appease your greed?"

Pride explodes in my chest. My clever demon, slicing through the bullshit to the heart of the matter. I watch with savage glee as Moretti flounders, his face ashen.

"Well?" I press, stalking forward until we're nose to nose. "You heard my queen. Can you promise Dimitri won't use your little princess as a pawn?"

Marco's knees nearly buckle as he swears his daughter's happiness will be paramount. I dismiss him with a sneer, turning back to Natalie as Enzo hustles the sniveling fool out.

The moment we're alone, I cage her against the desk with my body. "The way you cut that fool to shreds," I groan, already hiking up her skirt. "So fucking ruthless. So perfect."

I claim her mouth in a bruising kiss, swallowing her moans as I work her over with my fingers. Natalie writhes against me, her body responding to my touch like a finely tuned instrument.

"This is what you were made for," I growl against her lips. "Taking all I give you. My cock, my cum, my child..."

She comes apart with a ragged scream, clenching around my fingers. When she goes boneless, I withdraw and press my slick digits to her lips. A groan tears from my throat as she suckles them clean.

"Moy voron," I rasp, pressing my forehead to hers. "Let me claim you in front of everyone. Let me declare you wicked queen of my empire."

Natalie shudders, her eyes squeezing shut. I watch the emotions chase themselves across her face - dread, desire, the instinctive terror of a wild thing finally cornered.

"I'm scared," she admits, her voice barely a whisper. "Dante, the things you want from me..."

Something unfamiliar stirs in my chest. I gentle my touch, cupping her face with something approaching reverence. "I know, solnyshko," I murmur, tasting salt and smoke as I brush my lips over her hairline. "Trusting me with your body is one thing. But your heart? Your soul? It's the purest form of terror."

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