Page 21 of Ruthless Desire

I incline my head, a fractional nod of respect and cold understanding. Then I turn on my heel and stride from the room, Alonzo falling into step beside me like a well-trained hound.

Sergei’s message is clear: a move against the Corsini clan is a move against him.

As we navigate the twisting corridors, my thoughts are a maelstrom of dark intent and savage hunger. Natalie, Luca Corsini, the bratva...they all circle in my mind like vultures over carrion, waiting for the slightest sign of weakness to tear me apart.

But I am the Black King of Accel City. I bow to no man, no god, no law but my own. And I will not rest until I have claimed what is rightfully mine.

The ride back to the airport is a blur of neon and frozen concrete, the city a frozen wasteland of shattered dreams and forgotten hopes. But inside me, the fires of obsession burn hotter than the Siberian winds that howl past the windows.

As the plane lifts off, bearing me back to the neon-drenched heart of my domain, I close my eyes and let the darkness consume me. Let it fill my veins like a virus, a black and bitter venom that will corrode all that dares to stand in my way.

Natalie...my dark angel, my twisted muse. You think you can escape me, flee to the arms of another? You have no idea what you've unleashed, the hell that's coming for you.

I am the spider in the center of the web, the monster lurking in the shadowed corners of your mind. And I will never let you go, never release my hold on your artist's corrupt soul.

You are mine, little bird. Now and forever. And when I return to claim what's mine...

Heaven will weep, and Hell will sing hosannas. The streets will run red with the blood of any who dare to stand between us.

And you, my deadly nightingale...you will scream my name in ecstasy and damnation, a broken hallelujah to the Inferno we'll unleash.

So run, if you must. Hide behind your pride, your fragile cloak of autonomy. It will make your ultimate surrender that much sweeter, that much more complete.

For in the end, there is no escape. No refuge from the dark destiny that binds us together, the twisted threads of fate that have entangled our souls.

I am the shadow to your light, the beast to your beauty. The cruel king to your defiant queen.

And together, we will set this world ablaze. A conflagration of passion and pain, of ecstasy and anguish. We will rise from the ashes like twin phoenixes, dark and glorious and forever intertwined.

The laptop screen flickers to life once more, casting a ghostly glow over the dim interior of the plane. Natalie's face fills the screen, a pale moon in a sea of shadows. She's sleeping now, curled up in a tangle of sheets and haunted dreams.

I reach out, tracing the delicate curve of her cheek with a fingertip. The screen is cold, unyielding. A poor substitute for the silk of her skin, the heat of her breath.

But soon, my love. Soon, I will taste your tears and your screams, drink deep of the well of your shattered soul. I will map every inch of your lush form with hands and teeth and tongue, paint you in shades of torment and rapture until you forget where you end and I begin.

The world will tremble at the sight of us, the Lord of Night and his Unholy Bride. They will whisper our names in fear and awe, the King and Queen of a Realm of Eternal Shadow.

And in the end, when the last bonds of your resistance have been shattered, when your proud, stubborn heart has been broken on the altar of my obsession ...

You will kneel before me with worship in your winter-gray eyes. Offer yourself to me body and tarnished soul. You will speak the words I've been waiting forever to hear, etching them into your flesh with my blood and my blade.

"I am yours, Dante Corleone. Wholly and eternally. Do with me as you will."

And I will smile as I draw you into my arms, into the abyss of my black and endless need. Press a kiss to your poison-sweet lips that seals your oath, makes the pact written in our blood and dark desire.

"As you will, moy voron," I will rasp against your skin in a voice tight with savagery and satisfaction. "As you will, my raven queen."

The ground lurches beneath my feet as the plane touches down, jolting me back to the present with a cruel shock. But even as the engines whine and the bustle of activity erupts around me, I feel a smile curve my lips. A smile that is half anticipation, half unholy promise.

Enjoy your temporary freedom, my Natalie. Savor the fleeting sweetness of your imagined autonomy. For each moment you spend away from my side will only make your ultimate submission that much more exquisite.

I am the Demon of Accel City. The Ruthless King, the Cursed Lover.

And you, my wicked muse, my black-winged seraph...

You are mine. Forever and always.

And when I come for you, when I claim you in a maelstrom of agony and bliss...

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