Page 41 of Ruthless Royalty

Giovanni tilts his head, studying me like I’m some fascinating puzzle he’s trying to solve. “You’re stronger than Ithought,” he says, almost as if he’s talking to himself. “But I wonder...”

He steps closer, invading my space in a way that’s both maddening and intoxicating. I can feel the heat radiating off him, the tension crackling between us like a live wire.

His hand comes up to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing along my jawline. He leans forward toward my ear and a shiver runs up my spine.

“You can be so good when you try, Kitten,” he whispers in my ear. “But I need you to break.”

He pushes me up against the bookshelf and I gasp when his hand slides up along my inner thigh. Running the tips of his fingers along the lace of my panties has a shiver shooting right through me.

Fuck, why did I have to wear a dress today of all days?!

“No? All you have to do is tell me to stop,” he says, then he leans in close and pulls my bottom lip with his teeth. I place my hands on his chest and push him away, to which he chuckles.

Then he does something that nearly makes me screech … He drops down to his knees in front of me and grips my thighs.

“Well… I wonder how long you can keep quiet,” he says, squeezing my thighs. “I want you to scream for me, Kitten. Will you? Will you be filthy for me?”

Before I can kick him away, he lifts my dress, puts my leg over his shoulder, and bites my inner thigh. I gasp and grip his hair as he runs his nose along my inner thigh, inhaling.

“Fuck, you smell like everything I want but can’t have,” he groans, licking me right up my slit and over my panties. I peer down at him, wanting to push him away, but I can’t bring myself to. Not when he’s looking at me like…that.

He fucking smirks. “Still not talking? Hmmm, okay … Then focus on me, babygirl.”

Oh, fuck.OH FUCK.

Moving my panties to the side, he slides his tongue along my pussy and groans. The vibration has me throwing my head back and sucking in a breath. Shit, I should … I should push him away?—

“Chiara … Please…” Giovanni groans. “You’ve got me on my knees for you, Kitten … Do you want me to beg, too?”

I tighten my grip on his hair and bite the inside of my cheek because there’s no way in Hell I’m losing this game. But that only spurs Giovanni on, and he chuckles before he starts flicking his tongue over my clit. Fast.

Gasping, I bite my bottom lip when he slips two fingers inside of me. I’m hyper aware of the fact that we’re in a fucking library, but no one is going to be here on a goddamn Friday!

“Come on, babygirl. I need those little moans,” he murmurs. “Give in to me, I know you’re just fuckingachingto make a noise.”

I stifle a moan and he grins against my pussy while licking me, his thick fingers and the cold bite of his signet ring working me up until I’m a panting mess. Standing on my tiptoes, I pull Giovanni’s hair roughly as I feel myself getting so fucking close to my release…

But then he pulls back and groans before getting to his feet, just as I’m about to fall over that edge. He grins at me and wipes his mouth with the back of hand, then he licks his lips.

“Hmmm, you taste goddamn sweet,” he says, then he leans in close to my ear. “You were such a good girl for me, Chiara. But good girls don’t get to come today. I wanted you to shatter and, well…”

I rear back to slap him, and he grabs my hand, smirking. “Why don’t you run along to Volkov and see if he can make you feel a sliver of what I just did to you, babygirl.”

Then he fucking leaves.

GIOVANNI

As soon as I walk into my Suite, Nikolai lunges at me and I barely have time to react, but I manage to block his punch just in time. The impact sends a jolt up my arm, but I stay steady, staring him down.

“What the fuck, Gio?” he growls, pushing me against my closed front door. “You knew we would be listening and?—”

“I was tasked to break your little sister and got bored when she didn’t,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Can’t blame me for trying. She’s tough.”

Nikolai’s eyes blaze with anger. “You think it’s a joke? You’re making it personal. You were supposed to test her, not fucking torment her. We heard everything.”

“Oh, please,” I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest. “You think she’s some delicate flower? She’s got fire in her worthy of the Mikhailov name. I was just trying to get a rise out of her and did what I had to do. She wasn’t breaking, so I had to use different tactics. It’s part of the fucking game.”

Mihai and Connor are standing by the entrance, watching us with detached expressions. Mihai’s face is like a granite mask, butI can see a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. Connor’s expression is more amused, as if he’s watching a particularly entertaining show.

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