Page 19 of Darkness and Duress

Henny

My God, his face was hilarious. The big brutish mafia prince looked ready to piss himself as he sank into the couch in slow motion. The opportunity was too good to pass up. I'd told myself I wouldn't tease and taunt. Those promises flew out the window as I made a show of slowly sauntering toward him. Each step has his breath coming faster and shallower. He refused to make eye contact. The death grip on the unopened bottle of water threatened to blow the top off any second.

“Marco,” I whispered as I came to a stop in front of him. Still, he refused to look up, so I carefully touched my fingertips to his chin and forced him to.

“Don't. Don't touch me.” His breathy words were so faint, I didn't believe him.

“I won't do anything you don't want.” I brushed a thumb over his lower lip, mindful to keep my touch light over the swollen split.

“Bran, don’t…” His eyes locked on to mine, pupils blown wide with a mixture of want and fear. Still moving slowly to avoidspooking him, I nudged his knees apart with my own and sank to kneel between them. His breathing quickened in response despite his repeated protests.

“I'm not doing anything. We’re here to talk.” I placed my palms gently on his thighs. “Just talking.”

“That’s… don’t.” He squirmed a little as I smoothed my palms over the material of his trousers. “Fuck…”

“No. Not tonight.” My hands retreated to the safer space near his knees. “What do you make of the rumors about Moretti’s men?”

“What? Oh…” He cleared his throat and wrenched the bottle of water open. My eyes tracked the long line of his throat and the bob of his Adam’s apple as he drank half the water in three large gulps. God, I wanted to lick the skin where his pulse visibly pounded.

“The rumors, Marco.” I eased my palms back up the trembling length of his thighs. “What do you think?”

“It’s not—” He cleared his throat again and shifted his gaze away. “It's not surprising. Never trusted the Moretti family.”

“I gave Gian so much shit over Nico.” I kneaded the muscles along his inner thighs with my thumbs, retreating again as he tensed and shuddered. He was so fucking responsive and sensitive. My restraint was admirable.

“We all did.” His eyes darted toward my face and away again. “Moretti was always a threat. An alliance changes nothing in that respect.”

“I agree. So, who is the most at risk?” Applying more pressure, I coaxed my hands higher and kneaded his thighs with my thumbs, barely brushing the tendons of his groin. The tiniest sound escaped his throat as his hips shifted. There was no mistaking the fact that his cock was now rock hard and straining against the zip of his pants.

“M-me. You. Gian a-and N-Nico.” His voice was rough and ragged, the shaking in his body causing the words to stutter off his tongue as he licked his lips and shifted under my hands again. “Please, Bran.”

“Please, what?” I repeated the slow strokes over his legs and lifted my eyes to peer up at him through my lashes. Yeah, I was pouring on the charm. He was wound so tight, I needed to use everything I had in my arsenal.

“Don’t.” His mouth said one thing, but his body said another as his hips rolled toward my hands as I reached the juncture of his thighs again.

“Don’t what, Marco?” I shifted my knees closer and bit my lower lip while staring into his wild-eyed gaze.

“I hate you so much.” More breath than sound, his words carried no weight. “Hate you.”

“Do you hate me, or do you hate what I make you feel?” I brushed my knuckles over his pants, riding the ridge of his hard cock beneath the material.

“Don’t…”

“Don’t what?”

“Stop.”

“Stop or don’t stop?” I shifted my hand and cupped his length in my palm. “Which one is it, baby?”

His body trembled so hard, I worried he might pass out. With a groan that emanated from the depths of his chest, a hand lashed out and grabbed a fistful of my hair in a punishing grip. Every nerve ending in my body came to life with his rough handling and I pressed against his dick even harder in response.

“Fuck you,” he ground out through his clenched teeth as his eyes fluttered shut.

“You can if you want to.”

“Shut your whore mouth.”

“Shut it for me, baby.” Another stroke of his dick earned me a harder tug of my hair.

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