Page 22 of Stolen Seconds

She was stronger than I expected, and I needed that. An equal. But I think my little rebel truly thought she could pin me down.

My hands slid along her waist, her curves molding against my palms as I switched our position, so I was on top of her.

She grunted from the light force as I settled between her legs, pinning her wrists above her head.

“Who said anything about sleeping?”

This close, I could see the dusting of freckles decorating her nose and cheeks. They presented an image of innocence, but she was far from it.

I watched her take shallow breaths, her angelic features turning sharp as she struggled against my hold. The more she moved, the more her scent invaded my senses. It filled me with pure dopamine.

Did she know how breathtaking she was?

My expression must’ve conveyed something that hadher stilling and time ceased to exist for a moment as we locked eyes.

It ended too soon as she blinked a few times, her brows lowering before her head shot up, ramming into my nose, and causing me to loosen my hold.

She slid out from underneath me and all I could do was laugh as blood gushed from my nose.

No one had ever caught me off guard and I always had a strong intuition so the fact that Irina had done it twice in the span of minutes was beyond my understanding.

Maybe this was a sign to stay away from her but the mere thought of doing that sent a dull ache between my ribs.

“Stay away from me, you brute.” She grabbed her bag and walked off in a huff to the building’s exit.

I let my head fall back against the floor, smiling to myself as blood continued to trickle down my nose.

And I didn’t know if it made me a masochist, but I’d let her do it again.

She wasdefinitelymade for me.

I’d almost forgotten that I needed to give a shit about being the leader of the Camorra until this morning.

I crushed the cigarette under my boot, waiting for the Bratva’s exporter.

After my father sabotaged the previous shipment, Roman handed off the entire operation to me.

Doing business with the Russians was always risky, but it had more benefits than not. And it’d establish a goodrapport with my crew, even though they were loyal to my father but that was okay, I didn’t trust them either. I only needed to cement into their brains that I was the one who they answered to.

A black van pulled up to the side of the warehouse and parked before a lean man stepped out.

He was alone which was surprising. We’d discussed to keep this one on one, but I didn’t think he’d comply.

“Viktor.” I acknowledged him with a head nod.

He was a cold man; I could tell with the way he carried himself as if every movement and reaction was mechanical. His brown hair was a contrast against his pale skin which added to the sharpness of his demeanor.

I shoved my hand into my leather jacket, pulling out another stick of death. “How long do you plan on staying in Italy, Viktor?” I asked, sticking the cigarette in my mouth.

He widened his stance, clasping his hands behind his back. “Until I’m certain we can trust the production of our partnership.”

Releasing a puff of smoke, I walked toward him. It was understandable that he’d want to make sure there were no glitches in our exchanges, but I hated having a stranger in my territory.

“You understand that I’ll have eyes on you?”

He smiled or what appeared to be one. It was stiff and crooked. “I don’t doubt it.”

I’d dealt with Russians before and I knew that they were hardheaded with a penchant for blood but as I eyed Viktor, an unpleasant taste settled on my tongue from his demeanor.

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