Page 80 of Sin & Sapphire

I’d fucked up by not being the man she needed—the partner she needed.

“Ana—”

“Thank you for coming to meet us,” she continued, her voice pleasantly modulated, like she had for her father’s cronies, convincing them that she was fascinated with them, that they were handsome men who deserved her attention, softening them with her charm. It was a lie. She hated them, hated being touched by them, hated being used by her father.

And now Costa was touching her like they did.

“Ana, come with me, please.”

Costa’s eyes narrowed on my face. His lover watched from yards away, leaning on the door of the SUV. He’d use her against me. I didn’t care. I’d let her slip through my fingers before, and I didn’t intend to do it again.

She drew herself up, stepping away from Costa’s grip. My heart pounded with hope as she moved into my space. When she cupped my cheek, I stared down at her, losing myself in her gaze. Her eyes warmed for a second, softening, before she stroked her thumb over my cheek.

“Go home, Luca. I’m not yours. I never was, and I don’t want to be.”

I stood there, crestfallen, my heart in pieces at her feet, and she stepped back into Costa’s embrace, leaning against his chest, making it clear what she meant. I searched for the disgust I should have felt about the woman I loved cozying up to her uncle, and only found bitter jealousy.

Costa’s eyes glinted with malicious pleasure as I took in the position of his hands on her stomach, how he curved over her, holding her close against him, as protective as he was possessive.

She wasn’t mine. She washis.

Fuck.

31

VALENTIN

“Strip,”I snapped at Ana the moment she walked into my penthouse apartment. I’d refused to stay in the Costa compound when Gio was alive, and now it didn’t matter. Angelo’s brother had never bothered to hide his dislike of my relationship with Angelo.Good riddance.

Ana followed my directions with pleasing alacrity. She whipped off her clothes quickly, dropping them on the floor, then waited for my instructions, her eyes downcast, her chest flushing as I gazed at her. Where had this sweet obedience come from?

Angelo’s declaration on the plane had shocked the two of us. He intended to marry our bratty little sex toy? What the fuck? That wouldn’t solve anything, only saddle us with the debt-ridden Costa empire in the States. Angelo had no use for the trafficking logistics chain—he’d never condone it.

I was furious with him. Instead of talking about it like adults, I’d allowed Ana to pretend to fall asleep when she didn’t protest.

My mind flashed back to the moment Angelo had decided to stay with me. We’d just finished torturing a sub in a Greek BDSM club, leaving the poor thing blissed out. I’d intended to leave, as was my habit, allowing Angelo to manage the aftercare. Angelo had snapped his hand out and grabbed my wrist.

“Stay,” he’d said. I shook my head with a smile.

“You’ve got this.”

“I don’t want to do it alone. I want to do it with you,” he’d insisted quietly as he fed the young man an orange slice.

When I reluctantly took my place on the couch beside Angelo, he adjusted our bodies, so the sub was arranged over both of our laps, and I allowed myself to luxuriate in the comfort of our thighs pressed together, along with the soft kiss Angelo gave my shoulder.

“I’m keeping you,” Angelo had said when he straightened. I thought he was talking to the sub, but when I’d looked up at him, his wild grey eyes were focused on me.

“Forever.”

To my shock and surprise, we’d built a life together. One that this dangerous hoyden threatened to overturn. I refused to acknowledge the thought that I wanted to keep her too, just as I’d refused to admit how badly I wanted Angelo.

He’d persevered, and I suspected he would with Ana too. If Angelo meant what he said—I snorted at my optimism. Angelo absolutely meant it when he said he intended to marry her, and he’d said it confidently, as if he knew that deep down, I wanted her too. Did I? Fuck.

I took in Ana’s naked form, the curves of her hips, the ink covering her stomach, the beautiful charm that winked at her belly button, and her puffy nipples that begged for the bite of a clamp. But now wasn’t the time. I ignored the bite of sorrow for what Angelo and I were about to do to her, and a fleeting sadness overcame me as I mourned the loss of her fiery spirit. It’d been a long time since we’d trained a pet with the brutality we were about to unleash on her.

But Ana needed it. And Angelo wanted her. She was an unstable brat of a woman who fought us at every turn, making her a danger to herself and to us. So we had to break her quickly.

Fuck, this was a nightmare. A sexy, gorgeous nightmare, to be sure, but still a nightmare.

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