Page 38 of Bound to the Enforcer

"I was taken." I can tell from the weight in his tone that this is heavy. "I was 14 at the time. My family owed money to the wrong people, and when they couldn't pay, they gave me up instead. I didn't know what was happening until it was too late."

I freeze, my chest tightening at his words. He speaks like he's recounting someone else's story, detached and cold, but I can feel the truth in it. The pain.

"They trained me," he continues, his eyes distant now, locked on something I can't see. "Taught me how to fight, how to kill. They often would put me in these fighting rings where we had to fight for survival against other people. I won every fight I was in. They saw how good my skills were, and I became useful to them, so they kept me alive. And when I was ready, they sent me out to do their dirty work. Assassinations, abductions, product moving. I was tasked with disposing of all loose ends and making sure there were no traces that could lead back to them.

One hundred and eighteen, that's how many kills I made. Some were as young as 10 years old. I was a different kind of man then. I lived without a soul, without a conscience. All I knew was to survive or to be killed by the master who held the whip."

"Domenico?" I ask softly.

He shakes his head. "No. Worse men. Domenico only came later."

I move closer without thinking, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside him. I don't touch him, but I'm close enough that I can feel the heat radiating off him, the tension in his body like a coiled spring.

"How did you get out?"

Alessio laughs quietly, but there's no humor in it. "You don't get out of something like that. You just... trade one cage for another. The man I was under, Alejandro, owed your father a debt, and instead of taking money, your father took me. I was 20 at the time your father found me. He gave me a second wind."

"I'm sorry," I whisper, the words feeling inadequate.

He turns to me then, his dark eyes locking onto mine, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.

"Don't be," he says. "It's made me who I am. The man standing here now, the man protecting you, exists because of them."

"Protecting me isn't all you are, Alessio," I say softly. "You know that, right?"

He doesn't reply. Instead, he looks at me like I'm something he doesn't know how to handle—something he's afraid to want. And then, slowly, he reaches up, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. The touch is gentle, almost hesitant, as if he's afraid I'll pull away.

I don't.

"You shouldn't be here," he murmurs.

"But I am."

His hand lingers for a moment longer before he drops it, turning his face away. "Sophia…"

"I'm not leaving," I say firmly.

In one swift movement, he turns to me, his hands cupping my face as his lips crash against mine.

The kiss is rough, desperate—like he's trying to erase the distance he's put between us. My hands find his shirt, fisting thefabric as I pull him closer. He groans softly against my mouth, his fingers tangling in my hair as he deepens the kiss.

There's no hesitation now, no holding back. It's raw and unfiltered, every emotion we've been burying pouring out into this moment.

He pulls me onto his lap, my legs straddling his thighs as his hands roam my back, pulling me flush against him. My heart races, my body igniting under his touch, and I can feel the tension in him—the restraint he's trying so hard to hold onto.

"You're sure about this?" he murmurs against my lips, his breath warm against my skin.

"Stop asking," I whisper, pulling him back to me.

He doesn't need more convincing. His lips trail down my neck, his hands mapping every inch of me, memorizing me like I might disappear. I gasp softly, my head falling back as he lifts me, then lays me down on the bed.

For the first time in days, the chaos outside these walls fades to nothing. There's only him—only us—lost in the quiet desperation of this moment, as if we can shield ourselves from the storm waiting for us outside.

I go to remove his clothes, but then he stops me. He pulls away and stares down at me.

"I want to try something. Do you trust me?"

The words leave my lips immediately. "Yes, I do."

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