Page 49 of Rise of Temptation

I barely manage to keep the hurt from showing on my face while he storms out of the room. As much as we both know the role I’ve been filling, this is the first time he’s made me feellike I’m nothing but a common whore, and it hurts more than I thought it would.

Once he’s gone, Joey and Sal both turn to me with matching looks of shocked horror on their faces. “He didn’t mean it,” Joey assures me, and I stand up, shaking my head.

“He did,” I whisper. “But it’s fine. I knew what my job was when I agreed to live here.” Without looking at either of them, I leave and go upstairs to my room. The urge to find Enzo is strong, but I can’t decide if I’d rather help him burn off some of his angry energy or stab him in the dick, so I decide to go to bed.

Whoever came up with the phrase, “Don’t let the sun set on your anger,” didn’t consider the possibility that the other option could be murder.

It takes me a long time to fall asleep with Enzo’s words repeating in my head, but I finally manage to doze off. I don’t know how long I’m asleep before I wake up to the bed dipping behind me. In my groggy state, I realize that it’s Enzo but I don’t remember that I’m mad. I just know that he needs me.

When I try to roll over so I can see him, he grabs my hips and holds me so I’m on my side and facing away from him. That triggers the memory of what he said to me before I went to bed, and the pain returns in an instant. But I don’t fight him because in spite of the pain, I still want him too.

Without a single word, he pushes my t-shirt out of his way and notches his dick at my entrance, lifting my leg to give himself room. He slides in slowly to make sure I’m ready and then proceeds to pound into me from behind. I can’t see his face, so I can’t tell if he’s fucking me to burn energy, work through his frustration, or if he knows he fucked up and can’t find the words to apologize.

If it’s the latter, then apology not accepted.

Despite my conflicting emotions, I can’t deny that the man knows what he’s doing with his cock. When my orgasm startsto build, I pinch one of my nipples between my thumb and forefinger. I’m not going to let him leave me hanging. My hips start to balk the closer I get, and Enzo’s grip tightens with every little moan that slips from my lips.

He grunts and slams his hips into me even harder, and I can feel his cock swelling inside of me. Without warning, he reaches around and slaps my clit, sending my flying over the edge into oblivion.

“Fuck!” he shouts, pulling my hips back into him and slamming home so that every drop of his release hits the deepest part of my body.

At first, he stays where he is, and I hold my breath, hoping he’ll be ready to talk to me about whatever brought him in here. To my disappointment, he slides out of me and rolls off the bed, storming out of my room as quickly as he came in.

If it weren’t for the mess between my legs and the residual soreness, I’d think I dreamed the whole thing. But it did happen, and I lie in my bed, unmoving, for several minutes after he leaves. This whole night feels like we took a giant step back after making so much progress. First, he was downright mean. And then he fucked me almost robotically, he was so cold and emotionless. It felt impersonal and empty, but I also know him well enough by now to realize that he only did it at all because he couldn’t keep himself away from me. He needs me.

The constant back and forth with Enzo is getting to my head, but I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t think I was imagining how close we were getting, but he’s never lashed out at me like he did tonight.

I toss and turn for several hours before I’m finally able to fall back asleep. No matter how hard I try, I can’t make my brain shut off. The fact of the matter is, if Enzo wants me to be his little whore, I can do that. And then when the case ends, I’ll have to figure out how to escape. There’s no way he’ll let me go of hisown volition.

If I can’t get out, he’ll either keep me or kill me, and I’d rather not find out which one.

Chapter 37

Enzo

Frankie still hasn’t fully accepted that Elise is on our side. I’m not sure about the other two, but Frankie will take the longest; there’s no doubt in my mind about that. At the risk of them not caring as much as I do, I’ve called them all in to discuss a concern that’s been weighing on my mind.

“I’m worried that Elise living here is going to put a target on her back. If they haven’t already, my enemies will realize she’s… Well, they’ll assume that she must be important in some way.”

“Important to you,” Sal clarifies, speaking the words I was avoiding.

“That will be the assumption, yes,” I respond, still not able to admit it out loud.

“You could let her go,” Joey offers.

“Not a chance in Hell.” My stance on that is firm. Even once we solve this trafficking issue, she’s not going anywhere. I haven’t figured out exactly what that will look like, but I’m sure of it nonetheless.

The other three exchange a knowing look that I want to slap off their smug faces.

“We could kill her,” Frankie says, and I glare at him.

“No one is hurting her.”

“Except for you, right?” Sal asks, and I turn my glare in his direction. “Last night. When you insulted her and stormed off. I assume you haven’t apologized?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” I say, my voice hard and cold. Even if I had one, I wouldn’t share it with them. I know I was unnecessarily cruel last night, and I might’ve ruined my tenuous relationship with Elise by fucking her in lieu of an apology. I don’t have an excuse; I’m just an asshole, and she deserves better. But I’m what she has, if we can all survive and bust this fucking trafficking ring. “None of this matters if someone kills her. We need to keep her safe.”

“What do you suggest?” Joey asks. “She’s already locked in this house day in and day out.”

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