Page 80 of Isaia

It’s a beautiful fucking mess that makes my breath hitch, her blood on me, marking me in a way that feels primal and permanent. The sight is visceral, sending a surge of satisfaction through me.

I run a hand over my abs, smearing the crimson streaks across my skin.

It’s not just her virginity I’ve taken—it’s her trust, her surrender. And seeing the proof of that spread across my body lights something dark in my soul, fucking biblical, a deep, possessive hunger.

I lean against the edge of her bed, staring at the reflection, letting the weight of it all sink in. Her blood and my cum mixed, a chaotic blend of lust and possession.

It’s carnal, feral. And I fucking love it.

A dark grin tugs at my lips as I grab my jacket, fishing out the pocketknife.

It’s sick. Twisted. Demented. But this moment—this perfect, sordid moment—needs to last. Needs to be burned into me. A fleeting memory isn’t enough. I want it carved into my skin, into my soul. And I want that moment engraved into my skin, something permanent, something no one can ever take away.

I flip the blade open with a quiet click, the edge gleaming under the dim light. Slowly, deliberately, I press it just to the left of my hip bone.

A sharp sting blooms as the steel slices through flesh, and blood wells up instantly, dark and hot. It mingles with hers, still smeared across my abdomen.

My breath hitches, not from pain but the rush. The thought of her blood merging with mine, seeping into me like it belongs there—it’s fucking euphoric. It’s not just about marking myself; it’s about branding this moment, burning her into me. Forever.

I’ve always known depravity lurks inside us Del Rossa men, but tonight, that devil inside me had its grand unveiling, grinning as it took the reins. The line between what’s right and what’s mine has now blurred beyond recognition.

Jesus Christ, I don’t know where the hell this obsession came from, but it’s here, and it’s burning, threatening to turn me to ash for this woman. Every rational thought I’ve ever had, every ounce of control—it’s all gone, buried under the need to have her.

It’s like she slipped under my skin without warning, without permission. One moment, she’s a potential troublemaker, someone we might have to neutralize if she became a problem.

The next? She’s everything.

Her scent, her taste, the way her body yields to mine—it’s all-consuming. It defies reason, but reason left the second I made her come that very first time. Now, the idea of her with anyone else makes my blood boil, my vision blur with rage.

It doesn’t make sense. I’ve never been the type to lose control, to let someone crawl into my mind and take up space. But here I am, and there’s no fighting it. I don’t want to fight it. Whatever this is—this obsession, this need—I’m embracing it. I’ll let it fester and grow until it owns me.

I grab my phone, dialing Maximo’s number.

“What?”

“It’s good to hear your voice, too, asshole.”

Maximo sighs. “It’s four in the morning. What the fuck do you want?”

I saunter over to her bedroom window, sliding the curtains a little to the side, glancing outside. “You know our friend, Paladino?”

“Yeah? What about him?”

I look down, touching the fresh cut. “He needs to fucking die.”

Chapter 24

EVERLY

Ialways read about the heroes watching the heroines sleep, admiring how beautiful they look painted with moonlight that filters through the slits of faded curtains like it always knows to leave the perfect little gap to create the most romantic moments. How the hero’s internal monologue tells us how deeply and profoundly he’s fallen in love with the woman of his dreams.

This is not like that.

There’s no romantic glow of moonlight slipping through anywhere. It’s overcast outside and there’s just this gloomy gray stuttering splashes of shadows over his face. And I’m not thinking about how I’ve fallen irrevocably in love with this man.

My thoughts are more along the lines of scattered sentences that don’t make any sense.

Lying there, tangled in the sheets, Isaia looks like a pagan god—dangerous and devastatingly beautiful, sent to break hearts and defile virgins. He’s all sharp edges and sin, keeping every nerve in my body strung tight.

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