Page 158 of A Beautiful Crime

Her lower lip wobbles and she sucks it in, biting down harshly with her teeth to leave fresh blood. It’s a tempting sight.I would give anything to be able to close the distance and taste the wine of her blood on my tongue.

But mia leonessa is a wounded animal. And I have to approach her cautiously.

This reunion with Giuseppe brought open festering wounds. She knows the truth. Every truth. Including truths I’ve kept from her.

“How long have you known?” Her voice drops in register with her anger. The darkness that lives and breathes inside her has taken control.

And it’s a sight to behold.

Even if she were to kill me I would die with a proud smile on my face and love shining brightly in my eyes.

That’s the power she holds over me.

“How long have I known what, amore mia?”

Her lips twist from the term of endearment. “Don’t act innocent, Signore,” she spews with venom and yet it’s laced with pain. “It doesn’t suit you.”

Signore.

Signore.

If her intention was to wound me she succeeded. Hearing her melodic voice say my name from those irresistible lips is my very own Heaven. Signore feels as if she’s damned me to the fiery pits of Hell.

“If you are looking to wound me, Carina, you have already done more damage without even using the knife.”

“And you think you should come out of this unscathed?” She advances towards me and I allow her to eat up the distance. Never is there a world where I will back away from her. If she’s death then so be it. The tip of the blade presses against my jugular. With how sharp it is only the tiniest bit of pressure applied will draw blood. “Youliedto me.”

“I omitted the truth.”

Her eyes flare with fury. And with applied pressure she nicks my neck. I feel the warm wetness trickle down the column of my throat. “A lie of omission is still a lie. How could you have known and not tell me? How could you betray me like this? Tell me!”

I swallow and the blade sinks deeper. “Because I needed you to be who you are now, Carina.”

“It doesn’t matter what you need! It’s what I need! And I needed to know the truth! I needed to know my mother was murdered! I needed-”

“Why?” I silence her and her mouth sets in a firm line as her eyes narrow with unshed tears. “Because it would’ve eased the guilt of killing Elio? Because maybe it would justify the darkness you harness? The brutality you crave? You could have known the truth but it doesn’t change who you are.”

“And who am I? Who. Am. I.” She demands.

Having enough of her idle threat I disarm the knife. It falls besides us and her eyes follow. My eyes never leave hers. I see the moment the haze of red starts to clear. It’s when she finally notices the crimson decorating the blade.

She sucks in a sharp breath as her eyes close in on the wound she inflicted. In truth it’s nothing. But knowing she did it with the intention to hurt me finally dawns on her.

My arm bands around her as I pull her flush against me. Her soft and lush body along the hard planes of mine. My body sings in praise and burns with pleasure at how perfect we fit.

Pinching her chin harshly between my fingers I force her gaze on me. And while anger and hurt blaze in her eyes the lust simmers beneath the surface. All I have to do is stoke that flame and she’ll meet me with no resistance. “Who you are is Carina Fiore. Who you are meant to be is Carina Donati. And who you were born to be is mine.”

Her lips twist. “And what if I no longer want to be yours? Who am I then?”

The mere idea of her not wanting to be mine sends me in a crazed frenzy. My eyes narrow as I grip her hips roughly and back her against the nearest wall. Cradling her head my fingers tangle in the ebony waves of hair. I pull on the strands until I hear the hiss of pain escape those lips like a sweet sigh. My hand finds purchase on her outer thigh and I hike it up so our bodies perfectly align. Her ankle hooks around my leg and as my cock nestles against her aching core her breath hitches.

“You will always be mine, Carina. Even in death there will be no escaping me. I will haunt you forever, amore mia. You will never be rid of me.”

Her hand fists my shirt. The fabric strains, causing the threads that hold the buttons to begin to unravel. “Do you think you should be so easily forgiven?”

I hitch her leg higher and press my cock harder against her. Her eyes roll to the back of her head with pleasure. Wanting those bewitching emeralds on me I tighten my fingers on her strands of hair. Her eyes pop open. They’re glazed with lust and fury.

“Forgive me now or forgive me later. But I will taste those beautiful lies pouring from your lips and watch how easily they become carnal truths.”

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