Page 83 of A Beautiful Crime

I cock my head to the side. “And you weren’t at dinner.”

Her back finally hits the wall and I relish the victory. I close the distance between us. The tips of my Italian leather shoes kissing her bare feet. She inhales sharply as goosebumps appear across her pale flesh. It’s become an obsession for me now, to see just how much I affect her despite her lies.

Her hand still rests delicately on her neck, her eyes staring up at mine with fire blazing in them. “I am not to be ordered around like a dog. Not even to you, Signore.”

Signore.

As much as I wish she would say my name my cock twitches in the confines of my pants. If i were to pull her against me she would feel just how much her insolence has an effect on me.

And my cock swells further as I remember the feel of her last night under the skylight. The way her body melted against my own. She fit me perfectly. As I always knew she would.

I’ve been aching to have her in my hold again. Without resistance. Without the lies she tells herself.

Under the skylight, pitched in darkness except for the shining of the stars, she had finally allowed herself to feel without the consequences of her conscience.

And if I have it my way she’ll never have to think of the consequences of her conscience ever again.

Her skin blooms as my fingers lightly trace a path across her clavicle. Her breasts strain against the fabric as chest rises and falls with quickened breaths. “Get your hand off of me,” she demands in a breathy tone.

My fingers continue their dance across her clavicle. I smirk at her. “Is that what you really want?”

She swallows thickly. In her eyes her pupils are blown with desire. Her tongue darts out to lick her bottom lip, and my eyes have zeroed in on the sight. “Yes.” And yet her body voluntarily moves closer.

“I’m beginning to wonder how well these lies of yours taste, Carina.” My fingers leave her clavicle and I hear the faintest whimper. I cover her hand with my own that is resting against her neck.

Her hand is so small against my own. And yet it’s the only hand in this entire world that can inflict upon me the most damage.

I feel the thrum of her pulse between our fingers. The erratic pace telling me everything. “Why weren’t you at dinner?” My voice is low, soft.

“I will not be your marionette.”

I apply pressure over her hand. Her pulse in her neck goes wild. “Have I attached any strings, mia leonessa ?”

“I will not be played as a fool.”

“Have I ever treated you as one?” She remains silent. Her lips in a firm line with fire in those eyes. I then trace her lips with my thumb. And they part with a soft tantalizing breath. “What madness it must be,” I softly muse. “To convince yourself I’m evil incarnate when it’s abundantly clear your body can’t resist me.”

She snaps her head to the side and tries to escape. But before she can, my hand finds its place at her throat once again. Collaring her. Owning her. “You are the Devil, are you not?” She spits at me.

I lean down and inhale her sweet scent. I can feel her body tremble as her pulse goes crazy beneath my fingertips. “Your Devil, your God. I can be whatever it is you wish, Carina, but I want you to know this, whatever I am, whatever you claim me to be, all I am is a man before you.”

She questions doubtfully, “Are you humbling yourself before me?”

“If only you opened your eyes, mia leonessa, you would realize I have done nothing but humble myself before you.” With that confession hanging in the air between us I release her, taking a step back.

Her hand returns back to her throat, caressing it. Emerald eyes meet mine with conflict. I had hoped the confession wouldclear some of her muddled thoughts. Perhaps I’ve only sent her further down the rabbit hole.

But if I know one thing it’s that I can not force her. She has to accept me. And by accepting me, she has to accept the darkness within herself.

“At least eat dinner,” I amend. I seem to be full of amends today. “It’s not an order, Carina, but rather a request to have your company.”

“Why?”

“Why?” She nods her head. “Because I wish to know everything there is about you, Carina. I wish to know your aspirations and fears. What makes you happy so I can keep you so. I wish to know every little detail there is about you because it drives me mad that I don’t.”

Somehow she appears to be even more confused, lost. Her eyes search mine as if she’s trying to detect the lie.

But I’m not the one who tells beautiful lies.

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