Page 45 of Sweet Misery

I kicked my feet, watching as the twins and Sever stared back at Massimo with me, none of them doing a thing to stop it.

Massimo dropped me to the floor without blinking an eye. I landed in a painful heap, gasping for air. He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed me by my braid and forced me to my knees. I cried, staring up at him.

Sure, it was painful, but I was also angry.

I bit my bottom lip so hard it bleed as a means to keep myself from shrieking my hatred at him. At Sever for hurting me. At the twins for making me think they gave a damn only to stand back to watch.

“What are the rules?” Massimo asked, his voice deadly and sinister.

“On my knees when I greet you,” I said, staring at the floor, my vision blurry from the tears.

“And were you on your knees?”

“N-No.”

The room was silent for a moment. I exhaled, my body jittery at what it all meant. Finally, Massimo stepped forward and tilted my chin up. His fingers slid away from my jaw, his hand beckoning me to come to him.

“Come,” he said in a calm voice.

I hesitated for a moment before taking his warm hand in mine and allowing him to pull me to my feet. Wordlessly, I let him lead me from the room, the twins and Sever watching silently.

He brought me upstairs to a room before closing the door behind us. I stared around in wonder at the massive space. It reminded me of Roman’s room with a sitting area, attached bath, massive bed, and big screen TV on the wall. The fireplace was lit and there was an overstuffed chair next to it where I imagined Massimo sat in the evenings, contemplating all the violence he kept beneath his well-composed facade.

“Knees,” he said, pointing to a spot in front of the chair.

I moved to where he indicated and went to my knees, my head bowed.

He moved around the room for a moment before he came to sit in the chair, a glass and a bottle of scotch in his hand. Through the freed wisps of my braid, I watched him pour a glass of a the amber liquid before swallowing it down in one go. He refilled his glass and settled back.

I snapped my attention back to the floor, my heartbeat thundering in my ears.

I had no idea what he wanted from me, but I was sure I’d find out soon enough.

16

MASSIMO

Istared down at the beauty on her knees in front of me. We’d had many toys over the years, but none had ever been as beautiful or as sweet as the one before me.

That was creating an issue for us, apparently, because the twins had completely lost their minds over her in a matter of days. I’d listen to Roman go on and on about her while we killed three men on our father’s orders tonight. He’d cut off a man’s hand and had waved it around the room, all while singing about how sweet Misery was.

And Sever.

The killing was almost therapeutic for him, because he had no issues cutting off arms, legs, and heads, collecting the blood from each corpse as he did so without a word. He’d been quieter than usual, and I knew it was because of his feelings he was trying to tamp down and control.

Roman waving a dead man’s hand around and recounting he and Ren’s night with the beauty hadn’t helped.

I wanted to know why they were so infatuated with her. She was defiant in a strange, withdrawn sort of way. I’d seen the flash of fury in her eyes. The way her hands balled into tightfists when told what to do. The barely there control she was exercising because she wanted her freedom so bad but our brand of terror kept her in check.

I liked all of that.

I stared at her, it hitting me like a ton of bricks. Having little interaction with her didn’t matter, it seemed. She was a little sorceress, casting spells over the men of this home with her quiet demeanor, big tits, and perfect body.

And her braid.

I reached out and lifted it off her shoulder. It snaked to nearly her waist.

She twitched at the motion, her breathing picking up.

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