Page 21 of Sin & Secrets

I swallow my pride anyway. “I need your help.”

“Didn’t your father ever warn you about making deals with the devil?”

His words sting more than he can ever know, and I have to look away so he doesn’t see the tears pricking my eyes.

“Please. I don’t know what Claudio did to you to deserve all this, but if you want to bring him to justice…I think we can help each other.”

Rocco tilts his head with unnerving speed. “You want us to work together?”

“I have nothing to offer you,” I explain quickly. “I came to Brooklyn on Claudio’s word and live with him at his discretion. I’m under contract to perform at theCandelabrauntil my dying breath, and if I try to leave him, he’ll…”

My voice snags at the words, but I can see that Rocco understands, probably already knows by the way he glances down at my arms, concealed once more by my father’s leather jacket.

“I need a way out,” I declare, sounding more confident than I feel.

Rocco takes a casual step forward. “And you think losing you would be a good enough punishment for everything he’s done?”

I meet his eyes with determination. “No. But it’s a start.”

Something akin to feral delight falls across Rocco’s face. “You know, there are some things that fall outside my remit.”

“Make an exception for me,” I push, but stagger back into the wall as Rocco continues his approach.

“Now, why would I do that?”

The wall at my back feels like the only thing holding me up. “What do you want from me?”

His eyes slowly drop all the way to my feet and rise up again. When they return to my face, they are somehow darker. “Many things. But I am not in the business of coercion, Miss Cassandra. I want my women to want me so I can make them beg for it.”

My mouth goes dry.

I had planned for him to demand money, or a favor I would be scared to grant. But his suggestion makes me think there might be something else I’d be more than willing to give.

“And if I did?”

“What?”

“Want you.”

One moment, he’s standing before me, the next, he’s pinning me against the wall by the neck. His long, tattooed fingers grab my chin and force me to look up at him.

“Don’t tempt me,Angioletta.”

We’re too close. Breathing hard against each other like this is almost unbearable.

“I’m not going to fuck you,” he whispers across my skin, and my eyes almost roll back into my head. “Because you are not a currency that I exchange in, as mouthwatering as you are.”

His leg brushes up against mine, his bare forearm rubs against my neck, his damn fingers are so close to my lips.

I should be terrified, sobbing, pleading with this man. This is a man who is more than capable of leaning down on my windpipe and suffocating me right now. I’m completely at his mercy, and yet my traitorous body only aches with desire.

The idea should appall me. I should feel shame as my sex throbs between my legs. But even if fucking him won’t win me my freedom, I’m a slave to my carnal impulses. It’s almost as if the entire world is fading away around me.

All that matters is the man pressing into me.

“Please,” I whisper back. “I just want your help.”

His gray eyes dart to my lips and I can feel his heart race in his chest. Is he as affected as I am? Does he feel the electricity buzzing beneath my skin?

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