Page 38 of Owning Nicci

Even over the music, I swear I can hear her giggle, and it makes me see red. I retreat to a back table, watching them like a hawk, and foregoing a drink. I don’t trust myself to go to the bar—I’ll end up breaking his neck instead of ordering a beer.

It feels painful, watching her with him. I force myself not to look away.This is the plan,I remind myself.You’re using her for a purpose. That’s why you took her. To use her. What does it matter if he touches her? He’s going to die for it eventually.

I repeat it over and over in my head, the way I’ve repeated any number of mantras over the years, until I see Marco lift Nicci off his lap, toss cash down onto the bar, and sling his arm around her waist to guide her out back. My jaw tightens again, because if he tries to fuck her in an alley instead of taking her back to his apartment, our plan will fall apart.

I hesitate for a moment, wondering if I should follow. Veering off-course goes against all the ways I’ve trained myself to think over the years, but a gut instinct tells me that this is going to go differently from how we planned.

Taking a deep breath, I start to head for the back entrance. The alley is right next to the bar. If they’re already heading to Marco’s ride or waiting for an Uber, I’ll be able to duck over to my car and follow them without losing time. Nicci has my number and a burner in her pocket if she needs to text me an address. And something keeps needling at me, telling me that if I don’t follow, something will go wrong.

The moment I step outside, I’m glad I trusted my instincts. Marco has Nicci pinned to the wall of the bar, on the other side of the dumpster, shrouded in the shadows left from the parking lot lights that flood off to the side. She has her arms around his neck, her head tilted back, one leg wrapped around his waist—but the instant my shoes crunch against the gravel, her eyes fly open, and I see the expression there.

Help.

Her eyes are wide, her lips parting, mouthing the word. He’s not taking her somewhere else, like we planned. He’s decided he wants to fuck her in the parking lot and then head back into the bar, and just the thought of that sends a flood of anger through me, crystallizing sharply in my veins as I reach for the gun beneath my jacket.

I move closer. It’s hard to be stealthy out here, but Marco isn’t listening to anything except his own grunts and the fake, breathy moans Nicci is responding with. As I get within a couple of feet of him, I can see that he has his jeans unzipped, his hard, stubby cock grinding against Nicci through her clothes.

The thought of him getting to finish, of him marking her in any way, even over her clothes, propels me forward. I close the distance between us in three strides, grabbing a fistful of Marco’s hair as I yank him back, away from Nicci and to one side. Before he can get a word out, before he can even try to struggle, the muzzle of the silencer on my gun is pressed to the back of his head, and I pull the trigger.

The dull sound of the shotthudsin the air between us, and as I let him go, he drops to the gravel. I step away from him, looking down at his limp body, blood pooling around his skull and his now-limp cock lying against his open zipper.

Before I can stop myself, I aim at his groin and pull the trigger again.

“Savio!” Nicci gasps out my name, and a jolt runs through me at the sound, my cock hardening at the breathy sound of my name on her lips. When I look up, she’s staring at me with a shocked, angry expression on her face, and she starts to push away from the wall.

I stride forward before she can, blocking her in as I grab the back of her neck and slam my mouth against hers.

She gasps, her lips parting, and I take full advantage. I thrust my tongue into her mouth, tasting her, sweet and hoppy fromthe beer she just drank, the warm perfume of her skin and hair filling my senses. Every inch of my body throbs as I press myself against her, pinning her to the wall, like my desire is a living, pulsing thing that’s taking me over. I’ve never been so fucking hard in my entire life, never wanted anything as much as I want her in this moment, and fear rattles through me on the heels of the desire, the fear of losing control.

Of losing control toher.

The gun is still in my hand. I raise it, pressing the silencer to the side of her head. Against me, Nicci freezes, her lips still touching mine.

“I should kill you,” I whisper, unmoving. My lips move against hers as I speak, my breath and hers warming each other’s mouths. “The way you’re making me feel right now…I should kill you for it. End this, right now. You were Barca’s, just like that man was. I should kill you, too.”

Inexplicably, I feel her mouth curve under mine in a smile. Afuckingsmile, while I have a gun pressed to her temple.

“You won’t,” she whispers, and the feeling of her mouth forming the words against mine makes my cock throb painfully.

I swallow hard, my teeth gritted together as I speak. “Why the fuck not,principessa?”

“Because,” she whispers, and I feel her hand slip between us, cupping the aching hardness pressed against her. “You haven’t fucked me yet.”

I close my eyes, fighting for control. I can feel it slipping through my fingers, and I can’t grasp onto it. My head feels thick, heavy—everything lost in a fog of lust.

“It’s time we fucking do something about that, then.”

My hand still gripping the back of her neck, I wrench her around, marching us both in the direction of the alley where the car is parked, the gun still pressed to her temple. “Move,” I hiss, the throbbing pulse of my desire roaring in my ears, and Niccistrides forward, not a hint of fear in her. She’s not trembling, or crying, or trying to beg. She walks as if everything is normal, as if she’s not a finger-twitch from death, and I’ve never been so fucking turned on in my life.

I’ve never wanted a woman like I want her. I’ve nevermeta woman like her. And I’m going to make her mine if it fucking kills us both.

I wrench the passenger’s door open, pushing Nicci inside with my hand still on the back of her neck. I follow her in, taking one look at my driver, waiting in the front. “Take a walk,” I snarl, and he jumps a little, giving a quick nod.

“Yes, boss.” He’s out of the car in an instant, and I close the door hard behind me, leaning over Nicci. She’s very still, on her knees on the leather seat, her hands braced against the other door as if she knows what’s coming.

“Don’t fucking move,” I growl, the gun still pressed to the side of her head as I let go of her neck, reaching for the front of her tank top. I rip it open with one quick motion, the snaps coming undone, her breasts suddenly bare in the cool air of the car. I slide my hand down the front of her, her nipples puckering under my palm, and she lets out a small, shuddering moan.

“You like this, don’t you,principessa?” I pinch one of her nipples between my fingers, twisting it sharply, and she cries out. “You’ve wanted me to fuck you for weeks now. You were wet as a fucking river when I spanked you in my playroom. I bet you’re fucking wet now, aren’t you?”

---