Page 168 of Inferno

“Well? Is it decadent?” I wipe my own face.

She shrugs and sticks her finger back into the chocolate and licks it.

Her full lips wrapping around it as she sucks it clean.

I lied. I didn’t reinforce my heart.

“Pretty decent, I guess,” she shrugs.

A growl erupts from my chest as I step closer.

Bad fucking move.

The closer she is in my proximity, the easier it is for her to penetrate my walls.

There’s only one thing on this earth that is truly decadent.

Her pussy.

The air crackles around us.

I have so many questions for her. Yet, part of me doesn’t want to hear it.

Call it self-preservation. What if all of these years of anger have been misplaced?

And as I look into the depths of her eyes, I know the truth.

That woman who opened up to me is the real her.

“Please. Hear me out,” she whispers.

This whole façade, everything behind the gates of Decadence is a game.

I should know, I’m the fucking master of it all.

My eyes lock onto her lips.

No. Not again.

When she kissed me back there, everything melted away, and she was all I could think about.

My weakness. Just like I knew she would be.

“Why should I? You’d say anything to keep yourself alive. You came here to kill me, heartbreaker. I guess your name really was right?”

I step back, creating some needed space between us.

“Nothing I did was personal. I don’t have a choice. I had no idea you were my hit until I saw you meet Enzo. I tried to keep you away from me. I warned you. You. Didn’t. Listen. You kept pushing and pushing until we both caved. Maybe I am the enemy in your story, but trust me, I am in my own story too.”

She shakes her head and turns away from me. I can’t help but reach out and spin her to face me.

“Hate me all you want. I have my reasons. What’s your excuse? The games, the women, all of this!” She throws her hands up.

“You are just as shitty of a person as I am, and in my position, you would have done the same thing.” She pokes me right in the chest where her tattoo rests.

Wrapping my fingers around hers, I squeeze.

“Remember who you’re talking to. I get to decide your fate now. My property,” I say in a low tone.

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