Page 24 of Rotten Men

I feel my burglar stiffen, and I’m glad my voice had enough of a menacing quality for him to get the message that he messed with the wrong woman.

“Who sent you?’” I ask, wanting to know who is aware of my presence in Chicago, aside from the visits I have made.

I’ve been nothing but careful in staying under the radar of my father and especially the Outfit’s new underboss. If either one knows I’m here, then all my efforts have been for not, since I’m as good as dead. A little chuckle comes out of my assailant, his body relaxing against mine, and my patience starts to wear thin with his smugness.

“You think this is a joke? Trust me, I have no qualms in slicing you up right now. Tell me who sent you and I might just spare your life,” I murmur sinisterly in his ear, invoking the memory of the voice my father loved to use when shelling out threats.

Let him think if he cooperates with me and gives me a name, I’ll be swayed to leave him be. I won’t, of course, but I see no need in getting the beast of a man agitated with the realization he’s about to take his last breath in this world.

“I see you’ve picked up some new tricks,bella. I wonder what else you’ve learned these past few years,” he chuckles.

The familiar voice that comes out of the would-be stranger makes my heart jump in relief and joy. Yet, I keep my knife exactly where it is—on the sly prankster’s throat.

“These aren’t new tricks, Giovanni. Dom taught me how to use a knife the minute he was able to get away with it,” I hush in his ear, and see the hairs on the nape of his neck prickle to life.

“I see. So you’re full of surprises,” Gio sing-songs, tilting his head to the side. Seeing his cocky, sexy grin instantly does something to me.

“So are you. Most people call before coming over. Not ransack their motel room,” I counter, gaining a nonchalant shrug from the boy I gave my heart to when I was barely old enough to know what love was.

“I’m not most people,principessa. You, of all people, should know that.”

My smile grows wide at his snarky comment. Elation overwhelms me by having him so close once again. But this feeling is fleeting as he reverses our positions, and in one fast turn, he gets free from under me, taking the knife away from my grasp, and pinning it to my own neck.

“I guess Dominic didn’t teach you everything, huh? Still need some schooling,bella,” he murmurs in my ear, mimicking me, and my spine stiffens at his taunt.

“Give me my knife back, and I’ll show you just how much of an education I have,” I reply, overly sweet.

The cold blade starts to wander down from my throat, moving its way to my chest, only stopping when it touches one of my keen nipples, which are hard as diamonds just from Gio’s proximity alone.

“Now, why should I do that? When I’d much prefer to educate you myself with all the lessons you are lacking.”

My breathing peaks and I start to hyperventilate when the jagged edge toys with my nipple to the point of pain. I feel my core soak with his breath in my ear and his manly scent all around me. I lick my lips, desperately wanting to turn around and see the man I have been dreaming about since as far back as I can remember. I lean back against him and feel his hard shaft caress my ass, making my eyes turn to slits with erotic images dancing in my mind. My pulse quickens further when he starts to move against me.

“You smell just as incredible as the day you left me—freshly crushed roses with a hint of vanilla,” he whispers, and my senses heighten when I feel his tongue reach out to the small place behind my ear and trail down toward my long neck.

“Taste just as sweet, too,” he groans, and my heartbeat gallops when I give in to the madness and find myself grinding back to the same tempo as his engorged cock.

“Gio,” I pant, trying to slow things down and accelerate them all at once.

“What is it,principessa?” he hushes in my ear, before biting my tender lobe and sending shockwaves of rapture all over my body.

God, I missed him so much.

The knife in his hand continues its sweet, torturous caress alongside my aching breasts. With a swift twist of the wrist, Gio cuts my blouse buttons one by one, in rapid speed. With my shirt hanging open, my black, lace bra is fully exposed, showing my heaving chest and the effect he still has on me.

In one quick swoop, he moves me to lean against the cheap piece of furniture next to us, and that’s when my eyes finally appreciate the man behind me. My Gio stares back at me through the boudoir mirror, with blazing heat in his eyes.

“Hi,bella.”

He winks to the mirror as he slides my shirt off my shoulders and zips down my black skirt, pushing it to the ground. I continue to look in the mirror, seeing myself in nothing but black lingerie, and the astute man behind me, immaculately dressed in his suit with my knife never once leaving his hand. His body keeps me in place; even if I wanted to move, he isn’t giving me much of a chance.

“I must say, this is a sight I wasn’t expecting to behold so soon. But one thing you taught me was to never leave for tomorrow what you can do today,” he announces with pure erotic tones.

“Hmm,” I sigh when I feel my bra fall to the ground with three precise slices of a knife, followed with the same expert cuts being done to my panties.

And just like that, in twenty seconds flat, he has me bare naked and under his total control.

“Gio,” I begin to say, trying to think of any rational thought to stop this, but my body craves him as much as my heart does.

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