Page 18 of Tormented Oath

I pull away as the elevator opens silently next to us. Inside, the space feels charged. Ava stands perfectly still as we ascend, but I can see how her hands clench at her sides. Wanting to touch. Wanting to shove me away and run.

My penthouse suite takes up the entire top floor—a fortress disguised as luxury. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer a panoramic view of the city, while subtle security measures ensure total privacy.

"Drink?" I move to the private bar, watching her reflection on the polished surface. She drapes her coat on the sofa and moves to the windows, drawn by the glittering skyline. The lights paint patterns across her skin, making her look otherworldly.

"You really have changed." She accepts the crystal tumbler, but her eyes never leave the view. "That wild boy is gone."

"Not gone." I step behind her, close enough that she must feel the heat of me against her back. "Just evolved. I’ve learned what it takes to keep what's mine."

She turns, and the look in her eyes makes my blood burn. "And is that what I am? Yours?"

"You always were." I take the glass from her hand, setting it aside. "You just didn't know it."

"Stefano..." My name on her lips is both a warning and an invitation.

And I've never been good at resisting either.

"Do you remember our last night in the garden?" I murmur, letting my lips brush her temple. Her perfume fills my lungs—exotic and expensive— but I miss the sweet vanilla scent that she wore back then. "You told me to run from you."

"I meant it." Her voice wavers as I trail one finger down her throat. "I still do."

"Liar." I catch her chin, tilting her face up to mine. "You wanted me to chase you. To prove I would keep my promise." I lean closer, drinking in the way her pupils dilate, how her breath catches. "And I did. For ten years, I searched. Now you're here, in my home, in my world."

"Stefano..."

"Say it again."

Instead, she kisses me.

The taste of her detonates something primal in me. One hand fists in her hair, while the other pulls her hard against me, claiming her. She matches my hunger with her own, nails scraping my skin as she arches into me.

"Beautiful," I growl against her mouth. "Dangerous." Each word is punctuated with a kiss that edges toward violence. "Mine."

She bites my lower lip in response, sharp enough to draw blood. The pain shoots straight to my groin, and I grunt, spinning her to press her against the cool glass. The city spreads out below us, watching us as I pin her wrists above her head with one hand.

"Still fighting me?" I drag my lips down her throat. "After all these years?"

"Always." But her head falls back, offering more of her throat. The submission in the gesture makes the monster in me growl with pleasure.

"Look at my city," I command, turning her to face the window. My chest presses against her back as I hold her there, one hand splayed possessively across her stomach.

"Everything you see down there belongs to me. The streets, the shadows, every deal, and every death." My teeth graze her ear. "And now you're back in my world."

"Your world." She laughs, but it catches on a gasp as I slide my hand higher. I roll my hips against her, letting her feel exactly what she does to me.

She starts to turn, but I hold her still, watching our reflection in the glass. The sight of her in my arms, trapped between my body and the window overlooking my domain, makes something dark roar to life in my chest.

"Do you know what I thought about all those years searching for you?” I murmur, my free hand skimming down her side. "I imagined every scenario. Every way I'd make you mine again." My fingers find the slit in her dress, tracing bare skin. "Every way I'd make sure you never left."

Her breath fogs the glass as she presses back against me. "And now?"

"Now?" I spin her to face me, lifting her easily. Her legs wrap around my waist instinctively as I carry her toward the bedroom. "Now I will show you exactly what you've been running from."

"I wasn't running from you." Her voice shakes as I lay her on the silk sheets, my body covering hers.

"No?" I brace myself above her, drinking in how beautiful she looks spread across my bed. How right. "Then prove it. Stay still. Let me have you." I drag my teeth down her throat. "Let me own you."

Her only answer is to pull me down into a kiss that tastes like surrender. And sin.

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