Page 36 of Curse

I can’t stop replaying what just happened in my head—the way she touched herself under the water, her eyes locked on mine like she was daring me to lose control. Her wet hair clinging to her skin, water streaming over her curves, and those full, beautiful breasts.

Pure fucking temptation. Every detail is seared into my brain, and my cock throbs painfully in response. I consider throwing her on the bed and fucking her tight ass until she’s screaming my name, but I don’t.

Lowering her onto the bed, I’m nowhere near as gentle as I should be. My pulse thunders in my ears as I yank the blanket over her wet body, more to block her from my view than to offer her warmth. My dick is still hard as steel, and the feel of her soft, damp skin isn’t helping.

FUCK.

What the hell is wrong with me? There are countless beautiful women in the world, and none of them have everthrown me off my game like this. What the fuck is my issue with this one?

Siena is a problem—a massive fucking problem. She’s bad for business, a loose end wrapped in attitude, and yet… I can’t get her out of my head. She has been my every-other waking thought since I first laid eyes on her and now, after her little stunt in the shower, I’m fucking obsessed.

Which is in itself a fucking problem.

I glare at her, willing her out of my head. My priority is the flash drive, my commitment to the Demonio family. Once I have it, this fixation ends. I’ll fuck her, sate this obsession, and be done with it.

My mind careens back to that look of defiance on her face in the shower. She wasn’t scared, not even a little, and seeing that strength in her has me hard all over again. Her attempted bravery was a thin facade down at the lake or even in the alley at One Pearl Park, but in the shower, it was impenetrable. It’s such a fucking turn-on to see her like that.

On the other hand, I can’t stop thinking of ways I’m going to break her, make her beg for me to fuck her, to beg for my cock. Just the thought has me hard again.

As I turn to walk away, let her sleep for a bit, she reaches for my hand wordlessly. Her touch is jarring, gentle and tentative, so different from the fire she was just throwing my way.

Caught off guard, I allow her to take my hand, and notice again the lacerations on her wrist left by that fuck, AJ. My jaw clenches as a fresh wave of anger surges through me. They’re not deep, but he drew blood, and for touching her alone, for licking her beautiful skin, he’s a dead man.

Siena is watching me.

“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispers, her voice soft and hoarse.

I don’t believe her. My thumb brushes the edge of the wound, and guilt twists in my gut. This is on me. I should’ve grabbed her back at the lake, kept her close at One Pearl Park Plaza. I had so many opportunities to trust my instincts, and I didn’t. If I had, she wouldn’t have been hurt. AJ wouldn’t have laid a filthy finger on her. But I ignored the warning signs, and now I’ve let her down.

Dropping her hand, I grit out harshly, “Get some sleep.”

“Hey.” Her eyes are half closed, her cheeks flushed. Her long dark hair looks black when it’s wet, and her brown eyes are the color of espresso. “I know it wasn’t exactly your choice what just happened in there. But I needed to… I needed to feel somethingdifferent, after my sister… you know? So thank you.”

Anger flares in my chest. “Next time you need jerk-off material, find it online,” I growl.

Siena smiles faintly, her expression so vulnerable it makes me want to punch something. She pulls the blanket tighter around herself and drifts off, leaving me standing there.

She thinks I don’t care.

Maybe it’s good that she thinks that she means nothing to me. Sheshouldbe nothing to me. Sheisnothing to me.

I refuse to think about what that means I am to her.

**

The next day, I cruise slowly past The Hunt Club, a place that’s been in the Demonio family for generations. From the outside, it’s unremarkable—brick walls, barred windows, and a small, weathered sign. But it’s always buzzing with our soldiers, and today is no different.

There’s only one soldier I’m looking for, though, and I see him right away.

AJ, leaning against the wall like he doesn’t have a care in the world, is smoking a joint through the holes I left in his mouth when I knocked his teeth out. Talking to some other guys like he didn’t just fuck with my girl, didn’t just end his own life.

The little shit doesn’t realize he’s living his final moments.

I’m so exhausted that I’m wired, having laid awake all night staring at the cameras watching Siena sleep and waiting for the sun to come up.

The sight of AJ stokes the anger that’s been simmering in my chest since I left Siena’s room. This fucker put his hands on her, hurt her, and made her feel powerless. Now I’m going to do the same to him.

I slam my foot on the gas, the car screeching onto the curb, and come to a halt inches from AJ. Men scatter, and AJ pounds his chest and yells before he realizes that it’s me behind the wheel. When I get out of the car, his bravado falters as the smoke trails from his lips.

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