Page 45 of Thrill Me (Dark Odyssey 3)

I continue to stare at him and my silence seems to infuriate him.

“Salvatore, this doesn’t feel right,” I say. I don’t want this. It feels like I’m being forced to fly out of the nest of comfort sooner than I have strength for.

He sneers again. “So… it’s a no? After last night you’re still fucking telling me no?”

I shake my head at him. “No… it’s not a no. I just don’t like it… I wanted to be with you in my own time,” I confess.

“Oh yeah… like fuck Mimi. Let me give you a fucking rude awakening,” he growls and hits out at the wall. “If we don’t do this I’m done. I’m fucking done.”

A chill races through me. “What do you mean by… done?” I hold his gaze.

“It means I’m done with you, Babygirl. It means we end in every way. I won’t be one of these pansy ass shits who can tell a doll they want to keep fucked up crap like ‘I’d rather be a friend than not in your life’. I won’t do it, I won’t watch you with some other guy and accept that you didn’t want to be with me because you hold the sins of my brother over my fucking head.”

I blow out a ragged breath and a tear runs down my cheek. “I never meant to make it seem that way.”

“That is what it is Mimi. You’re scared I’ll break you like Gabe did.Worse…you said it would be worse because you’re fucking scared to feel what you already feel for me.”

He’s calling me out on truth but realistically, I’m scared to change the only thing that’s constant in my life. That’s him.

“Salvatore—”

“No Mimi,” he cuts me off and shakes his head like he did before. “I’m being serious as fuck here, so you better listen to me.”

I’m listening and hearing, receiving his words. “I am.”

“You’d better, because you need to hear this and pay attention. You’ve never been with me Babygirl. You’ve never been my doll. I won’t hurt you, I would never hurt you or put you through the shit Gabe did to you. But I won’t do this to myself either. I won’t be inthiswhatever it is we are and not have you the way I want. That means I can’t be your friend either. When you look at me you’ll know I want you. When you look at me, you’ll know I want you in every way that a man can want a woman so this stops here Mimi, right now. We decide. You do.” He pulls in a sharp breath and stares at me long and hard, then continues. “Option one, you give me that chance. I let you know when I think you’ve given me a fair chance, and hand over the ownership of the restaurant. If we work out we work out, if not then at least we’ll know. You still get the restaurant and like a normal couple you can leave at any time. Option two… we stop here. Right now. I’ll have a professional relationship with you as your boss at the club and that is all we will be. What’s your answer Babygirl?”

When I think of option two my soul shivers.

That option doesn’t exist to me. It can’t. It doesn’t.

We both know this isn’t about the restaurant. He knows and I damn well know too. That was just a well-played pawn move to get me in position in the game to give me the rude awakening.

The real threat is losing him. That is what it is, pure and simple.

The real risk is the loss of him in my life and all that he means to me.

The actual threat is this: be with him or be without him.

Those are my choices.

Be with him and give him the chance to be with me, or be without him.

I have a long way to go, to feel better about myself and all the shit from last year, but I won’t lose him. What I need to do is try to push past my worries and fear of heartbreak. I need to try.

“Option one,” I answer and a mingle of fire and desire comes into his dark eyes.

“Option one? Are you sure… Mimi?” he tilts his head to the side.

“Yes,” I breathe. “I choose option one… I choose you and everything that means.”

He lifts my head and moves closer like he’s coming back to my lips but doesn’t kiss me.

“Good… then your safe word is red.” He leers at me with that wild menacing smile, eyes darkening.

Red…

Safe word…

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