Page 6 of Blossom in Shadows

My heart is pounding in my chest as my wide eyes look the man over, his chest rising and falling as if he ran all the way here from Sala. Or is it because I didn’t open the door? He’s clearly the type of man who does what he wants and gets whatever he demands.

I didn’t give into him.

Power and dominance radiate from him and threaten to pull me under into a darkness so unlike the one I currently reside in. I’m used to the shadows, it’s where my pain resides, but this man exists somewhere else. In inky night. In recesses where there are no names or redemption.

“What the fuck?” My voice is high and tight and even though my brain is screaming at me to move, I’m frozen on the couch. “You can’t just break down my door.”

The man takes a few steps closer to me and then looks back at the mangled mess where my door used to reside. He looks at me with a feral glint in his eye and a smirk. “Looks like I just did.”

If it were any other situation, I would roll my eyes at his arrogance, but I’m not willing to look away from him. Not even for a second. I’m even afraid to blink.

“Normal people don’t go breaking down doors,” I mumble, “and take the hint when someone doesn’t answer.”

“Like a door was going to stop me from getting to you,” he scoffs as he approaches and towers over me.

I’m taller than average at 5’7” and right now I’m cowering on my couch, but even at my full height he’s much taller than me. His broad shoulders make me want to cling to him and never let go. I desperately want to run my fingers through his disheveled hair and smooth it all back into place. The five o’clock shadow he’s rocking would feel delicious between my thighs.

What the fuck?

I shake off my lust filled thoughts and reach out for the anger simmering inside of me, using it to replace my shock.

“You can’t just go breaking into people’s apartments,” the words are filled with rage. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

His hazel eyes lock on me and then the next thing I know, he’s grabbed me from the couch to press me against the closest wall, my knees threatening to give out underneath me. I swallow hard, fighting against how my body zings while I hold back a moan.

“I can do whatever I want to get to my woman,Reginetta,” he purrs. “I know exactly who I am and what my position and power grant me.”

“I’m not your woman,” my words are soft as fucking petals, which is not what I was going for. “You can’t buy me.”

He grins at me, it’s wicked and wily, destructive and demonic. My pussy clenches, begging me to give into whatever this man is offering. Being ruled by my body and chasing the movement which always brought me peace only ended in disaster. I won’t be letting my body rule me in this situation.

“I don’t need to buy you, Zinnia.” He buries his face in my neck and kisses my skin there, the rasp of his beard doing delicious things to me which I will deny until my dying breath. “I already own you,” he whispers. I still in his arms as he kisses up the column of my throat. He whispers in my ear, “Let me introduce myself properly, I’ve been remiss up to this point. My name is Elio Agosti.”

My breath hitches and the buzzing he was sending through my body turns into radiating numbness. “No,” I breathe out.

He chuckles against my neck, and I shiver in his arms. “You’ve heard of me then.”

He pulls back enough to look down at me and I nod slowly, fear and adrenaline warring in me, screaming at me to fight, to do anything. What would I do though?

I have heard of this man. He is one of the most powerful men in the city. How could I not know him? He’s the head of the Agosti crime family. Nothing happens in this city without his say so, not really.

“Oh,Reginetta, I’m not sure if I hate the fear in your eyes or love it,” he husks while his hazel eyes simmer with dark desires.

His hands slide down my body to grip my ass before he hoists me higher up the wall. As my legs wrap around his hips, my hands land on his shoulders. Even though something whispers inside of me that he wouldn’t drop me, my body reacts without thought and I tighten my grip on him.

Before I can tell him to put me down or put up any sort of fight, he slams his lips against mine. The kiss is hot and hungry, dark and delicious. It’s stolen and illicit. It’s dangerous and warning bells go off in my head.

Still, my body melts into him when he pushes his tongue past my lips to invade my mouth. I gasp, not understanding the feeling rising in me. It’s carnal at a level of pain. It’s a claiming as if something is being rewritten inside of a part of me which I’ve never recognized before.

A branding.

A shadow wrapping around me and pulling me deeper. Tugging. Dragging. Undeniable.

One of Elio’s hands grips my ass tighter, holding me in place, while the other slides around my body to dive underneath the waistband of my leggings and thong. I squirm, trying to get away from him, but he holds me firm and presses me against the wall harder.

The moment his finger slides between the lips of my pussy, I know there is no denying the way this man makes me feel. I might be conflicted, for good reason, but he’s also the sexiest man I’ve ever seen and I’m soaking wet.

He groans against my lips before he yanks his mouth away from mine. I’m panting as his fingers slide up and down between my folds, teasing me, touching me, showing me.

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