Page 56 of Till Death Do Us Part

“Is it?” He raises a brow, his stance unwavering despite the kiss of the barrel on his face. “You wouldn’t really shoot me, Princess.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You like me too much.” With a shrug, he swipes his tongue over his lips, and I follow the movement which only makes him chuckle. The deep sound rattles me, my hand trembling again as heat crawls across my chest and up my neck.

“Then you clearly don’t know me well at all,” I tell him, tensing my arm to stop the tremors.

“Oh, I think I know you, Princess,” he murmurs, cocking his head to the side. “But that scares you, doesn’t it?”

“You don’t scare me.”

“Yes I do.” He takes another step back, opening his arms wide as if to saydo your worst. “I terrify you, Princess. But I’m standing here, arms open. You want to shoot me? Shoot me. I dare you.”

His eyes lock on mine. A wide crooked smile sits on his lips, so fucking beautiful—yet deadly all the same. My finger tingles where it lays on the trigger. My heart and mind at war as I watch him.

Pulling in a deep breath, I lower my hand. Leonardo chuckles, mumbling anI told you so.And like a bull to a red rag, I’m done for. Before I can process or have a conscious thought, my hand raises.

The bullet tears through his shoulder, leaving a wetness seeping through his shirt. My hair lashes over my face, the wind swinging it around wildly, but all I can focus on is him.

Dark eyes follow the lines of my body, his smile remaining. There isn’t a flicker of pain in his features—only amusement. He hums, pulling his full bottom lip into his mouth. “You did it. You fucking shot me.”

“Just be grateful I didn’t aim for your head,” I tell him, shrugging as I lower my arm, letting the gun hang limp at my side.

“That wasn’t very nice, Princess.”

“Don’t act all high and mighty, you goaded me into it, and you know it. Besides, a little blood never hurt anyone, did it?” I ask, using the same words he did in the restaurant days ago.

“Repeating my words, are we? When did we become that couple?”

“We aren’t a couple.” I shake my head, narrowing my eyes on him.

“It’s cute that you think you have any say in what’s happening between us. Now, since you made me bleed, it’s my turn.”

Shaking my head again, I step to the side, the lights of Nico’s house calling me to safety. Leonardo watches me, his eyes never leaving mine as I take another step, then another. The smile on his face widens, becoming vicious as my movements become more hurried.

So close, and yet so far.

The minute I run, unsteady on my heels, he catches me by the waist and pulls me against him. Cold metal touches my bare thigh where the split on my dress has fallen open, and a sharp sting follows the trail as he drags his knife up my skin, marking me lightly.

“I’m going to have a scar, Princess,” he tells me, his breath fanning my face as he whispers in my ear, “It’s only fair that I get to scar you in return. Don’t you agree?”

His words should terrify me, and they do—but not because of what’s he’s threatening, and not even because his knife presses in harder, slicing deeper into my skin—no, what’s terrifying is the way my stomach dips with lust and my pussy throbs as his words run through my mind.

I’m so lost in the feeling I don’t realise he’s pulling us backwards until he spins around and slams me into the trunk of a tree. Bark digs into my back, only making the sensations that much more powerful as he continues dragging the blade along my skin.

“I could scar you here,” he tells me, lifting the knife and pressing it against my throat, he doesn’t nick the skin, but traces over my pulse point before moving lower. “Or here,” he mutters, slicing my dress down the middle and pressing the point into my chest.

“Or even here.” He drops to his knees, not caring for the cold grass as he grabs the two parts of my dress, ripping it open until it drapes off me like a coat. The tip of his knife presses against my underwear, right where I ache the most for him. “Would you like that, Princess? For me to mark you here?”

Shaking my head, I close my eyes and my head rolls over the trunk as he makes circles around my clit with the knife. “Leo, please.”

“Please, what? You have to use your words.”

“Scar me,” I whisper into the night, my words ending in a moan when he slices my underwear and presses his blade to my bare skin. The cold metal paired with the heat pouring off me is overwhelming.

“Well, because you asked so nicely.” The knife disappears, and disappointment floods me, though he quickly replaces the metal with his mouth. His tongue explores my pussy, gathering my juices as he devours me. A hand presses against my thigh, prying my legs open, and I grip at the wood behind me, my nails digging in.

In this moment, he knows exactly what I need and gives it without hesitation. I don’t need to think, or talk, or do anything but exist for his touch right now. He’s taking me away, to a place where only he and I exist.

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