Page 36 of Taming Seraphine

For the next half hour, I lean against a blank patch of wall, volleying texts between Miko and my cousins, Benito and Cesare. Miko is tearing through the hard drives, trying to find the information needed to pull Roman from death row. Cesare is certain that Capello held something over the district attorney who presided over Roman’s murder trial, but I want Miko to cast his net wider. Capello would have had dirt on politicians, judges, and the chief of police. We just need to find it.

Giggles erupt from the other side of the store, and I look up from my phone. Seraphine is holding out her forearm, while the store clerk runs the tips of a small flogger over her skin.

The sight of two beautiful women together should be arousing, but my gut twists with a surge of possessiveness. If anyone’s going to tease Seraphine, even in jest, then that person is going to be me.

I push off the wall, slip the phone in my pocket, and walk over to the rack of whips and floggers.

Seraphine turns to me, her eyes bright. “Can we get this one?”

I grab her arm and pull her close, my gaze holding hers. “Anything you want, angel.”

Her cheeks bloom a delicate shade of pink. She dips her head and gazes up at me through her lashes, making my heart skip. The look is so coy and innocent that I almost forget she’s an untamed killer until I notice the tiny flecks of Monica’s blood on her fingers.

I have to remind myself that she’s off-limits. Seraphine has suffered enough and doesn’t need to get involved with another killer, especially one also trained by Anton. Anton twisted and corrupted an inexperienced young girl until her knee-jerk reaction to stress became murder.

Taming Seraphine won’t be as easy as giving Miko a place to stay. There’s a darkness in her that calls to mine, not to mention this unwanted attraction. I like tall, kinky brunettes who don’t form attachments, not tiny, angelic blondes.

Once she’s learned to control her killer instincts and is reunited with her brother, I don’t plan on letting her stick around.

“Anything else?” I gesture at the overflowing basket.

She rushes to a bookshelf, extracts a coloring book along with a notepad covered in pink fur along with a pack of felt-tip pens. “Let’s go home.”

Home.

She’s been in my presence for less than two days, and she’s already claiming ownership of my apartment. My cock stirs at the reminder of her deadly wake up call. Seraphine is the first woman who wouldn’t recoil at what I do for a living. Not that it matters because I’m not seeking romantic attachments.

After purchasing two baskets of items, I take Seraphine to a department store to pick out some clothes in her size. I’m not surprised to find that everything she chooses is a shade of baby blue or pink, but I’m taken aback that all she selects is loungewear. Perhaps she’s sick of wearing the pretty dresses associated with her former job.

The apartment is pristine, with only a hint of bleach in the air when we return later. A testament to the proficiency of Don and his clean-up crew. At the dining table, we unload the bags from our shopping spree, and Seraphine doesn’t wait even a heartbeat to bring up her training.

“Are we going to use the toys?” Seraphine asks, her eyes sparkling.

“You haven’t done anything to warrant a reward or punishment,” I say.

Her brows pull together. “What do you mean?”

“You asked for help with taming your compulsions,” I reply. “I need to understand what went through your mind when you killed Billy Blue.”

Her features darken, and all traces of the excited girl fade away, leaving her sullen and cold. “Nothing.”

I wait for her to elaborate, but she falls silent.

“Did you black out?” I ask.

“No.”

“Then how do you explain what happened?”

“I was protecting myself.”

Familiar pressure builds up behind my eyes, and I rub the spot between my brows. She’s determined to make me work for answers.

“Stabbing a man who’s attacking you is self-defense. Why did you keep going? Why go so far as to cut off his dick?”

“Actually, that was the first place I attacked.” She looks away and points her pert nose in the air.

“A blow like that would incapacitate any man. Why didn’t you wake me?”

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