3
Colton
I’ve never wanted to taste someone so much.
The vampire stares up at me and something about that wide, innocent gaze stirs the darkness inside me, feeding a hunger that growls to be released. I reach her in a stride, and she scrambles to get off of the desk, panic twisting her expression.
“Please, I just –”
I pin her on my desk, clenching her legs between mine. I feel her tremble against me. “You have no idea who I am, do you?” I button my shirt slowly. Never release her gaze.
She bites her bottom lip and the growl of hunger inside me turns to a snarl. I want nothing more than to shove her down onto the desk and tear away the clothes that hide her from me. Bury my cock inside her while she grinds against me, her slim frame writhing. My cock twitches, more than ready, and it takes me a minute to get myself back in control. Damn.
There’s no reason for an unknown little vamp to affect me like this. No reason for her gaze to send me over the edge and challenge my control. Hell’s beasts. I need just get rid of her.
She squirms and I tighten my legs, just enough to hear her pull in her breath.
So.
The little vamp likes it just as much as I do.
“You can’t hold me here.” She shoves at me, but I catch her wrists. “I belong here just as much as you do. You think I don’t know you’re trespassing?”
A dark laugh escapes me. “You think I don’t belong here?”
She tilts her chin up, defiance tightening her adorable little mouth. “The don owns this club. Whoever you are, you have no business in here, no matter what kind of super alpha you think you are.”
Ah. Super alpha. The little vamp has given me a compliment.
“Is that true.” I stroke my thumb over her chin, working my way up to her mouth, and have the satisfaction of feeling her shudder. “And have you ever seen the don?”
Uncertainty stirs in her gaze. She shakes her head.
“Liar.” I breathe the word against her neck. “You’re looking right at me.” Still clamping her mouth, I use my free fingers to tilt her chin upward, forcing her to look up at me. “And Colton DeMilio doesn’t fuck with liars.”
The innocence in her eyes is tainted with disbelief. Fear. A desperation that calls to me in a way I shouldn’t allow. The hungry wolf inside me growls for release, but I hold myself still. Won’t be the one to lose control.
Not when I have her in my power.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Her lips tremble against my fingers. “I had to get away from the men and I didn’t know where to go.”
I pull my thumb away slowly. “Men?” My tone is sharper than I intend.
She lowers her head, strands of ashen white and pink-tipped hair falling into her eyes. Hiding away her expression, but I can feel her fear. Fear of me? Or someone else?
Her hands twitch in her lap. “Sometimes the patrons take advantage of the girls who work here.”
She doesn’t elaborate, which sends my suspicions sky-high. Has she been taken advantage of under my employ? My wolf snarls in an unexpected burst of anger and I clench my teeth to keep back a betraying curse.
“Do you have names? Occupations? Species?”
She laughs, an unexpected sound in the tenseness of the room. “Rapists don’t fill out ID forms when they grab you.”
I tug her closer to me, fingers tightening even though I know it must hurt her. But my hands refuse to relax, insist on keeping her close to me, secure in my grip. She needs to stay safe, whether she’s aware of it or not. “I’ll up the security in the club. There will be no more – incidents.”
She glances down at my legs, still hemming her in. “And I’m supposed to believe you?”
“No,” I say. “Not supposed to. You will.”
I step back, still holding her arms, and she slides down from the desk, chin tilted to glare up at me. She’s tiny against my height, although well defined, and I bite back an amused smile at her attempt at bravado. I could crush her between my palms and there would be nothing she could do about it. No one who would bother to stop me. She’s a tiny flower, beautiful and fragile and all too easy to pluck.
So what’s keeping me from forcing her against me and taking her, right here and right now?
Good hell, what is it about this tiny goddamn vamp?
I stare down at her, eyes narrowed, and little by little her bravado fades into confusion, then fear. I wind my fingers slowly around her chin until it’s impossible for her to look away. Feel her shudder as I whisper against her lips.
“If I let you leave, what will you give me in return?”
Uncertainty crosses her features. To her credit, she doesn’t try to look away, holding my gaze like there’s a chance she can actually challenge me. Her lips part slightly as I pull back from her. Her breathing quickens.
My hands slide down the length of her body to her waist, pinning her against me, savoring every perfect inch. I tighten my grip until she answers.
“I have nothing.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You will call me sir. Am I understood?”
She folds her lips shut. The spark of rebellion in her eyes sets my cock twitching mercilessly, as relentless as the howls of my wolf. I pull her in hard against me, my chest pressed against her open legs. It’s all I can do to keep my hands waist-high, to somehow prevent myself from sliding a finger down her leg and exploring the soft curves pressed against me. The heat from her core teases me beyond my control.
She raises her gaze to mine, lips trembling slightly. “Sir.”
I stare down at her, eyes narrowed, and little by little her bravado fades into confusion, then fear. I wind my fingers slowly around her chin until it’s impossible for her to look away. Feel her shudder as I whisper against her lips.
“I’ll let you leave, little vamp. But don’t be surprised when I show up in your dreams tonight.”
4
Sofi
He looked at me like he wanted to eat me.
I glance constantly behind me on the way through the alley, every sound, every shadow sending me into a panic. Why in fate’s name did he watch me like that — like he knew who I am? Who I really am? There’s nothing that should have given me away. Hell, I didn’t even tell him my real name.
He’s the fucking don, Sofi. You really think he doesn’t have ways to track you?
I tighten my coat around me, bloodied knuckles throbbing. OK, OK, that’s not the only thing throbbing. Don or not, how dare Colton hold me like I’m his? My body tingles at the memory of his touch against my face, my body pressed against his, his cock hard between my legs, so close to my throbbing core. I bite my lip, fighting away the memories. Are you out of your mind? Thinking about him like that will only make this a thousand times worse.
Except I can’t block away the memory of the darkness in his eyes.
The hunger in his eyes as he watched me.
You’re imagining things.
Why would someone like Colton DeMilio ever have any interest in me — unless he knows who I actually am?
No.
My cover has been carefully constructed. Not even Herrera knows my real name, my real identity. Colton was simply playing with me. Another alpha who thinks vampires are a plaything, another savage little doll he can fuck. Given his status and his killer god looks, girls everywhere surely throw themselves at him. Unexpected jealousy whips through me and I walk faster, desperate to outrun these ridiculous thoughts and still more ridiculous emotions. The sensations I felt with Colton were nothing more than a schoolgirl crush, a natural reaction to being so close to an alpha. It could never be anything more. Not with him.
Not when the don is the reason my father went mad.
The reason I’m forced to go in night after night to the club.
The only thing I could feel for Colton is resentment.
Oh? Is that what made you so wet when he looked at you?
My fingers tighten around my coat. Quickeni
ng my pace, I turn down a side alley and pull my phone from my pocket. I have Julio on speed dial, but it seems to take forever before the phone finally rings and even longer before Julio picks up.
“Yo. Is this call an honor or a plea for help?”
Typical Julio. I huff under my breath. “Just come pick me up.” Before I lose control and go back to find Colton.
The thought is startling, but not unwelcome.
I hear the growl of an engine before Julio’s voice cuts through. “Someone out to get your ass?”
“He will be, once he figures out who I am.”
Silence.
The engine purrs.
“I’m almost there,” Julio says. This time his voice is concerned.
I curl my arms around myself, fighting back the shudder that chases through me at the memory of Colton’s eyes, his voice, his body. “Hurry.”
Minutes later, the black gloom of the limo blocks off the end of the alley. I slide into the back seat, my bruised body aching. Julio watches me from the driver’s seat, his eyes narrowed, concerned, suspicious. He’s the only one of my father’s staff who knows about my secret life, but I can’t help feeling he doesn’t approve, resents me for the risks I take.
Except he doesn’t know the hell I live through in my everyday life.
Or the lengths I’m willing to go to so I’ll be free of the mob.
And dons like Colton.
“Please tell me you aren’t going inside like that.” Julio slides my door shut and the limo eases away from the alley and into the night. The moonlight creates a shadow between us.
“You think I’m crazy?” I reach under the seat and tug free the bag I stored in there earlier. Like I’d do anything to rouse my father’s suspicions.
Been there, done that.
Have the mental scars to prove it.
“Of course I think you’re crazy.” There’s a flash of white as he grins.
“Such a jerk.” I tap the overhead light and pull free my makeup kit from the bag. My face is hollow and exhausted in the compact mirror. No longer any sign of the mafia princess that I present to the world day in and day out.
It’s at moments like this that I finally look like the real me.
No masks, no magic, no mob.
The way my future will be once I escape my father’s clutches.
The problem is...no one escapes him alive.
5
Colton
I pace the confines of the office, my inner wolf howling mercilessly no matter how I beat him back, a fierce declaration that I’ve found my fated mate. My entire life, my father’s warned me about emotions like this — “no true alpha will let himself be controlled by a mate” — but now I wonder if he simply never met his.
Because there is no way to silence that voice once you know.
“is she gone?” The outer door opens, Kash peering in. He’s back in human form, his demeanor laidback and easy, a total change from the massive, intimidating shifter. He twists a cowboy hat from hand to hand, a sure sign of unease.
“Yeah.” I force my fingers to release their death grip on the table and turn to face him, only to find Stryker standing behind him, his grin infuriating. I narrow my eyes. “Is something funny?”
“The way you were drooling? Yeah.” Stryker nudges Kash, amusement lighting his face. That mofo. As if he wasn’t staring as hard as I was when he saw Kayla. There’s a reason I had to send them out of the room.
I fold my arms. “She was trespassing and needed reprimanding.”
Stryker raises an eyebrow. “And alpha dons stoop to reprimanding?”
Great hell, what are they on my case for? Even worse, why am I being defensive? Since when do I have to explain my actions to lesser alphas? I’m Colton fucking DeMilio, Shifter King of Chicago’s biggest pack. I could have taken the girl and no one could say a peep. I shake my head, trying to clear away the thought, but it persists, a brand burning in the back of my mind.
You could have taken her.
Would that have been so terrible? The hunger in the girl’s eyes told me she wouldn’t have protested — at least, not much. Probably not at all once she found out who I am.
The girls start to fawn once they’re faced with fame and power.
“Have you seen her in here before?” I turn to the guys, still hovering in the doorway. Are they afraid I’ll strike?
Stryker shake his head, but Kash hesitates.
“She looked like one of the cage girls.” He rubs his head. “OK, I’ll be honest — I watch her every time she fights. But any time I try to talk to her, she runs off.”
“Aww, Kash has a fucking Cinderella,” Stryker croons. “Have you tried talking to her before midnight?”
I growl at him to shut up.
Kasha has been watching her? Before I even noticed her? My wolf snarls, loud and dark, with jealousy I can’t control. She’s my mate, not a fuck-toy for horny immature shifters. I brush a hand over my face, senses kicking into overdrive when my nose picks up her scent on my fingers. So close I could close my eyes and pretend she’s here, back in my arms again, being adorable and indignant and ridiculously kissable.
Beast lords of heaven and earth. Have I lost my ever frickin’ mind?
“How often do you see her here?” I pin Kash with a glare and he looks uneasy. Good.
“I— well, I don’t always see her. But she’s always here on late nights. Never during the day. I —”
“Stay away from her. That’s an order.”
He blinks and for a moment it looks like he’s going to argue with me. I hold his gaze until he turns aside, his mouth a thin, hard line. The beast inside me calms, but only slightly, my blood pounding with a hunger I still can’t contain.
Go after her.
Claim her as your mate.
I don’t have time to woo her. I just need to find her and convince her and end this restless attack on my senses. I don’t care if this is impulsive or not. I’m just going to do it. I shove back from the table and the pack circles behind me. I can see them exchanging uncertain glances behind me, but Kash is the only one stupid enough to question me.
“Colton. You seriously going to do this?”
My hands still smell like her. Heaven and hell, the scent of her is a drug and I need more, more, more. I glare at Kash without answering him and turn to the door.
When I see it.
Glittering under the edge of the desk, not far from where I pushed her up.
A necklace caught on the wood.
Slowly I bend down, pick it up, hands twitching slightly when I catch her scent on it. It’s fresh, probably slipped off of her when I let her go. I turn the necklace in my hand, testing its weight in my palm, and my frown reflects back to me in the gold.
A symbol glints on the dangling edge of the attached pendant, drawing me in for a second glance. Then a third.
I stare at the lion stamped in gold, recognition settling in with deadly force, and a curse escapes me.
It’s the DiArgento seal, the mark of the city’s deadliest don.
A seal worn only by his family. An honor not even awarded to that devil’s most trusted confidants.
Either she stole it through some bloodbath of a ruse, or –
The little vamp lied to me.
6
Sofi
I’m presentable by the time Julio drops me off at the back row of garages. I slide out of the limo, my tiny red dress snug around my legs, drawing attention away from my makeup-brushed bruises. I could use a mage right now to glamourize the shit out of me, but for now, makeup will have to do.
I toss my bag with my bloodied fight clothes to Julio. “Take care of this for me?”
“You better have a good tip in here.” His raised eyebrow turns it into a question.
“Like I’d forget.” He’s covered my ass too many times to ever turn on him. It would likely be a death sentence.
When you’re dealing in mob business, you always pay your accomplices.
/> I take a deep breath, pull myself back into the pretense of my life. You are Sofi DiArgento. No one suspects. No one can touch you.
I stride toward my father’s mansion.
The entryway smells like wolves.
I stop in the foyer, senses screaming at full alert. The usual overbearing blood scent of my father’s presence is drowned in the musky earth scent of a beta wolf, subservient, yes, but still out of place.
My father would never willingly let a wolf in his domain.
And no matter how much I disagree with his mob decisions, I’ll never let a wolf take him down.
Hands curled into fists, I stride down the hall for my father’s study, listening to every scrape of movement from beyond. The wolf scent grows stronger with every step.
It can’t be Colton. He has no way of tracking me, no way he could have found me this fast.
So why can’t I control my heart’s wild beating?
Can it be you want him to be here?
My father’s bodyguards stand with folded arms before his study door, impassive as stone. They don’t move aside as I approach, but they do nothing to stop me either. I shove the doors open, my body trembling, and Colton’s name a brand on my tongue.
Expect to see me in your dreams.
Except the man standing before my father’s desk isn’t Colton at all or even one of his lackeys.
But the superintendent of royal bloodlines.
The wolf who oversees the breeding bids.
My heart rises up my throat.
“Sofi.” My father pushes up from his desk, fangs extended in a smile that’s far from pleasant. It’s more of a threat. I feel his sensors claw into my mental space and I hold back my thoughts so there is nothing for him to find. He pushes back, eyes black and hard, and I hold his gaze until finally he pulls back. Tension hisses like a live wire between us.
“Father.” I give the superintendent my most innocent stare and smile. “I wasn’t aware you had a visitor.”
And judging by both their faces, they weren’t aware I’d be returning now.
Supernatural Syndicate: A Limited Edition Collection of Magical Mafia Stories Page 31
