Dangerous Desires Part 2: A Mafia Romance (Corrupt Me series)

by A. G. Khaliq

  corrupt me

  book two

  dangerous desires

  part two

  A MAFIA ROMANCE

  a. g. khaliq

  CORRUPT ME BOOK TWO

  DANGEROUS DESIRES (PART TWO)

  ISBN: 9798570146471

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2020 by A. G. Khaliq Cover photograph purchased from stock website The right of A. G. Khaliq to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1998.

  Apart from the original work written by the author, all songs, song titles and song lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

  To contact the author, reach her through her website https://agkbooks.wixsite.com/agkhaliq or Instagram @agkbooks

  reading order

  All books must be read in order to understand the story correctly. This is not a standalone series.

  dangerous desires (part one)

  dangerous desires (part two)

  forbidden fruit

  notices

  This story contains mature themes, sexual situations, strong language, graphic violence and explores some sensitive topics like domestic abuse, which some readers may find upsetting or triggering. Viewer discretion is advised.

  If you relate to any of the topics discussed, please remember that you are not alone. Speak to somebody, or call the Samaritans, The National Domestic Abuse Helpline, the police and so on.

  This story is told from the main characters Maya and Donte’s points of views for the most part, but on some occasions, the point of view may switch to other characters. This will be made clear with the chapter title names.

  dedication

  Thank you to all of my readers.

  Without your support, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

  Thank you to all of my family and friends. If I listed everybody, I would probably take up a few pages.

  A special thank you to Yousuf Thahsin, Sarina, Rajan and Abdi for your encouragement and help with proofreading, which was the driving force of my progress.

  1

  maya

  “I'm sorry I've constantly strung you along.” I clutched my chest exhaustedly.

  “I'm sorry I've made you feel like you were getting somewhere with me, but then I shut you off the next day. I'm sorry for making your heart ache to the point that you've had to run back to an arranged marriage. I'm sorry for 1

  everything.

  “I'm sorry for getting intimate with you and then running out.

  “I'm sorry for how harshly I've treated you.

  “For all of the bad things that I've said to you.

  “At the club…

  “In your office.”

  I let out a deep exhalation. I had to keep going.

  “Because the truth is, Donte, I want you,” I whispered. “I want all of you.”

  I drew out a deep breath, my heart hammering against my chest as I continued to open up to him. Allowing 2

  my walls to break down. Letting him know that I meant every. Last. Word.

  “I've never felt like this before,” I whispered. “You make me feel on top of the world. You make me feel things I've never felt. Every time you walk in the room, I get butterflies. I can barely speak a damn sentence without getting nervous.” I broke off my sentence, letting out a deep sigh. “That's the effect you have on me.”

  Donte took my hand into his, giving it a tight and reassuring squeeze as his eyes burned into mine. My eyes welled with tears.

  “It terrifies me. It fucking terrifies me, Donte,” I trembled. “It terrifies me because I haven't known you that long, yet you're already playing such a massive part of my life. I'm already terrified of losing you. Terrified of where this could 3

  take us. Terrified that one day, it won't work out.”

  My chest continued to heave upwards and downwards. Donte pulled me closer to him, allowing my head to rest on his chest.

  “It's because of my past that I have trust issues like this,” I admitted shakily.

  “I – I know you saw the bruise on my leg tonight.”

  “Baby, if it brings back bad memories…” Donte whispered, taking my face into his hands, “then you don't have to tell me.”

  He planted a soft kiss on my forehead,

  allowing

  me

  to

  relax

  underneath his touch. Giving me the reassurance I needed that I was safe.

  Safe with him.

  4

  Safe in his embrace.

  “It's okay,” I whispered. “I want to.

  I know that my past doesn't justify my behaviour… And the way that I've treated you. But I hope it makes you better understand why I acted like this.”

  “Okay, baby girl,” Donte breathed, allowing me to speak.

  “I used to have a very toxic, abusive boyfriend,” I murmured exhaustedly, feeling my head sear with pain as the horrifying memories began flooding back to me. “His name was Fibonacci. I met him when I was at university. He was hanging out outside of the university gates one day. I still remember that day perfectly.

  “He was wearing a white vest and black tracksuit bottoms… And he was 5

  leaning against the fence, smoking a cigarette.

  “It was the start of term. I was a Freshman, and I'd just moved in to start studying my degree. I went to the shop to buy some groceries, and that was when I saw him. When I laid eyes on him for the first time.

  “And that was when he approached me.”

  I was minding my own business as I made my way to the shop, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the man leaning against the gate was watching me. His eyes were fixated on me, drinking me all in. Scanning my body from head-to-toe.

  And he had a smile on his face.

  I didn’t know what to make of this, or what to say. I continued walking, 6

  trying my best to ignore him. But then I heard his voice call out for somebody…

  And I realized that he was talking to me.

  I stopped dead in my tracks, turning around to face him. Not knowing why he even wanted to speak to me. He took steps closer to me, a little too close for my liking.

  “Hey,” he grinned, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

  “Hey,” I replied flatly, shrugging.

  “If you don't mind me saying,” he began coyly, “you're beautiful.”

  I let out a nervous giggle. I couldn’t help myself.

  “Thank you,” I smiled, with my 7

  hands on my hips.

  I had a feeling that I knew where this was going. Because when a stranger stopped you on the street to compliment you, it usually meant that they were about to hit on you. To ask for your number or your Snapchat username, ask you out on a date, and ask to stay in touch. I knew men like this all-too-well.

  “Where are you off to on this fine day?” he asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

  I looked around, taking in my surroundings. The sun was out, and the sky was bright blue and clear. The weather was b
eautiful.

  “I’m just going to the store,” I admitted. “I need some groceries.”

  “Ah,” he responded. “Are you 8

  going to be going to this university?”

  “Yeah, I just moved in,” I shrugged, not knowing why he was asking me this, and how any of this was even his concern.

  “I'd happily be your tour guide if you ever need one,” he grinned.

  I chuckled in appreciation. This guy had terrible game when it came to speaking to women, but I appreciated his kind words all the same.

  “It would be stupid of me to let such a fine girl go without getting her number,” he said hopefully, biting his lip in anticipation.

  Yep.

  I’d fucking guessed it.

  9

  “Smooth,” I retorted sarcastically.

  He jolted backwards, a little hurt by my reaction.

  “But I don't give my number out,” I blustered.

  “Oh, playing hard to get, huh?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “Nope, I'm just happy being single for now,” I retorted bashfully. “Bye.”

  I turned around and continued to walk to the grocery store. I felt a little bit bad for the harsh words that I’d said, because he had been kind to me, but the only way for guys to get the hint that you weren’t interested was to be as blunt as possible. I’d learnt that the hard way, at parties and other places. A lot of guys were terrible at handling rejection.

  10

  “She's so beautiful…” the man murmured underneath his breath, not knowing that I could hear him. “But she's playing hard to get…” He sighed. “She's out of my league, anyway…”

  I felt my heart hammer against my chest, feeling the guilt eat me up inside.

  This man probably lacked self-confidence, and had clearly been rejected many times before. But I was enjoying being single… And I didn’t want to be tied down to someone for the rest of my university life, when I should be studying and having fun.

  So as terrible as I felt, I continued to walk, not bothering to look back, because I knew that the hurt expression on his face would etch itself into my memory.

  “Every single day, ever since I'd turned 11

  him down, he would be standing there,”

  I recalled, blood roaring through my body. “Smoking his cigarette, waiting for me to walk past. And each time, he'd ask for my number.

  “And each time…

  “I would say no.

  “Until one day, when there was a Student Activities Fair, and I met him again.

  “He was standing behind a stall with his back turned to me, wearing a grey hoodie and some grey sweatpants. I walked up to the stall, because I needed to buy some books for studying. I pulled my coins out of my wallet, ready to pay him, and then when he turned around, his heart almost leapt out of his throat, because he was so shocked to see me again. It was like I was there everywhere 12

  he fucking went.

  “He got really shy when he realized that I was the customer. He insisted on giving me the books for free, but I told him not to be silly. But I was really starting to warm to this guy, and I felt bad because of how many times he’d tried to woo me over, and been unsuccessful.

  “So when he asked me for my number this time… I couldn't help but to say yes. He seemed like such a sweet guy, and he'd asked me for it so many times. I didn’t see the harm in getting to know him better.

  “Little did I know, I'd be signing myself up for the biggest nightmare of my life…”

  I could feel myself trembling, because I knew that this was where my 13

  story was going to take a terrifying turn.

  How I would explain to Donte how quickly Fibonacci switched up on me.

  I allowed myself to take deep breaths in and out, begging myself and pleading with myself to regain my composure. To stay strong. To tell Donte what happened right till the very end.

  “We went on lots of cute dates together,” I breathed. “And soon, we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I surprised myself with how quickly I fell in love with this man, and how quickly he fell in love with me back.

  “He was handsome, charming, and charismatic. He made a lot of effort with me. To impress me. To make me feel like I’d done the right thing by giving him a chance.

  “But as time went on, I'd learnt that 14

  he had been deceiving me.

  “It started off with minor things. I learnt that he didn't actually do much for himself. He was a bit of a bum. He didn't actually go to university, or work. He just hung out at my university because he had a few friends there. He lived with his father, who provided him with money.

  “But at the time, this didn't matter to me, because I wasn't materialistic. I didn't care about money, so I was willing to overlook the lies that he’d fed me. I just wanted him for him. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to put up a front to win me over.

  “But soon…” I shuddered, “I learnt that there was a lot more he had been hiding from me. Many more secrets that he held beneath his charming exterior.

  “And the more I discovered…

  15

  “The rockier our relationship became…”

  16

  2

  maya

  “He

  struggled

  with

  an

  alcohol

  addiction,” I explained, letting out a deep sigh that I didn’t know I was holding. “I tried to help him quit, but the more I tried to help, the more it destroyed me.

  There was no helping him. He didn't want to stop… And he didn't want help.”

  I shook my head, taking it into my hands 17

  as I rocked myself backwards and forwards. “And it tore me, seeing him like this. But I knew that there was nothing I could do about it.”

  Donte pulled me closer to him, stroking my hair, allowing me to take deep breaths in and out as I relived the torture.

  Every.

  Horrible.

  Nightmare.

  “As the months went on, he became more and more controlling and toxic. It started off with small things.

  Remarks about an outfit I was wearing, acting spiteful and jealous when I had male friends, or when I spoke to males on campus. But soon, it escalated into something much worse.

  18

  “He deleted all of my social media, to stop me speaking to guys from my university, outside of campus.

  “Then he stopped me wearing revealing clothes altogether. He threw them out, and made me wear baggy jumpers and leggings. He stopped me from having male friends on campus.

  “It was all about him. It was always about what he wanted. Day in, day out.

  He never cared about me. He never cared about my feelings.

  “And as time went on, he became more and more obsessive.

  “So damn fucking obsessive!”

  I shook my fists angrily as I broke off my sentence, seething as my blood roared in my ears. My heart was 19

  pounding frantically against my chest. I felt like such fucking shit about myself.

  “He stopped me from going out with friends, and made me drop out of the soccer team,” I recalled, shuddering.

  “He only let me leave the flat for my lectures and seminars, and expected me to come home straight after.

  “And it slowly started destroying me. He was so controlling and toxic at this point. He was the only person I would talk to. I missed my friends. When I came home late some days, he would demand to know where I was. And when I told him the truth… He wouldn't believe me.

  “That's when he started hitting me.”

  Tears slid down my cheeks, and I couldn’t hold them back. My walls were 20

  breaking down. My raw emotions on the surface. Exposed to Donte.

  Like he was living my nightmare with me.

  “That fucking bastard!” Donte roared, in a blood-curdling voice I didn’t recognize that caused me to jolt upwards.

  He balled his hands into fists,
his veins making their way to the surface of his skin alarmingly. He was seething. He looked like he wanted to murder. “I'll kill him!”

  I tried my best to calm him down. I appreciated that he was here for me, but I didn’t want him to do anything stupid for my sake. I just wanted to get everything out… and then shut the demons away from my past in the closet for good.

  Out of sight…

  21

  …Out of mind.

  “Don't

  be

  angry,

  baby,”

  I

  whispered, taking his face into my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes. He relaxed underneath my touch. I knew that I was the only woman who would ever be able to calm him down. The only woman who had such an impact on him.

  “I'm so sorry this happened to you…” Donte murmured, drying my tears with his thumbs. He pressed his lips to my forehead.

  But I couldn’t stop now.

  “It doesn't end there…” I shivered.

  “As time went on...

  “And Fibonacci continued to hit me, he became so obsessive with me, to the point that he stopped me going out 22

  altogether…

  “And started locking me in a cage.”

  I could feel the walls closing in around me as I remembered how Fibonacci used to punish me. How he would treat me like I was a rabid animal.

  “I still get nightmares about it…”

  I felt myself struggle to breathe as I remembered him throwing me in a cage.

  Branding me.

  I was having a panic attack.

  The way he cut me with the knife.

  How there was so much blood.

  So much fucking blood.

  Permanently etching the situation 23

  into my memory with each time he cut deeper.

  Traumatizing me for the rest of my fucking life.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  I couldn’t fucking breathe.

  “Sapphire, breathe!” Donte urged.