"You forbid it?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at me as she flared her nostrils and sat up straight. There was something in those words that felt like a challenge, as if she wanted me to understand that the order had been a very grave mistake.
"Yes. I forbid it. I will not teach you to fight. If I discover anyone else has disobeyed me in this, I don't think either of you will like the consequences," I said pointedly, touching my hand to her shoulder. My thumb dragged over the spot where she would have a brand if I hadn't taken kindness on her, reminding her exactly what was at stake if she disobeyed her husband.
She glared at me, shrugging off my hand on her shoulder before standing in the tiny space between me and the bed. "I hope you like fucking your hand then, since I forbid you from touching me."
She moved to step away, rounding the foot of the bed to make for the terrace. I grabbed her around the back of her neck, holding her still with the weight of my hand as my thumb and forefinger dug into the flesh there. Stepping up behind her, I touched my face to her hair while she trembled with her fury. "It's cute you think you can deny me anything, mi reina," I murmured. "I know how much you love my hands on you. How much you love to feel my cock moving inside you." I bent my head forward, gathering her thick hair in my hands and curling it around her right shoulder.
"I hate you," she warned.
Touching my lips to the side I'd bared for my assault, I trailed gentle lips up and down her neck. At odds with the harshness of the words that would follow, I kept my touch feather soft and enjoyed the way her skin pebbled with goosebumps as her desire rose. "Would you still hate me if I threw you on the bed and buried my cock in your throat?"
"I'd bite it off," she growled, and I believed it of her in those moments.
"I guess it's fortunate that my pussy doesn't have teeth then," I laughed darkly, reaching around her body to hike her dress up her legs. She shoved at my hand, forcing me to gather both of them in my grip and hold them behind her back. One of my hands was strong enough to restrain her as she struggled against my invading touch, pushing her ass back into me when I cupped her through her panties.
"Let go of me," she said, her voice coming out more breathy than she wanted as I kicked her legs apart and stroked her through the fabric of her underwear.
"You do not get to deny me what's mine," I growled the warning, sliding my fingers up to slip them into her panties.
My phone rang in my pocket—the reminder that my time with Isa had come to an end, and I needed to get my ass to the helicopter. I ignored it, stroking my fingers over her clit as she dropped her head forward in her attempt to deny the desire flooding her body. "Your body belongs to me, Princesa, and I will fuck it whenever I please. We will not be one of those couples that deny one another access to our body because of a disagreement. You're pissed at me? Then bleed me while you ride my cock," I said, shoving two fingers inside her while she trembled in my grip. When her pussy clenched around me and her orgasm approached, I pulled my fingers free and out of her panties.
She gasped her shock, her horror that I would stop with her so close to the edge as I sucked the taste of her off my fingers. With my cock as hard as steel in my pants, I released her as she spun to glare at me. Cupping her face in my hands, I kissed her gently despite her desperate attempts to shift the embrace into something carnal.
When I stepped back from her and moved to the closet, she stood gaping after me as I tossed the bag Regina kept packed for me onto the bed. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"I have to go to Rome to kill a man," I said, watching the way she winced at the harsh reminder of who and what I was. "It's part of protecting you, even if you don't think I'm capable," I grunted.
"That's not what I said!" she yelled, her legs squirming as she stood in place.
"It is exactly what you said, Princesa," I argued, ignoring her neediness even though it killed something inside me to walk away from her when she wanted my cock.
It would do Isa good to spend a couple of days thinking about just how badly she missed it. I pointed to the corner of the room and the cameras that were tucked away discreetly. Her eyes narrowed on them as she swallowed, undoubtedly thinking about all the homemade movies I had of the two of us when she’d been too wrapped up to remember they were there. "If you touch my pussy while I'm gone, I'll know. You don't get off unless it's with me," I ordered, hauling the bag up into my hand.
"And what if I do?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You don't want to find out," I growled, turning on my heel and leaving her with that to consider. I couldn't shake the sinking feeling that Isa would disobey me while I was gone just to spite me.
Rebellious women were a pain in my ass.
I walked down the narrow streets of Rome with my hands tucked into my suit pocket. With the cobblestone roads and the stunning buildings to either side of me, I enjoyed the dim lighting as the sun went down.
Rome was a unique beauty, a remarkable city that I knew Isa would have loved to visit if given the opportunity. With her love of history, there was no way she could do anything other than admire the home of the Roman Empire. Even with my anger at her, I couldn't deny the desperate desire to show her everything the city had to offer.
One day, I'd be able to take her to the cities of my allies and show her the world. One day, I'd be able to trust that she wouldn't stroll off into the night and try to escape the clutches of the devil who held her captive.
I pulled the phone out of my pocket, glancing at the screen as I dialed Regina's number. It rang a few times before she finally answered, putting me out of my misery. "The devil's house," she said. "Would you like your balls roasted or fried?"
"I take it Isa is taking my absence well?" I asked, my lips tipping up despite the snarky response from my housekeeper.
"She is doing as a true Queen does," Regina replied as dishes clanged together. Given the hour, I suspected she must be cleaning up after dinner.
I already felt the need to go home to be with mi princesa, but having Regina's cooking rubbed in my face and knowing I couldn't eat it only worsened my bad mood. "And what does a true Queen do?" I asked, humoring the woman as I made my way through the area of the city where Leonid had last been seen by my allies.
"She plots her revenge," Regina said, a smile tinting her voice. A male snicker came from the background, the familiar voice of Joaquin as he found Regina's response particularly humorous.
"And how is she plotting revenge?" I asked, knowing very well I wouldn't get an answer. Isa hadn't been with me for long, but she'd already turned Regina against me. Women stuck together, and I wished I could say that Joaquin or Alejandro would take my side over Isa's. But they wouldn't either.
"We both know I wouldn't tell you that even if I knew," Regina said. "But I don't. She's been quiet. Stuck in her own head. Should I expect more bloody cutlery when you come home?"
"I'll try to keep her isolated to the bedroom when she bleeds me from now on," I said dryly. Her concern for my wellbeing was touching, and I found my hand drifting up to touch the wound where Isa had stabbed me.
I hated the scars of my brands on some level, detested the man who had given them to me when I'd been a child. But the marks from Isa were an entirely different story, a compulsion that reminded me that she owned me just as much as I owned her.
If she marked me when we returned home, I would love every second of it. I'd wear her scars with pride just as I wore her name on my skin. "Keep her out of trouble," I reminded Regina.
"Would you like to speak to her?" Regina asked, and I shook my head before I realized she couldn't see me. "Not just yet. I'll talk to her tomorrow."
"Smart choice," Regina agreed. "You should give her a chance to miss you."
"Fat fucking chance!" Isa yelled in the background, making Regina bark out a sharp laugh. I hung up the phone with a groan. My wife would be the death of me.
And I'd love every second of it.
I stood with my back a
gainst the wall, kicking up a leg to settle in and wait for the hours to pass. At some point, Leonid would emerge from the bar where he'd chosen to settle for the night to drink his problems away.
Only a foolish man got drunk, particularly in a territory that wasn't his own, but the Kuznetsov family thought themselves above all their rivals. They believed they were the toughest and most powerful family because of their history.
The Russians had been at the front of organized crime alongside the Italians and the Irish for many years. But as crimes modernized and new alliances formed without cultural and familial allegiances, new powers rose.
Old powers would fall. Until all that remained would be one power.
Mine.
28
Isa
I spent most of the night plotting ways to kill him. So much so that my dreams were filled with blood and gore. By the time I woke up the next morning, I hated myself for the violent turn in my sleep.
I didn't want to be like Rafael. I didn't want violence to consume me just because I was dominated by the presence of a devil. I would only be letting him win if I allowed him to change who I was.
But there was something brutal inside me. A part of me that longed to find justice where there was none.
I'd been thrown into a river without consequence. I'd watched time and time again as the crimes against my people went ignored. I'd been lied to. I'd been stripped of all my choices. I'd been drugged and kidnapped.
My entire life was a series of paying for other people's crimes. Just once, it would be nice to be the one committing them.
It would be bliss to earn the punishment myself.
It all simmered within me, feeling like I sat on the edge of a reckoning. As if the part of me that seemed to come to the surface after Rafael's introduction to my life had always been there, and I guessed it had.
The darkness had always been a part of me. I'd always been more at home in it than I had the sunshine.
The bed seemed foreign without Rafael's presence. Without his heat at my back and his hand cupping my breast in his massive grip while he slept, it felt like just another empty bed. A piece of furniture. I should have felt freer with him gone; instead I just felt alone.
I stretched my arms above my head languidly, pushing the button on the nightstand to draw the curtains open. I'd gone to bed with pajamas on for the first time since coming to Rafael's island, since he insisted on me sleeping naked with him.
But at some point in the past couple of weeks with him, I'd gotten more comfortable in my own skin. I couldn't stand the coarseness of even the satins and best cottons against my skin while I slept, especially not against my core that throbbed with need after his bullshit the afternoon before.
My eyes went to the cameras as I debated challenging him and his authority over me by touching myself, but I pursed my lips and got out of bed instead.
I'd wait until the night to torment him. To distract him from the real rebellion.
Hopefully, he'd never see that one coming.
I sat out on the daybed with a book beside me after eating one of Regina's pregnancy-inducing breakfasts. If there was any benefit to Rafe's absence, it was that I wouldn't be getting knocked up while he was gone.
We'd had unprotected sex far too often for my comfort, and I touched a hand to my stomach cautiously before shaking it off. I looked over at Joaquin, pursing my lips as I considered how to ask him for what I wanted from him. "Do you still think girls like me don't need to learn kickboxing?" I asked.
He dragged a hand over his face. "That's really none of my business. I suggest you take it up with your husband, mi reina," he said, clearly uncomfortable with the suggestion. It seemed like maybe Rafe had been verbal about his interest in keeping me protected like I was made of glass.
I wasn't, and I was sick of being treated like it.
"I did. He forbade it," I said with a shrug.
"As expected. You could get hurt kickboxing," Joaquin said in reprimand. "Let's not forget that it's only a matter of time before you're pregnant and need to think about those things."
"Well, I wasn't actually asking for kickboxing lessons. Just for him to teach me how to defend myself a little in case of emergency."
He hung his head, pinching his nose between his thumb and finger in aggravation. "You suggested that Rafael can't keep you safe. No wonder he tore out of here like there was a fire up his ass," he laughed. "You insulted the devil's manhood and lived to tell about it. Congratulations, mi reina. I think that might be a first."
I stuck my tongue out at him, not even bothering to argue the fact that I hadn't insulted him. Men were stupid and impractical and apparently their egos were more important than common sense. "What do you think?" I stressed, looking to get his opinion rather than just Rafael speaking through his mouth like the puppet master he liked to pretend to be.
"I think I like my tongue inside my mouth, so I'm not about to speak out against Rafael," he said.
"So you disagree. You think I should be able to protect myself just in case, because that's the sane thing! Why wouldn't he want me to be safe?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"It might have something to do with the fact that you've already stabbed him once. Just a thought," Joaquin argued, but he twisted his lips to the side and came to stand directly next to the daybed. His eyes drifted over to the house in the distance where I'd seen the brothers emerge on the day I first spotted them, and my heart clenched in my chest at the reminder of my friend's betrayal.
Well, I supposed he'd never really been my friend in the end.
"He's not coping well, Isa," Joaquin said, wrapping his hand around the post that held up the canopy on the daybed. "He misses you."
"He has no right to miss me when he lied to me the entire time I knew him," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance. It felt childish even as I did it, but I couldn't control the bitterness I felt at the very mention of Hugo. All the while he'd pretended to be so outraged over my sister's betrayal and the fact that she'd broken my trust in such a profound way, he'd been lying to me like an asshole.
Using me for a job.
"So did I," Joaquin pointed out, perching on the edge of the daybed. "You have to understand that Hugo, Gabriel, and I had no say in what happened with you. Rafael summoned us to Chicago because there was a security issue he needed us to handle for him in the long term. We didn't even know you existed until we were already on the plane."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked, glaring at him as my throat stung with the tears of betrayal. I wanted to hate them. I wanted to cling to the fact that they'd all hurt me, because I needed to rage against something.
Rafe was the appropriate object for my anger, but the feelings I had for him complicated that. He'd betrayed my trust before I'd ever even met him, and yet I couldn't hold onto the anger I should have felt with him for that.
"What would you have had us do, Isa?" Joaquin asked, glaring at me as he pushed me to admit the truth. I knew it down to my bones, even if I didn't want to acknowledge it.
They'd been just as trapped by the circumstances of Rafael's plan as I had been. They'd been sent to a strange city to watch over a girl they didn't know all because of his twisted obsession with me. "You could have told me the truth," I said.
"What would that have accomplished? You would have fought. You'd have tried to find a way out of it and only put your family at risk in the process. This way gave you time. I'd hoped that his interest in you would fade after he left Chicago and he didn't have to live with the knowledge that you existed in the very same city as him, but he never wavered. So we all waited. We kept you safe. It was all we could do."
"I don't know that it makes much of a difference," I sighed, curling my knees into my chest. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, but I have no interest in trusting the people who hurt me."
"Just talk to him, Isa," Joaquin pleaded. "Let him explain his side of things. If you can do that, then in the rare mom
ents when Rafael is off the island and we have the opportunity, I'll take you to a clearing nearby and teach you some very basic moves to protect yourself."
"What about Rafael? Won't he punish you if he finds out?" I asked, staring up at him in shock.
"He'll punish both of us when he finds out, so you need to be certain you're ready to deal with whatever that might look like. I can handle the pain. Can you?" Joaquin asked, standing and holding out a hand for me to take.
It was so similar to the night that Rafael had asked me to go to bed with him, the first moment I'd accepted that the devil would be mine for even just a moment, that my heart caught in my throat. But the need to do something just because I wanted to was tangible, and despite knowing the potential consequences, I accepted Joaquin's hand and let him pull me to my feet.
He released me as soon as I stood, turning on his heel and making for the clearing between Rafael's yard and the village in the distance. Following at his back with my heart in my throat, I couldn't decide what I dreaded more.
Looking Hugo in the eye, or whatever punishment Rafael would decide on when he learned the truth. Joaquin's words, the when and not if, struck me as truth. I couldn't imagine anything happened on the island without his knowledge.
I dragged my feet as we walked, feeling like I was closer to marching to my death than going to have a conversation with a friend. My heart pumped in my throat, tears burning it like acid as I fought to keep them back.
The house the brothers lived in was beautiful. A yellow building that was well-kept and had flowers growing in planters on each of the windows. It blended in with the rest of the houses in the village that wasn't really a village, just a small town that reminded me of Dalt Vila in Ibiza Town.
Small. Old fashioned. But there were touches of luxury everywhere I looked.
Until Forever Ends: A Dark Mafia Romance Page 18
