X-394

by Dee Garcia

  Chuckling darkly, he splayed a hand on my stomach and pulled my panties to the side, my body quivering as his nose ran through my slit again, obliging to my plea. Only this time there was no lace in the way, nothing to keep him from feasting on me alive.

  “Just relax,” he cooed, spreading my slicked lips. “I’ve got you.”

  And he did. He really fucking did.

  Skilled wasn’t enough of a word to describe the magic that was Xander’s mouth. Tongue, teeth, lips, he used every inch to drive me toward the precipice of ecstasy. Every lick, every nip, every suck hurdled me higher up the mountain, his head moving side to side at a furious pace as he devoured me like I was his last meal.

  “God damn, you taste good,” he growled, sucking and slurping his way up to my clit, his fingers driving into my channel, teasing that spot hidden with soft curls that left me gasping.

  Clutching two fistfuls of his hair tightly, I rode through the waves of pleasure, my eyes shut tightly in bliss as the coil deep in my belly swiftly began to unravel.

  “Right. There,” I moaned, rolling my sex along his tongue. Frantically. Shamelessly. My release just within reach.

  Xander groaned, satisfied with the scene playing out before him, and doubled his efforts to shatter me into a million pieces. All it took was one rough crook of his fingers and his lips clamping down around my clit, circling around it like an F5 tornado, and I fell apart, grinding into his mouth as my orgasm tore through me from the inside out.

  Sometime amidst my decent, breathless and in a daze, I felt Xander roll my panties down my shaky legs and toss them back on the floor behind him. He licked me again and my hips all but flew off the bed, still throbbing and sensitive from his assault.

  “Had enough already?” he queried, a wicked smirk curling his lips as he moved over me, the mattress dipping under his weight.

  “Not at all” —pant—“but you fucking me would be the cherry on the cake right about now.”

  “How badly do you want me inside you, Angel?”

  “It’s not a want, it’s a need,” I whimpered as his cock settled between my legs, teasing my entrance.

  He hummed in gratification and pushed the hem of my dress further up my body. “Then let’s get you naked, shall we? I want to see every inch of your skin blushing under my touch.”

  Naked. It didn't register at first. I'd forgotten all about it until I laid there in nothing but my bra. The fog lifted and I knew what was going to happen next, knew the exact moment he noticed what had been lying beneath my dress this entire time when he stilled above me.

  “What is that?” he questioned.

  I pulled the blade free from the thin holster secured around my torso and held it up to the small sliver of moonlight casting in from the window just beyond his bed. The mere sight of it, shining so brightly in the darkness of the room, was an instant reminder of what I was there to do. Sated and relaxed, I was no longer fighting to keep my dark passenger at bay and without so much as a warning, the flip switched, allowing her free reign of my body, of my mind.

  “What is that?” he asked again. “Or rather, why do you have that?”

  It’s now…or never.

  Dragging my gaze to Xander’s baffled and almost alarmed expression, I shrugged noncommittally. “People are crazy nowadays and some seem almost immune to mace. Gotta protect myself somehow. But really”—I pushed at his chest and rolled him onto his back, pinning him to the mattress—“it’s the very weapon I’m going to use to kill you.”

  “What did you just say?” I asked, because I was certain I hadn't heard her correctly.

  A sinister grin spread across her face and she dipped her head low, peppering soft kisses along my neck that made me cringe. “You heard me, Xander. Time’s up.”

  I stilled beneath her, my heart hammering in my chest at such an alarming rate, I could hear my blood roaring through my ears, feel it thrumming through my veins.

  What in the actual fuck is going on?

  The world around me spun out of control, a dozen different questions attacking my mind at once, the most pressing one being, why? But then, then, the last thing she’d said finally clicked into place, and suddenly I knew…

  “Did...did Scarsi send you?”

  Eden nodded, blue eyes sparkling devilishly, their clarity holding me captive as they’d done back in the club. Only this time, there was no light within them. They were dark pools of repose. Grim and deadly. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I’d watched her morph from lover to murderer in the blink of an eye, and it was by far one of the most disturbing and downright scariest things I’d witnessed in my life. I stared at her, both of us silent, wondering how this was possible. How could I not have known? How could I not have suspected it? How could this woman, so beautiful, charming, and witty, kneel at the altar of the devil when she resembled nothing but an angel?

  “That’s why you smiled at me, huh?” I asked, although I hadn’t meant to ask it out loud. “To lure me in with your charisma?”

  “Bingo,” she chuckled candidly, twirling the blade around her finger. “I will admit, though, you haven’t been an easy target to put down.”

  “How so?” I dared to ask.

  “Because, from the moment I saw you, my usual ability to focus flew out the window. Something about you was...different, and throughout the course of the evening, whatever that different is has prevented me from following the plan.”

  “And what was your plan?”

  “Honestly? I didn’t have one. I guess you could say I was just winging it,” she said, shrugging.

  Words failed me at her admission. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. I’d had an eerie feeling that Scarsi’s silence meant he was concocting a plan of sorts, but in the same hand, I also thought that maybe, just maybe, he really was going to spare me after his “I like you” and “you have potential” speech. Guess the bastard didn’t really like me at all, which frankly, didn’t surprise me. I remember thinking he was full of shit when he’d uttered the words and clearly, I was right.

  As my mind wandered off in a darkened direction that included Mama, I realized Eden’s stare hadn’t faltered since she’d rolled me onto my back and knocked my world into some hellish alternate universe. What was running through her mind? How many people had she killed? Was I her first? How was she so calm? Idly, I thought about how calm I was in a situation meant to be anything but calm, but I assumed it was from shock. Perhaps it was also because I’d been subconsciously waiting for something to happen. I was greatly aware of just how possible this moment was from the day I walked out of Scarsi’s office with that final check. He’d warned me; his terms and conditions simple and clear, and in the end, I’d failed to uphold my end of the deal anyway. There wasn’t anything I could’ve done differently to change that though. Point of the matter was that the situation really was out of my control and unless some life-changing miracle happened, I was never going to have the money to pay him back, even with interest removed. I’d tried everything in my power to make that very change a reality, but it wasn’t enough to pay off my debt, and that was the God’s honest truth.

  Her voice, sweet yet alluring, and her beautiful face coming down just inches away from mine, quickly refocused my attention.

  “You’re quite handsome, X. It’s a real shame I have to kill you,” she cooed, running the tip of the blade up the center of my chest. “Nevertheless, Scarsi calls the shots, and as much as I’d like to set you free, I have enough dirty secrets to last a lifetime.”

  Every instinct within me was demanding I defend myself, and I very well could have, given I was bigger and undoubtedly stronger, but with that blade firmly trapped in her hand, she held all the power. Any sudden movement might’ve caused her to lash out, and if there were the slightest chance that she actually felt even a sliver of what I’d been feeling for her all night, then perhaps it would be the saving grace that helped me talk her down.

  I caught her wrists in my hands, not roughly,
but with just enough pressure to subdue her. “You can’t do this.”

  “Oh, but I can”—she pulled herself free—“and I will, because if I don’t, then it’s my life on the line, and I quite enjoy the land of the living.”

  “Who are you?” I asked incredulously, narrowing my eyes in speculation.

  “I’m death personified, Xander, and possibly your worst nightmare. Let this be a lesson not to talk to strangers, although you won’t really have to worry about that anymore since, you know…”

  “No, I mean who are you; as in, what happened to the kind, playful, sexy woman I met in that club not a few hours ago?”

  “She’s right here, but this is my job, my livelihood, and while I meant every single word I’ve said to you since we met, I can’t lie to Scarsi. He’d kill us both without an ounce of hesitation if he found out I, for some reason, let you go.”

  “But why send you? Why wouldn’t he just come kill me himself?” I hedged, hoping my questions would keep her distracted.

  “Because Vincent Scarsi doesn’t get his hands dirty anymore.”

  “And how…how did you happen to fall under his wing?”

  “He’s friends with my father,” she said flatly, devoid of any emotion, the tip of the blade falling to my chest once more.

  Dragging it higher and higher, her pace slow and steady, it matched the tempo of my heaving chest as I watched her with panicked eyes, noting how concentrated she was on tracing a perfectly straight line. The further up she went, the more erratic my breaths came until I was gritting my teeth and scrunching my eyes. I kept hoping this was all some sort of sick dream and that I’d awaken at any given moment. But salvation never came, and when her fingers curled firmly around my throat, I knew my time was up. No amount of conversation or temporary distractions were going to keep her from doing what Scarsi had sent her to do. In other words, I was a fucking goner.

  Trembling in her grasp, I brought a hand around her wrist. “You can’t do this, Eden, please.”

  “I have to, X. I’m sorry. Just close your eyes, hold your breath, and count to ten. I’ll make it quick, I promise.”

  “Please, Eden. Don’t do this.”

  “One…” She pressed me further into the bed.

  “Eden.”

  “Two…”

  “Eden, listen to me, please.”

  “Three…”

  “You’re better than this!” I blurted out in fear, and she shook her head, continuing on steadily.

  “Four…”

  “You are, I know you are.”

  “Five…”

  “Eden, please.” I tried again in desperation.

  “Six…”

  “Please,” I pleaded, and her voice wavered around, “Seven.”

  “Please, don't.”

  “Eight…”

  “You don’t understand. Please,” I begged, my voice cracking, unbidden tears welling in my eyes as her hand locked around my jaw and she bore down the blade against my throat.

  “Nine…”

  “Think about this, please. I beg you.” I swallowed through the slight twang of pain. “If you kill me, then my Mama won’t have anyone. Not one person. She’s already been through so much. My death would only shatter her all the more, and she has such a limited amount of time as it is. Please, Eden, I’ll give you anything you want, everything I have. It’s not much but—”

  “But you’d do anything for her,” she said softly.

  I nodded. “Anything and everything.”

  Time seemed to stand still as she regarded me, an undecipherable expression scrawled on her face. I’d say I saw the wheels turning in her head, but I couldn’t. Everything was just…stagnant.

  “How are you so selfless even when your life is on the line?” she finally went on to ask, her voice so quiet, I almost didn’t catch it.

  “Because my life is pointless without her. I just want to spend the little bit of time she has left by her side…then you can kill me.”

  Her eyes widened and suddenly, she was shifting over me, easing herself away, her brows knit together.

  “Is she sick?”

  I nodded again, my gaze flickering between her and the weapon in her hand. “Cancer.”

  “I’m sorry…that has to be…”

  “Rough,” I scoffed. “It is. It’s unfair too.”

  “At least she loves you, Xander.” She looked off into the distance. “My mother wanted nothing to do with me, handed me over to my father hours after she birthed me. I guess a bastard child wasn’t a good look for her whoring ways.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what the hell was I supposed to say? She’d just threatened my life, and all the while, I still couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Knowing Mama’s time was quickly ticking away haunted me in a way I didn’t wish on anyone, but at least I knew her, had felt her love, and shared a good portion of my own existence with her too. Eden hadn't experienced any of that, and I wondered if perhaps the lack of motherly affection was one of the demons from her past that led her to becoming this.

  “I’m sorry.” It was all I could offer, and I genuinely meant it too, because I couldn't imagine a childhood without my mom.

  Her eyes met mine and she shook her head. “Don’t be. I deserve every bit of suffering thrown my way and more. My mother not wanting me was karma getting an early start on all the despair I’d bring to others later on in life.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, to tell her no one deserved that, but she placed a finger over my lips, preventing the words from breaking free.

  “It’s the past, can’t be changed now. For all I know, the woman is dead. But the future”—she tossed the blade onto the floor—“that, I can change. You don’t deserve to die, Xander. You’re a good man with even better intentions, and I promise you I’ll find a way to handle Scarsi.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. I'd witnessed the switch flip again and it was no less disturbing than it was the first time around. Was she bipolar? Schizo? There had to be something...

  “I-I don’t know what to say…”

  Eden leaned forward, baby blues filled with tears as she searched mine, one hand combing gently into my hair. “Just say that one day, whether it's five days or twenty years from now, you’ll find it in you to forgive me for almost making a grave mistake, for almost robbing you of a life you deserve to live, and for almost robbing your mom of her greatest treasure.”

  “Shhh,” I shush Gio as we make our way down the stairs to the cellar.

  It's dark and really quiet, which means we have to be even more quiet or else we’ll get caught. And if we get caught then we’ll be in huge trouble. Daddy would never hurt us, but he'd be really mad, and I don't want him to be mad. But I'm curious and so is Gio, so whenever Daddy comes down here with Alessio and Matteo, Gio and I sneak into the shadows to watch.

  “What do you think he's teaching them today?” Gio whispers behind me.

  I peek my head around the dark corner and tug on his hand when I see the coast is clear. “I don't know, but I heard Daddy telling Matteo that Luca, Camillo, and Arlo would be here too.”

  “You think he's gonna make them fight each other?”

  “Maybe,” I say, but we both know the answer.

  They are going to fight while Daddy and Mr. Ravenna watch. But they don't just watch, though. They teach them how to fight, how to be faster, better, stronger. Sometimes I wish they would teach me all those things but I know they never will…because I'm a girl.

  Gio and I finally make it to our usual hiding spot in the shadowy corner and hurry to sit down on the concrete floor. In the boxing ring, not too far away, are Daddy and Alessio. Daddy has big gloves on his hands and Alessio is punching them, first with one hand, then with the other. Every punch looks harder than the last one. Matteo and the Ravenna boys sit against the wall, all of them watching quietly while Mr. Ravenna points at the fight and tells them something I can't hear.

  “I wonder what he's telling them,” Gi
o says what I was thinking in my head.

  I shrug and pull out the half-eaten bag of M&M’s from my jacket pocket. “Me too. Want some?” I ask, as I pour a small mountain into my hand.

  My brother hums, and I pour some in his hand too.

  The fight keeps going until Daddy slaps the mitts together and grins proudly at Alessio. Then Alessio and Matteo trade places. Matteo isn’t as confident as our big brother but he still fights back when Daddy throws an arm out.

  “That’ll be me in three years, Petal,” Gio says softly. He doesn’t sound afraid but he doesn’t sound happy either.

  Out of all my brothers, Gio is the kindest. He has a big heart, so big he could make the meanest person smile.

  “How do you know for sure?” I ask around a mouth full of chocolatey yumminess.

  “Because Alessio and Matteo were both thirteen when they started too.”

  “Are you afraid?”

  Gio makes an annoyed sound. “No… I just don’t want to. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “You don’t have to hurt anyone, G.” I lay my head on his shoulder. “It’s just learning to fight. Better you know how in case some stupid bully picks on you.”

  “I know how to defend myself,” he mutters as he lays his head on top of mine.

  “But you don’t know everything and at least you get the chance to learn. Daddy will never teach me any of that.”

  “Because you don’t need to, Petal. That’s what you have brothers for.”

  I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me. “I know I don’t need to, but I want to. It looks so fun.”

  I woke with a start, my eyes snapping open to a dark, quiet room at the memories of Gio and I being far too curious for our own good. Curiosity that eventually got us to where we are today. Myself more so than him, obviously. Then I realized I wasn’t alone. A warm body laid beside me, a strong arm curled around my middle, reminding me of where I was, or rather, where I still was. I turned my head, and sure enough, there was Xander, fast asleep, his eyebrows bunched together as though his dreams weren’t any more peaceful than the reality that was his life. Shifting onto my side, I took that unparalleled moment of silence to simply watch him, to memorize the fine features of his face and commit them to memory…