by Julia Sykes
With Joseph, I couldn’t hold anything back. Not my body and not my heart. We spent most of our time together in bed, but I knew our connection was more than simple physical lust. When he captured me in his crystalline blue stare, there was something worshipful about the light in his eyes. No one had ever looked at me like that. Not a man, not my family.
It was intoxicating. I craved his nearness, and I hated when I had to leave him to go to class or he had to work a shift at the bar. After I finished studying in the evenings—something that was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on with Joseph taking up my full attention—I went to the bar and tried not to seem like a pathetic stalker. Jayme accompanied me, but it was hard to stay focused on girl talk when Joseph was shooting me heated glances from across the bar.
“Are you even listening to me?” she asked, clearly irritated with my distraction.
“Sorry, what?” I tore my eyes from Joseph’s hypnotic stare and focused on my friend. Her lips were pursed with annoyance.
“I was asking if you want to go to the frat party this weekend. You know, if you can manage to pry yourself out of Joseph’s arms.”
My cheeks heated. “Oh, um, sorry. I should have been paying more attention. But I probably won’t go to the party. Sorry,” I apologized again.
She waved off my apology with a small smile, my transgression forgiven. “It’s okay. I’m really happy for you that you’re hooking up with the hottest guy in town. Even if I’m super jealous. Although,” she purred the word and glanced past me, “this guy might give Joseph a run for his money. And he’s totally checking us out. I call dibs, since you’re taken.”
I grinned at her, happy that she’d found a distraction. “Sure. He’s all yours.”
“Dude, are you not even going to look? He’s freaking gorgeous. Total bad boy, leather jacket vibe. Kind of like Joseph, but… harder. Yummy.”
I laughed at her description and turned to look for the mystery man, out of idle curiosity, if nothing else.
My laughter caught in my throat when I laid eyes on him.
Hard wasn’t a dark enough word to describe him. And he certainly wasn’t a bad boy. This was a dangerous man. He was older than the coeds by at least five years, but there was something else about him that further separated him from the boys around him. Maybe it was his leather jacket and motorcycle boots. Or maybe it was his sheer size; he was almost as tall as Joseph, and impossibly broader. His clenched square jaw looked sharp enough to cut, the almost harsh lines of his face roughened further by his dark stubble.
When his black eyes locked on me, I knew none of those physical markers were what set him apart. There was something dark about his soul, something twisted and cold.
One corner of his lips twitched when he caught me looking at him, and I tore my gaze away. My hands were suddenly clammy, my fingers almost trembling.
“I, um, I need the bathroom,” I announced, needing to escape from his stare. “I’ll be right back.”
“Sure,” Jayme agreed easily. “But if I’m occupied when you get back, don’t be offended.” She shot another heated stare in the dark stranger’s direction. I didn’t understand her attraction. He was obviously bad news. I shook my head at her, baffled by her choice in men.
“Be careful,” I advised.
She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder with a little laugh. “What’s the fun in that?”
I shook my head slightly. “He’s all yours. I’ll talk to Joseph after I go to the bathroom to give you some space.”
“Thanks, girl.”
“Of course. But let me know if you’re taking him home. I don’t want you to leave with him alone.”
“Will do,” she promised. “I won’t go anywhere alone with a stranger. We can leave with you and Joseph in a few hours.” She gave me a sly smile. “We’ll make it a double date tonight.”
“Sounds good to me. See you soon.”
I wound my way through the crowded dance floor and got in line for the bathroom. There were three women in the short corridor ahead of me, but I didn’t mind. I hadn’t really needed to go, but I’d wanted the excuse to escape from the dark stranger’s stare. I wasn’t entirely comfortable leaving Jayme at his mercy, but she seemed happy enough with his attentions. I wasn’t going to cockblock her.
“Are you Ashlyn?” I jolted at the rumbling, masculine voice. It was low and deep, and far too close.
I spun around on a soft gasp, and I found the dangerous stranger in my personal space. The bar was loud enough that I hadn’t heard his approach, but now that I was caught in his black stare, I was very aware of his nearness.
I took a step back, and my butt bumped into the wall. His lips twisted again, his harsh eyes twinkling with cold amusement.
“So, are you? You’re Ashlyn, right?” he prompted. He didn’t step toward me, but he leaned in slightly, his bulk bearing down on me.
My breath stuttered in my throat, and my pulse hammered in my veins. The dark energy pulsing off him kissed my skin, curling around my body in insidious, velvety tendrils. I shivered, even though I wasn’t cold.
“What do you want?” I squeaked. I felt thoroughly trapped, even though he wasn’t touching me. His stare and powerful aura were enough to pin me in place. “How do you know my name?”
“What the fuck are you doing here, Marco? Get away from her.” I sucked in a relieved breath at the sound of Joseph’s furious growl. He was coming to my rescue again, and I’d never been more grateful for my knight in shining armor.
Then, something else registered. Marco. Joseph knew his name. He knew this intimidating man. I’d known Joseph wasn’t from my world; he wasn’t a student at Harvard. But I hadn’t imagined that the sweet man I’d come to know would associate with someone so overtly dangerous.
Marco’s lips curved farther, and he turned his coolly amused gaze on Joseph. “I’m just introducing myself to Ashlyn,” he said, nonchalant. “I heard you had a girlfriend. I wanted to meet her.”
“Outside. Now,” Joseph bit out.
“All right,” Marco agreed. I heaved in a deep breath when he finally stepped away from me, freeing me from his influence. He glanced back at me one more time, a sly smirk fixed on his face. “Goodbye, Ashlyn.”
Joseph snarled and took a step toward Marco. The dangerous man raised his hands in a show of contrition. “Outside,” he prompted Joseph.
I didn’t want Joseph to leave with him. Marco was a threat, and I didn’t want him to hurt the man I loved.
Love. Yes, I was in love with Joseph. The idea of him being hurt made my stomach turn.
I reached out a grabbed his big hand, holding him back. “Don’t,” I begged. “Stay in here with me.”
He stared down at me, his expression twisted with pain that I didn’t understand. “I can’t,” he rasped. He leaned down and brushed a kiss over the top of my head. “I’m sorry. Stay inside. Don’t follow me.”
Somehow the words seemed heavier than a simple order not to follow him outside. My heart twisted, my stomach knotting with anxiety. Something was very wrong, and I didn’t understand why Joseph would go anywhere with Marco.
Before I could fully process what was happening, Joseph pulled his hand from mine and began making his way through the crowd, following Marco toward the exit. The man I loved disappeared into the night, leaving me behind.
Chapter Seven
Joseph
Rage coursed through my veins. Of course Marco had hunted me down. My best friend would never have allowed me to escape from my family. Even though he knew I hated it, I also knew that it had been selfish for me to leave him behind in that hell. Secretly, he resented our mafia family as much as I did, although he’d never admit it aloud. I’d known him long enough to recognize that his cold exterior was a barrier between him and his more volatile emotions. His hard edges concealed a deeply-buried pain that he’d never express openly, maybe not even to himself.
I couldn’t bring myself to hate him, but I could rage at
him for ruining my escape.
“Why did you come after me?” I demanded when we stepped outside the ring of illumination provided by the streetlight that flooded the parking lot. “You know I want out. Why would you do this to me?” The last came out more strained than I’d intended. I didn’t want to abandon the simpler life I’d found in Cambridge. I didn’t want to abandon Ashlyn and the powerful connection I shared with her. My affection for her bordered on obsession, and there was so much more I wanted to learn about her.
“You know I couldn’t let you go,” Marco rumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “There’s a war brewing in our family. Tensions are running high. The son of the presumptive mob boss can’t just disappear. It looks suspicious. Like maybe you didn’t leave of your own accord, if you know what I mean. You could have been fucking dead, Joseph.” His voice was more strained on that, too. His hard demeanor threatened to crack, revealing just how much he’d worried about my fate.
“Then you called me,” he continued. “I got the area code off the call and was able to narrow my search. At least I knew you were alive. Do you know what—” He cut himself off, shaking his head sharply. “You have to go back with me. It’s going to get bloody if you don’t. Do you want your father to be murdered in a power struggle?”
My stomach sank. I hadn’t fully thought through the potential ramifications of my disappearance. As much as I hated that lifestyle—the violent world in which I was trapped—I didn’t want to see my father dead.
“No,” I said quietly. “Of course not. But I can’t go back with you. I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” he said harshly. “You just don’t want to. But you have responsibilities, Joseph. Even if you don’t want them, that doesn’t mean you don’t carry them.”
He regarded me for a moment, his head canting to the side as he studied me with his piercing black gaze. “You don’t want to leave her,” he surmised, seeing straight through me. “You know you can’t stay near her,” he said more gently. “If I can find you, anyone can. It’s just a matter of time. Do you really want your father’s enemies to get their hands on her?”
My fists curled at my sides, my rage surging once again. “No,” I growled, an absolute denial of the idea of Ashlyn in pain, used as a weapon against me.
“Come home with me,” he urged. “You don’t have a choice. Not if you want to protect her. Not if you want to protect your father. And me,” he added, as though that was of little consequence.
I wouldn’t risk Marco. The man who was like a brother to me couldn’t be hurt because of my selfish choices. I’d die before I let that happen.
My shoulders slumped as defeat rolled over me. All my foolish dreams of having a normal life with my perfect angel shattered. I was going to have to leave Ashlyn behind.
Chapter Eight
Marco
One Month Later
My decision was reckless, and more than a little selfish. I’d told myself I was doing this for her own good, to protect Ashlyn from potentially being discovered by our enemies.
But really, I was doing this for Joseph. He’d been a shell of himself since returning to New York with me. I knew it had more to do with losing Ashlyn than it did with his hatred of our violent lives. He’d been happy with her here, and being torn from her was killing him inside.
I couldn’t allow my surrogate brother to suffer like that.
I glanced over at Jayme. She was sleeping soundly on the couch in the apartment she shared with Ashlyn. Seducing her hadn’t been difficult. Slipping rohypnol in her drink had been laughably easy, and I’d secured an invitation back to her place. I would never violate her, but I’d needed her to let me in. She was a means to an end, and all she’d suffer was a wicked headache in the morning and very little memory of spending any time with me at all.
Ashlyn’s disappearance wouldn’t be traced back to me. I was anonymous here, unknown by anyone. There was no reason to suspect me.
I fingered the syringe in my pocket and waited in the darkness for her.
Ashlyn was going to come with me, whether she wanted to or not. I’d give her back to Joseph. I’d fix him. They’d both move past my more unorthodox decision to take her against her will.
They’d be happy, and maybe I would be too.
The Daddy and The Dom
Chapter One
Ashlyn
My heart jumped into my throat as soon as I stepped into my darkened apartment. Instinctively, I sensed danger. I knew the man was there in the split second before his hand clamped over my mouth, the pressure propelling me backward so I bumped into the door behind me. His movements weren’t violent enough to cause me pain, but they were terrifying enough to make my pulse hammer through my veins. My soft scream was smothered by his big hand.
“Shhh, Ashlyn,” he said, steel lurking beneath his horrifyingly gentle tone. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I recognized the voice. I’d heard it once before. The low rumble haunted me in my dreams, leaving me sweating and twisting in my sheets at the memory of the darkness that lurked just beneath his skin.
Marco. Joseph’s frightening acquaintance. Marco, the dangerous man who had appeared one night and stolen the man I loved away from me, making Joseph disappear and abandon me; shattering my heart in the process.
Anger swelled along with fear, and I shoved at his chest. When that accomplished nothing, I curled my fingers into claws, ready to rake my short nails across his face.
He caught my hands easily before I could inflict damage. He released my mouth for a moment while he grasped my wrists. Then, he shifted them into one hand and pinned them over my head. His other hand returned to my mouth to cover my fresh scream.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said again. “I need you to calm down and listen to me. You’re in danger, and I need to get you out of here.”
I shook my head as best I could with his firm grip on my face. The only danger was the threat he posed.
“You don’t understand,” he continued. “Joseph didn’t tell you about who he really is. Who we are. The kind of men we are. He wanted to shield you from it, but that’s over now.”
My mind spun, struggling to process what he was saying. What could he possibly mean? Joseph had possessed a sinfully sexy bad boy vibe, but he’d worshipped me. He’d treated me like something precious and called me his angel. It was why I’d fallen for him, hard and fast. My first love.
It was why my heart was ravaged and I walked around with a hollow place in my chest, aching deep in my soul for the last month that had passed without him in my life.
“Our enemies will come for you,” Marco said. “I won’t put you at risk like that. I won’t let Joseph go through that. He can’t lose you again. Not forever. Not like this. I won’t fucking allow it.”
Enemies? What the hell was he talking about?
I twisted in his grip, sure that he was my enemy. He was pinning me against the wall and smothering my panicked screams. Fear I’d never known rolled over me in a toxic wave, making my head spin and my stomach turn.
Marco stared down at me. The faint streetlight streaming through the windows caught on his features, the shadows enhancing the hard planes of his face and stubble-covered jaw. The light gleamed on his close-cropped dark hair, and the illumination caught in his black eyes. They sparkled with keen intelligence as he considered me.
After a moment, his lips hardened to a thin slash, and he nodded.
“You’re not going to come willingly. I can see that. But I planned for this.”
He released my wrists, and my hands closed around his forearm, trying to pry his hand away from my mouth so I could let out the scream he was trapping behind my lips.
He swiftly retrieved something from his pocket. Dread flooded my system when I recognized the syringe.
I redoubled my efforts to escape as he removed the cap with his teeth. I tried to kick him, but he was too close for me to get any leverage, his thigh wedged between mine. My harsh cries
caught against his hand, and mindless panic prevented me from fighting effectively. All I could do was try to free my face from his hold, and his strong arm kept me securely pinned, despite my frantic efforts.
The needle gleamed in the dim light just before the sting kissed my neck. His movements were careful rather than violent, and there was minimal pain.
Seconds later, the fear that wracked my senses began to fade away. Warmth enfolded me, and I sagged against him. One final whimper of protest slipped through my lips, but my tongue was too heavy to form the pleas for mercy that tickled at the back of my mind.
“Everything will be okay.” His promise floated down to me as I sank into darkness.
Corded arms closed around me, catching me before I fell.
“You’ll be with Joseph again soon,” he said, his voice smooth and oddly comforting. “We’ll keep you safe.”
Safe. With that strange reassurance, I surrendered to the darkness, and the world disappeared.
Chapter Two
Joseph
“I got you a present,” Marco said, a sly smile on his lips that I didn’t trust for one second.
I shrugged, unimpressed and uninterested. Nothing interested me these days. Not since I’d lost her. I’d tried to run away and find a normal life, and I’d found Ashlyn: my pure, perfect angel.
Then, Marco had tracked me down and dragged me back into my own personal hell. I didn’t want this life of violence and cruelty. All I wanted was to be free of it all. I thought I’d had a chance at that when I had met Ashlyn, and now that the dream had crumbled, I was hollow and apathetic.
