I steady her hips, grasping them firmly in my hands. It’s almost worse. She seats herself further down on my cock. Only a thin fabric of a cotton sheet separates us.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” I begin, “but aren’t I supposed to give you the quick death?”
“Yes.”
“Then why aren’t you respecting your promise you made to me? Where is your honor, little warrior?”
“Honor?” She questions irately. I wish we weren’t in the dark. I want to see her fury. The way it makes her eyes blaze. How it twists her lips and makes her pulse flutter. And she doesn’t disappoint as I pull on the lampshade to softly illuminate the room. “Your honor will never lie with me. You’ve already made clear who your loyalty lies to. And believe me, I understand, but forgive me if I can’t risk the chance of taking you at your word.”
She presses down and a warm stickiness coats my throat. “I ran from a life because I knew I was going to be shackled in misery. I will not trade one prison for another.”
There it is, the missing piece I was searching for. “You ran from an arranged marriage.” Her silence is an answer itself. “Who didn’t you want to marry, Imogen?”
She huffs. “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“Oh, it is. Because the fact you can’t deny gazzella is that right now you’re mine. And whomever this man is, he’s going to be searching for you. And I don’t like the idea of him taking you from me.”
“I’m not yours,” she bites.
“You’re my captive. That makes you mine.”
She leans in, her upper body pressing against mine. Her lips brush against my own as she speaks. “I belong to no one. And I will do what I must to prove it.”
“You’re allowing your emotions to govern your actions but you haven’t thought this through,” I tell her.
Her eyes narrow. “I’ve thought it through well enough.”
“Really? You kill me and then what, Imogen? You’re on the run for the rest of your life.”
“I was going to be on the run from escaping my arranged marriage. This will be no different.”
“It will be. You’d be killing me. You know what I mean to The Donati Famiglia. How important I am. How respected I am. You heard it from Constantine himself. And while you have heart and spirit it stands no chance against the men who will be coming after you. And when they find you, gazzella, they will tear you apart.”
Sheer determination transforms her face. “I held my own against you just fine.”
I have to put these notions to rest. Bringing her a healthy dose of reality I easily shift our positions. She’s now beneath me, the knife still against my throat but her hold has weakened. I lower my weight on her and place my hand on her throat. I feel the wild thrum of her pulse.
“We both know I was holding my punches.”
She narrows her gaze and grits down on her teeth. “You can’t expect me to just accept this.”
“The alternative if you don’t poses a greater danger. I promised no harm will come to you. I’m a man of my word.”
“It’s not your word I doubt, Rico.”
I cock my head to the side. “I need you to trust me.” She narrows her eyes. “Trust me, Imogen.”
“Then what becomes of us if I do?”
“We’re still the same. You’re still the daughter of my enemy. I’m still the man holding you captive. Nothing has changed in that aspect.”
“Then why does it feel as if something has?” She isn’t entirely wrong. Imogen Murphy has come into my life and changed everything. It’s insane, even for me, to admit I don’t want to return to the life before her.
I don’t answer her. Instead I pull the lampshade once more to cloak us in darkness. I settle back in bed, leaving a space for her to sleep beside me if she so wishes.
“What are you doing?” She asks, more confused than ever.
“I’m going to sleep.” I turn on my side, facing her in the dark. “If you still feel like killing me in the morning you can.”
