Chapter 12 – Vincenzo
Capping the needle, I dabbed a cotton ball over the bead of blood. This wasn’t as good as an IV hydration bag, but the vitamins coursing through her body would ensure she didn’t have as nasty a hangover when she woke later this morning.
Rising, I pocketed the syringe.
As with every plan, there existed weaknesses. I stood over her sofa, gazing down at the slumbering form. I always knew she would be the biggest problem. Not because I felt remorse over burning it all down, and most certainly not because I had any resignation about destroying her father.
I barked a laugh.
Oh, fuck no. I spent years waiting to launch a vicious war against that demonic sonofabitch. It would be too easy, too kind, to slit his throat. He would stand there, helpless, as his empire crumbled around him.
The reason this woman was a weak point was that she still had a strange power over me.
Amanda was irresistible.
Even now, as I looked down at the mess, I struggled. Long ago, so long that I couldn’t remember when exactly it happened, Mandy cast a spell on me. I was bewitched. Obsessed. Willing to risk anything for her.
Because I couldn’t fight the enchantment, I formed my plans around her. I let the darkness fuel my obsession, keeping careful control over the feelings to be able to properly channel them.
Now that the stars were aligning, it was time to take action against the Loring family. And what better opportunity than this season of celebration? It didn’t matter if I came for her last year or if I had to wait four more years. The timelinewas dependent on the other, external circumstances in my twisted plots. They were mostly in order now, and it was time to bring them to a head.
Amanda could be single or married with a flock of children; it didn’t matter.
I was here.
I was coming for her.
She shivered and tried to burrow under the thin throw blanket. Without thinking, I bent to pull the cover over her, but my lips found her skin instead.
With a hiss, I jerked back. “You scare me. I don’t scare. But you…you do it without even trying.”
I stared at her, tempted to pull the blanket off. Giving in to the temptation now was disastrous. I needed to walk away. She wasn’t ready for us. Not yet. But I had to take care of her….
If she’s sick or hurt because of this, it’s all for nothing.
As usual, that snarling voice of violence rose in the back of my mind to give me reason—to give me purpose.
He was the voice that insisted on watching her. To get close enough. To steal ataste.It was part of my self-training. These run-ins were good for me because they forced me to respond to her without giving in to her pleas and cries for mercy.
She would never find that with me again.
The Loring name would go up in flames, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. I would make her mine, and she wouldn’t be able to say no.
This training was necessary. It would be disastrous if Amanda made me wreck my carefully constructed plans with one look of her crystal blue eyes.
Like a poison, microdosing was key to my success.
I was hardened against her.
Because this woman was her own worst enemy. She would cling to the burning empire with every last grip of her strength. She refused to see the threat. How working so hard to please her father was literally killing her.
No, I wouldn’t let her talk me out of the destruction. It was for her own good. Even if she never thanked me for it.
You’re at my mercy, fiore mio.“And you can’t escape me.”
Reassuring myself, I went to the bedroom, tore the comforter off the bed, and brought it to her. Tucking her in wasn’t weakness on my part. It showed my control over her.
Amanda curled into herself, restlessly moaning in the deep slumber. I gazed at her, studying how in just the last few weeks she’d dropped weight—again. She was too thin. Exhaustion etched lines in her face. Hell, she used pills to sleep.
