SIN
The heavy oak doors swung open like the jaws of a trap. I glided into the room, Alessandro trailing behind me like a loyal, wounded hound. I stopped in the center of the expanse, my eyes cataloging the dark velvet, the cold marble, and the suffocating scent of expensive tobacco.
"I didn't realize you each had your own wing in this mausoleum," I remarked, my voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. "Quite the upgrade from the club."
Silence. I turned slowly, finding him rooted to the spot. His eyes traveled over my body with a hunger he was trying…and failing…to suppress. I let a slow, knowing smile spread across my face. I could practically feel the leather of the leash tightening around his throat.
"I'm sorry about that fucking animal," Alessandro said, his voice thick with a jagged mix of rage and regret. "The names Matteo called you... it was out of line. He deserves to bleed for it. And leveling a gun at my own blood wasn't the introduction you deserved. I want you to know that's not who I…"
"Tell me," I interrupted. My voice dropped an octave, vibrating with an excitement I didn't bother to hide.
I didn't want his apologies. I didn't give a damn about his misplaced chivalry. I walked toward him, the click of my heels rhythmic and predatory, until I was close enough to feel the radiant, scorched heat coming off his chest. He was a giant, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet a gaze that was currently shattering.
"Everything your brother said... was it true?" I asked, my eyes wide and shimmering with a dark, artificial curiosity.
His brow furrowed. I didn't wait for his brain to catch up. I slid both hands onto his stomach, feeling the iron-hard muscle jump beneath his shirt.
"How did it feel?" I whispered, leaning into his space. "Did you really do it? Did you snuff the life out of those girls?"
The change was instantaneous. A flash of raw, ugly guilt washed over him. He tried to jerk away, but I was faster. I hooked my fingers under his chin, digging my nails in, forcing his face back to mine.
"Don't look away from me," I commanded.
"It's... it's all lies," he stammered, his pulse thudding like a trapped bird in his neck. "Matteo is a head-case. He's a liar, Seris. Ask anyone."
My smile faltered. I looked into his soul and saw the desperation…the pathetic need for me to believe he was a "good" man. Alessandro was the one pretending. He saw my smile drop and his breath hitched, his eyes searching mine for a map he couldn't read.
Slowly, I let the smile return…sharper, lethal. I slid my hand up his chest, grazing the frantic rhythm of his heart before settling firmly around his throat.
"You don't have to play the saint for me, Alessandro," I purred, my thumb stroking his jawline. "That side of you... the one that kills? Don't hide it. That's the part of you I want to see. Those are the beautiful parts."
A shudder racked his frame. He let out a long, broken exhale and leaned into my touch, resting his face against my palm like a starving man finally being handed a feast. He was completely, utterly undone.
"Never leave me," he whispered, the words frantic and raw. "Please."
He grabbed my waist, his fingers bruising my skin as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. He started kissing me everywhere…my throat, my jaw, my collarbone…with a hunger that felt like starvation.
I smirked over his shoulder at the closed door. Checkmate. It all clicked. Alessandro was a man obsessed with a specific kind of devotion. He craved the mothering and the care he never got. He was a waste of space to his father, a disappointment to his brothers. When a woman offered him a taste of that "unconditional" affection, he became an addict. And when those women realized he was a monster and tried to run? He killed them so they could never belong to anyone else.
My hand trailed down his back while the other tangled deep in his hair, gripping it firmly. A low moan escaped my lips.
Time to destroy every single one of them.