To Have & to Hurt by Morgan Bridges
Tristano
For the thousandth time, I remind myself of Violetta’s age.
Because there’s nothing childish about the woman at my feet and it’s hard for me to view her as a minor. Yes, she lashed out, but I anticipated this. There are not many individuals who can endure a stressful environment without cracking under the pressure at some point. Women tend to release this pent up frustration in a different way than men and I’ve never understood why people think this is inappropriate.
Who cares if they cry?
It’s preferable to murdering someone, which has been the behavior I’ve seen most often amongst the men of the underworld. In my opinion, women are able to deal with a lot mentally because they release the tumultuous emotions causing them distress and that keeps them from doing something rash and irreparable. Different people require different strategies or methods for handling life.
However, Violetta has shown me some things I want to know more about.
And I’ll uncover them, whether she wishes me to or not.
She slowly lifts her head until her gaze meets mine. The canopy of trees above us blocks out the moonlight, but a handful of slivers peek through the leaves to land on Violetta. She looks unearthly right now, and it wouldn’t take much convincing for me to believe she’s an angel.
Although I can’t make out the sea-green of her eyes, they are still expressive, giving me a glimpse into the emotions she rarely displays. Unless it’s anger. That is something she never tries to hide. Maybe Violetta is actually a fallen angel, instead of the people in the Silvestri bloodline. But if there’s even a bit of truth to the speculation, then I’m a demon.
Because I want to do all sorts of fucked up things to her.
The gentle rise and fall of her breasts, along with the way the escaped tendrils of her hair curve around her cheeks and jaw, captivate me. How can this woman be both guileless and a seductress without even trying? I don’t think Violetta realizes how alluring she is.
If she knew what I want to do to her, she never would’ve stopped running…
After holding my gaze for a couple seconds, she turns away from me. It’s a dismissal if I ever saw one. Like coals burning in my gut, my anger scorches me. But so does the lust now heating my veins.
I reach down and snatch her by the upper arms and haul her to me. She gasps and scrambles to get her footing, made apparent by the shuffling of leaves. I shake her with enough power to get her attention but not severely hurt her.
And it does.
As does the swat to her ass.
Perhaps even more so.
Violetta sucks in a breath and goes taut in my hold, becoming as still as a statue. I clench my teeth to keep from groaning. The feel of her curvy ass connecting with my hand, that now tingles from the force of my blow, is titillation at it’s finest.
“The next time I spank you, it’ll be on your cunt. I’m not fucking with you, ribelle, and the quicker you realize that, the better off you’ll be.” I release her and gesture in the direction we came from. “Now, let’s go.”
She’s in a state of shock and even the darkness can’t hide the flush on her cheeks. By the way she squints up at me, I know for certain her surprise is being replaced with outrage. The fire inside her is bright and scorching, but I have no problem controlling it. A sub is similar to flames in many ways, and just like they need oxygen to survive, so does a woman.
I can either be their source or the one who cuts it off.
I’ve wrapped my fingers around her neck and pulled her to me before Violetta has a chance to struggle. She grasps at my shirt and her eyes are wider than before, swirling with her fear. It’s one of reverence and respect for authority, not because she believes I’m going to hurt her. That facial expression never fails to make my cock hard.
I squeeze her throat in warning. “You can be as mad as you want while you obey my commands, but you will obey them. When under my protection, ergo my authority, I expect you to execute my orders promptly. It could mean the difference between your life and death.”
“Sadist,” she chokes out.
“Think what you will.” I shrug. Her pulse thrums against my hand as though asking for permission to breathe, and I grant it by loosening my hold a fraction. I can’t say I don’t enjoy having her at my mercy. In fact, that’s what I think about more than anything. “It’s an annoyance to explain myself and so I’ll be brief. Do what I say or suffer the consequences of my choosing. It’s that simple.”
I release her, immediately craving the feel of her skin underneath my fingers. Then I walk away. If Violetta is smart like I believe her to be, she’ll follow. I keep my ears tuned for the crunching of fallen leaves and my lips curve into a smile at the stomping which sounds directly behind me. She’s pissed and crushes every piece of vegetation she comes into contact with until we are back inside the guest house.
Benito greets me with a focused gaze and his Glock pointed in my direction. In a flash, he stows the weapon and then jerks his chin up in greeting. I return the acknowledgment and after that he goes back to watching TV. However, I catch him glancing at Violetta. His expression doesn’t change, except for the slight thinning of his lips in disapproval.
Toward me, not her.
It doesn’t surprise me that she might’ve gotten under his skin too.
But he wouldn’t dare touch her.
Against my better judgment, I turn to peer at Violetta over my shoulder to study her reaction to him. All she does is roll her eyes and I inwardly grin. She’s not looking to him for help or comfort, which eases some of the tension in my muscles.
The very idea of her seeking out Benito for either of those things makes me want to whip her ass again.
Once Violetta passes me and enters the bedroom, I shut the door and lock it, the mechanism eliciting a succinct click that has her twitching. To disarm her somewhat, I take a casual stance and lean against the wall. From the way she watches me it’s obvious I haven’t fooled her a bit.
“I consider myself a patient man, all things considered,” I say, “and I’m willing to overlook some of your insubordinate behavior, but running away from me isn’t one of them. You had no idea how many men were patrolling the grounds and it wouldn’t take but one of them to hurt you. Do you care nothing about your life or are you not as intelligent as I first believed?”
Violetta sets her jaw and purses her lips.
I incline my head. “Very well.”
I’m on her before she can suck in a breath to yell.
With one hand gripping her throat, I push her back until I’ve got her trapped against the thick bedpost. Then I sweep my foot to knock hers to the side, widening her stance. My downward strike lands at the apex of her spread thighs. A light slapping noise mixes with Violetta’s breathless shriek and I tighten my grip on her cunt.
She balls a fist and takes a swing at me. I almost don’t intercept the hit because of my amazement. This woman is no match for me in any capacity, yet she has the courage to stand up for herself. I’d love to fuck her while that raw emotion races through her body.
I’m quick to subdue Violetta by gathering her hands behind her back and pinning them there with mine. Then I click my tongue in admonishment. “You were warned earlier but decided not to listen, so there’s no one to blame except yourself. Now, let’s try this again. Tell me why you ran.”
Violetta’s tiny huff causes her nostrils to flare and it wreaks havoc with my anger. I enjoy seeing her quiet defiance, but she has to learn to trust me enough to listen when I tell her to do something.
After securing a fist around the hair at the nape of her neck, I tug on the strands, forcing her head back. Pain streaks through her colorful eyes, like a gem when the light hits it just so. Violetta doesn’t cry out and the only sound in the room is her labored breathing.
“I was upset,” she says.
“Why?”
When I don’t receive an answer, I lean into her, letting her feel the weight and size of my body. Her breasts press into me and her thighs cradle my hard cock as though welcoming me. She might be petite, but she fits me perfectly.
And I’d fit perfectly inside her.
“I…” Violetta swallows deep and then exhales, releasing some of the fight within her. “Who am I?”
Her inquiry perplexes me, but I wait for her to explain. If I don’t give her time to think, then she won’t be able to verbally process anything and I want to understand her. The workings of her mind are a mystery to me and I’ve taken up the challenge of trying to solve the riddle that is Violetta. But I can’t do that without clues.
“Who is Violetta?” she asks. Her voice is filled with apprehension and the urge to soothe her is strong, but I suppress it. “Carina’s little sister, that’s who.”
I nod slowly, still not not understanding her line of thinking. However, that acknowledgement seems to encourage her because she starts up again.
“I’ve never been without her. All my life it’s been just the two of us. We decided to take our fate into our hands and planned for a way to get her free.”
Violetta’s tone is airy, whimsical like she’s far away or relieving a memory. I may not see the images in her mind, but I’m with her, hanging on her every word, absorbing every cadence, inhaling every breath. This woman has me enthralled with the mere sound of her voice. It’s a hard-won prize that I’m unwilling to share with anyone, no matter how insane that comes across.
“And she did get free,” I say.
“She did, but not before—”
“Before?”
Violetta closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I can’t tell you without revealing her secret.”
This moment is pivotal. I can sense it as strongly as I would if a gun were pressed against my temple. Violetta is close to opening up and if I push too hard, she could withdraw inside herself. And it could be so deep within her mind that I’ll never find her again.
That isn’t something too devastating for me to contemplate or allow.
I release her hands and run my palms up her arms, over her shoulders, and further up until I’m holding the sides of her neck. “I respect your sister and I can only truthfully say that about a handful of women. You are also included in that small circle, ribelle. Trust me when I tell you that no matter what you say about Carina, I won’t look at her differently. Do you know why?”
“No.” The word falls from Violetta’s mouth like a question, one she really wants to know the answer to.
“Because my brother loves her.”
She rears back just a little. “It’s that simple? I don’t believe it.”
“Loyalty ’til death is what I vowed to her and you. That may not mean anything to you, but to any member of the Silvestri family, it’s a promise for life. Unless that trust is betrayed.”
Violetta’s gaze widens and although I’m the one with the power, the revelation in her eyes is unsettling. I don’t ask what conclusion she’s arrived at, and I also don’t fully acknowledge the unease coiling around me.
“Your mother,” she says, barely above a whisper. “It wasn’t that she left…she broke her vow to your father, you, your brothers, and the entire bloodline of your family.”
My gaze is immediately drawn to the tattoo on the top of my hand, the one I had done in honor of my mother’s death. It’s thought to represent transformation, but I can’t follow that trail of thought and apply it to my mother. She hasn’t changed and never will.
No matter how much a part of me wishes for that.
I pull away from Violetta and take a step back as her words hit me like a bullet to the chest. She’s not saying anything I haven’t already thought of, yet hearing someone else give voice to the depth of betrayal my family and I’ve experienced is different. My personal narrative never voiced it quite like that, and definitely not with threads of compassion, sympathy, and heartache twining around it.
My entire body locks into place as layer after layer of tension and anger rise from within that dark place I try to keep hidden from the world. The part of me that Rafael calls “the beast.” From the way I’ve acted in the past, knowing the number of people I’ve slaughtered, he’s not wrong.
And I don’t want to unleash it on Violetta.