Dark Mafia Kings by Penelope Wylde
Chapter Nineteen
Fate toyed with her, and the playful bitch did her best to yank every good thing in life out from under her. Rhia wiped at a rebel tear that slipped past the stronghold she shoved all emotion behind.
She pressed a palm flat against her stomach where a wealth of anger burned deep inside.
For once, couldn’t something go her way?
Rhia came to an abrupt stop outside the elevator and punched the down button.
I’m going to do filthy things to you? Tie you to my bed?
Her foolish lust-hazed words drifted through her mind followed by a shudder so similar to the one they drew from her it felt like an aftershock of the orgasm that consumed every pore in her body not five minutes ago.
And her response? God, how stupid she must have sounded. Tie her bosses to her bed? She wanted to bury her head in her hands and melt through the floor.
“Come on.” She punched the elevator button again. There were three floors. How long would it take this thing? Rhia stared dead ahead.
She didn’t belong here. Every second she stood there she could feel eyes on every part of her body in this damn dress.
She grew aware of Sevastyan before he came to stand behind her or the hand he placed on her bare back, his touch feverish against her chilled skin.
He muttered words in Russian she didn’t catch, but she knew damn good and well he’d felt the jolt of heat too.
“We need to talk.”
“What, no more foreplay. Just down to the demanding you do what I say part of the job?”
Her heartbeat rattled in her chest. She needed to shut the fuck up already.
Damn it.
“Is that what my sweet birdie wants? More foreplay?” He spoke softly, just for her.
Her lust. Her lies. His touch.
It all combined to make her head spin.
So much for a clean getaway. Did he have a tracking device on her? It was dark enough in here she thought he hadn’t noticed when she’d taken her leave from the private balcony.
She turned on the soles of her shoes, careful not to hook the tip of her heel in the carpet. The last thing she wanted to do was fall into this man’s arms. Again. Like a fool.
Head tilted, he watched her, his light brown eyes lit with a hint of fire.
“Yes, let’s talk because we were doing such a bang-up job of that before,” she whipped out sarcastically. She stared back at him, her lips parted.
“It’s time for you to leave,” Sevastyan said crisply, all notion of the intimate moment they’d shared evaporated.
She raised her hand in a mock salute when he backed off. “Yes, sir. I’m on my way out. You won’t have to worry about me anymore. This time I will collect my things.” What a fool she’d been in thinking she could do any better than the police in finding her father’s killer.
Sevastyan’s expression turned cool. He took her arm and pulled her in close, reawakening the fire she’d just stomped out.
“You’re always twisting my words to mean what you think you want to hear.”
She allowed her voice to lower. “Maybe you should stop and consider them before blurting out tone-deaf orders like a commanding officer. And what is that supposed to mean?”
Forget the elevator. She could do three flights of stairs. Her gaze traveled to the staircase off to the side that would take her away from here, away from him faster than some elevator. How stupid could she be? She knew better yet still fell under his spell like some wanton woman that needed a man.
She wavered on her last thought. She didn’t need a man, but she did need him. He was the last known connection she had to her father. Once again, she forced her head back where it belonged. One way or another he had the answers she needed. Keeping her hands, mouth, and all the other treacherous body parts to herself that reacted with the simplest of touches from him or the other dark kings just became mandatory.
“Roman will take you home and will retrieve you for work tomorrow at six sharp. I hope you don’t mind the earlier hour. I forgot to mention as my assistant the hours are longer than you are used to. When you arrive, come straight to my office. We have a lot to discuss. So you won’t be caught off guard this time, all the men will be there.”
He blatantly overrode her desire to leave, thankfully. Otherwise backtracking over her emotional outburst would have been uncomfortable. “Tonight was a one-off. What happened tonight won’t happen again. That I promise.” As soon as the words left her mouth she knew she had just cursed herself. This most definitely would not be the last time she felt his lips on her, his fingers caressing her so deeply.
Rhia felt lightheaded. Hopefully, the dim lighting hid the wash of red burning her face.
She had no right to feel ashamed. He, nor the others, hadn’t done anything she didn’t want, but at the same time hadn’t it been him who lured her into his private box? No way in hell he hadn’t planned tonight.
He drew closer and lowered his voice. Placing his lips against her ear he whispered, “Why are you upset, kroshka? What can I do to make it better?”
Take her to bed. Give her the night of her life?
Rhia stared at her trembling fingers. “It’s fine. I’m fine, Sevastyan. I’m just tired.”
His question yanked the anger from her sails, and she felt utterly deflated. He made a very good point. She wasn’t mad at him, the anger sat within her and at herself.
She waved a hand. “Honestly,” she said in a distant voice. “Just never mind.”
The doors of the elevator opened behind her. “Come. I’m tired of everyone’s attention on you.”
Sevastyan gently took her arm and led her inside. Alone, she chanced a look his way, not knowing which version she would be getting—her hard-ass boss or the mysterious man she couldn’t figure out and could kiss the sense out of her.
From beneath lowered lashes, she felt his gaze roam over her curves, leaving behind a blazing trail of desire. From the way he stood, shoulders pinned back and a mask of indifference on his face, he was apparently unaware of the effect he had on her.
“You make me want to commit murder.”
“What?” She was robbed of any other words.
“Not a man in this place hasn’t mentally undressed you tonight. Every one of them wishing they could be the ones to break you, teach you how to pleasure them, mark you before someone else can sink their teeth into you. Women too. Breaking you to their will would be looked on as a sport. Especially the fucking DOMS with years of experience. They’re bored. Always looking for their next doll to toy with.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke, but she saw the disgust in his expression at the mention of the other men in the club.
Rhia’s mouth dropped open. “And what about the dark kings? Do you like to break your lovers, too?” She pushed on before he could answer. “Do you want to break me, Sevastyan?”
Silence greeted her question for several heartbeats. It was the only manner she had to measure the time it took for him to stop staring at her in complete horror. And for the briefest of seconds, Rhia entertained the idea of breaking her word and kissing away the pain she saw in his eyes.
For a span of time, she could sense it was not her he saw.
She shook her head because this conversation had gone into territory that wasn’t even on the map of her mind. What did it mean to be broken as Sevastyan put it? None of it made sense. But one thing was for sure. No one would break her.
He turned until he had her pinned to the back of the elevator. Every inch of his massive body holding her in place. “You don’t know how beautiful you are, do you? How seductive you look in this just walking across the room? You have every fucking dick in the place hard. I’ve watched you for weeks now as you served Haven’s guests. We all have. You haven’t seen our dark sides. The reason why people fear us. And you’re better for it. Don’t fucking push me to do what my demons demand, little birdie.”
The longer he spoke the richer his accent became.
He trailed off for a moment, his eyes touching every inch of her body. “Your beauty makes you stand out and your innocence paints a bulls-eye on your back. And the dangerous part is that you have no idea.”
“What are you talking about? How do you even know that? I’m no different from all the other women on the floor tonight and any other night.”
He looked studded by her words. “Fuck me.”
Sevastyan tore away from her and shoved his hands through his hair before he came back to stand in front of her like a raging man ready to fuck something up, nostrils flaring. His expression went from flatline unreadable to pissed in the span of a second.
“How do I know? Because it’s what I want. You’re a virgin in so many ways and you don’t see it. So inexperienced.”
She gasped.
“The truth is also in the way your eyes linger a little too long, and the beautiful blush along your cheeks when someone makes eye contact with you while they are balls deep in another woman.” He paused before expounding further. “Let me make one correction to what I said earlier, kroshka, and believe this. The men in here, they don’t want to break you.” He shook his head. “These men stare at you and fear if they ever let you in that you’ll be the one breaking them.”
She has a feeling by men he meant him and the other kings. But she wisely kept her mouth closed and listened.
He stroked the back of his fingers along her jawline and traced the pad of his finger over the bottom lip. He moved to collar her throat with his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “You’re too beautiful. Too precious,” he muttered to himself with the conviction of a saint, but she caught every last syllable.
Her breath shuttered. Behind them, the door to the elevator chimed and opened to a dark parking garage, but he didn’t move for a moment longer.
She could see several cars lining the left and right over his shoulder. They were in another private underground area of the convent that wasn’t on the blueprints.
His mouth twitched ever so slightly as he clamped down on his back molars.
“It’s time for you to go.”
“You said that already,” she offered softly. But didn’t move her hand from his chest nor did he take his from her throat.
They stood like that until he finally pulled away, dropping his hands to her waist with a masterful touch that sent mixed signals to her body.
“Or I could stay,” she quietly offered, hoping he would take the bait.
“Do that and you’ll never escape the darkness and you’re too good for that.”
She could feel him withdrawing from her. “Says, who?”
She dropped her hands and brushed the hard ridge of his cock. His eyes flashed down at her, but his hand moved to her lower back, guiding her from the metal box on cables.
He led her to an idling car a few feet from the elevator and reached for the handle to open the door. With a steadying hand on her elbow, he helped her inside. Cool air from the car’s air conditioning kissed her heated skin.
“I’m beginning to think you like to verbally spar with me.”
“Like it, no, but it is entertaining.”
A wicked smile pulled his lips into a grin, dashing away the haunted look that had been there a moment ago. He squeezed her hand one last time.
“Unless one of us is kissing you, that is. Then you seem to agree with everything quite easily.”
He closed the door, effectively cutting off her retort. She scrunched up her nose and hit the button to lower the window. Egotistical smart-ass.
“Seraphina,” again he used that subtle command that lured her gaze to his the second she opened her mouth to tell him off.
Leaning into the car window, he dipped his head, “Sweet dreams. Moya kroshka” Using the deep, sexy voice that made her thoughts turn to long, sensual kisses didn’t seem fair. Of course, she didn’t reveal that tidbit. She offered a quiet smile and leaned into the shadows as her driver slipped into the night.
For the next twenty minutes, Rhia sat in the back of the Bentley in utter and complete shock on the inside as they sped through downtown Chicago. Rain pelted against the glass and metal frame to create a nice barrier of sound between her and creating any kind of conversation with Roman.
She should be furious but all she could summon at this late hour was complete exhaustion, and despite trying to control every inch of her body, nerves caused her hands to tremble.
The busy city streets melted away to reveal the quieter suburbs. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t give you my address,” she began.
Roman waved a hand, cutting her off. “Don’t worry. I already know it, sweetheart. Just sit back and relax a little. I can hear the enamel on your teeth cracking. I’ll get you home safe and sound.”
“Thank you.”
Roman had his hair loose to hang around his face and it gave him a soft look, but she’d be a fool to think of the man as easygoing as he wanted everyone around him to think.
“Your show was beautiful the other night.” And it had been. Tender and gentle, unlike Samuel’s show she’d watched tonight that was raw sex. “I’ve, uh, never watched a woman be taken like that before.”
Was she supposed to comment on that? God, she sucked at small talk. Always had. Before she walked herself into more embarrassing exchanges, she needed to find her bed and face plant. Hard. For about twenty-four hours and then forget what happened at Haven and walk away.
“I’m glad it inspired.” Amusement rose in Roman’s eyes through the rearview mirror.
On the outside she smiled and ducked her head but, on the inside, she was a total maze of emotions with no exit in sight from this crazy twist of a night.
Had she met the mafia kings in some alternate universe and under different circumstances, she pictured tonight playing out as a Cinderella tale. Then again, no matter what world, fairytales were just that…made-up fiction.
Roman rolled to a stop outside her aging apartment building and gave a low whistle. Streetlights were busted and the side of the cement structure hadn’t seen a paint job in what she estimated to be at least her lifetime.
No one was around at this late hour as she had expected. Other than a few cars parked along the street, they were alone.
“Yeah, it’s not much but it’s safe and dry.”
Thoughtful blue eyes found hers, and he cast a doubtful look in her direction and shoved the car into park.
Before she could open her door, he was out of his and extending a hand. Roman didn’t appear to be a man that ever did anything he didn’t want so she took the considerate offer. And to be honest, she liked his company.
“You, madam, get the full treatment.”
“Thanks, Roman.” With the little smile she could summon, she took his hand, grabbed the ends of her dress, and let him help her navigate the puddles of water on the narrow sidewalk.
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed up. “Top floor. Sorry, no elevator here.”
“It’s only four floors, I think we can manage.”
She made a move to start her ascent. “Really, I’ve got it from here.”
A strong hold cupped her elbow. “I have no doubt, but still, I’m walking you to your apartment, Seraphina. Maybe even get a goodnight kiss since I’m the one being left out of everything.”
He grumbled something she didn’t quite hear.
“I was raised if you had something to say you either had the balls to say it where everyone could hear or zipped your lips.”
Over her shoulder, she caught a hint of a smirk. “Balls, huh. Okay then. I said it’s a wonder you haven’t been murdered or worse in this dump. I should take you home with me then tease the men with a video call.”
She came to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the steps and honed in on the gory part. “Worse?” He made it sound like death wasn’t anything to fear.
His eyes narrowed and he looked abashed for a moment, an expression that softened his hardened facial features for all of a couple of seconds. “That’s what you focused on?” He chuckled. “Yes. Death is by far not the worst thing that can happen to a person.” He raked a hand through his long hair and his eyes hardened with the truth of his words.
“A beautiful woman on dark streets like this and darker staircases in the dead of night dressed like this.” He scanned her with a quick look to signify her evening attire. “Sevastyan sees this and he might put a bullet between my eyes for leaving you here tonight. I think I would like that? My death sitting on your conscience like a fat, dead elephant. I should haul you over my shoulder and take you back to Haven. You can bunk in one of the rooms tonight until we find you suitable quarters if you don’t want to share a bed with me.”
Now her eyes narrowed, and she pointed a finger at his chest and jabbed. “You might look like a Norseman, but you try that Viking move on me, and my knees will greet your balls. Last I checked, not even mafia kings are immune to that.”
He didn’t flinch, but she did manage to get a flare of contempt from him that had her hand clutching the railing just in case he tried to make a move.
She turned and started up the stairs. “You can follow if you want. Four floors, stairs straight up. It’s your legs. I’m warning you, in this heat, you’ll be cursing me and I don’t want to hear it.”
“I’ve been through worse.” He followed her at a sedate pace, his breathing not elevated in the slightest. Damn him.
She heard the same stubborn streak in his words that Sevastyan used. It must be an alpha caveman thing. But she believed him.
“What kind of name is Roman?”
“You first. How did you get the name Seraphina?”
She peeked at him over her shoulder as they turned for the second floor and last flight of stairs. “Mine is common. Yours isn’t.”
She led them down a small corridor with a single lightbulb at the end that did little for her several feet away. “This is me.” She dug in her purse and pulled her keys.
The weight of Roman’s hand on her shoulder brought her up short, mouth gaping open. And that was when she saw what had him pushing her behind him and shouldering in front of her.
Well, hello trouble, you fucking bitch.
