Page 68 of Playing for the Dark
“He looks fine, but CTE is serious, Marcello.” Fuck, my cock perks up at her taking that tone with me. I bite my fist, suppressing a moan from my full name rolling off of her tongue. “I worry about you too. I’m sure you get punched in the head all the time.” She rolls her eyes at that last sentence.
1I snake my hand around her dainty neck, grabbing her jaw and tilting her head up to meet my eyes. In the most menacing tone, I growl, “Roll those eyes again, Ellie, and see what happens.” She pulls her lips back in what I thought was a smile, showing me every one of her perfectly straight teeth… But it’s not a smile I want. It’s her scheming up some brat-shit smile.
In the most seductive tone, she divulges, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’ll have my eyes rolling into the back of my head on their own.” She chuckles like the like devil she is, sticking her tongue out, licks, and then sucks on the sensitive skin just below my chin.
I close my eyes in pleasure, completely forgetting what I was about to do or say. I bark out, “Enough!” She doesn’t instantly let go, but when she does, she’s back to that devilish smirk, and her eyes are back on the field like nothing even happened.
The Rebels walked off the field with another win tacked onto their record. I textMaverick, the head coach, and let him know Club Onyx has all the VIP tables reserved for their celebration.
The guys have press conferences after, but Coach makes the reporters keep them short. We’re still up in my box, waiting for the crowd to clear out to head to the club. I’m admiring Ellie’s stormy blue eyes and the makeup she’s wearing today. “This looks cool.” I run my finger across the shimmering skin on the top of her cheekbones; some collects on my finger, and I lick my finger clean.
My unhinged behavior just floats right by her. “Cool, Cello? That just aged you fifteen years.” She’s howling, making me feel at home with her laughter echoing through my bones.
“I’ve missed this so much, Ellie.”
“I have too, Cello. You’ve felt distant the past couple of years, but I know your life was flipped upside down, and I didn’t want to be the needy kid always annoying the fuck out of you.”
“You never annoyed me, Ellie. I had to settle my life, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t like being around you because it put a price on your head.” I keep everything I did buried deep inside me; she’s not ready to hear all of that yet. Including paying for the nurse who would come in and help with her mother, paying all her medical bills, and making sure she and her sister were always safe. I did all of that for Ellie. Her father will always hold a special place in my heart, but her goddamn mother,I could’ve strangled on multiple occasions. She would always find some way to belittle Ellie.
That woman’s karma was losing all control of her muscles and eventually her speech—never being able to hurt myRagazza Dolcewith her words again. I only hope Ellie said what her soul needed to say to her piece-of-shit mother. Ellie was always sure to protect Lyla from their mother, making all the anger Ellie’s to bear.
“Then what changed?”
“Everything.” That’s all I say. I stand up, hold my hand out for her, and start dragging her out of the suite, ready to get to my club and finally be on the receiving end of her ass shaking this time.
We parked in the back in the player’s lot; being a powerful man has its perks most of the time. Stepping through the doors, I have Ellie slightly in front of me. The hair on the back of my neck stands, and I never ignore my body telling me something is off. I turn around just in time to hear the footsteps coming up on us.
It’s the same Albanian fuck we branded a couple of weeks ago and sent on his way to fill in whoever fucking sent them after my Ellie. He has a knife pointed right at me, but he’s holding it like he hasn’t been trained a day in his life. I sidestep towards Ellie, grabbing his arm and pulling the knife free of his grip. I spin that same arm behind his back and up towards his opposite shoulder blade until I hear him cry out in pain.
I drag the knife’s point up his stomach, digging into his sternum, continuing up his chest. The blade's at his neck, and he’s already begging for his life. I’m met with the resistance of his esophagus. I lean into his ear, but not too close, he smells like he hasn’t showered in days.
Seething, I grind my words out into his ear, “You should be embarrassed. The way you just came at me was…” I trail off, and snap his arm up higher, hearing the satisfying pop of his shoulder coming out of place, just how I wanted. I can feel the scream he lets out vibrating my bones, and I bask in it. Laughing into his ear again, I keep going with a menacing tone, “Pathetic.”
I turn us around so I can make sure I haven’t scared the living shit out of Ellie, and I’m greeted with her wicked smile. She rears back and kicks him in the dick and balls so goddamn hard I wouldn’t be surprised if they went back into his abdomen.
“That’s for trying to take one of my men from me.” She finishes that statement by spitting in his face. And if I weren’t holding this fuck up, I would be slow clapping right now.
Fuck, I love her.
1. Shleepin - Xavier Mayne, Chase Atlantic
Chapter 54
Nash
When I lied to Ellie this morning about her arm and why it was bandaged, it came to me so easy. I’ve always been a bad liar, but apparently, when it comes to Ellie and her safety, no lie is too big.
The guys that they tortured almost two weeks ago came back with vengeance… Well, one of them. I don’t know if the dumb fuck really did have a death wish or if he had no other choice but to do what he did.
Marcello dropped Ellie off here with me, per her request, and called his Doctor—that he pays god knows how much to do this crazy-ass shit—to get to the warehouse.Code for, come get these organs.
1 We’re at Club Onyx, celebrating yet another win under our belts. None of the goddamn sportsannouncers or journalists can believe we’re doing so well with this being my rookie season. They never shut the fuck up about how I’m bound to choke when it comes to the playoffs. “If we make it there” is what they always have to throw onto the end of every statement. The press conferences after are never fun to answer back to snarky questions and comments. I’m trying not to let it ruin my mood, especially since we’re entering our bye week and leading our conference.
Everyone warned me when I was drafted to the Rebels that in Vegas… you’re doing nothing but playing for the dark. I didn’t know what they meant at the time, but now I have a sick feeling that it has everything to do with the mafia having their hands in absolutely everything here. That includes the pro teams… and I’m woven deeper than I ever thought I could be into this shit storm.
I would do it a thousand times over if that meant I could end up with Ellie every time—and Zamir too.
Ellie takes my hand, pulling me out of our VIP booth, and before I know it, we’re in the middle of the dance floor; she’s grinding her ass against my cock, her hands wrapped around the back of my neck, and I can’t keep my greedy hands off of her perfect fucking body.
