In the soft glow projected from the screens, he appears dangerously handsome, the scruff on his jaw so much darker. His brows pinch together and jade eyes lock onto mine.
Giovanni’s face holds an expression I’ve never seen on him before. An alarmed stare, impossible to read. It whispers through me in the silence until clenched white teeth peek out from behind his lips.
“I don’t want you to be anything like me. Why the fuck would I want that? Jesus Christ, India. I’m a killer and you’re the light that keeps my heart beating.”
My pulse skips, torn between love and pride. “You don’t think I’m good enough, do you? It doesn't matter that I was the best damn jiu jitsu student in Miami. Or that Reno taught me his own style of cutthroat self-defense. It’s what he’d want for me. Why can’t you see that?”
The snarl coming from the back of his throat sends chills down my spine. “Keeping you safe was your brother’s primary goal. That is what he wanted for you.”
“Giovanni…” I say his name on a sigh. My mind choosing to argue while my body is primed for his filthy corruption. “She didn’t win. That woman––Buffy––she didn’t win your challenge.” I strengthen my footing and elevate my chin. “Ihunted you.Ifought for a place.Ibled for it, and from where I stood, you came straight to me. Not her. Therefore, I—” I prod my chest. “I found you first.Iwon.”
Staring up at him, my cheeks blaze and a fast pulse thrums in my neck when his brows tug together in thought. “I foundyou, not the other way around.”
“Maybe we found each other.” I suggest, furious at how he’s both sexy and frustrating.
I cross my arms as a barrier from his chest. “You’re allowed to do whatever the hell you want, and I have no say in it. But when I want to do something that's important to me, I need your permission. How’s that fair, Gio?”
He tugs at my folded arms, takes my hand and interlocks our fingers. Lust sizzles under my skin. “Their lives don’t mean a thing to me. If one of them dies, I’d recruit a replacement an hour later. But you…” He frowns, his nostrils flaring as if he’s angry. “I’ve lost my mind over you.”
My heart pounds with awe and attraction, the rhythm of it matching the pulsating vein in his thick neck. His gaze settles on my gaping mouth and then his lips land on mine—hard, forceful, and hungry.
For some reason, the sting from my cut and dull aching bruise on my jawline adds to the thrill. Adrenaline and muted pain pump through me. He’s turned me into a masochist.
When our tongues collide, his deep grunt excites me more than anything. I’m tingling all over, pinned to the rock behind me, and needing to feel more of him. My heart buzzes from the electricity sparking between us.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I mumble into his hot mouth and stuff my fingers into his hair to match the intensity of his kiss.
After a beat, our lips abruptly part, and a large hand jumps to the hem of my hoodie. Working together, my arms lift, and he drags it up and over my head, letting it fall to our feet.
“You want to play at being a killer?” he bites out, his handsome face cast in the shadows, so he appears unholy.
He plucks at the strap of my damp bra top close to my collarbone and runs his fingers down the material, stopping at my hard nipple. In one rough tug, he yanks the neckline lower, drops his mouth to my bare breast and sucks.
“Could you hack open a man’s throat and watch him choke on his own blood?” he mutters. His otherworldly eyes find me under tousled hair teasing his lashes while slippery saliva covers my nipple. “Or put a precisely aimed bullet in someone’s skull?” His teeth clamp and release, the sharp sensation making me groan.
He drags his flattened tongue from my breast, up the length of my throat and across my jaw until his mouth settles at my ear. “Could you fill your pockets with stolen souls and let the weight of them bury your humanity?” His tone drops to a growl, the rumble of it burning me up inside.
“I don’t want to become a sicario. That’s not it,” I pant, scrabbling at his shirt to touch his warm skin. “It’s having the confidence to know I’d have a fighting chance if someone like that came for me. I’m not scared of your world, Gio. I’m in it up to my eyes. But I would be scared if I wasn’t skilled enough to defend myself and the people I care about. Whether you let me train with you or not, I’d fight to the death for you and Leo if it came to it. I accept that I have a lot more to learn. I'd rather be prepared––don’t you want that for me too?”
His hand lightly swathes my throat, and his troubled gaze burns right into my soul. “It’s official. You’re so screwed,” he whispers.
I frown at him. “Wh-what do you mean?”
13
INDIA
My heart slams into my chest, struggling to crack through my ribs to reach him. He suddenly lets go of me and takes a measured step away, teasing the coarse hairs on his unshaven chin as he considers me.
Without saying anything, he systematically peels off his shirt, unbuttons his pants, and drags them past his hips with his boxer briefs caught up inside. I can’t help my hungry gaze roaming all over him, momentarily pausing at a sheathed knife strapped to his shin.
He stands before me, impossibly irresistible and god-like. Smooth inked skin is carved by muscles earned from religious training and discipline. They tense when the satiny crown of his dick hits his abdomen.
A shiver runs through me, fierce and powerful. This man’s appearance matches his persona––lethal.
I’ve seen him naked before, but this evening, in his secret lair, he looks different. His expression is tortured, and his towering physique predatory.
We stare at each other for too many heartbeats. Both of us lost in this intoxicating lust.
