Page 145 of Brutal Heir

But there was still time…if only I would relent.

My kiss had left her pretty mouth swollen, her lower lip smeared with a drop of blood.

She was a trapped bird. I had a choice, and all I had to do was open my hands…or squeeze them tighter.

“I’m sorry, mia piccola,” I murmured.

My decision was made.

I swallowed her sob, even as I wrapped my arms tightly around her. I swung our bodies away from the tree.

With my thigh wedged between her legs, I lowered her to the sweet grass.

It wasn’t enough to touch her.

I needed to feel the press of my body down onto hers. I slipped my hand lower, reaching for the hem of her dress while I shifted my hips against hers, trying to ease the growing ache in my cock.

I trailed my mouth over her lips, her cheek, the sharp line of her jaw. “Bella, bella, bella. Please, mia bella. Open for me.”

Her fingers twisted in the fabric of my shirt as she raised soulful eyes to mine. “I’m so scared, Sebastian. I don’t know what to think. I feel lost.”

I skimmed my hand along the warm skin of her thigh. “There is nothing to think about, only to feel.”

She shook her head and pushed against my chest as she tried to rise. “No. That’s not good enough. I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”

The rage, which had still simmered barely below the surface, rose again.

It was an almost feral drive to dominate and claim.

A drive to control her.

I reared back onto my knees and reached for my belt. After whipping it off, I held the leather strap between my hands. “Don’t make me do this, Sabrina.”

Her eyes widened. “This has gone far enough.”

With that, she leaned up on her forearm and rolled her hips to the side as she tried to escape me.

With the belt in one hand, I snaked out my arm to wrap it around her throat. I then slipped the flap through the buckle and tightened it.

Not enough to cut off her oxygen, but enough to threaten.

Her fingers flew to the leather and yanked on it.

Knocking her arm aside, I pushed her back onto the grass. “I warned you not to cross me.”

Her lips trembled. “Please, Sebastian.”

I wrapped the leather strap around my left palm, anchoring my arm near her head. “No one gets in the way of what I want.”

I reached between her thighs and tore her panties aside. When I cupped her pussy, her delicate cream eased my fingers inside.

She could protest all she wanted, but her body didn’t lie.

“You feel that, babygirl? That’s you wanting this as much as I do.”

“No! I hate you!”

My mouth lifted in a smirk as I reached for my zipper. “There is a fine line between hate and love, dolcezza. It’s called lust.”