Page 125 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

His dark expression didn’t change.

“My family took the deal to the Bratva to try to save me from Sean. The Bratva agreed to help get me back. That’s how the fight with Santino happened. Now we are indebted to them.”

He rolled his tongue along his teeth, then looked away from me, staring at the moon. “And that debt is you.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together to keep them from trembling. “If we back out of the alliance, my family will be at war with them. Once Sean is dead, I’ll become Aleksandr’s wife.”

“Aleksandr,” he said, the name like a viper, clicking his tongue at the end as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Then he finally looked at me. “So we were always doomed.”

I nodded, feeling the heat between us build like a volcano, ready to erupt. There was something about surrendering to the tragic truth of us that felt freeing, and somehow I craved it even more. As if even fate forbade us.

His dark eyes swept over my body again, caressing my skin with a rough, devouring phantom touch that made me squeeze my thighs together and my lips part. God, I wanted him. Even if it was only one more time. My body ached for him, for the way he kissed me so roughly, touched me with possession, and the passionate, addictive sex. If I never had it again, I think I might die.

“And you’ll do it,” he growled, knowing the answer already. “To save your family.”

“What other choice do I have?” I whispered, my chest rising and falling faster as I held his gaze.

“If you’re going to marry another man…” he growled, his voice feral, brimming with barely restrained need. “...then why the fuck am I spending my last days with you, pretending I don’t want you?”

A gasp tore from my throat as he dropped off the edge of the pool into the water. He waded towards me, the water parting across his abs, and I couldn’t breathe. My body instinctively moved towards his, reaching for him. He stopped inches from me, staring into my eyes.

“What are you doing?” I husked, the question barely above a whisper.

He stared at me for a long moment, as if weighing up a decision that might cost him his life.

Then…

His hands wove into my hair, and his lips slammed against mine, devouring me in the wildest, roughest kiss of my life. My arms wrapped around his back, nails sinking into his skin as he groaned into the kiss and grabbed my ass, lifting me so I could wrap my legs around his waist.

“If I can’t have you forever…” he growled against my mouth. “I’m taking every second you give me now.”

His mouth moved down my throat, biting and kissing.

“And when I marry him?”

He pulled back, pain flashing across his face. “I’ll let you go, even if it kills me.”

I knew he was lying. I think he knew it, too. But it was the story we had to tell ourselves just to make this possible.

He walked us towards the edge of the pool, my back hit the hard side, and he ground his erection against my pussy. I moaned into the kiss, losing all sanity and needing this too badly to stop it.

“What the fuck is the point of this thing?” he groaned, tugging the strings at the sides of my hips. I giggled against his lips as it came undone and floated away on the surface of the water.

I gave him a sultry smile. “To awaken my monster.”

He growled into my mouth, the sound feral and animalistic. He slid his tongue against mine, then bit my bottom lip between his teeth and tugged until it stung. I gasped as he lifted me by the waist onto the side of the pool, my pussy completely exposed to him. My eyes flicked towards the gate, knowing Ricci was standing not too far away on the other side.

But my attention was drawn back to Monster when I realised he’d gone very still. He was staring at my side, breathing hard. I glanced down at the tattoo he’d given me in the bunker, then looked back at his face. His hand travelled up my thigh, over my hip, and to my ribs, his thumb stroking the words.

“You claimed me,” I whispered, panting at the possessive look in his eyes.

“I remember.”

“You do?”

“I just had a flashback.”

I licked my lips as he hooked his arms around my waist, making me arch towards him so he could kiss the inked skin. “So everyone would know you belong to me.”