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“Don’t anger me, Sierra. You won’t like the punishment you receive if you do. I will not contact you again. But know this. Soon, you will be in my arms and when you are, you’ll be forced to surrender.”
When he ended the call, I leaned against the wall, trying to process his warning. It wasn’t so much a threat, but a promise of things to come.
Evil, vile, and seductive things.
Why was I quivering all over from the thought?
After a few seconds, I ran my hand through my hair and was able to return to the restaurant. I immediately glanced toward the man near the bar who’d been watching me.
Just as he was ending a call. Was it possible he was the man on the other end of the phone or was I jumping to conclusions? When he turned his head toward me, locking eyes with mine, a sickening feeling pooled in my stomach. His intense gaze remained. My instinct had never failed me. He was the caller.
At least I had a face to a voice.
How long before he came for me?
CHAPTER3
“If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”
—Niccolo Machiavelli
Alessandro
Three months later
I shouldn’t have allowed the fact that Sierra was stunning to interfere with my original plans, but it already had. She had the kind of ethereal beauty that only existed in magazines, the photographer capturing the luminescent qualities capable of selling French perfume or expensive Italian sports cars. Yet her eyes held a haunted quality, a telling of the difficulties in her life. Perhaps that was the real appeal, her fragile state of mind calling to the beast deep inside. Whatever the case, I no longer wanted to simply make her pay for the sins of another.
Instead, I wanted to possess her, carving out a place in my world where I could protect her innocence.
Even from a bastard like me.
I’d tested my patience, allowing her to believe she was free of the man who’d awakened her senses, carving a place inside her soul. My tolerance had almost reached an end. Just thinking about fulfilling my promise to her aroused every one of my senses. My desire was unexpected but refused to be denied.
The one piece of advice my father had shared over the years was never to mix business with pleasure, but with her, it was next to impossible. She’d become my obsession and nothing on earth would dissuade my decision to capture and keep her as my own.
Sadly, every time I allowed my mind to hunger for the forbidden, my thoughts drifted to the treacherous son of a bitch who’d stolen a good portion of my life, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Vengeance.
The act of inflicting punishment or retribution for an injury or wrong.
I laughed as I thought about the plan that was on the precipice of exploding, the vile yet pleasurable game that I’d put into motion months before and my cock twitched. For years, I’d enjoyed the act of violence, appreciating the frailty of human bodies, the strong becoming the weak within minutes. I’d had the joy of watching the most powerful men fall to their knees, begging for their lives and those of their loved ones. I’d seen them as pathetic, weak links in a world where only the strongest survived. My father had taught me to ignore the rules of society, which had led me to becoming less than human.
A monster.
Or so I’d been called more than once.
My penchant for shedding blood had provided me with a solid reputation, which in turn had kept the majority of my enemies at bay. Then the shit had hit the fan, breaking a stronghold that had been in place for two generations. The Montenegro family had suffered, our empire tarnished.
Because of a single act of recklessness on my part, I’d spent four years locked away, treated like nothing more than an animal. Being incarcerated had taken a significant toll, hardening my resolve, enticing my bloodlust. More significantly, the time spent locked away with only my filthy thoughts to keep me company had altered my mindset, fueling an entirely different intensity of hunger. The only satisfaction I’d found was in tasting the luscious woman from afar.
Some would call me crazy for engaging in a dangerous affair, if only by vicarious methods. The truth was that my original intentions had been to terrorize, not to seduce, but I’d found myself unable to pull away, longing to follow through with the suggestions I’d provided, her receptiveness surprising me.
My hunger knew no bounds. I was used to getting everything I wanted. But this was… different, a drug that I required in order to thrive. My thoughts continuously drifted to visions of Sierra’s naked body covered in marks created by my hand. I flexed my fingers, the tips tingling as I envisioned myself providing the discipline she sorely needed.
She’d already submitted to me mentally. Soon, I would take the rest.
I’d remained quiet when I was escorted from the prison, trying to recapture the feeling of freedom while anger swelled from deep inside.
