from the railing to return to his full height.
“Or what?” I counter. My voice shakes so badly the words lack any confidence, but that’s beside the point. I’m still here, standing as he advances with slow, heavy footsteps that radiate malice.
“Or…” He runs his fingers through my hair and cups the back of my skull in the same brutal motion. Swiftly, he yanks me toward him, nearly taking me off my feet. With our faces inches apart, he meets my gaze and holds it. “I’ll teach you what evil truly is, Ada-Maria. Your father came as close to fitting the definition of that word as anyone I’ve ever met—but even he would shy from the things I’ve imagined doing to you.”
I tremble at the pure, vicious intent in his voice. He means every word, and the gleam in his eyes seconds that. Whoever this man is now, he’s not my father’s trusty lackey or Pia Inglecias’ long-lost brother.
He is a monster…
And I am at his mercy.
Chapter Seven
“I’m not talking about sex, either,” he clarifies, lowering his gaze to my mouth. “You seem to enjoy that. I’ll take pleasure in learning what it is you don’t enjoy, as soon as I grow tired of hearing those pretty little moans of yours.”
My cheeks sear, and the despair I feel is enough to drown me—but not yet. This time, I won’t go down without a fight. I’ll drag him down with me.
“You can do them,” I rasp, “Whatever vile things you can come up with in that sick brain of yours—and know that with every vile act, I’ll hate you more and more. Not that you’ll care about that. But then you’ll have to wonder, Domino. You’ll have to compare every scream and cry to every night I’ve spent with you, and you’ll realize just how damn good of an actress I am. Because every ‘pretty little moan?’ I’ve been faking them all this time. Why?” I force a laugh that has his nostrils flaring. “You truly believed that a brute like you could ever really get me off? Keep dreaming.”
The lies assuage my aching pride, and his darkening expression makes toying with him in this way worth it. No matter how violent he is, or how much he claims to hate me, he’s still susceptible to the same weakness as any other man.
Male pride.
“Sell me if you want to, you bastard,” I add, hissing through my teeth. “At least then I might experience what a true orgasm is before I die—”
He grabs me by the throat, and I swear I see my entire life flash before my eyes. And what a sad, pathetic excuse for a life it truly was. Who was Ada-Maria Pavalos in the grand scheme?
Just a memory, the daughter of Roy. No one special enough to make her own mark on the world. Merely a tiny blip on a much bigger picture.
Men like Domino and my father make lasting impressions without even trying. They destroy the lives of those weaker, leaving destruction in their wake.
I wait for the violence in his touch—for the suffocating ache of my throat being crushed in his fist. Instead, he strokes his thumb along my windpipe as a lethal, gentle reminder of the damage he’s capable of.
“So bold without your papa’s shadow to hide behind, Ada-Maria,” he taunts, but I can tell that beneath the mocking amusement is genuine curiosity. “That smart mouth has many hidden talents, though I strongly suggest that you reconsider which attributes might help extend your life a little longer.”
“Why?” I ask in a tone that resembles a wail more. A whine. “I have nothing left to live for.”
Except trying to preserve what small shreds of freedom I can claw back from him.
“You’ve taken everything.”
“Everything?” The shift in his inflection is my only warning before he spins me around, putting my back to the railing. With his gaze boring directly into my own, he uses his grip on my neck to steer me back.
Back…
The metal rung digs into my lower back, but he keeps going, forcing me to bend against it. My heart lurches as I scramble for purchase, gripping the barrier on either side of me with both hands. Already, a sheen of sweat disrupts my grip—it will be child’s play for him to shove me over entirely.
Kill me.
But, at least for now, his eyes lack any murderous intent.
“Everything?” he wonders softly. Viewing him from below, the harsh lines of his face are even more starkly beautiful in contrast