All Souls' Night - Renee Rose Page 0,222

I can even raise it up completely, Damiano grabs my wrist, stilling my movements. In the span of a breath, his lips are at my throat.

“Ahh. There it is. Oranges and sunshine.” His lips nuzzle my pulse point, nearly weakening me. How can I be strong when my every molecule wants nothing more than to curl up at his feet and let him have his way with me? Pulling me back, he stares at me for a moment before continuing. “I’m not sure what you and Temi discussed, but if you’re still open to it, I have no problem taking you downstairs and having my way with you.”

I open my mouth to answer, but he quickly places his fingers over my lips. With a giggle, I jerk my head to the side, close my lips over the tip of his finger, and suck hard.

His eyes blacken as he reaches out to grab my chin. “I am the one in charge here tonight, cara. Remember what I said.” He pauses a moment before his lips tilt up just a touch. “On second thought, please, misbehave. It will make it all the more fun when you write checks your ass will have to cash.” Sobering briefly, he pulls his finger out of my mouth with an audible pop. “The most important thing for you to remember tonight is that you do have a safeword. If something is too much or you’re scared, if there’s any reason you need me to stop, just say sunlight, and I’ll stop. No questions asked. Understand?”

I nod, the words stuck in my throat. Desire and apprehension war inside me. What exactly does he plan to do to me? Without any further preamble, he grasps my hand and leads me towards the coat check area. My pulse picks back up as I follow him. Apprehension slowly melts into excitement, and I’m almost giddy with it. Foreign sounds reach my ears and I start wiggling. Glancing over, Damiano flashes me a fanged smirk.

We ease our way into the closet and pause in front of another door towards the back. The hulking figure sitting in the corner glances up briefly, then looks away. Damiano’s fingers graze along my jaw before gripping it tight and turning my face towards him.

“Once we’re down these steps, you are mine. To ensure that everyone knows this, I’ve got a surprise for you.” Seemingly out of nowhere, he pulls out a gorgeous necklace. The base is bright silver, almost platinum, and super shiny. Embedded in the metal are hundreds of blood-red rubies. Hanging from delicate, silver chains are small rubies in the shape of blood drops. To top it off, a much larger ruby hangs from the center. For once, I’m rendered speechless. I’ve never seen something so expensive in all my life, let alone worn it.

He slides in behind me and grazes my neck with his lips. “Lift up your hair,” he whispers before planting kisses down my neck.

Shivering, I reach back to grab my hair. Before I can fully lift it up, he nips softly at my fingertips. Molten heat spreads through me from just that small contact. I fist the strands and hold them high as he slides the frigid metal around the column of my neck. His lips descend on the exposed part of the back of my neck, pausing at each vertebrae. There’s a tightly leashed hunger that wasn’t there before. His whole body almost quivers behind me.

“Let’s go,” he growls, abruptly pulling back from me.

Dropping my hair, I let him lead me down. The energy is palpable as we descend. Every hair stands on end. I’m not sure if it’s from excitement or the build-up of energy. It’s almost overwhelming. Musical beats intermingle with moans, screams, and quiet conversation. Such a sensual cacophony never even existed in my imagination before. Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, I take everything in as best I can, but I don’t even know where to look first. Lust and confusion war within me.

“Why is no one dancing?” I say.

He looks down at me, his brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

I mimic the fan dance from earlier, and I’m rewarded with a surprised laugh.

“Ahh, bellissima, but you see, there are some dancing.” He motions to a few areas where people are writhing around. “Just not in the traditional sense.”

Excitement once again thrums through me. Maybe I’ll be dancing soon too? The problem is, as excited as I am, there’s just way too