ruined the lives of so many.”
She nods and stands and says in a hollow voice. “Thanks for your help but I’ll be going now. I need to be on my own.”
As she makes for the door, I spring into action. God only knows what possesses me to do what I do next but I can’t let her leave like this—like she’s the one responsible and so, I reach out and spin her against my body and lock her against me tightly. With a growl, I fist her hair and grind my lips to hers and devour those lips that spilled such devastation and claim them for my own. I press her against me and hold her there until the thin fabric of our clothes becomes an irritation and I growl, “You’re going nowhere, darlin’. You see, you and I are two of a kind. You think I’m some kind of knight in shining armor. You think my hands are clean, well, newsflash, baby, I’m a fucking killer. I have killed more men than your brothers combined and I would do it all over again if it meant cleaning the streets of trash like Carlos Toledo. You think I judge you because of your story—wrong. I live with my own nightmares and you will learn to do the same. People like us are survivors, darlin’ and you will find a strength inside you that helps you deal with what happened. Just for the record though, you killed no one. Your family knew the risks involved in living the life they did. If Carlos was allowed inside your mansion, it was because your parents failed to protect themselves, not because of any information you gave out. You think I don’t know the life you lead? I know it more than most.”
“How?”
She pulls back and looks at me with many questions burning in her eyes and I shake my head. “I don’t do mafia, honey. I don’t want anything to do with them and I have my own reasons for that. This isn’t about me though; it’s about you and you are not leaving until I say so.”
“You can’t keep me here.”
My heart lifts as I see the woman she was trained to be resurface and push the frightened girl away. Those green eyes flash with a superiority that reminds me of the mafia princess she is. The anger clouds her expression and makes me laugh inside. Sophia Moretti is a warrior, she has just lost sight of that for a while, so I growl, “You asked me to help you and I will. Now, what do you want me to do first?”
I already know her answer by the way she lifts her head defiantly and looks me straight in the eye and says firmly, “Show me how it was supposed to be.”
I feel the beast inside me roar as she stares at me with a challenge in those beautiful green eyes. I know that if I reject her now, she would suffer more in the long term, so I need to be careful with what I do next.
Lifting my hand to her face, I gently stroke the contours of her beautiful face and whisper softly, “You don’t want that, beautiful. You want the fairy tale. I’m not the prince in that, I’m the beast you should avoid at all costs.”
“I don’t want a prince; I’ve been a princess all my life and I’m tired of her. I want no strings, no emotion, just sex. I want someone to show me how amazing it can be and make me a woman to drive away the frightened girl inside. I want you to be that man because you are the only man I have ever trusted outside my own family. If you don’t want to, I’ll understand but I need to ask, will you fuck me, Maverick and give me my life back?”
11
Sophia
As soon as the words left my lips, I think I held my breath. Who is this woman inside me? I have never asked a man to fuck me - ever, but I want this man to, more than I want to breathe and if he rejects me, then I’ll be crushed.
He looks at me and a thousand reasons why he should send me packing pass through his eyes and I stand facing him, willing him to put me out of my misery. From the moment I met him, I felt a sexual attraction to him I’ve never felt with anyone before.