17. Gio

17

GIO

I left the warehouse feeling as if I was moving underwater, trying to push through the current and make sense of what I felt and everything that was going on.

I had one destination in mind, and I knew it was a bad fucking idea. But here I was… on my way to her.

The image of her pressed against my apartment door, surrendering to me, letting me own every single inch of her, was seared into my brain.

God, she drove me crazy. My addictions had always been of the underworld kind. Violence and death. Destruction and supremacy. But Tatiana? Innocent and sweet and willingly obedient? Yeah, she was the strongest addiction of my entire fucking existence.

My cock was hard as I thought about how she felt and tasted on my lips and tongue while I ate her out. And to say walking with a hard-on was uncomfortable was an understatement.

The city was a blur as I made my way toward her.

When I neared her apartment building, I kept to the alley across the street and scanned the perimeter. I could see a few men loitering along the murky, darkened corners. I didn't need verification to know they were her brothers' men.

I ran my hand over my jaw and looked down at my palm, seeing darkness smeared across my fingers.

Maksim's blood. Some of it must have splattered on me when I killed him.

I wiped the blood from my hands onto my black cargo pants, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. I stayed in the alley for twenty minutes, watching the routine of Tatiana's guards so I could make my move like a ghost.

My heart pounded in my chest as I hurried toward her apartment building, knowing I had thirty seconds while they made their rotation.

Everything seemed so fucking sharp and clear right now, not just because I fed the beast within, but also because I was going to see my girl. Instead of the slow seduction I originally planned before I had my first taste of her cunt, I decided I was staking my claim tonight.

On her. In her.

She was a fucking spotlight in my evil, violent world. The lighthouse to my warship coming to shore.

The lock on the side door was laughably easy to pick with the tool I kept on my keychain. With the click of the lock disengaging, I slipped inside just as I heard the Russians moving toward my location, making their rotation back around to this side of her building.

Silently, I moved through the corridor, up the stairs, and steered clear of the cameras I saw. But I was so juiced up from anticipation that I sensed I was being sloppy. I should have canvased her apartment enough to know all the entrances. I should have hacked their security system and dismantled the cameras.

But right now, I couldn't even fucking see straight through my need for Tatiana, let alone think rationally enough to have done any of those things.

Her hallway was empty, and I made my way silently down the carpeted floor until I stood in front of her door. The lock was easy to pick, and I made a mental note to fix all of this. I'd update all this shit and secure the hell out of her place to my specifications.

I couldn't deny she had a highly upgraded lock system set up by her brothers from the old shit I saw on other doors, but I'd go hardcore state-of-the-art on top of that.

Once inside with the door shut and chained behind me, I stood there and just inhaled. The entire place smelled like Tatiana.

I scanned the interior. The short corridor that led to the rest of the rooms was minimally decorated. There was a small table to my left, a bowl on top with a set of keys inside it. A gilded mirror hung above the table. A floor vase was to my right filled with artificial flowers.

There was a picture that hung on the wall, a black-and-white one of Tatiana, her brothers, Amara, and my nephew Luca—my sister and Nikolai's son.

My feet were silent as I made my way to her room, which was easy enough to find despite this being the first time I'd been to— broken into —her place .

Her door was slightly open, the moonlight streaming through the window casting a soft glow on her sleeping form. Jesus, she looked so gorgeous and peaceful.

I felt this sharp, stabbing pain in the center of my chest. The same one I felt when she told me I was making her feel good, after I'd only kissed her.

She was a tiny thing in the center of her bed. I stepped inside and stood by the edge of her mattress. Her dark hair was spread out on the light-colored pillowcase. I leaned in, placing a hand gently next to her pillow, and closed my eyes as I inhaled deeply.

Jesus Christ . Her scent drove me fucking insane.

She was the type of thing in life that could bring a man to his knees, to happily worship the ground she walked on.

The small rise and fall of her chest was hypnotic, and if I were the type of male who could've felt it, she would've brought me peace.

I reached out before I could stop myself and pushed a lock of dark hair away from her cheek, letting the digit linger on her soft skin.

Tatiana slept soundly, her breathing not changing.

I was too ugly for a woman like her, not just on the outside but deep inside me. I was scarred in more ways than one.

My flawless girl with an underworld family who would destroy the earth for her.

I could break Tatiana, and there'd be nothing left. If I wasn't careful. If I didn't watch myself and teach my beast to be gentle.

I kept touching her, the softness of her cheeks and throat, the way her pulse beat steadily beneath her ear. My cock was still so hard, the length throbbing, my balls heavy and full.

Fuck, I was a bastard for the things that consumed my thoughts. And the disgusting, vile images that repeatedly slammed into my mind had me acting on instinct.

I gripped the edge of her comforter and slowly pulled it down, letting my gaze travel over the thin, white shirt she wore. Braless, her tits were perfectly round shadows topped with hard nipples, which had pebbled the moment I uncovered her. I craved to fill my palm with her softness.

To say I was being a motherfucker right now for what I did was an understatement. Yet, I kept fucking doing it, as I pulled the bedding lower until her entire form was in view and goose bumps formed along her long legs .

Images of slipping my hands between her thighs and wrenching them open had me taking a step back and undressing. I was like an animal right now, letting my beast come forth so the fucker could taste Tatiana.

The flavor of her sweet pussy was seared into my memory, but I wanted more.

And when I was done with my appetizer, I'd align my huge cock at her little pussy hole and push inside, making her bleed, making her stretch to take every single inch of me. She'd cry a little, tell me it hurt, but she wouldn't want me to stop.

Christ, I could be a fucking savage with my girl, and it still wouldn't be enough. It never would.