Chapter 15

Shay-Lee

All I could think about while walking past the front desk and down the hall leading to the lounge was how impatient I'd been to see Nero. The kiss we shared last night took up all the empty space in my head, so I increased my pace to see him sooner. Thinking about him filled my gut with comfort and put a smile on my face, feelings I was a stranger to.

I was well aware of my tendency to get easily attached to people and desperately seek their attention. It happened to me with Miles and Jordan and probably with any other human I tried to impress in one way or another. But those desires were constantly inflamed by my demons, by my need to escape reality. Sadly, it almost never worked because acting the way I did forced me to think of why I sought this attention, why I needed the distraction, and the answer was what caused me to turn any relationship I had into a toxic situation.

Hewas the answer.

Hewas the cause, while I was the result.

And while almost everything in the world brought me back to him, Nero didn't. The way Nero's lips tasted didn't remind me of his, nor did Nero's strong arms or comforting scent. Nothing that Nero did ever reminded me of him.

So far, the pleasure I experienced with Nero didn't fill my body with shame but the opposite. It made me wish for more, so much more. But I wasn't sure Nero felt the same, at least not until last night when we kissed, and his desperation finally matched my own.

There was a moment when he almost opened his eyes. Knowing he wasn't ready for the spell between us to be broken, I'd covered them for him, but also for myself. Was I willing to risk losing him before I'd even got him?

All my thoughts were put on hold the second I stepped inside the lounge and saw my black Gatto performing on the stage. It took him less than half a minute to notice me, and the moment he did, a sinful smile spread across his lips. It was impossible to focus on anything but how he moved his body when he danced. But tonight, there was something new about him. There was a dramatic shift that made him even more attractive than before, if that were possible. But before I could dive deeper into how hot Nero looked with his new hairstyle, I was interrupted by a man desperate for my attention.

"What now?" I hissed as Dion came to block my view.

"Why so hostile?" He pretended to frown for a second before checking me out, his eyes slowly roaming down my body. "I've missed you, mon péché. Will it hurt you to at least pretend you felt the same?"

"Yes, it would hurt me very much. So does this conversation, so stop annoying me." I tried to look past his tall frame, but he made it difficult by placing one of his hands on my hip and the other under my chin.

"I was invited to this hideously expensive benefit in Milan." He caressed the parts of my jaw the mask didn't hide. "You should join me."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Unfazed by his offer, I looked at him, annoyed.

"Just think about it. A whole weekend filled with nothing but luxury and sex." He locked eyes with me, and holy shit, he was serious.

"Oh my God." I couldn't help the evil smile that crept to my lips as I shrugged him off. "You're actually into me, aren't you?"

Finally, he lost his stupid smile, and that made me laugh.

"You are." As realization sank in, I stepped aside. "That's a bit sad, don't you think? Believing I hold any interest in you that goes beyond meaningless sex?" It was a bit of a surprise, but then again, maybe not if I had dug deeper into the last few times we fucked. Lately, he'd unsuccessfully tried to extend our time together. But to think a man like him could get attached seemed unlikely.

"What's sad is you falling in love with a whore," he hissed bitterly.

Whoosh. Someone didn't handle rejection very well.

"He isn't a whore." I didn't bother to deny the falling-in-love part. I couldn't say what I felt for Nero was love, but there was definitely something. Something that made my stomach flip at the thought of him or put a smile on my face randomly.

Meeting Dion's stare, I patted his chest. "I love it when you fuck me. Let's not ruin it with bullshit." I was ready to let go and continue my night when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, pressing his cheek to the side of my mask.

"I'm a dangerous man, mon péché,"he whispered in my ear, his voice lower than before. "Insulting me is a mistake." He cupped my jaw and turned me so I completely faced him, the smirk back on his face. "So don't make me lose my smile again, or you'll regret it."

Suddenly, his words on my first night here when I asked why he didn't wear a mask hit me.

How do you know I'm not wearing one right now?

For the first time, I saw his true face behind his mask. Even though what I saw for that brief moment was enough to frighten any sane person, it didn't affect me at all. Probably because I wasn't sane.

"I'm also a dangerous man. Make sure to remember that, too." I pushed him away before he could say another word and walked toward the stage. If Dion wanted to fuck me again, he'd better get over himself and stop acting like a pathetic juvenile.

Luckily for me, all hard feelings were soon forgotten as I found Nero waiting for me by the stage.

"Pink?" was the first word I spat as soon as I was close enough to reach and touch his buzzed hair. "You dyed your hair pink?"

"I lost a bet," he said simply, placing his hands on each side of my arms, and then looked behind me. "What did he want from you?"

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Dion was still staring at us with cold eyes and clenched jaw. Turning back to face Nero, I shrugged. "Nothing worth repeating. Now, would you tell me what you mean by ‘lost a bet'?"

"It sure didn't look like nothing." Nero hardened his stare.

I sighed. "He asked me to go to Milan with him as his date or some shit. Can we please forget Dion and focus on your extremely hot pink hair?"

"And did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Agree to be his date."

Oh my God, he was like a dog with a freaking bone.

"No, I obviously didn't. Why do you even care?" I narrowed my eyes at him and then poked the side of his mask. "Are you jealous?"

"Obviously."

I was ready to tease him more but then realized what he said. "Oh," I blurted, a bit taken aback by his directness. Trying to hide the thrill his jealousy caused me, I rolled my eyes and huffed. "You have no right to be."

His jaw tensed, and I was pretty sure he raised one eyebrow under his mask. "I have every right to be."

"Oh really, and why's that?"

"We kissed."

I gaped at him. "Are you twelve or something? Who gives a shit about one kiss."

He stepped closer so I was almost pressed against his chest, his hands still holding me close. "Don't pretend our kiss didn't blow your fucking mind. It blew mine. All I can think about since then is a repeat."

I swallowed hard because for a moment, I was left speechless. Fuck yes, kissing him blew my mind away, but I didn't think he'd admit it so easily. The guy was unpredictable to the core.

"Me too," I said, my voice hoarse, and watched how his eyes focused on my lips a moment before he reached for my wrist.

"Come," he said, pulling me after him.

"Are you going to give me a massage again?" I teased while thinking about the last time he made me follow him, but quickly ate up my words when he answered my question.

"No." His voice was low and relentless. "I'm going to break my rule for you."

Diesel

The restlessness I'd felt the whole day vanished as soon as Llorón stepped into the club and our eyes met, only for it to return twice as hard when Dion came into the picture and put his hands on my Llorón.

He isn't mine,the voice in the back of my head reminded me, driving me to decide that tonight, I'd finally change that small little fact.

I always took whatever I wanted, no matter the circumstances, and I'd never wanted something as much as I wanted to own Llorón. The need to have him vibrated through my body, and my muscles tensed with the sickening urge. I only ever knew this feeling when I was ready to fight, when my eyesight turned red, and all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. But this moment was different. Right now, it wasn't violence my body desperately craved, but him. I needed Llorónto calm the storm twisting my insides and controlling my body.

My brain was still trying to catch up to this unreasonable need as I reached down and grabbed his wrist, making him follow me as I sped down the hall. I had never felt desire, real burning desire, toward another person until him, but now, I felt like I would explode if I didn't do something about it.

"Are you going to give me a massage again?" Llorón asked, testing me like he often did with that cheeky attitude of his.

"No," I said, trying hard to restrain myself from taking him right there, in the middle of the hall, against the fucking wall. "I'm going to break my rule for you."

He swallowed hard. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." I released my hold around his wrist only so I could tangle our fingers together. "You don't want to?" Pausing, I looked at him over my shoulder.

"Of course I do," he was quick to clarify. "But how do you plan on doing it with the masks? I thought you didn't want to take them off."

I smiled because wasn't he just precious?

"What?" He looked even more confused, but instead of explaining, I opened the door behind us and pushed him into the completely dark room, which just so happened to be the place where we held our first session.

Right now, the queen-sized bed in the middle of the room was still lit under the only spotlight in the black space, but once you turned off the switch, the Notte Oscura became completely dark, which was exactly what we needed.

Letting go of his hand, I stepped farther in and stopped by the switch.

"Once I turn this off, the whole room will be completely black," I said, voice calm, making sure he understood what I was saying. Perhaps he'd been blindfolded before, but this was an entirely different experience. Not only would he not be able to see, but neither would I, and we'd be forced to trust each other completely. "We won't be able to see. Not a thing. Is that something you're willing to do? To be drowned in darkness?"

He nodded.

"Do you trust me enough to give yourself over to me?" I offered him my hand and waited to see what he'd do.

He stared at it before locking eyes with me.

"Yes," he said, walking toward me and taking my hand. The moment our fingers touched, I flicked the switch off, pulled him close, and allowed darkness to take over.