Chapter 16

MINA

"I have a surprise for you," Gianni said. "I was thinking about the way you sliced that woman open the other day."

He picked up the plates from lunch, took them into the kitchen and gestured for me to follow him outside.

"Don't damage the roses," Damon called out after us. "Terry will be pissed."

Terry grunted his agreement and continued to slice potatoes to throw into a pot. The knife in his hand was huge and, judging by the way the blade sliced effortlessly through the potato skin, sharp.

"I'll be pissed," Reuben said as he finished his coffee.

"No roses will be harmed in the making of this surprise," Gianni said. He rolled his eyes at them playfully and closed the door behind us.

"What about the woman?" I asked.

He hadn't brought me a group of people to practice on. That was probably for the best. Instead, a couple of large targets were set up in the centre of the lawn.

"It's less about her and more about using a knife." He picked up a box from beside the door and opened it. Inside, several small knives lay on black velvet. Sun glinted off the steel like a wink, or a challenge.

"You want me to throw those?" I guessed.

"I think knife throwing is a skill every girl should have." He picked up a knife and set the box back down. "Have you done this before?"

I opened and closed my mouth.

He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. "Of course you haven't done it recently. I'm such a fucking donkey sometimes."

I snorted a laugh. "You're not a donkey. I have done it, but like you said, not recently. I'm probably rusty as hell." I leaned down to pick up another of the knives. Picturing the blade right in the centre of Kurt's forehead made me smile.

"This is going to be torture on my dick," Gianni murmured. "Okay, watch me and that might help it come back to you. If not, there's plenty of time to practice."

He turned to face the target, aimed and sent the knife flying from his hand. It landed just to the right of the centre of the target.

"Apparently I need to practice more too." He shrugged. Even if his aim was slightly off, he still would have killed the person he was aiming at. "You try."

I regarded him for a moment before leaning over to pick up two more knives. I eyed the target, cleared my mind and let the knives loose, one at a time. The first landed dead centre of the target. The second landed to the right of his and the third directly above.

He stared at me, then burst out laughing. "I should have known you'd be good at this. I bet you could hit the target blindfolded."

"I was aiming to put them all in the centre," I said regretfully. "I'm rusty."

"You're fucking amazing and my cock is hard as hell now." The front of his jeans were tented, his expression strained. "I never could resist a woman who knew how to handle a knife."

"Maybe we should stop," I suggested. I admit to being curious to see what was under the denim. He looked so big. My clit pulsed in agreement, but I couldn't tell if my trembling was from fear or desire. Possibly both.

"I definitely think we should keep going," he said. He adjusted the front of his pants and walked to the target to pull the knives free.

He handed me two and kept two for himself before stepping in front of the other target. "Who taught you?" He aimed and hit closer to the centre of the target.

"My sister, Rose," I said. "She's a big believer in women taking care of themselves and each other." My first knife hit the centre of the target, but the second went too far to the left again. I wouldn't be satisfied until they were both lodged in the same hole.

"I've heard that about her," he said. "She seems almost as badass as you."

I walked over to pull the knives out of the target. "She's much more badass than I ever was."

"You miss her?" He seemed to have forgotten to practice and was standing looking at me, a knife held loosely in his hand.

"I miss her a lot," I said. "Her and Asher. Dane too, I guess. Do you think I should contact them?"

"If you're ready." He remembered the knife and turned to throw it. "No one is going to pressure you into anything. Least of all me. I haven't spoken to my family in years."

This was the first time he mentioned a family. Until now, I hadn't wanted to intrude by asking.

"Why haven't you spoken to them?" I asked.

He rubbed a hand over his chin. "It's a long story. Mostly they're assholes and I'm better off without them." There was clearly more to it than that. I decided not to push. He'd tell me if he was ready.

"Their loss." I threw again, this time getting the blades closer together.

"Very much so." He adjusted his pants again. "What other skills do you have that are hot enough to almost make me come in my pants?"

I walked over and spoke softly in his ear. "I can pick locks."

He groaned. "Fucking hell, woman. You really want to see me make a mess, don't you?"

I laughed softly. "Is this where I say I'm sorry?"

"You can try, but I wouldn't believe it for a moment. You seem to enjoy torturing me." He was grinning as he said it.

I was close enough to reach out and touch the front of his pants with the tips of my fingers lightly. I swallowed at how hard he felt. How big.

"Sweetheart," he said softly. "I won't ask you to?—"

"I want to." This was all about me taking back my power. I knew he'd let me go as far as I was comfortable and wouldn't say a word if I pulled back.

I worked the button of his jeans out of the hole and slid down the zipper. I wasn't surprised to find brightly coloured boxers, decorated with cartoon characters. None I recognised, but very Gianni.

I pushed them down to free his massive erection. A piercing glittered in the tip. Three or four more decorated the underside of his cock.

"Jacob's ladder," he said. "For the pleasure of my partner. When she's ready."

Intrigued, I ran the tip of my finger across each of the steel bars and the warm skin between them.

"Did they hurt?"

"Yeah, but I like pain," he replied easily. "Giving and receiving it. Don't worry, I only give it without consent to people who deserve it. I know how to be restrained." He swallowed hard, clearly holding back the urge to thrust himself into my hand.

"I thought you might," I ran my finger up and down his length, enjoying the feeling of hot, throbbing pulse beneath thin, blood-darkened skin.

He moaned softly. "Can I ask you something?"

I glanced at his face, then back down to his cock. "That depends what it is."

He chuckled softly. "I guess it would. I'm wondering if you were ever with anyone. By your choice."

I stopped stroking to look back up at him. "No," I whispered. "There was never anyone I wanted to…fuck. None that wanted me, too." None I knew of anyway. It wouldn't have crossed my mind that Reuben might have. He seemed so far out of reach, we might as well have lived in different worlds.

"Anyone who doesn't want you is out of their mind," Gianni said. "But I promise when that happens between us, it will be fully with your consent. No pressure from me. No obligation."

"When?" I ran my whole hand up and down his length before curling my fingers around him.

"When," he said firmly. His eyes half closed. "There will come a day when I slide my cock deep into your sweet pussy. But for now, this is enough." He rolled his hips as I started to slowly pump his cock. "You have magic hands."

"I don't know about that." I watched his face while I worked him, revelling in how responsive he was. Everything he felt right now was because of me. Because of my touch. Because my hand was wrapped around his cock. I was the one in control. I decided how fast or slow we went.

"I do," he said with a groan. "Fuck, sweetheart, I'm going to… Come." He gave me time to pull away before he gritted his teeth and thrust his hips faster. He slid in and out of my hand until he stilled. Hot, pearly cum squirted out of his tip, onto my fingers like the blood from the woman's neck.

He sagged forward, puffing lightly. "Shit, that was good. Better than good."

I uncurled my hand from him. My fingers were coated with his release, thick and warm.

"You did that to me," he said softly. "Just looking at you makes me want to come. You let me do that and I thank you. No one ever got me off that hard before. I bet your pussy is even better."

My pussy pulsed in response to his touch, his orgasm, my power over his body. I'd never felt anything like it before. I felt more powerful than I had when I killed that woman.

I looked up at him, raised my hand to my mouth and started to lick my fingers clean.

Gianni's eyes widened. "Just when I think you couldn't get any hotter, you fucking do. One day, I'm going to come in your mouth and watch you swallow every drop, but this is almost as good. How do I taste?"

I hadn't reached my pointer finger yet. It was still covered in a thick layer of cum. I lifted it to his mouth and, when he opened for me, pressed my finger inside.

He closed his lips around and sucked. "Mmm, delicious," he said around my fingertip. "I taste good on your skin."

He sucked for a while longer before pulling his mouth back with a wet pop. "This just cements what I already knew. We belong together."

I was starting to think that too. I couldn't deny my attraction to him and Reuben, and my curiosity about Damon, but it went deeper than that. They seemed to understand me in a way no one else had before. They let me be me and take my time to settle back into life outside the cage. No coercion, no pressure, no judgement.

All of those were reasons I wasn't ready to see my family yet. Dane in particular would judge me for being here and probably try to manipulate the situation to benefit him in some way. He'd encourage my relationship with Reuben, but only because he'd hope to gain power for himself from it. He was always the most ambitious in our family. The one most likely to throw the rest of us under a bus if it helped him in some way.

I placed enough pressure on myself to put the past behind me without having someone like him making things more difficult.

"Those look like some deep thoughts," Gianni said. He'd pulled up his pants and fastened them, and was now looking at me like he wasn't sure if he should offer to get me off or not. He clearly wanted to, but would let me take the lead in that too.

"I was just thinking about my family," I said. Before he could respond, I stood on my toes and brushed my lips over his. He tasted of coffee and cum, with a touch of salt. A delicious combination.

He placed a hand on my upper arm and deepened the kiss in a way that let me pull away when I was ready. When his tongue pressed against my lips, I opened them to let him slide inside. Tentatively, I slid my tongue against his.

My body throbbing, I eventually drew back. "I've never been kissed like that before."

He smiled. "Neither have I. Your mouth is even more perfect than your hand."

I laughed softly. I wanted him to touch me more, but not yet. The huge steps I'd already taken were enough for now.

"We should get back to practising," I said. "You might be able to concentrate now."

He chuckled. "With you next to me, never."