6. Marco

Chapter 6

Marco

F uck, she's beautiful.

I can't stop looking at her. The short crop top is pink, a few shades darker than her skin, and scoops down low. She's not wearing a bra, and her nipples are hard and pointed, beautiful little peaks. Her breasts look firm and small, exactly the way I like them. I stare at the line of her throat, at her pouty lips, at her beautiful eyes, at her wavy brown hair hanging around her shoulders. Gold hoops dangle from her ears. A black skirt hugs her hips and muscular, shapely legs.

Fucking hell.

I should hate this girl. She's a goddamn Bianco.

Instead, I'm hard just looking at her, and it's killing me.

"Do you want to play?" I ask, wishing she'll say no, and not sure if I could handle it if she did.

"What's the game?" she asks and comes away from the emergency door. "And how did you get up here? Are you a member?"

I shake my head. "Not a member."

"Security's tight."

"Not that tight." I tilt my head, trying not to smile. She's interrogating me—which means she wants to figure out my secret.

No fucking way I'm going to let her know who I am.

I'm not sure she'd recognize me, but her family sure as hell would.

I was too high up in Santoro's organization. Her brothers did their best to hunt me down and end me when Luciano was killed, but I survived their fucking purge, and now here I am.

Thinking about how I'll defile their sister.

No, thinking about how I'll play with her, tease her, fuck her, make her moan and whisper my name. Jackal .

This is fucked. Beyond fucked. I'm so far out over the ledge right now and there's nobody holding me down and keeping me from falling.

"You do realize that I'm going to check the camera footage, right?" She's not smiling. Her head is tilted to the side, studying me. She comes closer, and her gaze moves down my body. Good, I like that. Her eyes widen a bit when she spots the blanket I'm standing on.

And the black silk blindfold.

"Won't matter. The cameras aren't working." I stay very still. I get the sense she's debating whether she wants to run away or not, and I don't want to spook her. My little demon . My enemy.

"You shut them down?" Her eyebrows raise and she looks impressed. "You must be pretty good."

"Do you want to play, Laura?" She goes very still. I can tell she didn't like hearing her own name. I laugh softly at her reaction. "You're not wearing a mask anymore, little demon. I know who you are."

"I know that." Her cheeks flush and she crosses her arms over her chest. "This is stupid. You could be anyone behind that mask."

"Isn't it better if you don't know?" Yes, it's so much better . I like that I can be anyone, or I can be myself, and it doesn't matter. I'm anonymous, I'm hidden. For right now, I'm the Jackal.

And based on her expression, she agrees. "You know my family then. You realize this is stupid, right?"

I gesture at the blindfold. "If you want to play, come pick it up."

She doesn't move. Her eyes stare at the strip of silk at my feet then back up to my mask and down again, clearly warring with herself. I need her to walk over, bend down, and take the silk into her hands so fucking badly it's like every cell in my body will break down if she doesn't do it. This anticipation is driving me wild.

"Two rules," she says. "First rule. You won't let me get hurt, no matter what. And second rule. The game stops if I say the word ‘artist.' Do you understand?"

"I understand. But there might come a time when you want me to hurt you."

She licks her lips. Her plump, beautiful lips. I want to devour them—but not yet. "Maybe. We'll deal with that if we get there."

I nod slowly. "Okay. I agree to your terms. Now, come pick up the blindfold."

She takes a hesitant step forward. She's so tentative, so nervous, but also made of steel. Her walls are fifty feet high and miles thick, and I'm not sure I'll ever get past them, not fully. But this game, and the games that might come after, are all about chiseling through her wards and her gates and her moats, and getting deep into her core. Metaphorically, of course.

"What are you going to do?" she asks.

"Blindfold, little demon."

She's not used to taking orders, and after a little more hesitation, she lets out a frustrated grunt and throws herself forward. She bends down right in front of me and snatches the silk fabric off the blanket and stands up straight, barely a few inches away.

"Now what?"

"Put it on. Make it tight."

She glares at me for only a second this time before she obeys. Good girl . She's starting to understand how the game goes. She ties it on, and I step forward, one hand on her lower back. Her body reacts instantly, but instead of going hard and sharp, there's a softness to her skin.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Making sure you can't see." I test the knot and tug at the edges. "Very good, little demon."

"I'm not afraid," she blurts out, and I believe her. Coming from anyone else, that would be an obvious lie. But this girl's chin is up in the air, and her body language screams defiance.

"Good. I don't want you to be. I want you to trust me like you did the other night. Can you do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I'll try." She shifts slightly in my grip and pushes herself back. She staggers, but she doesn't fall over, and her hands push out into the air to steady her balance.

"The game's simple." I move to the side and her head follows my voice. "You're going to start walking. You're going to keep walking, listening to my orders, until you reach the edge of the roof. When I tell you to stop, you'll stop. If you don't, you will walk off the edge, and you will die. If you can obey, and you can trust, then you'll win."

"What happens if I don't?" she asks, head tilted, hands waving slowly through the air.

"Then this will be the last time we ever see each other." I move closer, voice lowering. My body's trembling with anticipation. Her chest heaves up and down as she takes deep breaths, and I can't help but stare at her breasts. I'm tempted to run my hands up over her chest and tease her nipples with my thumbs until she moans. But that would be going too far, too fast.

"That's not much of a threat."

"It's not a threat, little demon. It's a promise. If you want to play with me, I need to be sure you're up for the game. Can you handle it?"

Her jaw works. I can tell she's frustrated. This isn't as fun as dangling out over empty air and enjoying a beautiful view, though I plan on rewarding her in the end.

This is terrifying. She knows that if I let her, she'd fall to her death, and she'd never see it coming. I own her, so long as she does what I say, and she keeps the blindfold on, she's all mine.

But there's got to be a voice in the back of her head saying, I can stop this at any time. Lift up the silk. Say the safe word. There's a way back from the cliff, if she wants to use it.

Except if she does, I'm gone.

This is dangerous enough as it is. Coming here was a terrible idea. It took a lot of skill and effort to disable Cage's security cameras, and even more to create a working fake pass inside. I had to show the girl up front the mask—but that didn't make her bat an eye. Cage is a sex club too, and that means she must see all sorts of kink paraphernalia. What's one more mask? Still, if Laura's smart, and she most definitely is, she'll end up asking around about a man with a jackal mask, and she'll inevitably get my description from the front desk girl.

Not a name. Nothing to really identify me. But she'll know what I look like, and that plus whatever else she can figure out while we're together, I think she'll be able to identify me.

But I hope she doesn't.

"I can handle it," she says.

Good fucking girl.

I have to stifle a groan as I get close to her, put a hand on her lower back, and gently turn her around. "Start walking nice and slow," I say, the edge of my mask against her ear, the closest my lips have been to her skin so far.

She begins to move. One step, another, hesitantly and slow. The roof beneath us is solid but soft, and it flexes slightly as she moves toward the edge. We have fifty feet or so, but she doesn't know that.

I move my hand away from her, and now she's walking without any support at all, her hands in the air ahead of her.

"When you came here, what did you want from me?" I ask as she keeps going.

"I don't know. I'm definitely not sure I'm getting it now."

I smile to myself. "But you showed up even though I know who you are. Does that make you nervous?"

"It makes me think I'm an insane person."

"Are you an insane person, Laura?"

She hesitates and her steps falter. I reach toward her, but stop short of touching her as she regains her balance. "No, I'm not."

"I don't think you are." She starts walking again. I stay close to her, watching every inch of her body, from her muscular thighs to her strong arms. She's got the body of a woman that works on herself, but she doesn't strike me as the gym type. Though making all those massive stone sculptures must take a lot of physical strength, and I'm betting she's in shape because of that.

"You know I'm going to figure out who you are, right?" She sounds a little smug, but I think that's a mask for her anxiety.

"Maybe, but I don't think you want to know. Not yet, anyway. It's more fun to play with a complete stranger. You don't have to worry about anything but what's happening here and now."

"I guess this isn't fun for you then."

I smile to myself. God, if she only knew how fucking fun this was. " Stop walking ," I command, and she comes to an abrupt halt two steps from some ductwork. "Very good. I'm impressed."

"It's kind of life or death for me," she says, sounding casual, but I hear the tremble in her voice.

I step close. I put one hand on the small of her back and take her right hand in mine. "There's ductwork ahead. It's about a foot off the ground. Take one step—good—now lift your foot high and step forward." I help her climb up and lift her back to the roof. "Very good."

I stay close for a moment. Her heart's racing and I can feel her pulse in her wrist. I dig my fingers into her left hip, and I decide to do something stupid.

I lift my mask up, enough to expose my face, and lean toward her.

"What are we—" she starts, and her voice cuts off when my mouth brushes against her neck.

"Almost there," I whisper, and gently kiss the edge of her jawline.

She releases the most incredible whimper I've ever heard in my life. "Your mask is off, isn't it?"

"Yes," I say, and now my pulse accelerates.

"If I take off my blindfold, I'll see you."

"Yes, you will. And you'll also ruin the game." I kiss her neck again. "Do you want to stop playing with me, little demon?"

She's trembling in my arms and breathing fast. Another whimper escapes her mouth as I kiss close to her lips, and fuck, I want to bury my tongue between her teeth. I want to taste her, drink her in. I've never felt this way before and I'm barely keeping control of myself.

"I want to keep playing," she says. "But I want you to do that again."

"Do what?" I ask, fighting back a moan.

"Kiss me. Just one more time."

I give her what she wants, because she's been so fucking good.

Without warning, her free hand whips out. I'm too surprised to pull back in time, and her fingers bury in my thick, dark hair, nearly knocking the jackal mask clear off my head. She pulls and holds tightly, our faces inches away from each other, the blindfold still firmly in place.

"You better not be fucking with me," she says as I stare into the blankness of the dark silk. Her head tilts and her lips curl into a smile.

I laugh. I can't help it. She's got my hair, the clever girl. I release her hand and reach up to her throat, gently wrapping my hand around her windpipe. I don't squeeze, but I leave it there.

"Let go, little demon," I whisper. My mouth is less than an inch from hers, and her lips are pink and pouty. Her tongue licks them slowly, and I feel her carotid artery squeezing with excitement.

We stay like that. Her fingers in my hair, and my hand on her throat. Neither of us moves, and I can tell she doesn't want to give in, but that's what this game is all about. She's not used to relinquishing control, and I'm not used to fighting this hard to take it. But slowly, her fingers unclench, and I drop my hand from her neck before pushing my mask back into place.

"I should've pulled harder," she mutters, smiling again.

"And I should've kissed you." I back away, out of reach. "Start walking again."

Her cheeks flush as she begins moving forward. I follow in silence, ignoring her when she asks for more directions, and let her stew in the anxiety for a few more feet. She inches forward, testing the space with one foot before putting her weight on it, like she's waiting for the edge.

"Faster," I order, darting in close to say it against her ear.

"How far?" she asks.

But I don't reply, and she starts shuffling quicker with a frustrated growl. Twenty feet, fifteen feet. She's getting very nervous, and I can't blame her. Ten feet, and I bet she can almost feel the drop coming. A little voice wonders what would happen if I let Laura Bianco drop to her death. I'd never be caught, and it would be an enormous blow to my enemies. I can almost see the Famiglia deep in mourning while my allies and I begin stealing their corners and attacking their warehouses. It would be fitting, taking Laura's life, since her father murdered my mentor.

Except when she's two steps away from the edge, I order her to stop.

She listens instantly again. If she hadn't, I'm not sure I would've gotten to her in time. I move up behind her, slowly so that she doesn't get startled, and put my hands on her waist. "I want you to lift the blindfold when I tell you to," I whisper. "Look straight ahead. Don't turn back. Do you understand?"

I press myself against her back. My cock is half-hard, and I'm sure she can feel it. She nods very slowly. "I understand."

"Good." I breathe in her smell, but I don't pull up the mask. I learned my fucking lesson already.

My hands move down her body. One caresses up her thigh, slowly moving up between her legs. She's breathing fast and hard as my other hand slides up the front of her crop top. I release a low groan of approval as my hand finds her small, firm breasts, and her hard, perky nipples. She whimpers again, this time with an animalistic gasp of pleasure as my fingers tease her stiff buds and my palms squeeze and massage her breasts, as my other hand begins to stroke up and down her pussy.

"Is this what you wanted?" she asks, her head tilted back, her body shaking.

"No, baby, this is what you wanted. We both know why you came back."

"Jackal," she gasps as I slowly slide a hand up her skirt.

Her panties are wet. Fuck, they're goddamn soaked. This whole time she's been drenched for me, and all I had to do was command her to walk across the roof and risk her fucking life.

"You like this," I whisper in her ear. I push her panties aside and stroke my fingers up and down her soaking wet pussy lips. She gasps and arches her back. "Oh, little demon, you're soaking fucking wet. You're absolutely messy for me right now. What a bad girl you are. What a dirty fucking girl, letting a strange man touch you like this. You do realize how close you are to the edge?"

"Let me see," she moans.

"Not yet." I stroke her faster. One hand on her breasts. The other on her pussy. I roll my fingers around her clit. "You're mine, little demon. You are all mine right now. Your life is mine and your pussy is dripping down my fingers. Should I get you nice and soaked then make you clean me off?" I release her breasts and grab her hair instead. She gasps in surprise as I pull back, forcing her chin up.

"Yes," she says, her tone husky and filled with passion. "God, don't stop, please."

"You want me to keep going?" I slide my fingers inside her. She moans and spreads her legs for me. I go in and out, stroking her, pull back to tease her clit, then drive them deeper. "I've been watching you, little demon. Ever since I found out who you are. And I think you've been thinking about me too. I think you've been dreaming about getting fucked by a strange man in a mask. Should I fuck you right here on the edge of the roof? Should I fill you up and make you moan?"

"Oh my god," she says, her back arching. She grinds her hips against my leg, her ass stroking along my cock. I'm so fucking hard I could scream, and she knows it. "You're teasing me."

"No, baby. I'm not teasing. I'm getting you close." I move my fingers faster and tighten my grip on her hair. Her hands press against my thighs, grabbing on tight. "I love this messy pussy. I knew you'd be beautiful, but seeing you like this, standing on the edge of the roof, inches away from dying while my fingers fuck you nice and deep, you're even more perfect than I could've imagined. I want you to come for me, baby. That's the end of our game tonight. You'll come, then you'll lick yourself off my fingers, and you'll thank me."

"I'm close," she gasps as I go faster. "I'm so fucking close, Jackal."

"That's right, little demon." I stroke deep with my fingers, palm pressing against her clit. She's right there, moments away from orgasm, and now it's time. "Take off the blindfold."

She reaches up and claws it off her face with one last shuddering gasp. As the city comes into view, she comes on my hand, her body racked with so much pleasure she loses her balance and pitches forward.

My grip on her tightens. For half a second, we're staggering forward, but I jerk my body back and we stumble together onto the roof instead of falling tangled together to our deaths down on the concrete below. I drop to my ass, and she falls on top of me, and she twists around with a flushed face, her eyes filled with bliss, like she's totally unaware of how close we just came to dying.

"That was—" she says.

But I interrupt her by putting my soaked fingers in her mouth.

She gives a surprised noise and stares at me, but slowly, she sucks them. Her tongue swirls around, licking herself off me. Then she gets into it and licks every inch of my hand, making sure there's not a drop of herself left. When she's done, she's on her knees in front of me, looking more gorgeous than I ever dreamed.

I shift position and lean torward her. I cup her cheek and tilt my face, and a part of me wishes I could take off the mask. I want to kiss her, claim her here and now as my own. But when she figures out who I am, I don't think we'll ever do this again.

"Good girl," I say very softly. "I think you won the game." I push off the ground and move away from her.

She slowly gets to her feet. "What now?" she asks. There's an eagerness on her face, and I can tell she's struggling to control it.

"Now you go home and think about what we did tonight."

"Wait," she says, reaching a hand out as I start to walk away. I pause a few feet from the stairwell. "At least tell me your first name."

I shake my head. "Can't do that, little demon. I like when you call me Jackal though."

"You said you were watching me. Was that true?" There's a note of uncertainty.

And it makes me smile. "I'm going to watch you every second of every day from now until our real game's over, Laura Bianco. I don't care who your family is. I don't care how much money you have or where you live. Nothing can keep me from you. Not anymore."

I pull open the door and hurry down the stairs, leaving her there. I pull off my mask, breathing hard as I hurry away, and even though I know I'm in huge trouble, I'm already planning my next move.