CHAPTER TWO

THE VIPER’S MARK

SOFIA POV

I couldn’t move.

My legs are still shaking. His cum is dripping down my thighs. Yet, I stared at the man who could get me killed.

Alessio Volkov adjusts his cuffs like he didn’t just fuck me into heaven. Like he doesn’t know I’ve figured out who he is.

But he does know. I can tell by the way he’s watching me. Waiting.

“You should get going,” he says. Voice calm. Too calm.

I grab my ruined panties off the floor. Try to stand. My knees almost give out.

He catches my elbow. Steadies me.

“Careful, little girl. Wouldn’t want you to fall.”

The nickname makes my stomach flip. Lord have mercy.

 I removed my arm.

“Don’t touch me.”

His smile is slow. Dangerous. “You weren’t saying that five minutes ago.”

Heat floods my face. I hate him. I hate that he’s right.

I moved toward the door. My hand is on the handle when he speaks again.

“Sofia.”

I freeze.

Damn.

He knows my name.

I turn slowly. He’s leaning against the couch, arms crossed, looking at me like I’m a puzzle he just solved.

“How long have you known?” My voice shakes.

“Since the second time you ordered a drink.” He tilts his head. “You have your father’s eyes. And your brother tells you when you lie.”

My heart stops. “There was no second drink. This is our first..”

“No, “Mamacita”. This is our fourth meeting.”

The room spins.

Fourth?

“That’s impossible. I’ve never..”

“Three weeks ago. Different clubs. You wore a red mask. I danced with a man in a gray suit.” His eyes darken. “That was me.”

No. NO, I would have remembered.

“Two weeks ago. Coffee shop on Sunset. You were reading. I sat two tables over.”

Oh God.

“Last week. The gallery opening your cousin dragged you to. I was the buyer who asked about the Monet.”

I remember that. I remember thinking the buyer was attractive. Thinking I wished I could talk to him without Luca’s guard breathing down my neck.

“You’ve been stalking me.”

“I’ve been studying you.” He pushes off the couch. Walk toward me. Each step measured. “Your brother keeps you locked up like Rapunzel. But even princesses need to breathe. I just had to wait for you to run.”

He planned this. All of it.

“The bartender,” I whisper. “He works for you.”

“Everyone here works for me. This is my club, Sofia.”

My back hits the door. He cages me in. One hand beside my head. The other trailing down my bare arm.

“So tonight wasn’t random,” I say. “The mask. The rules. You let me think”

“I'll let you feel free.” His thumb brushes my bottom lip. “And you were. For a few hours. Wasn’t that worth it?”

I should slap him. Scream. Run.

Instead I ask the only question that matters.

“What do you want?”

His smile is all teeth. “You. Obviously.”

“Why?”

“Because your brother took something from me.” He leans closer. Lips brushing my ear. “And I always collect my debts.”

_ _ _ _ 

ALESSIO POV

She’s terrified. Good.

Fear keeps people sharp. Keeps them from doing stupid things like trying to run when there’s nowhere to go.

Sofia Vecchio is even more beautiful up close than in the surveillance photos. Flushed cheeks. Swollen lips. Eyes like whiskey in sunlight.

And she tastes like revenge.

I’ve been planning this for six months. Ever since Luca Vecchio put a bullet in my cousin’s head and dumped him in the harbor. Marco thought I didn’t know. Though he covered his tracks.

But I know everything.

And now I have Luca’s most precious possession trembling against my door, my cum still leaking out of her, my mark on her throat where I sucked too hard.

“Let me go,” she whispers.

“No.”

“My brother will kill you.”

“Your brother doesn’t know you’re gone. Yet.” I check my watch. “But he will in about twenty minutes when Marco does his midnight check.”

Her eyes go wide. “How do you..”

“I told you. I know everything.” I pull out my phone. Show her the screen.

It’s a live feed of her bedroom. Empty bed. Open window.

She makes a small, broken sound.

“I have cameras in every room of that house except Luca’s office,” I say. “I’ve been watching you for months, *piccola*. Watching you touch yourself at night. Watching you cry into your pillow. Watching you plan this pathetic little escape.”

She looks like I just gutted her.

Perfect.

“You’re a monster.”

“Yes.” I slide my phone back into my pocket. “But I’m the monster who’s going to save you.”

“Save me?” She laughs. It sounds hysterical. “You just told me you’ve been spying on me like some sick…”

“Your brother wants to fuck you, Sofia.”

She goes silent.

“He’s obsessed. Has been since you were sixteen. I have footage of him standing outside your shower. Your bedroom. Touching himself while you sleep.”

A tear slides down her cheek.

“Marco knows,” I continue. “He’s tried to stop it. But Luca’s getting worse. Bolder. In six months, maybe less, he’s going to stop waiting and take what he thinks belongs to him.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” I pulled up another video. Her bedroom. Two nights ago. Luca sitting on her bed. Stroking her hair while she pretends to sleep. His other hand down his pants.

She turns away. Covers her mouth.

“So here’s the deal,” I say. “You work for me. You tell me everything about Luca’s operations. His shipments. His meetings. His weaknesses.”

“No.”

“Yes. Because the alternative is I send you back to that house and let nature take its course.”

She’s shaking now. Full body tremors.

“And if I refuse?”

I grip her chin. Force her to look at me.

“Then I’ll make sure Luca knows exactly where you were tonight. Who you were with. What you let me do to you.” I lean in. “How many times you came screaming ‘Daddy’ while I ate your pussy. How you begged me to fuck you. How tight you were when I filled you up.”

Her breathing is ragged.

“He’ll kill you,” she whispers.

“Maybe. But first he’ll punish you. And we both know how creative Luca gets when he’s angry.”

Checkmate.

She knows I’m right. I can see it in her eyes. The moment she realizes she has no choice.

No freedom.

No escape.

Just a different cage with a different monster.

“What do you want first?” Her voice is flat. Dead.

“A kiss.”

She blinks. “What?”

“Kiss me like you mean it. Like you’re mine.”

“I just…we already..”

“That was fucking. This is different.” I thumb her bottom lip. “This is you choosing me.”

“I’m not choosing anything. You’re blackmailing me.”

I smile. “Kiss me, Sofia. Or I'll make the call.”

For a long moment, she just stares at me. Hatred burning in those pretty eyes.

Then she rises on her toes and presses her lips to mine.

It’s soft. Almost sweet.

I fist her hair and deepen it. Take control. Bite her bottom lip until she gasps. Swallow her moan.

When I finally pull back, we’re both breathing hard.

“Good girl,” I murmur.

She looks like she wants to stab me.

I pull out a burner phone. Hand it to her.

“This is your new lifeline. I text. You answer. Always.”

She takes it like it’s a snake.

“Now go. Back through the tunnel. Climb into bed. Pretend tonight never happened.”

She turns to leave.

“Oh, and Sofia?”

She looks back.

“Don’t shower. I want you to smell like me when you crawl back into that virginal white bed. I want you to remember who you belong to now.”

She opens the door. Steps into the hallway.

“One more thing.”

She doesn’t turn around this time.

“Tomorrow night. Nine PM. There’s a warehouse on Fifth and Main. Come alone.”

“And if I don’t?”

I smile at her back.

“Then everyone you love dies. Starting with your sweet cousin Gianna.”

She goes rigid.

“How do you know about..”

“I know everything,” I repeat. “And Sofia? If you tell anyone about tonight, about me, about this arrangement…” I pause. Let the weight of it sink in. “I’ll make sure Luca gets a very detailed video of you riding my cock. With your face fully visible.”

She runs.

I watch her disappear into the crowd. Then I pull out my phone and dial.

“Nikolai. She’s heading back. Make sure she gets there safely.”

“And after?”

“After, we prepare. Luca Vecchio is about to lose everything.” I light a cigar. Blow smoke toward the ceiling. “And he doesn’t even know it yet.”

I ended the call.

Pour myself a drink.

My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number.

Unknown: I hate you.

I smile.

Me: See you tomorrow night, piccola. Wear something easy to take off.

Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.

Unknown: Go to hell.

Me: Already there. You’re just joining me.

I down my whiskey.

Phase one complete.

Now the real fun begins.