60

"Tell me you are not going to do something stupid," I said, my heart twisting painfully in my chest as I looked up at him. "Please, Ryker."

I didn’t even know what I was pleading for. I couldn't wrap my mind around why I was even concerned about him. By all rights, I should hate him with every fiber of my being. He was a tyrant, a criminal, a man who had dragged me into his violent reality and forced me to bend to his will. But as I stood there in the quiet room, my eyes frantically searching his face, a sudden, shocking realization hit me like a physical blow.

I loved this man.

I loved this absolute brute of a man who had brought nothing but chaotic pain into my life. The realization made me stagger back on my feet, the air rushing out of my lungs.

"Tell me!" I shouted, using anger as a mask to hide the terrifying truth that had just taken root in my soul.

"I’m not doing anything stupid. I will only send a warning message," Ryker sighed, stepping forward and pulling me into a tight, possessive hug. What he omitted, what he kept hidden behind his smooth, reassuring tone, was the nature of that warning. He wasn’t going to write a letter or make a threat. He was going to send the lifeless body of Bellanti’s only son straight to his front gate. It wasn't a warning at all; it was an open, ruthless declaration of all-out war.

Unaware of the slaughter he was setting into motion, I leaned into his chest and nodded softly. "Just don’t do anything stupid."

"I won't," Ryker promised, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. For him, waging a bloody war wasn’t stupid. It was an act of dominance. It was a signal to every syndicate in the underworld that Ryker Lance was king, and that he didn't take an attack lying down, especially when the threat targeted his wife.

"Okay. Now rest," I huffed, trying to push away from his chest to force him onto the bed. "You are not allowed to leave this room for at least a week."

He tightened his arms around me, keeping me flushed against his body, and smirked down at me. "As long as you keep riding me like a good girl, forget about a week, I won’t ever take a single step out of this room."

"You!" My face instantly turned bright red with fury. I brought my hand down and slapped his chest, using the moment to yank myself free from his forced hug.

"Ouch! Easy, babygirl," he winced, clutching the right side of his chest with a dramatic groan.

"I didn’t even touch that side!" I gasped, my eyes widening as I took in his pained expression.

"Well, this side of my chest happens to be connected to the other side, and it hurts like hell," he rasped, his voice sounding so genuinely hurt that my gullible heart took the bait. Knitting my brows together in deep guilt, I reached out and gently touched the uninjured side of his chest. "I'm sorry..." I completely missed the wicked smirk that flashed across Ryker's face as his hand shot out and clamped around my wrist. Before I could process what was happening, he pulled my hand down and placed it directly over his hard, prominent bulge through his trousers.

"It hurts down here as well," he rasped, his eyes darkening instantly. Alarmed, I gasped and tried to yank my hand back, but his grip was like iron. His gaze had already turned entirely predatory, gleaming with an insatiable hunger that meant only one thing.

"I... I'll go bring you some food!" I threw out frantically, looking for any excuse to escape the room before he could trap me again.

I knew if I stayed, I would end up seduced by this insatiable demon all over again. But my luck, as always, wasn't on my side. I hadn't even taken half a step toward the door before he launched his attack, catching me around the waist and pulling me onto the mattress beneath him.

And, just as I feared, I gave in within an instant.

I got devoured over and over again through the night. The hours blurred into a haze of heavy panting, slick skin, and desperate touches. We didn't stop until the first light of dawn broke through the curtains, and Ryker finally collapsed beside me from sheer physical exhaustion and blood loss.

As I sat up in the disheveled bed, looking at his bloody gauze, tears welled in my eyes and I began to quietly sniffle. His stitches had come apart midway through the night. I had begged him to stop, begged him to let me call Knox to fix the wound, but he had refused. Instead, he had manipulated my guilt, convincing me to let him make love to me until morning so he could sleep peacefully through the day without worrying that someone would come into the room to hurt me while he was defenseless.

Wiping my tears, I threw on a robe and called Knox immediately.

When Knox opened the door and stepped inside, his nose instantly scrunched up at the thick, lingering scent in the air. He looked at the discarded sheets and then at Knox’s bloodied chest.

"Is he pushing for an heir because he knows he won’t survive long at this rate?" Knox commented dryly, pulling a fresh roll of medical bandages and a sterile kit out of his bag.

I glared at him from the bed, pulling the sheets higher to cover myself completely. "For a family doctor, you sure have a big mouth on you."

Knox’s eyes shot up at my snappy response, a small, amused quirk touching his lips. "Oh, you’re new here, so you don’t know. I’m his brother."

I blinked, completely caught off guard. "What?"

"I was born sick and weak," Knox explained casually, setting his tray down and unwrapping the blood-soaked bandage from Ryker's side. "My mother’s family were all doctors, so they took me with them to recover. But a few months later, my mother passed away. My mother's side decided to keep me far away from the mafia life. I grew up with them, blissfully unaware of this world, until the truth couldn't be hidden anymore."

He cleaned the wound with precise, surgical movements while I listened, completely dumbfounded.

"One night, Ryker showed up on my doorstep, covered in blood," Knox continued, his tone turning reflective. "I patched him up, not even knowing he was my brother. When I finally found out who he was, I decided to pack my bags and follow him back to his world. You can say our blood was so thick that I abandoned a peaceful life to join him here."

He carefully checked the incision before applying the new dressing. "Thankfully, the main internal stitches aren't undone. He just tore the superficial skin."

Knox finished bandaging his brother, taped the gauze neatly, and turned around to face me. "You guys really need to take it easy while he’s recovering. I know how he is, and convincing him not to fuck you is going to take a miracle. But there are plenty of other ways you can satisfy him without tearing his chest open again." He packed his bag and gave me a blatant look. "Heck, just give him a good blowjob and take his soul away that way."

Without waiting for a response, Knox turned on his heel and walked out, leaving me frozen in place.

As the door clicked shut, his parting words echoed endlessly in my head. A blowjob? The curious side of me couldn't help it. I reached for my phone on the nightstand, opened the browser, and started researching what the word actually entailed. My cheeks burned beet red as video after video popped up in the search results. Even though I was completely mortified by the explicit thumbnail images, my fingers hesitated for only a second before I clicked them open. I watched, my heart hammering against my ribs, learning details I had never even imagined.

By the time the screen went dark, my throat felt strangely parched, and a weird warmth had settled low in my stomach. Terrified by how my body was reacting just from watching, I tossed my phone aside, pulled the covers over my head, and tried to force myself to sleep.

Sleep, however, was nearly impossible. A short while later, a team of maids arrived to clean the room and change the soiled linens. I let out a long sigh, resigning myself to my fate, and pulled myself out of bed. I needed a quiet place where I could sleep without being disturbed by the house's chaos.

"I’m going to be in Enzo’s room," I told the head maid softly. "Please don’t disturb us."

"Yes, Donna," she replied with a polite bow.

I walked down the hall to Enzo’s room, pushing the heavy door open quietly. The young boy was fast asleep in his oversized bed. I carefully slipped under the covers on the empty side, feeling the warmth of the room wash over me, and passed out almost immediately.

I was so utterly drained that I couldn't open my eyes for the rest of the day. As night fell, I faintly felt Enzo tugging on my arm, trying to wake me up for dinner, but my eyelids felt like lead.

It wasn't until the morning of the next day that I finally woke up. The soft morning light was filtering through the blinds, casting long shadows across the floor. As my vision cleared, I saw a sweaty, tired Enzo sitting on the edge of the bed right beside Ryker, listening intently to whatever low instructions he was giving him.

~.~

A/N - Guys, I'm sorry, it took me this long to update the next chapter! I will update this book often from now on.