Page 56 of Liberated By Sin
Let go.
I bit into his shoulder, muffling the cry hanging on my lips as I came. But there was still a part of me holding back, and maybe there always would be. I hadn’t realized when the music had died down or how tightly I gripped his shirt until I felt droplets rolling down the back of my fists. Tears dripped from my lashes as I blinked, and I stifled the shudder rippling through my chest.
“Amara, the key is in my breast pocket.”
A softer, more level tone replaced the tension in his voice from merely minutes ago. But I couldn’t let him see me this way, weak and vulnerable. If I ran, I’d have time to escape before Blaise could free him.
I shifted my weight, ready to bolt. “Amara, don’t you dare run. Let me out of these cuffs.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Please.”
24
I squeezedthe slim key between my fingers, contemplating whether to take off or do as he said. But when he feathered his lips along my hairline, I slipped to the floor, compelled to give him something in return, and knelt in front of his cuffed hands. With a deep huff of air, I freed him. Even if my intentions remained the same, running before facing reality, Santino didn’t give me a chance to so much as finish the thought before he tugged me back onto his lap.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not.”
He swiped his thumb over an errant tear and smiled. “Okay, but either way, I need to know we’re good.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know how this works. What happens in these rooms stays here.”
He cracked another smile.
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t really know how else to spell it out for you. I paid a man off, double what he was offering, and cuffedmyself to a fucking chair for you, Amara,” he admitted with a chuckle, hands framing either side of my face. “I want you. I want this. You and me. I want a chance.”
His words stole my breath, and fresh tears dripped down my cheeks.
“Stop.” I found his eyes and was momentarily mesmerized by the glimmer of red lights reflected in his irises. “I can’t give you what you’re asking for.”
“And what is it you think I want,preziosa?”
My gaze dropped from his. “The parts of me that died a long time ago. I have nothing left for you…for anyone.”
Goosebumps danced over my skin when he moved my hair back and softly kissed my shoulder.
“You’re right. You have nothing for anyone else because I already told you that I’m a selfish bastard, and I don’t want just pieces of you, Amara. I want it all.”
Reminding myself how to breathe, I shook my head. He would bolt out of the room if he knew what I’d seen and the things I’d been subjected to. How broken I truly was on the inside.
“If you knew…”
“There isn’t a single damn thing you can say that would make me walk out that door the same way I walked in…without you.” Santino slid the black silk from my wrist and turned my hand over. “This doesn’t evoke fear. It fills me with rage.”
“Me too,” I whispered, following his movements as he caressed the jagged edges of my scars.
“Let me take you out.” Santino tipped my chin, and as silly as it was, I bit the corner of my lip at the gesture.
“A date?”
“How about the marina? Tomorrow night?”
“I work.”
“It’s a good thing I own this place.”
A smile threatened to break, but it hit me then what I’d done—dry humped my boss and came on his lap.
“Shit.”