“I’ll be back, kitten. We are not done yet,” I whispered harshly, then wrapped my hand in her hair, twisting it around my fingers and pulled her head backward.
Without warning, I crashed my lips to hers. The kiss was hard, fast, and bruising, meant to let her know that she belonged to me. Only me.
Ayla let out a gasp when I licked the seams of her lips. I bit, sucked, kissed, until I was satisfied that she understood.
Leaning away, I stared at her flushed face. She was red and out of breath. It made me want to laugh. I didn’t even kiss her properly and she was already reacting this way.
Ayla brought a hand to her swollen lips and touched it gently. I saw her wince as she stared at me with innocent eyes.
Ah, kitten. So innocent.
Giving her a final heated glance, I turned around and walked out of the bedroom, leaving her alone to her thoughts.
I closed the door behind me with a bang and walked straight to my office in the left wing. When I got there, the door was already open. Viktor, Nikolay, Phoenix, and Artur were already there.
Frustration was evident in their expressions. Walking straight in, I growled, “What is it?”
I sat down behind my desk, crossing my arms at my chest as I leaned back. Phoenix closed the door before facing me.
“We found out that someone is spying,” Viktor started, his voice rough with anger.
“What?” I yelled. Quickly getting up to my feet, I pushed the chair back.
“Yeah. For the fucking Abandonato. The bastards knew where we were going to open the next club. They got there first and Alberto said that we should have better control on who we trust.” Phoenix’s voice came out in a hiss as he tried hard to control his own irritation.
My body shook with fury and my hands tightened into fists until my knuckles hurt from the pressure.
Grabbing my chair, I threw it across the room. Nikolay had to jump out of the way so it didn’t crash into him.
“Who the fuck is it?” I roared.
My hands were itching. I wanted to spill blood, and my eyes twitched as I tried to regain control. Whoever betrayed me would have a slow torturous death. I wouldn’t spare him any mercy.
“Find out who he is!”
None of them moved.
I saw Viktor swallowing nervously and Nikolay staring at him.
When he didn’t say anything, Nikolay sent him a glare and then turned toward me, quickly schooling his features again.
“We think it’s Ayla,” he said.
Chapter 10
Ayla
Alessio left me standing in a state of shock and walked out of my room without sparing me another glance.
What was that?
My fingers were still touching my swollen, tingling lips. They felt raw. I had never been kissed like that.
Oh, I had most definitely been kissed by Alberto, but with Alessio, it was different. Even though the kiss was possessive and hard, it felt gentle. He didn’t kiss me like he wanted to hurt me. Alessio kissed me like he wanted me to feel him, like he wanted me to enjoy it. It was sexy and it made me feel out of control.
I was out of breath and I couldn’t understand why. Why didn’t I find it repulsive?
I glanced around my room, breathless. I tried to find something, anything, that would ground me and help me understand what was going on. My mind felt rushed and my body tingled from his touch.
The affect he had on me was dangerous. I could easily lose myself in him. I couldn’t think straight around him.
He was captivating and demanding.
Ruthless, yet gentle.
Alessio was a dangerous man but when he touched me, my body responded without fear.
Fear was a constant emotion living inside of me. Slowly, I had started to feel nothing but fear. But with Alessio, his touch rid me of that fear. He made me forget why I should be scared.
Slowly, I sank down to my bottom and pulled my knees to my chest, folding my arms over them in a protective manner. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath.
No matter how hard I tried to avoid him, he would always find me. I couldn’t deny him and I couldn’t stop him. If he kept playing me like he was, I would slowly lose myself until I had nothing left. Opening my eyes, I shook my head.
No. I couldn’t let this happen.
I stood up and quickly put on a black shirt and the blue jeans that Lena had bought for me. Looking around my room, I felt a pang of sadness. I thought about Lena and felt hot tears prick my eyes. I would miss her. She was the little light in my dark world. And Maddie. But I had no other choice. It was time to move on. I couldn’t stay in the estate any longer. I wasn’t as safe as I had thought.
Alessio was the new danger. His touch, his voice, his controlling stare.
Before he could break whatever was left inside of me, I had to save myself.
***
Alessio
“What?” I growled at Nikolay’s statement.
Viktor nodded and took a step forward. “It makes sense. Ayla is an outsider. Don’t you think it’s a big coincidence that as soon as she settled in, the Italians started to get information about us?”
Viktor seemed a little conflicted and then shook his head, his expression turning hard again. “We can’t find anything about her. We have no idea who she is.”
For a second, I wanted to scream in denial. I didn’t want to believe that Ayla could be a spy, but when Viktor’s words started to penetrate my mind, it made sense.
He was right. We knew nothing about Ayla, and it was too much of a coincidence that she found me and decided to hide in my car. And then a few days later, the fucking Italians were getting information about my plans.
“Fuck!” I screamed as I punched the desk. Raking my aching hand through my hair, I gripped it tightly as rage pulsed through my body. “That bitch!”
Phoenix cleared his throat and I saw him shrug. “It’s hard to believe. I mean she looks so innocent, but sometimes the most innocent can be vicious. It’s usually the shy one who is the viper.”
“They just hide it well,” Nikolay added. All four of my men looked forlorn, as if they couldn’t believe Ayla could be the spy.
I turned around, giving them my back. Staring outside through my large windows, I let my thoughts wander. I didn’t want to believe it either, but if she was a possible suspect, I couldn’t overlook it.
As silence fell upon the room, my anger started to diminish, but my tense muscles refused to relax. The little kitten had successfully wrapped me around her finger. I thought I was the master, but clearly she had been playing me.
Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I blew out a frustrated breath and took it out.
“What the fuck do you want?” I snapped into the phone.
“Boss, Ayla is escaping through her window.”
My eyes widened and the anger was back, full force.
“Get on her,” I ordered harshly before hanging up and facing my men. “Ayla is escaping,” I told them through gritted teeth. They swore simultaneously. “I want you to go after her,” I told Viktor.