Cruel Love Read online

  “I love you,” she says again. “Dante...”

  I kiss her, crushing my mouth on hers to make myself forget. She parts her lips for an even deeper kiss as my hands glide down her back to grip her rear. I cling to her, lifting her little body up and turning around to pin her against the closed door. Her ankles link behind me, bringing us closer together as she slides a hand between us and opens my zipper.

  “Lucy,” I sigh, nearly begging.

  “Don’t stop, Dante,” she whimpers, shaking in my arms.

  I don’t want to stop. I need her. I need to immerse myself in her. I need to remember how it feels to be the man behind the killer and to see the world with bright, vivid colors. Colors I’d long forgotten about until the night I first had her in my bed. I taste sweet beauty on my tongue. I sense pure, blissful pain from head-to-toe. Lucy. My Lucy Vaughn.

  Why would I ever stop loving you?

  Lucy strokes me in her palm and I yield to the blood pulsing through me to satisfy her. I look into her eyes, taking quick, steady breaths until my tip is throbbing for release. I hold her up as she slides her panties to the side and eases my tip between her folds. My mouth sags, pleasure instantly building in me as she lets go and I thrust as deep as I can.

  She cups my face, holding my gaze while she submits, taking my cock over and over again. We let go of the last few hours and those to come. We forget about the flights across the world and airport abduction. We ignore the fear inside telling us all the ways this night could go wrong. We lose ourselves in each other, bodies and souls entwined, if only for a few, tender moments.

  Her tightness quivers around me, so wet and warm. My heart pounds harder with each buck of my hips. She touches my arms and chest and face, clinging to me as I cling to her. I kiss her, breathing her in as a moan vibrates the back of her throat but I need more.

  I hold her against me and spin toward the bed. Lucy wraps her arms around my neck, her lips barely leaving mine as I carry her across the room. I drop her onto the large bed, enjoying the smile she gives me as her little body bounces into place. I ease down to my knees, reaching up her toned legs to hook the black panties hidden beneath her red dress.

  She sighs, biting her lip in hesitation as her eyes shift toward the unlocked door.

  I ignore it, sliding her panties down to her twitching ankles as my tongue salivates for her. She spreads her knees and shifts a little closer to the edge of the bed, presenting her perfect, pink folds to me. I brush my lips along her inner thigh, watching the subtle reaction her body gives on its own. Her tummy trembles in anticipation. Her thighs quiver against my cheeks.

  I glide my tongue along the outer edge of her lips. She holds her breath, digging her nails into the soft bedspread beneath her while I give her a second lick along the other edge. Her moisture covers my tongue and I swallow her sweet taste before burrowing in for another shot of her.

  Lucy slaps her hand over her mouth to silence her moans. I don’t give a good goddamn who might hear us, and I never have. Lucy Vaughn is my woman. My everything. It doesn’t bother me one bit if some random person hears me giving her the pleasure she deserves.

  I plunge my tongue deep inside and she arches her back off the mattress. I lay a strong hand on her belly to hold her in place and she exhales a trembling breath. I roll my wet tongue along her throbbing clit, forcing pleasure to move throughout her entire body. She bites into her knuckles to keep from screaming but I still want to hear it.

  “Lucy,” I growl, her juices coating my lips. “Say my name and I’ll be yours.”

  She laughs, recalling the promises made during our first few nights together. Was it really only months ago I walked into her father’s office and saw her photograph on his shelf? I saw as much passion and grace in her pose then as I do here now, sprawled out on the edge of climax with my name on her tongue.

  “Dante,” she says, her voice breathy and tortured.

  I hold her clit between my lips and give it a firm suck, knowing exactly what it’ll do to her so close to coming. Her jaw drops in a silent scream while the rest of her body locks with tension just waiting for my permission to snap.

  I release the bud from my smiling lips, but I don’t stop. I lave her with my tongue, firmly massaging the spot I know sends her over. Just a few more seconds of this and I’ll have her saying my name all over again.

  Lucy twitches. “Dante...”

  I happily watch as her face contorts and her entire body spasms. I keep my tongue on her, refusing to let up through the assault of moans falling from her sweet, red lips.

  “Oh, fuck. Shit-fuck-a-duck!”

  I laugh at her dirty, city-girl mouth while I kiss her thighs and lick her taste off my lips. She sits up as I rise off the floor. I don’t say a word as she pulls my pants down over my ass to free with still-throbbing cock now begging for release.

  Lucy opens her mouth to me and guides my cock between her lips, returning the pleasure I gave to her. She takes me in slowly, teasing inch-by-inch until I reach the back of her throat. I flex, my entire body tensing with greed as she begins bobbing her head on me.

  “Lucy,” I groan, wrapping her hair in my fist.

  I close my eyes, immersed in her powerful, warm mouth. Her hands crawl up my chest, nails gently clawing along my skin. I enjoy the bit of pain with my pleasure. She reaches behind me and scratches down my back, coming to a stop on my ass. She pauses the bob of her head to look up at me with those little eyes, her red lips wrapped around the head of my dick. Her palms knead my rear, coaxing me to fuck her face, just as she’s let me do dozens of times before.

  I rest my hands on the back of her neck, gently holding her in place as I begin sliding in and out of her mouth. She widens her jaw and laps at me with her tongue, tending to my needs as the visual itself pushes me closer to the edge. Her moans blend with my own as she takes me all the way down to the base. I don’t push it farther than that. I know my lover’s limit as well as my own.

  Lucy lays an open palm on my chest. The other she places on my inner thigh, giving me a gentle, teasing massage along the way to my balls. I laugh through gritted teeth, quickening my thrust while she tickles my sac.

  I let out one last grunt before stopping on the brink of release. She opens her eyes and looks up at me while she slowly works my tip with her raw lips. Her tongue circles my glans, pushing the last button I need to come all over her tongue. She hums softly, taking every drop of me and swallowing it down.

  “Good girl,” I tell her, pushing a few locks of hair out of her eyes.

  Lucy slides me out of her mouth and takes a few deep breaths.

  A knock strikes the door behind us.

  “Hey, Dante?” It’s Fox. “You two ready to go?”

  I don’t answer. I take another moment to admire my woman instead.

  Lucy Vaughn. It was her delicate grace that first attracted me to her but it was her tough braveness that locked me in for good. The bastards beat her down before and she got right back up. She’ll do it again.

  “Yes,” she answers for us. “We’re ready.”

  Chapter 30

  Lucy

  The thumping bass wanders up my ankles more and more with each step I take toward the club. I already feel the eyes of strangers casually taking me from head-to-toe as they stand on the street outside. I want to snap at them, tell them to shove their eyes up their asses, but I’m not on the familiar streets of Chicago right now.

  I’m in fucking Moscow.

  By myself, I might add, wearing nothing but a skimpy red dress and come-fuck-me boots.

  Great idea, Lucy.

  But I keep my head up as I tread along the sidewalk, relying on the dark eye make-up to mask the nervous jitters. It helps knowing that there’s a military-trained sniper watching my every move from a rooftop up above… somewhere…

  The doorman raises a hand as I approach the door. I come to a stop in front of him and his eyes turn down, targeting my chest. The low-cut dress exposes most of my ches
t, including a bit of where my cobra tattoo would be — if I were a Snake Eyes agent.

  He gives a passive wave, hardly glancing at me before opening the door and letting me inside. Luka was right. A girl like me has no trouble getting into the Chernyy Obuvi…

  Getting back out again is a different story.

  I continue forward, repeating all the warnings Markov gave me.

  Don’t accept a drink from anyone.

  Don’t go into an empty bathroom.

  Don’t make eye contact for longer than a second, less if possible.

  Basically, just don’t breathe.

  I enter the main floor and constantly squint as my eyes adjust to the flashing lights. They move in time with the music, and the crowd bounces along with it. Honestly, it looks like fun. It reminds me of a normal weekend for Lucy Vaughn. You know, back before the Zappia family destroyed my life.

  I do a quick scan of faces, trying to make it not-so-obvious that I’m looking for someone. That was another piece of advice from Markov.

  Don’t make it seem like you’re looking for something — because it will find you first.

  I didn’t want to ask what he meant by it. Now, I think that maybe I should have.

  Several spotlights twist toward the center podium, following along with a girl dancing up there. Her stiff movements are doing very little to impress the men in suits sitting around but at least she can say she tried. She grips the pole and spins around like a child. I feel a flinch of embarrassment for her. We all gotta start somewhere.

  A man up front waves a hand to signal to the bouncers. They instantly move out of the shadows to pull her off the stage. They toss her back to her friends like a rag doll and the group howls loudly like happy hyenas.

  As the lights roam around again, they track along the circle of men sitting around the podium. It illuminates their faces one-by-one and my heart leaps into my throat as I recognize one.

  Gio.

  He sits back in his chair, looking into the bottom of his empty glass with boredom in his dark eyes. Even if I didn’t study photos of him before coming here, I’d still recognize a Zappia. They all have the same resting prick face. Even when Marty only had half a face, he was still the spitting image of his hideous bloodline.

  A deep throbbing takes my right knee, but I ignore it. I force myself forward to wander a little closer to the podium. The gaggle of drunk girls screams back and forth at each other. One tugs on another’s arm, daring her to hop up onto the platform and show them what she’s got, but the girl cowers away in fear. I chuckle once. Peer pressure looks the same in every language.

  I swallow my nerves and take a wide step up onto the platform. Lights instantly point in my direction, making my heart jump into my throat as a twitch of nostalgia takes hold of me. It’s been a long time since I’ve stood on a stage and bathed in lights and applause. I miss it, to be honest. There’s no turning back. It’s just me and the audience.

  Might as well give them a show.

  I raise my right hand to the pole and wrap my fingers loosely around it. I throw my weight forward, letting the momentum build before I hike up my skirt and raise my leg to rest against the hard metal.

  Several cheers break out amongst the men around me. I mostly ignore them, but I let the sound fuel my movements. I close my eyes, thinking back in time to the last time I did this. I twist my calf around the pole, locking my ankle in place as even more shouts cry out in satisfaction.

  The DJ changes the music from thumping techno to a deep, moody beat just for me, and the lights fade into a dark blue. I crack a smile. It’s perfect for seduction.

  I open my eyes again to find Gio staring at me.

  Bile bubbles in the back of my throat. When I first volunteered to do this, I didn’t exactly picture what it would be like to make fuck-me eyes at a damn Zappia. I swallow it down, forcing it all the way into the pits. The others are counting on me. There’s no way I can back out now.

  I flex my arms and tighten my core as I lift off the podium and slowly spin on the pole. I ignore the twinge in my right knee again as I lock my legs and lean with an arched back.

  Gio tilts forward slightly as we make eye contact. I soften my gaze, blocking out every other foreign obscenity being lobbed at me from all angles. It’s just me and Gio. He’s my audience. He’s the only one I have to convince.

  I loosen my grip, letting gravity slowly sink me down to the floor. As I reach it, I take the opportunity to switch my legs. I’m not as used to this side, but I should be able to finish this way. All I have to do is make him stand up or wave to the bouncer. Have them escort me into a back room so he and I can be alone with Mr. Needle.

  I think of Dante. I think of the way he looked at me earlier. The way he touched me. The way only he can make me moan. I picture him sitting in that chair down there instead. I let the overwhelming urge influence my movements as I give in to my own seductive dance.

  Gio raises a hand and waves sharply in my direction. The bouncer marches out of the shadows again with an outstretched arm, making the rest of the men groan in disappointment. Even the group of drunk girls whine as he grabs my hand and guides me down onto the main floor.

  “Idti v spinu!” he shouts at me.

  I let out a laugh. “What?” I ask.

  He points over my shoulder and I see Gio disappearing behind the black curtain in the corner. I gesture at it to be sure before the now impatient bouncer flexes his jaw.

  “All right,” I say, holding up my hands. “Through the curtain. Got it.”

  I start walking. The crowd parts for me like royalty, smiling and nodding their heads as if they know something I don’t.

  I reach the curtain and a man standing guard grabs the edge and holds it open for me. Like royalty, indeed…

  I walk in, taking slow strides into the darkness. It’s nothing but a dark hallway with a string of old Christmas lights traveling down the center of the ceiling. The farther I walk, the louder my heels clack against the concrete floor. The music fades off behind me with the return of the fast techno bass rocking the walls, making the line of Christmas lights shake slightly above my head.

  I turn the corner to look down another long hallway, this one with seven doors, three on each side with one at the very end. The only one open is the last one, because of course it is.

  I take a deep breath, forcing one foot in front of the other until I make it the end.

  Chapter 31

  Fox

  “Fifteen minutes,” Dante says as he checks his watch again.

  I do another quick sweep of the surrounding streets through the scope of my rifle. Cars passing through the intersection on the left. A couple getting it on in the alleyway a few blocks over. Just your standard night in Moscow, with the slight exception of Luka and Markov’s car lingering across the street from the club.

  I return to the back door of the Chernyy Obuvi. One lone bouncer stands there. He spends a little too much time on his phone than watching for suspicious activity. He’ll be easy to subdue when the time comes.

  “Fifteen minutes,” I repeat, keeping a steady tone.

  Dante shifts on his feet. If he’s trying to hide how nervous he is, he’s failing.

  I chuckle. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

  “For what?” he asks.

  “When Dante Hart would be more nervous on a job than I am.”

  He stares at me for a moment. “If it were Dani in there, wouldn’t you be nervous?”

  I nod. “Sure. But you gotta trust in them, you know? If my adult life has taught me anything, it’s that women are way tougher than they get credit for.”

  Dante scoffs. “You didn’t grow up with Lilah.”

  I laugh. “I can’t even begin to imagine what that was like.”

  “Humbling, to say the least.”

  He checks his watch again. I clear my throat, thinking fast for ways to distract him.

  “So, Lilah checked in?” I ask.

  “She did.”


  “And Myra’s really down?”

  “Archer specializes in capture,” he says. “I’m sure they’ve got her secured.”

  “How sure?”

  “Well, he caught Lilah one time. That should give you an idea.”

  “You’re kidding,” I say.

  “He had her for two days before we tracked them down,” he says. “Scared the hell out of me and...”

  Elijah.

  “Remind me to buy him a beer sometime,” I say, moving on. “That takes some talent. How’d you manage to find them?”

  “She turned her phone back on and we chased the signal down.” He flexes his jaw. “Then, we walked in on them.”

  “Walked in on them?”

  He squints with timid anger.

  I fight my laugh. “Ah.”

  “I respect him,” Dante says. “But I don’t necessarily like him.”

  I nod, biting my inner cheek.

  Dante bows again, staring down below at the club’s back exit, not nearly as distracted — or relaxed — as I’d like.

  “It’s all gonna be fine, Dante,” I say. “She’s got a lot of back-up. The best in the world, if you ask me.”

  He nods but he doesn’t answer.

  I lean in to perform another scan of the area through my scope. Nothing’s changed. Still the same holding pattern but no news is good news. It’s always been.

  My thoughts drift to Dani. A phantom rush of her delicate apple scent teases my nose, just as it did a hundred times on every mission I took as a Snake Eyes agent. The only difference now is that we’re really together. It was just fantasy before but now it’s real. Every kiss, every time we made love, every smile. It’s all real. It’s all waiting for me when I get back to her.

  I abandon the past. I focus on our future.

  Or lack thereof.

  It won’t be easy. It’ll never be as easy as I made it out to be. If we don’t find and kill the Boss, we’ll never stop being hunted. The price on our heads has nowhere to go but up.