“What do you want?” I tried again to move away, but he wouldn’t budge.

  His answer was immediate. “I only want what you’ve given the others... A place in your bed, your body and your affection.”

  I bit my lip, trying to imagine giving Enzo the same casual kisses that I gave to the rest of my mates. It would be like kissing a tiger, I decided, examining him. His expression didn’t give away his thoughts, so I peered at our mating bond instead and felt the slightest triumph coming from him. He thought I wouldn’t do it, I realised, he was so certain that I wouldn’t agree to his demands that he was even a little bit smug.

  It was that smugness that sealed my decision. “Fine.”

  His jaw dropped comically. “Fine?” he echoed, dumbly.

  “Fine. I agree to your terms. I suppose that means you better go and open that door.”

  He snapped his mouth closed and gave me an evaluating look. “You’ll have to kiss me first. Otherwise, how can I know you’re serious? Especially since you’re still trying to put as much distance between us as you can.”

  I eyed his sculpted lips warily. The last and only time I’d kissed Enzo had been about taking power. This would be different, this would mean admitting that I desired a man who killed for a living and did so with no regrets. But my own stubbornness wouldn’t let me back down now. I hooked an arm around his neck for good measure, bringing him closer and lifted my head to kiss him.

  Enzo’s lips were cool against mine as I hesitantly stroked my tongue against them, asking entry. He let me in and his taste, like liquor and almonds, washed over me as I explored for a moment. He let me, holding himself back as I got used to him. My entire body started to melt against him, my hands twining in his long silky hair as I kept kissing him. When my fingers tugged lightly at the strands, he snapped.

  With a move that was all sorts of illegal he pulled me on top of him, his hands falling straight to my skirt and tunnelling under them, clenching hard on my ass, pulling me down against the hardness of his erection. Despite being underneath me, he dominated the kiss, his tongue demanding my submission with every stroke.

  My brain flashed a warning at me. A single instant of clarity that warned me that if I let this continue, I’d be lost. With a strangled moan I dragged myself away.

  “Door,” I panted. “You promised.”

  He was just as affected as I was, the hardness beneath me almost burning through the clothes between us, but he closed his eyes and nodded once. His hands reluctantly released the globes of my ass and I dismounted before I lost the willpower to do so.

  When we were both standing, he pulled a tiny key out of his pocket, and handed it to me. “Ladies first.”

  I walked on wobbly legs across the room and into the hallway till I stood facing the door. The key fit, and the handle turned silently in my grip. Before I could push the door open, Enzo gripped my hand, stilling me.

  “I deserve my last question,” he said. “What do you think is in there?”

  “I have no idea. But I’m hoping it’s not the heads of your enemies or a secret creepy doll collection.”

  He barked out a laugh and released my hand. “No. Not quite.”

  He pushed the door open for me, and I was momentarily blinded by the light of the setting sun coming through the window that ran the length of the room beyond. The room had skylights as well, letting in even more light and illuminating the artist’s paradise within. Every surface contained a bonsai tree, immaculately pruned into incredible shapes and filling what little space remained between the multiple easels in the room. Directly in front of me, a painting of myself stared back, my eyes closed, and my hair rumpled as I slept. There was another of me, nude and in the shower, and then a third, my eyes wide with fear behind my mother’s masquerade mask...

  It wasn’t all me, in between there were landscapes of places across the world, and a few portraits of a man who looked like Enzo but had short hair and innocent eyes. That must have been his twin, I realised, stepping closer to one. I was distracted before I could touch the canvas by his pointed cough.

  “What do you think?” He gave me a cocky smile and an extravagant bow, but I knew it was a bluff. There wasn’t a person alive who didn’t secretly quake in their boots at the idea of showing their art to others.

  I shook my head mutely. “You have so much talent,” I whispered, thinking of how my own doodled sketches paled in comparison to the immensity of feeling behind each of these images. My fingers reached out to caress a cascading bonsai that was growing atop a miniature fountain but stopped just short. I didn’t want to ruin any part of this garden paradise. I had zero ability with plants and all this greenery was making me nervous that my very presence might somehow kill the little trees. “There’s so much life here...”

  “Now you know my secret.” He stepped behind me and stroked his hands down my shoulders. “Was it worth it? Your body for a glimpse into my sanctuary?”

  I nodded mutely as his lips descended to nibble at the shell of my ear. My eyes caught on the half-made bed in one corner, a rail of clothes hung up beside it. “Do you sleep in here?”

  “You’re using the only bedroom, Pretty Darling.”

  I softened slightly at his confession, but I hadn’t seen nearly enough, and I wandered further into the room without thinking. A portrait of Blaze, staring angrily at a chessboard made me smile, and so did a painting of a twilight Parisian street, the horned silhouette under the streetlamp caught mid-twirl. The large window I’d seen earlier was more of a glass wall, and on the other side was a balcony overflowing with more greenery. I stopped just short of the doors and looked back at Enzo.

  “Go ahead.”

  His small, enigmatic smile did things to my insides as I turned the handle breathing in a gust of the fresh air outside. It was the same view as the one from my bedroom, but it was somehow more breathtaking being outside among Enzo’s plants. There was a small table and two chairs in a corner, piled with old teacups and another easel.

  When I finally turned around, Enzo was lounging in the doorway. “You look good here,” he observed, “But I think I’ll enjoy the view even better when you’re naked and spread open for me.” My thighs clenched involuntarily at his words as he held out a hand in invitation. “My patience is running out.”

  I eyed his palm knowing that I had agreed to this, and worse still, that I wanted it. I felt his uncontrollable need down the mating bond, and it only amplified my own, but still...

  “What if I said no?” I whispered, avoiding his gaze and pretending to study the teacups while keeping my focus on the bond between us.

  I felt his disappointment as he withdrew his hand, but there was no anger directed at me in his emotions, only torturous need and grim resolve.

  “I’m many things, Pretty Darling. But I’m not a rapist.” He said the last word with such disgust that it sealed my decision.

  “I’m not saying no.” I stepped towards him. “I just had to make sure...”

  He rolled his eyes and started to prowl toward me, shadows leaking from his pores. “Say yes then.” He dared me when we were only inches apart.

  My breath caught in my throat, until all I could do was nod. That clearly wasn’t enough for him, so I forced myself to take a deep breath. “Yes.”

  My clothes disappeared along with everything on the table, and I gasped at the freezing night air on my bare skin. Tendrils of shadow fluttered against my flesh, caressing a path dictated by Enzo’s dark blue stare. Anyone could see me if they looked up from the street below, I realised. I tried to cover myself, but the shadows caught my limbs and pulled me up onto the table, spreading my legs wide and pulling my arms together behind my back. The position left me ridiculously exposed, breasts pushed high, pebbled nipples begging for his attention and my pussy splayed open for his perusal.

  “So pretty,” he muttered, almost to himself, as his hands traced a path up my calves, stopping at my knees. “So wet for me already.” His forefinger brushed a single line of fire from my opening to my clit and back again before he drew back and licked my flavour from his digit. “Bloody hell, woman, your taste is almost enough to derail all the plans I have for you.”

  “Anyone could see,” I whispered, glancing behind at the lamp-lit street below.

  “You really think I’m going to let anyone see what’s mine?” He raised a mercurial brow. “I control the darkness, Pretty Darling.”

  He grabbed the chair from the table and pulled it out in front of me, sitting down so his head was level with my breasts. His fingers traced the swell of one and then the other before cupping them and feeling the weight of them in his hands. His palms were like fire, spreading an ache through me wherever he touched. He pinched my nipples to the point of almost pain, then sucked one into his mouth and soothed away the sting with his tongue and I almost came.

  All the while those hands stroked every inch of my skin they could find, till I was writhing against the shadowy bonds which held me. When he moved his mouth across, kissing over to my other breast and sucking on it like his favourite treat I moaned, my head falling backwards. A nip of his teeth against the delicate flesh had me looking back down at him, blinking his face into focus.

  “I want your eyes on me, Pretty Darling,” he commanded, flicking his tongue over the tiny hurt. “I want you to watch what I’m doing to you.” The shadows released my arms as he spoke, and he drew my hands around to my front. “Touch these pretty tits, show me how you like them played with whilst I watch.”

  His dirty words moved my hands without my conscious command, my fingers stroking and teasing my flesh as he lounged in the chair before me, his eyes glued to my movements. I felt so vulnerable, spread open and naked before him, putting on a show whilst he was fully clothed in front of me. He let me tease myself for a few minutes, before his shadows moved around me again. This time they supported my back, whilst others tugged my left hand lower, away from my breasts.

  “Spread those lips wide for me,” Enzo ordered, the shadows releasing my arms now that my hands were in the vicinity of my sex. “I want to see every part of you, Pretty Darling.”

  “Take your clothes off first.” I dared to disobey, but his cruel smirk had me swiftly regretting it.

  “That’s not how it works with me.” He reached forward and let his hand loosely encircle the slender column of my throat. “You may get to order the rest of your little harem around, but not me. Now take those little fingers and spread your pretty pussy open for me or end this. I won’t ask again.”

  I swallowed reflexively, the motion of my throat moving more pronounced with the warm brand of his hand around my neck. My fingers did as he asked, crudely displaying my most intimate flesh for his pleasure. The movement allowed a trickle of my own moisture to run down and Enzo’s knowing look made my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

  “Are you going to behave?” His thumb traced a line along the side of my neck, keeping my attention split between the hand collaring me and my own fingers exposing me.

  I nodded.

  “Words, Pretty Darling. I want your words.”

  “I’ll behave,” I whispered.

  His hand left my throat and I mourned the loss of his presence as he took his seat once more and leaned back to watch me again. I waited, heart in my mouth for whatever he would do next, but he tormented me by doing nothing.

  “Please,” I gasped as the cold breeze tickled my bare skin.

  With a knowing grin, he leaned inwards, eyes on mine as he blew a single warm, wet breath against my core.

  My core clenched around nothing. My whole body shuddered against the shadowy bonds, reaching for the peak Enzo could give me.

  “Please what?” he demanded, completely unfazed by my torment as he lounged between my legs, immaculately dressed and in control.

  “Touch me, fuck me, let me come,” I panted, beyond caring.

  He grinned wickedly and leaned forward again, this time swiping his tongue through my folds once before drawing back. “Like that?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  He did it again, this time circling my clit before returning to my opening and thrusting his tongue inside.

  That slightest penetration was all it took. I launched over the edge and into the stratosphere with a keening cry, my eyes fixed on his. I barely had time to enjoy the masculine look of satisfaction on his face before he dug in in earnest, feasting on my sex like a man starved. I was wound so tightly that one tiny nip at my clit was all it took to send me straight over into a second orgasm.

  The shadows released me, and I sagged into his arms. I was so out of it I didn’t notice him taking us through the shadow realm until I landed on the soft sheets of my bed, bouncing slightly against the mattress. Enzo loomed over me, and for the first time I got to see him fully naked, every inch of creamy alabaster skin bared.

  My heart wept as my eyes traced the edges of a thick, pearlescent scar that started under his ribs, disappearing onto his back and reappearing on the opposite shoulder. Other than that, he was physical perfection, the rest of his skin completely unblemished, and his Gluttony crystal gleaming just beneath his navel. He must have used his powers to remove any other scarring, but I wondered why he left that last one.

  He’d never tell me... But then again, I’d never thought he’d show me his secret studio either.

  “Let your hair down?” My request came out embarrassingly breathy. He raised a single eyebrow at my words. “Please?”

  He reached back and tugged out the band holding it in place, allowing his ashen locks to sweep forward, framing his face and softening the harsh lines of his cheekbones.

  I reached up wordlessly for him and he surprised me by obliging me. My fingers stroked through the strands of his hair as he lined himself up with me, then I lost my grip as he thrust home.

  “Take it all,” he commanded, and I felt my body soften, obeying his command as the last inch of his shaft pressed into my warmth leaving me oh so full. “You feel perfect, so damned hot and tight around me, Pretty Darling.”

  I was so close to the edge, if only he’d just move. But he stayed still, his hands moving to grasp my breasts. Stroking the skin there, tracing lines up and down my ribcage till I was squirming with the need to come. But when he finally moved, I still couldn’t go over the edge.

  “You want to know the best thing about my gift?” Enzo said, almost conversationally, thrusting leisurely in me. “I can keep us like this for hours. Leave you frozen on the edge for days if I want to.”

  “No, please.” I rocked my hips up. “Enzo...”

  “Tell me what you want.”

  “Please, let me come.” I was shameless, on fire with need. But he didn’t oblige me, instead upping his pace so he was hammering against me, leaving me gasping for the orgasm that was right on top of me.

  Then it hit me, crashing over me with so much force that I had no chance of staying conscious when Enzo released inside of me in a scalding hot wave, flooding me with power.

  Chapter 23

  When I opened my eyes, sunlight was streaming through the window. It took a second for me to realise where I was and what had woken me. A muffled curse reached me through the open door and I noted the bed was still warm beside me, as though Enzo had just left.

  I sat up and pulled on my robe as a crash sounded in the other room.

  “Enzo?”

  Another crash.

  I scurried to the door and peeped around it. Enzo had someone pinned against the wall opposite me, his shadows holding his attacker in place. Onyx and Ivory were buzzing around, and the room looked like a bomb had hit it. Enzo’s normally immaculate treasure pile was scattered across the floor, the furniture was upended and the chandeliers swaying. A momentary flare of light disintegrated the shadows, blinding me for a second before my eyes cleared and I saw who he was battling.

  “Enzo, stop!” I rushed between the two of them. “Kain, what are you doing here?”

  “How did you get in?” Enzo demanded, his shadows pushing back against the light barrier.

  It was probably a stupid idea, but I thrust myself between the two of them. The shield of light and the attacking strands of darkness vanished, leaving me facing Enzo. “He’s my mate too.” Enzo knew that, so why was he attacking him? Probably some territorial male bullshit knowing my luck...

  “Good morning, Sunshine.” Kain’s voice was cheery, as though he didn’t have a care in the world, but when I turned to look at him, I could see his skin had lost colour, turning a sickly grey shade.

  “Did you travel through the shadow realm to get here?” I asked, knowing that he disliked it.

  “Impossible,” Enzo dismissed.

  “Not for a photokinetic.” Kain rolled his eyes. “Though I’ll admit it’s not my favourite place in the world. Have you got any food?”