CLARA ROSSI

Tomorrow, we'd face my dad. Once and for all.

Every minute raced too fast. But Daniel was so calm. He was a force I selfishly leaned on.

Around sunset, we reached a small town. The Kowalski siblings were staying down the street in a different rental. I drilled Daniel with questions about it, but he didn't seem worried. Apparently, we had the rest of the night to chill. A calm before the storm.

Rain trickled on the cobble-stone streets. On the patio tables and chairs in front of coffee shops. 

Daniel unlocked the door of an abandoned bookstore, above which was the loft where we'd be staying tonight. 

Dark, moody and gothic. With arched windows, emerald walls, candles. So many candles. A black intimate dining table. A record player with a collection of music.

While he triple-checked the guns with Niko and Andrei (guns I couldn't stomach to look at, not after Enzo, maybe not ever,) I begged Charlotte to go shopping with me. Dinner, I explained to Daniel.

"He said what?" Charlotte smirked later when I shared what he promised about tonight.

"That I need all my strength to take what he'll give me." I rolled my eyes, smushing the boiled potatoes with chopped green onions in a pot. 

"Oh my God. Is that why Niko is dragging us to a bar later?" She snorted. "Well, enjoooy."

"Don't be jealous."

"I'm not."

"Hey, I have a question." I smirked at her over my shoulder. "Did you leave a wet spot on Andrei's lap?"

"I hate you!" She swatted me with a dish towel. 

I laughed. "You love me."

"I do love you, but that's not the point— oooh, let's set the mood for you tonight!"

"You do realize, he's like your brother—" 

"Let's set the mood for you, babyyy." She cackled and proceeded to light every single candle (there had to be at least a hundred) in the loft.

After she successfully turned the place into a fire hazard, she excused herself. I finished setting the table. Perfectly cooked medium-rare steaks with roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes. A bowl of salad with grapefruit and pumpkin seeds. Bottles of wine and sparkling water. 

I went downstairs to find Niko and Daniel on the couch, chatting about bullets.

"The food is ready," I said.

"Be right—" Daniel eyes widened when he saw me. 

I looked down at my black wrap dress—just a thin knit with a slit I bought today. Hadn't worn a dress in so long. I missed it. I hadn't styled my hair in a while either, or put on makeup. But I wanted to, today. For him. 

"What?" I tried to be annoyed, but his stunned appreciation made my cheeks burn.

He stood up, a slow grin spreading over his face. "Hey, beautiful."

Butterflies flooded me. I rolled my eyes as he came closer. "Dinner is ready."

"Good..." He lowered a dark gaze over me. I felt it caress every inch like the back of his knuckles. "I'm starving."

"Shut up." I whirled away. "You guys better get your asses upstairs before the food gets cold."

He sighed behind me. I just knew he was staring at my ass. A sound came from him, a starved sound that made me toss an incredulous look over my shoulder. He smirked unapologetically. 

Heading down the corridor, my heels clicked on the wooden floors. Too quick and defenseless against Daniel's unhurried boots. 

I passed the bedroom we'd share tonight when he paused behind me. He frowned at the adjacent door, the one that belonged to the laundry.

My mood stripped to pure anxiety. "What is it?" 

He flicked a glance my way, slowly reaching for the handle. Wrapped his hand around it, turned his gaze. Still as a stone. Then cracked it open...

I froze.

Andrei was standing between Charlotte's legs. She was sitting on top of the laundry machine. They froze like deers caught in the headlights. Her lipstick smeared on their mouths. His hand viciously buried in her blonde hair. His white button-down wrinkled.

Dead silence passed.

"Finally," was all Daniel said, then slammed the door on their faces.

"What's going on?" Niko appeared behind him. I squeaked in panic. 

"Hm? Nothing." Daniel feigned ignorance.

"Who's in there?"

"No one."

Niko brushed past him and opened. Oh, God. This was it. This was the day Andrei died.

This silence lasted even longer. I could feel my armpits sweating.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Daniel shook his head, an evil sparkle in his eyes. "In a laundry room, Andrei? Is this...is this how you treat your best friend's sister?"

"I—" Andrei's voice quivered. 

"Shame on you!"

"Seriously..." Niko chimed in. Murderous, but amused. "I expected better than that."

"At least take her out on a date." Daniel folded his arms.

"Or talk to her brother."

"Could've at least bought her flowers."

"Or a wedding ring."

"Wait." Daniel fake-gasped, holding his pearls. "Does this mean I'm going to be an uncle?"

Charlotte exploded. "Oh my God, will you two shut up!?"

The roasting never stopped over dinner. It reminded me of the lakeside evening the five of us spent at my dad's vineyard, eating desserts and getting to know each other. 

Thinking of my dad drowned me in panic. But every time, the energy from Daniel and others pulled me back to the surface. With a joke. With a yell. With the way Charlotte threw her head back to laugh, until her eyes crinkled and watered. Even Niko's tension melted. Andrei's smile turned lazy. I wanted to memorize every detail, every soft look from Daniel.

I took a selfie with all of us. Then Charlotte snapped a picture when Daniel pulled me to dance in the middle of the dining room. Even Niko tried to hide his emotions when Andrei asked for Charlotte to dance and when she shyly accepted. But he watched them secretly, the way he did at the concert. 

"We're leaving, lovebirds!" Charlotte slurred later. Andrei opened his umbrella and Niko shrugged on his jacket. "We'll be at a bar, so you have the wholeeee place to yourselves. Have fun! Oh and remember...USE PROTECTION!"

"No more drinks for her," Andrei decided and Niko grumbled in agreement.

After they left, Daniel and I kept slow dancing. 

Wrapped in shadows and candlelight. Rain poured. Hitting the rooftop, sliding down the windows. His scent...his addictive and soothing scent emanated from his chest. I leaned into him and closed my eyes. He rested his cheek on my head, his hands tracing the length of my spine.

"You're wearing the necklace," he murmured. I pulled back to look at him. His gaze fell on the gold in the hollow of my throat. "How come?" 

"It's a symbol that you'll always be with me. Isn't it?"

He swallowed hard, his hazel eyes emotional and nodded.

I had never been great with words. But him...he had confessed how he felt about me in so many ways. He'd laid his feelings exposed and vulnerable, never asking for mine in return.

I couldn't—didn't want to hold them back anymore.

"On Andrei's birthday, when we were at the concert, remember what you told me?" I said, barely above the music. "You told me that when this is over, that I'd leave you. That I'd never consider wasting my time on someone as 'fucked up' as you. You're wrong." My heart beat faster. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't want to."

"Clara..." His voice came out tormented, like he couldn't bear to hear this, considering tomorrow. But it was because of tomorrow, that he had to know.

"I'm fucked up too. My heart is so broken—" I laughed as my voice shook. "I'm just telling the truth. It is. When I look in the mirror, I don't know who I'm looking at. These past months changed me, and I know it's going to take me years to recover. But still...if I have to, if I have to..." I looked him in the eyes, asking him to listen. "I will break my own heart a thousand times for you. I will go through all that again. I will kill again. But I am not leaving you. I don't want to." 

He shuddered a breath, a broken one. Then crashed our mouths together, held on to me like I was his last thread of lifeline.

You still haven't realized how much you mean to me? He had told me. We don't have a lot of time left. I don't want to waste it arguing with you. I'll do whatever needs to be done. I'll take care of everything. He had promised.

I was terrified to ask him about tomorrow. The worst case scenarios. I didn't want his false reassurance. I didn't want to burden him more, knowing the pressure he'd put on himself. The weight of responsibility he insisted on carrying on his shoulders.

I undid the fabric belt around my dress and slowly peeled it apart.

He broke the kiss, mouth wet. Breaths raw. Chest rising and falling hard as I let the dress fall down. I stood before him in black lingerie. 

Not just black. Sheer in some places, velvet in most. With delicate, swirling patterns. A bra, a thong, and a matching garter belt connecting to stockings. 

"Is that..." 

"Velvet? Mhm."

A tortured, breathless laugh escaped him. "You are so evil."

I bit back my triumph at the awe and lust glazing over him. "Poor you. Do something about it."

He hissed through his teeth, spreading his hands over my hips, over the velvet. "Fuck..."

I gripped each side of his button-down and yanked hard. Only a few buttons ripped though. I glared at his cocky smile. He chuckled at my lack of strength and impatience.

"Keep laughing and I'll choke you with this velvet."

"Pick a safe word, love. Do it now."

Thrill raced my heart. I said the first thing that came to mind, the day he'd proven how gentle he could be. "Fawn."

Something inside him unleashed.

He claimed my mouth again and I popped the rest of his buttons. But he was faster and stronger and he didn't care about his clothes. His whole focus, dedication was on me.

He pushed me against the dining table, swept his arm across it. Plates and glasses shattered by his feet. He raised me up on it and pinned me by the throat on the cold hard surface, then peered down at me. In the night, around flickering candle light. Pupils blown black, just a sliver of hazel. The gleam behind it—pure predatory. 

I gulped down on air as he attacked my neck, licking and biting until I was a writhing mess. When his hand snaked up my breast, I squirmed. Flustered. 

He seized my wrist above my head. Kissed me. And brushed his thumb over the velvet, over my nipple. Pleasure jolted to my core. I made an embarrassing sound. He groaned in approval, learning all my weaknesses.

I bit his bottom lip hard, but it didn't faze the fucker at all. 

"Sorry, love. But this has got to go." He lifted a steak knife in front of my face. A slow grin on his wicked mouth as my eyes widened. "Be a good girl for me and hold still, hm?" 

I trembled, feverish as he traced the cold blade between my breasts. The sharp tip slow and steady. He snuck it under the thin velvet and cut it. 

"Much better..." He purred before licking my nipple, closed his lips around it and sucked it in. 

My God. I moaned. Shocked, just shocked at how my body was reacting to him. Overwhelmed by lust, desperate for more, terrified that he'd give it. 

"This too." He cut my garter belt. 

He let go of my wrists, then. Held my hips down to stop me from squirming. He kissed my waist. Licked it. Toyed with me, keeping me on edge. I cried out in pain when he sucked the skin near my belly button between his teeth. He let go with a loud pop and laughed, licking the pink imprint of his teeth. "In case you forget who owns you."

"I fucking hate you..." I breathed.

"Do you?" He cooed, scraping the blade over my clit. I flinched, but his tongue followed next. A long, hot swipe. Spit soaking the fabric. I struggled get down a single breath. "You still hate me?" He mocked, knowing damn well my brain had melted.

"I..." 

"You what?" He dropped the knife, yanked my panties down like they insulted him. 

"F-fuck you, Volkov."

"You will, love. You will. But not yet." He kissed my inner thighs, sliding my stockings down. Took off my heels next. I was completely bare. He got on his knees and gripped my hips. Yanked me all the way to the edge of the table in front of him. "First, I have to eat."

I propped on my elbows and the sight of him between my legs—when his tongue slid along my slit in a long, slow motion...a wave of euphoria darkened my vision.

He watched my reactions. Watched my fights dissolve, my moans helplessly spill. He pressed his hands against my thighs when I tried to close them and spread me wider. Smirked and flicked my clit with the most perfect pressure and perfect rhythm.

"That's a good girl..." He gave me a slow, satisfied smile after my orgasm. "That's one."

One? This cocky bastard was keeping count? 

He came up to kiss me, gripping my jaw hard, then slid his finger inside me. I cried out, pinching my eyes shut at the fresh attack of pleasure. Oh. My. God. Thumb on my clit. Mouth on my nipple. His finger doing unbelievable things. I reached to grasp the edge of the table, but it was no use. He had full control and knew exactly what to do with it.

"Two." He whispered in my ear. 

Something in me snapped. I caught the side of his neck between my teeth and bit without a care that he'd bleed. Daniel hissed angrily.

"Get off of me." I snarled, fisting his hair. 

He scooped me up, and I was about to yell, but he said softly, "Shh. You'll step on the broken glass. It's all over the floor." 

He moved us to the bedroom, dumped me on the bed. Took his button-down off. Then with one hand behind his shoulders, he pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the floor. 

He unfastened his belt, unzipped his jeans. Pulled them down with his briefs, then stood before me naked. Intimidating and ready. 

My gaze roamed over him. All muscle and ink. Scars inside and out. Scars I had seen, scars he was still hiding. He wrapped his palm around his cock and passed over his length in a leisurely stroke, watching me watch him.

And it dawned on me...There was no going back after this. There was no forgetting him. Because I had sex with other guys before, many times. But all of them paled in comparison to what I felt for him. Someone I killed for. Someone who killed for me. 

The onslaught of rain beat against the window, pelting the glass. The storm. The threats of tomorrow. Daniel's eyes shattered as he understood, felt it without a word. 

"Do you still want me?" he asked. 

"More than ever. More than anything."

He climbed on top of me and kissed me. Not possessive or aggressive. He kissed me like I had a claim on every inch of his heart, the way he had on mine.

"Before we do this," he said, breaths shallow. "You need to know one thing."

"Your dick game is not as strong as your mouth?"

He chuckled. "Are you on contraceptives?"

"IUD. Glad you asked."

"I was going to."

"I have condoms."

"Congrats."

He grasped his cock and smacked it against my clit. I yelped. Without a warning, he soaked his length with my orgasm and forced the head in. My composure crumbled. I gaped at his cold and indifferent expression. 

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" He mocked, his chain hanging off his neck.

"Y-you baited me..." I gasped out. Oh, God. Oh, fuck. 

"Did I?" He slid in a little more, waiting every time for me to adjust.

I threw my head back, grinding my teeth against a cry. 

He slightly pulled out, then thrust back in slow. So torturously slow. My hands found his hard forearms beside me. I dug my nails into his corded muscles. Again, he pulled out, then thrust in. 

"Look at me." That gentle ask...it would wreck me. I knew it. But he cupped my face, like he needed it. "Look at me." His voice caressed, pleaded.

I did. And I saw all his strangled emotions. Felt them in every exhale against my skin, in the torment of his gaze. I loved him, I loved him, I loved him. I knew it right then. I knew it'd consume me.

He unraveled my fist from the sheets and intertwined our hands. When he moved again and kissed me, the world disappeared. 

And I couldn't hide a thing from him anymore.

He picked up the speed, focused on me. His thrusts became hard, relentless. Until I was straining against the grip of his hand on my throat. Until I slapped him and scratched him. Until he spit in my mouth and made me swallow. And I loved every filthy second. I never cared about the safe word. Not once. 

And all night, he held me against him. Even when others came back from the bar, he'd cover my mouth and slip back inside. Made slow love. And when I was spent, boneless and airless, he bundled me in his arms. And he whispered something...but it was so far away, I didn't hear it. Still. In that moment, everything felt perfect. For once, everything felt right in my life. 

Until I woke up the next morning to an empty bed...

And found out everyone was gone.

A/N
The end.
Just kidding lol
Thank you for reading and if you liked this chapter, please hit the vote button <3