Claimed

13. No Secrets, No Lies.

Chapter thirteen

No Secrets, No Lies.

Blood droplets continued to fall from his hands. They fell in a steady rhythm, leaving little red splatters on the veined marble.

Gianni’s gaze locked onto mine with a piercing intensity.

The sight of him—so powerful and unsettling—sent a cold shiver down my spine.

I stood frozen, my heart racing as I stared at him.

Could it be that the fear and anxiety that had been building throughout the night had reached a crescendo?

Or was it just that right now in this moment, he truly looked like the Devil of Shadows?

Gianni’s face continued to be this mask of cold fury.

I gulped down fear.

But then, slowly, his gaze began to slip from my face, down the curve of my neck, and over the lace that clung to my breasts, hips, and pussy.

It was a slow, deliberate inspection.

And as each second passed, I saw the hardness in his murderous expression begin to soften.

The scowl faded, replaced by something darker, something primal.

Lust.

His brows smoothed out and desire blazed deep in his eyes.

And no more did his lips have the curl of a sneering snarl.

Now. . .he licked them as if insanely hungry.

O-kay.

The tension in the air shifted.

Gianni’s eyes finally met mine again, and they were no longer cold. They were filled with desire, the kind that threatened to consume me whole.

His voice went low, yet still held that murderous edge. “You look beautiful, Princess. Delicious and quite ready to be fucked thoroughly.”

My heart boomed in my ears, but I forced myself to speak. “Who did you kill?”

His lusty expression didn’t change. “Does it matter?”

“It does to me .”

“Well. . . that is important.”

“It is.”

“But why do you want to know?”

“Because I want to know what is going on.” I stood firm. “I don’t want to be one of those wives who are kept in the dark.”

Gianni tilted his head slightly, studying me. “Sometimes it’s good to be kept in the dark. To take solace in it.”

“Being in the dark has only ever been terrifying to me.”

“Still, you don’t need to know.”

“Still. . .” I pointed a shaky finger at him. “No secrets. No lies.”

A wicked smirk spread across his devilish face, and he took a step forward. “Is that an order?”

I inched back. “Yes.”

He nodded, and he raked those eyes over me once more, taking in the lingerie that hugged every curve. “Then, I will oblige my queen .”

“Now I’m your queen?”

“Remember.” He licked his lips. “On the outside, you are my queen. And what I just did, that was outside stuff.”

I shivered. “And who did you kill?”

Gianni let out a long breath. “Three men. Joe Ricci, Marco Savelli, and Chiara Bianchi.”

I swallowed hard, recognizing the last names, but not the first names. Those were families of power, men who had long held influence within Obsidian Bay. “Why did you kill them?”

“Many don’t like my rise to power. No one expected me to take your stepfather’s empire right from his hands.”

Holy shit. Is that what he did?

“They wanted to be the next in power, but what they didn’t understand is that. . .one must take the throne. It is never handed over.”

I swallowed.

“So. . .those men betrayed me.”

“How. . .did they do that?”

There was a bitter edge to his words. “Joe tried to sell information about our operations to the police. He had several detectives in his pocket, but I have the Chief of Police and the Police Commissioner.”

I blinked.

“Marco wanted to break away from the family, start his own operation with an enemy crew—the Triads in China Town.”

Jesus.

I leaned my head to the side. “And what about Chiara?”

“He had hired two assassins to come and kill you and me tonight. He was the one that I’d been hunting. His death was the most important. It meant your safety.”

“And yours.”

“You are now my wife. I am not safe if you are gone.” This sadness fell over his face. “If you aren’t here then. . .I am nothing. . .”

My heart ached. “Then. . .I’m glad you killed them.”

“They were lucky.”

“Why?”

“I knew you would be waiting for me. . .half naked, so I made their deaths faster than usual. However, I must admit my imagination could not conjure you looking this damn good.” He took me in again. “It scares me.”

“Why?”

“Part of me, doesn’t want to hurt you and isn’t sure I would be able to control my cock once it started.”

I widened my eyes. “And the other part?”

“Oh, my princess. The other part wants to hurt your pussy so bad that it aches for the rest of your life.”

My body heated.

It shouldn’t have.

I should have been scared as fuck by what he said.

Gianni looked down at his bloody hands. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll go wash this off.”

“No.”

He quirked his brows at me. “No?”

“Never mind.” I shivered. “I’m going crazy. Forget I said no. Go ahead.”

An amused expression hit his face. “But why did you say no?”

“It’s just after tonight, I just. . .well. . .blood has so much more significance now.”

“That’s not crazy.”

“It is.”

“It is not.”

“You are called the Devil. I will not take mental health advice from you.”

A dark chuckle left him. “Still. . .I like that you don’t want me to wash my hands.”

“One of them was going to try and kill me. . .kill us. . .”

“Correct.” Gianni raised his hands up. “And best believe his blood is on my hands.”

I shivered at his words.

By God, it was from desire.

What is happening to me?

As I stood there, watching Gianni's bloodstained hands, I felt a strange, overwhelming urge rise within me—a desire that both terrified and thrilled me.

I wanted him to smear that blood all over me, all over the delicate white lingerie he’d chosen for me.

I wanted to feel the warmth of that liquid, the weight of it, as if by marking me with the blood of our enemies, he was claiming me in a way that went beyond anything I could put into words.

Yep. After tonight, I’m fucking losing my mind.

Why did I want that?

I couldn't say.

Maybe it was because I had spent so many years running from this world, from its darkness and brutality, that now, standing in the midst of it, I felt a surging need to finally surrender to it.

Or was it that he had already changed me so much that I’d become insane?

Had Gianni's dark allure seeped so deeply into my soul that I was no longer the woman I had been just hours before?

I wasn’t sure.

But I knew that the thought of him smearing that blood on me, marking me with it, made my heart fucking race in the most terrifyingly erotic way.

My body heated further.

I shivered again. “Yes.”

Gianni raised his eyebrows.

“Dirty me with their blood.”

A deep, animalistic growl rose from his throat and damn near shook the fucking walls.

“My twisted little princess.”

“Come dirty me. . .Daddy.”

Something snapped in him at my words.

I could see it in his eyes.

A flicker of primal hunger.

A sudden burning intensity.

Fast, he moved towards me with this deadly grace that almost made me scream in horror.

Oh my God. What did I do?