The Emperor (Dark Verse, #3)

by RuNyx

she huffed a laugh, a breath whooshing out of her. He kissed her scar, moving inside her, his voice ...

“Give me your dreams and your nightmares, your pleasure and your pain, your fantasies and your fears. Give me everything. Be my queen...

he hammered his hips into hers, his words coming out r...

“And make me fucking yours, so everyone who looks at my ring knows I have you f...

God, he was killing her. Amara felt her neck arch as a current of pleasure shot through he...

“Marr...

“Da...

she whispered against his lips just as he smashed their mouths together, passion flaring hotter between them. For long minutes, there was the sound of their breathing, the creaking of the table, the slap of flesh hitting flesh. She came gushing within m...

“Say yes,...

Amara fluttered her eyes open, seeing the man her soul recognized as he...

With his stubble that darkened his jaw, contrasting with his impeccably-dressed body, Dante Maroni was a vision of masculine beauty and primitive badassery, with a dark gaze that missed nothing and a light smile that hid everything.

Tristan came to stand beside him. “It’s pretty peaceful here. Reminds me of these honeymoon resorts Morana keeps showing me.” Honeymoon resorts. The guy was talking honeymoon resorts. Pigs really had to be flying somewhere in the world.

Dante felt his lips lift.

“You’re whipped.”

“Fuck off, asshole.” Dante grinned, looking out a...

“I’m happy for you, you little shit. For...

Tristan stayed silent for a beat. “You and Am...

“What, you’re giving me relationship...

He shrugged. “Communication and shit are important in relationships.” Dante lo...

“Who are you and what have you done w...

He saw the fucker’s li...

“We share a father, Mr. Maroni.”

“My mother was a sex worker in Los Fortis, sending her younger sister to art school and keeping a roof over their heads. Lorenzo Maroni saw her one day on his visit to the city about thirty-three years ago, raped her, and left her pregnant. He also kidnapped her sister and took her with him. He married her.”

“She’s mine.”

“My mother slit her wrists open in the room she used to paint in with our younger brother there. He has Asperger’s and he’s living a great life far away from this world. I had to sacrifice seeing him to protect him and now he doesn’t want to come back. I get that. He’s found a good woman and works as an architect from home, and has told me to keep myself and this world away from his life. We talk on the phone sometimes but we’re acquaintances. In protecting him as a brother, I failed him too. My point is, if you are my brother, I get why you didn’t tell me anything, but going forward, you decide how we operate—as brothers or as acquaintances. The choice is yours.”

looked down at eight pairs of innocent, terrified eyes looking up at them. “Jesus fucking Christ,” Vin mumbled. “Those are boys.” Those were boys indeed—young, not older than ten, dirty boys.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Before Dante could reply, a third boy, one with bright eyes the color of which Dante couldn’t make out, stated. “They are. He told me about the blue-eyed one,” he said, pointing to Tristan.

“Who told you about him?”

Dante asked, confused. “The ...

“It’s just the beginning. We have opened Pandora’s box. These nightmares will keep coming to light, and I want to build something better for our children. Stand with me, yeah?”

“You don’t even have to ask, Dante,”

“I’ll always stand w...

“I know you keep wondering what your role will be in this ...

“You are the healer, Amara. You are the lighthouse guiding these lost souls to the shore. They need someone to guide them, someone who’s emotionally intelligent, strong enough to understand ...

“We’ll find more children, more young boys and girls, in different conditions. We don’t know how many. They’ll need to be rehabilitated. They’ll need help—physically, which I can arrange, but also mentally, which is your forte. We can give them a chance at life, Amara. We can leave a legacy in this godforsaken place. So, will you play with me, my queen?”

“Yes, I will, my king.”

“How did Morana’s airport guy even know about this?”

“He’s the Shadowman.”

“It makes sense. That’s why she never saw him.”

“He was there tonight.”

“You saw him?”

“No,”

“But he was there. One of the guys who escaped was found in the woods by our men, tied to a tree, a...

“What mes...

“It said ‘good job’. He wanted us to find that place. He practically spoon-fed us this.”

“He was nice to me,”

Amara reminded him.

“He wanted to fu...

Dante amended, his jaw clenching. Amara felt a l...

“That would’ve been funny though, what with you being brothers. I...