The Emperor (Dark Verse, #3)

by RuNyx

“Kiss...

she whispered in the space between them, her heart racing. His fingers tightened around her ankle fractionally, his eyes breaking their gaze to trace the line of her leg, stopping at the single, small scar from the knife in the middle of her thigh. He leaned forward, his mouth pressing to the spot, and Amara felt her head tip back, her breath coming out in a rush as all the blood in her body rushed to the spot to greet his lips. She tightened her grip on his shoulder, feeling his tongue softly lick the little scar. Her heart stuttered, the action causing wetness to pool between her legs, the significance of it causing her eyes to burn. He pulled back, squee...

“Ask me to ki...

he uttered again, his Adam’s apple bobbing over his collar, his jaw clenching once. She knew what he was asking. She knew exactly where his mouth would go if she asked him again, and though she should stop this madness, she couldn’t. Her body, while still hers, followed his commands. She swallowed, feeling the heaviness in her breasts, her nipples standing to attention even though his eyes never wavered to them. Gliding her hands over his broad shoulders, feeling the muscles covered with his ...

“Kiss me, ...

His eyes blazed as he put his left hand on the small of her back, steadying her, and tugged her ankle up, placing her knee over his shoulder. Amara felt herself lean back against the wall, her heart pounding as he widened her legs enough for the slit of her dress to gape. She felt him move, placing a soft kiss on the inside of her thigh, right where her thigh met her pussy, and for a second, she felt apprehension crawl over her skin. Her palms began to sweat in what she identified as one of the first signs of her anxiety attack. No. Not now. Please, not right now. Her chest got tight, her heartbeats spiking for another reason altogether. Her breaths started to come faster. Black crawled the edges of her vision, tar dripping into her lungs, weighing them down too heavily she couldn’t breathe. Dr. Das’s voice entered her head. Sex is natural, Amara. Your introduction to it wa...

“...

she wasn’t even aware of the word leaving her as blackness swept over her vision. He stopped immediately, his eyes coming to her. He took in her face, and whatever he saw there must have affected him because his gaze softened. He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her knee before putting her leg down. Dante took off her flat, his fingers stroking over the arch of her feet, going to the underside, tracing the scars she had there, before slipping the shoe on her and placing her foot back on the ground. Sense of balance shaken, for more than one reason, Amara held his shoulders for support as he did the same with the other foot, putting her flats in the box to the side. Amara stood still beside the wall, her knees slightly shaking at the elevated height, as he straightened. Damn if the fact that he still towered over her didn’t have her lady bits ting...

“What if I get hurt?”

“Then, I’ll kiss your scars.”

Dante clenched his jaw, before finally spearing her with a look she had never seen from him. And she knew. He was going to break her heart. After all the promises, after everything, he was going to be the one to break her.

“We’re not a love story. We’re a tragedy in the making. There’s no happy ending for us. I feel that you have a better future ahead of you, and you should take it.”

wondering if there would ever be an end to the pain, realizing that there wasn’t much difference between true evil and true love. They snuck up on the vulnerable, gripped them by the throat, and left a realm of ruin behind.

Dante didn’t know when he fell in love with Amara. He just did.

He would not see her again. He would let her go and let her live her life. But he would be damned if he ever let anyone crush her spirit.

“You don’t find my brother, you have nothing to hold over my head,”

Dante told him quietly. “I have her,” his father told him. “You’re foolishly attached to her. And I have her, son.” Dante deliberately gave him a little smirk.

“Good. And you better make sure nothing h...

“...

“Or I ...

The silence between them loaded with tension. Dante had never made that threat before. But he hadn’t been ready before. He was now. “You can’t walk away,” Bloodhound Maroni stepped into his space, h...

“I can and I...

he told his father, taking a hold of his finger and...

“A hair on her head gets harmed, I’m out. Your entire legacy crumbles. Lorenzo Bloodhound Maroni becomes nothing but f...

“I would kill you before that.” ...

“And there would be nothing standing between y...

Dante informed hi...

“Now that he’s a grown adult, why do you think you’re sti...

That shook him. He could see that. Dante pa...

“Thinking she was a pawn was your biggest mistake, old man. So, tell your watchdogs to keep her safe. She gets so much as a paper cut, it’s your...

“I will not have you sullying our blood with a common little whore.” ...

“That ‘common little whore’ is going to be the mother of my child...

Dante smiled at ...

“Your grandchildren. The futu...

“You get with her, I will slit her and her mother’s throats,” the older man spat out. Triumph rolled through him. He had maneuvered his f...

“So, as long as I stay away from her, you le...

“She was going to meet with an accident,” his father said, making Dante’s gut clench. He had already suspected that though. “But you’ve learned to bargain, son. I won’t touch her as long as you put her out of your head. Find someone else to fuck.” Dante gritted his teeth, knowing now wasn’t the time to tip the s...

“Oh, and as of today, her mother is my employee, not yours. The same rules apply to her. Now, I’ll l...

protecting the woman who had his heart, even as he broke hers.

It was a sacrifice worth the wait. She was worth the wait.

He didn’t think she knew how much he loved her voice. In his world of gunshots and screams, her voice was a gentle prayer, evidence that there was life after the endless noise. There would be life after this.

It wasn’t time yet. But one day, it would be. And that day, Dante would smoke a fucking cigarette as he watched him bleed, and he would come home to fuck the woman he loved.

She looked behind the plant to see a tiny little cream-colored kitten with the biggest olive green eyes mewling quietly.

“Lulu it is.”

The side door opened, and Amara looked at it, suddenly alert, ready to run up the stairs if need be. Only to feel her heart stop. Dante Maroni stood in the narrow corridor, making it seem smaller, dressed in a crisp dark shirt and dark pants, his dark eyes on hers, not saying a word. Months. She hadn’t seen him in months and he dared to stare at her with that possessive look in his eyes, had the fucking audacity to stand in front of her like no time had passed, to make the need in her heart so acute it hurt. Amara glared at him, her chin starting to tremble as her eyes burned, rage enveloping her as she just looked at him. She closed the space between them, her hands shoving his chest, all the pain and hurt and loneliness she’d kept inside herself for months bubbling to the surface. Red edged around her vision, her body quivering from the force of her emotions, and she shoved him again, her sight blurring with tears. She punched him in the chest, little sounds of aggression leaving her, almost feral, and he let her, not stopping her until she was spent.

“Get away from me,”

she pushed him on his solid muscles that didn’t even move, glaring at him through her tears, her body shaking. Fuck, she ...

“Am...

he said softly, taking a hold of her wrists in his hands, his fingers going right over her brace...

“You didn’t fight...