“Joseph!” I practically sobbed his name as relief ripped through me.
“I’ll drive,” Joseph told Marco as he caught up to us. “You cover her.”
Marco nodded, shifting me slightly so he could open the back door of the BMW. He slid inside with me, placing me on my back along the seat. I heard Joseph slam the driver’s side door, and the car lurched forward. Marco leaned over me, his weight pressing me down into the leather as his body covered mine.
“That’s it,” he said, his voice low and soothing. “Hold on to me. You’re safe.”
I didn’t realize my fingers had curled into the front of his shirt, and I was holding on to him for dear life.
Marco’s huge hands started roving over my body with shocking gentleness. “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you?” Despite his gentle hands, his words were a rough growl.
“N-no,” I stammered, my teeth clicking together. It was so cold in the car. “He just said…” I trailed off, shivering at the memory of the man’s hand on my face.
“What did he say?” Marco prompted.
“He knew my name. He said his friends had pictures of Joseph and me together. He said Joseph would be upset if anything happened to me.”
Joseph’s harsh curse floated back to me, and the engine roared as the car picked up speed.
“We’re through the gates,” he announced a few minutes later. He must have smashed the speed limit to get us back to the estate so quickly.
Marco finally sat up, pulling me with him so I sat in his lap. He held me close and placed his hand on the side of my head, tucking my face against his chest. My fingers were still fisted in his shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind. He rubbed my chilled arms with his free hand, and he stroked my hair with the other.
“It’s okay, princess. I know that was scary, but you’re safe now.”
I nodded against him, soothed by the deep timbre of his voice. I was so rattled by what had happened, I didn’t even register the strange fact that I was feeling comforted by Marco. Just a few hours ago, I’d found him frightening.
But there was nothing scary about the way he held me, warming my chilled skin with his body heat. Tears spilled from my eyes, wetting his shirt.
“You can cry,” he assured me. “Hold on to me and cry. You’ll feel better after.”
I let the tears flow freely as I purged the residual fear from my system. I was safe in his strong arms, and I didn’t have to be afraid of him anymore.
Joseph had been right all along. Marco only wanted to keep me safe. They’d both warned me that if I tried to leave the estate, their enemies would find me. Until now, I hadn’t really understood the threat. I’d believed that Joseph was somehow involved with the mafia, and I’d heard him loud and clear when he’d told me that he had enemies.
Do you want to be murdered? Or maybe they’ll just rape you. Or maybe they’ll pass you around until they get bored, and then they’ll kill you. Marco’s blunt description of what their enemies might do to me thundered through my mind, sending shockwaves of panic shuddering through my body.
You’re very pretty. I can see why Joseph likes you. I’m sure he’d be heartbroken if anything happened to you. The scarred man’s words layered over my memory of Marco’s warning, and my cheek burned where their enemy had brushed his knuckles over my skin.
I buried my face against Marco’s chest, as though his steady heat could melt away the taint of my attacker’s touch. Suddenly, this world of mobsters and mortal danger was very real. The gates that guarded Marco’s estate felt less like the bars of a cage and more like a defensive barricade.
Any fantasies I’d entertained about quickly returning to Harvard evaporated. From now on, I had to trust Joseph and Marco to keep me safe.
We would remain on this estate indefinitely. Together. The three of us.
Thank you for reading MAFIA CAPTIVE! Joseph, Ashlyn, and Marco’s story continues in THE DADDY AND THE DOM.
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I was meant to be theirs: Joseph, my sweet first love, and Marco, his sternly intimidating best friend.
I know they’re dangerous men, but being with them doesn't feel wrong. When they hold me in their arms, I feel safe, cherished. I’m still their captive, but I’m no longer certain if I want to be free of them.
They swear they only kidnapped me for my own protection, and after a terrifying attack by one of their enemies, I’m starting to believe them.
If I give myself to them, can my alluring criminal captors protect me? Or is their world too dangerous for even their strong arms to shield me from harm?
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The Daddy and The Dom Excerpt
Ashlyn
My frozen skin was icier than the cold tiles at my back, a searing contrast to the heated blood that pounded a head-splitting drumbeat in my ears. My racing heart slammed against my ribcage, inflicting a bruising ache deep in my chest.
The wicked scar carved into my attacker’s face twisted on a leer, and his hot breath burned my frozen cheeks. His wiry body pressed into mine, the sharp edges of his joints pinning me in place. Something hard jammed into my side: the gun he’d used to threaten me and compel my silence.
All my muscles locked up with the sudden, primal knowledge of mortal danger. One wrong move, and a bullet would tear through my stomach.
He leaned in close, his rough stubble scraping my cheek.
“You’re very pretty.” His oily words oozed over my neck, leaving a toxic trail. “I can see why Joseph likes you. I’m sure he’d be heartbroken if anything happened to you.”
Sticky warmth painted my skin, and when he pulled away, his face was a gory mess. Blood spilled over his thin lips, cut raw by his broken, jagged teeth.
Joseph had done that. He’d smashed the man’s jaw when he’d come to my defense.
Horror was a lead weight in my stomach, and I managed to tear my eyes from the nauseating sight of his ruined face. Frantically, I searched the cramped bathroom for my savior, the man I loved.
But Joseph wasn’t there. I was alone with this monstrous man, completely powerless to escape him.
“You’re very pretty,” he said again, his tone roughed with sick hunger. “Maybe I’ll pass you around to my friends until they get bored, and then I’ll kill you.”
Shadows thickened in the corners of the small space, growing into dark, indistinct silhouettes of towering men.
A second hard length pressed into my hip, larger than the gun shoved into my side.
I thrashed like a trapped animal, and my shriek echoed through the bathroom, rebounding against the tiles to pierce my eardrums. The shadows closed in on me, trailing frozen fingers over my flesh.
My wordless scream coalesced into Joseph’s name, begging for him to save me…