Heart in my throat, I spin to face him completely, trembling in the black water. It just barely covers my chest, yet it feels like I’m as exposed as if I were standing before him.
“I don’t see how. I’m broken, and everything I touch bleeds.”
Silently, he walks toward me, first his feet, then his legs being swallowed by the abyss. He doesn’t even seem to notice how cold the water is. I shudder again as he approaches, though it has nothing to do with the icy temperature and everything to do with the beast coming for me.
He crouches in front of me with a fierce look on his face. I'm tempted to rub my fingers across the harsh lines just to see if I can smooth them out.
Then, he leans in close, his soft lips brushing against my jawline.
“Do you know what attracts a predator to its prey, amore mio?”
“What?” I whisper.
“When it’s hurt,” he murmurs, placing a featherlight kiss on my jaw. “I love it when you're hurt, baby, but only when it's me who inflicts the pain.”
A whimper escapes as his teeth graze where his lips once were.
“You will heal, Sawyer. And as long as you are with me, you will never have to cause pain again. But when you are between my teeth, I will make you bleed. I will make you hurt instead.”
His fingers brush across my hardened nipple, and a gasp rips from my throat.
“That's where you will find the meaning of life. And that's where you will find a life with me worth living.”
“Why?” I whisper. “You couldn’t even say that you didn’t hate me.”
“Non ti odio, Sawyer,” he says roughly. “I wanted to say it was the truth when you asked if I hated you, but I couldn’t lie, so I said nothing. And every time I laid eyes on you today, all I could think was that I never really did.”
He pulls away enough to catch my watery gaze. “Choose to live, bella. Choose me.”
I bite my lip, unable to make myself say yes. But how could I possibly give him hope when I have no idea what my future holds?
He told me to stop lying, so I don’t. Instead, I lean forward and wrap my arms around his neck, attempting to push him back. But he holds firm and instead wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me up out of the cold water.
I’m not ready to walk away from the whispers of death, but something about the way Enzo holds me is so much more enticing.
He doesn’t know it, but in this very moment, I am choosing him.
He lays me down on the sand right at the water’s edge, allowing the waves to wash up around our legs, just to retreat again. The tremors in my body have metastasized, and goosebumps have invaded the entire surface of my skin.
Enzo begins to crawl over the top of me, but I stop him and trade places so he is sitting on the sand while I climb onto his lap. I’m too vulnerable, and if I don’t have a semblance of control, I’ll shatter.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t argue and lets me guide his shirt over his head, and then helps me slide his shorts down.
The icy water rolls up to our legs, but he radiates heat, only drawing me deeper into his body.
I’m wrapping my arms around his neck again, holding eye contact with his candescent eyes beneath the moonlight. His face is always set in such a fierce way, but out here, it only heightens his savagery.
I lick my dry lips and whisper, “Slide them to the side.”
Understanding my demand, his hands brush across my stomach, causing me to flinch as the icy water rolls up our legs, only heightening the intensity. I’m jittery, but I’m alive, and that’s enough right now.
His fingers move to my bottoms, sliding along the edge against my thigh and causing another shiver to cascade down my spine. His finger catches the edge and draws the fabric to the side, baring my pussy to the cold air.
Biting my lip, I reach between us and grab ahold of his cock. A sharp hiss reaches my ears, and that glorious snarl overtakes his face.
He’s most beautiful when he’s at his most primitive.
He dips his chin, leaning back just enough to give room for spit to stream from his mouth and directly onto the head of his cock. I spread the wetness across his tip.
I don’t waste any more time sliding the tip through my wet slit, earning another hiss before I seat myself on him.
Tension fills his muscles like air in a balloon, yet my body seems to go boneless. I can’t fit him inside me easily, but I welcome the pain.
“Does it hurt?” he rasps, knowing how fucking abrasive he is.
I shake my head. “Not enough,” I bite, forcing myself down until I’ve taken him completely, shivering from both the feel of him and the water.