Page 117 of Savage Don

I’m not ready to be a mother.

“For how long?” I gulp, not wanting to go back home, but unsure of how much I’m willing to give up in order to stay here.

“Forever.”

A warm shiver washes up my spine. Is this what I want?

It’s impossible to decide. It feels like no matter what I choose, some part of my life will be unbearably dark and suffocating.

“Father won’t like that,” I mumble.

“He doesn’t have much of a choice.”

“Do I?”

Slipping on his pants, Ray shakes his right leg until I can see the outline of his cock. The sight makes me bite my lip and flutter my eyelids. Obviously, he sees my arousal, like a predator spotting signs of weakness in his prey, he’s on me.

But this isn’t the same animal I was first introduced to. He’s not here to rip my throat out and turn my heart black.

Before I know what’s happening, his big warm hands are draped over both of my cheeks.

Fucking hell. I just want to sink into his powerful touch. But how could I? Everything is moving so fast. It’s almost hard to remember what I should be most afraid of.

Father? Sonia? Ray?

They all blur together… yet, somehow, Ray manages to stand out. No one has ever made me feel the way he makes me feel.

I can’t help but want more.

“Here’s your choice, Francesca Galli,” Ray whispers, his hot breath washing over my forehead. “Be my queen, or fall with your family.”

The weight of his ultimatum makes my knees weak, but his grip keeps me upright. There’s a gentle power to his touch that reminds me of the way he fucks.

My toes curl in the soft carpet below my feet.

“I can’t just abandoned my family…” I whisper.

“Do it before they abandon you.”

It’s like he’s hooked onto the loudest of my insecurities and ripped them up from the depths.

Ever since Sonia entered my family, it’s felt like there hasn’t been room for me.

“My father may be cruel and overly-protective, but that’s just because he loves me,” I say, more trying to convince myself than anything else.

“Love is a strong word.”

“It’s the right one.”

“Are you sure?”

Ray’s hands slide down my cheeks, over my jaw, and onto my shoulders. Now, it feels like he’s pushing me down into the ground. It’s up to me to keep myself upright.

Another lesson?

“… Yes,” I whisper. But that’s a lie. The truth is, I don’t know. Or maybe I do, and I’m just not willing to admit it to myself.

“What happened to your bedroom door?” Ray asks.