Page 121 of Savage Don

“Only a year?” I gulp, my fingers going cold under Ray’s warm grip.

The pressure must be unimaginable. Here’s this poor boy who’s risen up from the streets to become a king, and he’s been handed a ticking time bomb.

For as little as I know about my father and his business, I am well aware of just how stubborn Italians can be.

Sympathy grips my soul.

I need to help. Ray helped me understand that I could conquer the darkness. Now, I feel compelled to help him conquer his.

“What can I do?”

Letting go of my hand, Ray wraps his arms around the small of my back and pulls me into him. Even with him sitting down and me standing up, we’re almost eye level.

“You can stay here,” he says, slipping his hands onto my ass. “Do some school work. You have midterms this week, don’t you? I’ll make sure you get a chance to take them.

“Really?”

“Yep,” he nods. “But you better study hard, because if you fail, there will be consequences.”

The sudden lightness in his tone catches me off guard. Even as he squeezes my ass, I’m still struggling to make sense of his whole life story, how I’m involved in it, and where the hell this is all going.

But the deeper his fingers dig into my plump flesh, the less I care. I don’t like that he’s leaving. I want to feel him on me again. I need to feel him inside of me again. Whether that’s through my pussy or my throat, I don’t care.

Even just another kiss will do.

“What kind of consequences?” I gulp, clumsily trying to seduce him into staying.

“We still have another box to open,” Ray says. Standing up, he spanks me. “If you fail, I will use what’s inside to punish you.”

“And what if I pass?”

“Then I will use the contents of the box to please you.”

“What if I want to be punished?” I whisper, but I might have said it a little too meekly, because I’m not sure Ray hears me as he brushes by me and heads towards the bedroom door. “Wait!” I plead, following him with my eyes.

“What is it?” Ray asks, stopping in his tracks to look back over his shoulder at me.

“Why do you care about how I do in school?” I ask, not knowing why. Does it really matter?

Maybe I just don’t want him to leave me here, alone. The room already feels like it’s getting colder.

Stay.

“I care because I know you care,” he says, and my heart flutters. But before I can fall for him, he turns away and starts to leave again.

“Wait!” I hear myself croak once more, desperation shaking my voice.

I don’t know what’s happened to me, but I’m tired of fighting against what feels right, and for one reason or another, Ray feels right.

“Last question, kitten,” Ray says, his hand reaching for the doorknob.

“Where are you going?” I ask, lips pouting as I wait to be brushed aside.

Opening the door, Ray steps out into the hallway. Only then does he turn around to give me one last look.

That’s when I see that the old mischievous smirk has crawled back onto his stupidly handsome face. Fuck, he’s more stunning than ever. More heart-poundingly gorgeous.

Why does he have to look so good when he’s walking away?