Detonate: A Dark Mafia Romance (Beneath The Mask Series Book 2)
Detonate: Chapter 9

The way her soft plump lips dance with mine, the way she hums in response. It’s perfect, it’s dangerous.

I don’t know what possessed me to follow her in here. The way she scuffled past the table holding back tears gave me a weird feeling. I have to give her credit; the whole tripping me up in front of my date was truly a masterpiece. I would expect nothing less from my blonde bombshell. We both know she doesn’t hate me. Hell, she just let me devour her pussy against a door, for fuck’s sake.

God, if that was the appetizer, I can’t wait to have the main course.

She’s going to erupt when I show her what it’s like to be fucked properly.

I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but after nearly a year of this sexual tension, it would always come to this. There was no other end game.

She shattered my no-kissing rule and now look at me, gently caressing her lips and exploring her mouth with my tongue, lapping up the remains of that sweet prosecco.

When it comes to my Sunshine, I think she’s about to break every rule.

I break the kiss, leaving her looking at me with her brows furrowed. I rest my lips on her forehead and pull her slim frame into mine, distracting her so I can listen.

Something in my gut tells me something isn’t right.

After years of training in the Special Forces, I know to always trust my gut. I can sense danger before it even arrives.I’m on my date with Eva, Marco’s cousin. We knew this would lure them out, but I didn’t plan on Maddie being here. She’s the last person I want mixed up in this.

Frantic shouting in Italian has me reaching for the semi-automatic holstered in my suit pants. My fingers are itching to pull it out. Gunshots echo around the room. Maddie flinches against me as they ring out. I squeeze her tighter into me, looping my fingers around the handle of my gun.

“Grayson, what was that? My parents are in there,” she says through a trembling breath.

Maddie shakes like a leaf against my body.

This is a normal day in my life.

“I’ll make sure they are ok. I’m going to go. Under no circumstances do you leave this bathroom. Lock the door and do not unlock it for anyone other than me. Ok?”

She nods, tears stream down her face.

“Sunshine, this is what I’m trained to do. I’m gonna go out there, eliminate the problem and then I’m taking you home.” I need her to stay strong. I can’t have her walking into danger.

“What if you get hurt?” she whispers.

“I won’t. They haven’t got anything on me, baby.” I wink and press a quick peck on her lips, removing the gun from my waistband. Her eyes go wide as she spots the semi-automatic in my hand.

I rush out of the bathroom and peer out toward the main door that leads to the restaurant, waiting and listening. I need to know how many of these cocksuckers are in here before I do anything in front of a room full of innocent civilians.

“Sir, please, we are going to have to call the police if you don’t put your weapon down,” a woman pleads to a man. I’m going on the assumption there is only one here.

“Eva, get the fuck over here. The fuck you think you’re doing. You fucking stupid woman,” a man shouts in his deep Italian accent. Gasps fill the room as he moves closer. This was the plan.

She’s the wildcard that refuses to bow down to her cousin. I scoped this place out on many occasions. I picked the perfect table, past the restrooms. My plan was always to go to the bathroom but not with Maddie. She was a welcoming distraction.

I stand quiet, listening for footsteps. Just when they reach me, I fling open the door and grab the short Italian man by the throat. Fear flashes in his eyes as he frantically tries to draw his gun up so I’m staring straight into the barrel of his gun. His hands tremble as I tighten my grip around his neck.

He won’t shoot me, for the same reasons I haven’t killed him on the spot. Too many eyes on us.

“I don’t fucking think so,” I spit out, violence dripping from my tone.

As much as I’d love to blast his brains out, I can’t. Not here, anyway. I’m here to deliver a message, because apparently burning their warehouse to the ground with three of their men and stealing back our shipment of cocaine wasn’t enough. They were then stupid enough to retaliate by taking Nico.

I whack the gun out of his hand with my own, and it clatters on the floor. I draw my blade from my back pocket and bring it up to his forehead. I push it in enough to pierce the skin. Crimson drips from the wound. I drag the knife all the way along his forehead and down to his cheek, slicing his flesh as I do. He sucks in a breath, biting his lip. He’s starting to tremble in my grip.

He’s now blinking through the blood dripping over his eyelids as I drag him in closer while bending down to his ear.

“You tell Marco just how easy it was to pick up one of his family members and you couldn’t stop me. If he carries on, we will take every single person he cares about, one by one. He has twelve hours to return Nico, unharmed. If you don’t, then say goodbye to pretty Eva over there,” I say, nodding over to an unbothered Eva, biting on her manicured nails.

I kick his guns away and release him. He grabs his throat and gasps for breath. He nods, turns on his heel, and runs back out of the restaurant.

Maddie’s parents look on in horror. From the two-minute interaction I’ve had with her mother, I can already say I don’t like her. I gather she was the reason Maddie was running from the table in tears. I remember listening to Sienna going on to Keller once about how worried she was about Maddie. She seemed to think her mom was piling on too much pressure on her to replace a boyfriend and get married.

I say she’s had a lucky escape avoiding marriage.

I take a deep breath and plaster on a smile, for Maddie’s sake. But like fuck am I letting her go home with them. They don’t deserve a ray of light like Maddie if this is how they will treat her.

As I approach their table, her mom gives me a tight smile, but her eyes give her away. She’s fearful of me. As she should be.

“Mr. and Mrs. Peters,” I greet them, extending my hand.

Blood drips from my fingers so I quickly wipe them over my pants and put my hand back out. Maddie’s dad, despite looking horrified, shakes my hand.

“Robert,” he replies.

“Grayson, wasn’t it? Do you know where Maddie is?” her mom questions in a patronizing tone.

“She’s safe. I am going to take her home now.”

“We can’t let her go home with this madman. Did you see what he just did?” her mom shouts at Robert.

“I assure you, she is more than safe with me. It wasn’t a question. Have a lovely evening,” I say, needing to get away from this exhausting conversation and back to Maddie.

I turn toward the bathrooms, giving Eva a quick wink on my way past. Her hand flies out and catches my fingers. I immediately withdraw them from her touch.

“You know, I don’t care what my cousin says. Come, sit, have a drink with me and then you can fuck my brains out later,” she purrs, crossing her legs in some strange way to seduce me.

“No thanks,” I reply, leaving her open-mouthed.

I head toward the bathrooms and push open the door. A sudden urge consumes me to get to Maddie.

“Sunshine, it’s me. You can open up now.”

The lock clicks, and she slinks out of the doorway, her eyes puffy and red, make-up streaming down her face. Her eyes meet mine and then roam over my body, as if assessing to see if I’m really there.

“Oh, thank God, you’re ok. I was so worried.” She sags in relief, her hand pressing against her chest.

“You were worried about me?”

I can’t remember the last time someone was concerned about my safety.

“Ugh, of course I was worried about you. You went running out there when someone had a gun!” The panic is clear in her voice.

I open my arms out to her. “Come here, Sunshine.”

She runs and leaps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my middle, nuzzling her face in the crook of my neck.

“Can you see why this is a bad idea now?” The words are gutting me to actually say, but it’s the truth. This is my life.

Her face snaps up to mine, a serious look masking her pretty features.

“I still want this.” Mischief dances in her eyes.

My cock springs to life as her pussy rests against it. I swear I can feel heat radiating off her. My hands grip her ass cheeks and I bring my lips down to her neck and suck.

A moan falls from her lips, and I smile.

“Grayson, I want you, no, I need you to fuck me. But if you think you’re fucking me in a bathroom, you have another thing coming.”

Ah, there’s my feisty girl.

“Well, we better get out of here before I bend you over the sink and fuck you then. Because I’m about a minute away from doing just that if you continue to grind your sweet pussy on me,” I whisper, which earns me another moan.

I think we’ve officially crossed the point of no return.

She slides her legs down, and I hold onto her hips as her feet land on the tiled floor.

“I need to say bye to my parents,” she says, biting her lip.

“No need, I’ve already told them you are coming with me.”

Shocked, she doesn’t move from her spot.

“Come on, I can’t wait to be balls deep inside you. Let’s go.” I hold out my hand to her and she accepts. A grin stretches her lips.

I head for the back exit and toward the car park. I open up the passenger door and guide her in with my palm on her lower back. It’s almost weird for us being so nice to each other.

She gives me a small smile through her passenger window, and that’s enough to make me forget any doubts swirling around my mind.

She knows I’m a monster and wants to fuck me anyway.