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When I got within arms reach of Lou, I pulled back and punched him square in the mouth. It felt amazing.

"You piece of shit," I spat at him.

I punched him again.

"You dirty mother fucker," I rolled my shoulders back.

I wound up and delivered another punch, this time to his nose. I heard the crack and smiled.

Enzo wrapped a hand around my waist.

"As hot as you look doing this, I don't want you to hurt your hands," he whispered into my ear.

I leaned back into his embrace. He was right, my knuckles were busted already. I turned toward him to kiss him quickly.

"We'll take over from here, baby," Enzo kissed underneath my ear. He went to let go of me but I gripped his arm quickly.

"No, please. Hold me," I whispered, slightly embarrassed. I needed his body against mine. He always felt safe.

He nodded and told Stefano to break his fingers. I gasped at the brutality of the act, but I didn't feel bad at all. He tried to rape me. Plus he probably did that to so many other girls before me.

Screams rang out following each crack and snap. I cringed a little because it was nauseating to listen to.

"You don't have to watch, Lilly," he murmured so quietly that only I could hear.

"I want to," I persisted.

His hand rubbed at my hip in slow circular strokes. I sighed into him.

"Please, I'm sorry," Lou cried for mercy.

I begged him too when we were in the office.

"No," I roared, "Kill him."

Enzo pulled out his gun, arms still wrapped around me, and aimed at Lou.

"Close your eyes, baby girl," he whispered huskily into my ear.

I wasn't ready to watch his murder Lou so I listened to him. As soon as my eyes shut, the shot rang out. It was so loud my ears started to ring a little.

I kept my eyes shut, not ready to see Lou's lifeless body. I was so cowardly. I ordered his death, but couldn't actually watch it.

Enzo spun me around so that my face was buried into his shirt. He smelled so good.

"Come on, let's go. Don't look," he picked me up and I tucked my face in his neck so that I couldn't see the mess I just ordered. Enzo carried me like I weighed nothing.

Stefano stayed behind to deal with Lou's body.

"Is there something wrong with me? I don't feel bad. Just grossed out..."

"You're perfect, angel. Nothing is wrong with you."

"But, I-"

"Lilly, he deserved it. He doesn't deserve your guilt."

"Okay," I mumbled into his neck stubble. It tickled my lips.

"Thank you for coming into the office when you did," I nestled into his stubble.

"I'll always protect you, angel. Now close your eyes; you're safe now. I'll wake you up when we get to my house."

My body felt tired from all the stress today. I closed my eyes and kissed his stubble before drifting into a light sleep.

*****

When I woke up I was sprawled out on Enzo's couch with a fluffy blanket draped over me.

My mind quickly recalled the events that lead up to the current and I groaned. Everything was a mess. I felt guilty, not because I ordered Lou's death, but because I didn't feel guilty over it at all.

After hearing Enzo threaten Filippo, I thought Enzo and his brothers were ruthless and cold, but I was just as bad.

We were made for each other.

When Enzo carried out my wishes of torture it only made my attraction to him grow exponentially. I wanted him more than ever.

I looked up around the room for him, to tell him how I felt. The smell of bacon and cheese wafted through the air. It smelled delicious in the whole space. I stood up and walked toward the kitchen to see Enzo humming and stirring something in a pan.

He was only wearing a white tank top and his slacks. I drooled a little over the muscles covered in tattoos on his back that were on display for me, before finally coughing to get his attention.

"You're awake. Are you feeling okay?" he asked cautiously.

"Enzo, I want to be with you," I blurted out like a desperate crazy person.

Wow, that was straight to the point.

He raised an eyebrow at me with the hint of a smirk on his lips.

"I want to be with you, I don't care about the darker part of you. I think I have it too. I can accept it. I can be part of your mafia if I have to be," the last sentence was shaky on my tongue. It just came out. I didn't expect myself to even say that. But, maybe I could be a part of his organization. If it meant I could have Enzo in my life, I wanted it. He was the only thing that made me feel safe no matter what. And I wasn't ready to end what was growing between us. I never felt this way about a man before.

He stood there quietly for a moment.

"Let's eat dinner and talk. You just woke up, give your brain a minute to process what you're trying to commit yourself to," he stated soberly. There was a warning behind his words.

I nodded and he pointed his chin at the table, to tell me to sit down.

I sat down in the first chair and waited for him. He came and placed a plate of spaghetti carbonara down in front of me with a fork and then sat across from me with his own plate. It was still weird to get served considering I was the literal waitress, and Enzo had people serving him constantly.

I said a polite thank you and looked at him waiting for him to say something.

"Eat, Bella."

I wanted to have the conversation, but I was also starving from not eating all day. He didn't have to tell me twice. I dug in and moaned at the taste.

"You really are a good cook," I spoke with my mouth half full.

He chuckled and shrugged with a lazy smirk on his face, "I told you so."

I giggled and kept eating, watching him for some sort of signs of where this conversation was going to lead in his face. He was terribly good at hiding his emotions. I couldn't grasp a single theory from his features.

When we were both halfway done he finally spoke again.

"So, first off I will start with is no. No, to you trying to join my mafia. It is not a place for you and never has to be. You think because you wanted someone to die, you are bad now. That is simply not true. You might have been angry and wanted revenge, but that is different from the ruthless and meaningless killing you'd never be able to do."

I frowned at the minor insult about my ability to commit a murder, but at the same time, he was probably right.

"That's not a bad thing. What I'm saying is there is no need for you to join the mafia. I just wanted you to see who I was. There is no reason for you to join. You're mine, and I'll make sure everyone knows that. They will respect you, and protect you with their lives because you're mine."

He spoke matter of factly. I just stared at him.

"But, what if I want to be part of the mafia," I challenged him just to be stubborn. I didn't actually want to be part of it. I just wanted to push him. See what he'd say.

"You are mine, you won't work for me. I don't even want you to work in that restaurant anymore. I want to treat you like a princess. You shouldn't have to work."

"Well I have tuition to pay and rent for my dorm every semester, so that's not really an option," I argued.

He rolled his eyes, "I could pay that right now."

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can," he argued like it was so simple.

"I'm sure you can, but I won't let you," I rolled my eyes.

"Rolling your eyes, talking back, perhaps I should start training you right now. You need to drop these habits. If you want to be mine, then you will be my sub too. Are you prepared for that? Is that what you want?"

My cheeks flushed.

"Yes, but stop trying to change the subject. You're distracting me."

"Yes, you want to be my submissive?" he smiled widely.

"Yes, but that's not what we're talking about," I said meekly. His smile made my panties melt. He was too charming, my brain was growing scrambled too quickly.

"Lilly, we have some things to discuss, please stay focused," he teased.

I gasped and narrowed my eyes at him.

He cracked another smile at me and I giggled.

"Okay, okay. I will just fire you from the job at the restaurant. Since I'm your boss's boss" he laughed.

"What?!"

"I'm kidding, relax. But, what about this proposition. If you're going to be my submissive, we need more time together, don't you agree? You have a very full schedule, with work, school, volunteer work."

He was right, I never had a social life, but I wanted that now. I wanted to be able to spend more time with Enzo.

I nodded, "yeah, I am very busy. I do want to be able to spend more time with you."

"Okay, so you keep going to school, keep volunteering because I know that makes you happy. But, you can temporarily leave your job at the restaurant, and your spot will be held. Because I know you are nervous if we break up, that you'll be out of a job. So, I will hire someone to temporarily replace you, and I pay for your tuition so that you don't have to worry about it."

"That's a lot to process, Enzo. My tuition is a lot of money, I can't accept that from you. I just don't know. I don't like the idea of taking your money, and I can't rely on you. But, I do want to be able to spend more time with you."

"Okay, so I have a better proposition. You can be my personal assistant. It'll be a better job than you're current one, with more money and fewer hours. Plus, I'll get to be around you all the time, which is a win for me," he chuckled. "But, if you hate it, your job at the restaurant will still be there for you."

"I don't know," I mumbled.

"Just consider it. You'll have more free time and be able to focus on school more."

"I'll think about it," I agreed.

If I worked for Enzo as his assistant I wouldn't be taking handouts from him. Plus we could spend more time together. Plus there was all the office sex we could have. I laughed to myself. Why was I so horny all the time since I met Enzo?

"Okay."

"Okay, you agree? Or okay you'll think about it?"

"Okay, I agree. I want to be able to spend more time with you and focus on my school work more."

Enzo's face lit up. He got up from his seat across me and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me tenderly.

"I'll let Donny know."

I nodded and continued kissing him till he pulled away again.

"Well, now that you're mine, I remember promising you a punishment for your disobedience."

"But-" the words died on my tongue when he threw me over his shoulder.

"I'm itching to take you to my club and show you off, but I know you're not ready for that yet. So, I'll take you to my playroom, angel."

I was at a loss for words. I just dangled from his shoulder, face bright red, thankful he couldn't see.