Sold to a Marseille Don, So He Knelt at My Father's Grave novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: The Line, Turned
I tied the last knot in my father's rope, and Antone laughed under his breath at how fast I did it.
"Your father's knot," he said.
"It holds under any strain, and it comes undone with one pull on the end. He taught me when I was six."
"Show me the end."
I laid the tail across his palm, and he closed his fingers on it.
"That's yours," I said. "Pull it and you're free. You'll have to ask yourself whether you want to."
He sat on a folded blanket on the roof stone with his back against the iron rail of the terrace.
His wrists were crossed above his head, and the old rope ran twice round the bar, soft and dark in the light from the harbor.
His shirt was open to the belt.
The cold stood on his chest, and the Joliette burned below him.
It was the last night of the year, and a few early rockets were already going up over the Vieux-Port.
I stood over him in my long coat, and I let it fall open.
I wore nothing underneath it but my boots.
His eyes went down my body slowly, and his hands pulled once against the rope.
"Vannina."
"You said the roof was yours," I said. "Tonight it's mine."
I knelt, and I kissed him.
I kissed him slowly, and with my tongue, while my hands stayed flat on his chest and did not move.
He strained up into the kiss and I pulled back an inch, and he made a sound of pure frustration.
"Patience," I said, in his own voice.
"You are a cruel woman."
"I'm an Orsini," I said. "I've been told it's catching."
I moved my mouth along his jaw and down his throat.
I bit his collarbone and licked it, and I felt his whole body go taut on the blanket.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of Sold to a Marseille Don, So He Knelt at My Father's Grave are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 16 · All chapters · Chapter 18 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend