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The knife trailed down his neck to his chest, just flat enough to keep the
blade from catching on his skin. Landon tried desperately not to tense as the
edge reached his nipples, but he caught his breath as the blade ever so softly
kissed them, the smallest bite of pain warning him of the sharpness of the
metal.
He kept his eyes on Enzo, but the other man had his attention solely now
on the knife, a small half-smile upon his lips.
The blade pressed a little harder, and Landon gave a grunt as a small
trail of liquid trickled down his side. Enzo s smile deepened, then the knife
continued its journey downward.
Despite all his determination to show courage, Landon began to sweat as
the knife ever so gently slipped under his quiescent cock and lifted it on the
flat side of the blade. The muscles of his arms tensed, as he wondered if he
could be fast enough to knock Enzo away.
The knife slowly left his cock, came lower to lift his sac, cradling one of
his testicles on the flat of the blade, the honed edge biting slightly into the
skin under his balls, now pulled taut.
My brother is a good man. Often he has been the only thing that has
saved me from totally embracing what is within me, from becoming what our
father was. Enzo s voice was soft, almost musing, but the steel underlying it
was fully evident. He has been through much in his life, and I have protected
him as I could. Those eyes lifted to Landon s, dark and terrifying in their
utter calmness. You harm one hair on his head, make him miserable in any
fashion& He leaned closer, and Landon s head pushed deeper into the
bedding as he tried to avoid the proximity of this predator. I will cut your
balls off, very, very slowly, so you feel each moment, each slice. Then I will
peel them and force you to eat each testicle as you bleed yourself out. He
smiled then, close to Landon s face, his teeth startling white in the moonlight.
It takes a long time to die that way.
Landon knew with chilling certainty that this knowledge he spoke of was
gained firsthand, not by hearsay. He tried to clear his throat enough to
speak.
I won t hurt him. If I had known what this was about before we took this
job, I would never have come here. Marcello has our brother and&
Enzo leaned back, the knife leaving a small trail of blood behind as it
nicked the skin with its removal. Landon hissed but didn t move.
I know full well why your team came. I had thought this nonsense with
Marcello over until then, or you would have been killed the moment you set
foot on this island. He frowned, sheathing the knife somewhere under his
shirt with the smooth efficiency of constant use. Kirith is too lax in his
security. I will speak with him on this. I have brought more men, and there
will be regular patrols. I don t care what he wants.
His eyes returned to Landon s I care nothing about your brother. I have
heard of him, and he is a waste of space as far as I am concerned. I cannot
understand why Kirith would have been so foolish as to offer this opportunity
to you, but& You tread a very fine line here, boy, and if you take a wrong
step&
Landon swallowed with difficulty. I could not hurt him, he finally
whispered.
You won t hurt him; that is a fact. There is nowhere you could hide from
me, nowhere I would not be on your tail. Your death would be a slow, drawn-
out affair, believe me.
Landon nodded, for he had little illusion in that quarter. Enzo didn t have
the reputation he did for no reason.
I know, he answered, relieved that his voice didn t shake too much.
Enzo tilted his head, studying him with cold eyes. You have courage,
boy. I will give you that much. He rose to his feet with the grace of a great
cat. If you should end up staying& making him happy, then I will rethink my
view of you, maybe. His terrifying smile flashed again. Go back to sleep,
Landon. This was only a dream. He vanished through the door as silently as
he had apparently come, leaving Landon to start to shake, putting one arm
over his eyes as though to shut out what had just happened.
The sting on his nipple and the skin behind his balls made it all too real.
No dream, he muttered to himself, but a damn nightmare. Jesus&
Kirith had some damn scary relatives. And this had just been one.
* * *
Landon, amazingly, did fall back asleep and was awakened later by the
sound of the helicopter starting up.
The sound battered against the outer walls of the house and echoed
through the interior, though it was somewhat softened by the time it
penetrated through to the bedroom.
Landon got up and prepared himself for the day, hoping fervently that
the ruckus meant Enzo was finally leaving. It had been a long damn week.
The helicopter finally lifted off as Landon was dressing, and he listened
with pleasure as the noise began to lessen with distance.
Peace.
He walked through the doors onto the veranda, still pulling his shirt on.
Kirith sat there, staring out over the water at the ever smaller speck that
was the helicopter.
His face was drawn and tired and he looked& sad, listless.
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