Free Shane: A Mafia Love Story: Dark Erotic Romance by R.E. Saxton Page B

hadn’t taken Mia long to realize Stefania was the first person who had ever really cared about her. She supposed her birth mother must have in her own way, but she’d been a heroin addict and had overdosed or deliberately killed herself when Mia was six. Being married to a man like Vadim explained Olga’s need to escape, but didn’t ease the pain of Mia not being important enough to be worth getting clean and making a new life.
    She had soon appreciated the motherly attention Stefania bestowed and came to love her. The marriage had given her the mother she’d always wanted. Despite everything else that had come from the union, she couldn’t regret having known Stefania, even if it meant Aldo was part of her life too.
    Thinking of him made her shudder, and it led her thoughts back to Shane. Desperation filled her, and as the daylight dwindled, her dread increased. Even knowing it was futile, she decided to search the house once more. Maybe she could find a weapon, if nothing else. When Mia returned, she went to the areas she had only cursorily examined yesterday and earlier today.
    She spent another two hours trying to find something to help her. Panic was clawing at her insides like a beast when she slipped into the basement. Her rational mind knew there would be no escape from the room. He’d made preparations before taking her. Still, she inched her way forward, using the dim illumination from strip lights edging the ceiling to guide her.
    Mia came to a smaller room and opened the door to slip inside. It was dark, but she found the switch and flicked it on. Rows and rows of wine bottles surrounded her. Some of them were dusty with age. Curious, she pulled out a long-necked green bottle with gold foil around the cork. The label and vintage meant little to her. She had worked at Lovelle’s since she was seventeen, when Stefania arranged the position for her, but had never learned much in the way of sommelier duties.
    Hopelessness filled her, and she sank to the floor, absently holding the heavy bottle. With a thunk , she set it on the hardwood planks, drew her knees up to her chest, and buried her face against her arms.
    There was no escape. Shane had taken her and would keep her until his interest waned. At that point, he might let her go to maintain good will with her Bratva father, or he might murder her and feed her to the pigs.
    She whimpered at the idea of enduring his violations for however long. Fighting and enduring were two traits that had kept her from crumbling years ago. She could survive and outlast him.
    Tears streamed from her eyes as she admitted it wasn’t just him she had to battle. Mia had to resist her own urges and dark desires. Her body betrayed her whenever Shane touched her with sexual intent. She wanted him as much as she hated him. Hatred was easy. It kept things clear and helped her survive. Desire thrown into the mix left her confused and afraid.
    What if she lost herself? Surrendered to him? Let him mold her into whatever he wanted and claim her as his? Surely sex, no matter how amazing, couldn’t reduce her to that?
    Remembering last night, how she had clawed and bitten him, even as she had orgasmed around his cock, had her questioning that assumption. She couldn’t deny she was vulnerable to Shane’s charms, and he wielded them ruthlessly. It would be easier to just give in, especially since she was fighting herself too.
    That idea was abhorrent. She would not let him overtake her and keep her like some kind of property. It didn’t matter the identity of her adversary. Whether him or herself, she would continue resisting.
    She didn’t know how long she was in the dark before she heard the basement door open and him calling her name. Cautiously, she got to her feet as he called out to her again. The light switch yielded to her finger, plunging the small room into darkness, though illumination from the main basement filtered through the cracks in the door.
    “This is ridiculous,