His Exclusive Therapist
And... these dreams,” she began carefully, shifting slightly in her seat, “are they vivid? Do they feel real?”
His lips quirked into a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Oh, very real.” He leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees, the movement casual yet predatory. “I see their faces. I feel the weight of the blade... or the gun. It’s not fear I wake with, Sofia. It’s satisfaction.”
Her breath hitched at the way he said her name and she crossed her legs, forcing herself to focus on the clipboard even though her cheeks flushed. “These... dreams,” she said, her tone firm now, “do they have any connection to your reality? People you know? People you’ve...”
“People I’ve killed?” he finished for her, his voice low and teasing.
Her gaze snapped up to meet his. “That wasn’t what I said.”
“Wasn’t it?” He tilted his head slightly, a small, amused smile playing on his lips. “Come now, Sofia. We both know what you’re really asking.”
She swallowed hard, her professional demeanor cracking ever so slightly. “This is not a game, Mr. Mancini. If you’re looking for entertainment, I suggest—”
“I’m exactly where I need to be,” he interrupted smoothly, his voice a quiet command that sent a shiver down her spine. “You think I’d waste my time with a therapist I didn’t find... intriguing?”
Raye’s pulse quickened, and she hated herself for the warmth creeping up her neck. She adjusted her glasses again, a defensive habit, and forced herself to sit straighter. “This session isn’t about me, Mr. Mancini.”
He laughed softly, his gaze burning into her. “Oh, Sofia,” he said, his voice dropping lower, more intimate. “It’s always about you. Every dream, every shadow I chase... somehow, I see your face in them now.”
Her heart stopped for a moment, the weight of his words crashing over her like a wave. “That’s inappropriate,” she said finally, her voice quieter than she intended.
“And yet, here we are,” he replied, his tone rich with amusement. “Tell me, Sofia... do you ever dream of me?”
Her pen dropped to the floor, a small sound in the charged silence between them. She didn’t move to pick it up. She couldn’t.
.....
Raye Whitlock poses as a therapist to the ruthless and infamous Emilio Mancini. Her mission is simple—gain his trust, uncover his secrets, and destroy his empire from within.
But nothing about Mancini is simple.
Cold, calculating, and dangerously seductive, Mancini is everything she didn't expect, and the lines quickly blur between duty and desire, truth and lies.
His touch is a temptation she can’t afford, his words a seduction she wasn’t trained to resist.
She was sent to break him, not to fall for him. But when his touch lingers too long. Raye begins to wonder… Is she pulling him into her web, or has she already been caught in his?
