The Devil's Favourite Obsession

”There the bitches are!” a booming, breathless voice roared triumphantly through the green light room.

The lead man in the blazer took exactly one massive, confident step forward, deeper into the room without caring for the presence of Cassian. His sole focus was on the women whom he needed to punish. ”You are going to pay for what you did!”

A vicious, hungry grin was plastered across his sweaty face. His large hands flexed, clearly ready and eager to drag the three out into the basement parking entirely by their hair.

Any normal man in the room would have flinched at the explosive intrusion. Anyone else would have instantly snapped their head toward the deafening noise, or at the very least reached instinctively for a concealed weapon.

Cassian Crown did absolutely none of those things.

The dark possession burning fiercely in his black eyes remained firmly, unshakably locked onto Cixi’s furious face.

Cixi, whose heart had nearly stopped beating the exact second the door flew open, stared up at him in profound disbelief. She was hyperventilating as the raw reality of the violent men finally caught up to her.

She expected Cassian to push her away. She expected him to stand up and deal with the threat immediately. Instead, he simply exhaled slowly.

Slowly, with an agonising grace that bordered on the psychotic, Cassian began to pull back from her personal space, but he did not rush.

His large fingers, which had been resting firmly against her skin, slowly loosened their dominant grip. He released her wrists, dragging his fingertips lightly, almost sensually, down the sensitive skin of her arms before letting his hands fall away entirely. He shifted his dangerous weight off of her, retracting his knee from between her legs, but he refused to sever their physical connection completely.

Instead of standing up to face the intruders, Cassian slid one arm smoothly behind Cixi’s back.

With a gentle, effortless pull, he lifted her utterly limp body upright. He guided her until she was sitting perfectly straight on the edge of the expensive leather couch, directly beside him.

Cixi was so profoundly stunned by his terrifyingly calm demeanour that she simply let him manoeuvre her like a porcelain doll.

Once she was seated, Cassian turned slightly on the cushions to face her. Completely ignoring the heavy, erratic breathing of the six massive men standing just a few feet away, he reached out with both hands.

He brushed her hair, ensuring not a single strand was out of place. His thumb brushed delicately across her collarbone, properly placing the straps on her shoulder and then moving her skirt, smoothing out the fabric that his own dominant grip had severely wrinkled just moments before.

Finally satisfied that her clothes and appearance were impeccably proper, Cassian dropped his hands. He did not turn to the men who had burst down the door.

He slowly shifted his pitch-black gaze toward the heavily armed, stone-faced mafia enforcers who were waiting for his signal.

”Bring those women here.”

His four guards stepped smoothly towards where the women had fallen. They securely held their hands and wrists, pulling Lily and Marion entirely out of the line of fire and stepping back deeply into the protective shadows near the rear wall.

Cassian comfortably crossed one long leg gracefully over the other, casually draping his right arm along the back of the couch, his fingers resting dangerously close to the nape of Cixi’s neck.

It was a silent, undeniable broadcast of total ownership.

Was he pretending not to remember Cixi?

Only then, after perfectly securing his obsession and ensuring her absolute safety, did he finally turn his beautiful, terrifying face toward the intruders.

Cassian leisurely examined the six breathless men standing near the open doorframe.

’What day was today?’ Cassian questioned himself internally, a deep, dark annoyance slowly beginning to simmer violently in his chest. ’Apparently, everyone thinks they can simply enter the room as they please.’

”Are you actively trying to discover exactly how long it takes a human body to bleed out, or were you gentlemen simply lost on your way to the bathroom?... You better come up with a good reason why you busted into the room. Although the punishment you have already written in your fate the moment you forced entry.

”We were looking for these women,” Binge informed him, not wanting to annoy Cassian any further. It took him a moment to realise whose room he had barged into.

This was the only room with a green door. According to the information he had received, this room was supposed to be excluded and unused. All the others had been locked, either from the inside or from the outside.

So he had taken a gamble and entered anyway, only to discover that he had been right about women being there — and that he had also barged in on Cassian, the man known as the Devil.

”These women helped my wife escape with her lover,” Binge lied. ”And you know the rule, Cassian. Whoever gets involved in personal matters, especially matters involving a mafia wife or husband, must be dealt with. They beat us up and then ran away.”

Cassian’s gaze flicked briefly to Cixi, and for a fleeting moment, he looked almost impressed before returning his attention to Binge.

”He is lying!” Cixi nearly shouted.

”Shh! When two people are talking, you do not interrupt. Haven’t your parents taught you basic manners?”

”But—” Cixi’s words died in her throat the moment she saw Cassian’s face turn grim.

Binge continued more carefully now, ”We have had a very good relationship for the past seven years, Cassian. You have profited greatly from me. So, considering our history, I would ask you, just this once, to forgive me for entering your room. If I had known you were here, I would never have entered without permission.”

He kept his voice lower this time, but he held Cassian’s gaze as he spoke.

Cassian looked at him as though he truly cared about what he had to say.

Then, with a small nod of understanding, he finally gave his verdict.

”I am truly sorry your wife cheated on you. Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it, when she runs off with a younger one and spends the money you give her on him? I truly pity you, Binge!”

A flicker of relief passed through Binge, only to vanish just as quickly.

”But if I let you go unpunished, what reputation would I have left in the underworld?” Cassian asked, looking at Binge as though he genuinely valued his opinion on the matter.

Binge gulped; so did his men. ”What punishment are we talking about here?” He asked, his voice tight.

Everyone knew that once Cassian decided to punish someone, he never let it slide. If he said he would punish them, then no matter how long it took, he would fulfil it.

”I was so engrossed in punishing these men,” Cassian said, glancing at the hostage whose hands were tied behind his back. ”Then I was bitten by a wild cat, and after that, you barged in as well.” He let out a heavy sigh, as though the weight of the world had been placed upon his shoulders. ”I was being thoroughly entertained before all of you came in and ruined my very peaceful people-watching session.” His gaze returned to Binge, turning cold. ”So I will let you take the females... and in exchange, you will give me your left hand. Including all five!” he added with terrifying casualness, as if he were negotiating over something trivial. ”And that’s me being this generous today.”