Chapter 12-Ono
F uck.
She was pissed.
Rightfully so. Though I had to admit I wasn’t counting on that.
I’d been so lost daydreaming about her, wrapped up in my own desire for her, I forgot something.
Michelle wasn’t like other women.
She wasn’t some roll over and does whatever I want, always at my beck and call, type of girl. She was special.
Not one of those eager to please will do whatever I say females who were so desperate to spend a night in my bed.
In fact, I never saw anyone less inclined to please me.
And that fact made my dick hard.
Not because I was a masochist, but because she was right to know her worth.
She was so damn sexy and badassed. I smirked as she walked to the sink in that piece of shit club.
This place wasn’t good enough for her. I hated that she’d come here without me. More than that, I hated myself for spending too many days away from her.
I wanted Michelle to want me. To feel the same bone deep craving I felt for her. And I looked forward to the challenge of making her feel that way, of getting her to admit her desire.
Maybe that was why I chased after her when she finished washing her hands and left the restroom.
Or maybe it was simply because I had no other choice.
I mean, fuck, but she had some walk, swaying that fine ass of hers as she got further and further away from me.
It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull and it only took me three seconds to start following.
I pushed through the crowd, growling at everyone who glanced in her direction.
The woman had all my attention.
She was like a dream.
A dark-skinned beauty of a dream with eyes glittering like volcanic glass in the darkness of the club.
This woman was my kryptonite.
A siren leading me to ruin.
But I would be a liar if I didn’t admit I looked forward to it.
It had only been a few days, but I was hooked.
I’d already memorized the feel of her skin, the taste of her passion. There was no other woman who captivated me like she did.
I noticed she changed her hair. When I’d stayed with her, she’d had it pulled back from her sweet face. Simple, effective, and still pretty.
But not tonight.
Tonight, Michelle wore it down.
Those tiny braids tumbled over her shoulders in a cascade of glossy dark curls. Tonight, she’d gone from good girl to goddess.
The sexy style made my fingers itch to touch her. I wanted to wrap her hair around my fist, to pull her head back and claim her lips as I fucked her from behind.
I wanted to drag her to me, to hide her from prying eyes. I was a greedy motherfucker, and I didn’t like the fact that others had seen her looking so fucking good tonight.
I growled, whether willing my cock or my ire to calm the fuck down. But both were riled, and it was an impossible feat to back down now.
Her soft curves were outlined in that fucking outfit, and I wanted to rip it off her. To burn it so she could never wear it again. Or keep it locked in my closet so she could wear it only for me on special occasions.
Fuck, I liked that idea.
I was suddenly taken with the desire to drape her in silk. To dress her in sexy see-through negligées, lace teddies, and satin thongs. Soft, shimmery wisps of fabric that would feel incredible against her skin and my hands.
I wanted all of that and more. Truth was I never felt this way about anyone. Never seen or touched anything like her.
“Wait a second, Doc. I’m not done talking to you,” I growled, my voice husky with want.
“Yeah? Well, you seemed done the other day when you walked out without telling me.”
“It wasn’t like that?—”
“Really? Cause I was there. You left. No note. No text. No nothing,” she replied, keeping her pretty face forward, like I held no interest for her at all.
If it wasn’t for years of honing my observation skills, I’d have thought she was seriously done with me.
I might have missed the jumping pulse at her neck, and the slight catch of her breath when our eyes met.
But I didn’t miss either of those things.
Michelle could play cool doctor all she wanted, but she felt something for me. That alone kept me going.
“Look, I’m sorry about that. I had to take care of some things before I came back to make sure you were safe,” I said, grateful when she paused and looked at me.
I didn’t want to lie. But I didn’t want to tell her everything either. I just wanted her. So I gave her just enough information to let her know I was serious.
“Safe? What do you mean?” she asked, the worry swimming in her big eyes pulling me in.
Was it possible she was worried? Was it even conceivable she cared about me?
“Nothing. It’s complicated,” I said, angry at myself.
I didn’t want to worry her. I wanted to explain. Wanted to tell her everything.
And that was a fucking first.
Michelle turned her body to face me, and I was about to move in when someone sided up to us, making my protective instincts go berserk.
I had an arm in front of her, ready to push her behind me as I turned towards the fucker who was getting all up in my space.
“ Ono! What's up, man? You know our Shelly?” Sammy Ramirez shouted, slapping me on the back before nodding at Michelle.
“Back up, man,” I growled before I could stop myself.
I didn’t know why I was acting like an asshole.
That wasn’t true. I did know why.
I was fucking jealous. I didn’t want that single motherfucker around my Bellezza. Even though he was one of my closest friends. And even though I knew he’d known her longer than I had.
I was being irrational. But my instincts were going berserk. More than anything, I wanted to pick Michelle up, toss her over my shoulder, and get her the fuck out of there. I wanted to. But I didn’t.
So fucking sue me for being protective. Whatever.
“Hey, Sammy,” Michelle said, smiling at him, and that green monster on my shoulder grew another fucking inch.
“What's up, Shelly?” he ignored me and addressed her directly.
I rolled my shoulders, trying to calm the fuck down.
“Yo, Shell, is this mug bothering you?” another male joined us.
I closed my eyes as Nico fucking Fury Jr. joined our little trio.
FML.
“Hey Jr.! How’s Annabella?”
“She’s good. So, is this fuck bugging you or what?” he repeated, and I tensed, ready to start a fucking fight.
“No, he's fine,” Michelle said.
She turned her head, raising her eyebrows and looking at me as if to say what the fuck are you doing and I shrugged my response.
Yeah, I currently had both arms on either side of her, hands on the bar, caging her in. It was not my norm, and both men were eyeing me like they couldn’t figure out whether to hit me or what.
They could try. I mean, I was acting like a completely overbearing asshole, but I had no intention of removing my arms from around her body.
I wanted those pricks to get far away from Michelle and I wasn’t being shy about it.
“You sure, Shelly? Want us to get rid of him?” Sammy asked, narrowing his eyes at my position. Particularly to where Michelle now had both hands wrapped around my wrists.
“I’m fine.”
“She’s fine,” we both said at the same time.
I clenched my jaw. This woman knew she was mine. On some level, she fucking knew, and that was all the go ahead I needed.
“Look, Jr., Sammy, I'm with her ,” I told the two men, dipping my chin.
I felt her confusion at the way I’d worded that, but Sammy and Jr. knew what the fuck I meant.
They both tensed.
“What the fuck, bro?” Sammy growled, and my instincts were going nuts all over again.
“I said, I'm with her . I mean it, okay? Now back off,” I warned him again.
I didn’t want to insult the two of them, but I was willing to go as far as I had to just to get my point across.
“Yeah? And what about that thing you got going on?” Jr. asked, and I frowned.
How did that motherfucker know my business?
“You got a beat on that?” I asked.
“Fuck yeah. There’s nothing goes on in Jersey the Vipers don’t know about, Ono. You know that.”
Yeah, I fucking did. I scrubbed a hand over my face and nodded once.
“I got it handled.”
“Got what handled? What the hell are you guys talking about?” Michelle asked.
“Nothing, Shelly. We’re just catching up. See you later, kid,” Sammy said, winking at her and making me growl a second time.
“You better switch to decaf, Ono. This one’ll give you high blood pressure,” Jr. joked, ducking as Michelle reached out to swat him in the head.
“Assface! Tell Lucy I’m going home!” she called out.
I’d already grabbed her hand before she could make contact with Jr., and she struggled against me for a moment before sighing and giving up.
I wasn’t hurting her or anything. But I’d have to be fucked in the head if I let her hands touch any part of that asshole.
She seemed to know, or maybe it was just instinct. Either way, she relented, and a part of me was appeased.
Smart woman.
“What? I wouldn’t have hurt him,” she mumbled and rolled her beautiful dark eyes.
“Don’t want you touching him, Doc. Don’t want you touching no one but me.”
“That-that’s asinine. I’m a doctor. I touch a lot of people,” she said, and shook her head, flagging down the bartender.
“You want a drink?”
“No, I need to close out my tab,” she said, and I nodded.
I handed the woman behind the bar my credit card before Michelle could get hers.
“I don’t need you to buy my drinks,” she muttered, but I remained quiet.
No sense arguing about something that wasn’t going to change. My woman didn’t pick up checks when I was there.
No fucking way.
I didn’t care if that made me a throwback or a chauvinist or whatever.
My woman didn’t want for anything. She never fucking would. I would provide for her. It was my fucking pleasure to do so.
I waited for my credit card and signed the paper, dropping a hundred dollar bill as an extra tip for the bartender before I dropped my hand to the small of Michelle’s back.
“Well, um, thanks, I guess. See ya,” she said and turned to walk away from me.
I guess she was expecting me to just let her leave, but obviously she didn’t know me well enough yet.
She didn’t understand that I wasn’t leaving without her.
“Where are you going?” she asked as I stalked her out the exit doors.
“With you.”
“With me? Fuck if you are.”
“Fuck if I’m not,” I said, grinning at her.
I loved a woman who could curse.
“Boss? Want us to get the car?” Gio asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
I was used to bodyguards, and it amused me that Michelle was slightly startled by my team’s not so sudden appearance. Gio and Flacco had arrived with me.
But a couple of others had been tailing her all day on top of the team who belonged to the women she’d arrived at the club with.
Surely, she’d noticed.
Or maybe not, judging from her expression.
That was okay. We could work on her situational awareness later. For now, I would keep her safe.
“I only ordered a compact Uber,” she murmured.
I shook my head at Gio.
“Go home. I’ll text later,” I told them as Michelle started to walk towards a tiny red Subaru.
It probably would have been better if I didn’t take one of my cars to her place anyway, since technically, I stirred the shit pot big time earlier tonight.
Thinking about it, I should probably have just left her to go home alone. But I wasn’t strong enough to do that.
I wanted her too damn much.
Desire hit me like a PATH train at full speed. That familiar rush of heat, the fast-paced motion, the impossible speed all knocked the breath from my lungs.
It rumbled through me, shaking me from the inside out. Strong, powerful, and completely impossible to ignore—just like her.
My thoughts were grid locked like city traffic at rush hour—horns blaring, signals flashing, but nothing moving except the raw pulse of need speeding straight through me.
Fucking hell, I wanted this woman.
Her take no shit attitude was just as attractive to me as her beauty.
So fucking hot.
I grabbed the door to the car before she could slam it on my face and slid inside, forcing her to scoot over.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“I said I’m with you, Baby. Now buckle up.”