Chapter 20
twenty
Valentina
I scroll on my phone, chasing the dopamine that will keep me from thinking about the events of the last few weeks. There will be some shifts in the dealings of Cosa Nostra; there will be consequences for what has happened to the don’s wife.
I dig my spoon into the box in front of me and take a mouthful of my cherry chocolate ice cream.
My blood is spiking, and I can’t do anything.
It’s normal to want to change the world and do things your way, and it’s normal to fight for your rights and want to live in a better place.
At least in the normal world. In our world, that doesn’t work; not even the don’s wife had that privilege.
She paid a high price. I know that feeling all too well; it’s carved into my skin.
Mack showing up when he did was pure luck, and I won’t let anything like that happen again.
I don’t want the moral compass of mundane people.
I want the ruthlessness of a villain, so I can protect myself from getting hurt.
The front door opens, and I look at the clock.
Seven p.m. He is extremely early and, may I say, unexpected.
In the past couple of weeks, he’s gotten home late at night and is gone first thing in the morning.
He isn’t avoiding me; otherwise, he wouldn’t wake me up with his tongue and fuck me to sleep again.
He’s needed, and not just because of the business, but because the don needs him.
Their friendship is something I envy. I’ve never had a friend I could spill my secrets or gossip to.
Not that I would have dared to bring any normal girls into my house, and any girl whose parents were part of Camorra avoided me.
It didn’t matter that I was the boss’s daughter or that I had a brother most of them had a crush on.
More so, it was jealousy, and I learned to read that from a young age.
Steps approach me, and I take one more spoonful of ice cream before I turn to face Gabriel.
With a spoon in my mouth, I assess his appearance.
Not a hair out of place, his black pants and black shirt are still impeccable, and it makes me wonder if he changes before he comes home.
He looks like a man who has everything under control, but the look in his eyes says otherwise.
There is a storm in his eyes. Maybe something happened, but I’m dreading asking. The alarm in Cosa Nostra has been raised, and even my brother is working with them to catch the bastard who took Isabella.
With a stern look in his eyes, he approaches me until he is in front of me. He turns my seat toward him, grabs the spoon from my mouth, and pulls it out. I’m caught off guard when his fingers wrap around the nape of my neck and into my hair as he crashes his lips onto mine in a punishing kiss.
Our tongues intertwine with the rest of the ice cream in my mouth, and he feasts on my tongue, licking and sucking. I try to catch a breath, but he clutches on to me like a thirsty, crazy man.
“Fucking cherries,” he mumbles against my lips, and I take a deep breath when he closes his eyes and places his forehead on mine. Just as I thought he would stop, he grabs me by the waist and places me on the counter. A squeal escapes me.
“You're driving me fucking crazy.” He pushes my knees apart, hands gripping my legs through my sheer tights. I shouldn’t react to his anger, but I do. How could I not when all I’m obsessed with is clawing up my spine like it wants to devour me?
“These,” he growls, fingers sliding up my legs, “are driving me crazy.” His hands reach the edge of my leather shorts, and he runs his hands upward. My breath stutters. I’m already trembling before he even reaches the buttons.
“These make me want to kill anyone who looks at you,” he snarls. “Because they barely cover your ass.”
My pulse skips. The violent want in his voice shouldn’t make heat curl my stomach, but it does.
He yanks the shorts down my legs and lets them fall on the floor. Next, he hooks his fingers in my tights and pulls them down until I’m left in nothing but my panties, with a thrum of want pounding in my veins.
“You know what the irony in this whole situation is?”
I don’t answer. I can't. My mouth is parted, my brain fuzzy. I lean on my hand, eyes glued to him because I can’t look away when he’s like this. Angry, hungry, and laser-focused on the space between my legs. His gaze is sharp, narrowed, a mix of fury and lust so hot it steals the air from my lungs.
“I agreed to this marriage in the name of alliance; a perfect, tactical marriage. Something that will not affect my work or my decisions.” He lifts his gaze to mine, and my heart slams against my ribs like it wants to escape.
“You weren’t even in the picture when your brother considered the brides I could marry.
” His voice drops lower. “And I was relieved. Relieved that I could make a deal with the woman I married, and then I was told you were going to be my wife.”
Everything inside me tightens, burns.
“All I could think about since I met you was goddamn cherries. Like a forbidden fucking fruit. And no matter how many times I have you… I want more and more.”
My heart leaps into my throat so hard it hurts. Want coils so violently that I swear I forget how to breathe. Hearing him admit that, the man I’ve been obsessed with, the man I would burn my world for, sends every part of me spiraling.
His eyes meet mine. I gasp when he grabs me, dragging me to the edge of the counter with effortless strength. His arm curls around my waist, the other around my neck, drawing me into him like he can't stand a single inch of distance.
“And then you do something stupid, impulsive, and dangerous.” His voice is sharp against my mouth. “I thought we had a deal. Wherever you go, you take Renzo or Samuel with you.”
I purse my lips, but my heart is still racing from everything he said, everything I secretly craved to hear. “I went only to the store down the street.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “What was so important that you had to slip out and go by yourself?”
“I just wanted some damn ice cream.”
His brows shot up. “What?”
“Ice cream.” I grab the box from beside me and lift it between us like evidence.
He stares at me for a few long seconds, disbelief written all over his face. “And you couldn’t send any of the guards?”
“I did yesterday, and the day before that. They failed to find what I wanted.”
He finally releases my neck. “Unbelievable.”
I shove a spoon into my ice cream and dig out some with a cherry in it, raising it to his mouth. “Want some?”
He doesn’t answer. My eyes travel between his eyes and the spoon, and I watch as the ice melts slowly, and the cherry starts to slide. I shrug. “Your loss.”
I part my lips and take the spoon into my mouth, slow and unbothered.
A strange sound comes from Gabriel, and in the blink of an eye, his tongue parts my lips, licking the ice cream from the inside of my mouth. Only when no ice cream is left and he steals the cherry from my mouth does he pull away.
“Delicious. I’m wondering if the ice cream would taste the same from the other parts of your body.”
My eyebrows shoot up as he yanks my lace camisole up and pulls it over my head. My nipples peak at the attention, and goosebumps cover my body. He hooks his fingers inside my panties and pulls them down my legs, where they land on the floor with the rest of my clothes.
“Perfect.” He grabs the ice cream and digs the spoon in.
My skin prickles with the anticipation of what’s coming.
He places some ice cream on my left nipple, and I take a shaky breath as the cold texture collides with my skin.
He repeats the same thing with the other nipple.
My eyes watch in excitement as the ice cream melts on my breasts.
“Lie down on your back for me.”
I follow his orders, even though I want to watch what he will do. He puts more ice cream on my body, this time on my belly and some more on my breasts. He places the box on the side, and a smirk appears on his face before he lowers his head and licks the ice cream off my nipples.
I gasp at the contact and close my eyes at the sensations.
I bite my lip, stifling a moan. His tongue moves from one breast to the other, and when he’s done, he licks the ice cream on my belly.
His tongue travels upward, back to my breast, and he sucks my nipple into his mouth.
I let out a moan, unable to keep it in anymore.
“So delicious,” he says after letting my nipple out of his mouth with a pop.
He takes the ice cream, and I prepare myself to feel the cold on my sensitive nipples again, but instead, the cold connects with my wanting pussy.
I groan, and he licks and sucks the ice cream.
When it’s all gone, he puts more there, filling my folds, and I gasp as the sensation overwhelms me. This is too good.
I close my eyes and surrender to his tongue.
My fingers wrap around Gabriel’s hair, and I push my pussy into his face.
He grabs my upper thighs and raises my ass, drinking all my juices.
I scream his name when I come, and my body trembles.
I barely comprehend what’s going on when Gabriel slams his lips on mine, sharing the taste of the ice cream from my pussy.
“From now on, this is my favorite flavor. Cherry ice cream with your cunt as a plate.” He smirks, and I hear him unbuckling his pants. Once his pants are on the floor, he slams into me.
“Fuck!” he groans and pushes as deep as he can, and I moan. He pulls out and once again slams in. “I’m not fond of anything sweet, but cherry is one of my new favorite things, and I will only eat it from your body because it tastes divine.”