Chapter 26
twenty-six
Gabriel
She’s a vision, the wet dream of every man in this room.
I could see it from the moment she entered.
I, too, couldn’t take my eyes off her, but I was too busy apologizing to our newest partners for Salvatore ditching him and this party.
All the while, I was trying to ignore Salvatore’s partner’s daughter’s attempts to seduce me.
When batting her eyelashes didn't work, she kept on touching me. I pulled away, but she found a way to keep me still. In the end, I let it go because Valentina entered the room and the men’s eyes were on her, and all I could think about was how to end the small talk while I silently cursed Salvatore in my head.
Eventually, I excused myself with a clear message that I needed to see my wife.
The daughter was shocked, but I didn’t stay to see her reaction because I saw red.
Valentina was dancing with a guy I vaguely remember as an employee in the finance department.
She was smiling and dancing until I broke that up and had her by my side.
I wrap my hand around her waist and pull her to my side to let them know she's mine; she belongs to me.
I glare at every man who looks at her; I don’t even care who they are, not even our business partners.
I don’t care when a growl escapes me, and I mark Valentina as mine when one of them with few brain cells joins us for small talk.
The need to mark her as mine in front of them all is against everything I believe; it goes against the vow I made to myself, and Valentina is here to remind me of that with her demand.
“What does it mean to be yours?”
I look at her, and for a split second, I almost let the truth slip. I almost tell her what she wants to hear. But I don’t. I can’t.
Even thinking about opening my heart again feels like stepping into a trap.
I know exactly how hard it can break, and I’m not convinced I could take the fallout this time.
I’m not ready to hand her that kind of power.
I’m not ready to let her replace the demons I’ve spent years learning to survive.
And I’m sure as hell not convinced I’d survive it if I did.
“So, I will ask you one more time, what does being yours mean?”
I wish it were easy, swapping one pain for another.
I wish I were a better man, could take her feelings into consideration, and the way she looks at me like I will pluck the stars from the sky.
.. It should be easy, but it isn’t, so when she pulls from me, I let her.
I let her walk across the room. At first, I don’t follow until she gets further away from me.
My legs do their work, and I go after her without even thinking, staying behind her and glaring at any man who thinks he can look at her.
Until one man doesn’t get the message. Even when she politely says she isn’t interested and tries to bypass him, he doesn’t let her.
Adkins.
That sleazy bastard. Of course he would be here. He thrives at these functions, looking for an easy target to take home. But not this one.
“You little bitch. Don’t you know who I am and what I can do…”
“Careful, Adkins. I would not continue if I were you.” I narrow my eyes as I keep my voice low and controlled, approaching them from behind.
I can feel the tension from Valentina’s body leaving as her shoulders relax.
“This woman you called a little bitch is my wife.” I take the final step and place myself between my wife and this sleazy son of a bitch. “You're going to apologize.”
His throat works, and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down. His mouth opens, but no words come out. I raise my eyebrows, and fear fills his beady eyes.
“I’m sorry.” His voice shakes, and he tries to step away. I take a step toward him until he’s backed into the wall. “That’s not good enough.” My jaw clenches. He is going to learn not to look at what is mine. He is going to learn before he tries to do this to any other girl ever again.
Two of my men appear beside me. “Escort Mr. Adkins to my office. I’m going to have a chat with him.” I smirk. There is something I can do.
I don’t have to tell her what it means to be mine. I can show her.
I can give her a taste of it, a glimpse sharp enough to carve the truth into her for the rest of her life.
I don’t say a word as I wrap my hand around her wrist and take her with me.
If I were a better man, I would address her concerns, answer her questions, maybe even explain myself.
Unfortunately, I’m not a good man, and she already knows that.
Adkins is already in a chair when we enter the room, my men holding him so he can’t move. I give them a sign to let him go, and they step back.
“I didn’t know who she was, I swear.” His shaky voice matches the fear in his beady eyes. I take a second to look at him. From his sweaty forehead to the shake of his body.
“You know, I never liked you. If Salvatore weren’t so focused on getting to the top of the hotel business, I would have killed you a long time ago.” I take a step toward him, and he flinches. “I know what kind of businesses you invest in, and not all of them are nice.”
His eyes widen, and his mouth opens and closes before he lets out a squeak. “Please, I didn’t know who she was. And I don’t care what I invest in as long as it makes me a profit. You, too, are a businessman. You get it. Besides, it’s not like you're better. You're mobsters, dammit.”
Tsk. Tsk. “Wrong answer. Maybe we are, as you say, mobsters, but at least we protect what’s ours. You would sell your own mother if that would bring you profit.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? Is that why your mother was placed on a psychiatric ward for a long time, and you have controlled her assets for years?”
“No… How do you know this?”
“It doesn’t matter, and I don’t care about you or what you do with your mother. What I care about is that you will never look at my wife again, and I don’t want to see you around anytime soon.”
“I promise.” He stands. “I’ll leave now.”
“Oh, you misunderstood. You will be leaving, but not on your legs.”
His eyes widen, and my grin spreads as I launch my fist into his face.
The crack of his nose fills my ears, followed by his cry.
I smirk, and before he knows it, my fist lands in his gut, robbing him of breath.
He hunches over, and I grab him by the lapels of his shirt and throw him on the chair, where I keep slapping his face over and over, using him as a punching bag to let out all my anger for daring to look at her, for daring to speak to her the way he did.
I let out all my anger at myself, at my past, for everything that happened that made me the way I am toward Valentina.
I let out all the anger at her for making me doubt myself.
The last punch lands in his gut before he lands on his knees with his bloodied face, begging me to stop.
Satisfied, I look at Valentina, who is watching me with condemnation in her eyes, even though I did this for her.
She doesn’t flinch when I take a step toward her, but her eyes harden as I grab her wrist and lead her toward the bastard.
I grab him by his hair, lifting it up. “Now, you apologize, but this time, make sure you mean it.”
He opens his bloodied eyes, and I smirk when fear pools there. “I… I… I’m sor…sorry,” he splutters.
Satisfied, I let him go and watch as he falls on the floor. I signal to my man to get him out of here. They know what to do with the bastard.
“Was that necessary?”
I turn toward my wife. “What do you mean?”
She shakes her head. “Did you have to beat him to death?”
I smirk and close the space between us. “He isn’t dead. Besides, he deserved it. No one speaks to you that way and gets away with it.”
She rolls her eyes. “I think it was a bit much. I could have handled him myself.”
I smile. “I know you could. I have no doubt.” I raise my hand toward her face, and with my bloodied fingers, leave traces on her cheek, down to her neck.
“But you asked me what being mine means, and for now, this is the only answer I can give you.
I will protect you. Even if you're strong and can take care of yourself, I will always take care of you,” I say before I seal my promise with a punishing kiss.
I need to punish her for the temptation she is, for making me doubt my decisions, for making me want things I have no place wanting, and for making me do things I’ve never done before.
I wrap my hand around her waist and press her into me.
My body aches for hers. I need to have her.
I want her so badly, now more than ever.
I lift her from the floor, carry her to the desk, and lay her on her back.
I pull my lips from hers and place my forehead against hers.
“I need you. Tell me I can have you,” I beg.
I hurt her last time, hurt her feelings, so I need her approval, both for her and for me.
Her eyes soften. “You can have me, Gabriel.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I attack her with kisses, following the path from her face down her neck, where I kiss, suck, and bite her.
The animalistic urge inside doesn’t want to take it slowly.
It has been days since our fight left me with a build-up of tension; only having my cock inside her can release it.
I kiss between her breasts as I pull down on her dress until her tits spill in my face.
“I fucking missed this,” I say as I grab them and give each one the attention needed.
I grab her thighs and pull her to the edge of the desk, my bloody hand exploring the skin of her legs up to her pussy.
“I also missed your sweet cunt,” I say as I cup it in my hand.
I search for the edge of her panties, and I can’t find them.
“They’re attached,” she breathes out.
“Fucking dress. I now know why I hate it.” I pull a knife from my pocket and carefully place the blade at her pussy.
I cut the thing off her. “Perfect,” I say before I lower my head between her legs and lose myself, licking, sucking, and bruising her thighs, marking them.
Valentina’s hands pull on my hair as she presses her cunt into my mouth, moaning.
“Please. I need to come.”
I lift my head and smirk when she groans.
“You're only coming on my cock,” I say and unbutton my pants before I sink deep into her.
“Fuck!” I curse as her muscles squeeze my dick.
I stop for a second before I keep moving in and out.
I wrap my hand around her throat, and this time, my eyes never leave hers as I fuck her.
A promise to myself, to her. That this can work, that I can surrender and accept whatever feelings I have toward her.
A chance for us, for whatever this is, to be real.
Valentina closes her eyes, her back arching as she tightens her legs around me, her cunt squeezing my cock as it pulsates inside her as she comes. In that moment, I let go to fill her with my cum.
I stay inside her until she looks at me. “I will ask you once and only once. I need full transparency. No more games, and no more escaping. Just let us move forward. Can we do that?”
She inspects me from under her eyelashes. Her green eyes shine with anticipation. “Yes, we can. But transparency goes both ways, Gabriel.”
I close my eyes, my shoulder falling from the weight I held. I open my eyes and smile as I look directly into her eyes before promising her that I will make things work out.