CHAPTER FIFTEEN
STEFANO
Today, before storming off, she'd called our house... my house. She’d called our guest room... my guest room. And she'd called herself a guest before storming out. That had left me reeling.
Was she... trying to break up with me?
I wouldn't allow it. She could never leave me. But I believe she was trying to do just that. Since we'd met, we'd never slept apart. Yet, she’d slept without me today. And in the guest room at that.
Our relationship was changing and not for the better. I was on the verge of losing my beauty. If I hadn't lost her already. And it was all because I was a beast who couldn't love her the way she wanted to be loved.
I pulled up at Club Tacere and parked. This was the place I always came to when I felt lost. I hadn't been here since the night I met Sienna. I'd had no reason to fight, fuck, and forget since falling for her.
Yet, tonight, I found myself here again, needing this place to cope. I killed the engine but didn't get out of my car. My hands remained wrapped around the wheel as another memory hit me.
Sienna. Lying in the guest bed. Sleeping. Her cheeks tear-stained. A bruise on the side of her head. Her clutching a pillow tight.
Fuck!
I closed my eyes and lowered my forehead to the steering wheel.
I'd made the woman I love cry. Like a coward, I'd gone into her room after she'd fallen asleep, and stood next to the bed in the dark like a fucking creep, watching her chest rise and fall just to make sure she was breathing.
Just to make sure she was still alive, still with me.
I'd brushed my knuckles against her cheek, barely touching her, afraid I'd wake her. Afraid she'd push me away. Afraid she'd tell me to leave her alone. Afraid she'd say she was tired of being in a relationship with a man who was incapable of loving her properly.
The thought of losing her, of her trying to leave me, had made me spiral, plunging my thoughts to dark depths that almost forced me to bring out the cuffs and chain her to the bed. To keep from doing that, I'd fled the room. But not before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm sorry for failing you, Beauty," I'd whispered, tears in my eyes, before storming out of the room.
Before I knew it, I was here, hoping a brutal fight would help me get rid of some of my anger, some of my fears, some of my disappointment in myself. Damn it, I'd made her cry. I'd made her want to sleep separately from me.
I'd made her feel like our house wasn't her home, like I wasn’t her safe space. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel.
"Fuck!”
I dragged a hand down my face, my pulse pounding. I could feel myself starting to lose control again. But I didn't give a damn. I may lose control, but there was one thing I wouldn’t lose: Sienna Keys.
It didn't matter if she despised me for not being normal. Didn't matter if she wanted to shut me out, to escape the beast who wanted to consume her. The only thing that mattered was her. She was mine.
I would not let Sienna Keys leave me. If she managed to, I would hunt her to the farthest regions of the Earth and bring her back to me. I’d been doing just fine before she entered my life. She'd come to me.
She'd thrust herself into my world and shown me what love was.
She couldn't take that from me. I would create a safe world for us, and then I'd learn to love her properly.
I just needed her to stay with me until then, until our enemies were gone, until I no longer had to fear her being killed or kidnapped.
"Just give me some time, Sienna,” I whispered. “I will change. I will become a better man. For now, I can only be the beast who protects you."
I pushed the door open and stepped out, the cool night air doing nothing to calm the storm inside me as I headed into the club. The moment I walked in, the noise hit me. Music. Voices. Cecca spotted me immediately from behind the bar, her brows lifting as a slow smile spread across her face.
"Well, look who decided to grace us mere mortals with his presence. None other than the Silent Beast," she said as I approached the bar. "Hello, stranger," she greeted me with a smile. I didn't return the smile. "I see you're as moody as ever. What do you want to drink?" she asked.
"The usual."
Nodding, she started preparing my drink.
"Talk to me, Stefano," she called out over the music as she worked. "Where have you been all this time?"
She tossed her long black hair streaked with blue highlights over her shoulder.
"I've been busy," I replied when she set my drink down in front of me.
"You staying at the bar?" she continued. "Or are you going to claim your usual seat tonight?"
My gaze drifted across the room, landing on the table I used to sit at. It was empty. Waiting for me to claim it. That was where I usually sat on nights that I came here to fight, fuck, and forget.
Seated there, I'd be approached by women who thought one night with me was a badge of honor to be worn proudly. I'd wait for someone to approach me, someone bold enough to take what I was offering.
We'd go to the motel, and I'd fuck the stress out of my system. Afterward, I’d leave her some cash and then return to my regular life. I never stayed the night with anyone at the motel. Never cuddled. Never bonded.
Just a quick fuck and then I was gone. That used to be enough. Tonight, the thought of touching anyone who wasn't Sienna made my stomach turn. I couldn’t rest beside anyone other than her.
All I wanted was to be back at the house. With her. I looked up when Gen, the owner of the club, came out from the back. His eyes widened slightly when they landed on me.
"Well, I'll be damned," he said, walking over. "It's good to see you, Stefano."
"Good to see you too, Gen." I took a sip of my drink, glad that it was strong.
"You planning to fight tonight?" the old man asked.
When I nodded, a grin spread across his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
"I'll get your name added to the list. The boys aren't going to like this. A lot of them have already placed their bets. Now that the champ is back, they’re going to lose some cash," he laughed.
I didn't respond. I didn't care who liked it. I didn’t care who bet for me or against me. I just needed to punch something. As Gen rushed off to add me to tonight’s fight roster, Cecca moved closer and leaned against the counter.
Her position caused her large breasts to be pushed up against the bar as she fixed me with those knowing eyes of hers.
“So,” she started, her lips curving into what she probably thought was a seductive smile. “How’s Gina doing?”
I didn’t acknowledge her. Just sipped my drink and then stared down into it, watching the amber liquid swirl against the glass.
“Seeing you back here makes it seem like things between you two aren’t going so well,” she continued, her voice dropping lower as she leaned in closer. “You should’ve let me have her back then.”
My grip tightened around the glass, barely resisting the urge to break it against the counter.
“You wouldn’t have been able to handle her,” I remarked, keeping my voice flat, emotionless, even as fury burned through my veins.
Even I couldn’t handle the force of nature that was Sienna Keys. Maybe I should stop trying to handle her and just let myself be swept away by her. That could work too. Cecca chuckled, the sound grating against my already frayed nerves.
“Seems like you’re not doing a good job of handling her either if you’re back here. Right back where you started,” she countered with a shrug.
That did it. I turned my head slowly, meeting her gaze, letting her see exactly who the fuck she was playing with. I was not in the mood for chitchat. Definitely not with someone who wanted my woman.
“With all due respect, Cecca,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
She held my gaze for a second longer before shrugging.
“Suit yourself,” she drawled. “Just know, you’d be a fool if you lost her.”
With that said, she pushed away from the bar and walked off to help another customer. I turned back to my drink, staring down at it, my reflection warped in the glass. I was already a fool, even though I hadn’t fully lost her yet.
Wait. Hadn’t I called Sienna foolish earlier today? Fuck! I had called her foolish.
I lowered my head, shame washing over me. What the fuck was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I have just hugged her and told her I’d been scared as shit when Dante told me they’d lost her? I wasn’t used to being afraid of anything, and I’d reacted terribly.
Why couldn’t I admit that she terrified me more than any enemy I’d ever faced? Not because she was dangerous, though she certainly was, but because she had the power to destroy me completely.
Instead of saying any of that, I’d told her that she wasn’t a savage. I’d said that to the most savage woman I know. The woman who’d survived hell and came out stronger. The woman who’d put bullets in men today without flinching.
No wonder she wanted to leave me. I wouldn’t want to stay with me either. I tensed when I felt a hand on my shoulder, my entire body going rigid at the unwelcome intrusion. Who the fuck was touching me?
I looked left, and there stood a blonde, clad in a tight red leather dress that barely covered her ass. Her ruby red lips curved into a seductive smile as she leaned close to me, her hand still on my shoulder, her stringent perfume assaulting my nostrils.
“Hey, big boy,” she purred, her breath hot against my ear. “Do you want some company?”
Before Sienna, this might have been exactly what I was looking for: a warm body to lose myself in for a night, no strings attached, no emotion, just pure physical release. Now the thought of anyone other than Sienna touching me made my skin crawl.
“Take your hand off me,” I snarled.
Her eyes widened, smile faltering. But she recovered quickly, desperation evident in the way she pressed herself closer to me. It was clear that she was trying to make some money. Or, this was a setup, and someone had sent her my way, hoping I’d take her to the motel where they’d ambush me.
Amateurs.
“I’m just trying to see if you want to have a good time, big guy,” she cooed, her fingers tapping against my shoulder in what I assumed was meant to be an enticing manner.
“My idea of a good time involves spilling blood and killing,” I told her, letting my gaze drift over her. “Still want to have some fun with me?”
Her hand dropped from my shoulder. “I... I...”
“Get away from me,” I hissed.
The woman turned and walked away, nearly tripping in her haste to get away from me. Fuck. What was I doing here? This wasn’t helping. It wasn’t calming the storm inside me. If anything, it was making it worse.
Being here reminded me of how empty my life had been before Sienna. This was a life I never wanted to return to. The sound of laughter drifted my way as Cecca made her way back around the bar. I hadn’t even seen her walk away from it.
She was staring down at her phone, chuckling, probably talking to some guy who hadn’t yet learned just how bat-shit crazy she was. Her gaze rose to mine, a knowing smirk playing at her lips.
“Stefano, oh, Stefano, you’ve been a bad boy,” she told me, shaking her finger at me.
Damn. She’d seen that woman talking to me. Of course, she had. Nothing escaped Cecca’s notice when it came to other people’s business.
“What would our Gina think if she saw you misbehaving?” Cecca cooed, her eyes glittering with malicious glee.
My jaw tightened as I fought to keep my composure.
“She’s not our Gina. She’s my Gina,” I growled, before downing the rest of my drink, the burn in my throat a welcome distraction from the ache in my chest.
Gen came out of the back and motioned for me to come on.
“The fighting is about to start,” Gen told me.
Good.
I was ready to fight, fuck, and forget. But the fuck meant something different now. I was ready to fight, fuck someone up, and forget. Then I’d go home, hopefully calmer, more level-headed.
I’d go home to the woman I loved, to the woman I needed, to the woman I’d do almost anything for. There was only one thing I couldn’t do for her, and that was to allow her to be in danger. I couldn’t do that.
I could never do that.