Thirteen #2
The pressure on my chest eases as his other hand slides under my knees. He’s got me fully stretched out on the water now. Even though I’m practically in his arms, my nails dig into his flesh.
After a long moment, I hear his voice: “Open your eyes.”
The first thing I see is the tattoo of a woman with flowing hair on his chest. He’s moved us to a shallower part, his chest now partially exposed. He nods upward. “Look.”
My eyes widen with awe at the ceiling, made to resemble a tiny galaxy with thousands of tiny, twinkling stars.
It’s breathtaking, like lying under a real night sky.
Maxim starts to move, gently walking through the water, spinning us in slow circles.
I feel the pressure of his fingers on my body and, without thinking, let go of his arm, and I float.
I let him guide me, like a lost boat, drifting wherever he wants.
It’s as if a portal opens in that tiny galaxy above, drawing out all the pain I’ve carried for years.
I don’t resist. I let it all go—the fear and hatred for my father, the grief weighing on my heart from my mother’s death, the maddening longing that’s been breaking me down for years.
The worry for the future, the regret for the past. I release everything and feel weightless.
For the first time in my life, I feel at peace.
I’m not alone anymore. Whatever pain or danger lies ahead, I know I won’t have to face it by myself.
Someone has my back, someone far stronger than me and my enemies.
For the first time in two years, I’m certain that if something happens to me, Aurora will have the best life a girl could dream of.
I break free from the invisible chains that have shackled my body and soul for years.
I feel a peace I didn’t know could exist. But then, a wave of pity and sorrow for myself closes that portal of light.
It’s like I’m only now realizing the crushing weight I’ve carried all these years.
How I’ve dragged myself through it all, blind to the possibility of feeling this... free.
My whole life flashes before me like a film on fast-forward, and the memory of all the pain I’ve been through makes my heart heavy. Tears well in my eyes, streaming down my cheeks like rain, endless and unstoppable.
The galaxy fades, and it’s Maxim’s flawless body that fills my vision.
My head rests against his chest, his skin warm beneath my cheek.
As I replay my entire life, I realize I was truly happy only twice before Aurora was born: once, when Maxim rescued me from that village and gave me a second chance at life.
And the second time… was when he mistook me for a prostitute.
After that, the only thing that gave my life purpose was Aurora. And she’s his, too.
I wrap my arms around him, my crying getting harder to control. I feel him move and carry me out of the pool. He grabs a large towel from the white wall cabinet, wraps it around me, and lies down on a poolside lounger, still holding me close.
There’s no screaming or breakdown, just tears streaming from my grieving heart, spilling over my cheeks. My head rests on his chest as I cry silently. I let all the pain flow out with my tears until I’m empty. And once the tears stop, all that’s left is peace. I’m done with that miserable past.
“You okay?”
His hand gently glides up and down my spine. I nod against his chest, unwilling to pull away. Damn whoever decided what’s right and wrong.
“Who is she?” I ask as I run my fingers over the tattoo of black hair.
His touch stills. “My mother.”
I lift my head and look at his damp face. I pull a corner of the towel wrapped around me and gently pat his face dry. “Where is she now?”
His fingers trail up my back, resting on my shoulder. “She passed away a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
He just nods. I look at the tattoo again.
“Why isn’t her face shown?”
He takes a deep breath. “I don’t have any pictures of her, Ava. Even if I did, I wouldn’t put her face on my chest. I’m a fighter. I don’t want someone spitting on my mother’s face when I’m beating them to a pulp in the ring, or have some scumbag’s blood stain her image when I kill him.”
I admire his protectiveness but don’t let it show. “What was her name?”
“Katrina.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“She was beautiful too. Though I barely remember her.”
“What about your father? Is he alive?”
“Besides Aurora, I’ve got no blood family left.”
My gaze shifts to the other side of his chest, six dates that must hold special meaning. Before I can ask, he explains, “Those are the days I never want to forget.”
Something in his tone tells me not to ask.
“Why did you break Viola’s leg?” I ask after a brief moment.
He smirks. “When I take a woman’s hand and bring her to a family event, it means she’s under my protection. Then Viola comes along and spews bullshit at her. That’s basically her saying, ‘Maxim, come break my leg.’ You want me to say no?”
“How do you know she talked shit to me?”
He raises an eyebrow, all righteous and smug. “She didn’t?”
I lift myself off his chest and lie on my side next to him on the lounger. “I handled her myself.”
He tucks both hands behind his head, his tone turning serious.
“It wasn’t about you. It was about me. No one gets to fuck with the people I care about.
I’m a charming man. I know how to satisfy a woman in every way that makes her lose her mind.
If they get to see that side of me, they better be ready to see the savage side too.
Because when someone crosses me, I rip them apart. Man or woman.”
Enrico’s words echo in my mind, and I think carefully about my response before taking the plunge to test how much truth he spoke. “What if someone approaches me with good intentions?”
He turns his head to look at me. “Get to the point.”
“What if I meet someone…”
“I already told you, you’re free.” There’s venom in his voice.
“So there’s no consequences?”
“Not for you.”
That’s exactly what Enrico warned me about. “What do you mean, not for me?”
He props himself up on his elbow, leaning over me, his face inches from mine.
His chest rises and falls faster than normal, and his breaths are heavy and audible.
“I mean I’ll tolerate that bastard coming up to you, offering you a cigarette.
I’ll stand by while he leans over your body to light it.
I’ll keep my mouth shut when he drapes his jacket over your shoulders to charm you. ”
He pulls the towel off me. His finger presses between the curves of my breasts, dragging slowly over the wet satin clinging to my skin. A shiver runs through me, but I don’t protest.
His voice grows heated, tinged with anger. “I’ll let him touch your soft skin.” His hand reaches my ass, caressing the line between my cheeks, down to the slit between my legs. My breath catches, and I squirm under his touch, my inner walls tightening involuntarily.
“I’ll tolerate him wringing every filthy pleasure out of this body.” His hand moves up, his thumb settling on my lips, rubbing them not-so-gently.
“I won’t do a thing. I’ll let him kiss you for a warm, passionate goodbye, thanking you for a night every man dreams of and begging for another taste of you.”
His touch moves to my chin, tracing along my jaw to my ear. I can barely swallow around the knot in my throat.
“Then what?” I whisper.
He grabs my earlobe between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing hard enough to make me wince.
His heavy breath washes over my face as he answers in a deadly tone, “Then I hunt him down. For touching the woman who’s mine, I break every fucking bone in his body.
The hand that touched you? I cut it off.
The lips that kissed you? I crush them. I kill him, Ava. ”
So Enrico was right.
I gently pull his hand away from my ear. “You don’t care if you kill an innocent man?”
“By your law, he’s innocent. By my code, he’s guilty of a crime that only death can answer for.”
“How am I supposed to live with myself knowing I got an innocent man killed?”
A satisfied look flashes across his face. He’s got me exactly where he wanted. “Stay away from innocent men, Ava. Because when I say something, it stays said.”
By limiting my options, he’s left me with only one choice, himself.
He claims I’m free, but in reality, he’s caged me with invisible chains, shackled me to him so tightly there’s no escape.
I need to see a shrink because this stirs a thrilling, indescribable excitement in me.
Maxim’s claimed me by force, and that should infuriate me, but what I feel is the exact opposite.
I try to hide it, forcing righteousness into my tone. “So you’re free to run off and have a threesome with two of the country’s hottest actresses the second I turn you down, but if I do the same, you’ll kill someone I might actually care about and pin the guilt on me? What kind of justice is that?”
He sits up beside me, his eyes narrowing. “Who told you where I was and who I was with?”
“Does it change the point? Answer the question.”
“Was it Emily?”
I scoff. “So Emily knew and dodged me when I called asking about you?”
His eyes glint with amusement. “You called Emily to check on me?”
My hand clenches into a fist at my slip-up. Why do I forget how opportunistic he is? I stand from the lounger in a huff, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back down. This time, he gets up, heading to his wardrobe.
He pulls a cigarette from a jacket and lights it. Standing near the pool, he exhales a cloud of smoke. “Don’t pay too much attention to the things people say about me. Women tend to exaggerate, especially when there’s a man and his dick involved.”
“So you’re pure as Jesus Christ, right?”
He flashes a devilish smirk. “Don’t believe the talk about that poor guy either. If I were him, I’d be pissed that people think of me as some impotent saint.”