CHAPTER 40
Antonio
One Year Ago
POTS AND PANS clinked on the other side of the door.
I took one more pull from my blunt and heard the sound of feet shuffling before the door swung open.
As soon as his eyes met mine, he immediately tried shutting the door, but I stopped him, pushing the door open. “Try that again, and I’ll cut your fucking hand off,” I warned and his eyes fill with hatred.
“What are you doing here?” he forced out, trying to keep his voice steady.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in for a drink?” I taunted, and he bit down on his teeth.
“Please don’t—”
“Invite me inside, Miguel,” I ordered, and he swallowed hard before stepping aside.
He nodded for me to come in, and I slowly stepped inside. He led me further into the house, and we ended up in the kitchen that looked like it had been terrorized by a goddamn zoo.
The stench of burned toast and bacon hit my nose in a wave of warm air, and my eyes landed on the pans on the stove, as well as beer bottles scattered in and around a trash can. He’s a drunk.
He pulled out two ice-cold beers and plopped down onto the chair, handing me one as he took a sip.
I sat down at the table as well, taking my last pull from my blunt before tossing it into the ashtray on the table.
“What do you want?” he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“When have you known me to be someone who was ever in the mood for games?” I asked, and his right leg began bouncing incredibly fast.
“I’ll get you what you want—just, please. I need more time,” he pleaded, and I could almost bash his head into the table.
He screwed me over, lost the damn money, and expected me to give him time?
“My father tried ending this century-long family feud,” I slightly tilted head to the side. “But you just couldn’t put your pride aside, could you?”
He nervously tapped his finger on the table, and I couldn’t help but feel satisfied as I watched the sweat drip down the side of his face. His daughter. His pride and joy. His one, true weakness.
And now, she was mine. Mine to take and mine to own .
Distraught music came from upstairs, and the corner of my mouth twitched into a grin. “Is that her?” I asked, and he nodded. “What is she doing?”
“She’s always listening to music in her room,” he confessed. “She dances too, but just for fun.” Interesting . The chair screeched as I pushed it back, standing up.
“Please, Antonio. Don’t do this—she’s my little girl,” he begged, grabbing my arm.
She had just turned twenty-two a couple of months ago. She was far from little.
“You’re begging to lose that hand, aren’t you?”
Fear—mixed with sadness—grew in his eyes as he hesitantly let go. “You can’t compare money to a human being. Take something else, just—just don’t take her,” he pleaded. “You can kill me just don’t, take her.” He was desperate. He should be.
“Careful,” I humorously said. “I might just kill you and take her either way.”
The hatred and anger in his eyes were unmissable.
The wooden floorboards creaked underneath my feet as I made my way to the bottom of the stairs, but he stopped me.
“Wait!”
Taking a deep breath in, I stopped walking. What the fuck does he want now?
“Tell her I’m not home,” he softly said. “Just say I went for donuts. She’ll understand,” he said and I turned back to see him lowering his head.
“You won’t even try fighting for her?” I questioned and he slowly lifted his head.
“You think I’m stupid?” he seethed. “If I resist, you’ll only end up punishing her more, and—and I can’t let my little girl go through any more of that.” Good fucking point.
Ignoring his sentimental episode, I made my way upstairs and finally stopped in front of her bedroom.
Twisting the doorknob, I slowly pushed he door open, and I felt my chest rise before heavily falling. There she is.
I didn’t lose track of her movements.
I watched as she owned the pole, dancing on it as if she had been doing it her whole life.
I watched the muscles in her legs flex, wrapping effortlessly around the pole. She spun around, holding the biggest smile on her face as she changed positions.
She kept her toes pointed at all times, swinging her legs in the air like it was child’s play.
The core strength she must have.
I’ve seen many women dancing on a pole, but the way she danced… it could send any man in a trace.
With only one hand on the pole, she spun around graciously—like gravity wasn’t even a thing—and slowly came down from the pole. She was… breathtaking .
“Jesus Christ!” she gasped.
“Oh, don’t stop on my account sweetheart. ” I almost grinned in amusement. I wanted to see her dance some more.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off her little body. She wore tights that gave her ass the perfect fucking shape and her goddamn tits— fuck me.
My eyes landed on her neck where her hair stuck to her skin with bits of sweat. I watched her face grow redder by the second and she licked her lips at least five times in the last minute. Her perfectly round lips.
Her eyes slowly traveled up my body and I couldn’t help but rub my tongue on the inside of my cheek. “Done checking me out yet?” I asked and she swallowed hard.
“No. But I have a pretty good description to hand over to the police,” she shot back, trying to steady her voice but I could hear the nervousness in her tone.
I hummed in response, and she narrowed her eyes at me. As taken aback as I was, I didn’t show it. She was a feisty little thing.
“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in here?” she grabbed the remote to turn down the music.
I tilted my head to the side, pushing myself off of the door frame and watched her eyes grow wide. I walked inside and noticed she was a bit more on edge.
“No, no, no,” she shook her head as I walked over to her bed. I fell down, propping myself up on both elbows. This is going to be fun . “What are you doing?”
“Getting ready for my lap dance, sweetheart ,” I answered, and she looked at the door before looking back at me.
She scoffed. “You can’t just waltz in here and demand a lap dance, sweetheart ,” she shot back.
“Are you insane?” she asked and I raised a brow at her.
She’s brave. I like that. “Did you escape from a mental asylum or something?” she frowned.
Ironic, since she’s the one who escaped.
“Oh God, you’re here to kidnap me, aren’t you? ” Yes. I am.
I watched panic take over her entire body as her hands lifted to her neck.
“No,” I looked at her wearily. “You were doing so well, I wondered if you’d like some company,” I lied and she looked puzzled, as well as surprised.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take her, much less force her to do anything. And, something told me that no one could force this girl into anything she didn’t want to do.
She’d proven to not only be fearless, and brave, but she also had a smart little mouth too. And, I hated to admit it, but I fucking liked it. It was then that I knew, I was going to have fun with her.
After I left her bedroom, I ran a frustrated hand down my face. As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs, Miguel jumped up in fear but then confusion took over when he saw that I was alone.
I knew he wanted to speak. But he didn’t. He knew better.
“You’re going to leave,” I said, making his face scrunch up in confusion.
“I don’t—”
“I don’t care where you go, but you’re going to tell her that you’re leaving,” I said and he shook his head.
“I can’t leave her—”
“Yes, you can. And you will. If you’re not gone by midnight, tomorrow, I’ll orphan her,” I warned him.
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “I’ll be back, and I’ll get her back too. She’ll never love you,” he drawled.
“Well, for her sake I hope she does. Because I only have so much patience before I move on to a new woman.”
His eyes grew wide as he stepped back, falling onto the chair and I watched his body go numb in fear.
Stepping back, I made my way to the front door before leaving the house. I slammed my car door shut, gripping onto my steering wheel.
I’ve always been able to take what I wanted, when I wanted. Nothing ever stopped me.
Not only was she beautiful, but she was pretty fucking tough too. She would take me on all by herself, even if she knew she had no chance. Oddly enough, that attracted me to her. I wanted someone like that. I wanted her . Somehow, she’d be mine soon.
Nirah Joy Valentino would be mine, whether she knew it or not. She’d willingly be mine.
* * *
“She said that?” I asked and Samantha nodded, falling down onto the chair in front of me in my office. She lifted both legs onto my desk, crossing her feet.
“She’s exactly what you said she’d be,” she grinned, swirling her coffee. Her dark gaze lifted to me.
“She’s gorgeous, no?” I grinned as I roll down my sleeves, buttoning them up.
“She’s perfect,” Samantha nodded in agreement. I leaned over, grabbing my suit jacket. “Don’t fall in love with your enemy, Antonio,” she almost warningly said and I threw on my jacket. It might just be too late for that… maybe.
“Are you telling me , your boss , what to do?” I asked, and she got to her feet.
“No, I’m telling you , my friend .” She rounded my desk and helped me straighten out my tie. “She’ll kill you if she finds out you planned all of this. She’ll leave you,” she said, and I looked over her head at my bookshelf.
“By then it’ll be too late,” I dropped my eyes to her, and she grinned. She ran her hands down the front of my suit jacket and nodded.
“Go get your wife,” she winked and I couldn’t help but smile. I made my way out the door but Samantha’s voice stopped me. “You know I won’t go easy on her, right?”
I grinned, turning around to face her. “She can take you,” I confidently nodded, and Samantha chuckled. I left my building, stepping into the elevator.
Nirah told me to get my ass to the cafe, and that’s exactly what I did.
* * *
I’d only been at the club for thirty minutes and I was already growing impatient.
The place was swarming with other dancers and waitresses, except her .
After I went to the cafe, I couldn’t resist not coming here. If she’s that good in her bedroom, I couldn’t even imagine how good she would be on stage. Rumors had floated around about the infamous dancer here at Casa del Pecado, but I was too damn busy to see for myself.
My eyes roamed the club for the hundredth time tonight and finally, she walked in. She wore a fucking mini skirt— I don’t think what she’s wearing even classifies as a skirt—and a little top that showed her perfect chest.
I watched her eyes light up as she walked through the crowd.
Her eyes landed on the dancers—on stage—and she stopped for a second to watch them.
My eyes stayed on her legs as I squeezed my fingers into a fist underneath the table. If her skirt rode up any higher, I was going to throw her in my car and force her to wear a pair of fucking pants.
The dancer on stage noticed Nirah, blowing her a kiss. After the two chuckled together, Nirah headed to her dressing room.
She finally came back and started serving her tables. I decided to sit at her table because I just couldn’t get enough of her smart little mouth.
She finally walked over—strutting with her perfect legs, one in front of the other.
“What can I get for you tonight?” she softly smiled, not looking at me. When our eyes met, she sighed, dropping her shoulders. “Oh, for fucks sake.”
“What?” I tilted my head to the side. “No preppy voice, no big smile?” I teased and she rolled her eyes.
I subtly bit down on my teeth as I watched her roll her eyes at me. That’s definitely a first from any woman. Though, I didn’t mind it from her.
“Yep,” she nodded. “Confirmed stalker,” she crossed her arms over her chest. I’m going to enjoy having her around.
“And here I thought I had the biggest ego in the city.”
She was quick to fire back. “You do.” She then cleared her throat, looking around. “What can I get for you?” she repeated, and I decided to keep her here a little longer.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I gave my head a slight shake.
“Well, if you don’t order now someone else will take your order later because I need to be on stage,” she explained, shifting her weight onto one foot.
She was finally going on stage. “I guess I’ll just wait till you’re done,” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Oh, good Lord,” she mumbled under her breath but I caught it. Nothing she does or says goes past me. “Look man, I have shit to do so if you don’t order now, someone else will come back later and it sure as hell won’t be me.”
I watched her eyes slightly narrow as she tried reading my facial expression. She couldn’t. Because there weren’t any.
I never let my face expose my raw emotions. Although, I can’t seem to entirely hide it from her. I don’t want to. I leaned forward, crossing my hands on the table.
“I’m concerned as to how you got either of your jobs, because I’m certain it wasn’t for your friendly nature or your manners,” I humorously said and she scoffed, showing me a sarcastic smile.
She jutted out her bottom lip—taunting me. “You’re concerned about me? That’s cute,” she pressed a smile on her face. “If you don’t like the customer service, just leave,” she forced a friendly smile. My girl…
No doubt in my mind that if she knew who I really was, she still wouldn’t back down.
“I’ll order when you’re done performing,” I said, and she bit down on her teeth.
“No. You won’t. Just order something. Anything ,” she almost desperately pleaded and I couldn’t help but feel my body relax, wanting to give her what she wanted. Anything she wanted.
I ran my tongue across my bottom lip and slightly tilted my head to the side.
“Bourbon,” I finally said and she let out a breath of relief. “Don’t take your time,” I shook my head and she rolled her eyes— again —before leaving.
Don’t take your time, because I want to be in your presence.