Chapter 5 #2
A bargaining chip. Handed over and forgotten.
She'd told me as much, but I hadn't fully believed it until now.
But watching Adrian's face, seeing his complete indifference, he really doesn't care.
As long as I don't break the contract, he'll bury his head in the sand and allow his sister to be miserable.
"What would you do," I ask slowly, "if I was harming her?"
Adrian laughs. Short, dismissive. "You wouldn't. You're not stupid.
Harming her means breaking the contract and breaking the contract means war.
You don't want that. Antonio doesn't want that.
" He drops his cigarette, crushes it under his shoe.
"Besides, Gemma's tougher than she looks. She can handle you."
Can she?
He handed her over and decided she was handled.
Problem solved.
My hands curl into fists. I feel anger on her behalf. I may not give a fuck about Gemma, but her brother should.
"We should get back," Adrian says. "Our wives are probably wondering where we are."
I follow him inside, but my mind is elsewhere.
Adrian Nero is arrogant. Comfortable. He thinks he won. Thinks he secured the alliance, protected his sister, maintained his power.
He thinks he's untouchable.
And that pisses me off more than anything else tonight.
The car ride home is silent.
Gemma sits beside me, staring out the window. She's not asking about my conversation with Adrian. Not pushing about my decision on her proposal.
Smart.
I'm thinking. Calculating.
Adrian dismissed her. Called her decorative. Said she's something to admire, not use.
But I've seen what she can do. The intelligence. The knowledge. The determination to get on her knees and prove herself.
Adrian underestimates her.
And people who underestimate their opponents lose.
By the time we reach the compound, I've decided.
Fuck it.
Let's see what happens when the pretty jewel is sharpened into a weapon.
We enter the house.
She starts toward her room. Our room.
"Gemma."
She stops. Turns.
"Strip."
Her eyes widen. "What?"
"You heard me. Take off that dress and thank me."
"Thank you for—"
"For agreeing to your proposal." I move closer. "For deciding you're worth the risk. For choosing to make Adrian Nero's life more difficult."
Understanding dawns in her silver eyes. "You're saying yes?"
"I'm saying strip and show me you're grateful."
For a moment, she just stares. Then, slowly, she reaches behind her back. Finds the zipper.
The dress slides down.
She's not wearing a bra. Just lace panties and heels.
Christ.
"On the bed," I tell her.
She climbs on, and I follow. I'm already hard, have been since she came down those stairs. But this isn't about our eleven o'clock appointment. This isn't about getting her pregnant.
This is about sealing a different kind of deal.
I strip off my jacket, tie, shirt. Her eyes track the movement.
"Why did you change your mind?" she asks.
"Because I think Adrian has a lesson to learn."
"What lesson?"
"That he doesn't know everything." I kneel on the bed. "That the pretty jewel he handed over might be more useful than he realized."
Her breath catches. "He called me that. A jewel?"
"Among other things."
Anger flashes across her face. Good. I want her angry. Want her hungry for revenge.
"Now," I say, settling beside her. "Let's both get what we want."
I position us carefully. Her head near my hips, mine near hers.
This isn't how we usually do this. Usually, it's missionary, efficient, focused on the singular goal of pregnancy.
This is different.
This is mutual.
I pull her panties down, and she gasps when I put my mouth on her. She's already wet. I work her with my tongue, finding the spots that make her hips jerk.
She hesitates for only a moment before taking me in her mouth.
Fuck.
She's good at this. Better than this morning, maybe because she's not nervous. Because she knows now that I respond to her.
I circle her clit with my tongue, push two fingers inside her. She moans around my cock, and the vibration makes me harder.
I've fucked plenty of women. Been with professionals who know every trick. But this—Gemma, my wife, responding to me like this—it's different. Better.
I don't want to examine why.
We find a rhythm. Her mouth on me, my tongue on her. Give and take. Partnership.
She comes first, arching against my face, crying out. I don't stop, just keep working her through it until she's shaking.
Then I focus on my own pleasure. The wet heat of her mouth, the way she takes me deeper, the small desperate sounds she makes.
When I come, she swallows. All of it.
We lie there for a moment, both breathing hard.
"So," she says finally. "We have a deal?"
"We have a deal."
She turns to look at me. "What are the terms?"
"Same as before. You give me intel. I decide how to use it. We keep this between us. And you still fulfill your obligation regarding the heir."
"Fine."
"And we do this." I gesture between us. "The mutual benefit. Not just the breeding schedule."
Her eyes flash. "Trying to keep me interested?"
"Trying to make sure we're both invested." I stand, start getting dressed. "This works if we both want it to work."
She sits up, pulling the sheet around herself. "I want it to work."
"Good."
I finish buttoning my shirt and look at her sitting there, hair messed up, lips swollen, eyes bright with satisfaction and anticipation.
Adrian called her a jewel.
He has no idea what he gave away.
"Get some sleep," I tell her. "Tomorrow, you brief me on everything you know about the gallery security. Every detail. Every vulnerability."
"Tomorrow?"
"We're starting immediately." I head for the door. "Adrian has had long enough thinking he won. Time to remind him he didn't."
I leave before she can respond.
In my own room, I pour a whiskey and stand at the window.
I've just agreed to destabilize the alliance my family needs. To fuck with the man whose cooperation keeps Antonio's business running smoothly. To use my wife as an intelligence asset against her own brother.
It's reckless. Dangerous. Potentially catastrophic.
But the look on Adrian's face when he realizes his decorative little sister helped bring him down?
That'll be worth it.
I drain the whiskey and smile.
Let's see how this plays out.
And if I'm being honest—which I rarely am, even with myself—I'm curious to see what else Gemma Nero is capable of.
The jewel might have more facets than her brother knows.