Chapter 6 Cristian
CRISTIAN
I sit in the back seat, fighting the urge to put my fist through something.
I have half a mind to return to the wedding venue and take this frustration out on Maksim's face.
The memory of his finger trailing down Valentina's skin replays in my mind. Mother fucker.
Valentina sits beside me, uncharacteristically quiet now that we've left the yacht club.
The transformation is unsettling.
Just hours ago, she was laughing with her friends, behaving like a carefree, flirtatious bride-to-be.
I glance over at her. Gone is the giggling schoolgirl who asked me to pick out lingerie, replaced by the serious woman I've seen in her family's strategy meetings.
A woman who commands respect with her sharp intelligence and fierce loyalty to the Dante name.
"You okay?" I break the silence.
She stares straight ahead. "Fine."
But she's not. I can see it in the way her fingers fidget with the hem of her dress.
The dress that nearly got us both killed.
"That was dangerous back there," I say, pushing the button to raise the divider between us and our driver.
He doesn’t need to hear this.
I especially don’t need him reporting it back to Alessandro.
“You’re the one who looked like he’d kill Maksim.” She’s trying to blame me, but her words don’t hold the accusation they suggest, telling me she knows the truth.
Whatever game she was playing today threatened the peace her brother is trying to secure.
"He won't forget that moment," I say, wanting to be sure she understands just how reckless her behavior was. "Men like Maksim don't tolerate defiance, even playful defiance."
Her eyes finally meet mine. "I know exactly what men like Maksim tolerate." In her eyes I see she feels the weight of what awaits her. At the minimum, a life devoid of love.
At worst, violence at the hands of the man who is supposed to cherish her.
I hate Alessandro for agreeing to Maksim’s terms. Surely, he knows what’s in store for her.
No wonder she got all dolled up and acted like a silly young woman with her friends.
This will be the only time she can be a normal twenty-one-year-old woman.
"You should be finishing college, traveling, experiencing life. Not this,” I say, even though it’s not my place to give my opinion.
A bitter smile curves her lips. "Are you saying I'm too young to be a Mob wife, Cristian?"
"I'm saying you're too young to be sold off like property."
She shifts toward me, the movement causing that damned dress to slide higher on her thigh.
My throat tightens as I force my eyes to stay on her face.
"We all make sacrifices for family."
I shake my head. "This isn't a sacrifice. It's a life sentence. One you don’t deserve."
As much as her teasing behavior irritates me, I loved seeing the playful spark in her eyes.
A spark that Maksim will surely extinguish.
“I now understand why you’re trying so damned hard to enjoy life. The flirting. The games. But that dress…you should have known better, Valentina. Maksim saw it as an invitation.”
She shakes her head. “But you didn’t.” She looks out the window, making me question whether I heard her right.
It’s more important that she understands how to play the game with Maksim better.
In a way that keeps her safe.
As much as I like her defiance, Maksim will hurt her, even kill her, if she oversteps.
"He looked at you like you were already his property. It’s my job to protect you from him, but we both know that had he gone too far and I stepped in, we’d all be dead, and this war would rage hotter, more violent than ever.”
Her jaw tightens. “I get it. You don’t need to keep harping on it.”
I reach out and take her hand before I realize I’m doing it.
She turns, looks at my hand on hers, and then lifts her gaze to my face.
“I don’t mind dying for you, Valentina. But it will piss me off if doing so makes no difference and you still get hurt.”
Her eyes widen slightly.
She turns her hand in mine, lacing our fingers.
The contact sends electricity racing up my arm.
Every muscle in my body tenses, though I fight the reaction.
"You can't protect me forever, Cristian."
For a moment I study her, admiring her courage and fucking terrified it will get her killed.
I've witnessed the aftermath of Maksim's rage.
His reputation for creative cruelty isn't exaggerated.
"If Maksim thinks you're disrespecting him, or worse, making him look weak…" I let the sentence hang between us knowing I don’t need to elaborate.
She withdraws her hand, and I immediately miss its warmth.
"I know," she says, her voice defeated. "I'm sorry for putting you in a position that could have ended badly for us all. It wasn’t fair.”
“What’s not fair is that you deserve to be a young woman, dressing provocatively and enjoying life with your friends. Tempting young men. But life isn’t fair, not in your world. You can’t dress like this and not expect Maksim to think it’s an invitation.”
She sighs and shakes her head, her gaze turning away from me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
For a moment, I think I’ll let the conversation drop.
We’re not friends. I’m her bodyguard.
My job is to protect her, not be her confidant.
“It’s not nothing,” I say, clearly unable to let this go.
She slants her gaze to me, her eyes narrow as she studies me. “Does my dress only affect Maksim?”
“What?” I’m not sure why, but warning bells go off in my head.
“Aren’t you ever tempted?”
I understand the warning now.
My response could put me in as much danger as I was in when I nearly ripped Maksim's arms from their sockets for touching Valentina.
“Valentina.”
She motions to the dress. “This doesn’t tempt you?”
Fucking hell. I stare at her, this beautiful, impossible woman who threatens to upend everything I've sworn to uphold.
“And don't give me the loyal soldier speech." Her eyes flash with challenge. "Just answer the question."
The answer is yes. God, yes, I’m tempted. How many times have I stroked off to fantasies of her?
She bites her lower lip, looking down in a rare show of vulnerability. “Don’t you like me?”
Her words stop me short. I realize this isn’t just a game of teasing the bodyguard or a rebellion against her fate. She wants me. Specifically. Maybe not as a life mate, but as someone who can show her caring and passion.
The image of Maksim's finger on her skin returns, accompanied by the thought of his hands on her body, his mouth claiming what I desperately want for myself.
The jealousy that surges through me is primal and forbidden.
That’s offset by the memory of her in the pool, water droplets sliding down her naked skin, her arms wrapping around my neck.
The way her body pressed against mine in the water.
I clear my throat. “It’s not a matter of whether I like you.”
“Why can’t you just—”
“Yes. You tempt me, Valentina.” These words are punishable by death, but the way she’s looking at me, needing validation, I can’t not give it to her. “I can’t deny that the day in the pool, I was very close to giving in.”
Her smile is triumphant.
“But my job—” My words die when her lips press against mine. My world tilts on its axis as our mouths fuse together. The contact is electric, like touching a live wire. For one frozen moment, I do nothing but allow this kiss.
Then instinct takes over.
My arms wrap around her waist, pulling her against me. Her mouth is soft yet demanding, inexperienced but fearless.
Just like her.
I taste her desperation, her defiance, her desire.
All of it mingles with my own hunger that’s been building for weeks. I’m helpless against it even knowing I can’t have her.
Knowing that touching her could lead to our demise.
But the taste of her is more potent than any threat. Need courses through my veins.
My dick is pulsing full-throttle, aching for attention from her sweet lips, to sink into her pussy.
She lets out a moan and follows it up by straddling me, rocking against my dick.
I know she’s a virgin, but she’s well in tune with her body, letting it guide her toward pleasure.
Who the fuck am I to deny her that?
I slide my hand down to her ass, pressing her closer to me, increasing the pressure we both feel.
With my other hand, I caress her thigh, moving upward under that fuck-me dress.
My head nearly explodes when I feel how wet her panties are.
I slip my fingers underneath the silky fabric to find her clit hard and needy.
I gently rub it and savor the guttural sound that emits from her.
She’s so fucking sexy.
My fingers move back, sliding one, then two, inside her.
Her pussy walls pulse and grip, and my dick is jealous.
But this isn’t about me.
I turn my attention to her, watching her as she fucks my fingers.
Her breath comes in quick gasps.
Her head is thrown back, and I’d love to suckle that graceful neck, leaving my mark.
“Oh, God!” she cries out, her cheeks flush in a beautiful pink color. Her pussy grips my fingers and her juices flow over my hand.
All I can think is, God, she’s beautiful when she comes.
Followed by, I’m a dead man.