Chapter 3
VALENTINA
It had been a few days since Matt’s bucks party and I still couldn’t shake the thoughts of Sunshine that were plaguing me.
She consumed my mind and even found her way into my dreams. She was magnetic and those eyes were the sexiest thing I had ever seen.
I was infatuated and I felt like a horny teenager obsessing over her first crush, not the twenty-five-year-old that I was.
Matt’s words rattled around in my mind as I replayed every minute of that night over and over again.
When I caught up with him following our shared dance, he told me he’d felt like he was interrupting something between us and that he should have left us alone for that dance.
He swore that, although it was her job to make her clients feel wanted, he thought she genuinely wanted me.
The palpable chemistry between us being clear for all to see.
It was comforting, in a sense, to know that he had seen what I’d felt—that I wasn’t completely delusional, even though that was exactly how I felt, having already fantasised a million different ways I might run into her again.
I felt obsessed, and some of those fantasies had me feeling like a stalker.
I suppose the apple truly didn’t fall far from the tree, knowing my family’s proclivities—well, Zane’s at least.
Tonight, was not the night to lose myself to my all-consuming thoughts.
I had to be sharp. This dinner had been on the books for the last month.
Xavier, my eldest brother, ran the family and our organisation, which meant he was the one who arranged these dreadfully boring dinners each month.
I had already established that I had no interest in joining the more sinister business enterprises we owned and operated, but I still had value to give when it came to propelling us and our objectives forward.
My hand in marriage was highly sought after; many families and foreign criminal organisations sought a foothold in our city and saw allying through marriage as the perfect opportunity given my family ran almost everything.
I was not opposed to the idea myself; I had always assumed this would be my reality, and my brothers had promised I would have a say in the final match.
I didn’t have a strong inclination myself towards finding love, so something arranged always seemed more convenient.
That’s precisely what these dinners have been about over the last eight months.
Tonight, we were sitting down with Alexei Petrov, the first in line to the Russian bratva currently run by his father.
I sat at the head of the table in our formal dining room.
In any other family or household, that seat would have belonged to Xavier when there were guests, but here it was mine.
My brothers always taught me I wasn’t secondary to any man, not even them.
They would not accept someone in my life who wanted to push me down, forcing me to live a meek, subservient life.
For one it did not suit me and if we were truly being honest I would kill anyone that tried.
What no one outside our family knew was that I was the second best fighter of my siblings, with only Zane outmatching me due to his sheer size, strength and penchant for violence.
Xavier was the brains of the organisation and had a quiet power to him, whereas I had speed and agility, as well as a strategic mind.
Even though I didn’t have an active role in the family, they respected me as an equal—but they preferred me to be safe and outside of the immediate fray.
I would always be their little sister, no matter my age.
The girl they had fought so hard to protect when the world wanted to tear us to shreds as children, with no one and nothing to our names.
Xavier stalked into the room and took a seat on my left.
Even while seated, you could easily see how tall he was.
My brother was handsome and always composed, wearing suits and carrying himself with perfect posture, but there was an edge to him that simmered under the surface.
You could catch glimpses of it in his almost black eyes that matched his hair.
Zane followed behind him, taking the seat next to Xav.
Where Xav was tall and lean, Zane was built like a beast; he oozed demonic energy, which completely went against his softer, personality when he spoke to those he cared about.
He had a wicked sense of humour that not many knew how to process, especially since Z was known as one of the best enforcers in the business.
He had the highest kill count in the country, and he was truly feared for his torture techniques.
It was not uncommon for people to opt to end their own lives rather than face him and his depraved ways.
The man was truly a psychopath in every sense of the word, but to me, he was just Z, my big brother.
‘How are you feeling, V? If tonight’s a success I keep a stash of condoms in the cloak room, just grab some on your way out.’
‘Really, Z?! Can we not speak about V having sex? It’s really not very funny,’ Xav snapped at Z’s crass comments. Always poking at our stoic leader.
Before we could continue, the formal dining room doors opened as Evelyn, our housekeeper, ushered in Alexei.
His eyes briefly glanced in the direction of my brothers as he sent a polite nod their way.
His eyes raked over my body, taking me in before he briefly paused to assess the seating arrangement.
He hesitated before making his way to the empty seat on my right.
Refusing to give an inch—knowing the power play had already commenced—I remained seated as he came to my side, lifting my hand as he placed a chaste kiss on it before taking his seat.
I could feel Xav’s muscles physically tighten at the display of affection, while Z’s eyes twinkled with amusement. Z wanted to watch the world burn and tonight would be a slice of that.
Alexei spent the next ten minutes speaking to Xav about business and the future of the bratva until Evelyn walked in with the entrées.
So far, the food had been the most captivating part of the night.
Without waiting, I helped myself to the steak tartare.
Alexei raised an eyebrow at my audacity to start before a guest. I quickly realised that this would never work between us because I had no energy for false pretences and showmanship.
He seemed undeterred as he finally focused his efforts on wooing me instead of my brother, understanding that I had the power to decide whether this would proceed, not them, as they continued to deflect his questions back to me for an answer.
‘Tell me about yourself, Valentina. I hear that you love to read. What are you currently reading?’ he asked innocently enough, seeming to at least be faking his interest to fool most people, but not me. He didn’t care about me—only the De Luca name and what it could afford him, just like the rest.
‘Oh, you wouldn’t know it.’ I brushed off his question, not wanting to engage. I wished he would just redirect his attention back to my brothers.
‘I’m quite well read; I might surprise you,’ he said, leaning in.
I set my fork down and leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms.
‘It’s called Whore for Your Bloodlust. It’s about a young woman who captures the attention of a serial killer, but instead of fearing him, she feels wanted.
So, she wants to do everything she can to prove herself to him.
Right now, I’m reading quite a poignant scene where she gives him a blow job after watching him murder a man in cold blood.
The author has quite a way with words. I can almost feel the stickiness of the victim’s blood in my own hair as he grips the back of her head, forcing her to choke on his enormous—’
‘What the fuck, V?!’ Xav boomed as Z broke out in fits of laughter knowing I had stolen the book from his collection.
I didn’t react; instead, I watched as Alexei’s face slightly paled. Not because he was squeamish; you couldn’t afford to be in his family’s line of work. It was disgust I saw written on his face, but I never quite understood the word ‘shame’.
Wanting to push him further, I leaned forward, entering his space.
‘I have a lot of fantasies like those, think you could keep up with me?’ I left Alexei speechless and Xav with a throbbing headache as he pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head and trying his best not to lose it in front of company.
‘Liar, we all know you’re the vanilla one in the family, you little sundae,’ Z remarked with a smirk on his face.
He wasn’t wrong. I liked to read these stories, but what I actually craved in all of them wasn’t the physicality; it was the earth-shattering love, longing and possessiveness.
I wanted to be consumed and I wanted to consume.
Without meaning to, my mind went back to Sunshine and her eyes.
That was the closest I had ever felt to touching that feeling. Realising this, I stood ready to leave.
‘Sorry, Alexei, I don’t quite see this working out. You need someone young, impressionable that you can turn into your perfect little trad wife, but that won’t ever be me. I know my power and I get the sense that you like to be the one in control.’
Then, turning to Z, I motioned for him to stand. ‘I need to go to the Velvet Room. Take me?’
Curiosity got the best of him as he turned to lead the way, leaving Xav muttering curses under his breath.
When we arrived at my brother’s club, he opened the door for me.
One thing I loved about Z was that he never asked questions; he preferred to observe a situation—unless he had a knife to a man’s throat and his job was quite literally to ask questions in the most brutal way possible.
To Z, this was all one big amusing play, and he wanted to see why I had demanded to come here of all places, seeing as I had never had an interest before.
‘You have someone working for you—Sunshine. Where is she?’ I asked as I pulled up a stool at the bar.
Z went behind it to pour me a drink, making my favourite: gin and tonic with lime.
‘I was expecting one of the bartenders to have piqued your interest, not one of my girls. Interesting… It’s nearly 8:00 pm, so she’s likely in the staff lounge getting ready for her shift. She starts soon.’
I turned in my chair, ready to make my way to the lounge. I needed to see her again.
‘No. That is a safe space for the women; no one enters that space save for them, not even me. Do not take that from them. Sit and wait.’
Giving a frustrated sigh, I sat back down; he was right.
‘V, I’ll say this once and only once. You think we come from trauma?
You’ve got nothing on her. Hurt her and I hurt you.
I know you’re blood, but I swore an oath to protect each one of these women and I will not let you make me a liar.
Do not go anywhere near her if you aren’t serious about her.
’ He knocked back an entire glass of whiskey like it was water. The man loved pain.
‘I don’t know what I am, Zane. That’s why I need to see her again—to figure out what this is.
’ I felt guilty and selfish because if what he said was true, then he was also right, and I should stay far away.
But I doubted I could do that anymore, as she had continued to plague my mind these last few days.
There was an undeniable pull that I didn’t want to resist anymore.
‘Well, figure it out quickly and no games. She’s not an experiment for you or an act of rebellion.
You know Xav would never force a marriage you didn’t want, but I can run interference when it comes to next month’s dinner.
You have one month to figure it out; by then, a decision needs to be made for everyone’s sake.
I must say though, this makes a lot of sense to me. ’
‘What does?’ I questioned, thrown off by his last comment.
‘You’ve always loved to care for those who are damaged. I also can’t picture you ever submitting to any man. I kind of thought you would have explored this side of yourself when you were younger, but better late than never.’ I was completely shocked by his declaration.
‘Your lady’s here, so what are you gonna do?’ he asked, nodding his head towards the main stage.
Pushing off the stool, I didn’t look back.