Old Money Roulette: Complete Trilogy

by Natalie Bennett

  Now back at the cozy Mediterranean villa, I stood beneath the hot spray of water, wishing I could stay there forever.

  This whole venture was leading me down a path I’d never intended on walking. Not one thing I’d discovered boded well for how this would end.

  I knew the truth wasn’t going to be black and white; it never had been. Hell, the way things were going, I wasn’t entirely sure I even wanted it anymore. The Rias name was a curse, a noose slowly tightening around my neck. I understood now why Mateo insisted on me severing all ties with it and taking his surname.

  “Dammit,” I muttered, leaning against the wall. My brain was throbbing. I felt like I’d overslept, and there was too much shit bouncing around inside my head. Was it wrong to hate them for the mess they’d made of my life? My family’s secrets and lies were overflowing and never ending.

  I’d never been well equipped to deal with things like this. I needed to do something before I self sabotaged.

  Shutting the water off, I stepped out of the shower and didn’t bother grabbing a towel. I made my way back into the exuberant master suite I shared with Mateo, and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, looking deep in thought.

  His eyes met mine before slowly perusing every inch of my body, lingering exactly where I wanted him to be.

  I’m sure I’d one day be judged harshly by all the do-gooders with self-righteous moral conduct, but it was what it was.

  I’d always been a tad bit reckless. I suppose I was selfish, too—unashamedly so. I still had a lifetime of bad decisions left in me, and he was always going to be my favorite one.

  I didn’t want to pretend anymore, not with him. I just wanted to be myself.

  He let me approach him, allowed me to straddle him, and didn’t pull away when I placed his hands on my slick hips.

  “I want you,” I told him, resting my hands on his shoulders.

  “Do you? After you ran away from me, vanishing for four days? Do you know the danger you put yourself in?” he asked, sliding his palms around to my ass and beginning to knead the flesh.

  “How would I know that when no one has ever told me what I should be afraid of?”

  “You should be afraid of me.”

  I tilted my head to the side and smiled. “I know you’re a dangerous man, Mateo. I always have. I’m not afraid of that side of you. In fact, I really like it.”

  If he was at all surprised by that confession, he did an excellent job of hiding it. He kissed between my breasts and then closed his mouth around my left nipple, teasing it with the tip of his tongue.

  I groaned, leaning into the sensation, whimpering when he bit down. He soothed the sting and then kissed a path to my right tit. His mouth encased my other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the left. All the while, his fingers continued to massage my ass.

  “You think you deserve more of my cock?”

  “I don’t just want your cock, I want your mouth too,” I grinned, petting the top of his head.

  “Then you’ll tell me exactly where you want it.”

  “I want your tongue inside my pussy while I play with myself.”

  He made a sound in his throat and flipped me onto my back. There was no hesitation on his end; he took hold of my calves and dragged me towards the end of the bed.

  “Tell me what you want next.”

  “Your cock, hard and rough,” I answered easily. “I want you to make it hurt.”

  He grinned and placed his mouth between my parted thighs.

  “Now beg pretty, and you can have everything you so desperately need,” he taunted, blowing a warm breath on my slit, teasing it with his fingers.

  I swallowed, pushing myself up on my elbows. “Will you please eat my pussy?” I lifted my hips, touching my center to his soft lips. His tongue darted out; he flattened it against me and then slowly swiped up and down.

  “Keep going,” he demanded. He gripped my thighs and began to steadily bob his head.

  I did as he wanted, continuing to pump my hips up and down, working his tongue deeper and deeper. Sliding a hand over my torso, I started playing with my clit.

  Saliva and arousal ran down my thighs, coating his face. I was right on the edge when he stopped and pulled away.

  “You don’t get to come until my balls are aching and my dick is chafed.”

  I nodded, breathless, eager for more of him.

  He removed every piece of his clothing. His gorgeous, toned body flexed as he moved forward and settled onto the bed.

  “It’s going to hurt,” was all the warning he gave me. Without further prelude, he hooked my legs over his forearms and thrust himself inside me.

  I didn’t receive a grace period to adjust or take a breath before he was bottoming out. Every deeply rooted stroke pushed me closer and closer to the headboard; he followed my body, pounding into me.

  When I couldn’t go anywhere else, he positioned me so my legs were now hooked over his broad shoulders and wrapped his hand around my throat, forcing me to hold still and take everything he gave me.

  His movements were animalistic; it hurt so bad it felt amazing. My pussy made loud suction noises as skin smacked against skin and he moved in and out of me. Sweat dripped from his body onto mine. I felt like a pretzel about to break in two.

  “Yes,” I hissed as tears sprang to my eyes.

  This was the best form of medicine. He had the ability to make my head a mess, and quiet all the chaos that continually plagued me. His body, his touch…he was a mind-numbing neutralizer.

  “Come for me, anjo,” he coaxed, dropping one of my legs to fondle my swollen clit. I felt my walls clenching around him.

  I came so hard the tears spilled and my mind blacked. My nails raked down his back, tearing at the flesh.

  I was still riding my high, damn near hyperventilating, when he came inside me with a guttural groan.

  He lowered my other leg; they both fell to the side like limp noodles, trembling with little aftershocks. My chest rose and fell in exertion.

  Mateo kissed me tenderly on my lips, and then my forehead, staying between my legs.

  “What’s wrong with me?” I sighed, rubbing my brow.

  “There’s nothing wrong with you.” His defensive tone had a slight smile tilting up one corner of my mouth.

  “I’m not crying or cursing Eva’s name. I’m not demanding you tell me where my father is…shouldn’t I be doing these things?”

  “No, you simply aren’t expending energy on problems you can’t fix. Problems that should have never fallen on your shoulders to deal with in the first place.”

  “But—”

  “Stop feeling guilty about being content to be free. You’ve lived your entire life in your family’s shadow of shame. You’re allowed to want more, amada. You deserve more.”

  A full smile overtook my face this time. I reached up and cupped his cheek, smoothing my thumb over his stubble.

  “That was the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.”

  “It wasn’t sweet, it was the truth,” he retorted, turning his head to kiss my palm. “But, we do need to talk,” he murmured after another beat, lifting away from me. “I’m going to shower, and then there’s something else you need to see.”

  I opened my mouth to ask for more of an explanation, and then realized who I was dealing with. He wouldn’t give me a straight answer.

  Flopping flat on my back, I stared up at the ceiling, wondering what skeleton was about to fall out of the closet next.

  Chapter Ten

  We were close to the end.

  I readied the media player in the theater room, feeling Elena’s eyes on me the entire time.

  “Does this ever end? Are you always going to evade my questions with riddles?”

  I glanced back at her and withheld a sigh. She was curled up in a corner of the sectional with a throw wrapped around her shoulders, dressed simply in sweatpants and a tank top.

  Physically, Elena looked as youthful as ever. Mentally, she was b
eyond her years.

  I knew I’d contributed to that aging, but her family were the real villains of this story.

  “Does it end? For me, never. For you, it’s almost done. When that happens, we’ll be married, and you’ll finally be able to enjoy living freely for once.”

  “Married,” she hummed, glancing at her ring for a few seconds. “Does marriage include pot roast every Sunday and little baby Mateos running around?” she smirked, laying her head on the arm of the couch.

  “I don’t like pot roast. And I prefer two of each, but I’ll be grateful for whatever your body blesses me with.”

  She blinked up at me, seeing I was serious. Knowing we had plenty of time to discuss me putting a baby in her stomach, I changed the subject.

  “I want a new deal.”

  Her softened expression morphed into a petulant scowl I struggled not to laugh at.

  “There was never a ‘deal’ in the first place. If there was, you already screwed up your side of it. You haven’t told—”

  “Just watch the video, and then hear me out,” I interrupted, taking a seat beside her.

  Hitting play, the screen switched from blue to the vividly clear footage of a seafood restaurant.

  I’d seen the scene in this footage unfold at least ten times, analyzing it over and over to be clear I understood what was happening.

  “Where did you get this?” she asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

  Her mother sat in a private booth with Elena’s uncle. There was no mistaking what they were doing. Samuel was whispering in her ear and planting kisses along her jaw line.

  This went on for three minutes before her father, Ricardo, entered the building.

  Even without sound, it was obvious he was pissed. Who wouldn’t be? He approached the table and words were exchanged.

  “She doesn’t even care,” Elena murmured.

  “She never did,” I replied, watching her mother laugh and then smile, waving Ricardo off. Samuel tried to speak and was promptly shut down.

  Whatever they were saying began drawing the attention of the other patrons inside the establishment. Ricardo’s final words had the smile dropping from his wife’s face as he stormed away. The video cut out after he exited the restaurant.

  “Was it him? Is that what you wanted to show me? My father killed her, didn’t he?” Elena rushed out, “Because she slept with his brother—their brother?”

  I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. That was one way to perceive the scene she’d just witnessed. It wasn’t true, but it still held weight.

  “He didn’t kill her, though I can see why you would think that. Samuel isn’t his real brother, just like Molly wasn’t your real aunt.”

  She turned her head to look at me, confusion and sadness marring her flawless features.

  “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “Then agree to work with me.”

  “Agree to—what? Are you seriously trying to change the subject right now?” she snapped, standing up from the couch.

  “No, I’m offering to take our relationship to the next level and be a partner instead of an enemy.”

  She laughed humorlessly and quirked a brow. “What do you get out of that, Mateo? I know this isn’t being offered from the kindness of your missing heart, so please don’t sit here and pretend you’re some selfless saint; we both know that’s utter bullshit.”

  “We can be something amazing together. I know I hurt you. I know what you’re afraid of.”

  I ignored her dirty mouth for once, and persisted. Her refusal was what utter bullshit was.

  She was scared of falling in deeper with me, but we both knew she was already stuck. I’d do anything to keep her safe and give her a life where she had everything she desired. I wanted to place her on a pedestal and treat her like the cutthroat queen I knew she was.

  “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “I’m the most invaluable asset you’ll ever have.”

  She tried to look away, but I wouldn’t allow it.

  Gently lifting her chin with my knuckle, I peered down at her. “Don’t look away, amada. If someone can’t maintain eye contact, they’re either guilty of something or afraid. A lot of times, they’re both.

  “I’ve saved your life when Alex failed to end it. I watched over you for five years, and I got rid of a body on your behalf. I think that says you can trust me.”

  It took her a second to understand what I was referring to. Her eyes slightly widened and she stepped back.

  I let her have the few inches of space to process another tidbit of revelation. Seems I was quite full of those lately.

  “You?” she questioned, disbelievingly.

  “What else could it be other than be fate that had me around every time you’ve ever needed me the most? From the botched suicide hit, to the piece of shit that tried to take what wasn’t his and slit your thigh open.”

  She opened her mouth, closing it when words refused to come out. Her gaze went to the blue screen, and then bounced back to me.

  Reaching out, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and cupped the side of her face.

  “Why would you do that? You…saved my life that night. I knew something about you was familiar,” she said quietly.

  “Doesn’t all that prove I’m trustworthy?” I deflected.

  I couldn’t let her know how deep my obsession ran. It was an incurable sickness spreading through my bones.

  I’d allowed Alex Norway live for years, letting him think he was safe, setting him up to be her second kill.

  Her first was the man she fought off and took the knife from. I watched from a distance as she dug the blade into him, like she was carving up a turkey. No one came running to investigate his screams and pleas—not in this neighborhood.

  By the time Elias and I approached him, his intestines were spilling out onto the pavement and he’d lost control of his bowels. I put a bullet in the fucker’s skull and then took him to my gators.

  He was someone no one would ever miss, a street fiend from the ghetto that went after the wrong girl.

  I couldn’t fault her leaving him behind the way she did; most people didn’t have multiple places they could dispose of dead bodies.

  She was wise enough not to go to the police. Her scar looked the way it did from her stitching it up herself.

  Elena may not have grown up in Vice City, but she had impeccable street smarts from being forced to live in the worst parts of an inner city.

  “Alex…he’s the guy you had me burn with a blow torch and then dunk in acid?” Her brows rose and a slight smile graced her pretty face.

  “I told you there was a reason for everything I did,” I smirked, slightly caught off guard when she launched herself into my arms.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled against my chest.

  “You don’t have to thank me, anjo. Just be yourself from now on and understand I never do anything with the intent to hurt your heart.”

  She squeezed me tighter, causing me to sigh. I ran a hand through her hair in a soothing motion. She fit perfectly against me; the woman had become part of me.

  Her body was supple and soft, but her sweet tortured soul was made of cast iron.

  She hadn’t broken once, never even brought up wanting to fold. Any doubts I had about what came next diminished with every pull of her cherry blossom scent that filtered into my corrupted lungs.

  “There’s someone at the stables who would be more than happy to explain this surveillance video to you,” I casually mentioned after a few moments of silence.

  She lifted her head and stepped back just enough to see my face.

  “Then we need to go to the stables.”

  Chapter Eleven

  I was ready to go inside this time.

  Honestly, that was pretty much all I was ready for. My head was spinning with so many goddamn questions I wanted to throw up. Not even the smell of sea salt was making me feel better.

 
The sun now sat high in the sky, drying up all evidence of the previous day’s rain, reminding me I hadn’t checked in with my friends, which made me feel like shit.

  “I need to get hold of Peyton and Melody before they freak out.”

  Instead of verbally responding, Mateo lifted his cell from his inner pocket, controlling the UTV tram with one hand.

  “Here,” he said after unlocking the screen, offering it to me.

  “Uh, thanks,” I mumbled, quickly dialing Peyton’s number. When he didn’t answer, I tried Melody. No response from her either.

  “They’re not picking up,” I said, more to myself than Mateo, shooting them each the same text that said I was okay.

  “I’ll send someone to do a well-check.”

  “You’d do that?” I internally cringed at how surprised I sounded.

  “They’re important to you, which in turn makes them important to me,” he replied after a minute.

  I nodded, feeling a little awkward as I thanked him again.

  Seriously, had the guy undergone a personality change after we had sex?

  I looked out at the surrounding land and got lost in my head for a bit.

  The lethal, stunning man beside me had saved my life and watched over me for years. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t grateful, not when he was the sole reason I was sitting where I was, alive and breathing. His scent had stuck with me all this time, but I could never place it.

  I didn’t trust him to disclose everything to me, but I trusted him with my life. If someone fucked with me, he’d make sure it was the last thing they ever did.

  “Do you know where my father is?” I asked, staring at a brown colt happily frolicking in one of the paddocks we were passing.

  “He’s not alive, Elena,” he responded slowly. It sounded like he wanted to add more, but stopped himself.

  “But I thought…” Huffing out a breath, I scrubbed a hand over my face. I couldn’t say I’d been overjoyed with the idea of my father being back from the dead, not if he really had concocted a plan that had destroyed my sister and killed my mother, but I still missed him.