by Penelope Sky
His jaw clenched noticeably, his green eyes bright with hostility.
“I told you to choose your questions wisely.”
“I told you I’m not afraid to kill you with my bare hands.”
I knew there was nothing he wanted more. The only reason both of us were still breathing was because of our shared love for Vanessa. Neither one of us crossed the line even though she wasn’t present. All we used was our words, attempting to be as civil as possible.
“I would never put a hand on her now,” I said. “That’s not how our relationship is. You know I’m not lying…since I’ll never lie. I respect her and love her. I’d rather die than let anything happen to her. She has my full blessing to shoot me in the chest if I ever did pull a stunt like that…and I would make sure she didn’t miss.”
He was stoic, as if that statement meant nothing to him. “Then what happened?”
“With all due respect, sir, I don’t think it matters. If I were another man, you wouldn’t ask that.” I hated calling him sir. It left a sour taste on my tongue. I’d never called a man that in my entire life.
“But you aren’t another man. You’re trash.”
I took a deep breath at the insult, swallowing it as best I could without retaliating.
“Now, answer me.”
“I took her to my place in Lake Garda. She had a room, food, and everything she needed.”
Crow didn’t ask the question that was lingering in his eyes, and I knew he would never ask it. It was every father’s worse nightmare. It was so disturbing he couldn’t form the words on his tongue. It was one thing for Vanessa to be tased, because she was tough and could bounce back. But to be emotionally abused against her will was another story.
So I answered it, giving him peace of mind. “I never raped her. That’s not my thing. I know my father did it to your sister…but it’s not the kind of guy I am. Besides, I respected her way too much to do something like that.”
Crow had kept a straight face throughout the entire conversation, but this was the one time he lost control of his expression. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, a sigh of relief coming from his flared nostrils.
I averted my gaze, giving him a second to recuperate.
He poured more scotch into our glasses and took another drink, swallowing the last of his relief. “And then what?”
This was the worst part. “I told her I would kill her for revenge. I planned to tape it and send it to you. But when it came down to it…I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to hurt her, not ever. It seemed like a waste, to let a woman like that leave this earth.”
Crow readopted his coldness, not reacting to that piece of news. It wasn’t surprising, since we were sitting there together at that very moment. “So you wanted to kill my whole family until you met her?”
I held his gaze and answered. “Yes.”
“You wanted to kill my wife?” His jaw clenched a little tighter.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“My son is innocent, as are my brother and his wife.”
“All Barsettis are connected in my opinion. You’re all the same.”
“Yes,” he said in agreement. “And I’m proud to say that. Perhaps you should reconsider your vengeance…”
I heard what he said, but it took a moment to grasp his meaning. “You would rather I try to kill you than watch your daughter love me?”
He nodded. “You would lose. Then you would be gone forever, and my daughter could find a better man.”
His words shouldn’t hurt me, but they did. He might not like me, but there was no better man out there. “I’m the best thing for her. I’m the only man strong enough to balance her power. I’m the only one who makes her feel safe. I know my resume isn’t very impressive to you, but you said you wanted a powerful man who would always protect her.” I pointed at my chest. “That’s me, sir. Men don’t look at her twice when she’s with me. People are too afraid to cross me. I’m the kind of guard dog that latches on to its prey and never lets go. I’m a mountain that can’t be moved. Vanessa is the kind of woman who refuses to show vulnerability and weakness. She holds her head high and takes care of herself. But with me, she wants me to take care of her. I’m the only man she’s ever allowed to take care of her. I earned that right.”
“You earned nothing. You wanted to kill her entire family. I don’t know what this relationship is, but it’s not love.”
“Yes. It. Is.” I didn’t care if my words made him hate me more. I wasn’t going to let him change the narrative of my relationship. “I’ve never loved a woman, but I know I love her. She’s never loved a man, but she knows she loves me. I respect her, adore her, and would give her the entire world to make her happy. She calls me out on my bullshit, cries when I finally come home after a mission, and calls me when she’s scared.”
Again, it seemed like that meant nothing to him. “I made a deal with my daughter. I told her I would try to accept you, try to understand this relationship. I’m trying to like you. I’m trying to see the good in you instead of all the bullshit. But if you never get my approval…she’ll end whatever the hell this is.”
She hadn’t told me that, but I wasn’t the least bit surprised. “I’m aware of how much you mean to her. I’m aware of how important family is to her. It’s the reason I’m sitting here letting you insult me repeatedly.”
“I’m a man of my word. I will try. But things aren’t looking good for you.”
I hated knowing this man had so much power over me. He could take away the one thing that actually meant something to me. I used to care about money and women, superficial shit. But now, none of those things seemed important anymore. “Keep in mind that if you don’t try hard enough, you will devastate your daughter. I know how much she loves me…because it’s with the same intensity as I love her.”
He brought his hands together, massaging his knuckles. “If I tell her to stop seeing you, are you going to fight for her? Turn her against me?” He showed a hint of emotion again, just the way he did earlier.
I knew how much her parents loved her. I witnessed it every time he spoke about her. I listened to the way he talked to her, like she was still his little girl even though she was a grown woman. It was the kind of love that I received from my mother when I was young, but I didn’t get to cherish it as long as she did. “No. Not because I’m weak, but because I know how miserable she would be without her family. I never want to be the reason she loses the people she loves. If you felt the same way, you would be giving me a better chance than you are now.”
“It’s different, and you know it. Not only did your father inflict horrible crimes upon my family, but you took my daughter against her will and did terrible things to her. And you wanted to kill all of us until she changed your mind. You really expect me to accept you? To shake your fucking hand and give you my blessing?”
I knew everything was working against me. I knew my past would make this nearly impossible. The odds seemed so stacked that the likelihood of success was a billion to one. But that didn’t mean I would give up—not on Vanessa. “There will never be another man out there who will love her the way I do. Not because she’s unlovable, but because my love is so unbelievably fierce that it’s crushing.”
His eyes narrowed on my face. “You’re forgetting the man who made her and raised her. You think I wouldn’t die for her? That I wouldn’t give her the whole world? You think my love isn’t fierce? I’m sitting across from the man I despise more than anyone else on this earth—because she claims she loves you. So don’t sit there and pretend your love is stronger than mine—her father’s.”
“That’s not what I meant, sir.”
He spoke through clenched teeth. “Seemed like it.”
“You should trust your daughter. She’s a very smart woman. She wouldn’t have fallen in love with me without reason, especially after everything we’ve been through. She didn’t want to love me. She wanted to forget me. It’s like she doesn’t have a choice, tha
t’s how strong our bond is. Trust her.”
“Love is the destruction of reason. She’s obviously not thinking clearly right now.”
“And she’s not supposed to. Did your wife think clearly when she fell in love with you?” I shouldn’t cross the line into his personal life, but I had to.
Both of his eyebrows rose, like the head of a rattlesnake that had just been provoked.
“I know you took Pearl from my father for vengeance. I know you held her as a prisoner against her will. I know you made her work for her freedom by making her—”
“Shut. Up.” The vein in his forehead throbbed, and his face tinted with redness. His jaw was tighter than I’d ever seen it. “Don’t talk about my wife. You can talk about me, but leave her out of it. She’s off-limits.”
I’d already made my point anyway. “Your relationship didn’t start under the best circumstances. That’s all I’m trying to say. But was she wrong for falling in love with you? Does that mean you aren’t the right man for her? No. Vanessa and I aren’t any different. In fact, our stories are so similar, it’s strange.”
“Does my daughter know all of this?” he asked, his voice breaking.
“No…” I’d mentioned some things, but never extensively.
“I don’t want her to know. You understand me?”
I nodded. “She knows that you and your brother have been criminals in the past. She knows that your relationship with her mother is shrouded in mystery because you never talk about it, and I think she can connect the dots on her own. But I’ve never explicitly told her how it started and how you treated her.”
He nodded.
“But she does know what my father did to her mother…” I knew Vanessa didn’t want them to know, but he’d asked me a direct question and I couldn’t lie.
His eyes shifted down to his hands. He went rigid, his chest tight because he’d stopped breathing. Heartbeats passed, and he didn’t move. Then he brought his hands together at his lips and closed his eyes. “Fuck.” He rose to his feet and paced around the room, his hands on his hips. “Fuck.” He stopped on the other side of the room and faced the wall, his back rising and falling quickly. “You told her?”
“I thought she knew…”
“What did she say?”
“Nothing. She cried.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, releasing another deep sigh.
“She didn’t want you to know she knew. She knows it would hurt her mother. But she wishes she could be there for her…talk to her about it. She doesn’t think less of her…she’s just heartbroken over it. She told me she hated me even though I wasn’t guilty of the crime. That was another hurdle for us, but she overcame it. I don’t want you to think Vanessa fell in love with me immediately. It took a long time, and even when she did, she did her best to fight it. She always told me she would never love someone who would hurt her family. She didn’t want this to happen. Neither did I.”
Crow didn’t turn around, his breathing still uneven. “Leave.” His tone held finality, the closure to the conversation.
I grabbed my glass and finished the rest of it, not wanting it to go to waste. I walked to the door without saying another word, knowing Crow hardly respected me as a human being. Once I opened the door, the sound of the music from the club surged in.
“Griffin.”
I turned back around, noting the way he chose to address me.
“Don’t tell her you told me. We’ll talk to her about it…when the time is right.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Of course.”
Two
Vanessa
I had fifteen paintings in my collection.
I should take them to the winery to be displayed, but asking my parents for help didn’t seem appropriate right now.
There was this distance between us, as if an ocean separated us rather than a few hundred miles. I hated the way it felt, to be closed off from the people I was closest to. I suspected they hadn’t told Conway or anyone else yet. Otherwise, Conway and Sapphire would be calling me right now.
Inspiration didn’t come to me that afternoon, so I didn’t work in the art room.
I moped around the house all day while Bones worked in his office.
I hated being patient. I hated waiting to know the outcome of this nightmare. It didn’t seem like it could ever work, but then again, I hadn’t believed my parents could be so understanding of it this far.
So maybe anything was possible.
I went back into our bedroom and opened my drawers. Inside were different lingerie options, some I’d already worn and others I hadn’t touched. I picked a purple one and put it on before I walked to his office.
When I was most upset, I turned to Bones for reassurance. When he was buried between my legs with his lips pressed against my ear, I wasn’t afraid of anything. All I thought about was him, the way he told me he loved me when he made love to me. That was what I wanted now, a distraction, so I wouldn’t think about the pain in my life.
I stepped in the entryway and looked at him sitting behind his desk, his broad shoulders powerful. Ink ran all over his chest and shoulders, highlighting the impressive muscles underneath the skin. His deadliness was beautiful; his eyes drops of beauty in a sea of terror.
He slowly looked at me from top to bottom as he sat behind his desk, studying the purple push-up bra and matching thong. I was barefoot because he liked me that way. The color went well with my skin tone, and he’d always been attracted to the dark color of my skin.
His eyes slowly made their way back up to mine, his face hard with devastating masculine features. His hard jaw was a stark line in comparison to his neck and shoulders. His jaw was cleanly shaven from his shower that morning, revealing the fair skin I liked to kiss.
He rose from his chair and walked toward me, his sweatpants low on his hips and his chest bare. He pressed me against the frame of the doorway and angled his neck down to kiss me. His hands immediately went to my tits, and he squeezed them, his large palms aggressive.
I breathed into his mouth, feeling the bumps form on my skin at his touch. The second we were connected, I forgot about the turmoil in our lives. I only thought about the man I loved, the mountain that protected me from the wind and the rain.
He lifted me into the air with a single arm and pulled me to his chest as he carried me to the bedroom. His mouth was still on mine, never breaking our kiss as he moved me into the other room.
He laid me on the bed and dropped his sweatpants and boxers to reveal his impressive dick. “You want me to make love to you, baby?” He widened my legs then pressed kisses to the insides of my thighs, his soft lips devouring my sensitive skin.
I arched my back and ran my fingers through my hair as I felt him kiss me. “I want you to kiss me…”
“Where?” He inched his mouth closer to the apex of my thighs, knowing exactly what I wanted.
“You know where…”
“Tell me.” He kissed the skin right next to my panties, not going any closer.
I growled through my teeth then pushed my panties down my body, wanting me to be available to his mouth. “Here.”
He pulled my panties off the rest of the way then lowered himself onto the bed, scooping his hands around my thighs and holding himself on his elbows. He pressed a kiss to my aching clitoris before he began.
My head rolled back, and I moaned in pleasure. “Yes…right there.”
He circled my nub with his tongue, his warm breath escaping across my folds. He sucked and kissed the area before his tongue dived into my slit, adding his saliva to my already weeping arousal.
“Griffin…” No man had ever done this to me, and I didn’t understand how amazing it could feel until he put his mouth there.
“You want to come, baby? Or you want to wait for me?”
I wanted to wait, but I didn’t think I could. I was too deep into this, too deep into how good it felt. If I had to stop, I’d cry. “Make me come…”
He was rougher with me, sucking and biting my clit with aggression. He stimulated me harder and deeper, his tongue doing amazing things just like his dick could. He pushed hard until I was on the edge, about to explode in a fiery wave of pleasure.
Then he gave it to me, providing me one of the greatest highs I’d ever experienced.
Without thinking, I grabbed his face and pulled him harder into me, my hips bucking against him as I got off to his amazing mouth. I could feel his hard jaw against me, and that made it even better. It felt so good I knew I needed to give him an amazing blow job as a thank you. “God…yes.” I ran my hand through my hair as I closed my eyes, treasuring the memory of that satisfying orgasm.
He pulled his mouth away and held himself on top of me, his lips shining with the evidence of my arousal. “You like that, baby?” He kissed my stomach and moved his lips along my rib cage.
“Yes.”
“Has a man ever done that to you?”
“No.”
“Good thing I was your first. You would have been disappointed by the others.” He grabbed my hips and dragged me to the edge of the bed so his cock could press against my wet folds. He prepared to slide inside me.
“Wait.” I pressed my hands against his rock-hard abs.
“Yes, baby?” He ground his cock against my folds, his throbbing length created the perfect friction against my swollen clit.
“How do you want me?”
His eyes narrowed in interest. “In every way imaginable.”
“You know what I mean. How do you want to give me your come?”
His eyes darkened, like I’d said the perfect words to get his engine revving. His hands released my hips, and he moved up the bed until he was against the headboard. His long cock rested against his stomach. He beckoned me to him with a slight nod of his head.
I straddled his hips and gripped his shoulders, crawling on a mountain of solid rock. I kept my bra on, my tits pressed tightly together with a noticeable line of cleavage between them. I looked into his eyes, seeing the same arousal I’d just felt when his mouth was between my legs.