She wouldn’t be saved, and neither would he.
As he got to the edge, he began calling her every name in the book, only it wasn’t this woman.
It was the one who left.
As he got ready to come, he yanked her head to the side and bit her.
She began crying.
Only then did he cum, exploding into her in wave after wave of anguish.
His pain.
Her pain.
It was all on his shoulders. He bore it all, and the weight was staggering.
He’d also fucked her bare. It had been suicide, and he knew it.
He rolled onto his back, leaving her body. She was battered and bruised, and for the first time in his life, he became his father. The man he’d raged about had finally won.
Dimitri had hit rock bottom. He thought he’d already done that with Marissa, but he’d been wrong.
He was there now.
“Get out,” he said, pointing at the money.
The hooker pulled down her skirt, she grabbed the cash, and she headed out the door.
He felt horrible for how he treated her. Only, he couldn’t save himself. How was he supposed to save her?
Dimitri sat there, inches from the phone, and he couldn’t do it anymore.
Picking it up, he dialed her number from memory.
When she answered, he said one thing.
“I need you. Please.”
“I’ll be right there.”
He hung up.
And Dimitri waited.
For someone to care.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Terrace Glen
Steele found Dante hanging out with his father, and he was grateful it was just the two men. He really wasn’t up to seeing Dante’s mother. He just wanted to keep the peace before their wedding.
Heading across the game room, he gave his fiancé a hug and stayed against his body.
“Hey, babe,” Steele said.
Dante smiled at him as he nuzzled his cheek with his own. “You’re looking all chipper, honey. I’m going to say you didn’t see my mother.”
He laughed.
It was clear everyone knew he was avoiding the woman, and the way Dante’s father joined in, even he got it.
“No, I didn’t see her. I’m happy because I was shopping with Emma and Chris.”
“Oh, did you buy anything?” Dante asked, trying to peek into the bag.
“Uh, honeymoon.”
He got it.
The word sent shivers down his spine. He couldn’t wait to get to that point, and it sounded like Emma did her thing.
Dante was going to kiss her next. He owed her one.
“Not even a clue?” Dante asked, keeping his arm around his fiancé.
“Let’s just say that I think you’ll like some of the things I found.”
Dante could only imagine, and he likely would. In fact, he didn’t need anything for the honeymoon but the man he loved.
So, to express that, he kissed him.
Steele stayed in his embrace, and lived in only that moment. The kiss was slow, soft, and filled with love. He could taste bourbon and cigars on Dante, and it offered him this warm sense of calm.
It was peaceful.
It was HOME.
When Dante finally set him free, they were eye to eye, and nose to nose. “I can’t believe I’m finally going to marry my best friend and soulmate tomorrow. This is my dream come true, Steele.”
His heart skipped.
Christopher Croft came around and patted both men on the shoulders. While he wasn’t upset that his son was gay, he did know what Dante had done, and the two men needed to be alone. Dante had to learn that being in a marriage wasn’t always easy, scripted, or fun. Sometimes, you had to face the rocky part down and deal with it.
Speaking of which…
“I’m going to check on Reggie. Hide.”
They laughed.
When he was gone, the mood got somber, and fast. Steele could feel it. Something was stressing Dante out. The man was normally easy going, calm, and relaxed.
Somehow, he didn’t think this had anything to do with Reggie being there.
Now he was worried.
“What’s wrong?” Steele asked. “You’re keeping something from me. I can see it in your eyes.”
And he could.
There was a storm brewing there. The Croft men were an open book when you stared into that silver storm.
“Do you want to back out of the wedding?” he asked, trying not to be sick.
Yeah, this was bad.
Dante knew he had to tell him, and soon. They were running out of time, and if his fiancé was already assuming that, they definitely had a problem.
“No, babe. I don’t want to call off the wedding. I need to talk to you,” he said, leading him to a couch in the mancave. He sat down, and Steele joined him.
“Then what’s wrong?” Steele asked, trying to keep from weeping.
“I did something, and I hope you don’t hate me for it.”
That scared Steele.
A million possibilities went through his mind, but the one that stuck out the most was that he’d had an affair.
Why wouldn’t he?
Steele was damaged goods, and he wouldn’t blame him. They’d had zero intimacy for months because he was afraid.
In his mind, he began making promises. If Dante didn’t leave him, and if he didn’t cheat on him, he’d make this right. Fear or not, he’d begin fixing his shit.
The man had been so patient the last few months, and he’d been hiding in his abduction and the PTSD.
Steele stared at him.
Dante was nervous.
“What could you possibly do to make me hate you?” he asked. Then he asked him the one thing that he knew would destroy what they had. “Did you cheat on me?”
Dante was appalled by his question, and that everyone thought that was even a possibility.
“NO!”
Steele didn’t get what could be the issue. “Then what, babe?”
Here went everything.
“Remember Vonda Herron?” he asked. “She was the woman who had the affair with your father.”
Oh, he remembered.
“Yes. I remember her.”
“Right before you were taken, I found something out, and I didn’t tell you.”
Steele was feeling sick.
He leaned back on the couch and braced himself for it. Anything that had to do with his mother or father was going to suck.
That was just from every single one of his past experiences.
“What?” he asked, blinking at his fiancé with his one good eye. He wanted to pace, get sick, and run—and he didn’t know why.
“Steele, honey, your father had another child with Vonda. You have a sibling.”
He didn’t know what to say.
This was like a sucker punch to the solar plexus.
“And you’ve known this long and decided today to tell me because I’m not nervous enough that tomorrow we get married?”
Dante felt like an asshole.
“I wanted to tell you, but you’ve been struggling. I didn’t know…”
He stopped.
“Just say it.”
“I didn’t want you to leave me. I was afraid you’d freak out and dump me again. When you were saved from that hole in the ground, you couldn’t deal and left. I assumed you’d do it again, and I can’t handle losing you again.”
Steele understood why he was afraid. He had done that to him, but now, he couldn’t believe this.
He had a sibling?
“Is it a male or female?” he asked.
“You have a brother. His name is Bentley Herron.”
Wow.
Just…wow.
“Where is he?” he asked.
“He’s in Vegas. In fact, I contacted him, and he’s coming here tonight to meet you. It was sort of my wedding gift to you, but then I got worried that you’d be upset.
I didn’t want to freak you out in front of the family by dropping this into your lap. I just thought you deserved to have someone here, other than a Croft. You deserved to have blood by your side.”
Steele’s eye filled with tears.
“Oh, babe, I’m sorry,” whispered Dante. “Don’t hate me. I’m sorry. I can call him and tell him not to come. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
Steele looked up at him. “Hate you? Why would I do that?”
“He’s part of your father and your past. I didn’t know if you’d be happy, or…?”
He kissed him.
It was heated, filled with love, and wilder than he’d been in a long time.
Dante didn’t know what the hell to do, but hold on. As his fiancé drove the kiss, his whole body began waking up.
It was amazing.
Dante came to life, and the long dormant need began ebbing to the surface, filling him with heat.
Hands began wandering, there was heavy breathing, and finally, Dante moaned.
Steele set him free.
“How could I be anything but madly in love with you for what you did? You found me family.”
Then he thought about it.
Family.
His family had sucked.
Would his brother suck too?
“Does he want to meet me? Really meet me?” he asked.
Dante couldn’t speak. He could barely think after that kiss. He simply nodded.
Steele grinned. “I have a brother.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Tell me about him,” Steele practically begged. “What’s he like? How old is he? Do we look alike? Is he nice? What does he do?”
Dante had to stop him so he could begin to answer all of those questions.
“He seems great. I only met him once, so it was a first impression. It was at a café. He’s a college student in his last year. He’s studying medicine.”
Steele smiled. “He’s smart, like me?”
Dante nodded. “He has your eyes, and you both look similar. He’s got dark brown hair, like his mother, while you have the black hair from your father.”
Steele was intrigued.
“He’s coming tonight?” he asked.
“Yes, to meet you, and I invited him to the wedding tomorrow. I figured you’d want someone to be there for you too.”
He hugged him. “I love you, Dante.”
He took his face between his palms and stared into his eyes. “Steele, I love you so damn much. I’d do anything for you. I just want you to be happy.”
“I am. I’m marrying my best friend, I have the love of my new family, and I found out I have a brother. There’s nothing that can destroy my happiness.”
And that’s when he spoke too soon.
Dante heard his mother bitching on her way down to the mancave.
He grabbed his fiancé and pulled him toward the closet. Once there, he shoved him inside and joined him.
There, he placed his hand over his mouth.
“Where is Dante?” Reggie asked. “I wanted to talk to him about this wedding.”
Christopher Croft didn’t know. “I left him down here. Maybe he’s with his fiancé.”
“I’m never getting grand babies. I can’t believe this. Both sons have dropped the ball.”
“There’s more to life than grandchildren,” he offered. “You may have to come to the realization, Reggie, that your kids may not want children. They have to make their own choices.”
“Our one son is gay, and the other is in the mob. We went wrong somewhere.”
Dante wanted to head out and tell her off.
Instead, Steele wouldn’t let him go. In his ear, he whispered. “Don’t do it. We can get through this. She’ll make Emma miserable.”
That was the only reason he stopped.
His fiancé was right. Reggie would aim this at her, and they all knew she was pregnant.
Emma didn’t need the stress.
“It’s early. Why don’t we go swimming before dinner?” Christopher offered, trying to calm her down. He could see the trouble coming. While he loved his wife, she was accustomed to being the boss.
Here.
She wasn’t.
It drove her insane that her boys didn’t need her mothering anymore. He both hated her reaction and sympathized.
He was stuck in the middle.
“Fine. I’m in a bad mood,” she said, as she let her husband lead her out of there.
In the closet, the two men didn’t move.
“I kinda like it in here,” Steele said, nuzzling Dante’s cheek.
“Do you?” he asked, wrapping his arms around his partner. “Want to make out a little while? She won’t find us in here.”
That sounded perfect.
Plus, for the first time, in a while, Steele was actually interested in the act of fooling around.
“Emma and I found some fun things,” he said, bringing up the sex store, again, to his fiancé.
“Like?” he asked, praying.
He whispered in his ear, as he rubbed against him.
Holy shit!
Dante knew one thing. First, he was going to kiss his brother for getting Emma to talk to Steele, and then he was going to enjoy being married.
He was going to get his sex on.
Once again.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Twenty Minutes
Later
Downtown Vegas
When she got the call, she was worried about him. As soon as she hung up, Emma made Greyson drive her to the hotel so she could handle it.
It wasn’t like Dimitri to call and need to see her, especially since his brother was still out there and gunning for them. Viktor Marchenko was a bad man, and they were all wearing the crosshairs on this one.
That meant one thing.
Something bad was going on.
So, as she headed to the hotel room number that he’d given her, Greyson went elsewhere. He wasn’t the one who’d been called, and Emma really believed that Dimitri needed her care.
So, he would head upstairs to the penthouse suite that they owned until she needed him.
She was likely going to have her hands full.
Greyson wasn’t surprised. He’d seen the change in his friend. He’d stopped being consistent with security, and he’d been a lot more irritable since Marissa Pierce broke his heart.
This was definitely coming.
He wasn’t shocked he’d reached for Emma. She was mothering all three Gideons with all she had. They seemed to need it more than anyone else at Terrace Glen.
He could live with that.
For his family, he’d share his wife’s heart.
Greyson kissed her on the lips. “I love you. If you need backup, call me. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll come down to check on you both.”
“I’ll be okay. I have to help him. Someone has to do it, Grey,” she offered.
He knew who that person was going to be.
Croft headed toward the elevator, leaving his wife to do what she did best. It was in her hands.
As Emma knocked on the hotel room door, she heard him call to her.
“It’s open.”
She entered and needed to gauge how bad he was. “That’s what got you stabbed last time,” she offered. “Maybe you should switch it up a bit and lock the door.”
There was no response.
Yeah, this wasn’t good. Dimitri always joked around with her, and he was good natured.
Now, nope.
Once inside the posh hotel room, she found him, and like she suspected, he wasn’t in good shape.
Dimitri was sitting on the edge of the rumpled bed, his head in his hands, and the energy around him was bad.
The room smelled like cheap perfume and sex.
Jesus.
What the hell had happened?
She immediately went to sit beside him, and his wall came down. Dimitri didn’t lean on anyone, but as of late, Emma
was his one person he trusted.
She’d gotten Kat and Curtis married and was mothering her.
Natasha loved the woman, swearing she was a miracle worker when it came to love.
And now Dimitri needed her.
“Emma, I did something,” he whispered, afraid to look up at her. He was never ashamed before about hiring women to satisfy his needs.
Now he was.
What had he done?
“It’s okay, Dimitri. Just tell me what happened,” she said, even though she pretty much could tell without him saying a word. His shirt was open, his hair was a mess, and he looked haunted.
Then there was the rumpled bed.
“I…”
He couldn’t do it. His brain couldn’t wrap itself around what he’d just done. Not only had he paid another hooker, but he’d been abusive during the sex.
“I am him.”
Emma put her arms around him. Dimitri was always so strong, and he was a killer, but beneath it all, she knew the truth.
He was a boy who had to grow up way too fast.
And he’d missed the most important things in life.
Love.
Tenderness.
Kindness.
“It’s okay, Maximillian. You aren’t him. You aren’t your father.”
At the use of his real name, it all crumbled around him. The pain was too much. He needed someone to pull him back up. Never in his life had he been so freaked out by his actions, and that was saying a lot.
He’d killed for a living.
Now this one act of sex was threatening to undo him. He was at rock bottom, and he didn’t know how to even begin.
“I hired another a hooker. I’m so angry. It’s eating me alive. Then I hurt her.”
Okay, that didn’t sound good. There was no blood in the room, and there wasn’t the telltale scent of death, so she was assuming hurt didn’t mean kill.
Thank God.
“What do you mean hurt?” she asked.
“I raped her.”
Emma couldn’t believe that.
She knew this man, and that didn’t seem possible. There was no way he’d do it. She’d trust him with her child’s life, and she knew he wasn’t that kind of man.
Wedding of Our Dreams: Dante & Steele (Croft Family Mob Series Book 0) Page 7