by Bella J
Uncle Gino stepped in next to me, but I kept my gaze on the horizon.
“I know what I have to do, Uncle. And for her I would do it gladly.”
“Then you need to get it done as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the bigger Vico’s threat becomes, and the more at risk Tatum becomes.”
I too turned to face him. “I’m a patient man, Uncle. But that’s one thing my little brother is not. I won’t have to go looking for an end to all of this. Vico will bring it to me.”
Uncle Gino glanced over my shoulder. “It seems our conversation is done for now.”
I turned and saw Tatum walking toward us. I found myself smiling as I stared at her. She was the prettiest thing, the most beautiful creature God had ever created. And she was mine.
“Did I interrupt?” Her lips curved into a half smile, inviting me to kiss them…which I did. I placed my hand gently around her waist and kissed her softly.
“No. But even if you did, it would be the most welcome interruption.”
She lifted a brow. “Don’t tell me you’re turning into a hopeless romantic who has a way with words, Mr. Fattore.”
“Never.” I placed another kiss just below her ear. “What I meant to say was, there is nothing in this world that would demand my attention more than the beautiful paradise between your legs.”
I felt a shiver move through her body, and I grinned, my lips still touching her skin. “And there is nothing that would keep me from fucking pleasure into you every chance I get.”
I could see her chest rise and fall, her breathing becoming more rapid with every word I spoke. There was no need to slip my hand between her legs in order for me to know she was wet. The way the air around us pulsed with desire, the way her body hummed with need, I could practically smell her lust. I knew that she wanted me, that she wanted my cock inside her.
“Is that better, Miss Linscott?”
She was biting into her bottom lip, her blue irises dark with lust. “Much.”
“Good. Now come with me. I have something to show you.”
16
TATUM
With every step I took I could feel the ache between my legs intensify. I was throbbing with a need to be filled and fucked, to have Castello buried so deep inside me that I would have no choice but to allow the pleasure to take control over my body.
I was no saint. I’ve always liked sex. But ever since I experienced it with Castello, tasted how deliciously sweet it could be when you let all your inhibitions go, it was like my mind and my body had grown addicted to it—to him.
Today was the second time he had denied me pleasure. It has been far too long since I came around his cock, and I needed it. I was starting to need it almost as much I needed air.
My entire body felt electrified, unsatisfied, and my mind was starting to spin out of control with images and fantasies of sordid deeds and twisted lusts.
“Here.” Castello stopped and nodded toward a door. It took me a moment to realize that the entire way here I had completely spaced out, my mind only thinking of one thing.
Castello placed his hand on the doorknob. “I know how much your art means to you, that it’s your way of dealing with certain things. I also know it hasn’t been easy for you, everything that’s happened. So I want to make sure that you have your own space—” he shrugged “—you know, when things get too much.”
I narrowed my eyes and watched with curiosity as he slowly opened the door. He gestured for me to walk in first, and when I saw what was inside, I sucked in a breath. “Castello.”
He walked in and stopped beside me as my gaze swept across the room. There were blank canvases on easels. An entire table stacked with brushes, paint, chalk, pencils, and every other thing any artist would ever need.
“This is your new studio. I’ve taken every measure to ensure you have everything you need here. But if there’s anything I might have missed, just tell me, and I will make sure you get it.”
Stunned, I looked up at him. “You did this for me?”
“It appears that I have.” He continued to stare out in front of him.
I took a moment to look at him, to study his face. Among all the supplies, all the things that would make any artist beam with joy, Castello was the masterpiece. He was a strong man. A man who could carry the world on his shoulders without ever showing any sign of burden. His intensity, and the power he exuded was something everyone around him could feel the second Castello entered a room. His presence demanded respect, even mine. No matter how big of a mind fuck he was to me, his authority over me was undeniable.
“Why? Why did you do this for me?” I kept my gaze on him, hoping to see some kind of emotion.
He placed his hands in his pants pockets. “Do I need a reason?”
“No. But I do.”
He glanced my way. “Why?”
“Because you never tell me anything.”
“I tell you a lot more than you need to know.”
“I’m not talking about your family, and how you do things. I’m talking about us, about what it is that’s really happening between us.”
He turned to face me directly. “And what do you think is happening between us?”
“That’s what I’d like you to tell me.”
“I already did.”
“What do you mean you already did?”
He pulled his hands through his hair, frustration evident in the way his jaw ticked.
“You see, Castello. You never tell me anything. The only thing you tell me without talking in riddles is how you will never let me go.”
“Is that not enough then?”
“No. No it’s not. I want to know why you’ll never let me go. I want to know why you are so goddamn afraid of me leaving. I want to know why you were so concerned when I fainted earlier.”
“Is it wrong of me to show concern when you’re ill?”
“No!” I spat out, my own frustration starting to get the better of me. “It’s not wrong for you to be concerned. It’s not wrong for you to not want to let me go, or to be afraid I’ll leave. I just want to know why.”
Our gazes locked, and the world around us turned to gray. My heart was racing, my mouth dry as the silence between us stretched into a moment that felt like a lifetime. And while we stared at each other Angelique’s words repeated inside my head. “Don’t try to understand him. Rather trust in him.” It was probably the best advice anyone could have given me when it came to this man. Castello was a beautiful enigma, a perfect paradox, yet no one was as perfectly imperfect like him.
Don’t try to understand him.
Tears started to prickle my eyes, threatening to escape. My heart felt too big for my chest, as if it would break through the bones at any second. The way he looked at me was almost as if he felt something. As if there was something more than just lust and selfishness inside him. But what? I needed to know what.
Don’t try to understand him.
I was first to break eye contact. The longer I stared into his eyes the more I wanted to see into his soul.
“Thank you…for this.” I glanced around the room, feeling grateful for what he had given me, yet I felt discontented with what he had not…I wanted him to say the words. I wanted to hear him say what I meant to him.
He held out his hand with a key in his palm. “There is only one key to this room, and it’s this one. No one else will be able to enter this room without your consent, not even me.”
I took the key and held it gently between my fingers as if it could break. “I don’t know what to say.”
Castello moved, and his big frame cast a shadow over me. “I’m a selfish man, Tatum. I never claimed to be otherwise. I will never be the kind of man who lives a selfless life—especially when it comes to you. My need to own you, to be the center of your world will always be greater than my need to be a better man.”
“Castello, you—”
“As I’ve said so many times before, I’m never letting you go, and this—”
he held his hands out wide “—this room is yours, and yours alone. Hopefully it will give you the space, and the freedom to spread your wings while I keep your soul chained to mine.”
In fear that I might burst out in to tears, I gave a tiny step forward and pushed myself up on my toes, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. “Thank you, Castello.”
I stared up into his eyes, and the words moved to the tip of my tongue. “Two pink lines. There were two pink lines.” I wanted to say it. I wanted to tell him that out of all this death that surrounded us we had somehow managed to create a life. There was a tiny being conceived from half of me, and half of him, growing inside me, and with all my heart I wanted to tell him. But I couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling of doubt that festered in the back of my head.
What if Castello doesn’t want a child?
What if he thinks I’m trying to trap him?
What if he throws me out, discarding me as broken and used?
There were a lot of ‘what if’s’ smashing against every corner of my mind. How could this pregnancy possibly be anything good when all of this started with such cruel intentions? I was kidnapped by the man whose baby was growing inside me. My father was murdered by the brother of the man whose baby now occupied my womb. And the man whose child I was carrying was also the man I committed the most sordid of sins while cloaked by the darkness. Surely there was no hope for any of this to turn out well…for any of us.
I moved back. “I appreciate this, very much.” And then it occurred to me. “What is it you want in return?”
He cocked a brow. “What makes you think I want anything in return?”
“You just said you were a selfish man. In other words, you did this because you want something in return.”
The corner of his mouth pulled up into a devilishly handsome grin. “Soon.”
“Soon, what?”
“Soon you will know what it is I want in return.”
“Why won’t you tell me now?”
He stared at me with a calculated gaze, and my nerves started to flutter in the center of my gut.
“Because you’re not ready, little mouse.”
“Ready for what?”
He smiled. “Soon.”
“Castello—”
“Are you tired?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I asked, are you tired?”
“Why?”
It happened so fast. One second I was standing two feet away from him, and the next he had me pinned against the wall with my wrists bound painfully in his grip above my head.
“Just answer the goddamn question.”
I didn’t attempt to get lose from his grip. I’ve been a prisoner of his strength so many times I knew it was pointless to even try.
“No. I’m not tired.”
He moved his thigh between my legs, and pushed up, lifting me slightly off my feet. It was all it took to reignite the lust and need I had been walking around with all night.
He leaned his head down, and I could smell the sweetness of the champagne on his breath. “Do you trust me?”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my needy body. “That’s a complicated question, Castello.”
Taking both my wrists in one hand, he let the other come down, tracing his fingers along the side of my face. “Well let me simplify the answer for you then. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t have welcomed my touch so eagerly. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t want me as much as you do right now.”
“Who says I want you?”
He let out a low laugh that rumbled in the back of his throat. “When will you learn, little mouse?”
“Learn what?”
His head cocked to the side. “That your body can’t lie to me. Your lust is seeping through the fabric of my pants. I can feel your heat, the way your pussy is throbbing right now.” He rubbed his nose along my cheek. “I can even smell the sweet scent of your desire…and it’s driving me insane with the need to fuck you.”
I couldn’t stop myself. I was too fucking needy, my body wound up way too tight, so I slowly started to rock my hips back and forth, rubbing myself against his thigh. It felt so fucking good I could already feel the first tremble of pleasure move up my spine.
Soft lips brushed against my ear. “That’s my needy little mouse.”
He allowed me to rock on his thigh for a moment more before pulling his leg away, causing me to moan with the ache of disappointment.
“Castello, are you trying to kill me?”
“On the contrary, I’m preparing you.”
“For what?”
A roguish grin crept up on his face. “The reward is so much sweeter after it has been denied for so long.”
“Please—”
“I have something special planned for you tonight, little mouse. For us. But first, I want to hear you say that you trust me. I want hear those words come from your lips.”
He let go of my arms and gave a step back. “Tell me that you trust me.”
I rubbed my aching wrists while never taking my eyes off him.
Don’t try to understand him. Rather trust in him.
With a flick of my tongue, I wet my lips, before softly saying, “I trust you, Castello.”
17
TATUM
Nervous anticipation moved in waves through my gut. The fact that Castello wanted me to trust him so badly made me weary. Yet a part of me was excited too, wondering what he had in store for me. But when we walked into the bedroom I balked when I saw a man I didn’t know standing by the window in front of a table that wasn’t there before.
I turned to Castello just as he closed the door. “What’s going on?”
He just smiled, and the man turned around.
“Cas, my man. It’s been a while.”
Castello nodded. “Indeed it has.”
The guy who had piercings in his nose, eyebrows, and bottom lip looked at me. Tattoos peeked out from his shirt collar covering his entire neck and throat.
Castello placed his hand at the small of my back. “Tatum, I’d like you to meet Joey. My tattoo artist.”
I relaxed instantly. I didn’t do well with strange men in my bedroom, especially not after Nicollo tried to rape me before having his head blown off.
Joey reached out his hand toward me. “You must be Tatum. Nice to meet you.”
I shook his hand. “Likewise.”
“So, are we ready to do this?” Joey clapped his hands together.
“Do what?” I cocked a brow at Castello, but he ignored me and walked over to the table.
“Do you have the designs I requested?”
Joey went to stand next to him. “Yup. One king and queen ready to go.”
“Excuse me,” I called out, and they both turned to stare at me. “What is going on?”
Joey narrowed his eyes at Castello. “She doesn’t know, does she?”
Castello’s face remained stoic. “No.”
“Of course not. Motherfucker,” Joey cursed and rubbed his hand over his bald head. “You sure she’s going to go for it?”
Castello glanced at me before turning his attention back to two sketches he held in his hand. “She’ll go with it.”
“Go with what?” I demanded, hating the fact I was being ignored.
Castello placed the sketches back down on the table and pulled off his jacket before he turned to face me. As he rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, he said, “You and I are getting tattoos.”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “We are what?”
Joey started to move around the table, the word fuck dropping out of his mouth every two seconds.
Castello grabbed a chair and sat down, placing his arm on the table next to him. “Sit down, Tatum. I’ll go first.”
“Castello, I am not getting a tattoo.”
“Yes you are.”
“Give me one good reason why I should.”
He snapped his head in my direction, and dark eyes glared at me with warning. A
ll it took was one look and his authority over me came smashing down like boulders on me. With that one look he conveyed the message loud and clear…I didn’t have a choice.
Carefully, nervously I sat down on the bed. Yes, I was an artist, and I liked tattoos…on other people. But getting a tattoo myself was never something I considered. It wasn’t something that interested me when it came to my body.
I watched in silence as Joey shaved the inner part of Castello’s arm. Slow and precise Joey moved the razor across Castello’s skin. My stomach clenched.
Razor…
Skin…
Relief…
With each carefully long stroke of the razor, my heart beat faster. Veins bulged under Castello’s flawless olive skin, the muscled contour of his arm evidence of the strength that pulsed through his body. The silver razor glinted under the light, and for a moment I imagined that it was me who held the sharp edge of the razor against Castello’s skin. The power, the control of knowing that his pain, his blood would be something I held in the palm of my hand. After everything I let Castello do to me—what I loved for him to do to me, I never once thought about how it would feel if I was the one with the power, and he the one completely at my mercy. Would I like it?
I imagined pushing the blade just a little harder to make a tiny cut into his perfect skin, to watch his blood escape the wound in brilliant tears of crimson. His body would be my canvass, his blood the beautiful color I’d create a masterpiece with.
What the hell am I thinking?
While I continued to stare at the razor in Joey’s hand, I felt a warm tingle move up my neck. He was watching me. Castello’s dark eyes narrowed as if he was assessing my every expression. He knew what sordid thoughts were running through my mind. He knew the effect all this had on me, seeing a razor glide over his perfect skin.
I looked away. For a moment I felt ashamed about my thoughts, about wanting to see Castello bleed. I was the one that bled, not him. It was my blood, my pain that made the monsters come out to play. Not his.