Valentina: Woman Empowered (Tied In Steel Book 1)

by Mj Fields

  The next is the same.

  Then, when I feel like I can’t take anymore, her feet are kicked apart, and Gia uses the flogger in her other hand, snapping her wrist and landing a sharp slap between them.

  “Yes!” Lace groans as her breasts press into my legs.

  Another snap of her wrist comes with the warning, “Don’t you come.”

  “Please,” Lace begs, grinding into my leg.

  “Patience.” Gia whips her ass again.

  “Yes, Signora Gia,” Lace rasps.

  Gia walks away, dropping the whip and setting the flogger down on a table. Then she grabs a small paddle and walks back over. “Turn over, pet.”

  “Fucking pet?” I hiss at her.

  She taps my face with the paddle. “Shut your mouth.”

  “Or what?” I sneer as Lace lies on her back against my legs, her head hanging over by my hip.

  She doesn’t answer me. She simply works her leather pants down, revealing a pair of crotch-less, leather thongs. She steps out of her heels then removes her pants.

  “Who comes first?” Gia asks, stepping back into her heels.

  “You, Signora, always you.”

  Gia stands to my side and straddles Lace’s face, her bare pussy in clear view.

  “You think you two can take it to another fucking room?”

  The paddle stings my cheek. “You are but furniture. Furniture doesn’t speak.”

  “Why the fuck am I here?” I growl at her, which produces another slap.

  Reaching behind me, she grabs a cloth. “Ask me again.”

  “You are a sick—”

  She shoves the cloth in my mouth and pushes it in. “Shut up.”

  I try to spit it out, but it’s no use.

  I remain sitting as Lace licks at Gia’s cunt while her pussy gets slapped repeatedly.

  “You want to come, you’ll do better than that,” Gia tells her.

  Lace clearly takes her seriously, working her mouth on Gia’s cunt like it’s her fucking job.

  “Yes, pet, yes,” Gia says, resting her hand on my shoulder as she leans over Lace and rips her panties. “Don’t you stop.”

  I watch as Gia slides her finger into Lace’s pussy while digging her nails into my skin.

  When Gia comes, she releases my shoulder and steps back. Lace’s face is slick with cum.

  “Please, Signora,” Lace begs.

  “You’ve done well, pet. You even made Gia come in the presence of a man.” She stands between her legs. “You will be rewarded.”

  I watch as she finger-fucks Lace to near climax then stops, over and over again.

  “Do you want to come?”

  “Yes, please make me come.”

  Gia slaps Lace’s pussy. “It’s let me come, pet. A request, not a demand.”

  “Please let me come,” Lace moans as she is rubbed.

  “For who?”

  “Please let me come for you,” she begs.

  The way she touches her is not with care. It seems almost painful. I take this time to look around the room, trying to figure out why I was brought here.

  Capitolo Otto

  Valentina

  I have made myself try to appear normal since I last saw him. Thankfully, it’s been incredibly busy with end of school activities. I am a mom, of course; that’s what we do. I also have my family and friends watching over me.

  Mel assures me there are eyes on him, and that he is safe. When I ask questions, she tells me that she doesn’t get the details. I don’t ask her husband.

  My girls—mine—are being sweeter than usual, which is appreciated but unnecessary. It saddens me that they are carrying an unnecessary burden. However, we are all born of pasts, of choices, mistakes, and yes, triumphs and blessings.

  Tomorrow morning, we will wake early and board a plane to visit Dominic, Laney, and my niece and nephew. After we spend a month with them there, they will come here to spend a month with us. All of us.

  I stand in the middle of my office amidst my boxes when Vincent taps on the door.

  I turn and look at him.

  “The bags are in the SUV. Are there anymore?”

  I shake my head. “I plan to do some shopping.”

  He nods, and then I see a slight eye roll, which has lessened over the years.

  “I realize you think my shopping is overly indulgent.”

  “I’m not here to judge,” he comments, leaning against the doorjamb.

  “We all judge,” I whisper, looking down at the pile.

  “Have you changed your mind about bring your”—he pauses, and I look back at him—“work?”

  I can’t help laughing.

  “It’s good to hear that again.”

  “Well, I think this may be the first time I’ve ever seen a sliver of a smile on your face, Vincent.”

  “I think that’s untrue.” He now rolls his eyes openly.

  “I’ve seen that look; usually masked.”

  “What look?” he asks, revealing another smile.

  “The eye roll.” I exaggerate my own.

  “I’m sure I learned that from our little signorinas.”

  Ours. How is it he considers them ours, yet Franco …? I stop myself from letting my mind go there and nod. “I bet you did.”

  When the gate buzzer chimes, he looks at me. “Are you expecting anyone?” He looks at his phone. “Your friend Paige is here.”

  “Paige?” I ask, walking toward the front door. When I get there, I find her pulling a suitcase out of her trunk.

  “Hey,” I say as Vincent walks past me and toward her.

  He reaches to take her bag. “I can get—”

  “What do I look like? A fucking project? Do you think I can’t carry my own bag?” She turns her back to him and begins storming toward me, dragging along a suitcase as big as her.

  “Paige, is everything okay?” I ask as her bag flips, jerking her back.

  “I quit!” she says, trying to right her bag.

  When Vincent attempts to fix it, she literally growls at him, clear amusement dancing in her eyes.

  “Assholes! All of you, penis toting morons!” she yells at him.

  I walk to meet her and take her hands. “Vincent, get her bag please.”

  “Me, or my penis?” he mutters, shocking me.

  “You don’t want to push me,” Paige again growls at him.

  “Okay, come with me.” I quickly usher her into the house. “Tell me what the problem is.”

  “Douche is the problem. DOUCHE!”

  “Okay, well, I don’t understand what—”

  She walks to the sofa and drops onto it. “My first solo campaign, and they give me a douche, so I quit. I quit, and I’m going to Italy. I quit my job, I quit life, and I quit America!”

  “I see,” I say as I sit next to her.

  “Melyssa and Sabato are in Italy, Laney is in Italy, you’re going to Italy, and I’m going to rot here alone.”

  “Nikki is here,” I remind her.

  “Tied to a damn bed, I bet,” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks at me. “I’m going for real this time. No men will stop me, and no damn douche campaign will either.” She sighs. “I’m going to support you, of course.”

  I smile. “Of course.”

  After a few glasses of wine, Paige retires to the guest room, and I retire to mine.

  We have been in Livorno for three days. Three days of eating, drinking, catching up, and relaxing. We have also watched the kids play. Alessia and Gabriel are amazing, simply amazing. Today, Laney and Sabato are coming with Torrance and Marcelo to spend a few days.

  I have been okay, even Dominic told me he was proud of who I have become. He didn’t mention Franco, not once. I only cried … a little.

  Paige has been pretty drunk most evenings. Tonight, she’s even more so. When Dominic and Laney suggest we all go out and leave the kids with the nannies and their security team, she’s the first to agree.

  I look to Vincent f
or approval. I trust him. And more and more each day, I feel that I trust him as much, if not more, than I once did Franco.

  When Dominic suggests coming with us, I feel a little unease. However, Dominic would never put any of us in danger, and Vincent deserves a night out, as well.

  When we pull up in front of what looks like an old castle, I see no sign but several luxury cars.

  “What is this place?” Paige asks, opening the door and nearly falling out.

  Vincent catches her arm. “My guess is a restaurant, since we’re here for dinner.”

  I comment that I have never been here.

  “Of course you haven’t.” Sabato chuckles. “It’s new and private. Welcome to Queens House.”

  Inside, it looks like a medieval castle. It’s stunning. We are seated in a private room on the upper level looking down over the main dining area. The wait staff are all men, dressed in black. In the back of the room are three empty thrones.

  “Is that where the queens sit?” Paige points down. “If so, I’m in the wrong section.”

  We all chuckle as we have for days now while she has been on her anti-male campaign.

  Mel stands up and asks me to join her in the bathroom. I stand and look around, realizing Sabato hasn’t been back since we were seated.

  “I need the ladies, as well,” Paige announces as she follows us.

  Mel acts odd as we wait on Paige to finish. She even chews on her fingernails, which isn’t like her at all.

  I gently grab her hand and pull it away from her mouth. “Are you okay?”

  “Um, not exactly,” she whispers.

  My immediate thought goes to Franco.

  “Is he …? Is he …?” I stop and grab my stomach, fearing I will get sick.

  “He’s here,” she whispers.

  My heart feels like it soars from my chest.

  “He’s not happy.” She giggles nervously. “Not happy at all.”

  “Melyssa, take me to him.”

  “I don’t think I can.”

  “I think you better,” I say in quiet demand.

  She sighs. “All right then.”

  Capitolo Nove

  Franco

  Three days ago, Sabato Efisto walked into the room I have been caged in for a fucking week. I wanted to kill him. However, he stayed just out of reach from the new restraints—leg shackles and chains that allowed me to move about.

  Now he’s back, sitting in a chair a safe distance away from me.

  “So … how are they treating you?” He smiles.

  “You son of a bitch, I’m going to kill you.”

  He laughs again. “Is that so? From what I hear, you’re dead already. And unlike you, I will not walk this earth fearing a dead man.”

  “I fear nothing, you motherfucker—”

  “That I am.” He continues laughing at me. “I have to ask you a question though. How is it that you impregnate a woman who waits for you for years, who spoke of you in god-like terms to everyone she loved and who loved her, and yet you didn’t even give her just the tip?”

  “You don’t get to know what she got. You don’t get to speak about her as if you know a damn thing about her!”

  “Au contraire, I do. The mother I fuck doesn’t have a problem with unwarranted jealousy. The mother I fuck trusts in what we have. And the mother I fuck gave the person you called a low-life piece of shit, mob-murdering bastard a chance to have it all, including the respect and trust to be friends with a woman I nailed ten years ago.”

  “Shut the fuck up! You shut your filthy mouth!”

  He stands then steps closer to me. “So yes, Franco, I can speak about my close friend any way I choose to see fit.”

  “You’re nothing to her!” I lunge at him but fall short.

  “Yet, she asks my wife to make sure a man who would have ripped me apart if given the opportunity, a man who killed for her then lost his fucking balls, was looked after while she raised his goddamned children!” he yells as he lunges toward me.

  My fist connects with his stomach, and his connects with my face. Blow after blow is exchanged until several men rush in the room and tear us apart.

  “I told you to leave him the fuck alone!” the one holding Sabato by his collar yells in his face.

  He puts his hands in the air. “My apologies, brother.”

  “We had a fucking agreement. Keep him here while the fucking decoy tries to draw out anyone waiting for him,” the man says, pushing him against the wall.

  “We also had an agreement that none of your women would be allowed access!” Sabato yells back in his face.

  “It was a mistake. They fucked up. He had no contact with them after the first night!”

  “And what am I supposed to tell Mel, huh? Well, my fucking brother’s women fucked your friend’s man, who used to be all into that type of shit, my bad?”

  “She’s a smart woman, she’ll figure it out.” The man releases him and steps back.

  “Are you the man who has kept me here against my fucking will!” I yell at his back.

  When he turns and looks at me, I am shocked.

  “You!”

  “Franco, as soon as you calm down and we exchange some information, you’re free to go,” Detective Archangello says sternly.

  I spent twenty-four hours with the detective, Sabato’s half-brother and polar opposite. He assured me that the decoy had no issue, and that they would continue keeping tabs on Benito’s associates. I finally felt she—they—would be safe.

  I then spent two days with my parents, discovering that Valentina has fostered a relationship with them, and them with my children—mine—making me realize that the woman I love will undoubtedly never stop putting family before the dangers that may or may not be lurking around the next corner. I am ready—no, not just ready, but eager—to talk to Valentina, to see if she will be willing to give me a third chance to be a part of her life, our children’s lives.

  I turn from the mirror as Sabato pushes himself off the wall.

  I hate what I am about to do, but it’s warranted and deserving.

  “I want to thank you.”

  He nods, smiling.

  “It doesn’t mean we will be friends. It just means thank you for what you have done for her and for me.”

  He reaches toward me and fixes my tie. “My work here is done.” He steps back. “The scene is set for seduction, Franco I-.”

  “Sabato, shut the fuck up.”

  He laughs as he opens the door.

  As I walk past him, he whispers, “Now go fuck that mother.”

  I momentarily stall, considering if I should drop him or ignore him. I choose to ignore him. After all, we share a secret and have made a pact.

  I won’t tell Valentina where I have been and about those women, who I never touched. He swears he never has either. I believe him. In return, he won’t tell Mel that I was, as he put it, “being a pussy” and he set me straight, but he did.

  Now I will forever be grateful for a man who I have loathed for ten years.

  After I walk up the stairs and into the private room of a restaurant with a secret I have promised not to reveal, I wait for her nervously.

  When she steps onto the top step and looks around, the fact that she hasn’t aged again floors me. In fact, she appears even more stunning than she ever has.

  When she sees me, she lets out a slow breath.

  “You look beautiful, Valentina,” I say loud enough for her to hear me from across the room.

  Her lower lip quivers.

  “I’m sorry for what I have done to you. If you give me the chance—”

  Her eyes light up, and she takes a few steps toward me.

  “No, fuck that. There is no if. You will give me a chance. You will because you love me, goddammit, and I love you.”

  She covers her face with both hands as her shoulders shake.

  I hurry toward her, telling her, “I’m so sorry, but I’m not going to fuck this up.” I grab her hands and pull th
em away from her face. “We can take it slow if you need to, but I’m done running from a dead man. I am ready to be yours, to love and protect you. To love our beautiful fucking daughters.” I pull her closer. “I’m sorry, but I will not let go of you again.”

  She nods against my chest.

  “I missed you every fucking day for all those years. I just didn’t want to be the reason you weren’t safe. Now I know you are. And I am so fucking proud of you. So proud.”

  She wraps her arms around me.

  “I’m also so fucking hard that …” I stop when she runs her hand over my erection then begins to kneel. “No,” I tell her, cupping her ass in my hands and lifting her. “I don’t want you on your knees. I want inside you.”

  “Do you have a condom?” she asks, reaching between us.

  “No, and I don’t need one.” I reach beneath her dress and snap the string of her panties.

  “I can’t do it alone again. I can’t!” she cries.

  “You won’t have to, not ever again.” Holding her up, I walk to the dark corner of the room and lay her on the table.

  I spread her legs and unbutton my pants. Gripping my cock, I rub it against her pussy.

  “Already wet for me.”

  “Always,” she pants.

  “Do you want me to fuck you, Valentina?”

  “More than I want my next breath,” she whispers.

  I crash fully into her, stilling as I bend down and take her mouth with mine. Then I start thrusting in and out of her wet and needy cunt. It doesn’t take long before I am coming with her.

  Leaning over her body, I kiss her tits, her neck, her face, her fucking lips.

  “My cock is hard again,” I pant out.

  “Good,” she pants back. “Now fuck me again.”

  Epilogue

  Love changes in time, and so do people. Sometimes, love fades. Sometimes, love cracks. And sometimes, love falls apart. When it’s true, however, it is unbreakable.

  When you truly love someone, you cannot imagine being with another for as long as they breathe.

  Valentina, my love, stayed true to me, even when I couldn’t stay true to myself. And I stayed true to her, because no one would have ever felt the same.