by Beck, J. L.
“Wha-what is he talking about, Zane?” Dove blinks, but the shocked expression on her face doesn’t dissipate.
Tension fills the vehicle. “Dammit, I didn’t want to do this yet, Matteo.”
“Why not?” He shifts in his seat. “There is no better time than the present to let my daughter know that her father isn’t dead and didn’t abandon her.”
“You’re my father?” Dove whispers so quietly I almost don’t hear her. “How… how is that possible?” She looks from me and back to Matteo, and I wish, now more than ever, that I had told her no when she begged me to go see Donna one last time. Maybe if I had said no, none of this would’ve happened.
Matteo snickers. “Well, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you where babies come from, so I’ll skip that part, but you see, your mother was actually a married woman who happened to fall in love with me. When she found out she was pregnant, we had planned to run away together. However, she had a change of heart and disappeared. When I finally found her, she was dead, and you were gone. I looked everywhere for you, but every trail led me to a dead-end. I was sure I would never find you, and then Zane came to me. As soon as he told me that Christian had been looking for you for many years, I knew who you were.”
Just from the way she tenses beside me, I can tell Dove isn’t just shocked but uncomfortable as well.
Turning toward me as if I can shield her from the truth, she opens her mouth and asks me the one question I know will be the final nail in her coffin. “Is it true? Is he really my father?”
My throat tightens, and as badly as I want to lie, I know it won’t change anything. It won’t help her. Finding out Matteo is her father, was a surprise. I thought I could get help and slip away into the night with Dove, but now I know that’s not possible. Matteo is going to do whatever he can to keep Dove in his life, and I’ll be fighting a war I can’t win if I try and keep her from him.
“Yes, he’s your father,” I say.
All I can do is watch with an ache in my chest as she works through the emotions, agony, fear, and confusion flicker across her beautiful features. After watching her closely for years, I can almost tell how she’s going to react to a situation before she even does. It’s weird, but an added plus to having stalked her for years.
“I know it’s a lot to take in on such short notice, especially after everything that’s happened, but I want you to know that now that I’ve found you, I plan to get to know you better, and be the father I never got to be,” Matteo says.
Father? I choke back my laughter. I haven’t known him long, but Matteo doesn’t take me as the father type. He’s the leader of the Castro family. All he knows how to do is order his men around and threaten people. Plus, what kind of parenting is he going to do? Dove’s an adult now and doesn’t need his money or protection. Not when she has me.
Dove is quiet the rest of the way back to the house, and when we arrive at the mansion, she seems a little overwhelmed. Once out of the car and inside the house, I take Dove’s hand into mine. “Thank you so much for helping me find her, but I think it’s time we end this charade. Her safety is my biggest priority.”
Matteo stares at me, his face blank. Two of his men hover just outside the massive wooden front door. I can feel their eyes on me.
“There is no safer place for her than here, surely, you can agree, given that you were the one to put her in the situation that got her taken by Christian in the first place?”
His remark is a kick to the balls, and if it wasn’t for Dove standing beside me, I’d have him pinned to the wall. Strangling the air from his lungs. Still, fighting with him on staying for the night isn’t something I want to do. Not when I could be holding Dove in my arms, kissing every inch of her skin, and making up for lost time.
“Fine, we will stay for tonight,” I say, pinning him with a glare.
“Great, why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? Karl will take you up.” He smiles, his eyes twinkling with some unknown emotion.
I don’t bother paying him another second of attention. Shifting gears, I tug Dove toward the grand staircase. Karl follows behind all the way to our room, like the guard dog he is.
Opening the door, I guide us into the room. The door shuts with a soft click, and all I can think is... finally, finally, we’re alone.
“Do we really have to stay here? This is wrong. Something feels off.” Concern is etched into her delicate face.
“Only for tonight. Tomorrow we will figure this out. Everything can wait until then because the only thing that matters to me right now is making sure you’re okay and reminding you of how much you mean to me.”
“I thought I lost you,” Dove says. Her voice is clogged with emotion.
“You’ll never lose me,” I tell her, pulling her into my arms. I squeeze her tight, wanting to melt our two bodies into one.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you are William…”
I peel her away from my chest just enough so I can look at her face. “You remember?”
“Yes. How could I forget you?”
“You told the therapist that you didn’t remember that time. She even said it was normal, considering what you’ve been through. Your mind is trying to protect you and all that shit.”
“I told everyone I didn’t remember because I never wanted to talk about it. Losing you hurt so bad. Saying it out loud just made it worse.”
“Oh, baby.” I pull her back into my embrace. “If I had known you’d remembered, I would have told you. That would have made things a whole lot easier.”
For a long moment, we just stand there holding each other. Then Dove breaks the silence, whispering, “You came for me…”
“Of course.” Does she doubt I would have? She should know the extent of my obsession by now. “No matter what happens, I’ll always come for you. I’ll always protect you. I’ll move heaven and hell to make sure you’re safe. You’re my number one and always have been. Nothing will ever change that. I love you, Dove. Always...”
8
His words hit me like a freight train. I’m overcome with emotion. Drowning in it. I’m uncertain about nearly everything at this point, everything but Zane.
I need him. Need to feel his hands on me, to press my lips against his, to carve out a piece of my heart and give it to him. It hasn’t been that long since I last saw him, but it feels like years after everything that’s happened. Pushing at his chest, I make him walk backward toward the large bed. I want to lie down and curl up on top of his chest.
“Can we please just go to bed? I’m so tired.”
“Whatever you want or need, we can do it.”
I nod, finally feeling free, safe, and secure. I haven’t felt even a sliver of safety since we left the hospital that day.
Zane starts peeling off my clothes until I’m in nothing but a pair of panties. His eyes roaming over my body as if he is inspecting every inch of it.
“No one touched you?” he asks again as if he didn’t hear or believe me when I told him earlier.
“No. I promise, I’m fine.” I tug on his shirt, wanting his skin to touch mine. He raises his arms, and I help him out of his shirt.
I gasp when I see the fresh bullet wounds. “You were shot!” Three times?” I knew he had been hurt, but nothing prepared me for seeing the wounds up close.
Zane chuckles. “I’m fine, Dove. I’m not that easy to kill.”
“I know, but you almost died.” Staring at his chest, I can’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. I feel immense guilt for those three wounds. Almost as if I was the one that pulled the trigger. Had I not begged to go and see Donna…
Zane’s gentle voice cuts off my train of thought, and two fingers lift my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Almost isn’t the same as did. There was no way in hell I was going to die in that parking garage, knowing that Christian had you. I was put on this earth to protect you, and I don’t care if I have to di
e to do that, Dove. In my eyes, you’re the only thing that has ever mattered.” The look he’s giving me right now says he’s telling the truth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. Sorry that I tried to escape, and tried to hurt you…”
“You were only trying to protect yourself.” Zane moves his hand, his knuckles grazing against my cheek while tucking some loose strands of hair behind my ear. “I don’t blame you, and that’s why I never really punished or tried to hurt you. All I wanted to do was keep you safe.”
The agony that coats each word reminds me that he, too, feels as if he let me down. Jesus, we’re a mess.
My head starts to throb, a migraine from hell, no doubt forming there.
“We have so much to talk about, but all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep for days.”
Zane smirks, his gaze darkening as he drops his hand from my cheek. “I can think of a couple other things we can do besides sleep or talk.”
Even though it’s probably messed up, that’s all I want right now. To be close to Zane, to solidify what we were building before everything exploded in our faces.
Reaching for his already hard cock between our bodies, I look up at him. “I want you. Inside of me. Our bodies skin to skin. I need this. Need to feel every inch of your body blanketing mine.”
“Me too, baby, me too.”
And that’s all he says before he guides me back to the bed. My knees hit the edge of the mattress, and I fall onto my back. Zane crawls up over my body with a predatory glint in his eyes, causing me to shiver, and my nipples harden.
All my worries and fears evaporate in an instant. All that matters is Zane and me. Our bodies and hearts, becoming one.
Like fire and gasoline, we come together, igniting a fiery passion that burns hotter than the sun. Zane peppers every inch of my flesh with hot open mouth kisses, his tongue gliding over my flesh, making the muscles between my thighs clench.
“I can’t even put into words how much I missed you.” He kisses a path across my collarbone and down between my breasts. Lifting my hips, I try and draw him closer to the place that is aching, pulsing like it has its own heartbeat. “How afraid I was that something bad was happening to you. Since that night that you saved me, I vowed to protect you. I watched you, snuck in your apartment, killed assholes that only wanted you for sex, and guess what?”
He pulls his mouth away, but his tongue still flicks out against my diamond hard nipple, teasing me, tempting me.
“What?” I ask breathlessly, my chest heaving.
A devilish grin tugs at his lips. “I’d do it all again. Over a hundred times. Again, and again because you’re mine, Dove. All mine, and the next time someone tries to take you away from me, I won’t fail you. I’ll kill them with my bare hands, and make you watch just to prove to you that I will never let you down again.”
I nod my head, letting him know that I know and that I understand. He rewards me by sucking my nipple into his mouth, tugging on the tip hard until my back is arching off the bed, and I’m holding his head against my breast.
A ravenous need that only he can satiate tightens, swirling around inside of me, and I have to have him; need him with a desperation that is way too embarrassing to say out loud.
Releasing my nipple with a pop that reverberates through the room, he takes a step back and reaches for my hips. His fingers run along the edge of my cotton panties, and I’m half tempted to shove them down my legs and pull him forward, forcing him to take me, but I know patience is a virtue, and Zane needs this almost more than I do.
“Has anyone touched my pussy?”
“No,” I croak.
“Are you lying to me?” Zane cocks his head to the side as he slowly tugs the panties down my legs before tossing them over his shoulder. The cool air kisses my wet folds, and I let out a hiss at the sensation.
“No… no one has touched me. I’m yours, only yours…” I’m panting like a dog in heat. I bite my lip, watching through heavy lids as he spreads my legs, his eyes going straight to my soaked core.
“Fuck, Dove. I’ve missed this pretty little pussy. I’ve only taken you twice, but I want to bury myself balls deep inside of you and live there forever.”
“Yes, please…” My core clenches in response, and I’m so turned on, so ready for him. I need him to take me right now. Take me and own me.
Zane smiles and glides his knuckles against the inside of my thigh as he trails a hand closer to my center. Yes!
When his fingers flutter against my swollen folds, I whimper. “You want my fat cock in there. Deep inside you, don’t you?”
“Yes, now, please…” I beg helplessly.
“Good because I need you, too, right now. I need you, my Dove, and I need you hard and fast, my balls slapping against your ass, my cock pressing against the back of your channel, giving you both pleasure and pain.”
“Yes, Zane. God, please, I need this.” Reaching for him, my hand circles his length, and for one brief second, I forgot how large he is. How thick it is, and how full I’m going to be when he enters me.
“You’ll get me…” He hisses out through clenched teeth as I squeeze his length and move my hand up and down his shaft.
A gasp escapes my lips, and I tip my head back into the pillows when he enters me with two fingers without warning. I’m so turned on and wet that the intrusion does nothing but fan the flames of arousal. He pumps in and out of me, and stars appear before my eyes.
“Fuck me. I’ve thought about this moment every night you were gone. Me finding you, saving you, and then worshiping your body, taking every hole over and over again. Your tight little pussy likes that, wants it. She’s clenching all around me, do you hear the wet sounds she’s making? Do you feel your arousal against your thighs?”
“Yes!” I tug on his cock a little hard, and his thrusts become harder, the heel of his hand presses against my clit, and the added pressure sends me skyrocketing into orgasmic lands. Shivering, my muscles tense and then snap. I clench tightly around Zane’s fingers and let out a deranged whimper at the loss of them as he pulls out of me.
I’m seconds away from asking him what he’s doing when his body blankets mine, and he grabs my hands and pins them above my head. Control. Zane is all about control. With one hand, he holds both my wrists in place, and with the other, he guides his throbbing cock to my entrance.
“Tell me you don’t want this, that you don’t want me, and I’ll take you anyway. I’ll still claim your body just as you’ve claimed my heart, without a single fuck given. You’re mine, Dove, mine and only ever mine.”
Parting my lips, a response is on the tip of my tongue, but I never say it. All that comes out is a bunch of incoherent thoughts, and pants, and begging for Zane to take me harder and faster as he enters me so deeply all I feel is him, his cock impaling me, owning me.
“Heaven, home, life. Fuck, I didn’t know I wasn’t breathing until I met you, Dove.” Zane bows his head as his grasp on my wrist tightens. He drives into me, rutting, going as deep as he can. My body tingles, goosebumps pebble my flesh, and my nipples rub against his chiseled chest with every stroke, heightening my pleasure.
“Zane… I want…” I can barely get the words out…my thoughts are being overrun by pleasure, by pain.
“What, baby, what do you want?” Zane growls, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple.
“Touch… I want to touch you.”
“Your touch makes me insane,” he grunts but releases his hold on my hands. As soon as my hands are free, they’re on him. He hisses at my touch and thrusts faster, his balls slapping against my ass furiously. His thirst for me is unquenchable, and I’m not sure if he’ll ever be able to get enough of me.
Circling my hands around his neck, I pull him closer until his face is buried in my neck, and all I hear are his heavy breaths filling my ears. Kissing along his shoulder, I grip onto him for dear life as he fucks me like a beast. This is nothing like our first or even second time. There is somet
hing so raw and beautiful about the way he comes apart. The man who would paint the world red for me becomes melted butter in my hands, and I love it.
With the quickening pace, I find I’m sprinting to the finish line. Lifting my hips, I meet him thrust for thrust. We’re two crazed lovers clawing at one another’s hearts until they’re a bloody mess. Who will bleed the most?
Swiveling his hips, Zane makes it impossible for me to think, or form any coherent thought as the tip of his cock grazes a spot so pleasurable inside of me, I nearly come undone in a second.
“I need you to come. I need to feel you tighten around me, to have you suck the come right out of my cock…will you do that for me?”
I don’t know how he’s still able to talk. Every nerve ending on my body is electrified, and like sticking a fork into a light socket, the pleasure zings through me, making my toes curl and my back arch off the bed. The gates of pleasure open, and suddenly I’m suffocating, drowning, and damn, would it be the perfect way to go.
“Oh fuck…” Zane growls, wrapping his arms around my back, holding me close to him as he continues to thrust into me while my body tries to push him out. A few more thrusts and he meets his own wave of pleasure, exploding deep inside of me, painting the walls of my womb with his sticky release.
Zane collapses against me, his arms still wrapped around mine. Our chests heave as we try and catch our breaths. Our hearts beat in sync, threatening to come out of our chests.
Sweat covers our bodies, and as the intense orgasm dissipates, everything I pushed to the back of my mind comes barreling to the front. Closing my eyes, I try and push the thoughts away.
Please, not today… I just need one day.
After a while, Zane rolls off of me. He nuzzles his nose against mine and presses a kiss to my forehead so gently I almost don’t feel it. It’s a stark reminder of how different he can be. How the same hands that bring death to many, also bring me immense pleasure.
“I know the last thing you want right now is to talk about the elephant in the room, but there isn’t any way around this. We need to talk about Matteo being your father, and about how we are going to get out of here.”