First Page 17

  What did he see in me? He was the sexy motherfucker. He was the man who could have any woman he wanted—have them all at the same time. He knew how to be with a woman, how to connect with body, mind, and soul. He was smart and successful, and he wasn’t ashamed to be who he was—to tell the truth unapologetically.

  How did I get so lucky?

  I wanted to let my words slip out, to tell him how damn special he was, that he changed my life the moment he walked through the door. I thought I would never love anyone again, never thought I would feel something for someone this quickly…but I did. I wasn’t afraid to get hurt, afraid that he would go home with someone else when I looked the other way. He was the flame in the darkness, the hope in my destitution. I wanted to say all of that…but I didn’t want to chase him away. He’d never been in a long-term relationship before, and maybe the idea was still new to him. Instead of asking him to think about it, I should just let it happen naturally. If he wasn’t sleeping with anyone else, that was all that mattered. He was mine…for as long as I wanted him.

  “What are you thinking about?” His question broke my internal monologue.

  “A lot of things.”

  “Any of them involve me?”

  All of them. “Yes.”

  “Good things, I hope.”

  Nothing but good things. “I’m glad I left Liam… I’ll leave it at that.”

  He stared for several seconds before softness entered his gaze. He wasn’t a particularly soft man, someone that wore emotion on his sleeve, but his little cues were enough for me, like the one he’d just made. “You deserve better.”

  “Are you someone better?”

  “Even better than me. But let’s forget I said that.” He grabbed his wine and took a drink.

  I thought of the way Hades was so obviously in love with his wife, absorbed in every little move she made. He seemed like the perfect man, hot for his wife as she waddled past him. Damien didn’t look at me that way…yet. “I met Hades today.”

  Instantly, his mood dropped, his playfulness evaporating like a drop of water on a desert rock in July.

  “He was…grouchy.”

  “At least it’s not just me…”

  “He’s in a much better mood when Sofia is around.”

  “Because he’s pussy-whipped.”

  “I think it’s more than that.”

  Damien averted his gaze to the window. “Because she’s his soul mate.”

  It was a sweet thing to say, and I was surprised it came out of his mouth. “He reminded me of you.”

  “That’s an insult.”

  “Not really. You carry yourself the same way…talk the same way…exude the same kind of presence.”

  He continued to look out the window.

  “I told him you talk about him a lot.”

  His eyes flicked back to mine, somewhat alarmed.

  “That you still miss him.”

  He dropped his gaze, as if embarrassed. “You didn’t have to say that…”

  “I thought if he heard those words from a stranger, they would have a stronger impact. Even Sofia says he’s too stubborn and needs to move on. I thought if I could help, I should try.”

  “I appreciate that,” he said quietly. “But you don’t need to do that. It’s not going to make a difference anyway. Sometimes I think about leaving the bank so I can move on and stop thinking about it…but I’m also too stubborn.”

  “And he stays at the bank because he’s stubborn too.”

  “Yes. We’re like mules.”

  I chuckled because it was a good description. “Sofia wonders if a tragedy will unite you.”

  He shook his head. “I doubt it…because he wouldn’t care if I died.”

  21

  Damien

  I’d only gotten an hour of sleep before she was on top of me again. I opened my eyes to the sight of her kissing my chest, making her way down to my dick so she could kiss it and make it hard.

  My hand moved into her soft hair. “Annabella…I gotta sleep.” We’d fucked until two in the morning, and then she woke me up again at four. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was six.

  She kept sucking until she made me hard. “I’ll do all the work.” She crawled on top of me and straddled my hips, her sexy skin touching mine. Then she pushed her tight cunt over my length, sinking until her ass rubbed against my balls.

  “Jesus…”

  She ground against me hard, rolling her hips so she could please herself exactly as she liked. She used my body like a damn dildo, getting what she wanted without apologizing for it.

  It was hot. I sat and tried to roll her over to her back.

  She pushed me back and pinned my wrists to the sheets. Her tits shook with her movements, and her long hair fell over one shoulder, her eyes focused on mine with her lips parted from her heavy breathing.

  I could get out of this so easily…but it was so sexy. I let her have what she wanted, let her dominate me the way I dominated her. I got so hard watching her, and even though I was dead tired two seconds ago, I was wide awake now, my dick ready to explode.

  She only said one word, and that was enough to send a distinct thrill down my spine. “Mine.”

  I was already awake when my alarm went off.

  I grabbed my phone and turned off the obnoxious sound while her head rested on my shoulder. Her hair stuck to my damp body, and her fingers grazed over my hard stomach, letting the drops of sweat stick to her fingertips.

  Fuck, I was tired.

  But fuck, it was worth it.

  She placed a few kisses on my chest before she got out of bed, her perfect ass shaking with her movements as she strutted out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. Her long brown hair hung down her back, the ends clumped together because they were soaked in sweat—hers or mine.

  I watched her go, fully satisfied but always hooked.

  When she was gone, I spoke to myself. “Damn.” I had a heathen in my bed, a woman who liked to fuck like a man, and knowing she only wanted me made it so much better. Liam had given her an ultimatum, but the first thing she did was run to me. Liam was the past, and I was the future.

  I finally forced my sore muscles to respond and get my ass out of my bed and into the bathroom. She was already in the shower, helping herself to whatever she wanted. It was the first time she’d done that, brought her things over so she could shower and head to work in the morning.

  I came up behind her then got my head under the running water to clean myself off. I smelled like sex and sweat, my dick drenched in the sweet tang of her pussy.

  She gave me room, her fingers rubbing shampoo deep into her scalp. Then she grabbed my bar of soap and cleaned herself off, about to smell like me before she went off to work in a tight skirt and pumps.

  I’d never had a woman in my life like this, where she was an extension of myself. She was the woman in my bed but also my friend. I supposed it was like a relationship…at least the beginning of one.

  “Tired?” She tipped her head back and rinsed everything out of her strands.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Then I did my job right.”

  I smiled slightly, loving her confidence. Most women waited for me to take the lead, to do all the work every time. But she wanted to fulfill my fantasies the way I fulfilled hers. She wanted me to be addicted to her the way she was addicted to me. “A million times over.”

  We finished in the shower, and like a domestic couple, we used the two sinks in front of the mirror, brushing our teeth, styling our hair, and getting ready for the day. A towel was wrapped around her chest, and mine was around my waist. Sometimes I glanced at her in the mirror, seeing the way she plumped her lips before she drew her lipstick along the curves. She rubbed them together before running her fingers through her now-dry hair.

  Even watching her get ready was hot.

  When we were finished, I grabbed my keys and wallet. “I’ll drive you home.” I adjusted my tie then checked the time on my watch bef
ore I dropped my phone into the pocket of my slacks.

  “I’m running late. Could you drop me off at the hotel?” She zipped up her bag and put it over her shoulder.

  “Sure.” I took her bag off her shoulder and carried it for her.

  She gave me the brightest smile I’d ever seen.

  We went to my car downstairs, and I pulled onto the road, my engine roaring because it was a souped-up sports car, a two-seater with bulletproof windows and an acceleration that could beat any other car on the road. My arm rested on the center console while my hand shifted the gears, switching up and down, depending on where we were in the city.

  Her arm hooked through mine, and her fingers pressed through my crisp suit to my biceps underneath.

  I kept my eyes on the road but felt a slight smile enter the corner of my mouth. This woman made me feel like a superhero, with powerful fucking abilities. Hades always treated me like I was garbage, and even Sofia had talked down to me a couple times. My father questioned everything I did, and my sister always gave me a hard time. But Annabella…she made me feel like a goddamn badass.

  I pulled up to the roundabout of the Tuscan Rose and put the car in park.

  “Thanks for the ride.” She leaned over the center console and kissed me goodbye. It was more than just a simple peck, but a deep kiss that probably smeared her red shade all over the corner of my mouth. She gripped my arm as she did it, like she would pull me into the back seat if there were one.

  “You earned it.”

  She smiled before she stepped out of my car, the bag over her shoulder as she strutted to the entryway. She was doing the walk of shame with her overnight bag, but the confidence in her posture and the sway of her hips indicated she didn’t give a shit.

  And I liked that.

  It was difficult to focus at the office because I was deliriously tired.

  I’d slept…three hours, maybe?

  I owned this goddamn joint so I could leave whenever I felt like it, but I had meetings and other bullshit to take care of.

  My phone vibrated with a text message, and instead of it being Annabella like I hoped, it was one of my clients. Let’s meet tonight at 9. The usual place.

  I groaned in disappointment but texted back the answer they wanted. Alright.

  Hades walked into my office a moment later. “What the fuck is this?” He threw a pile of papers on my desk.

  “This should be fun…” I suppressed the yawn that wanted to stretch my jaw open because that would push him over the edge.

  “Are these numbers right? Because if they are, we’re in trouble.”

  I kept my cool and flipped through the pages. It took me a few seconds to figure out the problem. “Typo.” I grabbed a pen and made the change, adding the zero at the end of the number. “There.” I passed it back.

  His eyes were vicious, as if my change just made the situation worse. “How could you just drop a zero?”

  “Shit happens, alright?”

  “Not shit like this.” He slammed his hand down on the stack of papers. “That zero is the difference between billions and millions.”

  “And you knew there was something wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come in here. So calm the fuck down—”

  His temper exploded, and he threw the papers in my face. “I’ll calm down when you’re in the grave, asshole.”

  Summer was over and fall had arrived, so I wore my leather jacket over my t-shirt and walked up the sidewalk to the bar where I was meeting my client. Some of my guys didn’t want to be publicly seen inside a bank, so they preferred these incognito meetings under the cover of darkness for the privacy…and the booze and women.

  I opened the double doors and stepped inside.

  There was no bass from the music. There were no people.

  And the doors behind me were locked by two big guys before they blocked the exit with their size.

  It only took me a nanosecond to figure out this was an ambush, and if I didn’t call for help, I’d end up in the dumpster outside. I could call my men, but they were on the other side of town. I would normally call Hades first, but he wanted me to die tonight.

  I glanced around me and recognized Heath in the center, his arms crossed over his chest with a cruel smile on his lips.

  I pulled my wrist and casually glanced at the time. “Isn’t it too early for this?” Thankfully, I wore my Apple watch so I picked the person who could help me best…if he honored his debt. I discreetly called then dropped my wrist, hoping he would listen to the conversation, figure out I needed help, and then would trace my call.

  It was a long shot…but my best option.

  With his head cocked slightly and his bright-blue eyes so cold they looked like maps of the Arctic, he was enjoying this mirthlessly. If he’d just wanted to issue a warning, he would have come alone, but since he brought his boys…there would be a body tonight.

  And it was probably going to be mine.

  Heath dropped his arms and stepped farther into the center of the room. “I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

  “Brunch?” I asked, keeping it casual, even though nothing about this was casual. “Mani-pedi?”

  He turned his wrist and examined his fingernails. “I do have a lot of ingrown fingernails…”

  I wanted to slide my hands into my pockets, but I forced them to remain by my sides, so the watch wouldn’t be muffled deep inside my pocket. “Well, should we get a drink? Or you want to get straight to the point?”

  He chuckled. “You’re brave.”

  “Bravery implies you’re afraid of something. I’m not afraid.”

  “Not even of death?” he asked.

  I didn’t bother answering.

  “Or someone else’s death?”

  Now I couldn’t keep my same indifference.

  “I still have hope we can work this out, Damien. So, I’m not going to kill you.”

  I continued to hold my breath because the worst part was coming.

  “But I’m gonna kill someone else…to straighten out that attitude.”

  The first person that came to mind was Annabella…and all my strength left my body.

  He pulled out his phone, made a call, and put it on speaker. It only rang once before someone answered. “I’m ready, Heath.”

  My breathing increased, and my limbs tightened.

  He held the phone close to his mouth. “You got our guest of honor?”

  “Yeah, he’s tied to the chair.”

  He? Hades? I was relieved it wasn’t Annabella, but this was just as painful.

  “Put him on.” Heath stood with one hand in his pocket and held out the phone to me.

  My night became worse when I recognized his voice. “Son, I’m okay…”

  My knees immediately went weak, and the emotion jumped into my throat. I went wild, turning erratic, irrational, broken. “Father…” Tears immediately burned in the corners of my eyes, fueled by self-loathing, hatred, and every emotion in this life. My gaze turned back to Heath. “Touch him, and I swear to fucking god…” I rushed him, ready to break that hard face and tarnish those blue eyes.

  His men were prepared for it, so they grabbed me by both arms and shoved me back until I hit the ground.

  I couldn’t even get close.

  I jumped back to my feet again. “Don’t do this. He has nothing to do with this. I’m the one you want.” I slammed my hand into my chest, already knowing I wouldn’t be able to change his mind. I’d never been a crier, but I could feel the burn deep in my throat, feel the moisture flood my eyes. “That’s the kind of man you want to be? Going after an elderly man?” I couldn’t let this happen, couldn’t let that innocent man pay for my stupidity. “Look, I’ll pay you. I’ll give you every euro. I’ll pay your back taxes. Whatever you want, alright?” I clenched my jaw to steady myself, to stop the tears from breaking into my voice.

  He smiled. “I appreciate your cooperation, Damien.” He didn’t hang up or ask the guy to release my father. “But I warned
you many times…and you need to learn your lesson.”

  God. “Heath, come on…”

  His smile faded, and he shook his head slightly.

  “Kill me and take all my shit. Take my house, my car, take my cash. I’m worth way more than he is.”

  “Just the opposite.”

  My father’s voice came over the line. “Damien, it’s okay… It’s okay.”

  I fell to my knees, desperate. “Heath…please. I’m begging.”

  He watched me, merciless. “Shoot him.”

  “No!” I got to my feet again. “Don’t.”

  A loud blow hit the double doors, the sound so deafening it seemed like an explosion.

  Heath clearly had no idea what it was, because his eyes flicked to the door in panic. “Hold on.”

  Both doors flew open and off their hinges, forcing the two men standing in front to fall to the ground. Then Balto stepped through, wearing a long-sleeved olive-green shirt with a couple men behind him. They pulled the pulse device from the door, what they’d used to get inside. He came forward—to honor his debt.

  But it meant nothing to me. I wasn’t the one who needed to be saved. Now I couldn’t do anything to stop this.

  Heath stared at his brother then motioned for his men to lower their weapons. He was visibly annoyed, his face hard and his eyes vicious.

  Balto placed his body in front of me. “Back off, Heath.”

  Heath continued to hold the phone. “You can have him. I got what I want.” He spoke into the speaker. “Kill him.”

  A gunshot erupted over the speakers, so loud it hurt my eyes even over the speakerphone.

  And I fell…my knees screaming when I hit the hardwood floor. My hands steadied my fall, but the rest of my body gave out. Tears fell from my eyes straight to the floor, the drops in my line of sight. “God…” I listened to my father’s death and wished it were me. Instead of feeling vengeance, I felt pain…pain I’d never felt before in all my life. This was all my fault…all my fucking fault. “Father…”

  Balto took the phone from his brother’s hand. “Hades?”