“Care to join us?” Matteo almost snickers, but I don’t miss the surprise in his eyes. He wasn’t expecting me to make it back here tonight. Fucking piece of shit, coward, can’t even fight me man to man, but instead, tries to get rid of me by sending me on a death mission.
“Cut the fucking shit, Matteo, and don’t act like you aren’t shocked that I made it out of that fucking warehouse alive. You know as well as I do, that what you sent me to do was a suicide mission.”
“And yet you stand before me.”
Fucking asshole.
“Next time you want to kill me, maybe do it the less cowardly way and face me, man to fucking man.” I slam a fist down onto the heavy wooden table. Dove jumps at the violent move, but she should know by now, I would never lay a finger on her pretty little body, at least not one that she didn’t beg me for.
“I didn’t try to kill you, Zane, and I’m actually glad that you’re here. I have news that I want to share with you and Dove.”
I look to Dove, who looks back at me with the same confused expression. Okay, so neither of us know what this fuckhead’s next move is going to be. Great.
“What is your announcement?” Dove asks, her voice strong. She is not a little bird trapped in a cage anymore. Not that I mind. I’ll take her any way I can get here. It’s just right now, she seems fierce like a warrior, and all she’s done is ask a question.
“I’ve decided that it’s time to announce your appearance to everyone. We’re going to have a special event to celebrate your return home.”
My anger only intensifies at his words. He had tried to kill me and was sitting here with my girl at dinner, planning a fucking party.
“Splendid.” The single word drips with sarcasm from my lips. “I’m going to go clean the blood, of the five men you sent to jump me, off my body and head to bed,” I sneer and turn on my heels. My eyes catch on Dove, and her mouth pops open. She wants to say something, but I don’t want to hear it. Seeing her tonight, watching her play the part of his precious little daughter, makes me want to hurt her. To set her straight and remind her just who owns her body, mind, and soul. It feels like a knife is being plunged into my chest when I drop my gaze and walk away, but I can’t stand there for another second.
“Trouble in paradise already?” Matteo’s voice reaches my ears just as my foot graces the first step of the staircase. I could turn around and say something to him, react to his asshole ways, but I’m too fucking exhausted to keep up the charade, so I continue up the stairs.
When I reach the bedroom, I strip out of my bloody clothes, leaving a trail behind me as I enter the bathroom. Turning the hot water on, I wait a second before stepping beneath the spray. The water feels like razor blades against my aching back, but I withstand the pain, my head hung low as I watch the clear water turn pink and rush down the drain.
The door opens, and my ears perk up at the soft footfalls. I don’t turn around to look at Dove, but I can feel her in the room, watching me through the fogged-up shower stall. No matter what, I always feel her, it’s truly the only thing that I allow myself the pleasure of enjoying. Her body, her touch. Turning into the spray of the water, I wet my hair, running my fingers through the strands before taking a step back.
I’m not sure what Dove is doing, so I’m surprised when the shower door opens, and she steps in behind me.
Her small hand lands on my shoulder, her fingers gently drag down my arm, and a shiver of pleasure runs down my spine. I turn to face her, ready to ask her what the hell that shitshow downstairs was, but the words lodge in my throat when she sinks to her knees before me.
“What are you doing?” I croak, the mere image before me making my cock twitch.
“Making you feel better… taking care of you,” she says, a hint of a smile on her lips. She is either nervous or excited because her chest is rising and falling rapidly while she peers up at me, through her thick lashes. I’m going to go with the second, with the way her perky nipples are hardening.
She reaches for my already stiff cock, wrapping her small soft hand around it. Pleasure shoots through my body, like a bolt of lightning, pushing the pain and the anger into the deepest corner of my mind. Placing my hand against the tiled wall, I groan. Fuck, she knows just how to make me forget.