I shake off her hands and take a deep breath. Every second he and I spent talking about nothing felt meaningful. Thick with tension and possibility. A low ache has taken root in my belly and springs to life when I think about him.
“You’re overreacting. He was nice to me. And he didn’t hurt the woman who basically molested him in front of the entire party.” And we both know I don’t use that word lightly, considering some of the things Sal has forced us to bear witness to.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know what happened between you but don’t think about him again. He will get you killed, tortured, and tossed out like trash. Just be careful. If he tries to talk to you again, be nice, but get away as fast as you can.”
“That is ridiculous. He’s not some monster lying in wait to chew me up.”
She shakes her head, something else in her eyes now, and she spins me to face the crowd. Across the room, Sal is leaning against a column, and his eyes are locked on us. There’s nothing kind there, nothing curious or open. The only thing I see in Sal’s eyes when I look at him is death. “Him, on the other hand?” I say, tugging her along with me as I head toward him. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to murder me the second after I say ‘I do.’”
When I reach him, he grips my arm hard and sets a punishing pace to the elevators. I guess the party is over. I try to look around, hoping I’ll see Adrian one more time before we leave. No doubt this will be our last party if Sal saw us talking. And the hatred on his face tells me he did. He can’t kill Adrian, but he can certainly hurt me enough that I won’t try to talk to anyone else ever again.
No sooner than the elevator doors close around us does the back of his hand hit my cheek. And the blow is hard. I can feel the indent of his knuckles where they made contact with my cheekbone. I do nothing more than cup the stinging spot and stare straight ahead. Breathe and don’t enrage him further. Those are the words I live by, and the words that have saved my life more times than I can count. And as long as his attention is locked on me, he will leave Rose alone. She’s the only reason I’ve stayed in that house. I can pretend it’s for my father’s sake all I want, but I do it for her. My best friend. My only family.
We reach the foyer, and I drop my hand to quickly pull some curls to cover the red welt I spot in the shiny elevator doors. He drags me through the people and furniture outside. Once the driver opens the limo door, he shoves me in. Rose goes around to the other door.
When the car pulls away, I brace for the next strike, and like always, he delivers. Except I expect another slap. I don’t expect the punch that hits solidly on my orbital bone. Blackness overtakes me before I even feel the pain.
4
ADRIAN
From the moment I climb out of bed to the moment I’m standing in the shower with the hot water beating down my back, I’m thinking about my little Val.
My little Val. I don’t know how I’ll accomplish it yet, but I always get my way in the end. And if killing her bastard of a fiancé and coward of a father is what it will take to make it happen, then...it’ll be fucking Christmas.
The crystal clear gray of her eyes comes back to me. There was no guile in them when she talked to me. Hell, I didn’t even think she knew who I was when I told her my name. It had been a very long time since I met a woman who awakens me the way she does.
I hang my head and stare down at the hot marble under my feet. My cock has been aching since I got out of bed, and I suspect if I don’t do anything about it now, it will continue to rise every time Val’s pretty eyes or sexy mouth spring to my mind.
I grip my dick roughly and give the head a squeeze. No, she wouldn’t touch me like this.
She’d have to use both her delicate hands to work me. But she wouldn’t touch me to hurt me. The innocence written in every line of her body told me she’d touch me to explore, to witness, and watch how to make me come apart for her. That’s the kind of power the innocent crave. Not pain and torture, but pleasure and peace. It’s the peace men like me grow addicted to. It’s the peace I see in her face when I look at her. It’s the peace making me fuck my hand in my own goddamn shower right now.