AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Daniela,” Lara calls from the doorway, “if you don’t need me right now, I’m going to help Valentina choose a paint color for her room.”
I sigh quietly. Lara would take over every tedious detail of my life if I let her. That’s what a competent assistant does, after all. But picking out paint colors for Valentina’s room isn’t mundane—not to me. I’m not giving up anything, not one thing, regardless of how inconsequential, when it involves her. “I’d like to help, too.”
“You must have more important things on your plate. We’ll be sure to consult you for final approval on the color.”
“There’s nothing I have to do that’s more important than helping Valentina.” It comes out sterner than I intend, and I feel bad for a moment. But she’s very assertive for someone who has just taken the position, and perhaps it’s better to reach an understanding early in the relationship. Although I could be less bitchy.
“Valentina is my priority.” My tone is softer, but my intentions are clear.
Lara nods, a bit chagrinned. It seems she got the message. “Of course. We’ll wait for you,” she assures me before leaving the suite.
“Give me five minutes,” I tell her on my way to the walk-in closet to get a sweater. When I pass Antonio’s section of the closet, I stop to run my fingertips over the smooth leather jacket he wore on the plane. I lift the hanger off the rod and bring the jacket to my nose, inhaling the scent of leather, cedar, and that boozy cologne he wears.It smells just like him.I close my eyes and remember how he took care of me on the plane. How he roused every nerve, played each one expertly, until they danced for him. Until I surrendered—everything.
Now’s not the time.
I return the hanger to its place and grab a fleece sweater, hurrying out of the closet before I sniff anymore of his clothing.I miss him.We had turned a corner in our relationship—until the ugly past unearthed itself.Hadn’t we?
I’m not sure. I’m not sure of anything, including what the future holds for us. For now, I take him at his word, that he’s working and trying to gather information that will keep us safe.
On my way out of the suite, I glance at the weekly magazine from the newspaper, sitting on the console. My childhood friend, Susana, is on the glossy cover, wearing a navy gown and silver shoes that sparkle almost as much as she does. I smile, picking up the magazine. The photograph is from a benefit gala held a few days ago. I thumb through the pages to see who else I might know.
That’s when I see it.
Antonio andSonia.
The woman who confronted me in the bathroom at the Camelia Ball. The gorgeous woman in the stunning blue dress who only gave me her first name. Her dress is crimson in the photo. But it’s still stunning, as is she.
Antonio’s in a tux—handsome as the devil, and just as shameless. He’s chatting with an elderly woman on his right, but his arm is draped casually over the back of the chair to his left.Sonia’s chair.
A wave of nausea hits, and I press my lips together firmly.
It certainly didn’t take him long to find someone who wants his cock.
“Lala,” a sweet voice calls from the hall. “We’re waiting for you.”
I turn over the magazine so Valentina doesn’t see it. I’m not protectingthe cheater. I’m protecting her—and my dignity.
Unlike what I expected, Valentina didn’t blink when I told her about my marriage. I think she’s relieved we have some place safe to be, with someone who seems capable of keeping us safe. I did tell her that I had loved Antonio all my life. It was only a childhood crush, but it felt like love to me at the time.It was just a small fib.Unlike the whoppers Antonio has been telling me.“I’ll be right there. I just need to use the bathroom first.”
Avoiding the mirror, I splash cold water on my face until the urge to vomit goes away.
It’s bad enough to have a private affair, but there’s no damn way he’s going to embarrass me publicly.
30
ANTONIO
“Anything on Tomas?”
“He’s still holed up,” Lucas replies. “Not only is he guilty as fuck, but he’s also a coward. Although that’s not a surprise.”
It’s been almost a week since I’ve seen Daniela. I’ve kept the correspondence to texts, mostly, because her voice makes my dick hard and my resolve weak.I want to see her.But I also want to give her some time to help Valentina adjust.
I laid down the gauntlet when I told her she’d be in our bed any night I was home. I can’t go back on that. Daniela will smell the weakness and wield it at every turn. I’m not worried she’ll use it to ruin me. I’m concerned she’ll use it to buy herself some control, which I’m not prepared to give her—right now.
Although the real reason I’m staying away is that Tomas is still breathing. Until that sonofabitch is in hell, I won’t touch her. I made that vow to myself on the plane returning to Porto. I will avenge her mother’s death and her innocence.Until then, I don’t deserve her.
But just because I don’t deserve her doesn’t mean I don’t think about her. Her sassy mouth, her soft heart, her beautiful face, her sweet pussy—it’s tattooed on my brain, all of it. Every smile, every whimper, every tear.She’s mine. Or at least she will be, after I gut that fucking pig.
