“Thank you for letting me know,” I say, my voice steady but edged in steel. “Still, I didn’t deserve for you to treat me the way you did. I never gave you a reason for it.”
He steps closer, slow and deliberate, like he’s approaching something dangerous and sacred. “I know,” he murmurs. ”And I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I narrow my eyes, letting him feel every ounce of the warning under my skin. “It better not, because next time… I may react differently. Like stabbing you in the heart while you're asleep.”
He smirks, of course he does, then the smile softens into something devastatingly serious. “Well, if I have to die, I wouldn’t want it any other way.” His gaze sharpens, cutting straight through me.
“Why did you panic?”
I tear away my gaze from his and bite my lip, refusing to let the truth spill out. I inch back and pick up the dress, suddenly interested in the buttons on it. Maybe if I ignore the why, he won’t ask anymore. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”
“Valentina.” His voice drops, low, controlled, lethal, sending chills down my body. “When I grasped your face, I could feel you shake, and I could see the fear in your eyes.”
I turn to him and meet his gaze. “So, I guess I should tell you my secrets and my fears that I don’t feel comfortable talking about it.”
A flicker of hurt crosses his face, and his Adam’s apple dips as he swallows. “So, you don’t feel like you can tell me?” He shakes his head. “You're my wife, Valentina. I would like to know as much as possible.” He steps closer. “Things like that are not meant to be kept a secret. Something I recently learned.” A gentle laugh escapes him.
“I’ll tell you,” I say slowly, lifting my chin. “Because that’s what couples should do. But I’m not saying a damn thing in a closet. You're taking me on a date. Because that’s also a thing couples do. Married or not.”
Something in him loosens—barely—but enough for the hardness around his eyes to shift. A slow, hungry smile curves his lips. “Where do you want to go?” he asks, voice low, like he already knows he’ll give me anything.
“You're taking me out, not the other way around. Figure it out.”
He lets out a deep chuckle, a sound that slides over my skin like a touch. He drags his gaze toward my closet, and the way his jaw ticks tells me exactly where his mind went. “Do you have those leather shorts you wore that night at the club?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Yes… Why?”
His eyes heat, slow, deliberate, claiming. “Wear what you did that night,” he says, stepping closer, his voice dropping to something that vibrates through me. “I know where to take you.”
A spark ignites low in my stomach. His certainty. His tone. The promise in his eyes.
I can’t help the slow smile that tugs at my lips. “Well,” I say, feeling my pulse climb, “this already sounds fun.”
And his answering smirk? It tells me ‘fun’ isn’t remotely the word for what he has planned.
Dressed and with a bright smile on my face, I enter our living room, where Gabriel is waiting. “Matching looks. I never thought of that.” I chuckle. Gabriel looks dashing in his black jeans and black shirt under his leather jacket. And those biker boots are just perfect.
“Ready?”
I nod and smile. Gabriel takes my hand and leads me toward the elevator. I lean against the elevator wall, ignoring Gabriel’s sidelong glances, and watch the numbers descend until we’re in the underground garage.
I follow Gabriel between the cars until we reach where my bike is parked. I smile. “Are we taking bikes?”
He smirks and reaches for my helmet before placing it over my head. “No, I’m taking my bike.” He motions to his black custom-made Ninja Kawasaki. My eyes widen, and my mouth opens. “And I’m taking you on a drive.”
I walk to the bike, my eyes inspecting it. “Oh my God, yes. I’ve wanted to get on that baby for a long time.”
He chuckles, passing me a helmet, and hops on the bike, revving it. The engine growls beneath us, a deep, hungry sound that vibrates up through my legs and settles in my chest like a second heartbeat. Gabriel leans forward, gripping the handlebars. My hands slide around his torso, and his heat seeps into my palms, steady and grounding. I press closer, fitting my body to his. This feels perfect, like we were made for this.
Gabriel speeds through the city, wind whips against my face, and I barely appreciate the sights we pass as we ride in the warmth of the early night. With every curve he turns, mystomach flips with anticipation that I’m going to tell him the extent of my engagement with Mario, and it hits me.
Freedom.
This is what it feels like. Free from secrets, from holding back. No more suffocating walls, just an opening for new beginnings. His hand drops briefly to my thigh, steady and sure, a wordless reminder that I’m not alone on this ride as we ride up somewhere near the mountains and the Hudson River. This is ours. This road, this moment, this reckless, beautiful leap toward our future.
A new adventure.
A new beginning.
