His eyes are wide, terrified. "I wasn't—I didn't mean—" he splutters. “You can’t—touch me—like this?—”
I tighten my arm against his throat. "Do you understand me?"
“I—” he wheezes. “Do—know—who—am?—”
“I know exactly who you are.” I reach down, sliding my hunting knife out from the holster beneath my jacket, and push the tip just beneath his ear. “You’ll be dead if I don’t get some sign you understand.”
His face is tomato-red. I smell piss as he starts to wet himself. “Under—stand—” he wheezes, and I let him go. He drops to the floor, coughing and gasping, and I step back, sneering at him in disgust.
“Get the fuck out.”
He scrambles halfway up, grasping for the knob as he stumbles out. The door swings shut behind him, and I stand there for a moment, breathing hard, trying to get myself under control. Trying to remember that I can't just threaten people every time they get too close to Giulia.
But I can't seem to help it. The possessiveness, the jealousy, the rage—it's all getting worse. Spiraling out of control. And I don't know how to stop it.
Enzo complains to Dante, of course. And I have to smooth it over, claim I was protecting the family's honor, that Enzo was being disrespectful. Dante accepts the explanation, but he warns me to be more subtle.
"I appreciate your loyalty, Luca," he says, his eyes sharp. "But we can't have you threatening every man who looks at my daughter. It draws too much attention."
My jaw tightens, but I nod. "Understood."
"Good. Because I'd hate to lose you over something so trivial."
The warning is clear: Get yourself under control, or there will be consequences. I nod and leave his office. Romeo follows me out, and I can see the concern on his face.
“Luca, what’s going on?”
I shake my head. “Just stress. I’m fine. I’ll focus.”
"Bullshit." He steps closer, his voice dropping even lower. "I've known you for years, Luca. I know when something's wrong. And this—whatever this is—it's eating you alive."
“I’m just not sleeping well. I’ll go to the doctor or something. Figure it out.”
“You need to. Dante is getting edgy about it, too. You’re going to fuck up a good thing, Luca. And I want you around.Needyou around, especially these days with all this engagement bullshit and a new person joining the family.”
“Yeah.” I run my hand through my hair, forcing myself to sound calm and casual. Anything except what I actually feel, which is like I’m losing my fucking mind. “Giulia seems different lately. Quieter. More withdrawn.”
Romeo shrugs. "She's adjusting to the idea of marriage, I think. It's a big change. She knows the engagement is coming up. It’s a lot for her to deal with."
I nod. “A big change,” I echo, and Romeo claps me on the shoulder.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.” There’s a hint of something close to warning in his tone. “You just focus on your work. This will all be over soon.”
I can’t fucking focus between then and the next night the club is open. Valentina didn’t promise she’d come back, and I spend every fucking night until then with my hand on my cock, picturing her, trying to think of her when I come, and always ending up with Giulia in my head—on her back, on her knees, atop me, all the ways I’ve had Valentina but with Giulia naked and moaning for me instead. I feel like I can’t fucking come alone anymore unless I’m thinking of her, unless it’s Giulia’s face I see.
I’m practically fucking praying that Valentina is there the next night that I go, even though I know the smarter thing would be to find another woman anyway. I should be fucking as manywomen as I can, reminding myself that there isn’t anyonefor me, that what I want is pleasure, not one specific person.
Or two. Two women who seem to have completely taken me over.
We don’t even get as far as taking our clothes off tonight. When I see her, the relief I feel is overwhelming. We go upstairs almost immediately, and I pin her to the door, yanking the leather skirt she’s wearing up to her hips. It’s the same one she wore the first night, and it drives me wild. I want to taste her, fuck her mouth, fuck her, but the need to be inside of her overwhelms everything else. I pick her up, wrap her legs around my hips, and jerk her panties to one side as I sink into her with us both fully clothed.
I swear I’ll never get used to how good skin on skin feels. I’m ready to come from the instant I sink into her. “Fuck,” I groan, biting her throat as I thrust. “So fucking good. You keep coming back for this big fucking cock, don’t you? You take it so well. Such a good girl.”
She tightens around me, wetter with every filthy word I groan into her ear. I rock against her, grinding into her clit, desperate to feel her come on me, around me. I want to think of only her, to exorcise the image of Giulia in a wedding dress, walking toward Alessandro, promising herself to him forever.
I fuck Valentina like it can make me forget that I’m losing Giulia. That I never really had her to begin with. And Valentina takes everything I give her—every rough thrust, every possessive touch, every desperate kiss. She takes it all and asks for more, and when I finally come, I moan her name, spurting into her as I feel her clench around me, her head falling back against the door as she cries out my name, too.
The moment my orgasm is done, I sink to my knees and press my mouth between her thighs, not caring that I just came in her. I want to make her come again, feel her come aparton my tongue. I hook her leg over my shoulder and devour her, attacking her sensitive clit until she comes in a matter of seconds. I’m hard again by the time I taste her orgasm on my tongue, and I take us both down to the floor, pulling her astride me as I yank her down onto my cock and thrust up into her hard. I fuck her like that, bouncing her on my cock, then flip her over and fuck her on her hands and knees on the floor until she comes again, and I come right after her.
