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“Correct. Cowardly maggot in your eyes, but quiet hero in mine. This morning was a mistake. Last night was a mistake. I should never have let you touch me. I don’t love you, and I never will.”
Valentino’s eyes become cold and blank.
It happens so suddenly I gasp. One moment he is standing between me and the door, and the next he has moved and I’m standing with my back to the door. He is so close to me I can feel his warm breath fanning my forehead.
“You let me touch you because you wanted it,” he says. “Don’t act like you regret it because you don’t.”
“I regret everything,” I snap. “You are-”
He yanks the top of my dress, ripping the soft mesh in two. His large hands cup my breasts, and I moan as a finger flicks my nipple softly. Instinctively, I lean into his body, and he rips the dress down my thighs, touching my wet sex. He slips one finger inside me, and I moan again, hating myself.
“I don’t give a fuck who your heart belongs to. Your body belongs to me.” He pulls his finger out and coats my lips with my juices. “And maybe you’re right about this marriage being over soon. Without trust, it’s as good as dead.”
With that, Valentino walks away from me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
VALENTINO
Jesus! She hurt me. How she hurt me.
I was stunned by the extraordinary pain I felt as I walked away. The one time I let my guard down. The one time in my life I let my guard down… and she hurt me.
‘This marriage will soon be over, and when it is, you can go back to your women, and I’ll go back to the man I love.’
That was two days ago, but her words still ring in my head hollowly.
Go back to your women! She had no idea. And she will never know my secret. I didn’t meet her for the first time in Franco’s office four months ago. I saw her for the first time two years ago. She doesn’t know it, but for two years, I was consumed with thoughts of her, and all the other women were fleeting moments of relief from my obsession to have her, to own her, to call her mine.
During those years I wanted her so badly, I physically hurt for her. I couldn’t bear the thought of another man’s hands on her. I was terrified some other man would win her heart before I could. I waited two years to have her and waited days after our marriage to feel her in my arms.
She accuses me of cheating.
Well, she will never know, but for me, sex with all those nameless women was not pleasure. It was a bodily function. Like the respite one feels when a full bladder is emptied. Or the way a man stranded on a desert island will eat roots and dirt just to quieten the hunger pangs and survive.
Now, she tells me she wants to go back to the freckled maggot. What does she see in that pale, spineless creature? A man who will not lift a finger to protect or fight for the woman he claims to love is no man. It isn’t blood that flows in his veins, but slime. I fantasize about tearing his worm chest open, ripping his heart out, and watching his body trash and squirm wildly before it finally stills forever.
But I’m not going to do it.
She’ll only hate me more.
I’ve made up my mind to stay the hell away from her. At least until I get my head straight.
I’ve made sure to avoid her as much as possible. Vance and I are in the office of one of the storage facilities we have scattered around Italy. This is where I’ve been spending most of my time since my disastrous fallout with Francesca, but I’ll be meeting her at the airport later today. I am already dreading being alone in the jet with her. I haven’t seen her since that night, and I’m not sure I trust myself with the little minx. She has too much power over me.
There’s a knock on the door, and I sit up, knowing who it is. Anger swirls in my belly, and I try to contain it.
“Are we expecting anyone?” Vance asks, a frown on his face.
“I’m expecting someone,” I answer.
“Come in,” I call.
The door opens, and Nina walks in, wearing a sexy smile and the most seductive dress she could lay her hands on. She surely must be the dumbest broad alive.
“Should I leave?” Vance asks.
“No,” I say, rising to my feet. “I am going to need a witness.”