Page 33 of Serena (Shattered Queens #1)

Ileft Serena at home, but not before fucking her again.

Her moans are music to my ears, only my ears.

She’s no longer my obsession but my everything.

A sentiment that I know is one-sided, but it won’t always be.

Serena is a proud woman, and admitting things out loud, well, it would be easier to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She’ll get there; she has no choice.

I had to leave to deal with my sister. A couple of days ago, my mother asked me to speak with Vee, who coincidentally decided to leave my parents’ home.

She invited herself to stay at my cousin's empty penthouse, which happens to be in the same building as I live. It’s been empty for a couple of months since Caleb prefers to reside closer to his business on the other side of town.

Caleb collects property like he collects conquests, all over the world. My dear sister has no problems utilizing the space. She’s the princess of the family. Caleb and Damon have no sister, so Vee takes that mantle.

Not bothering to knock, I make my way into the living room.

The layout is the same as mine, but unlike me, my cousin has more neutral tones in his decor.

My sister has added some purple and pinks to the decoration, offsetting the masculine feel of the place.

I find my sister lying on the couch, scrolling through her phone with the television on.

The coffee table is full of discarded take-out food.

“Is this what you do with your time?” I ask. Obviously, she didn’t notice me entering. She screams. “What the hell, Ian? You can’t knock?”

“No, and you should pay more attention to your surroundings. I could’ve been anyone.”

“Stop being so dramatic, big brother. Caleb has security, and you own the building, so this is the safest place to be.”

She isn’t wrong. This building is completely secure.

There’s a state-of-the-art security system and men on guard.

The same goes for all my properties. I take security very seriously, but it helps that my family owns the security companies.

Regardless, Vee needs not to be so careless.

When she was younger, my parents tried to minimize her awareness of being guarded every minute of her life, but as she got older and started to rebel, she knew the extent to which the family went to keep her safe.

It may have fueled her further need to act out.

When she went to college, my parents agreed to tone her security detail down, but that was just them.

By that time, I was friends with Miles, and he helped keep track of Vee.

My cousin's reputation served as a warning as well. Veronica isn’t an angel, but she isn’t violent and avoids confrontation.

That’s why she travels so much, to run from the reality of what’s going on with Mom—at least that’s what my brother and I tell ourselves.

“Why did you leave Mom?” I ask her pointedly.

“No, hello, Veronica, how are you? So straight to the point, and actually, I didn't leave Mom. I left our parents’ house. Which is suffocating, but you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Cut the dramatics, Veronica.” I can feel my temper rising. “Mom feels like you left her. You’re hardly ever home, and when you are, you can’t wait to leave.” I sit next to her on the couch, trying not to feed into her defensiveness.

“Screw you, Ian. Dad is restless all day. When he isn’t hovering and obsessing over Mom, he’s in and out of his office. And Mom just wants to reminisce, and I just can’t.”

“Ver—”

“Plus,” she continues. “Mom has visitors—Cassandra and Mila have been stopping by. Auntie comes a couple of times a week. Seriously, Ian, what did you ever see in Mila? She’s such a bitch, and this is coming from me, who's all about women supporting women.”

I can’t deny that she’s right about Mila. A couple of days ago, she showed up at my parents’ asking for their help in convincing me to marry her. “I’ll deal with Mila.”

“How? Like you deal with all my fuckups?” My silence seems to be the only confirmation she needs. “I know I’m a fuckup, Ian. You all think I am.”

“Vee, we never said that. You just need to face the reality of what’s going on in your life. What’s going on with Mom.”

“I can’t.” She cries. “I just can’t; I’m not like you. I’m not strong enough.”

“You are.”

“Bullshit, Ian. I’m not like you or them. I know how you deal with your problems.”

“What do you know, Veronica?”

“I just know, and I’m nothing like you and Gabe. I love you both, but I can’t face things like you.” She looks me in the eyes and continues. “I know what you did for me in Miami, and I’m grateful for it, but you can’t always save me. You can’t kill everyone who hurts me.”

“Yes, I can, and I will.”

“Such a protective big brother, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for the woman you end up with.” She laughs and wipes her tears with her sleeve.

“Well, she’s stubborn and insists on pushing me away.” This perks her up. “But you’ll have to stick around if you want to meet her.” I tell Veronica about Serena and share my plans for our first date that’s coming up. My sister seems impressed.

“Ian, you need to do something about Mila. She won’t stop.”

“I know. I’m working on it,” I assure her. I don’t bother to ask my sister if she’s dating anyone because I already know the answer. One thing about the women in my life is that they’re very good at keeping secrets. As I walk out to leave, I can’t help but wonder what secrets my sister has.

Leading up to tonight, Serena kept trying to get clues, using seduction as her weapon. I didn’t give in either time. My woman has no problems using her body as a means to gain control of situations.

Augustus pulls up to her apartment building, and I see her step outside.

She’s wearing dark jeans, black heels, and a top that makes her breasts look magnificent.

She doesn’t need to wear makeup, given her natural beauty, so she’s just wearing a light dusting of it tonight.

But her red lips stand out. Her hair is down, as always, and she’s wearing a pair of studded emerald earrings with a matching bracelet.

I’m tempted just to take her upstairs and lock ourselves in for the night.

Getting out of the car, I make my way to her and pull her into my arms. “I told you I’d come up.” She bites on her lower lip.

“I was nervous and started to overthink, so I just came down myself. If I didn’t, I probably would have canceled." I can’t help but smile because if overthinking were an Olympic sport, this woman would have a gold medal.

“Okay, but next time, try to wait for me. I want to make this perfect for you.” I know this is her first date in a long time. Serena didn’t date. I can see how nervous she is about tonight, and I try to ease her. “Respira,” I tell her.

“How did you know?”

“I’ve heard you mumble it to yourself.”

I love that her genuine smiles are more frequent.

“Let’s go.” I steer her to the car, where Augustus is waiting with the open door.

They exchange smiles, and he winks at her.

The motherfucker winks at her. Once in the car, I turn to her and find her smiling at me.

“Don’t be jealous of Gus. Plus, it’s your fault; you have him drive me everywhere.

So, it was natural that we’d become friends. ”

“I’ll fire him and hire a new driver,” I say as I look at him through the rearview mirror. “Don’t be dramatic. Who else would put up with your tantrums? Plus, don’t we have a date?”

Did she just say tantrums? And called me dramatic. She’s right, we do have a date, so firing my driver wouldn’t be a good idea, for now. Truth be told, I’m nervous about tonight. I want everything to be perfect for her. I can feel her restlessness. “You look beautiful.”

“Um. Thank you. I didn’t know what to expect, so if it’s dinner or skydiving, I’m sort of covered.” She half laughs.

“Don’t worry, no jumping out of an airplane, unless you want to.”

“That will be a pass.”

We arrive at my penthouse. “So, our first date is at your place? I mean, I’m all for staying in.”

“Mi Reina, you sound disappointed, but not quite.” I tap the access key to the elevator. We arrive at our destination, the rooftop, which only I have access to.