Page 168 of Villainous Kingpin

“Because he was your father.”

His shoulders tensed and a growl vibrated in his chest. “He was a sadistic asshole. Never a father. He tortured both Emory and I with his cruelty. It should have never touched you.”

I reached out my palm. “It should have never touched you either,” I murmured softly. “Nor your sister. I should have never put his sins on you. Or at least given you a chance to explain. He scared me, and when I barely got out of it alive, I-”

Inhaling a shaky breath, I pondered the right words to tell him. I didn’t want to hurt him more. I told him the abbreviated version in the library.

As if he read my thoughts, he said, “Everything. Tell me all of it.”

I swallowed, hating those memories.

“When your father showed up unexpectedly, he offered me money. I refused. He convinced me you two were in it together. That you left on purpose to let him-” God, why was it so damn hard to say those words. His forehead came to mine and there was so much pain in his gaze that it shattered my heart into a million pieces. “Anyhow, he attacked, I fought back. It was a close call, but then I remembered your gun. I saw it when you gave me the necklace.”

My hand wrapped around my wrist, the bracelet always having that calming effect on me.

“He didn’t rape me, I swear,” I told him and a flicker of relief and something raw bled through every pore of him. “But his words about my mom hurt just as bad,” I choked out. “He didn’t think I’d shoot him. Then he started talking about my mom. How he shot her in the knee and took her career away. My dad. How he killed him.”

“My brave woman,” he rasped while his gaze bore into mine. “You shot him in the knee.”

“Eye for an eye,” I breathed. “Though I wished so many times since then that I had just killed him.”

A quiet noise of anger crawled up his throat.

“Next time, though I’ll make sure there isn’t a next time, you come to me. Not Sasha. Not your uncle.Me.” Somehow with this man nearby, I didn’t think anyone would dare to come after me. “I’ll always protect what’s mine. And you, Wynter Star DiLustro have been mine since you landed in my arms jumping off that balcony.”

I averted my gaze, embarrassed that I was so stupid to believe a single word from Gio DiLustro.

"After all he told me, after what he tried to do..." I closed my eyes remembering that last day and a single tear trickled down my face. "It just seemed impossible to find my way back to you."

Silence was deafening and a heavy tension filled the space between us. A choked sob slipped through my lips. “I’m a shell of a woman without you, Bas.”

His palms cupped my cheek. “Look at me, principessa,” he demanded softly. I opened my eyes and found his dark eyes intense on me. “I wantyou,” he rasped, his thumb gently brushing over my bottom lip. “Only you. All your firsts and your lasts. I want to be your beginning and your end. Because you are mine. I’m a shell of a man without you. Fuck your connections. Fuck your family. Just you and me.”

His lips brushed against mine. Sweet. Soft. All-consuming. It was the kind of kiss that could break your heart and mend it within the same breath.

“I have something for you,” he murmured against my lips.

Pulling slightly away from him, I regarded him curiously. “I saw all the shoes you kept,” I breathed.

He shook his head with amusement.

“I couldn’t bear to get rid of them, but it’s not the shoes.” His nose brushed against mine. He pulled something out of his pocket. He held a little velvet box in his hand. “This is what I went to get that day.” He opened the box and the most gorgeous engagement ring sat in it. Princess-cut diamond with tear shaped emeralds surrounding it. “It matches the wedding band.”

“You held on to it all this time?” I croaked as my heart raced in my chest, longing for him.

“I will always follow.” His palm brushed across my cheek and I leaned into his touch, soaking up his warmth. “A day without you is hell on this Earth. Promise me you’ll never leave.”

I pressed my lips to his, softly and possessively.

“I’ll never leave, Bas,” I rasped. I watched as he slid the ring on my finger. “Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”

These vows were ours. For our future. For our happiness.

He grabbed the hem of my nightgown and pulled it over my head, leaving me in only my thong. My skin burned with the need to feel him on me, inside me. His mouth crushed mine, devouring me. Deep and consuming. When I parted my lips, his tongue slid into my mouth and I moaned.

I burned like a match, needing him with desperation. He pushed his hand into my hair, fisting it as his lips left mine and trailed down my neck. He stood up and his weight settled on top of me. It felt so good, so right.

His one hand lifted my thigh and I wrapped my legs around his torso, his erection pressing between my legs. The ache between my legs throbbed and I arched up into him, grinding myself against him.