(okay i split this chapter in half after noticing a continuity error, fixing that and will post again tonight after work! thank you for your patience, as always--leave your comments!!!)
Val woke up on the floor next to the bed, utterly confused would be the understatement of the whole year. But at least she remembered most of what happened the previous night, which explained the blush on her face.
Though nothing came to mind when she attempted to remember why she had slept on the floor. Val sat up, her eyes wandered over the edge of the bed to her left. It was empty, and looked made––Rio must be in the bathroom then.
While she had a few moments to herself, her mind rewound to last night, their night. Considering how long that tension had built up, one week in a cramped hotel room was a long time to stay away from each other. She was shocked nothing had happened when they were in the apartment.
A memory drifted into her mind as she remembered his long fingers grazing the back of her throat after being inside of her. Her face blushed a deeper red and she pressed the back of her hands to her cheeks to cool them.
Before the memories of their hookup could get the best of her, she stood up from the ground, moving her thin blanket back to the bed.
Her head pounded and she suddenly remembered that she drank a whole bottle of merlot after eating a small dinner. She rolled her eyes at the dumb action, and winced when that caused a twang of pain.
As she scoured through her bag in the far corner for any medication, her thoughts made way for the worry and anxiety. Would things be different between them now? Would they go back to how it was before, skirting around the feelings and secrets that kept them at bay?
When she found the pill bottle and slipped her fingers in to grab at two, a memory nudged it's way to the front of her mind.
*************
She shook two pills out of the bottle, her hands unsteady causing the pills to fall to the ground. While tears gathered and blurred everything, she knelt down to pick up the mess.
Breathe in, breathe out.
"Stai bene?" [You okay?] His voice was soft as he knelt beside her to push them in a pile with her.
Val turned her head to meet Luca's eyes, he always came to check on her after a punishment. He regularly received just as many beatings from their employer as she had, if not more.
This time she had defied orders, direct orders to hit a small store on the edge of his turf. It was a family owned bakery, and they were short on their payment.
Her job was the same as usual, a quick and messy entry to shake the owners up. She would have her usual muscle men flanking her side, a snap of her fingers and they would break bones in front of her very eyes.
Val was tired of breaking people's spirits, literally, just for the greed of it all. So she said no, not as firm as she would have liked, but it was firm enough to warrant fire in his eyes.
"No?" He may have the smallest of smiles on his face, but Val knew better. He was enraged.
"Non posso farlo," [I cannot do that.] She held her head up high, her eyes not wavering from his.
"Non puoi o non lo farai?" [Cannot or will not?] The amusement slipped from his tone, she swallowed uneasily.
Val took a breath in, unsure of what her next words were knowing what his response would be. She slowly breathed out, if not now then when?
"Non lo farò," [I will not do that] she corrected.
A lone eyebrow raised, imperceptible to the untrained eye, but as stated before, Val knew better.
"Va bene," He murmured. It wasn't alright.
He nodded at her before turning away, as he walked to his desk she thought for one moment that he would let her off without retaliation. Her heart thumped against her chest as the fear loomed over her head.
Val was just about to leave his office unscathed when she wearily watched his hand rise into the air. Dread filled her body, she knew what was to come before he even snapped his fingers.
"Lo starò bene," [I'll be fine,] She said to Luca, forgetting the last hour of her beating.
And it was true, she would be alright. Once she was free from him, once they were both free from him.
"Un giorno," [One day] He murmured and rested his hand on her's.
One day.
*************
Luca never got to experience the one day. A frown crossed her face as her mind settled back into the present. Flashbacks happened more and more since Rio entered her life. His lifestyle was an eerie reminder of what she could be doing right now if she hadn't left. It was just familiar enough to remember how things used to be, rather than the pretty dust jacket she'd given her new life.
Maybe this could be a way of healing from her past. She never gave herself the chance to remember and feel the effects of her past. Val picked up her life and ran every time those god forsaken red licorice twists ended up on her front door step.
It felt kind of nice to think of Luca again, she had almost forgotten what having a brother felt like. Quick flits of annoying and sweet and terrible memories of Luca flooded her mind, a fleeting smile before she frowned again at the loss. She tossed the pills back and took a sip from a spare water bottle on their dresser, she wasn't completely sure if it was even hers.
"Mornin',"
She turned towards his smooth greeting to be met with the usual half smile of his. He was brushing his teeth, and did she mention he was shirtless? Because he was. One hand held the brush in his mouth as the other ran a towel over his head that was shaved down short again.
"You cut it,"
She sounded surprised. Val couldn't tell if she liked his hair unruly and longer, the small inch it had grown, but she realized the buzzed hair was doing things to her.
The smile returned to her face as she took a step towards him, he tossed the towel in the corner of the room.
"Yeah, was gettin' long," His eyes travelled to her outreached hand and then to her eyes when it made contact with his head.
Val's fingernails grazed his scalp and Rio couldn't help the goosebumps that raised on the back of his neck. Her eyes followed her hand and his eyes stayed on hers.
She wondered what he thought about last night, did he think it was a mistake? Did he wish they had never crossed that very clear line in the sand? Val slowly retracted her hand from his hair and dropped her gaze to the floor.
"'Ay,"
His voice was soft again, and so were his chestnut eyes. Rio's pinky gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and they wore matching smiles. Before she could make him verbally calm her anxious doubts, she found him leaning in.
The soft press of his warm lips on hers was enough to wash away her thoughts and bring new ones to the surface. Like how much she loved the feel of his rough hands on her body.
He took a step towards Val and his hands gripped her hips tighter. She quickly found herself being turned and then was pressed between the cold wall and his warm chest. Rio's mouth opened and Val followed suit, a soft sigh leaving her open lips as his tongue skimmed her own.
A feeling was blossoming inside her chest, and she couldn't quite place it. Rio's hands moved up her sides until his thumbs were at her bare chest and, ah, she wasn't wearing a bra. Rio didn't seem to mind that fact as one of his thumbs ran over her nipple.
Val's hands that were holding the back of his neck went to scrape down his freshly shaved head. Rio moaned at the action and pushed his knee between hers to brush purposefully against her middle.
"You better push me away, baby," His words were tightly spoken as she pressed her hips closer to his.
"Doesn't feel like you want me to stop you," She laughed, feeling what little his sweatpants left to the imagination.
She lightly palmed at him, just enough for Rio to get all breathy in her ear. When she pulled her hand away his tongue skimmed her ear as he sucked at her earlobe.
Val hummed when she felt his teeth, his knee still creating friction between her legs. She moved against his knee until it pressed against her just perfectly.
"Fuck me," Val uncontrollably cursed against his throat.
"Nah, but maybe if you're a good girl," He cooed, and his low voice burned coals against her stomach. If he didn't know about her praise kink before, the whimper that left her mouth surely confirmed it.
A knock on the door startled them both from their hazy bubble.
Rio sighed, irritated, and pulled away from her. He didn't go to the front door though. Her brows furrowed confusedly as she watched him walk to a door that she had incorrectly assumed led to a closet.
The door opened to a whole other room, and Val's mouth dropped as one of Rio's men walked through. This one was burly with tattoos covering every inch of skin.
"Your goddamn body better be on fire, Mick,"
Rio voiced with a hint of anger at the interruption, his normal glower focused on the man Val now knew as Mick.
"Might as well be," Mick muttered.
Mick's hand that was previously hidden from her sight raised into her view, her eyes locked onto the item in his hand.
"Just found this in front of your door,"
Val squinted as her still sleepy eyes slowly focused. A gasp suddenly left her mouth as all of the air was sucked out of the room.
The item in his hand was none other than a simple package of red licorice twists.
like i said, pt 2 of this chapter will be posted later tonight!! plz leave your comments, i thrive off of them!