Reina's POV
I leaned against the closed door and sighed. I'm tired. I dropped my shoes on the floor, carefully resting my soles on the cool tiled floor. I took a moment before I moved away from the door.
I can't seem to beat the 3am hour. This is the best I can do. It wasn't a problem when I was on my own. It was easier. But with Nerina here, it is feels like a struggle for me to be there all the time. It was easier when Marcelle and I were together. He compensated for my absence.
She's sitting on the steps, dozing off and startling herself back awake. I stood at the base of the steps silently watching her.
Juan and Gian were a product of panic that Marcelle and I will never see each other again. That was when the families wanted to remove him but when Miki got engaged to Annàbella, it solved the problem. Nicolò and Marco were because he wanted more kids. Gio was because he wanted a daughter. And finally Nerina is the baby we both wanted to have. He didn't mind one more. His wish for a daughter came true with Sofia but I also wanted a daughter. If I had my way, I would have had only one child. Just one.
"Mija, I'm home." I informed her. She looked at me with a warm small smile. I sat beside her. "I told you that you don't have to wait up for me."
"I wanted to see you." She leaned into me. I placed a kiss on her head.
"I'm sorry that this isn't working out the way you hoped it would."
"Do you always have to go to work?" She asked me.
"Yes I have to." I answered her. "That's my job."
I may slack off in a lot of things but not the clubs. When Marcelle and I were together, we were collectively billionaires. But his net worth is always higher than mine. I'm not a billionaire. I want to prove that I'm financially able on my own. I foot every bill on my own. I'm significantly noting how fast the money moves. Marcelle gave me a lavish lifestyle. He took care of everything, down to the clothes I wore. I never spent a dime of my money on anything that was a bill or an expense. Now I pay bills and I hate it. So I have to work to sustain the lavish lifestyle I was used to. Now that girl is the one living my life. He's a generous man and there is never a doubt in the world that he knows how to take care of a woman. He is meticulous in his accounting. He had a separate account for me. Everything was automatic. I had a card for that account. I was well taken care of. I never appreciated it then but I do now. He's one hell of a man and I have lost him to that little girl.
"Daddy always makes time for me."
I raised my eyebrow at her. "I'm not your father."
"But you're not even trying!"
"Go to bed."
"Why don't you go back to the club and stay there and never come back!" She screamed at me. She ran off in a fit only to come back. "I want to go back home!"
"Fine. Go pack. You can leave in the morning." I agree that she can't stay here. It's not only that I don't have time for her demands but I'm doing something that I don't want her to be part of.
She stared at me with disbelief in her eyes before she stormed off again. I also went to my room. I want to fall on the bed and fall asleep but I need a shower and coffee of I'm seeing her off.
"Welcome home mi amor." I almost jumped at the sight of the man sitting in the corner holding a glass of alcohol in his hand. "It's an ungodly hour for a woman to come home especially when she had a child in her care."
"Seriously? My house?" I frowned at him.
He got up and stalked my way. His dangerous brown eyes searched my own. "When you ghost me, what do you expect?" He gripped my jaw with his left hand. I'm attracted to strong males. I can't help it. He kissed my lips as savagely as he always does. I tasted the whiskey he has been drinking. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me to straddle him. I tore my lips away. "Ay cariño." He whispered roughly. "Now I can't leave."
He dropped me on the bed.
He pushed my dress out of the way, ripping my panty off to fill me hastily. "Diego!" I moaned. He placed his hand over my mouth.
"Hush hush. There's a child in the house.
"Si." I whispered.
*
I opened my eyes some time in the morning. The sun is only beginning to come up. Diego is already awake, getting dressed. "Won't you stay for breakfast?" I teased him.
"We are not there yet." He smiled dangerously.
For some time now I have been trying to get this man to commit to me. I miss Marcelle. I believe he ruined it for every man. But Marcelle got me addicted to something even stronger than the way he loved me. Power. I dint know how to exist without it and since I cannot be that powerful on my own, I'm attaching myself to a mob boss who is. He's not Marcelle but he's formidable. Diego Fernandez is a cartel boss. In my time in the mob, we crossed paths occasionally. I never paid attention to him until after the divorce, when I realized that I need an attachment to power. He isn't easy to convince but to seduce, yes. He has a weakness for beautiful women. A little flirting here and there and we crossed a line he can't get back from. He's addicted.
"Cariño," I got out of bed naked. I wrapped my arms around him. My lips found his neck. I caressed him gently. "I dint want a whim."
"I don't want commitment." He pulled away. "I prefer to be single. It's simpler."
"I prefer to be loved and pampered. If you can't be that man, then it's best that we don't see each other anymore."
As soon as I turned away, he gripped my neck and slapped my bottom. "You threaten me? Do you know that I can have you forever if I please? You don't give me ultimatums cariño." He pushed me away.
He lacks that fine finesse Marcelle has. Marcelle could be rough, very rough. He would be dominant, talk dirty but he had a way of making me feel loved and appreciated after. Diego makes me feel cheap.
"It's my life and it's my body. I have a right to say no if it's not going anywhere."
He picked up his jacket. "Hypothetically speaking, if I was to make you mine, what would you expect?"
"A marriage."
"Hmmm... Reina you're an asset to have. You're resourceful and cut throat. I love that about you. But I'm not looking for a wife."
"We don't have to label anything. Just don't treat me like the little girls you fool around with. I want to be special."
"But you are special. Am I not going to kill that girl for you? I'm stepping out of the shadows for you."
I swallowed with difficulty. Marcelle was pissed about the shooting. I was hoping he would say Vittoria is dead. But that wasn't so. I put a hit on her. I want him to grieve and realize that whenever the dust settles I'm the only one who is left. But I sensed something different from Marcelle. I think it is possible for a man to hate a woman as passionately as he once loved her. If I go through with this and Vittoria ends up dead, it cannot trace back to me.
"Will it lead back to me?"
"I'll cover my bases. You won't get caught."
"Good. Then in that case I change my mind. I want her dead."
"Are you sure? Because you called it off and now you want it to go through. Do you want Vittoria Bernardi dead or not?'
"I want her dead." I answered confidently.
Marcelle's POV
Vee asked if we can be normal for a day. At first I really didn't understand what that means until she suggested that we go for a movie. I have never walked into a movie theater to watch a movie. We grew up with movie theaters in our homes and it's more comfortable to screen a movie privately. Part of the whole idea of nurturing our live is to do what she likes even if I find her idea of normal to be strange.
I couldn't keep my hands off her while we were at the movies. I did some naughty things and she struggled to be quiet. At the end of the movie, I didn't even know what we were watching. But she had fun and that counts more.
"Shhhh..." In trying to shush her but she's a giggling mess. It's about ten o'clock at night. It's a school night and the kids are asleep.
"Then stop touching me!" She slapped my hand away.
"But someone is so wet!" I whispered and pushed her up against the wall. We knocked a vase off the console table. "Shit."
"Lupe will throw a fit." She laughed.
"It will be worth it." I slipped a finger into her. "Oh shit! You're so wet. I think I will go down on you. Would you like that?"
"S-si. Si signor." She whimpered.
I can feel her nails sinking into my skin. She's almost standing on her toes, nearly breathless. I am living for the day she will give in. She will have to make up for the moments she has tortured me like this... getting me hard and leaving me to take care of it.
"That's it." I whispered. I got close to her face, my lips hungrily grazing hers. "So close baby girl, so close. That's it." I covered her mouth firmly just when she hit her climax. I watched her come down from it with a satisfied smile on my face. "Look at you..." I moved my hand to kiss her lips. "That was beautiful to watch."
I took a step back to free her from the confines of my body and the wall. "You are unfair." She whispered.
"Me? How? You're the one holding out. I'm ready whenever you are."
"Right now?"
"Vee stop teasing."
"Right now. Let's go." There's a measure of seriousness on her beautiful face.
"You mean that?" I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Si." She moved away from the wall. "Enough waiting. Do it before I change my mind."
I took her by her waist and lifted her off the floor to carry her upstairs. She kissed my lips, making the task if getting up the stairs more challenging.
"Daddy." I tore my lips away at once.
"Nerina." What the hell? Where did she fine from? "I didn't know you're home."
Her green eyes are on Vee. I set Vee down on her feet. "Hi." She greeted my daughter.
"Hi." Nerina responded in a flat tone. She came to me and hugged me. I watched Vee's be expression change. No! She just changed her mind!
"Good night Marcelle." She kissed my cheek and climbed the rest of the stairs.
Nerina is still holding on, very tightly. "Piccola, what's wrong?" I pulled away. She started crying. I picked her up at once, making sure our eyes are on the same level. "Why are you crying Nerina?"
"I missed you so much. I'm so sorry I left you." She hugged me tightly. He will suffocate me if her grip gets any tighter. I carried her up the stairs.
Vee is lingering at the end of the hallway next to our bedroom door. She looks uncertain. I want to ditch Nerina and get what I have been craving for since I met Vee I can't out sex above my daughter.
I walked into her room and saw the suitcases on the floor. She's really back. Miki was right. "Okay piccola, do you want to get down?"
"No." She refused and wrapped her legs around me even more tightly. I sat down on an armchair near the window with her settling on my lap. "I love you daddy."
"I love you too piccola mia." I sighed. "I'm happy you're home."