Val woke in the middle of the night with a sore throat and the need to use the bathroom. And this is why you don't do straight shots of vodka all night, she thought. She's wearing her favorite long t-shirt that just barely covers her panties.
Her cheeks were still red from the alcohol, she noticed while looking at herself in the mirror. She washed her hands and turned the lights off, before she walked out.
What she didn't expect was to run right into Rio's bare and muscular chest. Before she could stumble, his hands wrapped around her arms, holding her. He was only in his boxer briefs, which didn't leave much to the imagination.
The moon was shining onto them from her bedroom window, Val looked up into Rio's dark inquisitive eyes. He was by definition beautiful––his sharp cheek bones and jawline, the way his eyes crinkle when he laughs, his full bottom lip that he sticks out when she's annoying him.
She thought again how undeniably gorgeous he was in the moonlight, or really any time of the day. Why were they always stuck in these moments, unable to move or breathe or think until they put space between them?
He was already moving his hands away before she subconsciously licked her lips, and his eyes actively tracked her tongue. Rio's hands suddenly moved from her biceps and slid down exceedingly slow until they rested on her hips. Her eyes trailed down to his eagle tattoo, seeing his it bob when he swallowed.
Val's heart started beating so fast she was sure that he could see it. She knew where this would lead if they didn't move, did she want this to happen? His lingering gaze slid down her body and that's when she lost all hope that this wouldn't happen.
She only had to lean forward an inch before Rio closed the rest of the gap between them, his hot lips pressed against hers. Her eyes fluttered shut, eyelashes grazing his tan cheeks. The kiss started slow and soft until Val felt the tip of his tongue slowly skim her bottom lip, and she lost all control.
Val's mouth opened involuntarily to Rio's, and he took no time in sweeping the inside with his hot tongue. Her hands reached around his neck to pull him closer, a soft sigh floating from her mouth to his.
This seemed to spur his next action, Rio quickly pushed her back against the wall of the hallway. Val's hands slipped into his hair and roughly tugged, successfully pulling a deep groan from Rio. His hot hands trailed down to firmly grasp her ass.
She held in her groan until he yanked her into his hips, softly grinding against her. She groaned loudly and Rio's mouth slanted against hers, their breath mixing. He pulled away onto to press scalding kisses up the length of her neck to her ear.
"Been thinking 'bout this since the first time I met you," He said gravelly in her ear, she let out a quiet whine. He ground his hips against hers and met her lips in a searing kiss once more.
He seemed to be sucking the air out of her, she pulled his thick bottom lip into her mouth to softly bite it. Getting Rio to moan into her mouth was a game that she could play all day.
"Mami, you better know what you doin'," His raspy voice rang out against her lips, and at his words she pressed her hips harder against his, feeling him grow against her.
"I've wanted this since you called me bonita," She whispered back at him and reached down to cup him in her hand.
Rio groans loudly at this, a hand goes to the wall right next to her head. He moved against her hand to gain friction and she pulled her hand away. He let out an aggravated groan at her action and suddenly twisted her around until her face was pressed the cold wall. She let out a breath at his doing, his hands started at the top of her thighs until one cupped her center.
This is all that she's wanted for so long, Val couldn't believe that it was finally happening. The smell of Rio being this close was intoxicating, she breathed in more of his musk.
His mouth was pressing a kiss against her ear as he rubbed his hand against her, she whimpered as he went a little faster. She ground against his hand and he immediately pulled away from her.
"Rio," She whimpered, he softly laughed in her ear.
"Don't feel too good, huh?" She said nothing, hoping he would be kinder than she was and put his hand back where she wanted it.
"You're late," He said, grinning. Val scrunched her eyebrows, confused, late for what?
"What?" She said with a slight laugh, cocking her head at him. His hand grasper her shoulder, firmly shaking her body.
"Wake up," Rio's voice sounded warbled as this picture of him pressed against her drifted away.
She groaned as she was shook awake, her eyes slowly slid open to glare at a tan hand—Rio's. Wait, that was all a dream? All of it? It was all real, too real.
This can't be good. Val looked up at Rio, slightly panicked, she could not be having dreams about him, especially sexual ones!
"Uh-Uh, don' give me that look," He says in his regular raspy morning voice, she would be lying if she thought it did nothing to her lower extremities. She could still smell him from her dream.
"Ugh," Val groaned again and pulled her blanket over her head and heard him set his cereal bowl on her nightstand. She could still feel the remnants of the hand slipping in her panties.
"Mami, you late as hell. Get your ass up, it's almos' nine," He said, half serious while half laughing, and gave her ass a pinch in the process.
Val shot up at the word nine, the dream was long gone, hadn't she set the alarm for six last night? She picked up her phone and—dead, of course. This made more sense, Rio never woke up before her, though he was a morning person.
"How did I even sleep that long?" He snickered while she climbed out of bed, her feet had barely touched the ground before she felt a wave of nausea. She paused and gave it a second to pass, sure she just needed breakfast.
"You good?" One of his eye brows raised as he gave her a once-over, she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Val stood again, with one step towards the door she staggered, Rio caught her elbow in a firm grasp.
He set his bowl down yet again, and the same hand came up to press against her forehead. She rolled her eyes at his domestic side showing once again.
"You ain' fine, you're burnin' up," He said with an edge to his voice while his eyes grazed over her features. Rio pushed her gently back towards the bed, and she struggled against him.
"No, Rio, stop. I have to get ready, I'm fine." He grabbed her wrists to stop her from shoving him away, she met his eyes. He was giving her his you-better-take-me-seriously look, and she contemplated stepping on his toes.
"Nah, you got a fever. If you go in today, you gonna get those little kids of yours sick," He replied irritated again, yet his eyes softened as she relaxed in his tight grip.
Rio was right, her kids were always getting sick, hence her being in this situation in the first place. She hung her head slightly and let him turn her towards the bed.
"G'me one sec'," He sighed, leaving the room to dig through the medicine cabinet for the thermometer he knew she kept in there. He strolled back in less than a minute later turning the device on.
"Open up," She said 'ah' just for effect and Rio stuck the thick needle in her mouth. She watched his face as he concentrated on the task at hand. His brows scrunched as his lips slightly pursed, the thermometer beeped.
"101, you ain' leavin the bed for nothin' today, ma," She groaned lightly at the demand and he pulled her blankets over her. This was an interesting side of Rio that she seldom saw, Val couldn't tell if she preferred him this way.
"But—" She was cut off when he swiftly held her chin in his hand. His other palm pressed into the mattress next to her head, effectively caging her back to the bed. He was close enough for her to be able to see the gold in his eyes.
"Valentina, let someone take care of you." The tension in her ran out at the sheer sweetness of his voice, her cheeks reddened. Vulnerability was something that didn't come naturally to her, considering what she has been through.
"Alright, fine." Val sighed and rested her arms on top of her comforter that Rio was currently tucking in. Exhaustion was pulling her focus as she noticed her eyelids dropping.
"I'll text your boss, get some sleep," He murmured, she nodded.
She thought briefly how much he notices about her, just another way he probably knows more about her than her closest friends.
Rio softly brushed his fingers through her hair, letting his hand trail down her cheek. A soft groan left her throat as she finally relaxed. Before she slipped into unconsciousness, she felt a pair of lips leave a searing kiss on her temple.
The next time she woke up she definitely felt worse, she rolled her eyes at the fact that Rio was right. If Val had gone to work, she would have had to leave early for being this sick anyways. As she moved to sit up her eyes traveled to the glass of water to her left and a throat lozenge. Him being sweet was only a little suspicious, maybe this was actually him, though.
She couldn't believe the progress they had made since he had first arrived months ago, sullen and angry all the time. Val wanted to laugh at how quick she broke his hard exterior to find this sweet and apparently caring one underneath.
Her phone said it was almost noon, and as if on cue, Rio knocked.
"Ay, I made you lunch," He spoke through the closed door.
She smiled at the words as he opened the door, she smiled wider when she saw that he was trying not to show any emotion.
"Get that smile off your face, I'm bein' nice 'cuz you're sick," She nodded condescendingly at him and scooted back to the headboard.
"What'd you make me, Chef Rio?" It was impossible to stop smiling, it was too funny.
Rio chuckled at this and set down a plate in front of her–chicken noodle soup. And this wasn't soup out of the can, no, this was actually honest-to-god homemade soup. He also set a small trashcan next to her bed, which was self-explanatory.
She pouted her lip and gazed up at Rio, who was scratching the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
"This is so kind of you," She softly said as he moved to sit next to her on the bed. Val scooted a little to the middle of the mattress to make more room.
"How you feeling, ma? Boss says you got a week off work, use it wisely," Rio's voice was velvety smooth and she practically swooned while he laughed at the use of the adage.
This was a dangerous territory to be in, dreaming of Rio. Oh, you did a lot more than just dream of him, her brain reminded her. And now he was serving her in bed and catering to her every whim? Her face began to warm, she could feel her cheeks inflamed.
"You lookin' like you're warm," The back of his hand pressed gently against her cheek and she swallowed her feelings. If she's not careful this could develop into a crush, which could obviously never happen ever.
"Yeah, I guess," Technically, yes, she was warm.
Okay, realistically, how far could this go? Rio is literally in a gang for organized crime, and if that wasn't enough, he has a bounty hanging over his head. And Val? Her past seems to be creeping closer and closer, I mean, she's not one-hundred percent sure that the blocked call was him, but she couldn't help but think that it was.
And so, with that in mind, if Rio and Val fell into the subtle pull between them, it was bound for disaster. She didn't think that crime bosses got the happily ever after, not that she was thinking they were going to be together, but it just seemed silly nonetheless.
She cleared her thoughts and picked up the soup, watching Rio as she took blew on the spoon. He was on his phone, he must have pulled it out when she wandered into her thoughts.
He had a look on his face, once that she has seen rarely, but enough to be able to name it. He was worried, which is normal, she guessed. As she already said, there was a bounty out for him, clearly someone wants him dead.
This was worse, though, he was nervous too. Val had definitely seen him worried before, but nervous? This was new, and it made her nervous.
"What's wrong?" She asked him, her voice soft and she took a bite of the soup.
"Hmm," He distractedly responded, not actually hearing what she had said. Val observed him silently, he was reading another text, and had moved on to another nail to bite on.
"Rio," Val raised the volume of her voice, just enough to pull him from whatever was stressing him out. Him being stressed made her worry about her own issues, things that she didn't even want to think about.
"Sorry, you need something'? Another blanket?" She laughs, he had said she felt warm earlier, he really has something on his mind.
"No, what's going on?" Cutting straight to the chase, if something was wrong, she wanted to be in the know.
"What'chu mean?" Val sighed and rolled her eyes, setting the soup back on the nightstand. They were going to talk whether he felt like it or not. She pointedly raised her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms.
Rio sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking around the room with his bottom lip between his teeth.
"Got a message from someone," His voice is somber, and this helps clear the sick fog that has been hanging over her. Is it a message from the one who shot him? Is it a message from Dags?
"From who?" She can't keep the worry from her voice, because she is definitely worried.
"Not really sure 'bout that, I've heard word of an old crew from jersey," He sighs, digging his teeth into his already pink lip again.
Val stays quiet, maybe this is the same people that didn't finish the job to take him out.
"Think it's whoever shot me," Val figured he goes through this all the time, she's sure that since Rio's gang is this powerful, other gangs must try to steal the throne all the time. Why does he seem anxious about it?
"Don't you deal with rival gangs? What do you usually do when someone is after you?" There's no way this is his first time dealing with a rival. His head swivels back around, almost in a snapping manner, for a moment he looked dangerous.
"Ma, that's not the problem. The problem is that they know I'm here,"
The grim meaning of the statement hit her, this meant that she wasn't safe, neither was he. Would Rio be leaving her then? And why did the mere thought of that pull her heart to pieces?
"So, what happens now?" Val asked, already knowing the answer, yet not wanting him to say it aloud. He can't stay here, that's for sure.
"Gotta leave," His voiced was somber and she wondered if leaving hurt him as well. No, there's no way that he actually cares about her. Rio was attracted to her, of course they were both aware of that by now, but actual feelings?
Her face fell at the words that were finally out in the open, he would be leaving. Val knew the reality of the situation, she would probably never see him again. It wouldn't be smart to mix them up anyways, this would have never worked in the long run.
"Both of us," Her head shot up, did he say both of them?
"Excuse me?"
"Y'heard me, if I'm not safe what makes you think you safe?" He questioned her like an adult would a child, which tugged another eye-roll from Val.
He's treating her like she doesn't understand, like she couldn't possibly understand, which frankly, was annoying.
"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid," The aggravation was apparent, which was her intention. Her eyebrow raised as she watched him turn from arrogant to irritated.
"Then don't act stupid," He raised from the bed as if the conversation was over between the two of them. Rio went for the door, evidently done.
"How would me following you be any safer? You said it yourself, they're after you not me. Why should I go too?" Her eyebrow raised in defiance, she could take care of herself, and she had been taking care of herself for years.
She was fine before Rio came into her life, and she realized then that she would be perfectly fine without him just as well.
"You're not my boyfriend, and you're not in charge of me. It's been just me for along time, I don't need you to protect me. I'm not the one with a wanted sign,"
Rio turned to face her, and she let her eyebrow drop in response to the way his eyes blazed. She could say that she unlocked the caring side of him all day long, but at the end of the day, he was a dangerous criminal. And Val had just pissed him off.
"Listen here, Valentina, you think you know what you're talking about? You think jus' cuz I been staying here that you know the ins and outs of the business?" His voice grew stronger with every word and step that he made towards her, until he was right at her side looking down in her eyes.
She gulped, she wasn't scared of him normally, but this side of him? Unpredictable. Even though it was a serious time, and she definitely shouldn't be thinking of her incredibly dumb dream last night, hearing him use her full name made her feel warm.
"If they know I'm here, they know you're here too. You think it's over once I leave?"
Val says nothing, not because she doesn't have the words to speak, but because his eyes are daring her to say something. Anything.
"Said it once before–you ain' no boss, so stop actin like you are." The gravely undertone of his voice settled the argument.
Her insides flamed at his words, but she knew better than to fight him when he was acting like this. Last time she had challenged the bossed up Rio she earned an arm to the neck.
But she just couldn't help herself, sick or not, Rio can't talk to her like that.
"Sei uno stronzo," She more so mumbled to herself. Yes, she wanted to stand against Rio, but her anger got ahead of Val sometimes. So maybe she'll just stick to curse words under her breath
"I'm not the only asshole in the room, querida," His honey pot voice came out of the woodworks to say that, with a bite to it. The fact that her stomach turns at darling is unhealthy.
She wants to scream at him, yell, anything really. But before Val can say anything, the sudden urge to vomit overwhelms her. Her expression twists in disgust as her stomach turns–not in a good way–Rio scoffs.
"Makin' faces at me doesn't change nothin', pack it up," He says with a straight face, taking a few steps back and turning for the door.
He doesn't reach it before Val pukes in the trashcan that Rio had brought in earlier, thankfully.
"Fuck, Valentina, 'm sorry," He rushed over to her, immediately grabbing her hair back as she reached for the trashcan again.
Rio's hand slipped around to her back, rubbing small soft circles as she said bye to the chicken noodle soup.
"You're right, I'm an asshole," He murmured and she managed a laugh. He soon joined in, wiping around her mouth with a napkin.
His eyes were kind again, and querida rolls through her head again, though he meant it in a sarcastic manner.
After dry heaving a considerable amount of times, Val leans back in bed. She's exhausted and is sure her face reflects that. A cold shiver rolls up her spine and she reaches for the comforter.
"I got you, ma," Rio grabs the blanket and begins to tuck her in. How the hell can he be the biggest asshole and sweetheart within the hour?
"You're less of a strozo," This tore a bigger than usual laugh from him, pulling a bigger than usual smile from Val.
"Rest up, I'll pack a bag," His fingers bushed the hair from her forehead, the cold metal of the rings was a nice contrast to the red of her face.
"Querida," Rio's voice whispered in her ear before she drifted off once again.
hey! 2 chapters in 2 weeks, a new high score for me :-)
as usual––please vote!! it really helps motivate me to post more, and also keeps the fic higher in the rankings so new readers can find it!
PS: what are you guys' guesses on who the "him" is that val keeps mentioning???