Page 37 of Protect Me

Antonio goes limp, and his hands drift to his sides, the fingers still curled in that desperate pose. I hold him for another minute, waiting for the violent and involuntary contractions in his chest that herald the final moments of death. When those gasping motions cease, I drop him to the floor and step over him.

I pull Isabella into me, and her lips meet mine with an intensity I don’t expect—a hunger I thought I’d fabricated in my mind. No, this hunger is real, and she’s shoving her tongue in my mouth like she’s been thinking about it just as much as I have.

I moan into her mouth as her lips spread on mine. “Bella,” I growl, fisting her dark hair in my hand. I never thought she’d be back in my grasp. Something I could touch again. Now I never want to let her go. “Will you come with me?”

“Wh-what?”

“Will you leave all this behind to run away with me?” I ask again.

My heart sinks in my chest as my fears take physical form on her face. Instead of a spirited look, an excitement at my proposition, she looks as if I just asked her to give me both her fucking kidneys. It’s a look that strips the worth from the efforts I’ve made to reach her.

Her mouth opens and closes. “Vance...”

I grab her by the shoulders. “I didn’t kill everyone standing between me and you to hear my name. I came for a yes. I came for you. All of you.”

“You don’t even know what you’re asking! It’s suicide to?—”

“Then I’m suicidal, Isabella. I don’t want to leave here without you.”

Her lips tighten. “I’ve thought of no one but you since they took me away from my house. I thought of you as I struggled through that awful wedding. You got me through all of that.” She points to the bed. “But you can’t just leave a family like mine. Love isn’t an out. The only way out is in a fucking coffin!”

“And I will put every single member of both of these families inside one if it means I can have you by my side.” I take a deep breath. “ I will do whatever it takes to have you.”

Her eyes narrow. “And what if I don’t willingly come with you? Will you just abduct me?”

A deep laugh vibrates my throat. “No, I won’t. I’m saying that if you choose to come with me, I’ll do anything in my power to protect you and keep you safe. I can’t lose you again.”

“Protect me? It won’t be me who’ll need protecting. My god, Vance, are you thinking with the right head here?”

A smirk tugs at my lips. Of course I am. Her tight little pussy hasn’t had the opportunity to taint the head on my shoulders, because I haven’t even been inside it yet.

I draw her lips close to mine. “Neither head guides this decision, little girl. This does.”

I grip her hand and place it on my chest. My heart thumps against her palm, rabid for her. And I think it just might shatter if she tells me no.

“I’ll leave you here if you want to stay. I won’t throw you over my shoulder and take you away. It’s not my style. I won’t beg for your affection, either, but I’ll ask for it. I’m asking for it now.” I swallow. “Will you come with me and let me protect you the way I know how?”

She throws her hands into the air. “I don’t know. I just?—”

“Let me lay you on this bed and spread your thighs, little girl. Let my name be the only one you scream out.”

She closes her mouth and stares at me, the wheels turning in her mind. This is my final plea. If she says no, I’ll leave and never look back, taking only her memory with me. But if she says yes, I will fuck her in a way that ensures she’ll never consider letting me go again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Isabella

I can’t run away with Vance. It would be suicide, for one or both of us. He doesn’t understand. He’s not from this world I live in. It’s like a gang. You don’t leave once you’re inside, and being born into it is the most inside you can be.

But his breath washes over mine, grazing my chin as I turn away so I can think of something else besides the warmth of his body against me. Even with my husband’s blood still staining his knuckles, I’ve never wanted anything more than to give in to him right now.

I roll my eyes up to his, finally meeting them. “Vance.”

He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing so hard I think he might choke on it if I tell him no. “Don’t say no to me, little girl.” His fingers wrap around my chin and draw me to his mouth.

But he doesn’t get it.

“I don’t know what to do, Vance,” I whisper, which isn’t entirely true.

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