Page 38 of Rotten Men

“Oh, no? What would you wish for then?” I ask, snuggling her body to mine.

“I wish Vincent didn’t hate me so much,” she hushes out, and I squeeze her further still. “I knew I had hurt him, that my actions hurt you all, but I never expected him to hate me the way that he does.”

I let out a long breath.

“He doesn’t hate you,bella. As much as he tries to believe he does, he could hate you no more than Dom and I ever could. But while you broke us, you destroyed him, Selene,” I explain, trying to find the right words that won’t inflict the same suffering for her that Vincent has had to endure.

“How?”

Shit.

Rehashing this precise clusterfuck wasn’t how I expected to spend my night. But if she wants to know why Vincent is more fucked in the head than Dom and I, then she might as well hear it from me. She sure as shit won’t get a nicer explanation from him.

“He’s under the illusion you didn’t want to leaveus. You wanted to leavehim.”

She tilts her head up, placing her chin on my chest, confused about where I’m going with this.

“Bella, the thing with lies is that they always come to light, one way or another. When Big Sal ordered his men back home, ending their search for you, Vincent was livid—he threatened to leave the Outfit in its entirety if his uncle denied him to continue his search for you. So, to stop this madness, Big Sal told him what he needed to hear—the truth, or at least his part in it. He told Vince the reason you left was his fault; that he alone was responsible for you running away when he proposed you’d marry Vincent in the wake of Pietro’s death. He explained how he approached you and your mother with the engagement, and how you vanished less than a week after his proposal.”

Selene’s eyes start to grow wide in panic, revealing what I always knew to be therealtruth and not Big Sal’s version of it.

“I know why you left,bella. I understand this life was never what you wanted, and you deserved a chance to be free from its bloodshed. But after Big Sal’s confession, Vincent’s understanding of your reasons for leaving didn’t bode well for his heart. All he saw was that when you were engaged to his cousin, you conformed to your fate; but when his uncle proposed you marry him, you just picked up and left us all.”

I watch her pain-stricken face grow paler, as she bites her lower lip hard enough to crack the skin and make it bleed. I lift from the bed and hold her trembling form in my arms—a small comfort compared to the bombshell I just laid on her. But now that I’ve started, I have to go through every last detail. No matter how it slices me apart to see her crumble.

“What was he to think, Selene? He has lived years thinking the woman he gave his heart to would rather live a life on the run in constant danger than have his ring on her finger. His pain comes from the dark recesses of his mind, where love will always be unattainable for him. All he knows is death and betrayal,bella. It’s all he’s ever known. Don’t hold his hate against him, when it’s the only thing holding him together.”

She nods stiffly against me, her wet tears cooling off my hot skin, and I lay us both back down on the bed. I keep her close, hugging her to me, while she lets her anguish and misery go. I always knew Big Sal’s reason for Selene leaving was bullshit. But it always troubled me why she chose to run away at that time when we were so close to getting what we always dreamed about. Her marrying Vince would be the answer to all our problems. Why leave when it was being offered to her on a silver platter? I tried to reason that it was the life she ran away from, not us, but what if I was missing something?

“Bella? Why did you leave us? If that was your intention all along, then why not do it when Silvio bargained for you to marry Pietro? Why go when you and Anna Maria would be safe under Vincent’s protection?”

Her bloodshot eyes look up at me in earnest, a speck of blood still hanging on her lower lip.

“I don’t want to lie to you, Gio. Please don’t make me,” she answers on a stuttered whisper.

I nod, conceding for now, but make a point of returning to this conversation again when she’s less vulnerable and more capable of giving me a straight answer. Instead, I do the underhanded thing and ask for something which has plagued me into becoming an insecure fool.

“I don’t want your lies. I never did. All I ever wanted from you was your love. Tell me you love me. Make me believe that you give a shit about me,bella.” I hear myself beg.

Her own features soften, and the answer to my question is so evident in her eyes, I choke up at the glorious sight.

“Gio, I never once stopped loving you. You’re mine, as much as I am yours,” she affirms adamantly, resolute in her belief that our love is still perfectly intact, even though our lives have taken us away from each other.

“Bella,” I hush out, grabbing her face in my hands and delivering a kiss that would shatter all others. Everything I hold, the pain, misery, love, and longing, I pour into this one kiss.

Her lips part for me, opening herself to everything I have to offer, and I take full advantage. I want to consume her, body and soul, just as she has consumed my every waking moment. Our tongues, teeth, and lips battle for dominance and submission with every bite and caress. My hands fall from her face, gripping her hips in brute force, while my mouth offers only passion and desire. My eyes slant shut when I feel her maddening touch on my cock, leading it to its rightful home. I do as she beckons, and slam myself within her hot embrace, growling loudly at the divinity of it all.

“Fuck!” I grunt.

Being inside of Selene is just like her love—clutching pain, and heavenly bliss weaved into one glorious mess. Her sweet pussy was made for me, and the sultry temptress knows it as she starts gliding her core up and down on my cock in a delicious, devilish tempo. She pushes away from my hold and sits up to mount me completely, wanting to look at where we are connected.

“Fuck, that’s hot!” I moan, gripping her waist and giving her more of an eyeful.

Her mouth slacks to the side in awe of such beauty, and I almost cum inside her when she licks her lips approvingly.

“I remember a night you promised I’d be able to do this. Do you remember, Gio?” she taunts, milking my cock for all it’s worth.

I feel her nails run along my chest, marking me as hers, while she showcases a wanton smirk on her lips.

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