Page 34 of Bound By Sin
“We understand. Thank you, Bethany.”
“You’re welcome. And welcome to the world of Club Desire, one of the world’s most exclusive BDSM clubs. We cater to your pleasure and your pain. We have everything you could possibly desire. Hope you have a wonderful time.”
Valentino interlaced his fingers with mine as we walked down the dimly lit short corridor. He kissed me on my forehead.
“I love you, Stellina.”
“I love you too, Valentino.”
In the three years we’d been back together, a day didn’t go by that he didn’t tell me how much he loved me or didn’t show me. I still believed he carried guilt about what happened between us all those years ago, despite me taking the blame for it too. It took me some time to come to the realization of my part in what happened. While he did leave me, I could have gotten in touch with him through Brian. I just chose not to. And I dealt with that guilt every day. The real person hurt in all this was Nia, but she came to terms with the entire situation. It wasn’t easy. It took a while for her to get used to it not just being me and her anymore, but Valentino was an amazing father. He treated her like a princess but also had a firm hand with her. Even though she was away at college, he still managed to make sure she was protected and made sure she didn’t get in too much trouble.
We stepped over the threshold onto the first floor of Club Desire. I couldn’t deny how much I’d missed the place, but I knew I couldn’t experience this lifestyle without Valentino. While Club Desire had become a very important part of my journey, it had only been a detour in my path. A path that would always lead back to the man standing beside me.
Layla waved furiously from the bar, the smile reaching across her face unmistakable. And I couldn’t help but return her grin.
With his palm against the lower part of my back, Valentino guided me toward her and Elijah.
“Sis! Oh my God!” she all but shouted when we reached her.
I wrapped my arms around her the best I could as I tried to keep the tears from falling from my eyes. It had been a while since I last saw her and Elijah, and Valentino had to work his magic to make it happen today. I never asked what he had to do to make this happen, but I knew it cost him something, which made me even more grateful for him.
She stepped away and rubbed my now extended stomach. To say that both Valentino and I were fucking floored when I found out I was pregnant was an understatement. I actually had a cancer scare, and although every test came back negative on that front, the pregnancy test did not. The car ride home was silent after we found out. We both had to let the news settle in before we could be excited or not.
Neither of us had even thought about pregnancy being a possibility. Not at our ages. But here we were, now three months away from having a boy.
I kissed Elijah on the cheek. Valentino kissed Laila on the cheek, then shook Elijah’s hand.
“I’m so glad you guys could come.”
Laila was practically bouncing on her feet.
“How’s my nephew,” she asked, touching my stomach.
“Kicking my ass.”
Valentino chuckled beside me, and I rolled my eyes. He’d been having a field day with this entire pregnancy since reality sunk in. While he was way over the top with things like protection, baby clothes, and what I ate and didn’t eat, I always tried to give him a pass. I had to remind myself that although this wasn’t his first child or my first pregnancy, it was his. He had never experienced my pregnancy with Nia, the ups or the downs.
Laila chuckled. “How long can you guys stay?”
I knew the question would come up, but Valentino had already explained our timeline could not, under any circumstances, be changed. I wanted to hang out with my sister, but Valentino had already jumped through hoops to make tonight happen.
“We have to be out of Chicago by noon.”
“The next time you guys want to come into town, let me handle arrangements. I’ll call Aaliyah because Tony’s being an ass.”
Valentino chuckled. “He may be, but I would be the same way if he were coming to Philly. It’s his territory. I understand, even if I don’t like it. We all have rules.”
I grabbed Laila’s hand. “Valentino will handle all that, Laila. Don’t get in the middle, please?”
I’d learned a long time ago that it was better to let Valentino handle anything that had to do with us traveling to Chicago, whether I liked the terms he and Antonio came to or not. There was a lot of shit that had to be in place to make sure we made it out of Chicago safely, and I didn’t want my sister anywhere near that. She may have been friends with the Rizzo Family, but they were Valentino’s enemies.
She sighed deeply but nodded.
“I hate to break this up, but I got some things to handle with this pretty lady,” Elijah said, smiling.
A red blush crept across her face.
“Come by the house in the morning before you guys head out. We’ll do breakfast.”
