Page 34 of Brutal Princess (Valentino Empire 4)

“Do you think your need to protect Izzy stems from losing Lola?” The question that’s been playing on my mind slips out. And the moment it does, I wish I could take it back. Neo looks like I just slapped him across the face.

“Why would you ask that?” He cautiously observes my movements.

“I’ve never met a man who was so keen to take on someone else’s child. I don’t doubt your intentions are good, Neo. I’m just wondering if you’re misplacing your grief. Channeling it into my daughter.”

“No. My need to protectyouand Izzy has nothing to do with Lola.” He purposely annunciates the “you,” trying to make a point that it’s not just my daughter he wants to protect.

It’s hard to believe him though. His sister was taken from her bed when she was just Izzy’s age. From my research, she hasn’t been seen since. They never found a trace of the girl. Or who took her. That has to play on the minds of men like Neo. Men who don’t lose. Who always seek revenge. To punish those who’ve wronged them.

“What exactly do you know about Lola? More importantly, how do you know? This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned her.”

“I told you: I’m good at my job. When my father sent me here, I spent a week learning everything there was to know about the Valentino family. If I’m going to protect my brother, I need to know everything.”

“Back up. What do you meanif you’re to protect your brother?”

Crap, that’s what he takes from that. I don’t answer him. Instead, I go about making my coffee. Silently. I think maybe he’s going to drop it. Except, when I turn back around to face him, he’s leaning against the counter, his arms folded over his chest. Waiting.

I can see why people fear this man. He’s the kind of guy who’s unpredictable. You never know if he’s going to strike or not. He doesn’t show anything on his face. Doesn’t give away what he’s thinking or feeling. Usually I can see happiness, lust, fear. Something. But I have the sudden inclination that that’s because he wants me to see it.

Right now, there are just two blank eyes waiting for an answer. “Why do you think I came here, Neo? For a holiday?”

“What I thought was what you told everyone: you came to get to know the brother you didn’t know existed. At first, I’ll admit I thought maybe you were here to take him out. Get rid of the threat to your throne. But now I know better. You don’t want the fucking throne. So what exactly are you doing here, Angelica?”

Oh, it’s Angelica now, not Angel. Guess he has his guard up. However, even when common sense tells me I should fear him, I’m not scared. And not because I know, if I really needed to, I could get to any number of weapons hidden around this house within seconds.

It was one of the first things I scoped out. If I take one step to my left, I’d have a knife from the butcher’s block sitting on the bench. One step to the right, and I could reach the small handgun strapped to the underside of the cutlery drawer. This is the exact reason I’ve been teaching Izzy how to safely use guns. Not so she could become a weapon. But so she’d know they aren’t toys and accidently hurt herself with one.

“I was sent here to find the threat against Theo. To protect him against that threat. Which, if you think back to just a few days ago, I did. I saved both of your asses from being executed.”

Neo smirks. “Cute. You really think we wouldn’t have gotten out of that mess ourselves?” He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. Who sent you?”

“My father. As soon as he found out about Theo, it was like he’d won the lottery—you know, if he didn’t already have more money than sense. He was overjoyed to have a son.”

“Why would he sendyou, though?”

“Because I’m the best. Besides, he really did want me and Izzy to get to know Theo. To build our family up from the ruins that it is.”

“You do know T is never going to take your father’s place. That throne will still be yours.”

“I know. In case you haven’t noticed, though, I’m a girl. I don’t have any claim to the family crown, nor do I want it.” All I want is a peaceful life. A life away from violence. I want to watch Izzy grow up, go on her first date, help her through her first broken heart. Because let’s face it: it’ll happen. Love is cruel.

“You’re a girl? I had no idea. Maybe I should do a thorough inspection. You know, double-check and all.” He stalks towards me, and before I know it, my butt is sitting on the bench. The cold bench. I’m wearing one of Neo’s shirts and nothing else. My naked skin on the icy stone seat is not a good mix.

All thoughts of being chilled to the bone are thrown out the window when Neo drops to his knees and buries his face between my legs.

Chapter Seventeen

That first lick—the first taste—is everything.

When I was a kid, I remember T and me raiding the corner store. I remember thinking back then that nothing would ever taste better than that first scoop of chocolate gelato. I would have eaten that dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—had my mother let me. How wrong I was. Because this, tasting Angelica’s pussy, this is the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced. Nothing will ever top her.

I know she has it in her head that I’m not sticking around. Or that my intentions derive from some misplaced hero shit, needing to save the damsel in distress. Angelica is no fucking damsel though. Far from it. She’s fierce. She’s lethal. And if I was on the other end of the scope of that rifle of hers, I’d be dead before I could blink. Let’s hope I never piss her off enough to end up in that situation.

My fingertips dig into her thighs as I hold them open. My tongue swirls around her hard little clit, my teeth grazing the sensitive flesh. Alternating between sucking and licking, I take my time. This is a delicacy after all. These things should not be rushed. No matter how hard my cock is at the thought of getting to slide into her pussy, of imprinting myself on the walls of her cunt again.

“Mmm, fuck!” I growl into her mound.

Her hands hold my head to her, while her hips attempt to lift from the bench, grinding into my face harder. I let her have just enough movement to give her a little friction, but not enough. Keeping heron the edgehas become one of my favorite pastimes. I never understood how men got so caught up in one woman that they’d sign their lives away to only fuckherforever. Not when the world is full of beautiful women. You could sample a different one every night and still not get through them all in a single lifetime.

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