“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you,” Antonio growled.
Emma gasped. His left side of his face was red and swollen and his lip was split open. Blood was smeared all over the crisp white shirt he had been wearing at the wedding. From his awkward stance, she could tell some of his ribs had been broken. His right arm hung loosely by his side. Emma could just make out the dark stain against his jacket sleeve. He had been shot in the arm.
His shooting arm. Antonio held no weapon in his hand. Emma could see it was a strain for him to just remain upright.
Ignacio quickly stood back up, his temple already swelling from the blow. He looked up furious, his eyes glowing a murderous rage when he caught sight of Antonio’s terrible form.
His eyes glinted black as he pointed the gun straight at Antonio’s chest. “Come on, Del Marco,” he said. “I’ll let you choose. Do I kill you in front of the girl? Or…” he swung the gun towards Emma “kill her in front of you?”
He cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “Which way, Del Marco? Your bitch first or you?”
Antonio took in a ragged breath. He lifted his gray eyes, piercing him with what remaining strength he had. “Let’s kill the bitch,” he said before raising his left hand, revealing a .45, firing two shots.
Emma seemed to watch everything happen in slow motion. Weak and using his non-dominant hand, Antonio’s first shot missed but the second shot found its home in Ignacio’s right shoulder.
Ignacio screamed. “Motherfucker!”
Antonio dropped his gun with a thud. Emma could see that he was only minutes away from passing out.
Leaning against a wall, Ignacio grimaced as he slowly raised his right arm, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.
He was going to shoot again!
Working on pure instinct, Emma threw herself on the ground and grabbed a shard of the broken picture frame glass. Ignoring the pain as it cut into her hand, she immediately thrust upwards, slicing deep into Ignacio’s right hand.
Ignacio screamed as the tendons of his arm were sliced in half, blood spraying forth and spattering Emma. The gun dropped from his useless hand. “You fucking bitch! You fucking cunt!” Ignacio’s eyes glazed over with pain and fury. “I’m going to fucking kill—”
A shot rang over her head.
Emma squeezed her eyes shut at the noise.
As she slowly opened her eyes, she stared at Ignacio’s blank gaze, his head cocked back against the wall, a bullet almost dead center between his eyes.
Emma turned around.
Antonio was on his knees, his gun shaking in his left hand. “God, that was fucking lucky,” he said breathlessly before falling forward.
Emma caught him just before he hit the floor. She looked down at his bloodied and bruised face. Tears of fear, adrenaline, and relief poured from her like a fountain.
She held his face delicately with both her hands. She had been so close to losing him. But just as the thought passed through her, she saw how white his face was and how pale his lips were. How much blood had he already lost?
“Antonio, stay with me,” she whispered fiercely, holding his head in her lap. “Stay with me, please!”
Silver eyes looked up at her. A faint smile brushed his wide lips. “I’m…I’m always with you. You’re my home,” he breathed softly, eyes closing. “You’re my home.”
Emma closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his, crying tears of yearning and immeasurable pain.
Epilogue
“You’re lucky you’re getting away with just bed rest, Tony,” Steven Wells lectured. “It could’ve been much more severe.”
Antonio leaned back on the headrest of his large bed. He sat shirtless, his ribs bandaged together and his arm trapped in a sling. A large cut on his left shoulder was stitched and free from its bandage now to promote healthy scab growth.
Antonio quirked a brow as he lifted his sling. “More severe than a bullet in the arm, three broken ribs, two fractured ones, and split open shoulder?” he asked sardonically.
The lawyer, seated across from the bed in a plush chair, huffed a laugh but gave his client and friend a stern look. “You know what I mean. An ambush assassination like that? It could’ve been death.”
Antonio smiled as Emma entered the bedroom with a glass of water and his pain medication on a tray. She caught the warm glow of his eyes. “You’re right,” he said. “I had an angel on my side.”
Steven tried to smother his pleased smile as Antonio reached out with his good arm for Emma’s hand.
Emma smilingly stepped into his grasp. Standing by his bed, Antonio’s arm wrapped around her waist, Emma looked at the lawyer. “And what’s happening with the arrests?”
Steven pursed his lips. “Well, thanks to you,” he said with a smile of admiration towards her, “we have the man that really clinches the case. Having Ignacio Cavalli’s body in custody will make it very difficult for Frank Cavalli to build a good alibi. And the prosecution is having a field day right now with this opportunity. Everything that can be brought up against the Cavallis will be dug up and exposed. They’ve just tipped over their boat and I don’t think anyone is going to make it back to shore.” Steven grinned.
Emma’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Oh thank god,” she whispered. Then she shifted a little awkwardly. “What about the men?”
During the ambush on the Del Marco home, many of the Cavalli gunmen had lured the guards away from the home so that Ignacio could have Antonio all to himself. Many of the men had been injured during the shoot out.
“All very alive and grumpy about the recovery process,” Steven said grinning. Emma sighed, relieved no one had died.
But her stomach tightened as she gathered the courage to ask her final question. “And…David? What about him?”
Emma felt Antonio’s grip on her waist tighten. She hated to bring up the name but she had to know what she was facing.
Steven shook his head, his eyes warm and reassuring. “I think given the circumstances, we can push that annulment through, no problem,” he said. Emma could feel Antonio’s hand relax a bit. “And, in case you’re curious, it doesn’t look like David will be indicted with any charges. He’ll be under observation, maybe even receive probation but he doesn’t seem to have any real knowledge of the murder plot.”
So he hadn’t been a murderer. Just a coward.
“Speaking of the annulment,” Antonio said, turning Emma towards him, “I have a few things I wanted to say to you about that.”
Steven matched eyes with his boss before nodding and saying, “Well, I guess you’ll live. Now that I know you’ll still be around to keep me employed, I guess I’ll head on home.”
Antonio snorted as the lawyer stood up and left, leaving the two alone.
Emma gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, facing him, careful not to jostle him too much.
Holding her hand for a moment, Antonio finally pinned her with those penetrating silver eyes. “That was unbelievably dangerous coming into a firefight like that, Emma,” he started.
Emma could feel her chest tighten. No, she wasn’t ready for the goodbye yet. She wasn’t ready to return to how they had been.
“You could’ve been injured or worse, killed.” Antonio paused. He squeezed her hand. “And because of your insane bravery, I’m alive.”
Emma’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected that. From the moment the ambulance had come for them, she had yet to see a mask come to cover those knowing gray eyes. And she had been dreading the day the mask would return.
Antonio raised his hand, gently brushing her cheek. “You are by far the braver Del Marco,” he said with a ghost of a smile. “That day with Ignacio, you were willing to sacrifice your life for me. And before that, you gave me your heart.”
He looked down. “I’m ashamed to say that I couldn’t accept your love then. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you a man who wasn’t so damaged, so dirty. I thought I was protecting you.”
Antonio slowly pulled himself into a straighter position, grimacing a little as he moved.
“Don’t do that!” Emma cried, trying to help him up. Antonio, seated more properly, nodded. He reached under the covers and pulled out a small box.
With his thumb, he flipped it open. A beautiful pink diamond ring glowed like a heart from within. Emma stared at the gem, its warm light glittering against the box.
“I’m afraid I can’t get down on one knee just now,” he said with a small smile. “But I’ll ask anyway in hopes you can forgive that small lapse in tradition.”
Emma looked into the face of her eternity, her love, her home. She felt the overwhelming warmth of his heart enfolding her to him.
“Emma,” he said, his voice steady and unwavering, “I love you. Be mine.”
She smiled, putting her hand over his, feeling the warm diamond pulse between their hands.
“Yes,” she whispered, unable to stop smiling. “Yes.”
And she leaned forward, letting the kiss of her forever after ring within her.
~The End~
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The Billionaire’s Step
Part One
Michaela Adams
Copyright 2015 Michaela Adams
All Right Reserved
One
He could see the tiny quivers rippling down her back. Her breathing was shallow but not rapid, which meant she was teetering between fear and arousal.
The sweet spot.
With one word, one gesture, he could fling her into heart pounding fear or mind numbing arousal. That was the power he held. And her shuddering body and shallow pants confirmed that she knew this as well.
Julian Benedict, CEO and founder of the international conglomerate JB Enterprises, stretched out his long legs, gently yanking the delicate chain he held in his hands. The other end of the long chain split into two spiked nipple clamps, each connected painfully to Yvette’s very swollen nipples. The gentle yank elicited a sharp gasp from her, making her large breasts sway heavily. But she kept her eyes obediently closed.
Good girl.
True, he could’ve put a blindfold on her to ensure her blindness. But then that wouldn’t be any fun. Often, he liked to test a submissive’s true nature by seeing whose will they would obey—his or their own. And an element of fear was the best test. No matter how nerve-wracking or how suspenseful the scene might feel, she must give up her fear and her will to him and keep her eyes closed. His word must weigh more than their own fears. Driving home this lesson was as important to Yvette as it was pleasurable to him.
Yvette stood straight before him. She had no choice really. Her arms were bound tightly behind her, forearm over forearm. Games of will aside, Julian still enjoyed the sight of a beautifully bound woman.
Her large breasts were pleasingly swollen and red from his earlier abuse. Much could be done with a riding crop. He knew if he were to turn her around, her pert bottom would be a nice glowing crimson, matching her full breasts.
Yvette had a throaty lustful cry when he spanked her, which normally would be enough to arouse him into a raging frenzy. He would then roughly bend her over, squeezing her hips, as he plunged his thick cock into her begging pussy. He would brutally thrust into her hard and deep, over and over again till she came screaming. He would make sure that for the next few days, whenever Yvette walked, she would remember who owned her pussy.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, he didn’t feel that same pulsing lust. No matter how many times he pinched Yvette’s delicious nipples or took her gorgeously wide mouth, Julian couldn’t push away the familiar creeping coldness that seemed to fill his bones from the marrow within. No matter how he tried to ignore it, the dark iciness only seemed to bloom and grow within him.
Knowing her eyes were completely closed, Julian let himself close his own eyes, squeezing the bridge of his nose. Perhaps calling Yvette over tonight hadn’t been such a good idea. Or at least, he shouldn’t have called her over to his office. It was well past midnight and Julian knew nobody was in the building, let alone the executive suite which was the entire 60th floor.
Julian never took a woman home. He’d either call them to his office on late nights or take them to a hotel. Which is what he should’ve done with Yvette. He could’ve taken her to his usual suite at the Four Seasons. But instead he had called her here. And tonight, being surrounded by his luxuriously furnished office, Julian felt drained.
Behind Yvette, he could see his gleaming Brazilian wood desk. Although it was meticulously clean at the moment, Julian knew the chaos it held.
The search was not going well.
Even after four years. No trace, no clues. Nothing.
Every time Julian thought about how abysmally years of tracking had been going, his heart clenched at the possible meanings of such an absolute and complete disappearance.
He shook his head abruptly. Opening his eyes, Julian focused on Yvette. No, he would not let himself entertain such thoughts. Not right now. He yanked hard on the chain. Yvette cried out as she was jerked forward. Trying not to lose her balance with her bound arms, she quickly stumbled forward, her eyes still obediently closed.
Julian raised his foot against her knee, stopping her from running right into him. “On your knees,” he said, his deep voice rougher from his stubbornness in trying to will away the darkness.
Yvette’s throat muscles clenched as she gulped at his command. As she lowered herself, Julian could smell her heady anticipation. He opened his pants, freeing his sizeable cock. Julian would’ve snorted if he weren’t so distracted. It never ceased to amaze him how the body and mind could want two completely different things at the same time. But he was never one to argue with human biology, especially since his biology was serving him quite conveniently at the moment.
“Open your eyes,” he said quietly.
Yvette fluttered her long lashes as she opened her large hazel eyes. She was quite a beauty. A former Miss New York, she was now currently a model.
She was an unusual model though. Her body was luscious and full, unlike the usual sticks walking down the runways every spring. But even with her larger measurements, the gorgeous amazon had been embraced by the modeling industry.
Within her first year of modeling, she had landed the covers of several huge magazines, launching her into celebritydom. Gossip writers were constantly pairing her with any number of athletes and celebrities. And perhaps, she did date those people occasionally. Julian didn’t care. He only knew that every time he called, Yvette would come flying over to his office or hotel suite and willingly get on her knees for him. And that’s all he needed or wanted.
With a lovingly desperate hunger in her eyes, Yvette looked up at him. But her gaze was soon pulled towards his impressive erection. She slowly licked her lips as she eyed his cock. Slowly pulling the chain closer, Julian forced Yvette to crawl closer on her knees. He could see the pain of her nipples turning into raw pleasure as she tried to clench her thighs while crawling.
Julian’s lips twitched in amusement. No use. He didn’t need to see it to know how wet she was.
With her now only a breath away from his cock, Julian lifted her chin. Giving her the full force of his hardened gaze, he said, “Show me how much you appreciate your punishment.” He hardly had to say more. Given now the express permission, Yvette eagerly bent her head to mouth as much of Julian’s cock as possible.
Yvette’s throaty screams were muffled against his cock as the rush of blood flooded her abused tissues. Julian closed his eyes as he enjoyed the vibrations of her cries against his cock. He could feel her squirming under his hand. He knew she desperately wanted to rub her breasts to ease the pain. But her bound hands were useless and all she could do was let the pain wash over her as it slowly transmuted into pussy sopping pleasure. He controlled her breathing, her pleasure, her pain.
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