by Belle Aurora
My gaze settled on him, but when I opened my mouth to speak, all that came out was a little peep.
The creases at his eyes deepened, as he ordered, “Dress nice.”
I walked out of the house feeling stupid, but that stupidity faded into nothing when I saw the monstrosity purring in my driveway.
My mouth gaped, and when my eyes found his, my voice was small. “What the heck is this?”
He looked like a goddamn snack as he ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the black fancy car in those black jeans that hugged his long legs ever so nicely. Wearing a gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, it showed off his big hands and tattooed arms in a way that made my gut tighten and my heart jump into my throat. He’d swapped out his scuffed Adidas originals for a brand new pair of casual black lace-ups, and my mouth went drier than the Sahara.
Jesus Christ, he was handsome. Too handsome, in my opinion. And when he took off his sunglasses, his heavy gaze roamed my body, and I was back to feeling dumb, especially when he held out his sunglasses in my direction, and muttered a rough, “What the fuck is that?”
My stomach clenched in embarrassment and I dipped my chin, as I uttered, “That time we went shopping,” my voice was small, “you liked it so...”
Oh, no.
The tight, white, low-cut mini dress was definitely more appropriate for a twenty-year-old, not a woman in her thirties. Clenching my eyes shut, I slapped a hand to my forehead and spun around, walking back toward the house in my caramel-colored heels. “Sorry. Let me change.” Under my breath, I whispered, “So dumb,” as my cheeks flamed.
Heavy footsteps rushed over, and when he gripped my wrist, whirling me around, I couldn’t even face him.
I was an idiot.
“Look at me.”
I shook my head. His fingers came to my chin and forced my face up to him, but I closed my eyes as the humiliation continued to course through me.
“Angel,” he said as softy as a man like Twitch could. “Look at me.”
Another shake of the head. “I feel stupid.”
“You look beautiful.” At that, I opened my eyes to find his lips thin, and when his brow creased, he ran his thumb over my wrist, and revealed, “Problem is, I won’t be the only guy who notices.”
My eyes narrowed on him.
What was he talking about?
“You’re taking this rather well,” I said cautiously.
“I’m...” He cleared his throat roughly, as if he were trying to eject the irritation he felt. “I’m working on my anger issues.”
Oh. My heart began to swell. Sweetheart.
My face softened along with my voice. “I can change.”
Those perpetually hooded eyes ran down the length of me and he let out a long exhale. “You bought that dress for me, so you’re gonna wear that dress, and I’m gonna shut the fuck up about it because you look hot and I’m hungry.” He tugged on my wrist, pulling me back to the car. “Come meet my baby.”
My lips pursed.
Oh my God.
Are you jealous of a car?
Maybe.
The sleek black sports car was so shiny, so new, that my brows arched. “She looks expensive.”
“She was,” was all I got back.
I stepped toward it, running light fingers across the exterior, and when I got to the back of the car, I read out loud, “Maserati.” I didn’t know a lot about cars, but I knew this brand was one of those brands guys lost their damn minds over. My face solemn, I smiled a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “How expensive?”
At that, he reached up to scratch his brow. “I’m starved.”
Yep.
Very expensive.
I rolled my eyes but allowed him to open the passenger side door for me, and when I slid inside, I had to admit. The cool leather interior was gorgeous. And when Twitch got into the driver side, I faced him, smiling. “Okay, I’ll concede. It’s nice.”
“Yeah,” he agreed quietly, reversing out of the driveway. “For two hundred thou, it fuckin’ should be.”
My eyes bugged out. “What?” And when his eyes laughed, I sputtered, “Y-you are freaking insane.”
“I got money, baby.” He put the car in drive and shrugged before looking at me meaningfully, his tone almost accusing. “You stopped cashing the checks.”
The checks.
The checks he’d been sending every month for the past six years.
My heart caught in my throat, but I swallowed past the lump. “I have enough money, Twitch. Enough to last a few lifetimes. I don’t need any more.”
Reaching over, he took my hand in his, placing it on the gear stick, and his hand came to rest on mine. When we changed gears, we did it together. He kept his eyes on the road. “Can’t ever have too much money.”
“Yes, you can. Besides,” I told him truthfully, “I would have given it all up to have you with me.”
His face on the road, I watched his expression turn grave, and when he spoke, he did it quietly. “I know.”
We arrived in the city soon enough and, as luck would have it, got a spot right in front of the Italian restaurant. Twitch walked around and opened the passenger door for me, offering me his hand, and when I took it, stepping out, he locked the car with a click of a button and put his hand to my lower back, guiding me into the eatery.
It felt nice to be out together, just us two. I sometimes wondered if we’d ever get time alone between school runs and work and being parents. I definitely felt selfish wanting Twitch to myself, but I couldn’t help it. I craved him, desired his attention on a level that was borderline unhealthy.
Being seated quickly, the young woman who brought our menus basically swallowed her tongue when she introduced herself as our server. She blinked wide-eyed at the tattooed god across from me and stumbled over her words. “Hello, I’m.... My name is.... I’m Adela, and I’m your.... I’ll be servicing you.” Her cheeks flamed. “I mean, I’ll be your server today.” Her lips parted as she looked down at my handsome companion, and she squeaked out, “Would you like to hear today’s specials?”
Twitch narrowed his eyes on her. “No.”
“Okay,” she breathed before turning and disappearing.
“Well.” I looked down at the menu, speaking quietly. “You certainly got her attention.”
“I don’t want her attention,” he replied just as quietly, and when I peeked up at him, his eyes scanned the menu. A short moment later, he looked up at me through his lowered gaze. “Yours is enough.”
Ah, shit.
My goddamn heart.
“Maybe I wanted to hear the specials,” I grumbled and watched his eyes smile.
“Want me to call her back?”
“No,” I sighed then tried not to laugh. “She looked like she was on the verge of a stroke,” I ended on a chuckle.
He watched me closely, a smile tugging at his lips before his expression turned solemn, and when he spoke, the words wrapped around my throat, choking me. “Wanna get hitched?”
I blinked at him as the menu fell from my hands. “What?” Confusion hit me as his question settled over my shoulders like a warm scarf. I swallowed hard and my mouth parted before my brows furrowed, and I asked, “Today?”
His lips pursed. “Why not?”
Umm, what?
My heart was racing and I found it hard to breathe. “I never know if you’re being serious or not, and this is one of those times I need to know—” The words came out breathy. “—if you’re being serious or not.”
“When it comes to you, baby, I’m always serious.” He searched my face a moment, before stating, “I’m not a hard man to please. I don’t want much in life. I’m not askin’ for a lot, angel.”
“What...” The question came out on an exhale. “What are you asking for?”
No messing around. I needed him to lay it out for me.
He thought about it, his face serious. “I want my ring on your finger. Want you to take my name. Wann
a wake up with my arms around you and my cock buried deep inside that pretty pussy every fuckin’ morning.”
Oh, shit. I wanted that too.
But then he went on, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly as his soft brown eyes held me fast. “I want you to want me, and I want you to show me that every chance you get. I want loyalty. I want complete and utter devotion. No bullshit. I want to share everything with you. Everything, baby. No secrets.”
My mouth parted as I let out a sharp breath.
‘Cause that didn’t sound alarming.
No.
Not at all.
He watched for my reaction. “I want you to give yourself to me selflessly, and I want you to do that because you know that no matter how far I take it, how uncomfortable I make you, you trust me to know your limits, that you trust me to keep you safe. I want you to feel how much I want you too, and I’m working on my greed, but I’m a selfish man by nature.” He finished with, “I want it all.”
I waited a moment before I responded, and sarcasm oozed out of my statement as I widened my eyes and worked on breathing steadily. “Not asking much?”
At that, he let out a rough chuckle, and when he smiled that crooked smile I loved so much, I melted inside. His smile softened, as he uttered, “Said it yourself, baby. You’re my ride or die.”
My heart expanded three whole sizes.
Twitch was crazy.
Crazy beautiful.
And all of what he wanted, I wanted too. But this was too much, too fast.
“I...” the words were whisper-soft. “I don’t know, honey. It’s only been two and a half months, and we’ve barely even—”
He pulled out a black velvet ring box and set it on the table between us.
“—oh my God.” I sounded strangled. “You bought a ring, you cocky bastard.” I forced out a humorless laugh and my knee bounced under the table. “Nope.” I shook my head. “Nuh uh.” My gaze was heavy on the little box taunting me in the center of the table. “No.” But as I said this, I reached for the ring box and pulled it in front of me, staring down at it unblinking.
And when I opened it, my brows furrowed in disappointment.
“It’s empty.”
Twitch made a face. “Is it?” He spun the box around to him, and muttered, “Huh. Weird.” Reaching over the table, he took my left hand and gently brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my knuckles and speaking against my skin. “Ah, look at that.” He brought his other hand up. “I found it.”
My heart stuttered as the golden ring appeared between his fingers. He kept his eyes on me as he gently slid it onto my finger, and when I pulled my trembling hand back, holding it up in front of me to look at the thin, demure ring with a single diamond in the center, I held my breath for a long time.
As I breathed out a shaky exhale, I heard him say, “Didn’t think you’d want something flashy.”
I didn’t. “It’s perfect,” I uttered quietly, almost sadly, and when I opened my mouth to speak, he cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“It’s okay. I know you’ve got mad hesitation, and I get it, so we’re not making any decisions today. I just gotta make it clear that this is the end goal and I’m quietly confident.”
Oh, thank God.
I didn’t trust myself making a decision right this second because if I did, we’d likely be married by nightfall.
Nodding, I looked at the ring once more before I put my fingers to it, sliding it off. But he stopped me with, “Why don’t you leave it on a while?” My eyes met his and a single brow rose, when he added, “See if you like it.”
That sounded reasonable enough.
All right.
“Yeah, okay,” I uttered, slipping the gorgeous ring back on, but I added quickly, “Just to, you know, try it on for size.”
The corners of his eyes creased. “Sure, baby.”
The sticky sweet response told me I wasn’t fooling anyone and he damned well knew I wanted to wear the ring because I wanted to be his as much as he wanted to claim me for his own. I was just too cowardly to admit it.
During lunch, I couldn’t stop staring at the ring, and every time my eyes landed on it, I smiled unconsciously. It was everything I’d ever wanted for us, everything I’d pictured in my mind, in my dreams.
Why was I so scared of making that dream a reality?
We left the restaurant hand in hand, and when Twitch put the keys in the ignition, the car behind us started to honk its horn. I twisted back, looking at the gunmetal gray Lexus as it beeped us again.
Twitch looked into the rearview mirror, his jaw tight. “What the fuck is this clown doin’?” Another honk, and Twitch closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He wound down his window and threw his arm out, waving the car on. “Go around, asshole.”
More beeping, for longer and longer, and when Twitch shot out of the car looking ready to kill, I whispered, “Oh, shit.”
I heard his angry tirade, “You want a problem, pal? Well, you got one now. Get the fuck out of the car.”
My heart raced as I watched on, wide-eyed and petrified.
The car door opened and a tall, dark-haired, middle-aged man slipped out, and he did not look afraid of Twitch at all. In fact, when he walked forward, his face drawn, he made a point of stepping into Twitch, way too close.
And when Twitch’s shoulder drooped, he shook his head slowly and uttered, “Should’a known.”
The man in front of Twitch smiled then, and Twitch returned it. When they rushed each other, hugging and slapping each other on the back, laughing, I was a little confused. They pulled back, looking each other over, speaking quietly, cheerfully, and that confusion rose a notch when Twitch came back to the car and grinned happily. “I wanna introduce you to somebody.”
“Okay,” I drawled, unbuckling my belt and exiting the car as gracefully as one could in a mini dress.
The moment I was out, Twitch was by my side, pulling me close, and the man smiled broadly, taking all of me in before letting out a slightly Slavic accented, “How in the hell did you land this beautiful thing, you ugly bastard?”
Oh, my. He was so charming, and when he smiled like he was, all eyes and teeth, it did something funny to my stomach.
A stunned laugh left me, and when the man reached out, I put my hand in his and blinked as he kissed my fingers.
Twitch did not like that.
“Yo, Pav. You like your hand, man?” When this Pav turned to face Twitch, my handsome man stated, “Unless you wanna lose it, I’d let go.”
Pav smirked then, releasing my hand gently and putting his hands up in surrender before saying, “Stop calling me Pav. You make me sound like a fucking dessert.” The man turned to me. “And I ain’t that sweet, sugar.” His eyes were warm. “I’m Luka.”
But Twitch tugged me back to his side, and I fell into him with an oomph. He had the nerve to speak for me. “Luka Pavlovic, this is my wife, Lexi.”
Motherfucker.
Slowly, I pulled back to blink at my beautiful, broody jerk, and his eyes smiled down at me. Looking at Twitch, I spoke to Luka. “I’m not his wife.”
“That’s a nice ring you got there.” Luka peered down at my left hand. “He give that to you?”
Umm. “Well, yes.”
Luka’s brows rose. “And you’re wear it freely?”
Hold on. “Yes, but—”
Luka grinned, cutting me off with a matter-of-fact, “Then you’re his wife.”
What? “Now wait a minute.” I turned to Twitch, taking my hand and shoving at his shoulder, looking pissed. “Did you set this up?”
Twitch’s eyes sparkled down at me before he lifted his face to Luka. “Isn’t she somethin’?”
Luka’s gaze darted between us. “I have never seen a woman put her hands on you and live to tell the tale, so—” He nodded, looking thoroughly perplexed. “—yes. She’s something, all right.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “She’s something.” My eyes narrowed on Twitch. “Sh
e’s pissed off is what she is.”
Both men laughed, and I failed to see the humor in this situation.
After a moment, Luka sighed, watching Twitch carefully. “Heard you were back. I didn’t believe it though.” His face turned serious. “Not many men return from the grave looking as good as you do.” Twitch and Luka exchanged a knowing look and Luka shook himself out of his stupor. “So when I saw you just now, I thought I was imagining things.” He shrugged, grinning. “I had to take a closer look. And here you are, my brother.”
Twitch’s face softened when he glanced at me. “Had reasons to do what I did.”
Luka’s eyes narrowed on Twitch a moment before he looked at me, wearing a weighty look. “Yes. I can see that.” He straightened. “So.” He clapped his hands together, rubbing them greedily. “You’re back.”
Twitch shook his head slowly. “I’m back, Pav, but I’m not back.”
Luka’s brow creased. “You’re out?”
“I’m out,” he stated firmly, and the knot in my stomach eased. “Got a wife. Got a son. I don’t want back in. Got more important shit to think about other than watching my back twenty-four seven.”
The man didn’t look impressed. “You know it’s not that easy, Twitch.”
“It is—” Twitch assessed the man before resetting his dangerous tone. “—if I say it is.”
The conversation continued, and I didn’t understand half of what was said.
“People are going to talk.”
“Let ‘em talk.”
“Word’s gonna get out.”
“I don’t care,” was Twitch’s scathing reply.
“Technically, the throne is still yours.”
“Am I speaking English, Pav?” Twitch was positively incensed. “Listen to me, my brother.” His arm tightened around me, and it almost felt like he was seeking the strength to remain calm. “I’m out.”
“Fuck me.” Luka sighed before stating accusingly, “You’re out. Julius is out. Happy is out.” He glared at Twitch. “It’s funny that when you all needed shit done, I was there with whatever the fuck you needed, and now that shit’s going south in my kingdom, none of you fuckers are around when I need you.”
Twitch stilled at that. “What do you mean shit’s going south?”
