Venom & Ecstasy (Venom Trilogy #2)

by S Williams

  “Don’t. Betray. Me. Again.” Between each word he plunges harder than the last time. And just as I wanted, he gives me the power. The ruthlessness. He drills into me, bringing a hand down to my throat, fucking me like the savage I know he is.

  Dominating every inch of me. Taking me like I need to be taken.

  He’s not gentle or light. Nothing about him is. He is hard and cruel and merciless . . . and I love it. I want it. More and more, I want it, and I can’t help it.

  His hand is still gripped tight around my throat, allowing me just enough air to breathe through each of his rapid strokes. Our skin claps, and I hear my moans getting louder, bouncing off the walls and the ceiling. He’s groaning between each breath, so hard inside me.

  He’s close. I can tell.

  I pull myself up, sliding right down his full length, riding him fast as I kiss him. I kiss him deep and whole, the passion burning through me, returning full force. He’s swelling up inside me as I circle and grind my pussy on his cock, my fingers threading through his hair.

  He’s groaning loudly, and I can tell he wants to rip me off and push me away. I can tell he wants to fight against this—me on top. Me in control. But he doesn’t.

  Instead, he grips my waist and brings me up and down on top of him. Rising up, slamming down. Repeating the actions over and over, as if he can’t get enough. He’s hitting a tender spot, one that’s already been triggered, and I breathe my pleasure past his full lips, my fingers curling even tighter in his thick bed of hair.

  “Shit, Gianna,” I hear him say, and those are the last words I hear before I explode—no, we explode. He stills, so deep inside me, as I greedily swirl my hips for more, breathing raggedly, moaning and sighing. He cups my ass in his large hands, reeling me closer, as if we aren’t already close enough.

  Our lips part.

  Hearts thumping.

  I don’t know what that was, but it was powerful. And strong. And . . . real.

  Almost too real.

  I drop my forehead on his shoulder, but he picks it right back up, forcing me to look at him. “Never again,” he says, low and deep. “Never go against me again.”

  “You killed him,” I whisper.

  His jaw ticks. “He’s not dead.”

  That surprises the hell out of me. “Then where is he?”

  “In one of the cells.”

  I think before speaking. “What are you going to do to him?”

  He studies my eyes, then he lightly pushes me off and I land on my back. He steps off the bed, standing tall, glaring down at me. “Why do you trust him?” he demands.

  I look all around the room, a slight frown creasing my forehead. “I—I don’t know, Draco. I just do. He . . . saved me in there, during those first days when you weren’t here, and Pico and Bain said and did those things to me. In a way, he taught me how to survive and how endure it. If it wasn’t for him, I never would have caught your attention.”

  “You already had my attention,” he grumbles.

  “How?”

  “You were married to a man I hated. I needed to know everything I could about him, and who he worked with. At first I wanted to destroy you . . . but then I saw you.”

  I drop my gaze, focusing on my toes. “If Daddy promised me to you, why weren’t you keeping tabs on me then? I was supposed to be your future wife, right?”

  He shrugs. “He didn’t want me to have you anymore. He wasn’t expressing the interest either. It’s almost like he lost his faith in me—sending Trigger Toni’s cousin to watch after me, making sure I stayed out of the U.S. for months on end, probably so I couldn’t come near him or you. I knew it was Lion, and I couldn’t even retaliate because I owed him more than my life. Let’s just say that after my father died, I didn’t care much about being married to Lion’s daughter. I wanted to be alone. All I wanted was revenge. Lion knew that. He also figured out who killed my father. Probably why he started seeing me less and less. He knew that I knew who the person was, and he knew I wasn’t going to stop until he was dead.”

  My breath becomes ragged, but I draw in as much oxygen as I can, focusing on him. “Do you have proof? Pictures? Something that shows you were close to him in any way?”

  “Why do you need proof? Why would I lie about this?” he asks, slightly agitated.

  “Because . . . I’ve been lied to before. By a man just like you, Draco. He pretended to love Daddy, and if what you told me is true, and he killed him in cold blood, then I need to know. I can’t just go off of what you tell me. If . . . if I’m really going to stay here, and if you really want me to trust you and do what you say, I need proof. I need to know that you aren’t just saying and doing all of this to manipulate me. I still have some family out there. Friends. People still know who I am.”

  “I’m sure they all assume you’re dead by now. They know Toni is. Sent his wedding band finger in a box to his family.”

  Oh my God. His mom. His brother. I can imagine their horror. The tears rolling down their sad faces. “They didn’t deserve that!” I snap, rising on my knees. “They were good people. His mom was like a mother to me, too.”

  “Emphasis on the word was.” His jaw ticks.

  “I want proof, Draco,” I demand.

  “Even with proof, you won’t trust me, Gianna.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because I can be very impulsive. You’ll never know what I’ll do next.”

  “You already said you wouldn’t kill me. That’s fair enough. I don’t have to know what you will do next. I’m certain I can handle whatever you throw at me. You don’t kill me and I won’t make an attempt to kill you. I have nothing left to lose but my life, Draco, and that already feels pretty worthless. What good would it be for me to run away—go back to the life I had—just for you to destroy it again? I know if I run, you’ll find me. You’ll drag me right back to you and kill anyone that stands in the way of that.”

  His chin tilts in a superior way, and I know I’m right.

  “So I won’t run. I will do my part. But I want proof. I want to know that Daddy actually trusted you and your father. I need that assurance. It will give me peace.”

  He looks me over in my naked, vulnerable stance before pulling his eyes away. “Fine.” He picks his head up, tipping my chin. “But about what you did with the Ricci cousin . . . I won’t be able trust you anymore. You stay here. You’ll be mine, but I can’t trust you, Gianna. You cut a potential enemy loose. He could have told anyone where I was, and they could have killed me.”

  I drop my line of sight to his chest. “I’m . . . sorry, Draco.”

  He pulls his hand away. “Sorry won’t cut it. It’s a pathetic word with no depth. Your apology means nothing to me.” Stepping away, he looks toward the stairs and says, “Get out and go to my room. Shower and go to bed. I have things to handle tonight.”

  I blink up at him, how he avoids my eyes.

  Wait.

  He’s serious.

  He won’t trust me. He probably won’t even try to again.

  He lowered his guard just a little, and I stabbed him right in the back like a fool, and now he won’t even look at me. He can’t look at me, because if he does, he might hurt me again. Or worse, become so blind with rage that he’ll have no choice but to end me.

  “Draco, I—” I reach for him, but he takes another step away.

  “Go, Gianna. Now. You’re lucky that was all I did to you.”

  Wow. He can’t even punish me. Not like he used to. What does that mean? That he did trust me? That he actually felt something for me? Or does he still?

  Maybe I’m wrong about him. He was trying to make something work between us, and I tore that right to shreds. His humanity was trying to break through, but I just sealed the cracks, leaving him drowning in the darkness again, and all for my own selfish needs. For his power. His control. His dominance, and that terror that I love feeling deep down.

  I climb off the bed and walk down the stairs, purposely taking m
y time—hoping he’ll stop me, grab me, spank me, or do something to make him unleash the rage I’ve initiated.

  But he doesn’t. I don’t get anything at all from him.

  I pick up his shirt that’s down by the rails and slide into it, walking toward the tall doors. I look back when I pull one of them open, but I don’t see him. I can’t even hear him.

  He’s so quiet. He’s . . . hurt. Because of me. He only wanted my loyalty, and I gave him my ass to kiss.

  Shit.

  What have I done?

  21

  I decided to sleep in the library instead. I didn’t know if Draco would come to bed soon, and, frankly, I didn’t want to sleep with him. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad—guilty, because I did wrong, and he left Henry alive, for now at least.

  I don’t know why, or what he was planning on doing, but I can’t face him. Not until I’ve processed my thoughts, so I write until nearly four in the morning, letting the words of remorse flow.

  I can’t stop. Not for a while. When I do, I read over it a hundred times and then I fold it up, taking it with me to the daybed. I don’t want him—or anyone else—to walk in and see it.

  Before I can get comfortable, there is a knock on the library door . . . at four in the morning. I frown as I stare at the door. Draco would walk right in. So would Patanza. Who the hell is it?

  I cautiously walk down the steps and to the door. When I crack it open, Thiago is standing on the other side, looking at me beneath his eyebrows. I frown when he flashes a small smile.

  “What the hell do you want?” I mutter.

  “Thought you might need some company.”

  “And why would I need that? From you, of all people?” I respond with snide.

  He smirks. “Okay. I lied. I actually came to get a book. I left it here a long time ago. Has some important stuff in it that I need.”

  “At four in the morning?”

  He shrugs carelessly. “My days never end.”

  I look over his shoulder, down the empty corridor, and then I sigh, stepping back. “If you try anything, I’ll kill you myself,” I tell him when he walks past me.

  He scoffs lightly, treading past and walking right up the stairs.

  I watch him carefully before walking up the staircase myself. He’s scanning one of the shelves by the wall, eyes narrowed, when I make it to the top. I walk to the day bed, reaching beneath my pillow for Draco’s pocketknife. I took it from his weapon wall several days ago . . . just in case. He’s been too preoccupied to notice its missing.

  I keep my hand beneath the pillow, my fingers curling around the wide handle. I pretend to relax as Thiago finally comes across a leather-bound book.

  “Ah, aquí esta,” he sighs. Here it is.

  He flips through the pages and, assuming whatever he’s looking for is there for him, he nods graciously. “What is it?” I ask, wary.

  “Coordinates.”

  “For what?”

  “Where I bury some of my American cash.” He comes closer and I grip the knife even tighter. Sensing my tension, he releases a low laugh, leaning his lower back against the guardrail. He’s only about six steps away.

  “Why do you need it?” I narrow my eyes.

  “It’s my money.”

  “Why would you keep the coordinates in a book in this library? Let alone, let me see which book you keep it in?” I study the front of the book, the word Biología written across the front in a dusty silver.

  He laughs. “What the hell are you going to do with the money? I’m sure Draco will give you enough of it if you need it.”

  I cock a brow. “You never know when I just might need some of my own to run away with.”

  He looks me over. I’m still wearing Draco’s button-down shirt. It reaches the middle of my thighs. I look down, noticing the red marks on my ankles. I try and cross them, but they’re still visible

  “I’m sure you won’t be running anywhere.” He pushes off the rail and I go still when he comes closer. “Can I sit?” he asks, sitting anyway.

  I tense my jaw, the handle of the knife hard in my palm now as I slowly inch my hand from beneath the pillow.

  “I know you think I’m some kind of traitor or backstabber. Hell, Draco thinks I could be too. I don’t know why he stopped trusting me out of nowhere. I used to be his right hand man. Now? Well, I’m more like his errand boy.”

  My eyebrows draw together when he places the book down.

  “What I wish he would understand is that I’m not my father. To be honest, I never liked the son-of-a-bitch. He was arrogant and got what he deserved from Draco. I’m sure you know the story.” He waves a hand, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “I would never betray Draco. He may not think so, but he’s still like a brother to me. He was all I had growing up and he’s saved my life more times than I can count. I don’t care about being a fucking Jefe or the king around here. All I care about is the money. When it comes to my life, family is first. Power? That means nothing to me, but it means everything to Draco and sometimes that is his downfall. I’ve told him letting that power get to his head might kill him one day. He always tells me he’s not afraid of death. I’m sure he’s not. Fucker isn’t afraid of anything.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” I ask, scanning him suspiciously.

  He shrugs, staring down at the book. “He likes you. Too much. That’s not usually something I can say about Draco to a woman.”

  I ease up on the pocketknife when he looks into my eyes, earnestness filling them.

  “I don’t know how you got under his skin, or how you got him so wrapped up around your finger, but if I were you, I wouldn’t fuck that up. Do you know how hard that is to come by? Getting Draco to do whatever you want him to do? That shit is fucking hard, believe me. Unless you are his mother, it doesn’t happen. Even with my aunt, he’s not always so lenient. If I would have smashed that sandwich on his expensive table he would have cut off several of my fingers for it. But not Gianna Nicotera. No,” he shakes his head with a light laugh. “Not you, little rebel.”

  I swallow hard, unsure of what to say.

  He holds my gaze for a few seconds before placing the book beside him. His eyes drop down to my lips and I frown when his chest comes forward. His eyes, they’re still connected to my lips, his hands gripping the edge of the daybed as he slides in closer.

  I snatch out the knife and flip it open before he can get too close. The edge of the blade lands right at the center of his throat, right below his Adam’s apple, and he freezes, but that doesn’t stop the deep chuckle from bubbling inside him.

  I bare my teeth, leaning closer. “Back. Off. I’d hate to kill you and then have to explain it to your cousin, or worse, Mrs. Molina.”

  He holds his hands in the air, playing innocent. I keep my hand leveled, ready to slice at any time, if need be.

  “Whoa, calm down, Nicotera. It was just a test.” He draws back completely, but I keep the point of the knife aimed at him. “You like him just as much. Crave him, don’t you?”

  I don’t have an answer for that question, so I say nothing. Do nothing.

  “Yeah,” he says, grinning. “You do. The answer is written in your eyes. You can’t hide it. You like that twisted fucker, probably a little too much. Even after all the shit he did to you. I guess that’s a good thing. Someone who can handle the havoc he causes. If you would have let me kiss you, I would have had to tell him. Or I would have had to kill you myself.” He flashes one of his sharp, smug smiles.

  I frown, wondering deep down if Draco told him to do this? But why would he? He doesn’t want Thiago anywhere near me. Draco is too selfish to even think about sharing me in any way.

  Thiago is just a prick. He’s full of himself, for sure, and I’m certain he probably would have told Draco if I’d done something. He’s just as intimidated by me as everyone else. Good.

  I guess it’s better to try and get rid of me altogether than constantly have to face me.

  “Go
, Thiago,” I demand, voice low.

  He holds his hands in the air innocently. He stands and walks backwards, toward the winding staircase. “I’m gone. No problem.” He sighs, dropping his hands. “But before I go I have to ask . . . are you going to tell him about this? My little test?”

  “Should I?” I quirk a brow, folding my arms.

  “Only if you want me to die.” His upper lip quirks up. “You’re thinking he sent me in here to do this. No, he didn’t. Even if you’d done something, he would have beaten my ass for it, but he would have believed me. I always bring proof.” He grins.

  I roll my eyes. “For the sake of your life, no, I won’t tell him. There’s no point. It was a stupid test. It didn’t work, and now I’m over it.”

  He grins again, pointing a wagging finger at me. “I like the way you think.”

  I stand up. “Get out.”

  He laughs, that annoying laugh that can get under anyone’s skin, picking up his book and then taking off. I watch him from the railing upstairs as he makes his way to the door. Before he can go, I call after him.

  He peers back, meeting my eyes.

  “Why does Patanza hate you?” I ask.

  He turns completely, this time with a full-blown, cheesy grin plastered on his face. “She hates me, huh?”

  I nod subtly.

  “Long story short . . . she got drunk during one of her first nights here, was all over me at a party and wasn’t doing her job. Draco told me it was okay to be with her, just as long as I protected myself. He didn’t want one of his best guards getting pregnant. So, of course I fucked her. Out by that dirty ass shed in the back. Shit, she was so fucking loud. She was a good fuck, too. Rode me like she was riding a fucking bull.”

  I grimace a little.

  “The next morning she sees where we are—we passed out outside the shed—and she told me I took advantage of her. She said she never would have done anything with me. She said she was going to tell Draco that I raped her.” He scoffs. “Good thing I recorded it, huh? I wore a camera that night. I always do to parties and on my shipment runs. Sometimes just for the hell of it.” My eyes stretch wide. I realize he must have been wearing one the night I freed Henry. It’s how Draco knew for sure it wasn’t him. He filmed it all. He had proof. He’s probably wearing one now. “She saw the tape, begged me to delete it, but I said no. It was my proof, just in case Draco didn’t believe me, or might have thought she changed her mind. She’s hated me ever since, all because she was ashamed that I, the annoying cousin, let her fuck me like the animal she is, and all the other guards found out. I’m hoping one day she’ll get over it, though. Would be nice to have some of her pussy again. She’s aggressive as hell. Drained my balls good and dry that night with her mouth and her pussy.” He laughs out loud, and it sounds more like a snicker. “What you should know about me is that I always, always have proof, Nicotera. You have to have it when it comes to working for ‘The Jefe.’” He makes air quotes with his empty hand. “Remember that.”