“I got your message, Gloria! I got it almost twenty times. You sent me to my death. They were waiting, just like you knew they were.”
“I didn’t know anything about this! Jordan told me about their plans. I just passed on the word to you. I was tryin’ to save you, Vinny!”
Gloria watched in horror as he suddenly charged at her. He reached down and grabbed her by the straps of her dress to move her to standing. She flew like a ragdoll with his mighty force. He threw her onto the bed, the mattress bouncing under her weight. She called out once more, “Vinny! You have to believe me. I had nothin’ to do with this!”
“Do you really expect me to believe you?” He straddled her and held down her arms as she let out a sob. He yelled, “Why in the hell would I trust someone like you, someone who makes their money connin’ others. Was I just part of the payout, part of your game?”
“No, Vinny! Please. I would never.”
“Why! Tell me why am I different. Please, enlighten me!” He was trying to taunt her, but he felt himself grow more earnest. If she was being honest with him, Vinny wanted nothing more but to know why he should believe her when she said she had no part in the ambush at the restaurant.
“Because…” She stared up into his face. For the first time, she saw the man who had protected her time after time – the man who had kept his promise to protect her every turn of the way. She stopped crying as she quietly said, “Because I love you.”
He pushed down harder on her wrists. Vinny had heard her clearly but the words had not set in. Despite this, he could not break his eyes from hers. They had softened as she confessed. The hard ice melted into tiny pools before him. A small tear rolled down her face, cutting through the black mascara lines.
He released her as he fell back on the bed beside her. After a long moment, he turned to her as she stayed in place, not daring to move. “I still don’t believe you.”
“I know, I know. But it’s all true. The night I left, I met up with Jordan in the parking lot of Jackman’s. Casey, the bartender, had heard info that they’d known about the Horsemen’s plans to stake out the quarry for Junior. When I heard that, I waited until I was out of state to send that email. I would have sent it earlier, but I, well, I just couldn’t.”
“And what about the stuff in the notebook?” She had a good, solid story, Vinny had to admit that. But he was still not seeing all the holes filling. “How did you get that information?”
“I was in Florida when I saw them. They checked into my hotel. I caught them wearing colors on their jackets. So I fled and they followed, and I think they called a caravan after me, as well. I passed at least twenty riders on the highway. I made it to St. Louis when they found me again. I was singing in this dive bar, Max’s Pub, when they came in. I drugged them, got them to bring me back to their hotel room, and I stole the info off their phones.”
“Gloria…” Vinny looked up at the ceiling as he shook his head in disbelief.
“Look! I took pictures of their phones—screenshots.” Gloria sat up in a shot as she ran towards where she had set her purse down next to the backpack. She came back with her cellphone in her hand as she scrolled through her images from that night. She continued, “I think you can see one of them in the background…Here!”
Vinny studied the small screen. There in the center of the frame was another phone, an older model that was banged and nicked up around the edges with buttons that were faded from use. The screen had a calendar pulled up. But something else about the photo caught his eye. Behind the phone and its schedule app, was a figure dressed in black. It unnaturally was slumped over a chair.
“See! See!” Gloria was practically giddy. She had proof of her actions, and Vinny couldn’t deny it. For his part, Vinny had little doubt after seeing the man in the image that Gloria was telling at least some part of the truth.
“Why did you come back? Why didn’t you just keep running farther?”
“I’m tired of tryin’ to get away from the things I care for. I want to be here, and I want to be with you. Whatever that means, for however long that lasts, if I’m gonna run, I’m gonna run with you. If that means puttin’ myself right in harm’s way, then so be it.”
Vinny sat up and looked at her with tired eyes. He placed his hands on her hips as he gently dragged her back down into the bed. She fell forwards onto him, her wet hair falling in his face, creating a canopy for the two. They both stayed still like that for a lingering second. Their breaths intertwined as they unconsciously moved their faces closer and closer to one another until their lips gently touched.
A heat built between them as they fell into a deep, passionate kiss. She dove her tongue deeper into his warm, salty mouth as she tasted every crevice of him. He used every bit of his remaining strength to sit himself up so he could hold her closer to his body. He pulled away at her wet clothing, letting the dress fall into a heap near the bed.
As she remained in his embrace, she used her free hand to unhook the leather belt around his waist and slid his pants down his waist. He kicked them off as she worked on pulling off the gray shirt he had taken from his hospital room partner. It was still covered in tiny shards of glass from the fall, and they left little slivers embedded deep in the sheets.
Gloria sat upon his lap, completely naked and unafraid of what was about to happen next. She had taken him before, but this was new. She had opened herself up to him, and it had brought her back to life. Her kisses were longer. Her touches against his sticky hot skin were softer. The urge that curled up every muscle of her body from her toes to her clit to her shoulders ached wilder.
Vinny could feel the difference. She had never been so urgent or fearless. He had taken the reins every other time, but tonight was hers to lead. She was careful, but commanding, as she pushed him back down towards the sheets. Her hands pushed off his shoulders to sit herself straight up.
He looked upwards towards the ceiling to see her brush back her hair and wipe the makeup from her cheeks. She inhaled softly as she moved one hand downwards until she found his hardened cock. She refused to break eye contact as she began to rub her palm slowly up and down against the skin. Her touch was magic as Vinny temporarily forgot about the stinging, burning pain where his stiches were still heeling. All he could do was focus on the motion of her hand taking him farther and farther into paradise.
His hands found work, as well. They curled up against her hips, holding on to the soft folds. He moved one hand slowly upwards from her bellybutton to her breastbone. The softness of her skin and the fragility of her bones were engulfed by his large, tanned hands. He rested his hands upon her breasts as he traced the curve of her bronzed tits. Her nipples turned to erect mountains as he continued to massage the skin and twist the pink tops.
She answered back by releasing her hands from his cock and instead finding his stiff hard on with her wanting pussy. He used his hands to prop himself up higher as she began to slowly sway and rock. Her hips twisted gracefully, tantalizing. He wanted nothing more than to take control of her, to force her to move faster, to bounce higher. But he wanted her to go slow. He wanted to feel every inch of her from the outside in. He wanted to need her like she had needed him.
Without warning, she stopped and spun herself around, not releasing her folds from his cock. She faced his legs as she used her knees to rock higher and harder. The sensation was totally unreal to the both of them. He had not taken a woman from this position before, and the new angle had made him regret not trying it out sooner.
Gloria arched her back as the back of his cock rubbed directly up against her clit. She wanted to own every bit him, and this was the best way to lay her claim. She moved harder and faster, grabbing his thighs for support. She rooted downwards and then rocketed herself upward, her head and chest following this motion. Vinny could only watch from his rear angle as she took control.
Each grew more in sync as the rhythm picked up. He reached up and grabbed for her hair, pulling it back in a ponytail for
him to hold tight to. She yelled out as she felt his tug and yanks. She may have been the rider, but he was not about to let go totally. Gloria knew that by the way his cock drove harder into her. While he had started with abandoned control, he was now moving upwards and downwards with her, both falling into a spiral, neither knowing what was on the other end.
A rush of blood came to Gloria’s head as she lost her breath and her consciousness altogether. She wanted to cry out, to scream, to burst. She wanted to sing. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, and he was giving it to her wrapped up like a present.
She fell into him, his member still vibrating inside. He wasted no time flipping her to her back and lifting her legs straight above her head. She was too tired to protest as he dove his cock into her. He pounded her unearthly fast. Her legs broke from the pressure and speed and rested lazily upon his shoulders. She could feel him collapsing with each fast, quick stroke. His face contorted and reshaped as he felt the familiar release. Every bit of life and love and happiness spilled out of him into her.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
“Wake up.”
Gloria heard a loud voice coming from the door. It startled her as she stirred from a restful sleep. “Wake up, Gloria,” the disembodied voice repeated.
She moaned audibly. After so many days on the road and in fear that she would be captured at any moment, she wanted nothing more than to just sink in the folds of Vinny’s king-sized bed.
Gloria attempted to roll over to stretch her arms outwards towards where Vinny stood. But she found herself stuck. Her arms were stuck above her head, and her feet were pushed unnaturally together. She tried to spin out of the position, but a long piece of rope kept both her feet and arms in place to the bed.
Her eyes opened up in terror. She looked around the room for her captor, the Devil that finally had gotten to her. Gloria called out instinctively, “Vinny! Vinny!”
To her surprise, Vinny did answer. “I’m right here.” He was serious, almost stern. She wrapped her head to the doorway where he stood with his arms crossed across his chest. He was watching her expressionless. The rest of the room was completely empty. There were no Devils riders. No guns to anyone’s head. It was just Gloria and Vinny looking at one another in complete confusion.
A picture came to Gloria as she asked him, “What are you doing, Vinny? Unite me.” Her voice was teasing. After the night they had, she could not imagine he would want to do much more than rest next to her.
“No.” Vinny again remained motionless. His voice was void of humor or play.
“C’mon. If you’re into this, that’s great, but you can’t let me just lay here all morning.” Gloria turned her naked hips to point at him. She flashed him her curves and flesh, still pink from the lovemaking.
“You’re not staying there. You’re coming with me. I’m just waiting for a phone call back. Until then, shut up or I’ll have to gag you.”
“Gag me then, sweetie.” She smiled revealing the bright white teeth she gritted.
“I don’t want to do that.” He put his arms down as he looked towards the floor and his boots. “You don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Obviously not. Enlighten me, Vin.” Gloria attempted to shrug as she watched him walk closer to her.
His slow footsteps dragged on the carpet. He sat next to her on the bed and looked towards the empty walls. “I don’t believe you.” He said it softly. “Your story just doesn’t work, Gloria. I got my orders. Leadership wants you taken in.”
Gloria’s face dropped almost instantly. Her tan skin turned pale as her eyes widened in fear. She shook her head as her body began to tremble slightly under the strain of the rope pulling at her limbs. She began to shout at her captor, “Why, Vinny! What the fuck! You were supposed to protect me. That was the deal!”
“I’m breakin’ it, just like you broke it when you ran to the Devils. No one else could have played it better than you. You gave me that info that could have gotten me killed. Now I’m supposed to believe you conveniently got back to help me and the Horsemen?”
The thoughts had been running through Vinny’s head the entirety of the night. Gloria had fallen asleep quickly on his chest. He studied her body carefully, as if it was, yet again, the last time he would see her. She was still glistening from the rain outside as the moisture reflected off the glow of the full moon shining through the window.
She had said she loved him. She had told him like it was her last confession, her last chance. And maybe it was. Maybe this was part of her next play. Maybe this seduction was just another tactic to get back to him. The possibilities flew past him one by one.
And in each case, the idea of her truly loving him seemed insignificant compared to the probability that she was working with the enemy. After all, what was love to someone like him or Gloria? It was a feeling totally reserved for fairy tales and children. It didn’t exist in their world. No one had time to feel that much and that hard. Emotions like that only led to pain like the one that the Devils and Gloria had planned for him.
After several hours of playing each of his next moves out, he settled on the one that made the most sense to him: Gloria had to die, and he had to do it, as he requested, in the presence of Benni for confirmation. In the earliest morning hours, he ran to his utility closet, took out a slack of rope he had used to tie up his bike, and waited until the sun shone.
As she began to stir, Vinny tied her up tight to the bed. As he tied the last knot above her head, he leaned over to where her head had fell to the side. Her wild, tangled mess of a hair covered her eyes and forehead. Without thinking, he used his fingers to softly push the strands behind her ears. His touch caused her to turn her head towards his hand so that he cupped her cheek and jaw. The smooth, warm breath traced his wrist and palm.
He set her head back down on the bed and moved back to his place in the doorway. It would not be long now. She would be gone forever. And if that was to be their last touch, that was perfect enough for him.
Now that Gloria understood her fate, she had no choice but to fight it. Vinny was so resolved, so convinced this was the right choice. She screamed, she fought; she twisted and pulled with all of her force against her binds. But he just watched over her until the phone in his jean pocket began to vibrate.
He walked out of the room and into the hallway. Gloria continued to thrash against the ties, but she had quieted. She wanted to hear everything that was to come to her. She knew that if she knew the truth, she would be more motivated to break out than ever before.
“Benni?” Vinny was relieved that his leader had finally gotten back to him. He had messaged Benni almost three hours earlier when he had first tied Gloria to the bed. It was not like him to take his time on answering one of his men back, especially with a situation like this.
“Yeah? What’s goin’ on?” Benni was unusually short. He barked at the phone as if he had a million better things to do than to listen to Vinny.
“It’s Gloria. She came back last night. I’ve got her here at the apartment with me.” Vinny was not sure if he should make himself come off as excited or elated. What he actually sounded like was more of resigned solemnness.
The other line paused. Vinny could faintly hear the voices of others in the background. They whispered quickly back and forth until Benni returned, “What do you mean Gloria’s back?”
Vinny was taken aback. This was a man that had just commanded him to return Gloria to him as soon as he could without any questions asked. Now he sounded more suspicious and weary. Vinny started from the beginning, “She showed up at my door with this story that she had ran to Florida, or something, and that the Devils sent out scouts to find her. She managed to get some information and was back.”
“Hmmm.” Benni was giving nothing away. “Bring you and her in. We’ll talk about this later.”
“What ti—“ A loud bang from the other end of the receiver stopped him. He shouted back, “What the fuck was that?”
He listened to the sound of rustling and shouting. Whatever was happening in the background was a blur of shouts and hollers. He could hear Benni in the distance shout some profanities aggressively, but his voice got farther and farther away from wherever he had left his phone. And then, without another sound, there was a click and the line went dead.
Vinny was left wondering what had happened to the man on the other line. But before he could think more of it, he had to deal with his own emergency in his bedroom. Gloria had managed to kick herself out of her ties and was now working on her arms.
He held back a smile. She had managed to make an even bigger mess of his clean ties. But this wasn’t a time to find her endearing or to play it cute. He had one job left, and that was to get Gloria to Benni as soon as possible.
Vinny walked over to the bed and unhooked where he had tied her hands. Gloria’s body shot up quickly as she tried to spin herself off of the other side of the bed, but her legs were still bound to one another. She fell face first on to the carpet. Vinny picked her up by her arm and sat her back up in the bed. He picked up her still damp dress from the same place it was tossed the night before and commanded her to get dressed.
Don’t You Dare: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance Page 44
