by Peyton Banks
He hated it when Max was right. That smug bastard was never going to let him forget it.
Nico knew he’d fucked up by walking out. His anger and disbelief had boiled over when it seemed Vini was losing faith in him. He couldn’t accept that she no longer trusted him. His chest tightened when she’d told him she didn’t believe he loved her anymore. She’d doubted him, he tried to explain, and no matter what he said, her mind didn’t change.
It felt as if she’d hated him, and that’s what broke him. It had been the way she’d looked at him that made him leave his home. Seeing a look of hatred and derision in her eyes as she’d glared at him that night had torn his heart in two. Sure, he could have stayed and begged, pleaded for her to believe him, but a man’s pride can only take so much.
He and Vini were different. Or so he thought. She knew this life. Had lived this life with him for years. That she’d begun to question him and the shit he had to do; it tore at him. Ripped his heart right outta his chest. If anyone should trust him, it should be her.
While the pain was still there, he was no longer willing to live a half-life without her. Outside of this house, he’d still be the man others feared. Inside their home, with Vini, he’d be whatever she needed him to be, as long as she loved him again.
Walking into the bright kitchen, he stopped when he saw her curvy form. Licking his lips, he held himself back from going to her. With everything going on between them, he knew she wouldn’t appreciate that shit at all. Watching as she moved around the large space, the music gave just enough background noise to mask his entrance into the house.
On a normal day, he’d be pissed she’d allowed herself to get caught off-guard like this. Since the front door had been locked, he’d let this pass for now.
Everything about her drew him in. She’d been the only woman for him his entire adult life. Women tried to come at him, throwing their pussy at him left and right. But he had no desire to catch any of it. The only woman he wanted to sink his dick inside was standing in front of him.
He could stand here all day watching her dance in her bare feet to her favorite music. Long, thick hair swayed from side to side as her body rocked to the rhythm. Her lush, thick ass encased in those booty shorts he loved so much.
His dick thickened with need. He’d been without her for too long. Beating his own meat wasn’t working anymore, and he sure as hell wasn’t gonna let another woman get close to him. If Vini ever found out he’d stuck his dick inside someone else, he was positive it would be the last thing he did.
He thought about those dark brown legs wrapped around his waist as he stroked deep in her body. Just thinking about her wet pussy sucking him in, clenching around his dick had him wanting to rip those clothes off her body. His mouth watered as he thought about licking her pussy juices straight from the source. The last time they made love was right here in this kitchen. Her moans and screams as he stroked deep inside her body were the sounds that lulled him to sleep at night while he’d been away from her.
Adjusting himself in his pants, he tried to focus on the matter at hand. His woman was denying him, pushing him away, and that wasn’t working for him anymore. Motherfuckers cowered in his presence on a daily basis. But this little feisty ass woman gave him hell like no one else.
“Vini.” When she didn’t answer, he took a few steps closer, continuing to call her name louder the closer he got. “Vini!”
A scream escaped her mouth as she turned. Surprise, sur-fucking-prise, his woman had a damn blade in her hand ready to cut his throat.
“Whoa,” he yelled, moving to the side. Grabbing her wrists, he pushed it away from their bodies. “What the fuck, Vini?”
“Holy shit! Nico. You scared the hell outta me. I could have stabbed you.” Switching the knife to her other hand, she placed it on the counter. “You know better than to sneak up on me like that.”
“I guess I do, but damn girl. I’ve been calling your name. You didn’t hear me?”
“Clearly not,” she snapped.
If she knew how much her attitude turned him on, she’d stop that shit right now. Grabbing her tighter, he pulled her body close to his. “You know there ain’t no way you’d cut me, so stop with the attitude.”
Her eyebrow lifted, and a small smile came over her face. “You don’t think so? Fucking try me.” Pulling her upper body back from his, she looked away from his face. Staring out the kitchen window facing the backyard, he could tell she was trying to avoid his gaze. “Why are you here, Nico? This isn’t your home anymore. You left me. Remember?”
Choosing to ignore her threats to do him harm, he tackled the easiest question. “I would never leave you. You know this, Vini, so why don’t you cut the bullshit. Your mistrust of me is what caused our issues.”
6
Nico
Anger flared in her eyes and he welcomed it. They needed to settle shit between them, and he’d decided today was the day. She twisted her body out of his grasp, taking a step away from him. “You walked out of our home. You gave up on us. You just left me to deal with everything on my own. How was that supposed to make me feel?”
Sighing, he counted to ten before losing his temper. She’d seen him upset but it had never been directed at her. This situation between them was quickly becoming a breaking point. For both of them.
“How do you think I felt when you didn’t trust me? Why the fuck would I ever want another woman when I have you? Do you really think Max would let that shit fly? Do you think I’d even look at another woman when I’ve loved you almost half my life? How do you still doubt my love for you, Vini?” At this point, they were both yelling. The situation was getting out of hand.
Rubbing a hand down his face, he shook his head. This argument was getting old. Unbuttoning his coat, he placed his hands on his hips, staring at the only woman in the world with the power to unman him.
“Baby, you let the game get to you. You know how this works. Hell, we practically invented the damn rules. These mothafuckas out here want to break us down and pull us apart. They don’t know we’re married. They just think we’re fuckin’. All these bitches know you’re my number one. That nothing can come between us, and hasn’t come between us, for all these years.”
Pacing the floor, Vini was too close to the blade resting on the counter. Nico wasn’t a fool. His wife could be vicious when she wanted to. He didn’t think she’d ever actually hurt him, but he wasn’t willing to test that theory quite yet.
“And that fact alone should have meant something to them,” she yelled. “And to you! I still don’t know why you didn’t let me cut that bitch Stella for sitting on your lap.” Disgust curled her lip. “You know I don’t play that shit, Nico. By you stopping me that night, you gave those bitches the green light.” Her eyes turned dark, and he saw true anger rise to the surface. “Don’t ever stop me from doing what needs to be done. Just like you don’t want me to forget the life we came up in. You should never forget who I am.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. At least now they were getting somewhere. “I couldn’t have the cops show up. It would have put too much at risk. You know this already. I explained it to you.”
“No,” she put up one hand, while placing the other hand on the counter, the knife a little too close for his comfort. “That’s not what the fuck you said that night. Do you remember what you said to me, Nico?”
He did, and that shit was going to tear at him for the rest of his days. Forgiveness for those words would not be coming anytime soon. Rubbing a hand down his face, he sighed deeply. “Baby, listen to me.”
Talking over him, she continued, “Let me remind you, just in case you forgot. And I quote, ‘Don’t do this right now. You can’t come up in here acting crazy all the damn time. Just leave Stella alone and go home, Baby.’ Those were the words you said to me before asking Jonesy to make sure I got home. You kicked me out. In front of our business associates, and those skanks who’ve wanted to take my place for too damn long. You did that, Nico.
”
“I needed to play the role,” he tried to explain again but knew his words were useless. The look in her eyes that night when he said those words to her would never be forgotten. He’d called her out in front of everyone, friends and enemies alike.
Shaking his head at how stupid he’d been, Nico knew that woman had no right sitting on his lap. If the roles had been reversed, nothing would have stopped him from putting a bullet in the head of any man who’d tried to approach Vini like that. That he’d taken that away from her was not okay. If she’d done the same to him, it would be unforgiveable. Yet, here he stood, asking her to forgive him for the one thing he swore never to do.
“Those were your words to me, Nico. Your wife. Even if no one else knows, you and I know. You made me look like a fool. Treated me like I was some chick from around the block who needed to stay in her place. Not the woman you’d been with for sixteen years. Not the woman you’d married and pledged your life to.” She paused, gathering her breath. Wisely, he chose to stay silent. “Nor did you treat me like the woman who’d been pregnant with your child. The woman you promised to always treat like a queen. No. You didn’t treat me the way I deserved that night. Instead, you allowed that woman to curl her fucking lip up at me as if she’d just stolen my man right out from under my nose.”
Dropping his head, he now understood why Vini had been so upset. Why he was still trying to claw his way back home. But no matter how things looked, she should have trusted him. He’d never betray her. “Baby…” he began, but she cut him off.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Stalking over to her, he grabbed her hand that had begun gripping the knife as she took him to task. Removing the weapon from her grip, he pushed it aside as he moved them away from the counter. Wrapping his hands around her upper arms, he pulled her body close to his.
“Vini, I have never fucking cheated on you. I’d never let a woman come between us. What you didn’t see that night after you turned to leave was me walking away from Stella. After I’d told her to stay the fuck away from me. After I let everybody in that fucking place know that I’d just saved her life. That you would have slit her fucking throat without a second thought if you’d stuck around. I warned them all, that if any of them tried some bullshit like that again, I wouldn’t stop you next time.”
“I didn’t know that. You never said any of this.” The anger seemed to leave her the longer he spoke.
“I tried Vini, but you didn’t want to hear it. You had your own thoughts about what happened, and nothing I said was getting through. You were supposed to trust me. You let that shit tear at you. At us. It pulled us apart at the fucking seam in a matter of days. They’re always gonna come at the two of us, trying to rip apart our relationship. It’ll never stop. You know these women will do anything to make you leave, to push you out of my life.” Shaking his head, he turned to head upstairs. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her when she spoke.
“What the fuck was I supposed to think? You and I both know why you married me, Nico.”
Damn, this woman. She had no fucking clue. “Say that shit again and see what happens. I’ll take your ass over my knee right here and now. Our separation hasn’t changed a damn thing. Don’t ever question why I married you.”
Tears glistened in her eyes and he almost softened. Almost. He needed to get through to her. If that meant he had to tear through every doubt or worry she had, then he’d do that in whatever way was necessary.
“But you don’t have to be here anymore. You can be free, Nico. I won’t make you stay any longer.”
“Enough!” His yell echoed through their house. Her words broke something inside him. Anger. Hurt. Sadness. All those feelings rushed to the surface. Clawed at him to respond. Urged him to say something. How could she say that to him? This wasn’t his Vini. She looked like the woman he’d loved all these years but something in her eyes had changed.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed down before speaking again. “Stop it. You’re really pushing it, Vini. Don’t say shit like that. Nothing’s changed. I don’t know how many times I can say it.”
They both knew what it was. The thing that changed her, and turned their love into something she no longer believed in. He’d been a damn fool.
Nico had been so blinded by his need to vindicate himself, he forgot to focus on the reason all this shit was going down. He hadn’t thought to understand what made Vini vulnerable in the first place. Two years ago, they’d lost something precious, and while Nico had tried to move forward, Vini couldn’t. Her world had been rocked and she hadn’t found balance again. How could she?
They’d lost their baby.
His eyes became misty as he thought of the life inside her that had been lost that night in the hospital. He’d be damned if he was going to lose his wife as well. They were going to work through whatever the hell was going on with them.
“I’m coming home, Vini. I won’t allow us to be pulled apart like this. Not anymore. So, you’d better get used to me being back in our home. Whatever we have to deal with, we do that shit together. I allowed you to push me out of my home over some bullshit. Trust and believe, it ain’t happening again.”
“You need to remember your own words,” she said in a strong voice. Her arms were crossed over her stomach protectively. His gaze dipped down for a second before lifting back to her face. The hurt he saw reflected back at him from that motion needed to be addressed.
“We need to clear the air. Get our shit back on track. You don’t ever get to turn away from me again. From us. Now, I’m going to shower and change. Take that time to get used to the idea that your man is back home, and I’m not leaving again.”
7
Lavinia
Vini paced the living room floor. Anger, frustration, and something akin to relief coursed through her veins.
Was he really back for good?
Didn’t matter. What they had together would no longer work. Too much had been lost. Their bond had been broken. No matter how much he tried to pretend differently.
She walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water as she waited. For what, she wasn’t sure. Then the shower came on. Her shoulders relaxed. Her breathing normalized. Something about having Nico here gave her peace.
The feeling of calm wasn’t surprising. His presence always calmed her. Gave her soul a moment to quiet. For years, she’d been lived between two worlds. With Nico and Max as her foundation. Max, the brother who allowed her to do what she pleased, but always there to clean up if she made a mess. Nico, the man who sexed her so good, she never wanted to leave his bed. When she did, he was her protector, the one who tried to shield her from the darkness surrounding them, even as she soaked herself in the blood and tears of her enemy.
Finishing her water, she sighed. Looking out into the backyard, her lips tilted in a slight smile. The expertly landscaped backyard was the perfect complement to the people they were trying to emulate. Clean. Pristine. The total opposite of who they truly were and their daily lives.
Nico would give her anything she asked for. All she had to do was say the words. Without a doubt, she knew this to be true. Vini wanted him to have the same thing. She had it so bad for that man upstairs. There was nothing she wouldn’t give him. He wouldn’t even have to ask. If it were within her power to do so, she’d give him anything his heart desired. Wealth. Power. His enemies’ heads on a platter.
Her heart stuttered as she thought about their time apart. Ugly thoughts filled her head about what he was doing. Who he was doing it with. Had he forgotten about her. It had taken everything in her not to jump in her car every night and go looking for him. Over the years, she’d learned to control her anger, her need for the fight, and the craving for violence. When Nico left, that control slipped.
Voices in her head had whispered to her; goading her to find him. It wasn’t stalking if he were her husband, right? She’d wanted to know who was lying beneath her man. Or on top of him. And w
hen she slit their throat, she knew there wouldn’t be one ounce of remorse.
Whispers filled with madness and mayhem followed her daily. Rang out in the silence as she sat waiting for Nico to call or come home. At night, her dreams were filled with crazed desires. Visions of her face covered in the blood of those who tried to come between her and Nico repeatedly played in her mind.
Yet, now that he was home, none of that mattered.
She didn’t care if he’d slept with another woman. Well, she did, and if she ever found out who it was, nothing would prevent her from causing some serious damage. But at this moment in time, she wasn’t worried about it. She was just happy he was back.
Biting down on her lower lip, Vini made her way upstairs to the master bedroom. Last time he was here, he’d been shot. As usual, she’d put him back together, as he knew she would. It had taken him two weeks before he could move around on his own. Put on his clothes without breaking out into a sweat.
It was she who’d kicked him out that time. He hadn’t walked away from her, and had no intention of doing so. Not until she gave him no other choice.
* * *
“You’re finally getting better. I guess you’ll be leaving soon.”
Nico turned his head to look at her. They were in the tv room watching a movie. Nico had been on his phone all day. Max stopped by earlier to check on him, and more than likely to see how she was holding up. Vini tried not to show how much it pained her to say the words. They hadn’t talked about next steps with the two of them. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to beg.
