I Thee Take: To Have and To Hold Duet Book Two Page 5

  I sit there to watch him. Before I can decide to do anything, he’s back with a lightweight dress that he sets beside me.

  “Arms up,” he says.

  “I can dress myself.”

  “Arms up, Scarlett.”

  I open my mouth, but he doesn’t let me get a word in.

  “I’ve seen you naked. Multiple times. Arms up.”

  I sigh, raise my arms high.

  He lifts the negligée over my head and tosses it aside.

  I band one arm over my breasts, the other casually across my lap to hide how naked I am.

  His expression darkens when he looks at me, focusing on the fist print at the center of my stomach before moving over the rest of me.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, eyes back on those darkest bruises. “I’m sorry I left you alone. Left you vulnerable.”

  “You saved my life. I know what you gave up in order to do that.”

  He sighs, softly grasps my wrists to put my arms at my sides, then reaches into his pocket to retrieve the rings. He has both the engagement ring and the wedding band.

  Lifting my left hand, he slides each one on slowly, differently than he did at the wedding ceremony. I realize he’s still wearing his. Did he ever take it off?

  “I promise to protect you, Scarlett.” It’s as if he’s making the vow now.

  His hands feel warm, safe. I look up to find his eyes locked on me, the look intense, carnal.

  I lick my lips as one of his hands slides to the back of my head. He draws me to him, our eyes open as our lips lock. The kiss, like his eyes, deep and intense. Like him. Like he’s laying claim. Possessing.

  I moan, I can’t help it. This feels different than the other night. He feels different.

  With his chest against mine, he pushes me back until I’m resting on my elbows. He draws back to look at me, eyes heated, face hot. He pulls his sweater over his head and is kissing me again, my back pressed into the bed now, his body touching mine, careful to keep his weight off me.

  He draws back again, hand sliding down my thigh. I hear the jangle of his belt buckle, then the sliding of his zipper.

  “Scarlett?” he asks me, one hand firm around my hip.

  I look into his eyes. Meet his dark, intense gaze. My heart is racing, my lips swollen, my sex wanting.

  “Tell me now if you want me to stop.”

  I swallow, every nerve ending alive as he shifts his grip to bend my knee, pushing my leg wide. It hurts but I’m hungry for him. I want it. I want him.

  “Say it. Say it now.”

  He’s at my entrance, him hard, me wet, the skin of his cock soft and warm.

  I nod, I can’t speak. And when he kisses me again, I close my eyes and wind my fingers into the hair at the back of his head. Inhaling his scent, feeling his power, I’m overwhelmed by him as he slides inside me.

  “Fuck.” It’s a grunt. He’s not kissing me now, but our lips are locked. I open my eyes to watch him, see his struggle as he takes my lower lip between his teeth and moves inside me, and I know he’s holding back. But I want him. I want all of him.

  “Hard,” I manage against his lips. “Do it hard.” I need it. I need it to know I’m his. Because I want that. God. I don’t understand it, but I want to be his.

  “Scarlett. Fuck!”

  He gives over to it then and I’m not sure it’s a conscious choice. He’s rough, every move of his body agony and ecstasy at once for mine. This is Cristiano. This is him raw. Naked.

  His thrusts are deep and hard and measured. He draws back to look at me, to watch me, his eyes almost black now.

  “I’m going to come,” I say on a cry, a breath. But before the words are out, I’m coming. Coming around him, coming harder when I feel him throb, when I feel the first release, when I know he’s coming, too, coming inside me. Filling me up. And I cling to him, nails breaking skin, knowing he can take it. Knowing I’m safe with him.

  Something has shifted. A metamorphosis has taken place.

  And I know we’re not the same people we were just days ago. Not when it comes to each other. We’re different. This thing between us, it’s different.

  9

  Cristiano

  I draw back looking down at her. Sweat trickles down my forehead and falls onto her cheek. She’s spent, eyes dazed, mouth slack.

  But I’m not finished yet.

  Taking hold of both her thighs, I straighten, stand to push her legs wide.

  “Cristiano—” she starts, up on her elbows.

  I shift my gaze from between her legs, to her eyes, then back. The room smells of sex. Smells of us.

  And I’m a man starved.

  I bend my neck, lean down to her.

  She gasps when I lay the flat of my tongue on her, tasting us together, tasting her. I lick from hole to hole then close my mouth over her hard little nub and suck. All at once, I hear her whimper, feel her fingers pull my hair and her legs quake in my grip. I keep her wide open and suck harder until she comes again. Her body bucks as she cries out my name over and over, breathless and panting.

  Only when she’s still, do I release her.

  Only when she’s still, do I bring my lips to hers and kiss her again, let her taste us together.

  Because tonight is our true wedding night.

  Tonight, is when I claim my bride. My wife.

  And tonight, I vow that if any man should touch her, hurt her, fucking look at her wrong, I will kill them. I will tear them apart limb from limb with my bare hands.

  10

  Scarlett

  I’m exhausted. When he lifts me, I don’t fight him. I have no energy left. He carries me into the bathroom, to the shower, where he sets me on the bench. He strips off his clothes and switches on the water. He tests it before turning to me, lifting me again.

  “Does it hurt?” he asks.

  Which part? My sex feels raw, but I like that part. The welts, yes, they sting in the hot water, but I want the heat. I still feel the cold of the ocean at my core.

  I shake my head. “It’s okay.” I notice his stiches, wonder about his shoulder. “I never asked you how you found me,” I say as he shampoos my hair, standing close enough that we’re touching at all times. I like it. Like him taking care of me like this. I’ll allow it for now. Just right now.

  “The man who rented the boat to them had a GPS tracker installed on it. Probably to be sure the boat wasn’t stolen. They found it this time, which is probably why they were changing boats. But I knew where they were headed from previous trips. I don’t know if they’ll still use the location but it’s a start. I have men on their way now to investigate.”

  “They ra…hurt some of the women in front of me,” I say, unable to say the word, hating the word. “Just used them like they weren’t human and then threw them aside, like you’d discard a used-up thing.” I see the face of the girl Marcus chose to punish because of me. I see her pain. I don’t push it away. I owe her that much.

  Cristiano’s jaw tightens. He switches off the water and reaches out to grab a towel. He wraps it around me before grabbing one to tie around his hips.

  “Did you see anyone else at the docks?”

  “Marcus and my uncle seemed to be in charge. Well, Marcus at least. My uncle worked for him, as much as he wanted to believe he ran the Cartel side of things. Not that it matters anymore. He’s dead.”

  “It still matters.”

  “There was someone in the car with Marcus, but I never saw his face.” I look away for a moment, thinking. Trying to remember. “It’s fuzzy but I think it was him who put his jacket on my shoulders. No one else was wearing a jacket at least that I remember. Apart from my uncle and Marcus, the rest of the men looked like thugs.” I look back up at Cristiano. “I was naked. He took me from the bath.”

  His eyes narrow infinitesimally.

  “You don’t remember if Felix was there?”

  “I don’t think he was. I’d recognize him.”

  He nods.

  I s
queeze the water from my hair as I step out of the shower.

  “How many women were there?” he asks.

  “Maybe a dozen. They killed one on the docks. She tried to run and one of the men shot her in the stomach.”

  “We found her. I took her to a local morgue. We may be able to identify her. Try to find her family at least.”’

  “What about my uncle’s body.”

  “Fish food.”

  “Good.”

  I follow him into the bedroom and watch as he steps into briefs and a pair of jeans before turning to take the towel from me. I stand naked as he slips the dress over my head. It’s thin, more for summer than now, but at least it doesn’t irritate my skin.

  “They were pretty young, some of them.”

  “Perverts like them young.”

  “I know.”

  He pauses as he slips his arm into a black button down and studies me for a beat too long.

  I clear my throat and glance away. “One of the women said they’ll be sold.”

  “That’s right.”

  “And that virgins bring in more money. They’d marked them so the crew wouldn’t touch them.”

  Although I see irritation on his face, he doesn’t reply.

  “Can we find them? Stop them from selling these women?”

  He breathes in deeply and takes hold of my shoulders. “You will concentrate on healing. I will take care of what needs to be taken care of.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That means you’ll stay on the island, in the house, and out of harm’s way.”

  “No. I’m helping those women. What happened to them is partially my fault.”

  He looks at me with utter disbelief now. “I’m going to guess math wasn’t your strongest subject.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “How do you get to this being remotely your fault?”

  “My brothers started this. My brothers and Marcus did this. I don’t even know how many people they’ve hurt.”

  “Your brothers. Marcus. Not you.” He picks up one of the containers the doctor left, reads the label and pops the lid. Two pills drop onto his palm. “Here.”

  “What are those?”

  “Painkillers.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. I see that it hurts. Take them.”

  “I said I’m fine.”

  “You punishing yourself won’t help them.”

  “I said no. Remember when you didn’t want anything when the doctor reset your shoulder? I don’t want anything now and I’m pretty sure that hurt more than this.”

  “Christ,” he mutters, dropping the pills back into the bottle and securing the lid. “Like I said, stubborn as a mule.” He walks to the door and opens it.

  “Like I said, as stubborn as you.” I walk out into the hallway. “I want to help them, Cristiano. I mean it.”

  “You leave that to me.”

  “Scarlett!” Noah appears at the bottom of the stairs and it takes all I have not to charge down toward him. Well, all I have and Cristiano’s hand around my wrist.

  “Easy, she’s hurt,” Cristiano tells him once we’re downstairs and I go in for a hug.

  Noah nods and tries to hug, but not hug me, all at once.

  “You can hug me. I want you to hug me,” I tell him.

  “You hurt her, and we have a problem,” Cristiano growls beside me.

  “Don’t listen to him,” I say, but this other side of Cristiano, this predator turned protector is strange. Unexpected. He’s a beast but he’s got a soft side. I like when it comes through.

  Noah squeezes me hard and it does hurt but I don’t care. In his hug I feel how young he is, how much he’s lost and how much he needs me, even if he tries to act like a man.

  “Aren’t you late for your lesson,” Cristiano asks him, checking his watch.

  “What lesson?” I ask, looking at him.

  Noah, looking guilty, shifts his gaze to Cristiano.

  “Self-defense,” Cristiano answers after a beat.

  I narrow my eyes. “You’re teaching him how to fight?”

  “Not me personally.”

  “Noah’s not some street fighter. He’s not a thug.”

  “Sis—”

  “He needs to learn how to protect himself, protect his family,” Cristiano says.

  “And how would fighting help in a gun battle? Because all the fights I’ve seen so far involve enough gun fire to call it a war.” It dawns on me then what exactly the lesson is. “You’re teaching him how to use a gun?”

  “He should already have been taught.”

  “No. I told you, I don’t want this for him.”

  “And I told you it’s been decided.”

  Noah slips away quietly as Cristiano takes my shoulders and walks me backward to the wall. Out of earshot of anyone.

  “Whether or not you chose this life, it chose you. You’re in it. So is your brother. Period. We have enemies, Scarlett. And right now, you and your brother are among the very few I can trust. The boy needs to learn how to shoot. For his own protection and for yours.”

  “He’s fifteen.”

  “Did you understand what I meant when I told you that Jacob was tipped off?”

  I stare up at him, feeling the line form between my brows.

  “Think. Who knew where you were?”

  “Anyone in your organization could know.”

  He shakes his head. “Only a handful of people knew of the existence of that house to begin with. Even my own uncle didn’t know where we were.”

  “So, you think it was the soldiers? They’re all dead. I think that clears them.”

  He raises his eyebrows like he’s telling me to think harder.

  “Alec?” I whisper but I don’t believe it. “He’s more than loyal to you. He loves you. I saw how he was when you were hurt. He didn’t betray you, Cristiano. He wouldn’t.”

  “Us. Betray us.”

  “It wasn’t him. I’d stake my life on it.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  Someone clears their throat. I look over Cristiano’s shoulder and see his uncle, David.

  Cristiano releases me and turns to him.

  “You’re all right?” he asks me.

  I nod but my brain is whirling, trying to make sense of what Cristiano just said. Of what he thinks.

  “I’m glad.” David replies but I wonder if he truly is. I haven’t forgotten what he did when I walked into his house.

  Just then I hear a bark and a moment later Cerberus turns the corner, Lenore on his heels.

  “That dog is as stubborn as his master,” Lenore tries to complain but I hear how much she loves both the dog and his master.

  Cristiano catches Cerberus before he can jump on me.

  “Easy, boy.”

  Lenore looks me over and smiles. “You look better than I’d expected. I’m glad you’re safe, Scarlett.”

  I don’t mention the welts and bruises beneath the dress, but bite back the pain as I bend down to cuddle Cerberus instead. Her gaze momentarily flicks to my hand, to the rings on my finger. I’m not sure if I see disappointment briefly on her face or if I imagine it. I’m not looking directly at her but when I do, she smiles almost proudly at Cerberus or me.

  “I’m going to go get some rest after last night,” David says. “I wanted to see for myself you were all right before I left,” he says to me.

  “Oh, thanks.”

  I see Cristiano’s expression of surprise before he masks it. “I’ll walk you out, Uncle.”

  “I hope you’re hungry for breakfast. Cristiano made sure I made anything you could possibly want to eat.”

  I chuckle. “I am hungry.” I follow her into the dining room, Cerberus padding along at my side.

  11

  Cristiano

  I watch her through the day. Hell, I watch everyone. I still have one question for her that I can’t make sense of myself. Well, more than one, but this s
he’ll need to answer tonight.

  “Walk with me,” I tell her after dinner. It’s a clear night, the moonlight silvery on the calm water.

  She was in that water, I think. In the dead of night in the pitch-black sea. I wonder if she thinks about it, too. It was sheer determination that I found her in there. If I’d waited another second, she’d have been lost. Bound as she was, she went straight down.

  I help her into her coat and button it up. Cerberus is already at the door waiting for his nighttime walk. I’ve been doing this with him for as long as I’ve had him. Only the location has changed.

  Cerberus leads the way, charging toward the sea without a care.

  “Be careful,” I tell Scarlett, hand on her arm to steady her when she trips almost as soon as she’s outside.

  “Do you like being here on your own? I mean on the island so far from people,” she asks.

  “I don’t like people. In case you haven’t noticed.”

  “Oh, I noticed.”

  “And I’m not alone. Lenore is here. I have soldiers and—”

  “Soldiers don’t count.”

  “Then Lenore is here. And Cerberus. I need to ask you a question, Scarlett.”

  I see her turn to me in my periphery and take my eyes off Cerberus to face her.

  “Okay.” She must sense the seriousness of it because she seems to brace herself.

  “He didn’t touch you. The doctor checked.”

  “What?”

  “Marcus didn’t violate you.”

  Her eyebrows nearly disappear into her hairline. “You had the doctor check?”

  I nod.

  “While I was unconscious? Without my consent?”

  I wait for her to process because yes, of course I did. Who wouldn’t have done that?

  “In what world do you think that’s okay to do?” she asks.

  “My world.” I answer simply and honestly.

  “Of course. You would. Why am I surprised?” She shakes her head, grits her teeth. “Why didn’t you just ask me if he touched me? Did that even occur to you?”