Back at the hotel, I ran Ana a bath, tipping in a generous amount of one of Ana’s products. It smelled fresh and fruity. It would be a massive improvement on the smell of blood and hospital-waiting-room that lingered on her at the moment. I put her shampoo and conditioner on the counter before going back to check on her.
Ana sat on the bed looking despondent as the bath filled. I moved over to her and nudged her knees apart, so I could stand between them.
“Lift your arms up,” I said softly as I reached down to lift the hem of her hoodie. I peeled it and the vest top underneath off of her in one smooth movement. She eased her feet out of her trainers and I took a step back so that she could stand. She slid her shorts off herself and then completely naked, looked up at me, an impenetrable sadness in her eyes.
I sighed as I opened my arms and pulled her to me. She was safe here, but what had she endured at Ambrose’s hands? I still didn’t know.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked her, expecting her to refuse.
“In the bath,” she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper. Holding my hand, she led me to the bathroom. I stayed standing, ready to catch her if she swayed, as she stepped into the bath, then I took a seat on the bleached-cleaned floor beside the tub.
“What happened back there?” I asked gently. She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around her calves. The ends of her hair floated in the water around her, sinking slowly. For a moment, I thought she wasn’t going to answer me.
“The Belluccis. They paid Ambrose to try and kill me. Marco and Cassio. They met with him, gave him a gun, some money, and told him to get rid of me.” She didn’t look at me as she spoke, she just stared ahead to the wall. “The Belluccis played him and Ambrose hated me so much that he fell for their game. He was gonna shoot me, and I… I threw a knife at him,” she said with a small, sad shrug.
“You…” I was shocked that it had worked. She threw a knife at him? Stunned and impressed, I shut my mouth again and just waited for her to talk.
“I threw it, it hit him, he fell to the floor. Then… I pushed it in further. I wanted him to hurt, in all the ways I had been hurt. They’ve been using me since before I was born, and he hated me for it. Me. Not his parents. Not this shitty betrothal. He hated me!” She huffed out a bitter, angry laugh. “Some family, huh?”
“Some family…” I agreed. I was struck by the brutality of Ana’s attack. But it also turned me on. She had more fire in her than I could ever have predicted, and she was all mine.
“But, that’s it. That’s all that happened. I got Kaleb and Rachel out of bed, Kaleb had me call an ambulance.” She paused. “I could have killed him… just let him bleed out and die. But I didn’t. God! I am such an idiot.”
She absolutely could have killed him. And honestly, she should’ve. I wasn’t convinced it would be much of a loss but I kept my anger at his attempt on her life on a tight leash. I knew this would only draw the Valera family closer together. Now that Ana had left them, and Ambrose was the only heir, I wondered if this would cause ructions in the future… Now wasn’t the time for that line of thought though.
“I’m going to go and call Drex and the guys, you take as much time as you need. I’ll just be in the bedroom.” I got up off the floor then bent down to kiss the top of her head. I left the door ajar for her when I left the room.
I had taken my shirt off and was lying back on the bed, contemplating how this evening was going to play out when the bathroom door opened. Ana’s damp hair hung in gentle waves around her face as she walked towards me. She’d left the towel in the bathroom and the sight of her, the look in her eyes, had all of my attention.
I swung my feet off the bed and onto the floor as she walked over to me. She stopped between my knees and tilted my face up to hers. Her pink tongue darted out, dampening her lips. Her fingertips touched my shoulders and trailed down my chest, coming to rest over my heart. Lightly, she pushed me so that I’d lie back on the bed.
I knew what she wanted, I wished I could give in to her, but I needed to use the brief time we had together to worship her. Instead of lying back, I shook my head and got to my feet.
“Oh no, princess,” I murmured as I kissed her. “Tonight’s about you.”
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked as I spun us around and laid her down on the bed.
I chuckled. “Nothing that you won’t enjoy.”
I knelt in front of my Ana and dipped my head between her thighs. She sighed as I kissed her and then bent my head down further. I gently rested my hands on her thighs to hold her legs open, giving me flawless access to her clit and sweet centre.
A soft groan of satisfaction escaped Ana’s mouth as she lay back, looking up to the ceiling. Her fingers pressed into the tops of her
