“I wasn’t asking, pup.” His hands are in his pockets, but I can tell they’re in fists.
“And I’m telling you no.” Running my tongue over my teeth, I wait until his eyes snap up to mine to finish speaking. “Unfortunately for you, I don’t have to follow your orders anymore. Which means the next time Delaney finds her way to me, and she will, you can’t make me stay away from her again.”
“You will stay the fuck away from Delaney.” He takes a fractional step closer, hands pulling from his pockets. “She’s mine. She’s always been mine, always will be mine.”
I scoff, feeling my face twist into a sneer with his remark. “Always? I distinctly remember having her legs wrapped around my head, not that long ago.”
“You piece of shit.” He steps forward, intent on hitting me no doubt, but Duke moves from the corner with a low rumble, pausing his movements.
“Does it bother you? Knowing that I’ve heard that little sound she makes when she’s about to come. Seen how she bites her lip when she’s turned on?” I swallow the distance between us, spitting my hate in his face. “Does it fucking bother you that it’s been my name she’s moaned into the sheets?”
He reaches to grab the front of my shirt, and I shove him back, his fingers just barely brushing my chest. “I should kill you right fucking now.” He reaches for the back of his jeans but doesn’t pull a gun back, arm hidden behind his back as his eyes stay narrowed on my face with barely contained rage.
“But, you won’t.” I finish for him. Watching his jaw clench because he knows I’m right. “Because if you kill me, you’ll break her so badly she could never be yours.” His hand drops back to his side, veins popping along his forearms. “And that pisses you off even fucking more because you know it’s because she loves me.”
“It doesn’t matter if she loves you or not, pup. She’s in my bed every night, not yours.” His statement hurts worse than the blow of his bullet would have. A hornet sting straight to my heart. “And how do you think she’ll like hearing that her precious Jessie has been lying to her your entire relationship?” He smirks like he thinks he’s holding something over my head, pleased with himself. “I know you haven’t told her, because she tells me everything.”
He adds the last bit just to goad me, and it works. “And do you also tell her everything? Have you told her where you were when she needed you?” I pause, a smile painting my lips at his expression. No, he hasn’t. “Who you were with?” I bark out a laugh, pushing hair from my face. “I bet she’d love to know you were porking your secretary the entire time you were on your little break.”
I’m getting angry at my own words, remembering how broken my sweet girl was over this fucking puttana, when all he did was worry about getting his dick wet instead of being there to fix what he broke. He doesn’t question how I know, too proud to actually admit he did what I’m accusing him of. He doesn’t have to admit it though, we both know he did.
“Keep your fucking mouth shut about the Famiglia and me, and I won’t break our girls’ heart with the information.”
“There is no ‘our girl’ pup.” It’s practically hissed at me, gritted through his teeth.
“The way I see it, your secret is a lot more damaging than mine.” I resist the urge to step into his space again. Putting my hands inside my pockets to hide how hard I’m squeezing my fists. “I can recover from mine in Delaney’s eyes, but can you? All that trust you’ve been earning will be long forgotten. I don’t know about you, but from what I’ve heard about your relationship, being the best friend and all, I don’t think it could survive that kind of blow.” He steps forward but stops, eyes closing for a second as if thinking better of it. “So, she is in fact, our girl, and I’ll be treating her as such.”
“If you think I’m going to share her with you, you’re even more fucking stupid than I thought.”
“I don’t think. I know.” There’s a chilling silence between us, an ice in the stale air that collects the tension like crystals. “Scared Delaney might actually want me, Donatello? Worried about a little competition?”
“There isn’t any competition, pup.” He backs toward the door, dark eyes scanning me from head to toe, face painted with mock pity. “She already chose me, and she’ll do it again. She’ll choose me every fucking time.” His confidence makes me want to laugh, but I refrain, choosing to remain silent as he backs to the door. “Stay quiet, pup, or I’ll have nothing left to lose by killing you.”
He’s out the door before I can get a word out. Slapping a folder off my desk, I grip the sides, resisting the urge to yell in frustration. I fucking hate that he thinks he’s twisted my own blackmail, making it seem like he has the upper hand when he doesn’t. Gathering some nerve, I stand straight, reaching out to pet Duke who came to my side as soon as Donatello left the room.
It doesn’t matter if he thinks he walked out of here winning something, because we both know he didn’t. When shit hits the fan, it’ll be him under fire, not me.
“Come here, baby.” I jump at Donatello’s voice, almost dropping the cup I’m rinsing into the sink.
Setting the glass down, I turn to face him, smiling at my own racing pulse. “You scared me.”
He isn’t smiling though, his eyes brushing along my skin as he stands
