Vanessa was the first thing I looked at every morning.

I opened my eyes, and she was there, her beautiful skin bright in the morning light. Her olive skin contrasted against the white sheets. Her thick eyelashes were luscious and feminine. I studied her for a while before I turned her over and made myself welcome between her legs.

Evening used to be my favorite time of day. Now it was the morning.

Because this was how every morning was.

My arms pinned her knees in place, and I moved between her legs, greeted by her tightness and wetness. I woke her up slowly, watching her eyes flutter open as the pleasure circulated in her veins. She enjoyed sex the most when she was half asleep, when all her sensations were heightened. Her hands eventually pressed against my chest, and she looked at me with sleepy eyes.

Beautiful.

I loved the way she looked at me, with nothing but love, lust, and devotion. She gave herself to me despite all the odds against us. She told her brother I was the man she loved, told her father she wanted to be with me forever. She stood up for me in spite of the overwhelming obstacles in our way.

I breathed against her mouth and listened to her moan for me, her nails digging in a little harder as I made love to her slowly. Her moans became louder, her nails became sharper, and then she came with a moan that shook the house.

I came next, filling her perfect slit with all my come. It was how I started every morning, making love to my woman before I hauled shit all day. Her uncle and father refused to acknowledge my existence unless they were insulting me. It was tough work, especially when I could be doing anything else. But these mornings made it worth it, this time when we didn’t say a single word to each other. We just clung to one another, made love, and then started our day afterward.

I loved every morning.

We both showered so we wouldn’t smell like sex and then headed to the winery. We didn’t talk about her brother’s visit last night, probably because nothing about it was surprising. Conway hated me like everyone else.

Not exactly news.

We drove in silence, Vanessa sipping her coffee in the passenger seat with her sunglasses on her nose. She wore a red sundress today, low-cut in the front with her hair curled and pulled to the side. She wore a small sun hat, fitting in with the Tuscan countryside perfectly. This place was in her blood.

I knew the men who came to the wine tasting would stare at her all afternoon.

But they couldn’t have her—she was mine.

We arrived at the winery then hopped out of the truck. She was heading into a different building, so I walked her to the cobblestone patio and then peered down at her, tempted to kiss her.

She gave me a slight smile, knowing exactly what I was thinking. “See you later.”

I hated staring at her like this, staring at her like I couldn’t have her. No one was around, but I didn’t want to cross the line and piss off her father for the afternoon. He was looking for any reason to get rid of me, so I couldn’t risk putting him in a bad mood.

She moved her hand to my forearm and gave me a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah. See you later.” I turned away and let her hand slid away from my arm. I walked into the warehouse where the wine was filtered and processed. Wine was bottled and then the bottles placed in boxes. My job was to move those heavy boxes and prepare them for shipments. It was hard labor, but I was committed to outperforming any other worker they had.

They would never acknowledge it. But at least I would know.

I got to work and immediately worked up a sweat, the moisture darkening my neckline, underneath my arms, and along my back. Sweat formed on my forehead, but I kept working through the morning, knowing my woman was across the way, refilling wine for her customers. She looked beautiful in that red dress with her dark skin. Her mascara made her eyelashes thicker, and her eyeliner brought out the natural color of her eyes. I smiled as I thought about her, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

And she was mine.

Crow stepped inside the warehouse, dressed in all black. A pistol sat on his hip. He scanned the warehouse before he looked at me.

I knew he didn’t wear a gun at work on a regular basis. His toy was just for me.

How flattering.

I kept working, assuming he was looking for something else besides me.

Crow walked up to me, his muscular shoulders stretching his t-shirt. His black wedding ring sat on his left hand, the metal reflecting the sunlight that came through the windows. His dark gaze was on me, telling me had something to say.

I wiped my hands on my jeans then straightened, meeting his gaze with my own. I never knew what Crow was going to throw my way. He was unpredictable, keeping his thoughts deep behind his eyes. He had a great poker face.

Crow moved his hands to his hips, his hand dangerously close to his gun.

I was always afraid of the moment I was dreading, the moment when he would tell me to leave Vanessa and disappear. It was my worst nightmare. The longer I was with Vanessa, the harder I fell. She was such an incredible woman, so strong and so compassionate. She put up with her family’s hatred of me, but she somehow remained loyal to both of us at the same time. If she wasn’t such a good artist, she should have been a diplomat.

Crow seemed unsure what he wanted to say, because he kept staring at me like he was indecisive.

I wanted to start the conversation, but I was too afraid to come off sarcastic or cold.

Crow finally found the right words. “Come with me.” He turned around and left the warehouse.

I watched him go, wondering where he wanted to take me. I followed a second later, trailing behind him across the dirt to the first building that housed the restaurant and entryway. Once we turned down the hallway, I realized we were going to his office.

Which meant he wanted to talk.

Shit.

This could be it.

The moment he took away the greatest thing that had ever happened to me.

We stepped inside his office and shut the door, and Crow sat on one of the couches in front of his desk. He had a bottle of scotch on the coffee table along with two glasses. He rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the spot where he wanted me to sit.

I lowered myself across from him, my hands coming together. It was the first time I’d ever been nervous around him. Any other time, I was fearless, refusing to let any man intimidate me. But now, I was scared. Scared that this man had so much power over me. I told him I would leave his daughter if he asked—and I had to keep my word.

I just hoped he didn’t ask me to do it.

How could I wake up every morning without her beside me? How could I find another woman to please me and not think about Vanessa? How could I live a life without her light, her love? I’d never been dependent on anyone for anything, but now I’d become dependent on Vanessa for my happiness.

She was my whole fucking world.

I helped myself to the bottle and poured two glasses.

Crow didn’t take his. He kept staring at me, looking at me like he wasn’t sure what to say again.

Since this silence could go on forever, I started talking. “Don’t take her away from me. I’m not the kind of man who begs, not even for his life. But I’ll beg for her. I wasn’t a good man before we met, but she’s made me into one. She’s my world. I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m not ashamed to admit that I need her.”

Her father was just as stoic as before, looking at me like I hadn’t said anything at all.

I preferred his insults to this silence. I couldn’t read him—at all.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands for a moment. “I don’t like you. I’ll never like you. I don’t trust you, especially around my family. But…I’m going to try to accept you. I think you really love my daughter, and I know she loves you. So…let’s have a drink.”

I repeated every single word inside my head, treasuring those words like they were gold. He insulted me at first, but then he said what I wanted to hear. He gave me the chance I’d been working for. He gave me the opportunity to keep Vanessa. I knew that was hard for him to do, that his paranoia was warning him this was a terrible idea, but he was putting himself at risk—for this daughter.

“I’ve never really tried with you. I’ve been too busy insulting you. My brother punched you. The list goes on. So…tell me something about yourself. Something that won’t make me want to kill you.” He grabbed his glass and brought it to his lips for a drink.

I didn’t know what changed his mind—and so abruptly. Vanessa and I hadn’t done anything differently. I’d kept my head down and tried to be as nonthreatening as possible, and Vanessa was still fighting for me. Nothing seemed to have changed. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I said I’m trying to accept you,” he said coldly. “Never said I already had.” He drank from his glass again. “So, tell me something about yourself.”

There weren’t many topics we could touch. My childhood was off-limits, and my adult life was even worse. “I’m not that interesting. My life only became worth discussing when I met Vanessa.”

“Then tell me something about her.”

I grabbed the glass and held it between my fingertips, thinking about all the things I couldn’t say. Like the way her mouth parted when she came, the way her voice deepened to such a powerful tone when she exploded around my dick, and the way she whispered her love when I was buried deep inside her. “When she paints…she has this cute look on her face. Like, she’s doubting herself through every step of the process. She stops and thinks about the next place she’s gonna place her brush a long time before she finally commits, because she knows every move she makes is permanent. She’s not just artistic, but pragmatic.”

“She was always secretive about her artwork. She never allowed us to watch her process. I’m surprised she allows you to do it.” It was the first time Crow had said something back to me, a reply that wasn’t hostile. It was just a rebuttal, the second part of the dialogue.

“She doesn’t. I watch her when she thinks I’m not looking.”

Crow drank from his glass, his eyes on me.

“In her art room, there’s a large window that stretches from the floor to the ceiling. When I stand in the doorway, I can see her reflection. That’s how I see her face when she’s painting, the way she deliberates before placing the brush in the paint.”

He set the glass down then wiped his lips with the back of his forearm.

“She’s a very easygoing person, but when it comes to her artwork, she’s very serious. She cares about it deeply, but that’s not surprising considering how talented she is. I don’t know anything about art, but I know her art is…there are no words.” When we talked about Vanessa, our conversation didn’t seem so tense and forced. “What was she like as a child?”

“Selfish, bratty, a little know-it-all,” her father said bluntly. “But adventurous, beautiful, and strong. They said fathers push their sons harder than their daughters because they expect more out of them. That wasn’t true in her case. I spent far more time pushing Vanessa to be a strong and capable woman like her mother. Fortunately, Conway didn’t seem to care too much. He was ready to be a man by the time he was sixteen, ambitious, serious, independent…” He looked at his glass as he remembered her childhood. “I taught her how to fight, how to handle a gun, how to think critically …which explains how she escaped Knuckles. I told her to never wait around for a man to save her, not even me. I taught her to save herself.”

“I see a lot of her in you…and vice versa.”

“Not sure if that’s a compliment.”

I’d hated the Barsettis for so long, but spending time with them had taught me to respect them. They were honest, honorable, and compassionate. If Crow didn’t love his daughter so much, he wouldn’t be sitting with me right now. “It is. It’s the reason I fell in love with her in the first place. She has bigger balls than most men I’ve met. She stood up to me when men twice her size would have shit their pants. She didn’t hesitate to try to kill me, unlike most women. She’s told me off more times than I can count… I never knew that was the kind of woman I was looking for. Headstrong, confident, fierce…I respect her. She’s the first woman who didn’t just earn my respect, but commanded it. I see where she gets it.”

He picked up the glass, lightly tapping the side with his finger. “When I met my wife, she was the same way. Outnumbered and outgunned, she stood no chance at all. But that didn’t stop her from fighting. She put me in my place so many times. I respected the way she never stopped fighting. And I wished that my sister had been the same way…had fought harder and longer.” His eyes lifted up to meet my gaze, pain in his look. “I was close with my sister the way Conway and Vanessa are close. Conway looks after her even when I’ve never asked him to. They argue, but he loves her with all his heart. When I told him you were in the picture, he said his sister was amazing and deserved better, deserved the best. I wish I could tell Vanessa what he said, but he forbade me.”

“She already knows.”

He set his glass down, the condensation making a ring on the wood. “It’s been over thirty years, but I’ve never gotten over it. When my parents were gone, my sister turned into a daughter to me. As the oldest son, I became responsible for my two siblings. I was there when your father pulled the trigger. I watched the bullet enter her skull and spray blood everywhere. Her eyes had been on me at the time, and when she was dead, they just glossed over… It’s the kind of shit you never forget.” He grabbed his glass and took another deep drink. “Your father told me to bring twenty million, and he would make the trade—her life for the cash. I showed up and did exactly as he asked. He took the money and killed her anyway.” He looked at me, his gaze full of accusation, like I’d been present that very night.

We were supposed to keep the conversation light, but we’d somehow returned to our roots. “I’m sorry.” My apology meant nothing in this situation. His sister’s death wasn’t my fault, but as my father’s son, I felt obligated to right the wrong.

“Sorry for what?”

“My father wasn’t a good man. He did something unforgivable to your family. I can’t apologize for what he did because I wasn’t alive when this happened. But I am sorry for wanting to follow in his footsteps, for ever wanting to hurt your family in the first place. You’re good people…you deserve better.”

“Don’t kiss my ass.”

“I’m not.” I set my glass down and rested my elbows on my knees. “I think you’re blindly stubborn and need to let go of the past. I think your brother is a hotheaded idiot, and you’re the arrogant but pragmatic one. I’m not afraid to be real with you. But I do acknowledge the wrong my family committed against you. I never should have wanted vengeance. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn and narrow-minded. My father provoked your family in the first place. He’s the perpetrator, and you’re the victim. I see a lot of Vanessa in her mother, and knowing what my father did to Pearl starting to make me a little sick…” I took a long drink of my scotch and returned the glass to the table. “Now that I love a woman with all my heart, I constantly want to protect her. The idea of something like that happening to her… I don’t even want to talk about it.”

Crow kept a straight face even though discussing this probably killed him inside. “My wife is a survivor, not a victim. That’s not how I see her. That’s not how she sees herself. Would never want her to view herself in any other way.”

“When are you going to talk to Vanessa?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. My wife has made peace with the past. She’s been happy for a long time. To stir up those memories will just bring her down. It’ll be hard for her to talk about it, especially with her daughter.”

“I can imagine…”

Crow opened the bottle again and refilled the glasses. “Do you watch sports?”

“Occasionally. You?”

“Never.”

“Then what do you do?”

“I work then go home to my wife,” he said. “What else would I do?”

“Sounds kinda boring,” I teased.

“You think so?” he questioned. “Then what’s your day like?”

“I work in the morning and then…” My voice trailed away when I realized my life was the same as his. I immediately went to Vanessa, watching TV on the couch or making dinner together in the kitchen. My whole life revolved around her. There were no more parties or late evenings on the town. Everything else had been sacrificed to accommodate for the diamond in my life.

Crow gave a slight smile before he drank from his glass. “Look who’s boring now.”

“Yeah…guess so.”

He set his glass down. “I’ve talked to my wife about this situation many times. It’s all we talk about now. I mentioned the similarities between our relationships and asked her about it…asked if she would change anything. Her answer was no…that there wasn’t a better man for her out there. She didn’t have any regrets, any moments when she wondered if she’d made the wrong decision. She wonders if you’re right for Vanessa…and we just can’t see it right now.”

“I am right for her.” I fought for her every single day, and I wasn’t going to downplay my confidence. “I’m the only person man enough for her. I make her stronger, and she makes me the strongest man on the planet. I don’t come in a pretty package, but you don’t want me to come in a pretty package. I’m like a guard dog that scares everything off. You can sleep well knowing I’m taking care of her.”

He shook his head slightly. “I don’t feel that way at all.”

He’d insulted me a lot, but none of his taunts ever pierced me as deeply as that one.

“I’m constantly worried about her. My dying wish is to know my two children are safe. With Vanessa, I don’t feel that way. I’m afraid I’ve given her the foolish belief that she’s invincible. She thinks she can handle you, and now she’s put so much confidence in her strength that it’s become her weakness. She’s blinded by lust, and it’s clouded her judgment. I want to know my daughter is taken care of by a great man, not just someone who can provide for her and take care of her…but be good for her. To love her the way I love her, to care for her as the small woman that she is. That’s what I want…and I don’t feel that way about you.”

I could barely get the question out. “Why? You told her you want her to be with a powerful man, someone who can take care of her. I fit that bill perfectly. Nothing can get past me.”

“But you’re also a target. One of these days, something is going to go wrong. Someone is going to want revenge. An attack will arrive, and you’ll never see it coming. You won’t be able to protect her.”

“I’d die before I let anything happen to her.”

“And in this case, you may both die. The only way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to get off the radar. Live a quiet life with honest work. Keep your head down. Practice a life of peace and quiet. That is the only way to make sure she’s safe.”

It seemed like he was asking me to quit my job, the only job I’d ever known. It paid my bills and gave me purpose. It gave me an outlet to release my rage. Without it, I wouldn’t know my identity anymore.

“When my wife told me she was pregnant, that’s when I left that life. I told my brother I was leaving the arms business and focusing on my wine. Stepping away from crime and corruption was the only way to give my family the life they deserved. Karma came back for us, almost ripped us apart, and then Cane left his business and joined mine. Ever since then, it’s been nothing but quiet. It was hard in the beginning, but I don’t have any regrets. When I found out my son had been going to the Underground, I made him promise to stop and stay away. I don’t want to get mixed up in that lifestyle ever again. You’re the gateway to that. If you really want to be accepted into this family, you’re going to have to choose. If you really want to prove yourself to me, you’ll have to make that sacrifice. No way around it.”

Now the option was laid before me. I had to give up my line of work for the woman I loved. “I’m just the messenger, the neutral third-party. I get paid to kill someone. Nothing personal. My victims only care about the person who ordered the hit, not who pulled the trigger.”

“Grief does crazy things to people. You expect them to be that logical? If someone killed my wife, you think I would stop at the person who ordered the hit? No. I would go after every single person involved. If you really believe you’re immune, then you’re a lot dumber than I anticipated.”

“I would be able to handle anything that came our way.”

He sighed. “Your arrogance scares me more than your stupidity.”

“You don’t feel confident that you could protect your wife?” I asked incredulously.

“I do. Because I’ve removed myself from the possibility of threat. I don’t give people a reason to kill me. Therefore, it doesn’t happen. You, on the other hand, are making an enormous list of possible attackers. Every night she stays with you, I grow more uncomfortable by the second. When I was your age, I was arrogant too. I didn’t care whether I lived or died because I had nothing in my life so valuable. When I met my wife, nothing changed in the beginning. But as I fell in love with her, I realized she was the most valuable thing on the planet. Guns and bulletproof vests wouldn’t protect her. Only disappearing would. I made a sacrifice that was hard to make, but she was worth it. So tell me, is Vanessa worth the sacrifice? Because if she is, I’ll take you a lot more seriously.”

Now he’d put me on the spot, asked me a question point-blank. He wasn’t going to give me much time to think about it. I never wanted to leave my business because it gave me a sense of purpose, the way art gave Vanessa a sense of purpose. Every person needed something to live for. All I’d ever known was killing. It paid well, and it gave me a serious adrenaline rush.

He kept staring at me, not dropping his gaze until I gave an answer. “I asked you a question.”

“And it’s a pretty heavy question, Crow. I need time to think about it seriously before I spit out an answer. I don’t want to say something I regret, especially when I can’t take it back.”

“I don’t see what there’s to think about,” he said coldly. “You would either walk away from that life to protect her, or you wouldn’t. Which is it?”

“Vanessa would never expect me to quit working for her.”

“No. But I do. You want my daughter? Prove it. Prove to me that you’ll take care of her.”

My temper was rising, but I did my best to keep it sheathed. “I need money to take care of her.”

“You have more money than you’ll ever need. You can retire—we both know it.”

Looked like he dug into me pretty extensively if he knew my finances.

“You do it for your own personal reasons. You get off on putting a bullet in someone’s head.”

“Like you’re any different,” I countered. “You were just like me when you were my age. I’ve never been unclear about the man that I am, but you continue to sugarcoat the man you used to be.”

“I’m not sugarcoating it. I just don’t think it’s relevant.”

“And I don’t think it’s relevant for me because I’m not the same guy anymore. Vanessa changed me—for good.”

“Then quit,” he snapped. “Walk away. My daughter deserves a man who will protect her, not bring danger to her front door.”

I brought my hands together, my knuckles starting to ache from the anger in my veins. “I kill bad men, Crow. I don’t kill random men who don’t deserve to die. I’ve killed more sex traffickers than any country’s law enforcement. I’ve killed men who’ve beaten their wives or tortured their prisoners. I’m not a hero by any means because I’m doing it for the money, but it’s not like I murder innocent people.”

“Spin it however you want, it doesn’t make a difference. Once your feet hit the puddle, you leave tracks everywhere you go. One day, you’ll take the wrong mission and wind up dead because of it. I don’t want Vanessa to be caught up in the middle of that.”

I understood his request, but that didn’t make me want to cooperate. “I run the business with my boys. They’re family to me. We met on the streets, and since we didn’t have anyone else in our lives, we became brothers. Asking me to leave is asking me to turn my back on them.”

“I don’t give a shit. If they’re really your family, they’ll understand.”

Maybe. But they wouldn’t be happy about it.

“So?” he pressed. “What’s it going to be?”

“I can’t give you an answer right now.” I wasn’t going to give one until I was absolutely certain I could commit to it.

He gave me a disappointed look. “Maybe Vanessa was wrong about you.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t like it.

“She said you would give it up if she asked.”

“I haven’t given my answer yet.”

“Because you don’t want to give her what she wants,” he said quietly. “What I want.”

“This is unfair. No one asked this of you.”

“Because no one had to,” he snapped. “I stepped up. I did the right thing for my wife and son. I shouldn’t even have to ask you this. Neither should she.”

“She’s never asked me.”

“My wife never asked me. A man never makes his wife ask for anything. He lives his whole life for her, even if she doesn’t see the sacrifices that he makes.”

“Fine,” I countered. “If I walk away, are you guaranteeing your acceptance?” I wasn’t going to leave my business without that reassurance. It was time for him to put his money where his mouth was.

He drank from his glass, silent.

“I asked you a question.”

The bottom of his glass hit the table. “Don’t push me.”

“If you want me to give up one of the most important things in my life, I want collateral. You give me your word that I’m accepted into this family, and I’ll resign tomorrow. You get what you want, and I get what I want.”

He stared at me, refusing to give me an answer.

“What’s it going to be? If Vanessa worth the sacrifice or not?” I was turning his words against him, putting him on the spot and forcing him to make the hardest decision of his life. It was disrespectful and risky on my part, but how could I earn the confidence of a man if I didn’t stand up to him? I had to show him I wasn’t afraid to stand up to anyone.

“You’re the one proving yourself to me, asshole. I’ve already proven my love for my daughter a million times over. The fact that I’m sitting here, sharing my prized scotch with a man I despise, is more than enough proof. If you want my daughter, you have to earn it. You may be rich and powerful, but that’s not enough. Nothing is enough when we’re talking about Vanessa Barsetti, the most amazing young woman on this planet. I want to see more than you’ve given me, more loyalty, more sacrifice.”

“I’ve sacrificed everything for her,” I said between clenched teeth.

“No. Not everything. Not yet.”

Just when I’d made progress with her father, that progress was destroyed.

He seemed to want to accept me, but he also wanted to sabotage me. He was looking for any reason to get rid of me, to find the smoking gun that could banish me from his life forever. He wanted to prove to his daughter that he was making a genuine effort, but he also wanted to prove that he was right.

I wasn’t good enough for her.

It was a stupid point to prove because it was obvious. I never said I was good enough for her. No man was. I just knew I loved her more than anyone else, would die for her in a heartbeat. That was good enough for me.

I worked in the warehouse for the rest of the day, moving heavy boxes everywhere and making sure none of the precious merchandise fell to the floor and shattered. The spring had brought heat into the land, and by the end of the afternoon, my t-shirt was soaked.

I stepped outside so the fresh air could blow over my skin and lick away the sweat on my arms and neck. The view of the vineyards was as beautiful as the paintings Vanessa made. Her art showed me what she loved about this land, and I recognized the view she’d stared at so many times. I felt like I was connected to her, having stood in a place she stood before.

Footsteps sounded to my left, and I turned to see Mrs. Barsetti walk toward me. She had a cold bottle of water in her hand, and she extended it to me.

I gave her a nod in gratitude and took it, ignoring the pistol that sat on the hip of her jeans. She’d been carrying since Crow started to carry his. He probably made her do it, wanting her to be protected even if he wasn’t around.

But she obviously wasn’t scared of me. Her stupid gun wouldn’t have any effect on me if she pulled the trigger.

Mrs. Barsetti possessed youthful beauty that still made her a very pretty woman. She was slender with an hourglass figure, having a body that didn’t seem like it had given birth to two children, let alone a son who towered over her. She kept her skin safe from the sun, so her face and neck were still unlined and smooth. She had blue eyes as I did, something neither of her children had inherited.

I twisted off the cap and took a long drink. I consumed half the contents before I tightened the cap again. “Thanks.”

“Of course. There’s water in the break room. You’ve proven yourself to be an ox, so please help yourself when you need something.”

I worked myself hard, constantly trying to prove to the Barsetti family that I was built like a machine. I could go on forever, even if I got a migraine from dehydration. I could work ten times as hard as any other employee they had. My strength and endurance were unquestionable.

I waited for her to walk away, assuming she didn’t want anything to do with me. She seemed to be more understanding than her husband, but she was also more restrained. She basically told me she was only participating because she knew her daughter loved me.

Mrs. Barsetti brought her hands together as she stared at me. “My husband told me you guys had a long talk…”

“Yes. And it ended the same way all the others do.”

“I know you’re frustrated. You do a decent job hiding it.”

“It doesn’t matter how frustrated I am. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “I admire you for putting up with all of us. I know my husband and brother-in-law aren’t the easiest to get along with. They’ve both been very stubborn. It’s just how they are. And when it comes to Vanessa…they get a little crazy.”

“I get crazy when it comes to her too.”

“Yes, I know,” she said with a chuckle. “Why else would you be here every day?” She stepped onto the dirt path that moved down the hill toward the vineyards. “Walk with me.”

I was timid whenever it came to this woman. “I’m not sure your husband would like that. I’m trying to get him to like me…not give him another excuse to hate me.”

She patted her gun on her hip. “Don’t underestimate me. I’m an incredible shot.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Don’t worry, he knows what I’m doing.” She kept walking. “And he knows I can handle myself.”

I followed her, and we moved into the rows of grapes. She explained the system to me, how the fruit was harvested before it was processed in the warehouse. She picked grapes right off the vine and popped them into her mouth, not caring if there was a bit of dust on them.

I didn’t care how wine was made, but it was nice to talk about something else besides my worthiness of being accepted by the Barsetti family.

“That’s a quick tour,” she said as she kept walking. “I learned all of this when I started helping Crow at the winery. For the longest time, he wanted me to stay home and get fat, but I insisted I needed to be involved in something.”

“He wants me to stay home and get fat too.”

“I know,” she said. “But that’s a very different situation.” She stopped at one spot in the row and faced the rest of the fields as they stretched into a valley. “We’ve been growing the vineyards for the past thirty years. Now we have locations everywhere, and there’s more work that can possibly be handled. Cane managed the wineries in other places, but the work never seems to end. We always hoped Conway would take over, but obviously, he has no interest in it. Then we were hoping Vanessa would want to take over…but she seems more interested in artwork.”

“It’s what she’s meant to do.” I wouldn’t pity her parents for not having someone to pass their livelihood on to. Vanessa was so painfully talented that it would be a disgrace if she spent her time doing anything else. “I know she’s going to be huge someday, have paintings hanging in museums.”

Mrs. Barsetti stared at me, the corner of her mouth rising in a smile. “You really believe in her.”

“Absolutely. Anytime I look at her pieces, I feel everything she wants me to feel. That’s impressive because I’m not an emotional man. But she makes me feel love, beauty, peace, heartbreak…with just paint and a canvas. I’m sorry she’s not interested in taking over the family business, but her destiny lies elsewhere.”

“I know. Her father and I always dreamed both of our children would want the business so we could see them all the time. But of course, they have their own lives.”

“Vanessa wants to be close to you, whether she’s working at the winery or not.”

“Yes, I noticed that.” She smiled. “She was so eager to get out of here when she first moved out, but now she seems to miss her roots.”

“She does. She wants to settle down her and start a family. She’d live right next door to you if she could.”

She smiled wider. “You have no idea how happy that makes me…”

“You should hear the way she talks about you and Crow. She shows you nothing but respect and affection. Anytime I’ve ever tried to undermine you, she’s told me off for it.” I kept up my transparency, wanting them to trust me to always be truthful.

“I appreciate your honesty…”

“But I see why she feels that way. It’s a beautiful place, and I see the way all the Barsettis love her. She has a family, a community of people who adore her. Sometimes it baffles me that she’s still fighting for me even though her entire family hates me, especially when she could have another man in a heartbeat.” Vanessa could have any man she wanted. All she had to do was flash her pretty smile, and they would fall at her feet.

“Vanessa had never had an intense relationship with a man before you came along. Whenever she told me about the men she was seeing, it was with forced enthusiasm. There was always something about them she didn’t like, even if they checked out on paper. But when she met you…I’ve never seen her be so passionate about anyone. Honestly, you make me uneasy, but I trust my daughter…trust that she knows what she’s doing. She’s a smart woman and doesn’t put up with bullshit. Therefore, you must not be bullshit.”

“I’m not.”

She started to walk away. “You know how Crow used to be at your age. You know how our relationship used to be. It wasn’t a fairy tale. He wasn’t Prince Charming. But I fell so deeply in love with him that I didn’t have a choice but to spend the rest of my life with him. I’ve never had any regrets about the decision I made. I accepted him for exactly who he was, all the darkness and all the light. How can I tell my daughter to leave you when I didn’t leave my husband?”

I appreciated her bluntness. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“But I still feel a warning in my heart when I’m around you, like this could be a big mistake. You’ve wanted to kill me…” She turned around and looked me in the eye, like she was searching for my vengeance. “I killed your father…and you’ve wanted to kill me ever since.” She was challenging me, luring me out into the fields where we could speak openly about the divide between us.

I used to want to stab her the way she stabbed my father. This woman took everything away from me. My inheritance was given to someone else. My mother had to become a whore to support us. We were punished for a crime we never committed.

“Will you ever be able to look past that?” she whispered. “Look past what I did?”

Her beauty masked her coldness. She was a powerful woman just like Vanessa, the kind who didn’t show fear even if she was terrified. Vanessa got her strength from her father as well as her mother. I could see it. “I already have.”

“Because I’m not sorry about what I did. Your father did terrible things to me. He didn’t just rape me but beat me for the hell of it. He let his friends take turns with me then injected me with drugs to wake me up when I passed out from the pain.”

I flinched at the announcement, feeling pity for this woman even though I hardly knew her.

“He got what was coming to him, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I loved watching him die on the floor, his blood spilling everywhere. Ever since he died, I’ve slept like a baby.”

I held her stare, surprised I didn’t feel any rage at her words. Knowing the same thing happened to my mother had changed my perspective on women. I didn’t want them to be used for their bodies, treated like livestock rather than humans. I couldn’t rape Vanessa because of that reason, because it was innately wrong.

I didn’t want to be that kind of man.

“You did the right thing,” I said quietly. “You deserved justice. You deserved peace.”

She tilted her head slightly, regarding me with focused eyes.

“I’ve always been resentful of the life that was taken from me, the wealth and security. My mother would still be alive right now, and I wouldn’t have had to live on the streets. Losing my father wasn’t what killed me inside…it was losing my mother. And that never would have happened if you hadn’t killed him. I’ve been jealous of the life Vanessa has, having two loving parents and a mansion, along with a family business. But I’ve overcome my jealousy and pain…because your daughter completes me.” She kept the shadows out of my heart and sheathed my anger with her love. “I’ve learned to accept what I lost…because I have her.” I hadn’t said those words to Vanessa, that I’d become so pathetically dependent on her for my happiness. But she knew…I was certain she knew.

Her mother was quiet for a long time, examining me with a guarded gaze. She crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze tilted up. “I want to believe you…so I’m going to try. I’m going to try to look past my own issues and accept you as a new man. It’s not fair for me to punish you for what your father did. You deserve the opportunity to be seen as your own man. But knowing you’ve wanted to hurt my family…will make me suspicious of you for a long time.”

“Understandable.” That was more than I could possibly ask for.

“My husband believes you really love my daughter.”

It was the greatest compliment I’d ever received from the Barsettis, and it balanced out all the insults that had been thrown my way. The only reason I was there was because Vanessa was the only woman I ever wanted. I wanted her so damn much I suffered their judgments constantly. “I do.”

“And I want to believe you do too.”

I got inside the shower as soon as we got home, wanting to rinse off the endless line of sweat that had trickled down my body all day. I let the warm water rinse my body, letting it strip away the endless conversations with her parents.

I’d talked to them more than I talked to Vanessa.

I’d never been on a job interview, but getting along with her parents seemed to be the longest job interview in the history of time.

I stood under the water a few extra minutes, wanting the peace and quiet the falling water provided. My relationship with her parents seemed to be improving, but their suspicion of me hadn’t faded. At any moment, they could slam the door in my face and tell me to leave.

And I would lose Vanessa.

I hated allowing someone to have this kind of power over me. It would be easier if I just killed them all so nothing would stand in my way. I could finally have Vanessa all to myself. If I didn’t love her so much, I would be seriously tempted.

But she would never forgive me.

I stepped out of the shower and dried my hair with the towel. I was the kind of man who did the least amount of work possible when it came to my appearance. I only shaved once a week, and right now, my chin was getting thick with hair.

I walked into the bedroom naked and stopped when I saw the exquisite sight in front of me.

Vanessa was in black lingerie, something she must have picked up without me knowing. It was a bodysuit made out of thin lace, and it had a fastening between her legs I could open and fuck her through without taking the whole garment off. She was on her knees in the center of the bed, resting back on her ankles. A piece of black rope was on the bed in front of her.

Jesus Christ.

I slowly stepped toward the bed, my cock coming to life in a nanosecond. I stared at the black rope, the surface smooth so it wouldn’t leave marks on her delicate skin. I fisted it and tested the strength, loving the way it hardly stretched.

It had my approval.

Her hair was curled and around her shoulders, and her heavy makeup made her look like she was ready for a photo shoot. Her eye shadow was black, bringing out the intense green color of her eyes.

“Had a change of heart?” I glanced at the rope sitting on the surface.

“I think you earned it.” She spoke in a quiet and husky voice, her shoulders back and her nipples visible through the thin fabric of her lingerie. She grabbed the rope and wrapped it around both of her wrists, showing me the way the dark rope looked against her olive skin.

I was witnessing my own fantasy, watching this beautiful woman ask me to tie her up and fuck her relentlessly. I’d tried tying her up on several occasions, but she never went for it. “I haven’t earned anything. You don’t owe me anything.” I grabbed the rope and pulled it from her wrists. “I want to do this if you want to do this.” There were other kinky things I wanted to do, but I never pressured her because it seemed unlikely that she would go for them. It was the kind of stuff I usually had to pay for. Besides, having her in my bed satisfied me every night. There was nothing I was missing.

“I do. Now tie me up and fuck me.” She extended her wrists again, her eyes challenging me with their hard gaze.

A shiver ran all the way down my spine. Her voice didn’t catch in her throat, and her strength never wavered. She trusted me so deeply that she wasn’t scared of anything. She was giving me the power to do whatever I wanted, and she was confident I would take her somewhere she wouldn’t want to leave.

I tossed the rope back on the bed and grabbed her by the arm. I yanked on her hard, forcing her to fall forward onto the bed. I made her turn over, so she was looking up at me, her face upside down from mine.

I quickly tied the rope around her wrists, securing her hands together with the perfect amount of rope in the center for me to grab on to. I gripped it and pushed it down, forcing her arms over the edge of the bed and toward the floor. The ends of her hair hung over the bed and dangled toward the ground.

My face hovered over hers, my eyes close to her mouth. I watched her chest rise and fall quickly, the tension burning in her blood. She probably expected me to keep it vanilla, to playfully restrain her so I could fuck her quickly.

Not my style.

I pushed her hands down farther, taking all the power away from her. In this position, she couldn’t move at all. She tried to fight me, but at this angle, there was nothing she could do. She pressed her thighs tighter together, fighting both fear and arousal at the same time.

My mouth brushed against her cheek as I moved to her neck. I breathed into her ear before my lips finally touched the pulse in her neck. I kissed the skin, dragging my tongue across the softness, and then I moved to the top of her chest. The lace barely covered the valley between her tits, so I dragged my tongue down the cleavage line. I tasted her, feasted on her.

She took a deep breath, her body slightly arching to get more of my mouth.

I smiled as I kissed her, not surprised by her enthusiasm.

I made my way back down and held my mouth over hers, our faces opposite of one another. I teased her, dragging my lips over hers without actually kissing her. I felt her hands attempt to rise, but I held her wrists in place with a single arm.

I liked to torture her, to remind her who was in control.

Me. I was always in control.

I finally pressed my mouth against hers, bringing her bottom lip between mine as I sucked it. Whether she was upside down or not, the kiss was packed with explosive chemistry. I couldn’t barely touch her lips without losing control. My mouth moved a little faster, and I breathed a little harder. My tongue came next, and she greeted me with hers.

My hand moved down her body, right in between her gorgeous tits. I squeezed each one as I kept kissing her, touching my woman and worshiping her perfection. My mouth worked harder, and soon we were panting together, the fire burning in our veins.

She tried to lift her hands again.

I kept them pinned to the bed. “Don’t. Move.”

She sucked my top lip into her mouth. “I want to touch you…” She moaned in between my lips, filling my lungs with her desire.

“It’s my time to touch you.” I kept kissing her as my hand moved over her mound and in between her legs. My fingers unfastened the opening, and when her pussy was exposed, my fingers took a dip. I slid two fingers inside her and worked her clit with my thumb, kissing her at the same time.

“Griffin…” Her arms moved up again.

“Move one more time, and I’ll spank your ass.”

That only made her moan into my mouth harder. She rocked her hips against my hand, making love to my fingers the way they were making love to her. Her kiss turned intense, and she was reaching for more of me.

I felt her pussy tighten around my fingers and her lips quiver against mine. I knew what was about to happen, but I refused to let her slip away. I pulled my fingers back and stopped the kiss, leaving her breathless and frustrated.

“Griffin.” She pleaded with me with her eyes, begging me to keep going.

“You’ll come when I say so.”

She groaned in protest, and she used all her strength to raise her arms toward me.

This time, I let her do it, since I was going to enforce my punishment. I let her arms move up as her fingers reached for my hair. But instead of letting them hit their mark, I pushed them against her stomach and untied the rope.

Once her hands were free, she reached for me again, desperate to finally get her hands on me so she could enjoy me.

I grabbed her by the arms and forced her into a new position, her face against the mattress and her ass in the air. I pulled both of her arms back and tied her wrists together, being harsh on purpose because she’d disobeyed me.

And then I smacked her ass—hard.

“God…” Her body shifted forward from the force of my hit.

Her cheek was already red. “What did I say?”

She breathed deeply through the pain, moaning slightly.

“I told you not to move. What did you do?”

She didn’t answer.

I spanked her again.

She moaned and jerked forward. “I moved…”

I gripped the rope between her two hands and pushed on her lower back, making her bend a little deeper. Then I directed my pulsing dick inside her, pushed through her wetness, and hit her deep and hard.

She moaned again but didn’t move her arms since she was stuck in place.

I gripped both of her elbows and pounded into her forcefully, slamming into her pussy without a hint of gentleness. I usually made love to her because she asked me to, but now, all I wanted to do was fuck her. I loved my woman, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to fuck her the way a man fucked a whore.

My hand moved to the back of her neck, and I gripped her as I thrust deep inside her, my balls swinging back and forth because I was moving with impressive speed. The longer I fucked her, the more I was greeted with her wetness. I stared at her tight little asshole as I kept her wrists pinned to the small of her back.

I could do this all night.

A real man should always fuck his woman like this, make her feel how turned on he was. I knew she could feel how thick my dick was, feel how immensely hard it was just for her. I’d fucked a lot of women in my lifetime, doing kinky shit that was down and dirty, but none of those fantasies compared to this one.

Fucking someone I loved was so much better.

It made me appreciate her even more, the way she gave herself to me with complete trust. She was being treated like an animal, but because I was the one thrusting inside her, she enjoyed it. The top was so tight around her wrists that she couldn’t move, but she moaned through my thrusts anyway.

Such incredibly pussy.

Her fingers tried to reach for my hand, but they were constricted too tightly in the rope. She moaned with my thrusts then gasped for air when I fucked her even more viciously. Her face was smashed into the sheets as my hand pushed her farther into the bed, but she never asked me to stop.

I leaned forward over her, my ass tight from clenching so hard. This was exactly how I wanted to claim my woman, tied up and defenseless. I could enjoy her however I wanted because I’d earned her. She gave herself to me freely, knowing I was putting up with bullshit every single day just to keep her.

I earned this ass.

Her moans were muffled by the sheets, but her pleasure was undeniable. Her pussy tightened around me, coating me with mounds of sexy cream. She covered me to the hilt, making the white liquid build up around the base of my dick and behind my crown. Her moans echoed inside the bedroom and passed through the walls, filling up every inch of the house.

She slowly wound down, catching her breath as her wrists fought the rope that bound them together.

I slowed my movements before I shoved myself deep inside her, coming with a loud moan. “Damn…” That moment when I dumped my seed inside her made me feel invincible. I had this beautiful woman with her legs spread, taking my cock with enthusiasm, and she loved feeling her pussy stuffed with my essence. She loved me despite my flaws, loved me despite her family’s hatred.

I’d earned a damn good woman.

I wanted to keep coming inside her, to keep making her mine over and over again. I didn’t untie the rope or let her face rise from the mattress. I kept her pinned in place as my cock softened. I pulled myself out and watched my own come drip to her entrance. I stared at it, my cock hardening again in pride. Nothing turned me on more than watching myself claim my territory. This woman was all mine.

And I was all hers.