Page 60 of Brutal Vows

Time will tell if this is the right path, but I’m too cornered to make any other choice. I lift a trembling finger and point to the piercing with the double skulls. “That’s Chertnikov’s.”

Luca reaches for my elbow and gives me a soft squeeze. “Good girl. See? This is how we earn our freedom. Wasn’t that hard, was it?”

His words send a tremor through me, that double-edged sword of sexual innuendo I can’t help but react to even if the praise is for something totally different. He releases my elbow, and I immediately miss the warmth of his touch. I know I need to leave, but I’ve grown roots. Freedom and roots don’t go hand-in-hand.

His jeans drop, and his metal belt buckle clanks as it hits the tiles. The shower door swooshes open and the water turns on.

I’m in the bathroom. With my husband, naked in the shower, and there’s this current running through the room, daring me to look. I inhale a shaky breath, and as I look up, I catch him in the mirror. He has his back to me. There’s pure, beautiful skin, not a single bullet hole or cut or stab on him, his back muscles flexing as he fists—as he fists…his cock. My breathing stalls. I can’t see it, but the movement is there. I drop my gaze to that perfect ass I want to squeeze as he thrusts into me, the fantasy suddenly so vivid, the only way it got to technicolor like this is because it’s been brewing for days.

I turn to walk away, but in my lust-fogged mind, I go the wrong way, facing him just as he also turns.

“Ahh, fuck, princess, you’re still here,” he says, a whole different gleam in his eyes. “I was just—” he breaks off and then laughs as he lets go of his cock to drag his wet hair from his face with both hands, exposing the full length of his body to me. “Decompressing.”

“Decompressing?” I mouth, no sound coming out as I home in on his cock where it’s bobbing under the rainfall shower, large, male, utterly mouthwatering and…pierced. And not just once. There’s a whole row of piercings along the underside of his shaft. Oh my…

Heat swarms on my face as I spin around and make a run for it, heart pounding, panties soaked, mouth salivating with the need to go on my knees.

His laughter follows me into the bedroom and beyond, but my mortification is complete when he calls after me. “I showed you mine, princess! Can’t wait to see yours!”

28

LUCA

There are so many firsts for me with Milana. I’m still chuckling, but nobody has ever seen me in the shower like this. At home. Me. Luca Scalera, out in the open. I thought my darling wife would bolt at the first sign of me getting undressed; instead, she stayed to watch.

Seeing her there was such a fucking turn-on, with the sweet blush blooming on her cheeks, the flustered look in her eyes as she managed to tear her gaze away.

Fuck. I fist my cock harder, finding a more determined rhythm, relishing the pleasure that seems to circle my erection at every piercing, the intensity that comes with it. Longest fucking four months of my life to get this done, but Jesus, did it pay off. I’m all for kink, bondage, some light BDSM, but honestly, getting pierced upped my dark-room game a hundred-fold. The discovery of it usually left women speechless, and they had my cock in their mouths pretty quickly—not because I encouraged it, but because they wanted it.

Now all I can think of is Milana, here with me, us, my hand in her hair as her head bobs, me pulling her to her feet and then hauling her up against the wall, slowly penetrating her one barbell at a time. Just thinking of how she’d feel—tight, wet, warm—makes my orgasm rush in from out of nowhere and I spray cum into the water.

I’m out of breath, bracing against the wall, spent.

What a fucking day. For five minutes, I just stand there, let the water beat down my back, drain away the last of the tension as my mind flits through key scenes. Matty’s determined but haunted face as he worked with Nicky to stabilize Gabi. Ben passing whatever they needed as if he was a fucking nurse in an operating theatre. Ivan…fucking Ivan Petrov declaring his love for Gabi in the moment everybody was still unaware of me rushing into the room.

Things moved fast, but Matteo’s instructions were clear. Tasha couldn’t come home to that mess. Lucky Luca. It wasn’t the first time I got to clean up and play undertaker so at least it’s a streamlined process. Except I’ve never had to extract ten bullets from a woman’s body before.

Jesus. Mara…so fucking delicate, her body a riddle of tattoos. Some older, some newer. Some so fresh, the skin was still peeling away from the ink. I tried to keep them intact as I worked the metal out of her flesh. It reminded me of Franco Fiore’s snake-covered body I dealt with months ago. A person might be dead, but their body still tells a story. Mara’s whispered to me she might have died as an assassin, but these were just the last words in her last chapter. There’s a whole book of her life none of us got to read.

I scrub myself with soap, repeatedly, trying to wipe the visuals from my mind. Eventually, I turn off the shower, knowing some images are burnt into my soul and some blood never really washes off.

As I towel-dry, I head to my closet, only to realize I’ve moved my clothes next door. This is no longer my room.

For now.

I walk out, towel around my waist, and catch Milana sitting at the godforsaken grand piano again, staring into space.

“Get ready, Milana. We’re leaving in five minutes.”

She glances my way, her gaze sliding down with the water droplets still dripping from my hair, all the way down to my navel and just that short stretch lower. I suppress a smirk, but fuck, the way she looks at me⁠—

Is she a virgin?

Jesus. That’s never crossed my mind. I don’t do virgins. What a fuckup that would be. Let’s just say, doing what I do—what I did—required some pretty extensive paperwork, vetting, and a load of privacy. Women who are into this type of thing are definitely not virgins.

“Where’re we going?” she asks, meeting my gaze again but wringing her hands in her lap.

“The clinic, to see Gabi. And Ivan. It’s the only way you’ll see him. He won’t leave her side. I believe Yuri will fetch the girls from Long Island at some point.”