This Isn't Fair, Baby (War & Peace Book #6) Page 18

  “Show me,” Oscar begs, his dark eyebrows scrunched together as he gives me a sad face.

  I want to show him more than my fake belly button ring but everything is a mess right now. Daddy says I need to squash my feelings for Oscar because he may end up being the one who is to be married to Brie.

  But I don’t want to squash anything.

  I want him.

  Brie left earlier, complaining of a headache, so Oscar and I drank by ourselves. Normally, he’s wedged between us on the bed as we flirt and cut up. Now, it’s just the two of us. I’ve been friend-zoned hard with him. But sometimes I wonder, if I wasn’t too shy to make the first move, could things change between us?

  “Show me,” he pleads again. His palm rests on my bare thigh. Despite it being an innocent touch, I can’t help but tremble from the sensation. His fingers inch up under my cocktail dress, sending ripples of excitement coursing through me.

  “I don’t think your girlfriend would like me showing you,” I snip. I’ve been trying to play hard to get, a new tactic, but I’ll be damned if that isn’t hard as hell.

  “You know I don’t have any girlfriends. There are only two girl friends I love.” He gives me a lopsided sexy grin that turns my insides to mush.

  “Okay,” I breathe.

  His eyes darken as he grips the bottom of my dress. He drags the silky material up my thighs over my panties. Our gaze is broken when he darts his eyes to look at my panties. When his palm brushes over my pubic bone, I shiver. He palms my stomach and then runs his thumb over the piece of metal that just pinches my skin versus actually piercing it. I bravely reach forward and pull my dress up to just under my breasts to expose my entire stomach to him. The liquor we’d downed earlier does nothing to calm my nerves.

  “Vee,” he murmurs as he leans forward. “I like it.”

  I exhale a sharp breath when he kisses my stomach. So innocent yet so full of intent. This could happen. I could finally have Oscar. My panties are wet with excitement. I squirm in need for his touch, but he seems unaware.

  “Any other fake piercings I should know about?” he questions, his finger brushing over my clit through my panties.

  I jolt and let out a whimper. Say, yes, Vee. “No.”

  He frowns. “Too bad.”

  I’m mentally berating myself for being a wussy when his mouth finds my belly button. His teeth latch on to the metal and he tugs on it. It pulls my skin but breaks loose. Our eyes meet for a heated moment, and I know that if we keep flirting at the rate we’re going, we’re going to have sex. The thought thrills me.

  His hand grips the top of my panties just as someone knocks on the door. I shove my dress down quickly and he sits up. “Who is it?”

  “You’re being summoned,” Esteban grumbles from the other side of the door.

  Oscar groans and climbs off the bed, a giant boner in his slacks. So close. So damn close. He flashes me a guilty smile before answering the door.

  Esteban glances over Oscar’s shoulder at me on the bed and smirks. “Two naughty kids up to naughty deeds. Need someone to show you how things work?” He makes a vulgar motion of his finger going in a hole. “I could perform an example, little Oz.”

  Oscar punches him in the arm. “Shut up. We were just talking. Like always. Friends, fucker.”

  Esteban snorts and winks at me. “Tell her that.”

  “Vee.” The voice is cold and it drags me out of my warm memory. This man—this monster—is not the boy from my past. That boy died a long time ago. Probably not long after his brother Duvan.

  “I always loved you,” I murmur, my voice tight with emotion. “I loved you from the moment I walked into your kitchen and you told me to chase after you. I’ve chased you ever since.”

  He growls. “I was always here.”

  “And so was I until…” You raped me. I sniffle and shake my head. “Doesn’t matter. We weren’t meant to be.”

  His hand shakes but he keeps his weapon pointed at me. “I miss those days.”

  A tear leaks out, and I slide my hand under the pillow to grip the cold metal Diego gave me for emergencies. This constitutes as an emergency. “So do I.”

  “We can’t ever get them back, can we?” His voice cracks. The sadness nearly splits me in two.

  “No,” I whisper. “We can’t. Not ever.”

  A harsh sob catches in his throat. “But I want them. I want them back.”

  “Oscar, you should leave.” Don’t make me do this…

  His lip trembles. “I don’t want to be this person.”

  “So don’t be,” I whisper.

  He falls to his knees as a gut-wrenching sob escapes him. My heart shatters and breaks. The person who raped me and abused me is long gone. The boy from my past is hurting and lost. I wish I could fix him. I honestly wish I knew how.

  “I’m sorry, Vee. I’m so sorry for everything.”

  He lifts the gun and I panic. I’d been focused on his words, not readying the weapon under my pillow. I stare in horror as the gun slides into his mouth, rather than to point at me. Tears stream down his cheeks.

  “Oscar!”

  Pop!

  So many times I visualized his death after he hurt me. So many times I planned on making him pay. But then…then he broke down in front of me. I didn’t see the monster, I saw him. Oscar. Playful, funny, flirtatious Oscar.

  A loud sob pierces the air, and I realize it’s me. When I scramble to the floor, I know he’s gone. Half of his skull is blown out on the wall in front of me. Blood pools on the carpet beneath his head.

  I know he’s dead.

  Yet, I pull him into my arms and hug him anyway.

  I tell him everything’s going to be okay. That I forgive him. That I love him.

  “R-Remember that time we found that p-puppy one summer and we hid him in the woods b-behind your house?” I question through my tears as I hold him to me. “Savvy was her name. She was so cute. How old were we? Eight and Nine?”

  He doesn’t answer.

  He’ll never answer again.

  “She’d gotten loose from the rope one day and had run away. We both cried so much our dads thought something bad had happened.” I laugh and stroke the side of his face. “Your dad kept asking us to give him a name. All we could get out was Savvy. How long did he search for ‘the motherfucker who hurt his kid named Savvy’ anyway?”

  I lie him back and take his hand in mine. I try not to look at his mangled face or messed up head. Instead, I kiss his knuckles and pretend we’re kids again. I’m not sure how long I clutch him, but I’m brought out of my daze when two strong arms lift me. I’m carried like a child into the giant bathroom that used to be my parents. My hero sets me down on the counter before starting the bath. Then, he peels the bloodstained shirt from my body and undresses himself. Carefully, he helps me into the tub and settles behind me.

  “What happened, mi amor?” Diego murmurs, his mouth pressing kisses against the back of my head.

  I sob and shudder in his arms. “He said he was sorry.”

  He hugs me tight and doesn’t let go.

  I hope he never lets go.

  Several months later…

  “I’M A FOOL,” I growl as I spear my fingers through my hair and pace my office.

  Jorge laughs—fucking laughs—that asshole. “Never said you weren’t.”

  “How could I do this? How could I let this happen?” I snag my still lit cigar—pink of all fucking colors and straight-up shitty quality—from the ashtray and inhale a big puff.

  “Well, everyone knows you think with your cock, man,” he snorts.

  I glare at him and snub out the abomination in the ashtray. “This is fucked up. I’m a fucked-up person. Karma, hermano. Karma. I have a shitload coming my way.”

  He smirks. “Why? Because you had five wives at once?” Fucking prick knows how to goad me.

  “YES!” I roar.

  He stands and dusts off his jacket even though it’s in pristine condition. Then he reach
es inside to pull out his Glock. “See this?”

  I arch a brow at him. “Fuck yeah.”

  “There are hundreds more where this came from. And just as many badass motherfuckers who will be holding them.”

  “Your point,” I grumble.

  “They touch her, they die. Simple.”

  Some tension eases from my chest. “Simple.”

  “Now, can we stop celebrating with these lame-ass cigars Tatiana bought and go see this princess I’m going to have to help guard until the day I die?” He grins at me.

  I smirk and shake my head. “Let’s go see the princess.”

  She’s gorgeous. I’m blown away by how she can look like two people at once. Mine.

  “I love that look,” Vienna murmurs from our bed, a soft smile on her face. Not four hours ago, she gave birth in her old room to our daughter, Valentina Martina Gomez.

  “What look?”

  “That one right there. The way you look at her. As if she’s your entire world.”

  I kiss the sweet baby’s forehead. “She’s not my entire world.”

  Vienna frowns. “Oh.”

  I smirk. “You’re right there with her.”

  “There’s my romantic,” she says with a grin. “You should let her sleep and come lie down with me.” Her hand pats the bed beside her.

  I stand from the glider we put in our room and gently place our sleeping child into the bassinet. Once I’m sure she’s settled, I crawl in beside my wife. I’m afraid to touch her. I watched Tatiana deliver our daughter and some things can’t be unseen. The blood. The stitches. I’d been so disturbed once Tatiana placed a bloody Valentina in Vienna’s arms that she asked me to leave until she got them all cleaned up. I close my eyes and gently run my hand along her arm. I hope I never have to see that again.

  “You’re tense, Diego. What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t like seeing you in pain,” I admit and kiss her temple.

  “It was worth it,” she tells me in a fierce tone.

  It’s then I know that my brave wife could handle anything, especially childbirth. She’s hell on heels with her flaming red hair and fiery spirit. The bastards who wrong her suffer under her iron fist. Just ask Esteban…he knows first hand.

  “It was worth it,” I agree.

  “Everything…”

  “Completely.”

  She turns her head to gaze up at me. I drop a kiss on her forehead and then her nose. And then her sweet, pouty mouth.

  “I love you, mi diablita,” I murmur.

  “I love you too, mi motherfucker.”

  We both grin.

  And then I kiss her again.

  And again.

  And again.

  And again.

  And again.

  And again until the end.

  I WAKE WITH a start. Something heavy sits on my chest in the darkness. My arms are pinned beneath the weight, and for a split second, I almost toss it off of me. But then I feel her palms on my chest. Exploring. Soft and gentle.

  “Why are you awake in the middle of the night, baby?” I murmur as I slide my arms out to grip her hips.

  “I’ve been thinking.” Her voice is a whisper. A scary-as-fuck whisper. I hate those goddamned whispers.

  “Toto and Land?”

  “Sleeping,” she assures me. Her fingers brush along my beard in the darkness. “Can we talk?”

  I swallow down the tension building inside me. “Of course, angel.”

  Angel, my ass.

  Hannah eats angels for dinner.

  But when she’s in a mood, I placate her at any cost. I know this. Her parents and brothers know this. Our kids even know this.

  She slides off my lap and turns on the bedside lamp. Her blonde hair is messy and wild, but it’s her eyes that are distant. So dark. Fuck.

  “Talk, beautiful.”

  The darkness flickers in her eyes as she beams at me. My sweet girl never lets a compliment go. She fucking loves them.

  “The medicine doesn’t work anymore,” she tells me, a slight wobble to her bottom lip. “I think those…things. The bad things.”

  I jolt upright and reach for her wrist. When I pull her into my arms, she sags against me.

  “We’ll find something different. Your dad is always researching meds for you.” I kiss her tit through her thin nightshirt and then bite it. Sometimes I can distract her from her dark thoughts with sex.

  “But what if nothing works. We need a plan.”

  I stiffen at her words. “A plan for what?”

  “Sometimes I stare at them at night. I don’t feel like they belong to me. I think terrible things, but then I leave. I’m strong enough to leave.” Her voice cracks. “But what happens when one day I’m not?”

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  “You’re the strongest girl I know,” I tell her, squeezing her tight. “Maybe you just need a vacation, baby. You’re a good mom. You keep the house in perfect shape and you’re a great cook. But you might be working too hard. Why don’t we go on a vacation? We’ll ask War and Baylee to watch the kids.”

  She seems to mull over my answer, and I pounce. I peel off her tank top and squeeze her tit before sucking on the soft flesh. Her breath catches when I nibble on her.

  “Gabe…”

  “Shhh,” I murmur. “We’ll figure it out in the morning. Until then, let me love you.”

  My words work because her fingers thread into my hair as she straddles me on the edge of the bed. I flip her onto her back and flash her a wolfish grin before I peel her panties and shorts down her thighs. Once my stunning-but-crazy-as-all-fucking-hell wife is naked, I climb off the bed for a necessity on nights like this.

  Rope.

  She bites on her bottom lip when I come sauntering back to the bed with the nylon rope. Her eyes are hooded as I tie intricate knots around her wrists so that they don’t come loose. Then, I tie the end of the rope to the bed frame.

  “Spread ‘em,” I growl.

  My good little girl obeys and shows me her pink pussy. I’m going to punish her cunt for what I can’t punish her mind for. I slap it hard enough to make her cry out.

  “You want my dick stretching out your ass, don’t you, sweet girl?”

  She nods. “I want you to hurt me.”

  I slap her cunt again. “Don’t worry. I’m going to hurt you real bad tonight.”

  Her body shudders in response. Distraction is the best thing I can do for her right now.

  “Tell me who owns you,” I murmur as I lean forward and suck on her clit.

  She jolts against her bindings and releases a long moan.

  “Tell me,” I order.

  When she doesn’t answer, I bite her clit hard enough to make her scream out a string of cuss words at me.

  “Tell me, goddammit,” I snarl against her wet cunt.

  “Y-You. You always have.”

  “Good girl.” I kiss her pussy softly. As I take my time teasing her, my brain is elsewhere. This shit gets worse every day. The meds don’t work. Nothing fucking works. It scares the hell out of me the way she looks at our children.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  “Mmmmm,” she moans.

  “That’s it, sweet girl. Come for me and then I’ll put my dick inside you. If you’re a real good girl, I might put it in your ass later, too.”

  My words turn her on because she whimpers as her orgasm nears. I suck on her swollen clit until she cries out in pleasure. Her entire body trembles, but I don’t give her time to recover. I shove my boxers down and flop my hard cock out. I’m always hard for my sweet girl.

  “Oh, Hannah,” I growl as I thrust hard inside her tight cunt. I lean over her and find her perfect mouth. Our kiss is needy and hungry and unhinged—like our entire relationship. Fucking hell, it’s perfect.

  But it’s not perfect because when she’s not tied to my bed, letting me fuck her, she’s on a train by herself riding full speed ahead to crazy town. And she’s going to mow down my family in the process.
<
br />   “God, I fucking love you,” I tell her with a grunt.

  She whimpers and sucks on my tongue. “I fucking love you, too.”

  I pound into her until we’re both moaning with our release. I come deep inside her cunt because my shit is fixed. No more babies with my hot ass wife. I can barely protect the two we’ve got.

  I grin as I look deep into her blue eyes that have found clarity again. Love shines in them. It’s real and genuine.

  For now.

  With a stifled sigh, I stroke her hair and memorize her face.

  One day, I won’t see this look in her eyes anymore.

  One day, I’m going to have to kill my wife.

  Not THE END.

  But it will be soon.

  The final installment of the War & Peace series is on its way…

  This is the End, Baby

  (epilogue novella)

  Listen on Spotify here.

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  “Weaker Girl” by Banks

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  “I Really Want You to Hate Me” by Meg Myers

  “Royals” by Lorde

  “Heads Will Roll” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

  “Not Afraid Anymore” by Halsey

  “#1 Crush” by Garbage

  “Dark Nights” by Dorothy

  “Zombie” by The Cranberries

  “Going to Hell” by The Pretty Reckless

  “I Put a Spell on You” by Annie Lennox

  “Criminal” by Fiona Apple

  “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star

  “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine

  “Tear In My Heart” by Twenty One Pilots

  “Ride” by Twenty One Pilots

  “S&M” by Rihanna

  “The Monster” by Eminem

  “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Lorde

  “Elastic Heart” by Sia

  “The Devil Within” by Digital Daggers

  “Bloodstream” by Stateless

  “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant

  “Blood in the Cut” by K. Flay

  “Is She With You?” by Hans Zimmer