48. Bianca

We haven"t been home an hour when Adrian closes himself in his office to drink.

I"ve stopped by every now and then to bring him some food and water, but even I can see he"s in a world of his own, dealing with the information he"s learned.

Vlad"s doctor, Sasha, has been over to check my wound and stitch it up properly, and even then, Adrian hasn"t emerged from the office.

I don"t even know what to do with myself in this instance. I"ve never comforted someone…

How does one do that? And what if he doesn"t want me to?

I"m not capable of complicated feelings, and as such, I don"t understand them in other people either.

I wish I had someone to call and ask what to do in this situation, but my only friend happens to be as emotionally stunted as me.

I sigh as I remove a tray from the oven. I"d tried to bake a cake. Safe to say that didn"t work.

It"s half-burnt… but maybe I can cut the edges off? I"d been scouring the internet for things to do for someone sad, and one article suggested baking a cake. And so, I"d resolved to bake a cake. I"d quickly gone to the shop and picked up some ingredients and then proceeded to try.

See, I"m not a bad cook… for food. Cakes are a different issue altogether. It took me three tries to get the batter right, and now I have to deal with the overly burnt bits.

I swear, nowhere did it mention you had to be a professional to do this.

Not one to despair in times of need, I put my apron on once again and start on the frosting. This should be easier as it doesn"t involve any funny oven business.

I end up concocting some type of frosting that is a bit overly sweet but passable. I spread it on the non-burnt parts of the cake after cutting them in small shapes.

Satisfied with my work, or as confident as I can be, I decorate a plate. I fill a glass with lemonade, add some ibuprofen for good measure, and then go to the office.

"Adrian?" I ask as I kick the door open with my uninjured shoulder, careful of the tray in my hands. "I made you a cake." I smile, proud of myself.

Adrian"s plopped face down on the desk, the half-empty bottle next to him.

I frown for a second, then sigh and put the tray somewhere else before going up to him.

"Adrian?" I gently tap his shoulder, but he doesn"t reply, merely giving me a half-moan.

"Okay, mister, you"re going to bed." I try my hardest to lift him, but he"s double my weight and then some more, so it"s not that easy. "A little help would be appreciated," I mumble, but he doesn"t seem to rouse.

With great hardship, I manage to get him on the bed or throw him on the bed when I"m within distance. Taking his shoes off, I try to make him more comfortable.

"B?" he groans, shifting around in bed.

"You"re wasted," I say, matter of fact.

"I fought for him… I made him money," he mutters, clearly referring to Jimenez and his days in the ring.

While I don"t know a whole lot about his life as Adrian Barnett, Vlad has implied that he was a successful fighter, often having weekly gigs with barely a respite between. So, Jimenez or Andrew or whoever he is undoubtedly aimed to squeeze him dry.

Or was that his attempt at killing him, but it just backfired when Adrian wouldn"t lose?

I stroke his forehead lightly and place a kiss on his brow. Now more than ever, I"m set on making sure Jimenez won"t live for much longer. I know that Adrian wants to get him to pay for his crimes in a court of law.

But how can I allow a man who"s made my husband suffer like this live?

I can"t.

The following day, I try to get Adrian out of bed, but he shuns all of my attempts. He"s even taken to ignoring me, sulking all day under the sheets.

When the same behavior, coupled with excessive drinking, continues the next day, I"m out of options.

If cake can"t solve this, I don"t know what will.

And he doesn"t even get to eat my cake!

So, I take to browsing the internet for solutions to my problems once more.

The more I read, the more I know what I need to do. I smile mischievously at the screen. This should get Adrian out of bed with a bang.

Or a meow.

I"m lucky enough that in this country, money can solve everything. It"s entirely too simple to make an appointment the next day with a doctor.

"You want me to give you something for your allergies, is that correct?" The doctor, a bald man in his sixties, studies me with narrow eyes. What"s so hard about this request?

"Yes," I reply.

"Now?"

"Yes."

"You"ll need to get tested to see what specifically causes your allergies…" I already tune out. I look at my watch, and it"s almost noon. I need to get everything done before they close all the shelters.

"Look. I don"t have the time. I already told you. I"m allergic to cats. Now give me the pills."

"Mrs. Hastings… it doesn"t work like that," he continues in that admonishing voice, but I cut him off.

"Sorry, Doctor…" I"ve forgotten his name. "But I really need to be able to stand next to a cat and not sneeze my lungs out. I would really appreciate it if you"d prescribe me something now."

"Mrs.…" Oh, for Hell"s sake. I pull out a stack of one hundred bills from my bag, which I promptly slap on his desk.

"Yes, I can certainly prescribe somecetirizine. You"ll find that it won"t make you drowsy and won"t interact with your day-to-day activities." He immediately gets to work.

It"s funny how quickly he"s changed his tune when money gets involved. Now, I"m not actively promoting bribing doctors, especially as a newly recovered addict.

But this is, in fact, an emergency.

I need to pull through with my plan to make sure Adrian quits moping around. Also, because I want him to take me on that promised date… but first, I have to get him out of bed.

As soon as I have my prescription, I drive to the nearest pharmacy, also keeping track of all the shelters around. When I was researching, I had compiled a list of all of them in Manhattan.

I can"t just get any cat. I need a super cat.

Armed with an entire month supply ofcetirizine, I head to the first shelter. I must have really tuned out the doctor because I"m entirely too surprised to see the allergy medicine is syrup and not pills. Well… if it works, it doesn"t make a difference.

The clerk at the first shelter shows me around their feline selection, and I can"t say I"m impressed. They aren"t either if I go by the way they scoff their cat snouts at me.

My nose is a little itchy, but not as bad as before, and it gets progressively better as I go from shelter to shelter.

When I"m at the fourth shelter, I"m greeted by an overly friendly girl, who sings all types of praises to the animals they house. She takes me to their cat area and shows me a couple of adorable kittens.

I pet one of them when a flash of pink snatches my attention. I turn my head to get a better look, and the ugliest cat I"ve ever seen in my life greets me.

Hairless, her whole body is pale and wrinkly, her big eyes bulging from her bald head.

I look at her. She looks at me. We engage in a battle of spirits, and she doesn"t back down. I also notice that she"s in a cage of its own, unlike the other cute ones.

"What about that one?" I ask, and I go near the cage.

The girl shakes her head, "I… I probably shouldn"t say this because we want all of them to end up in good homes…" Her bottom lip trembles as she continues, "She"s been returned five times so far. She"s too…aggressive," she says the last word in a hushed tone, and I think the cat senses because it looks at her and bares its teeth.

"See?" she says and takes a few steps back.

"Can I open the cage?"

"Fine. But I"m over there." She points to the other corner of the room where the cuties are, and I shrug. Whatever.

I take the key from her and open the cage. The moment the door swings open, the cat charges me, claws out.

As I crouch to get to her, I lose my balance and end up falling on my back. The cat is now on my chest, one clawed paw up threateningly. I arch my eyebrow at her, and she tilts her head as if she understands me. We stare at each other for a while longer until she decides to finally scratch the hell out of my neck.

That. Hurt.

My hands shoot out to grab the little troublemaker, and I lift her up while she struggles to do more damage.

"Stop!" I command. Once again, she raises her eyes and looks at me. Her pupils narrow into a slit and after an almost nod, she stops fighting. My lips curl up in response.

"I"m taking her," I yell at the girl. She frowns at my voice and tells me to deal with her colleague at the entrance desk.

After sorting all the paperwork, I get to take Miss Troublemaker home. While she"s not as aggressive with me, I get why the girl is so afraid.

The moment I let her out of my hands, she goes crazy on the clerk drawing up the adoption papers. She immediately jump on him and latches onto his skin, leaving clean marks behind.

After we leave the store, I make sure to pet her.

"Proud of you." As I stare into her eyes, a name comes to me. "From now on, you are Maleficent." Or when I"m lazy, Mally.

I give her a wink that she probably doesn"t understand, but I"m sure we have our own communication channel.

I"m somehow reluctant to put Mally in the carrier I"d purchased for her, so I settle her on my shoulder after I strap myself in.

"Be a good girl and don"t injure me during traffic," I tell her, and she gives my cheek a slow lick.

Yes. She understands.

I start the car to go back home. A few times, I check my mirror and note the same car keeping a safe distance behind. Odd…

I take some random turns to see whether it follows, but I lose track of it after a while. Maybe it"s my paranoid mind at work. I shake my head and head home. All the way, Mally keeps purring in my ear, and I can"t help but smile.

* * *

"Adrian?" I yell his name when I"m back at the penthouse. Mally is still perched on my shoulder and seems to have really sunk her claws into my clothes, which prevent her from falling anytime I move rather suddenly.

He doesn"t answer. Odd.

But when I go towards the kitchen, a disheveled, clearly hungover Adrian greets me, furtively eating some toast.

"Really?" I fold my hands in front of me and ask. Adrian gives me a sheepish smile, and I add, "Well, at least you"re out of bed."

"What"s that?" He points towards Mally, his mouth still full of toast.

"This is our new friend." I raise my hand to stroke Mally"s head, and she gives a tiny yap. Adrian is suddenly alert but looks at me suspiciously.

"Is that a toy?"

"What? No!" I try to get Mally off me, but she doesn"t seem to want to detach herself.

"Help?" I ask Adrian, and he joins in the effort to free Mally. Or free me from Mally.

By the time Mally is off my shoulders, she"s already in full tantrum mode, and she"s growling at Adrian something fierce.

"Mally!" I command her attention. I finally get Adrian a cat, and she hates him? No… we can"t have that. "Behave!" I tell her, and she stares at me.

I return the stare, and I think some time passes before Adrian clears his throat.

"Mally?" he asks, lifting the cat slightly to look at her. She"s now stopped struggling and regards Adrian with curiosity rather than animosity.

"Maleficent. She"s our new cat. She"s great!" I feel the need to add that, so he doesn"t think I got the most unfriendly cat on purpose.

No, Mally and I have an understanding, and Adrian just needs to join in.

"Is that so?" he asks skeptically. "What about your allergy?"

"I got meds!" I exclaim and show him my syrup. "But she"s bald, so… I don"t know if she"s all that harmful."

"Hmm… maybe." He"s now cradling Mally to his chest, and she"s almost putty in his arms.

Traitor.

"But why did you get a cat?"

"Because you"ve been a moping mess recently. I didn"t know what else to do to get you out of bed. And here you are, stealing food while I"m not home." I pout and pretend to be upset. He looks embarrassed at my words, and I see a trace of red staining his cheeks.

"I"m good now," he says, but he"s not even glancing at me. He"s looking at Mally.

There"s a moment of panic when I see Mally raise her head and give me a satisfied He"s mine look.

Lord, did I make a mistake?

"Take me on a date!" I tell him, needing to show Mally who"s in charge. But mostly needing my promised date.

"Now?"

"Well…" I start and get closer to sniff him. "After you take a shower."

He looks at me as if he doesn"t know what I"m talking about, but when he catches a whiff of his own scent, he doesn"t waste any time dumping Mally in my lap, dashing for the bathroom.

"Now. Some house rules." I get Mally"s attention, feeling like we need to set some boundaries. "He"s mine. You can borrow him." I use my finger to tilt her head up. "But he is mine." After what feels like a battle of wills through our stares, Mally is the first to back down, and I give her a nice petting as a reward.

When Adrian is freshly showered and dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a polo shirt, I give him my approval.

We set up Mally with food and water and let her become acquainted with the house while we go away for a little while.

"I"m sorry," Adrian adds once we"re in the elevator.

"It"s okay. You can be sad. But don"t ignore me next time." His hand seeks mine, and he lifts it to his lips for a quick peck.

"You need constant attention, don"t you?"

"Maybe…" I frown, realizing that I do need attention… specifically his attention.

He chuckles and puts his hand around my waist, tugging me at his side.

"I think I needed some time to come to terms with everything. I just can"t believe I spent years under that man, basically being his faithful dog."

"I still don"t understand why he would do that…. maybe he hoped you"d lose a fight and die?"

"That"s the thing, I don"t think he did. He was always the one to push me to train harder, to be better."

"That"s odd."

"Yeah. I"ll make sure to find out why when I catch him. But now… you have my undivided attention."

"Do I?" I flutter my eyelashes at him.

"I promised to let you choose our date. So, go ahead. I shall be your servant."

As the elevator doors open, he bends at the waist in a faux bow, and I can"t help but giggle.

"Let"s go to that Italian pizza place we both love," I suggest, leaving my dream date idea for next time. I don"t think Adrian will be in the mood to go to a shooting range right now.

See, I can be considerate.

"Sure. Cab or driving?"

"Cab. You can have a glass of wine. Just one, though." I wink at him, and he groans.

"I swear my descent into the whiskey bottle has been a very limited three-day trip. Won"t happen again."

We take a cab and head downtown to the restaurant. I suggest this one because we rarely need to book in advance, and it"s rather casual.

When we arrive, we"re lucky to get a window table, and we order, getting a pizza each and a glass of red wine.

"We haven"t been here in a really long time," Adrian states as he looks around.

"We haven"t been on a date in a really long time," I correct, and he sighs.

"I"m glad we"re doing this… I want to give this a fair shot. Us." He smiles at me, and I feel my cheeks flame.

"Speaking of that. I wanted to tell you something. I quit my job," I say and avert my eyes, not knowing what to expect.

"Your job? At the foundation?" He frowns but awaits my explanation.

"I never liked it. I did it… Well, frankly, I did it because I thought you"d like me better if I was involved in the community." He doesn"t look at me for a moment, swirling the wine in his glass and watching the liquid move in circles.

"What else?"

"What else?" I ask, not knowing exactly what he"s talking about.

"What else did you do because of me?"

"Ugh…" I cringe internally at this; there are just too many things. "I studied social studies and business because you seemed into that." I immediately take a sip of wine, not wanting to see his reaction.

"More. Tell me more."

"I hate fish!" I blurt out, and his eyes widen for a second before bursting into laughter.

"You hate fish?"

"Yes. All those times I ate it with you, I puked it afterward. Fish is just… vile."

"At least now I know what not to cook you anymore."

"Sorry," I mumble, feeling bad because he"d always cook me fish when I was feeling under the weather, thinking it was my favorite food. Instead, it only served to make me sicker and prolong my period of convalescence.

"This is… interesting. What else?" He"s amused at this point, so I"m not that worried anymore. All the things I"d done to impress him just roll off my tongue from how I dressed to how I styled my hair and makeup, even to my lack of body art.

"You wanted to get tattoos?"

"Hell, yes. You haven"t seen Vlad naked…" I start but catch myself when I see the fire in his eyes at that mention. "He"s covered in ink. Every inch of his body is tattooed."

"Vlad? I never realized," he adds pensively.

"He did them in such a way that you can"t tell with the way he dresses."

"And even your hair? Come on, B." He veers the topic away from Vlad, and I"m thankful, not wanting any tension tonight.

"Yup. Always wanted to bleach it."

"You should," he says, and I almost drop my fork.

"Really?" He nods, and my excitement gets the best of me, dumping more information that should have stayed hidden.

"I also hated having sex at first," I wince at my own words.

"What, why?" Adrian asks, genuine concern in his voice.

"It hurt too much for the first few times." I shrug.

"I"m sorry. I never realized it." He squeezes my hand.

"It"s not your fault. I was very good at pretending. That and I have a pretty high pain threshold."

He anxiously takes a sip of the wine before admitting, "It was probably my fault. I…wasn"t very experienced. I didn"t know how to read a woman"s body."

"Are you for real?" I almost choke on my food when I hear him.

"Honestly, everything I learned was with you… or Pink, I should say."

"I can"t believe that." I laugh. Adrian looks at me, curiously.

"We both had no idea what we were doing but were pretending to be experts. Don"t you see the irony?" I ask him, still laughing.

"I guess when you put it like that…" That elicits a smile from him, and I shake my head.

"I"m probably going to regret asking this, but what do you mean exactly when you say you weren"t experienced?" I almost bite my tongue when I ask this.

Adrian scratches the back of his neck and looks exceptionally uncomfortable, as he says, "Pink was the first woman I went all the way with. I tried in the past, during my fighting days, but it didn't feel right. It was expected of us to blow steam like that." He takes a deep breath. "There was a lot of peer pressure to do it, but I couldn't go through it. I didn't like how impersonal it was—how transactional."

"Interesting…" I say, though inside I am full of glee. Did he just admit he was also a virgin the first time we fucked? I don't want to think about what he means that he tried in the past. As far as I'm concerned, that is null.

I'm his first.

Oh my Lord!

He's fully mine. Just as I am fully his.

"Then why Pink?" I clear my throat and ask before I do something stange—like start doing a celebratory dance and shout as loud as I can that I was his first. I'm not sure this establishment would approve that type of behavior.

"Honestly? It was the confidence. You seemed so into it, into me…" He smiles at the memory.

"I was! I"d been watching you for too long. I came up with Pink exactly because I didn"t know how else to get your attention."

"Well, you did get it."

"Come on, I can"t be the only one to find you hot. I"m sure there must have been other women to hit on you." Yes, please tell me so I can murder them, is what I actually mean.

He frowns, as if remembering. "There were, but I was never interested. Ever since I became Theo, I"ve been working too hard to pay attention to any of that."

"Then, why me?"

"Your presence comforts me," he states. "Remember when we first met? At one of Martin"s Sunday dinners." I nod, and he continues, "He somehow put me right next to you at the table. You didn"t speak much, but I could feel your presence radiating in the entire room. It was… intoxicating." He takes another sip of his wine. "I couldn"t stay away. I told myself multiple times that I didn"t have time for any entanglements, especially with Martin"s daughter. You weren"t someone I could just have an affair with and call it quits."

"You did take a long time to ask me on a date."

"I was only delaying the inevitable."

"That you were." I raise my glass to him, and we clink.

At the same time, my foot slowly travels up his leg—screw taking this slow. I"m getting in the mood when I hear an accented voice behind me.

"Hastings. And with your lovely wife." Annoyed, I drop my foot and turn to give Enzo a dazzling smile. Please leave.

"Enzo." Adrian stands and shakes Enzo"s hand. He"s accompanied by a tall, gorgeous woman, likely a model.

"We were just leaving," I say, giving Adrian a small sign that I don"t want him to ruin our date. It"s too late, however.

"What a coincidence. We"re leaving too. Why don"t you join us? We"re going to see Quinn"s fight." Enzo narrows his eyes at Adrian, and I can see this isn"t a mere invitation. Interesting…

Does he even know, I wonder, that his partners are related to his enemy? I almost chortle at the thought but compose myself quickly.

Unable to refuse his invitation, we all get into Enzo"s car, after which he tells his driver to take us towards Canal Street.

Once we get there, we"re led towards what appears to be a former fire station. After we"re vetted, we enter a vast arena full of people yelling at the top of their lungs.

Enzo motions us towards a more secluded area that I"m guessing is reserved for people like him. While not wholly cut off from the other spectators, it still provides a little more privacy than the massive throng of people crowded around the fighting ring.

One glance at Adrian, and I know he"s not happy with this turn of events. I take his hand in mine and offer it a big squeeze. He has to know I"m here with him.

Enzo"s father joins as well, also accompanied by a model who seems to be a third of his age.

"Do we really have to stay?" I whisper to Adrian and notice the tautness of his muscles when he replies.

"Something is off." He shakes his head, confused. "I don"t know what…"

The first round is announced, between Quinn and another man named Sean something. They both enter the ring, and holy moly is Quinn packing some.

I"m busy staring at what is obviously an extremely ripped body when a hand covers my eyes.

"Don"t look at other men like that, love. I might have to jump in the ring," Adrian whispers in my hair. I turn around and give him a long kiss.

"You"ll always be my number one. Now, down, boy." I smirk at him and pinch him playfully.

The fight starts, and as expected, Quinn wins the first round. The crowd goes crazy.Quinn"s movements have both speed and strength, and it"s no wonder he"s barely sporting any injuries when his adversary is covered in blood.

The many scars on Quinn"s body, however, attest to the fact that he"s trained hard to get to the level he"s at.

The second round starts, and Quinn seems slightly distracted as he keeps looking back to his corner, where his trainer is. It"s not affecting his game, as he evades every direct hit while landing some on his opponent. It"s clear he"s just toying with him at this point.

I have to wonder what the purpose of this game is.

Enzo hadn"t been too forthcoming, but I"m guessing it"s the arena"s inauguration since Quinn himself is in the ring. Odd, though, that I haven"t spotted his father yet. Aren"t they usually together?

"Do you see his father anywhere?" I ask, scanning the area. Adrian shakes his head and tries to look too.Again, this is odd. Matthew should be in the private box too, watching his son. Maybe he knows this game is just a formality and doesn"t think it"s worth showing up?

But then doubt creeps in. What if there"s more to the Gallaghers than meets the eye?

"We should tell Enzo about Andrew," I suggest. I know we aren"t particularly close with Enzo, especially since the whole Martin debacle, but he should have all the details.

Adrian is about to reply when suddenly a couple of shots ring out in our direction.

We both barely have time to react when blood sprays directly into my face. Adrian immediately puts his body in front of me as a shield and pushes me to the ground.

"Down," he commands.

The crowd is frantic, running around and flooding towards the exits. Just as the shots started, they stop.People are still moving around haphazardly, and I can"t see if anyone"s been hit.

"Adrian?" I ask and try to move him off me while assessing his body for injuries. He just grunts an, I"m fine.

Right next to us, Enzo and Rocco are down, both bleeding out. I immediately go to Enzo"s side while Adrian takes Rocco.

"I got a pulse," I say and then press my hands against his side, where the bullet must have nabbed him.

Adrian checks for the same with Rocco but shakes his head. Next to Rocco, his companion is also injured. Enzo"s, on the other hand, appears to have fled already.

"Call 911," I tell Adrian, knowing that if Enzo doesn"t get any medical attention, he"ll end up like his father.

"Tell… Allegra… love…" Enzo struggles to get some words out, but his eyes suddenly snap shut, and his breathing becomes more labored.

I keep on applying pressure to the wound until Adrian nudges me and takes my spot. He gives me a worried look before adding, "If anyone asks, I was investigating a tip, and you had no idea what was happening. Clear?" I just nod absentmindedly.

"Act upset… cry. Behave normally."

The paramedics come through, and they load Enzo and Rocco"s companion on a stretcher to take them urgently to the hospital.

The police soon follow, but Adrian"s rank and his lengthy explanations help explain our presence. After what seems like forever, we"re released and given the green light to go home.

* * *

We get home, take our clothes off, and immediately go to the shower to remove the blood.

"It was a trap," Adrian says. "The whole arrangement was a trap."

"You think the Gallaghers shot Enzo and Rocco?"

"It"s damn smart too. Get rid of the Agostis, and you get rid of the entire competition in New York. If Jimenez wanted to expand…"

"Why not take over an already established empire," I finish his thought.

"If we were wondering whether the Gallaghers were in with Jimenez… well, wonder no more," he says ironically.

I put on a nightgown and go to the kitchen to make us some tea. I spot Mally in the corner, already asleep in her cute little bed. I try to be as quiet as possible as to not wake her.

I bring the cups over to our bedroom and close the door.

"Here."

"Thanks."

"Don"t do that again," I suddenly say.

"What?"

"Put yourself between me and a bullet."

He turns to look at me and shakes his head. He takes the cup from my hand and puts it on the night table together with his. Grabbing my face in his hands, he tells me, full of sincerity, "That, I can never promise."

His lips descend on mine, wildly seeking entrance. I"m shocked by his sudden assault, but I return his kiss in full. My hands go to his back, and I"m clawing at his shirt, trying to get as close to his skin as possible.

Adrian pulls back, his eyes glazed with desire. He lifts me and throws me in the middle of the bed. Stretching to his full height in front of me, he takes his shirt off and disposes of it in a corner somewhere.

His pants follow suit, and seeing he went commando, I lick my lips in approval.

Damn, but he"s hot!

I don"t think I"ll ever get used to the way he makes my body sing with just one glance, his presence so intoxicating I could climax just from being next to him.

He puts his hands on the bed and advances towards me, prowling with purpose.

To make it harder for him, I back away until I reach the headboard, giving him a saucy grin as I do. He groans loudly and grabs both my ankles, yanking me towards him in one sudden move.

I don"t give in easy. Not this time. I let myself go soft for a minute, allowing him to trail kisses down my neck, before using my nails to scratch his back and kick him off me. His arms shoot out to stop my flailing limbs, and we take a tumble that ends up with me on top of him.

Still on the bed.

I want so badly to just melt against him, but I know this is more than sex. This is a mating dance that will reestablish our relationship.

Just as I grind my core on his obvious erection, he grabs my nightgown and rips it off my body. His big hands splay on my back, and he moves me up and down, hitting the right spot to make my eyes roll in the back of my head in pleasure.

Chasing that high, I barely register when he inverses our roles once again, with me squirming beneath him.

"You seem in need of some disciplining," he whispers in my ear before he moves lower.

His mouth travels down to my breasts, where he takes one nipple between his lips. I moan as my legs wrap around his midriff. He palms my ass and brings me into full contact with his cock. I"m already so wet that he smoothly glides between my lips, up and down.

"Inside. Now," I bark out, failing at my own game to draw this out. He chuckles in my ear at my urgency.

"You want my cock, sweet girl?" he asks as he thrusts forward, hitting my clit and eliciting a half-moan from me."Ask for it," he says, his voice thick and seductive, making my pussy tingle with awareness. He continues to trail wet kisses all around my collarbone.

"I want your cock inside me. Please." I don"t even recognize my voice as I beg, but I don"t care. It"s been too long since I"ve felt him. All of him.

"Good girl." His mouth covers mine just as he enters my body in one swift thrust. He fills me up to the hilt, and one pump later, my orgasm overwhelms me, my muscles clenching around him.

"Harder," I cry out, and he pistons in and out of me, his tight grip on my ass, bruising my flesh.

I"m holding tightly onto him, enjoying the feel of his cock hitting my cervix and mingling the pleasure with pain when I hear a sudden scratch at the door. My head snaps in that direction, but I try to ignore it, instead urging Adrian to go faster.

The scratching gets louder.

"Did you hear that?" I ask him and point towards the door. He stops and frowns.

"Hear what?"

Something hits the door.

"That," I say, and a mewing accompanies the scratching.

As we both realize who it is at the door, we burst out into laughter.

"Leave it," I say and clench my muscles around him. He moves again, but the meowing intensifies.

"We should see what Mally wants?" Adrian asks, and a red haze suddenly covers my eyes. I arch an eyebrow at him and roll with him, so I"m on top.

I lift myself a little before coming down once more, my hands going to his pecs for support. He grabs onto my breasts and kneads them, the movements sending shivers through my body.

Mally is still throwing a tantrum at the door, but I won"t let her interfere.

Adrian"s hands continue their ascent until they circle my neck. I hum low in my throat, the slight pressure making me come again.

As I ride my pleasure, he takes over, going faster and chasing his own fulfillment.

We both collapse on the bed, and I"m almost reluctant to open the door for Mally, but she seems extremely insistent.

I get up and let her in. She doesn"t even look at me as she dashes to Adrian"s side.

"Pussies sure love you," I mumble as I settle back on the bed.

"Jealous?" he teases, and I scowl at him.

"Me? Never." And just to be petty, I turn my back to him.

He doesn"t waste any time in spooning me from behind and placing Mally in my arms. That"s how we fall asleep.

* * *

The following days are a blur. We settle into a nice new routine, almost like newlyweds.

Well… newlyweds plus Mally. She just can"t help herself. Whenever I"m enjoying some intimate time with my husband, Mally meows, and she"s even resorted to breaking a couple of things around the house. It seems that my talk with her didn"t take. We might need to rehash some things.

Adrian inquires at the hospital, and it seems that Enzo has survived but is now in the intensive care unit. I"ve only called Vlad once, and he informs me that with the Agostis out of business, the Gallaghers are currently working to bring over all the Italian allies to their side.

"A storm is brewing," he says.

I haven"t told him about Andrew being Jimenez… mostly because Adrian had asked me not to, and I want to honor his wishes.

It"s hard because I"ve never had any secrets with Vlad, but my allegiance will always be Adrian"s first and foremost.

Over the past few days, I"ve been running some errands and fixing things up at the foundation for the new director to take over.

Then, I realized the same car I"d seen when I got Mally is always in my side mirror.

I"m on the way back home when I suddenly decide I"ve had enough.

I hit the brakes and wait a second for the other car to do the same. I then get out and go over, ready to demand an explanation for the stalking.

I knock on the driver"s window and wait.

Nothing.

I knock again.

Slowly, the window rolls down to reveal a scarred face I"d last seen in Atlantic City. My hands immediately go to my gun, but it"s too late, as I feel a cloth covering my mouth. I struggle as best as I can before darkness takes over.