Before....My body healed. The cuts scabbed over and the bruises faded. To anyone who looked at me, I was just my normal cheery self. I was Keeley. The sweet one, the innocent one. But I wasn’t any of those things anymore. I was broken, and inside I was screaming. Sweet and innocent? Those were words that might have described me once, but they didn’t anymore.Not since my cousin’s friend, a man Monster and I had both trusted with our lives, had forced himself into my body and left me hollowed out. There was nothing but darkness inside of me now. And day by day it was eating me up.My name might still be Keeley. I might have the same blonde hair and darling smile that people always thought about when my name was mentioned. But I wasn’t the same woman. I wasn’t even sure I was a woman anymore. I didn’t feel like one.And that’s why I had to leave.I knew that thousands, if not millions, of other women had gone through what I had. Hell, even some of the member’s old ladies of my cousin’
KeeleyIt was easy to switch off and just let my body move. And I was good at it, I knew I was, but every time I danced it was like someone else took over my body. I locked Keeley away in my mind where she could be safe. Because even after five years, I still hadn’t gotten over what had happened to me. And I had come to uneasy terms with that.The only thing that I had learnt in five years was that sex sells. And I had a body that screamed sex. I wasn’t petite or willowy, my body was soft, womanly, and men loved it. The attack on me had taught me one thing: if I let them, men would use my body and discard me like yesterday’s trash. So, I taught myself to use it against them, and I had become damn good at it as well. Dancing gave me power. They could look all they wanted provided the money kept coming. But they couldn’t touch. Ever.I used them.They didn’t use me.I would never be used by a man ever again in my life.Flicking my hair back, I plastered my face with my widest smile as
GioShe had given me the finger in a cocky, totally un-Keeley like way. She might look the same, but my sweet girl had changed. There was a fire in her now and I wasn’t sure I liked it. It might be inevitable that she had hardened, and she hadn’t known it was me behind the glass, but there was no way of knowing if her reaction would have been different if she had known.We hadn’t exactly parted on the best of terms. Hell, we hadn’t even had a parting. One day she was in town and the next time I had opened my eyes she had been gone, leaving nothing but a note to her cousin explaining why.She hadn’t written me a note. She hadn’t given me a second thought. And that had hurt. Because back then she had been all I could think about. The gorgeous Keeley. Pet angel of the Savage Sons. Everyone put her on a pedestal, and I was no different. I could look, and I looked a lot, but I could never touch.Because she was too good for men like me.She wasn’t up on any pedestal now. Although I wanted
KeeleyI blinked at the crudeness of his words. There was no doubt in my mind what he meant by them, and even if there was, the way his eyes flicked down to my lips with a look that could only be described as hungry would have told me.This wasn’t the Gio I knew.I snapped my mouth shut, forcing myself to breathe normally. It was hard. His words, his very closeness had a physical effect on my body. And it wasn’t fear. No, even after my rape, Gio had been the one I clung to. I had always felt safe with him, even when everyone told me I shouldn’t. I had always been attracted to him as well and that hadn’t changed by the looks of it. Gio was dangerous. He had been dangerous five years ago when he took over The Family and the years had only made him more so. I licked at my suddenly dry lips and his brooding eyes followed the movement.Normally those eyes were a bright blue, but they darkened as he looked at me, his gaze unblinking. I squirmed. Him looking at me like that was nothing but
GioI had made her angry and that was fine, because I was angry with her as well. Where had my sweet girl gone? The girl who had clung to me and me alone after her attack. The sweet perfect angel who had always greeted everyone with a smile.The new Keeley was all frowns and bitter words. She had changed so much that I felt I didn’t know her at all. But that didn’t mean I was going to give up on her either. Because the woman I knew was still there somewhere, buried deep behind the walls she had erected to keep herself safe. All she needed was someone to help her feel safe. She needed someone to remind her that it was ok to ask for help.The phone laying on the dashboard of my car rang, shattering my quiet reflection. For a second, I paused. My eyes stared almost unseeing at the name flashing up on the now lit screen. I didn’t want to answer it. I didn’t want to hear of the latest disaster that needed my attention. Not when all my energy needed to be on Keeley and bringing her back to
KeeleyGio led me back into his sprawling penthouse, never once letting go of my hand. It was like he didn’t trust me if he let me go and he had good reason not to. I would have bolted at the first opportunity. Not because I was afraid of him, no, it was more to do with pride.I had left this all behind me. The pushy, over dominating men who always demanded submission at all times. And I hadn’t missed it at all. I wasn’t the same girl I had been. I didn't need a man to take control of my life.“I hope you like it.” With a flourish, he opened the door to what was obviously his bedroom and for a second, I thought he was talking about the room itself. Then my eyes fell on the dress that was hanging from the wardrobe. Simple, black. Elegant.“When…” I trailed off; I had been about to ask when he had found the time to organise the dress, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. I hadn’t seen him text or make any calls which left the possibility that he had planned it all before he ha
GioI had closed the restaurant, and the moment she realised that I had done that, she paused.“Gio, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”I smiled at her indulgently. She still didn’t get it. Pulling out a chair for her in a secluded corner, I waited until she was seated before speaking. “Of course, I did. Only the best for you.” Sliding into my seat, I tried to smile at her and relieve some of the tension between us. “And it was easy. Anything is easy when you have the money.”She reached for the menu and started scanning it. Her eyes grew wider and wider by the second. “I wouldn’t know because I don’t have any money. And," finally she looked at me, “we can’t eat here, Gio, it’s too expensive.”“One yes we can, one, I am paying, and two, put the menu down. I have already ordered for us.” Holding my hand up, I silenced her before she could speak. “You could have all the money you would ever need if you just said yes.”We both fell silent as the waitress arrived. She was the only
KeeleyHe wanted to pay me for orgasms. Easy money for any other woman but me. I had no doubt that Gio was a skilled lover. But I wasn’t a woman who would ever enjoy sex. Not even with a man like him.I stared at him across the table, unblinking and speechless. And then I nodded. And just like that I agreed to his terms. I had spent years telling every man who came into the clubs to watch me that I wasn’t a prostitute and there I was agreeing to whore myself out to Gio. I would sleep with him. I would do anything he wanted, and I would fake the orgasm he had promised to give me. Because I needed the money he had promised me so I could get away.It would be enough to give me and Kieran a chance at a fresh start. And this time when we went, I would make sure no one, not even Gio would be able to find me.“You agree?” Gio’s hand reached across the table for me, closing around mine.“Yes.” If I was going to do it, it might as well be with him instead of some stranger who I didn’t know. Gi
Gio“Where the fuck is she?” I paced back and forth along the bank of windows, and with each pass I could feel myself becoming more and more irate.From his place on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, The Judge glanced up at me. “I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders and I hated how flippant he was being. Of course, he could afford to not care. Keeley wasn’t his woman. She was mine. And she was gone.Somewhere out in the city she was alone. That was all on me. In my fear of what could happen to her, I had pushed her away, made her think I didn’t want her. The fact that she had been gone before The Judge arrived just proved to me that she had believed the worst of me.“If you had got here on time.” I was venting and didn’t care. I was to blame, not him, but I needed someone to punish. Someone to blame for my own fuck up.“I was here, Gio, she wasn’t. What the fuck did you say to her that made her leave?” He leant back, one arm along the back of the sofa. He stared at me unblinking.
KeeleyI found Gio sitting fully dressed when I finally woke up. I padded towards him, a silk robe tied around my curvy body, and his eyes lit up when he saw me.“Sleep well?” Slowly, he turned in his seat, dropping his mug to the countertop so he could open his arms. I slipped into them easily, tilting my face up to accept the kiss he gave me. And even that slight brush of his lips against mine was enough to leave me breathless. Pulling away slightly, I pressed my fingers to my lips. Gio caught them up and kissed each one in turn. His eyes bored into mine.“Did you sleep well, Keeley?” He repeated softly. But there was a sharpness in his voice that I didn’t understand.“Yes, Gio. I slept well.” I finally managed. He was holding me so tightly it was hard to breathe. Turning my head to gaze over his shoulder, I stared at the array of pastries on the countertop. “You went for breakfast?”“No.” The hand Gio had let rest on my lower back slipped lower, curving around my ass. “The Judge di
GioHer tightness gripped me, both suffocating and amazing, and my eyes rolled. Forcing myself to go slow was like torture. All I wanted to do was plough into her and forget that anything else existed but the feel of her pussy clenching around my throbbing cock. I gritted my teeth against the urge.She was fighting against the memories that were threatening to overwhelm and overtake her, and if I got too rough, it would just ruin things between us. That was one thing I couldn’t afford to do, not now she was finally mine. I had another reason as well. And that one was purely selfish.Already I could feel my balls drawing up, the need to empty myself in her making it harder and harder to concentrate. And it only got harder when her hips started to move in time with my thrusts. Keeley’s body finally relaxed. Sharp little nails raked down my back, coming to rest on the muscles of my ass. She dug them in and her gasp of pleasure when I flexed my hips at a different angle was like music to
KeeleyWe fell onto the bed together in a tangle of arms and legs and desperate lips. It was like the dam had finally burst. My chest filled with need, and it was all my own. After so many years of being afraid of not wanting anyone to touch me, something had finally broken in me.And all it had taken was someone trying to take me away from him. It wasn’t even the gunshots that had rung out over my head that had done it. That had been scary, true, but the thought of losing Gio. Whether that was because I was dragged away or from something happening to him, I didn’t know. All I knew was that the thought scared me more than anything in my life.“Keeley,” he murmured against my lips. Lifting his weight from my body so he was up on his elbows, Gio’s blue eyes stared down at me. Instantly, I missed the feel of his body pressing me down. Clutching at him, I dragged his mouth back down to mine. My tongue swiped against his lip. It was me who demanded entrance, me who clung to him.No, the da
GioThe sun was setting by the time I got back to Keeley’s apartment. The Judge had left a message on my phone saying that’s where he had taken her. He thought it was a safer option than my main place, and he was right about that. Whoever had shot up the restaurant would assume I would take her home.No, not whoever. I already knew who had shot at us. I just couldn’t prove it. I would though. Already I had put feelers out. Someone, somewhere, knew where he was. Or more importantly what his next move was. The fact that he had gone after Keeley made me uncomfortable. He shouldn’t even know about her.Women, especially her, should be out of bounds. But I knew my brother. And I knew he didn’t have the same qualms as I did about hurting women and children. He was more like my father in that sense.I hated them both. My father was dead. Not by my hands. And so was my eldest brother. There were only three Marino children left. The crazy older brother, the wild younger sister and me. The one
KeelyAt first, I thought it was the two hulking motorbikes idling across the street that had made The Judge stop dead in front of me. In the harsh light of day, I recognised the badges that they wore with pride on their chests, because they were the same as the ones my cousin and his club wore.They were Savage Sons. Not the ones I knew but they all belonged to the same organisation, and I knew instinctively why they were there. For me, Monster. my overprotective cousin had called in another chapter to make sure I was ok.Placing a hand on The Judges' arm, I waited for him to turn to me. He didn’t. his eyes were fixed out on the road before us.“Judge it's fine. It’s probably a coincidence.” I tried to keep my voice light, but I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. I had lived in this city for years without having seen any Sons at all. The fact they were here now when Gio had said Monster knew wasn’t chance. They had come looking for me. Which meant they weren’t a danger to us. So why was T
Gio“Gentlemen.” I nodded my head to the three men around the table. All were familiar faces to me, but Keeley only knew one of them. “This is my fiancée, Keeley.”The Judge's head snapped up. He was the only one around the table that didn’t smile a greeting. He looked troubled. Beside me, Keeley squealed and would have rushed forward if my hand around hers hadn’t stopped her. I could feel her eyes searching my face, but I didn’t say anything.“Fiancée?” The Judge spoke softly but there was a dangerous note to his tone. I scowled at him. Whatever he wanted to say to me, he could do so in private. In front of Keeley wasn’t the time or the place. Catching my look, he schooled his face into a smile. This time he aimed it straight at Keeley. Rising from his chair, he embraced her, pressing his lips to both her cheeks.“It's good to see you again, Keeley,” he murmured. Behind him the other two men started mumbling amongst themselves, their faces amused. And I knew what they were talking ab
KeeleyI looked around bewildered. And the confusion must have shown on my face as Gio took my hand in his and brought it to his lips.“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours Keeley?”I didn’t answer him at first, a million things were going on in my mind. but mostly I was wondering how he had managed to arrange this rental on such short notice. Like within a matter of hours.I spun around. It was much smaller than his place, but a palace compared to mine. Two bedrooms, fully furnished and with an amazing view of the city. It was even feminine with cushions and throws.“How did you manage to arrange this so quickly, Gio?”His face remained impassive, but the smallest of smiles twitched the corners of his lips. “Do you like it?”I looked around again. “Of course, I do.” There was nothing there not to like. It was the kind of home that I had always dreamt of. The kind of place I cut out of magazines when I was a kid. “But how...?”Gio’s arm slid around my waist from behind. “I
GioIt was almost midnight when I stumbled into my office. I needed to lay down, sleep off the alcohol that was clouding my judgement, but going to my bedroom was out of the question because I didn't know what I would do if I got there and she had gone.She had every right to leave. I had acted like the worst kind of fool. In my anger I had scared her, and the shame of that was what had kept me out all day and night. How could I face her after what I had almost done? Keeley had every right to leave me and not look back. I wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to see me again.Flicking the light switch, I started. The office, which should have been empty, was far from it. Keeley sat behind my desk. I stared at her for a second, not able to do anything but take her in. Gone was the dress. She sat there with her shapely legs crossed in nothing but one of my shirts. Why she was wearing that and not some of the clothes I had bought for her I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I took a stumbl