Page 6 of Heart's Temptation
How do I know this is you? I typed back.
Forget the fruit. Let’s discuss the meat.
The familiar inside joke—a line often repeated between the three of us—made my breath catch. It was her. Reaching out a shaking hand, I pressed the phone icon. Sweat seeped down my back making my dress shirt stick to my skin.
Get a grip, Marko, it’s just a girl!
But Nicolette wasn’t just any girl; she was the girl. Much to our mutual regret, the one who’d gotten away.
Regardless, I steeled my voice so as not to give away how much she still affected me.
“Marko,” she answered. “I—uh, have a lot of explaining to do, I know. And I will, but I’m in danger and I need you."
My heartbeat ramped up a few notches as I fought to control my need to protect her, and the simultaneous urge to tell her to go fuck herself.
“And you’re reaching out to me? Why? Surely you have a man in your life who can help, or why not just call the cops?”
“I’ve been violated, and I need help escaping.”
Her words hit me hard, but the fear in her voice hit me harder. An image of some asshole taking her against her will while she struggled to get away propelled my protective nature into overdrive.
“What the fuck? Jesus, woman, why didn’t you say so? Tell me where you are, I’m on my way.”
In a voice choked with tears, she told me her address. I raced for my vehicle and before leaving, cast a look back at the club. Would Gio forgive me for not letting him know?
Firming my resolve, I tore out of the parking lot and headed for New York. Images from the past played through my mind in a loop during the long drive.
Niki leaning back against Gio, her legs spread wide while I lapped up her honey, while his hands gripped her breasts as he tortured her nipples and his mouth on hers, swallowing her moans.
Us breaking into her apartment and waiting for her father to arrive to teach him a lesson. She’d come to school wearing his bruises and we had every intention of giving some back. That was a turning point in our relationship with Nicolette. Gio took over Nicolette’s life, and she fell under the protection of the Vitale family. If her father had so much as lifted a finger in her direction, he'd have been terminated, and Niki would be placed in care with another family loyal to the Vitales.
As it was, Gio beat the guy to within an inch of his life. “No one touches what’s mine, and Nicolette belongs to me.” He’d punctuated the statement by breaking her father’s nose.
Her father never touched her again, but from then on, our relationship morphed. One of us was always available to pick her up from school and take her home at the end of the day. We’d intervene when things were not running smoothly for her and make sure she ate and took care of herself. As things progressed, more of her time was spent at the Vitale estate. Being the only one with a steady girlfriend at the time, Gio was given almost exclusive use of the pool house and that was where the three of us explored everything together.
Gio hadn’t stepped foot in there since she left us waiting for her after the championship game. I glanced down at the ring still on my finger. The band was comforting, reminding me of our connection, and a time when we were all a bit more innocent.
Maybe that was pushing it. I was pretty sure neither Gio or I should ever be described as innocent, but our time with her had been. Because Nicolette was pure. Not her body, we did every dirty thing together you could possibly imagine and then some. But her soul and heart… those were pure, unsullied.
My hands gripped the wheel. What had our years apart done to her? Would she still be intact? Her mind and heart certainly wouldn’t be. I’d heard the break in her voice, the utter devastation when she shared her news with me.
I would kill the fucker when I found him. Scratch that. I would torture the SOB and have Gio’s brother, a top-notch surgeon, keep the guy alive so I could torment him over and over, bringing him from the brink of death only to have him live with more pain and suffering until my vengeance was complete.
When I entered the neighborhood of the address she’d given me, I slowed down, looking for anyone that appeared suspicious. Parking along the side of the building, I scanned the area but saw nothing that raised a red flag.
I moved up the steps and punched in the code she sent.
“It’s me,” I said when she answered the intercom.
I hesitated outside the third-floor apartment. I didn’t want to alert anyone that may be watching her to my presence, or scare her with the level of anger I was feeling, having to bury that deep inside and prepare for whatever sight met my eyes.
Sighing, I lifted my hand to knock as she opened the door. My upraised hand hung midair as I took her in. Was it possible that she was even smaller than in school? She was so tiny and bone-thin.
Don’t freak, just breathe.
Her haunted eyes took me in, rounding slightly as they traveled up, down and back up again. Her mouth worked to speak but no words came out. She held my gaze and a tear tracked down her cheek.
“You’re even bigger than before.” She attempted a chuckle that fell flat, turning into a sob.