Page 20 of Forbidden

But as I gear up, my mind is on her. Not the fight, not the bodies I am going to be piling up by the end of today, just her. I see her laughing with Theodore in the pictures Frankie sent today, their heads too close, her smile too bright, and it is a blade twisting deeper until I can taste blood.

How can she sit there, giggling with that bastard, when she let me bury my face between her thighs in my office? How could she let him lean in, let him make her smile, when she was moaning my name with her legs shaking under my tongue?

I hold my gun so tight that the metal bites my palm, but all I see is her with him. Theodore. The kid I am going to carve into pieces today. I will start slow, drag him somewhere quiet, and tie him up so he can’t squirm away. First, I will break his jaw and let him choke on his own teeth for daring to speak to her.Then I will take a knife with a jagged edge and peel his skin off strip by strip, then watch him scream while I tell him she is mine and that every laugh she gave him belongs to me. I will gut him slowly, allowing his insides to spill out while he is still alive and still twitching so he knows what happens when he touches what is not his.

I will leave his eyes for last, gouge them out with my thumbs because he does not deserve to have ever seen her smile.

My gut churns, but my cock twitches too, because this rage is tangled up with her. That day in my office keeps replaying, over and over, like a drug I can’t quit. How I had her pinned against my desk when she did what she did best, riling me up. I did not fuck her, no, I held back, but I shoved her skirt up, ripped her panties, and licked her until she was dripping.

Her hands grabbed my hair and pulled, her thighs clamping around my head while she whimpered my name like it was the only word she knew.

I sucked her clit hard, tongue fucking her deep, and she came undone, shuddering, soaking my chin, her voice breaking on these little gasps that I can still hear. I have not thought of anything else since, not my guilt for going this far with my daughter’s best friend, nor my empire that is riding on a deal I’ve been briefed on, not the kills, just her intoxicating taste, her heat, the way she bucked against my mouth like she needed me. I should have taken her then, bent her over, and fucked her raw, but I stopped, and now it is eating me alive.

What am I even protecting? An empire? Or a woman who does not know I am watching her every move, who does not know I am unraveling because she smiled at fucking Theodore? I catch my reflection in the office bathroom mirror, eyes shadowed and jaw locked, a king in the dark losing his hold. I built all this to never feel weak, to never need anyone, and now I am breaking every rule for her.

I do not know if I am chasing power anymore or just her shadow, but I am in too deep to stop.

"Boss," Tommy calls, snapping me back. "We rolling?"

"Yeah." I grab my gun, voice steady but gut churning. "Let’s go."

But as I step out a few hours later, I glance at the feed one last time. She is curled up on her couch, reading, peaceful, like she did not just rip my world apart with that smile she gave him. That image of her with Theodore, her laugh echoes in my skull, mocking me while I drown in it.

For a split second, I wonder what it would be like to walk in, sit beside her, and let the world rot. Then I shake it off. That is not my life. Never will be. Aside from us being from two different worlds and the monumental age gap, she is my dead daughter’s best friend. And she died because of her.

Chapter 7

Penelope

I slam the apartment door shut, my hands shaking as I twist the lock. It’s been days since Adriano pinned me to his desk and licked me until I couldn’t breathe right. I was a mess then, and I still am. My skin hummed every time I thought about it. How his rough beard scraped my thighs, and his tongue claimed me like I was his to ruin. I wanted to purge it from me, that ache that wouldn’t quit. He lodged himself in my head, and I hated it.

Work didn’t help. He’d kept his distance, but I spotted him the very next day in the hallway at Caruso’s. He strutted by in that sharp suit, with eyes even sharper, and brushed past me like I was a ghost. Cold as hell. Didn’t even glance my way. Fine. If he was done, I told myself I was too. Except I wasn’t. I burned alive, and he held the match.

That same day, Theodore strolled into my life. I was grabbing coffee at that hole-in-the-wall shop on 5th, stirring sugar into my latte, when he slid up next to me. Tall, lean, with a tech-bro vibe—messy hair, soft brown eyes, and a grin full of charm.

“You look like you could use a refill already,” he said, nodding at my cup.

My lips curled up and I stirred slower. “What, you a barista?”

“Nah, just good at spotting someone who needs a pick-me-up.” He leaned on the counter, easy, relaxed. “I’m Theo.”

“Penelope.” I sipped my coffee, eyeing him. He wasn’t Adriano—nowhere near that raw edge—but maybe that was the point. Maybe I needed someone who didn’t make my pulse feel like a fistfight.

We talked. He was chatty, funny even, tossing out stories about coding glitches and late-night pizza runs. It felt light. Normal. By the time I finished my drink, he asked me out.

“Let me take you out to dinner tomorrow. Nothing fancy, just food and decent company.”

“I can’t. I’m going to see my sister.”

“But you’re free eventually, right?”

“Sure,” I said, shrugging. “Why not?”

Big mistake.

***

Today, I’m meeting up with him and the dinner’s fine at first. We hit a diner and get greasy burgers, sticky tables, and the buzz of Friday night chatter. Theo’s still talking, his hands waving as he rants about one of his apps crashing. I nod, half-listening and picking at my fries. He’s nice. Too nice, maybe. But it’s better than sitting home and replaying Adriano’s hands on Me like a broken record.

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