Chapter 12

**Selina**


“I don’t need a damn bodyguard.” It wasn’t that. I just didn’t want Kade being my fucking shadow. He’d done enough to screw my life up.
“Selina,” Giovanni sighed. “This isn’t up for discussion. I don’t want you to get hurt any more than you already have. You said it yourself, it overdue that you and Kade have a chat.”
“A chat!” I growled. “I said a chat, not have him up my ass every second.”
“Kade is the only one I can spare at the moment. Please sweetheart, try to be civil, for Kaden’s sake.”
“Fine, but just so you know, that was a dirty move.”
“I can’t lose you, Selina. It would break Caterina and Rose’s heart if they lost you.”
“When will he start?”
“Now. The sooner, the better.”
I blew out a frustrated breath.
Giovanni leaned down and kissed the top of my head and murmured. “Rose will watch Kaden while you’re healing. Unless… you trust Kade to take care of him for you.”
“No, I’m not ready for that.”
“Ok, fair enough. I’ll let you rest now.”
I rolled over on my side and closed my eyes. Memories of how Kade and me met ran through my head. How could I be so stupid to think the bastard ever cared for me? I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to be met with Kade’s intense gaze.
“Get out.” I hissed, throwing him a glare.
“Haven’t you heard, darlin’? I’m your bodyguard now. Where you go, I go. If you have to pee, I go too. And if you have to take your clothes off when you're up on that stage, I will be right there to make sure you stay safe. Suck it up princess, you’re stuck with me.”
“I hate you.” That was a lie. I still loved him.
“Oh come on, you know that’s not true. After all we’ve been through and you’re gonna try to tell me that you’ve moved on? I don’t buy it, Honey.”
“Don’t fucking call me that!” I said through clenched teeth.
“Listen here, baby. I’ve been hired to protect you. So, how about we get reacquainted with each other. How about you hop on over here and show me what all the fuss it about you down at the club?”
“Screw you, Kade. I see you’re still the same punk ass bitch you were in high school.”
Kade had me pinned to the bed quicker than I could say ‘screw you’. If looks could kill, I’d be dead. He leaned into my neck and whispered harshly. “There are things you don’t know about. Things I had to sacrifice. I gave up everything for you. I fucking loved you. Loved. You. Now, it’s like I don’t exist.”
“You’re kidding, right? You’re the one who walked away. You. Left. Me. My parents disowned me. Threw me out in the streets. I was pregnant, asshole! Fucking pregnant. All alone with nowhere to go.”
“You don’t think I hated myself for leaving. I didn’t want to. He made me leave town. He said if… never fucking mind. It doesn’t matter now.”
Our lips were an inch apart, breaths heavy and angry at each other. The urge was there. He lowered his gaze to my lips. He felt it too. The sexual tension. The need to close the gap and admit defeat.
“If what and who is he?” I asked, my chest heaving.
“Doesn’t fucking matter now, does it? I still left and you still became a stripper. The better question is when were you gonna tell me about my son? Were you gonna wait until he was all grown up to tell him about his father? Or… were you gonna hook up with Zane and give him the Daddy role?”
“That’s not fair and you know it. This isn’t all on me.” I had no fight left in me. Tears clouded my vision and I clenched his shirt, pounding my fists against his chest. All the years I had to do everything alone had finally caught up to me.
“No, it’s not all on you, but it’s not all me either. It was him that split us apart. He did this to us. Maybe if I’d fought harder, we could have been a family.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Your own damn father. He had his dirty cop escort me out of town. He said that if I came back all my secrets would be revealed and I couldn’t have that. I didn’t kill her. I might have been driving, but it wasn’t my fault the brakes had been cut. Who do you think would do something that low to kill their own flesh and blood? I wasn’t even supposed to be in the car. I was only driving because she had too much to drink.”
“Kade, I don’t even…”
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter now. It happened and now all I can do is move forward. And by moving forward, I mean I want to get to know my son. I want us to at least not kill each other when we’re in the same room. I want what has always belonged to me. You, baby. I want you.”
“I don’t trust you with my heart.”
“Then, let me ask you one thing. Do you trust me to keep you safe? Do you trust me to protect my son from harm’s way?”
“I don’t trust you with my heart, but I trust that you’ll keep us safe. Please, don’t make me regret it.”
“You won’t, baby. I’ll never let what happened before happen again. Never, Selina.”
“Won’t your girlfriend be pissed?”
He laughed. “I don’t have a girlfriend. In fact, I’ve only ever had one and I let her get away. Never again, little momma. I’ll never let you go.”
“But… I saw you with Claire.”
“You saw what I wanted you to see. Just like you and Giovanni leaving the club. You and Zane all cuddled up. You have no idea how badly I wanted to murder them. I may be a different man now, but there’s one thing that hasn’t changed. I’m still very possessive of you. Always have been and always will be. You have my word, no man will ever put his hands on you. They can look, but they better never lay their hands on you.”
“I don’t belong to you… not anymore.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, baby. This body is very much mine. Every inch. Every curve is mine. I’m the only one who will make this pussy come.”
“I’m not having sex with you. I won’t be put in a situation I have no control over ever again. I won’t be a piece of trash you throw out when you get bored.”
His hand wrapped around my neck and squeezed. I clawed at his wrist, but it was no use. His strength was no match for me. “I’m not gonna fuck you. Not until you trust me again. Not until I get revenge for that man attacking you and my son. Not until I hear you beg me to make you mine again. In fact, the very next man that touches you will not have to worry about Giovanni. He’ll have to worry about me. Mark my words, I’ll kill them with my bare hands. The very hands that will make you come undone.”
“Kade…”
“Let me tell you this, Zane better be glad he’s Giovanni’s son. If he wasn’t, he’d be dead.”
“Kade, Zane and I are just friends.”
“Oh yeah, then why was he cuddled up to you in the club? Why did you leave with him? Most of all, why has he been hanging around when you’re up there grinding on the pole?”
“It’s true, we’re only friends.”
“Yeah? I highly doubt that. Tell me this, has he touched you… kissed you… made you come?”
I couldn’t look at him.
Because Zane had done everything except kiss me on the lips.
“No, he hasn’t.” I lied.
“I call bullshit, but it’s whatever. Don’t worry, I’ll let everyone know that ‘Honey’ is off limits. That anyone who crosses the line with you will die a slow and painful death.”
“Leave. Now.”
I couldn’t be around him when he was like this.
Unhinged.
Possessive.
Blood boiling at the thought of me with another man.
“I’ll go, but remember this the next time you make yourself come on your fingers. It’s my name you’ll cry out when you find your release. It will always be my face you see when you bring yourself to orgasm in this bed. Don’t worry, I’ll do the same when I jerk it in the shower at night. It will be your face I see when I find my release.”
With that being said, he’s gone.
“What the hell just happened?” I whispered, rubbing the sore spot on the side of my neck.