{TRIGGER WARNING! EXPLICIT CONTENT! DO NOT READ IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, THANK YOU! Otherwise, enjoy!}



Neveah frowns at me as I put my plate into the dishwasher. 'What does RR mean?' What?

She lifts my phone up and shows me the screen, a text from Rio.

𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚁

'I... You were not supposed to see that.' I say, my cheeks instantly turning red. 'Is that where you two-' 'I'm not going, we have to take all this shit to my mom.' I say, pointing at the bags we have to carry.

'Leya, Rio doesn't do waiting.' Veah says, grabbing her own phone, before dialing someone's number. 'What are you doing?'

'I won't be able to get all these bags over to your mom's place on my own.'

'You don't have to do it alone, I'll-' 'You're meeting with Rio in that sex dungeon of yours and- Hey Kai! Can you come over here and help me get some stuff to Ariana's place?' She says, completely ignoring me.

'Neveah, I can do it. Rio can wait.' She stares me dead in the eyes, and waits for Kai to respond.

I can faintly hear him saying: 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, get your ass over here please.' Neveah smiles at me, grabs two bags, and walks to the front door. 'Neveah!' 'See you in a few hours!' A few hours?!

I sigh deeply and look at my phone again, trying to see if he texted something else while I was talking to Veah, but he didn't.

When the metal door opens and I step inside, I realize that all the other doors are open.

'Took you long enough.' I freeze when I hear his voice coming from the bedroom and take a deep breath, before walking in there.

The room is pitch-black and I can't see anything. 'Get on the bed.'

My body wants to move, but I fight the urge to follow his command and look for him through the room.

'Valentina.' He warns, making my heart race like crazy.

I step into the room and try to make my way towards the bed without bumping into anything else.

I take a seat on the edge of the bed, facing straight into the darkness.

It's completely silent. And dark.

And Rafael stays silent.

I can hear him move around, but can't place him anywhere in the room.

The tension going through my body is driving me insane.

'Rafael?' I wait for him to answer, but simply hear him shuffle through the room. 'Are you-' 'You're very impatient, Valentina.'

'I just-' 'From now on, you'll be punished for every word coming out of your mouth.' I instantly shut my mouth and let his words linger in my mind.

Punishment... 'Do you understand?'

'Yes.' He chuckles on the other side of the room, making me turn my head a little. 'One.' What?

'That's not-' 'Two and three, keep talking.' Fucking hell...

He moves around again and I can vaguely see him walking through the room now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness.

I don't know what he has in mind, but I need him to explain a few things. And I'm actually curious as to what the punishment might be.

'What if you ask me something?' He moves closer, standing in front of me.

I squint my eyes to picture his face, but it's too dark and he's too far away.

'You're allowed to talk when I ask you a question.' He says, taking the last step until he's right in front of me, his legs brushing against mine. 'Do you understand?'

'Yes.' It's a question, but I hope he counts it as punishment.

His fingers graze my jaw, making my skin tingle at every inch he touches.

He slowly lifts my face up and takes a deep breath, before removing his hand.

'Take your clothes off.' He commands, taking a step back to allow me space.

I slowly take my clothes off and stare in the distance, impatiently waiting for his next command.

'Perfect.' He whispers, his breath brushing against my face as he speaks, 'Get back on the bed.'

I take a seat and wait for him to continue, to come close, to touch me, to do what he wants to do, to finish me like he always does.

I feel his breath on my forehead before he kisses the space between my brows.

His lips feel so soft and warm, that it's taking every cell in my body not to pull him on top of me right now.

His lips linger there for a few seconds, before he places another kiss on my nose, slowly dragging his lips further down.

Stopping at my chest, which is heaving like crazy, because he's making it impossible to breathe.

He goes lower and lower, until he's at my stomach. I tangle my hands into his hair and push him down a little.

'Hands on your side, Valentina.' He says, his words grumbling against my stomach.

I take my hands out of his hair and place them beside me, grasping onto the sheets as I would his hair.

He spreads my legs apart and drags his lips even lower, all while pressing his hand on my chest, trying to get me to lay down.

I clench my legs together automatically, making him sigh deeply.

His breath brushes against my thigh and I look down, trying to see his face.

'Do that again and I'll add ten strikes.' Ten?!

I try to relax and let him spread my legs again, waiting for his soft and warm lips to touch my skin again.

'Keep them apart.' I fight the urge to bite something back, but I don't want more strikes already.

Because I don't even know how long this is going to take.

'Stay still.' He whispers against my skin.

It's like I'm burning, slowly aching for more of him. For every inch of him.

His hands go on my thighs and keep my legs apart while his lips make their way to my clit. I bite my lower lip to keep myself silent, but it's harder than I thought.

Especially when he removes his right hand from my thigh and starts fingering me with it. 'Fuck.'

I want to wrap my legs around his head and keep him there forever.

'Ten.' He says, looking up at me. That's not fair...

He sucks on my clit and pulls me down on his face, looking right at me.

I have a hard time keeping my eyes open and roll my head back, letting the heat rush through my entire body.

An electric shock goes through my entire body and I bite my lip as my vision blurs for a few seconds, keeping myself quiet the best that I can.

He keeps sucking on my clit, his fingers slowly pumping in and out of me, while I ride my high.

'Stop.' I breathe, needing just a second to catch my breath.

He continues for just a few more seconds and my body automatically responds by forcing my legs together, and he pulls back, grinning at me.

'Twenty-one.' He tuts, licking his fingers. Fucking hell...

I lie on my back and hear him move around the room for a few seconds, my body still shivering from the orgasm.

'Sit up.' My body is still shaking, my muscles fighting my mind for some reason, 'Valentina, sit up.'

I force myself to sit up and look into the dark again.

'Close your eyes.' He commands as he moves away from me again. I close my eyes and try to catch my breath.

I await his next move, my eyes shut, and feel a shiver running down my spine.

He doesn't say or do anything else for a good ten seconds, making me wonder what he's doing.

I open my eyes a little bit and search around the dark room again, hearing him move around. 'Valentina, close your eyes.'

He might not even be looking at me, and even if he was, it would be impossible to see anything, but he knows.

He knows I'm looking.

Just like he knows that I'm waiting. That I'm eager for more.

He just knows.

I close my eyes and place my hands on either side of my legs, holding onto the sheets again. 'Good girl...'

My heart skips a beat again and I automatically press my legs together.

I hear a light switch and fight the urge to open my eyes and search for the beautiful man standing somewhere in this room.

'Keep them closed.'

Despite the urge to open my eyes and search the room for his next move, I keep my eyes closed.

I feel his hand go around my neck and inhale when he pushes me flat on the bed again.

'Open your eyes.' His fingers stroke up my jaw and I slowly open my eyes, staring straight into his.

He turned on the lights and is sitting right next to me. 'Twenty-one strikes Valentina, you really want to be punished, don't you?'

Is he messing with me? I don't answer his question in fear of getting even more strikes.

'Close your eyes again.' I do as he says and feel his hand on my breast, pinching my nipples.

I arch up a little, biting my lip to keep myself silent.

'So obedient.' He whispers when I stay silent, pressing his lips on mine for a brief second.

The bed dips a little and I can hear him move around again.

A drawer opens and closes on the right side of the bed, making me tense a little. What is he doing?

'Do you trust me?' He asks, the bed dipping down a little.

'Yes.' I whisper breathlessly, feeling his hand on my thigh. 'Open your eyes.'

I open my eyes and look at his hand on my thigh, feeling warmth rush through me when his thumb circles on my skin.

His other arm moves into my vision, and I can't help but widen my eyes at the sight of what he's holding.

A gun.

The metal reflects in the light and I turn my face towards him.

He leans in, slowly tracing the end of his pistol up my thigh. 'You can talk.'

I inhale sharply and look into his eyes, trying to read what he's trying to do. 'Do you want this?'

Despite the fact that I'm a little scared, I can't help but be curious at the same time.

'Yes.' I breathe when he moves it up and up. He presses it on my clit and pins me to the bed at my waist, trying to stop me from moving too much.

'Is it loaded?' I ask, suddenly a little afraid. His lips curl up and I freak out for a second. 'Guess we'll have to find out.'

He moves the gun down a little, keeping his eyes on me, before he pushes it inside of me.

His pistol is cold, making me shiver as he pumps it in and out of me slowly.

'Faster.' He pinches my nipple again and fastens his movements, making me moan this time.

'Rafael- Fuck.' He grins as he starts sucking on my skin, leaving marks all over my chest. 'Tell me how it feels.'

'I- Shit.' I can't even form a sentence as he keeps pumping the gun in and out of me, making my mind go putty all over again.

'Tell me how it feels, Valentina.'

The only word that comes to mind, is the word I'm unable to speak right now.

'Heaven.' I moan, gripping onto the sheets again even though I want to hold onto him. 'Fuck, you look good right now.'

Maybe it's the cold metal, maybe it's the way Rio's holding me, maybe it's the way he's talking to me, maybe it's everything all together.

But it's all too much at the same time.

And I lose it.

I come all over his gun, shaking more than ever before, with him sucking on the skin in my neck.

He pushes the gun deep inside of me and looks into my eyes, watching as I explode in front of him.

I could stay like this forever and wish we could, but his phone rings on the other side of the room.

And he sighs deeply, pulling his gun out of me, before looking at me.

I try to calm myself down from what just happened and drop down on the bed.

'Pick up the phone.' I mumble, rolling over to the side so that I can face him.

'Are you sure?' I frown for a second, before nodding. 'Maybe it's important.'

He walks over to the nightstand and grabs his phone, looking at me as I sit up for a few seconds.

'I'm going to shower, so take your time.' I say, heading to the bathroom.

I take a quick shower and slip back into the two-piece Brandon picked out.

When I make my way out of the shower, I notice that he's still on the phone, looking pretty pissed about something.

'Everything okay?' I ask as I move my hair out of the way a bit. He looks at me and nods, before getting off of the bed.

I wait for him to end the call and walk over to the couch.

It's almost six in the afternoon already, and we promised to be at my mom's place by eight.

When I look at Rio again, I can tell that whatever it is they're talking about is messing up his mood.

And I don't want to bother him too much, so I make my way to the door and turn around to face him. 'I'll meet you at my mom's place.'

He stares at me and doesn't say a word, before heading to the bathroom and locking himself in there.

I sigh deeply and make my way to my mom's place, suddenly feeling a little drained. And sad.

Because today is the last day I get to spend with her for a long time.

And all I've been doing is sleeping with Rio. Fucking hell...

I get to my mom's house and ring the bell, waiting for someone to open it, since it's locked.

No one answers.

And when I try to listen for voices on the other side of the wall, which would be normal because my family can't stay silent even if their lives depended on it, I hear nothing.

What's going on?

I dial Neveah's number and wait for her to pick up, while I try to peek over the wall.

But I'm too short.

And the fact that Neveah doesn't pick up, unsettles me.

What the fuck is going on?

I call everyone else, and none of them answer the phone.

My heart starts racing and I look around, running to my Abuelo's place across the street, but no one's there either. What the fuck?

I start walking back to my house and try to call Rafael, hoping that he ended his call already.

But he doesn't pick up, so I gather he didn't.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Something feels off and it's freaking me out.

I call Veah again, praying to god that she just picks up this time and that everything is completely fine.

'Valentina?' I stop at the sound of his voice and turn around.

Without thinking twice, I run over to him and crash into his chest. 'Where is everyone?'

'What do you mean?' He asks, completely oblivious to what I'm on about. 'Why is no one picking up their phones, I tried calling and no one is answering and they're not at my mom's place either.'

He nods uninterested in anything I just said and pulls me in for a hug.

'What are you doing? What if something happened? We should probably-' 'They're fine.' He says, his chest grumbling at the words. What?

'How do you know that?' I ask, taking a step back to look at him again.

Rafael Curzio never wore anything else than black. Black suits. Black t-shirts. Black fancy clothing that looked more expensive than anything I'd ever owned before I met him.

And here he is, in the middle of a warm summer evening, wearing one of his famous suits again.

Yet it seems different.

It feels different.

I just can't point out why or how. It just does.

I blink once and almost stumble back at the sight playing out in front of me.

Floating lanterns appear all around us, making me stare at a few of them. Wow...

They capture me and keep me on the spot, addicted to staring at the colors playing in my vision. 'What is all this?' I try to look at the water, because I can tell that that's where the lanterns are coming from, but stop when I hear Rio clear his throat.

'Did you do all this?' He keeps his eyes on mine, not answering my question at all, and takes a deep breath.

'Valentina,' He starts, taking a step forward, 'Sometimes I wonder why my heart picked you.'

What? My heart starts beating when he reaches for his back pocket. No fucking way...

'Because sometimes you annoy me, but I would never take back any of it. Apart from the fact where I hurt you.'

I almost take a step back and keep my eyes on him. 'And I can't promise you I will never hurt you again, but I'll do the best I can.'

The lanterns paint the sky even prettier as the sun sets.

It's like there's a bunch of stars burning very low to the ground.

'Because you are the most important thing to me right now.' My heart flutters and I watch as he slowly gets down on one knee. 'Now I know that everything in this... Relationship... happened pretty fast.'

'It really did.' I mumble, watching as he grabs my hand, 'What happened to you not wanting to marry?'

'I never said I didn't want to marry.' He says, making my heart race even faster. 'You said that you would only marry if you found the right one.'

'You're the right one.' No. Fucking. Way...

Right in the palm of his hand, lies a tiny black velvet box. Even the box looks expensive.

'I'm a fucked up man with a dark life and a lot of enemies. But I'll do anything in my power to protect you, Valentina.' He says.

I almost rub my eyes because of the fact that I think I can see his cheeks go a little pink. Is he blushing?

He opens the velvet black box with a shiny golden ring inside. Holy fuck... There's a ruby in the middle of the ring and it's the absolute prettiest thing I've ever seen.

'Cataleya Valentina Velez, will you marry me?'

I feel like the entire world stops. I feel like there's no air around anymore. I feel like I'm floating, enjoying this perfect scene while it lasts, and keep my eyes on the man in front of me.

I love him even though he broke my heart and turned it into ashes.

And I know he tried to make up for all of it by showing me that he does care, but it still hurts thinking about it.

But I can't hurt him.

I can't endure him being hurt. Not like that.

Yet my mind is telling me to wait just a little longer, even though my heart is screaming at me to just go for it.

Because we've been waiting for so long.

And my heart is speaking louder than my head right now.

I just want to play with him first...

'Hmm...' his eyes widen for a split second before annoyance takes over, 'do I want to marry you?'

'Watch your words, Velez.'

I inhale sharply and lean back, shaking my head at him.

'See now you ruined-' I take another step back, ready to walk away, but Rio grabs my arm and I freeze.

'Stop playing, Valentina.'

I smile as I lift his chin, just like he always does to me.

The man who I thought was unbreakable, is kneeling in front of me, laying himself completely bare, asking me to marry him.

He looks at me, nervously waiting for my answer.

And all I do is kiss him, unable to contain my smile as his lips meet mine.

'I take that as a yes?'

I chuckle as he slowly stands back up, looking down at me again.

'Of course.' I mumble against his lips, kissing him again. 'I want nothing more.'

His smile warms every cell in my body as he smiles and slips the ring on my finger.

I stare at the ring, unable to keep myself from smiling at it.

'Now we can go to your family.' He whispers, kissing me again.

He grabs my hand and walks back to my place, making me frown at him. 'So you did plan all this?'

'Maybe I did.' He opens the front gate for me and smiles, 'Maybe I didn't.'

'And?!' Neveah shouts as she runs through the front door, followed by my family.

'Please tell me you said yes!' Rosalia almost pushes her to the side to get to me. 'If you said no, at least let me have him!'

I roll my eyes and raise my hand, twirling the gorgeous ring in the air.

'Holy fuck!' Neveah jumps into my arms and starts hugging me, 'Congratulations!'

I can barely blink before they drag me through the house.

They all ask me a bunch of questions, telling me how he planned it all behind my back and told them to ignore any of my calls.

We all sit around the big table in the backyard, my uncles grilling some meat again, while the others keep asking me how it all went down.

Tio Diego takes Rio over to the other side of the table, right across from me, and talks to him about something I can't follow because of everyone asking me questions.

I excuse myself and head to the food table, ready to fill my plate because I'm getting hungry.

Marco smiles at me and follows me to the table, filling his own plate as well.

'I realized I love you.' I freeze and look at Marco, who's not even looking at me, as I take in what he just said.

'What?' I ask, stumbling towards him. He nods and keeps his eyes on the ground, avoiding eye contact at all cost.

'Marco, what did you just say?'

'Please don't make me repeat myself Cataleya.' Oh no...

'Marco, I...' I don't even know how to respond or what to do.

How do you respond to someone saying something like this, if you don't feel the same way?

This is the first time something like this ever happened to me.

Apart from the whole Hunter part, but I needed him to fall for me back then.

Because I needed to get into his head.

I don't need to get in Marco's head.

And I don't want to hurt him.

'I know you don't love me, I just wanted you to know.' Marco...

'I'm sorry.' His lips curl up, just a little before he finally looks at me.

And I honestly wish he wouldn't, because my heart hurts like hell because of it.

Now I'm the one looking away, staring at everyone else who's enjoying the food we made together.

'When did you... you know, start loving me?'

He chuckles and sighs as he looks at the others as well.

'I don't know.' He admits, keeping his eyes on the others as I take him all in. 'I just knew I was in love with you when all my decisions started to revolve around you.'

I feel bad for him.

And it doesn't help that Rio is sitting at the table, chatting with my Abuelo and Tio, laughing with them.

It doesn't help that my fiance is laughing with my family, warming my heart, no, my entire body, simply because of his smile.

'Marco, I'm sorry.' I say, looking at him again.

He smiles before turning towards me. 'It's okay, I'll manage.'

I know he will eventually, but right now, it's hard.

'I'm just happy that my friend is finally in love as well.'

Even if it's with the one he loves himself...

'I hope we can still be friends Leya.' He says, a faint hint of fear in his voice, as he tilts his head a little.

'Of course,' I say, smiling at him, 'We'll stay friends Marco.'

The smile returns and he looks back at the others again. 'I'm glad to hear that.'

'So am I.' I say, looking back at the others as well.

Everyone seems to be having a great time, even Isabelle, and I melt when I notice Rio talking to little Riley. Oh my-

Riley points her little fingers at me, making Rio look up at me and Marco standing on the little porch.

And my heart just stops.

This man is going to be the death of me.

I can already tell.

'Are you girls still going out tonight?' Marco asks as we both head back to the table. 'I think so-' 'Yes! We are going out, I need to go all out for one last time with my prima!'

I look over my shoulder and stare at Martina, who's smiling brightly at me.

'So hurry up and finish your plate so we can go.' Rosa joins, from the other side of the table.

I smile and turn back to Marco, who's laughing at me.

We finish our plates and put everything back in the kitchen.

'Let's go party!'Martina shouts, pulling me out of the kitchen. 'We have to go now before the lines get too long!'

'Good luck boys!' Neveah shouts, pulling Celine, Isabelle, and Brandon out of the house as well, before closing the door.

Nico, Vincent, Killian, Kai, and Rio are forced to stay with my family while we go out and enjoy our night.

Our last night together.

They instantly head to the bar and I follow behind with Neveah, making sure that everyone stays close together.

Yo voy is blasting through the speakers all around the club and Tina and Rosa turn to me, shouting at the top of their lungs.

'Ella hace todo por seducirme! Y yo voy, voy, voy!' They circle around Neveah and me, making me laugh a little.

'Can we all take a shot?!' Brandon asks, barely loud enough to get over the music. 'Yes, please!' Isabelle chuckles at Celine's excitement, but I frown.

'You want to drink?' Veah asks, frowning at Celine as well. 'Am I not allowed to drink?' She asks, blushing a little.

'You are, just... Don't go all out okay?' Martina jumps in between us and shakes her head. 'No! Tonight we are going all out bitch!'

She leans over the bar and orders all of us a shot, before Rosa throws her arm around Celine. 'That's what we're here for!'

'I'm going to fucking kill you two.' I mutter while the others all laugh at me.

I love those two so much, but they can be so annoying sometimes.

Veah hands everyone a drink and we all cling our glasses together. 'To Cataleya Curzio!'

I stare at Tina and hear the others chant the same thing, making me look at all of them.

They all take the shot, leaving me with mine, while I wait for them to say something else.

But they don't.

'Just take the damn shot, because you're going to become a Curzio soon bitch!' Brandon exclaims, before being pulled away by Tina.

'Eso ya tiene dueño!' I roll my eyes and take the shot, feeling the bitter taste of the tequila go down my throat.

'Are we going to follow them?' Isabelle asks, pointing in the direction they disappeared into.

Rosa shakes her head and orders another round of shots, before handing all of us one. 'Just one more!'

They all look at me in anticipation, waiting for my word. 'Fuck it.'

One night won't hurt.

It's the last time I'll drink in a long time.

'Let's go!' Veah exclaims as she clings her glass against mine, 'To a beautiful wedding!'

We all take the shot and laugh at each other's faces.

Before I can even blink, Rosa already ordered another round of shots. 'Another one, to a beautiful feature with lots of hot men!'

We take shot after shot, everyone manifesting something different until they realize that I haven't toasted to anything yet, and they all turn to me.

I take a deep breath and cling my glass against theirs, 'To a long and close friendship which- feels like family!'

Celine shouts and throws her arm around me, almost dropping her shot, and kisses my cheek. 'To family!'

We all take the shot and place our glasses on the bar, before heading to the dancefloor.

Brandon and Tina are dancing and laughing all over the place, while everyone else just joins in.

'Go Celine!' Isabelle shouts while Celine shakes her ass to the beat of the music. 'Si estoy con ella no es un crimen! Y yo voy, voy, voy!' Tina shouts as she circles around me again.

She bumps into a guy and quickly moves back over to us, laughing at the fact that she made the dude drop his drink.

He looks over at us and frowns for a second, before turning the other way again. What the fuck?

'I love you Leya!' Veah shouts, making me smile. The alcohol is getting to me, but I'll allow myself to let it all go for one night. 'Promise me you won't leave me!'

She smiles and shakes her head, before throwing her arm over my shoulder and hugging me tightly. 'I would never leave you!'

'But you said you would leave after all this drama was over!' She leans back a bit, her smile instantly disappearing. 'Right...'

I feel like an idiot for bringing it up because she looks like she forgot about all of it, but at the same time, I wouldn't have the courage to bring it up if I didn't take those shots and we're going to have this talk at some point.

'Please don't leave.' I beg, throwing my arms over her shoulders this time. She chuckles and almost falls over, but Brandon keeps us standing and dances past us in the process. 'Please?'

'Leya, I can't stay.' She mumbles into my ear, leaning on my shoulder a bit. 'I love you, but I can't stay.'

'Why not?' I ask desperately needing her to stay. She's my best friend, it just feels wrong for her to leave. 'I need to clear my head for a while.'

I look down on her and smile, making sure we keep moving around the group so that we don't drift apart.

'Will you at least help me with all this wedding shit?' I ask, tapping on her nose.

We start laughing and dance around again, before hugging each other tightly. 'I wouldn't want to miss any of it.'

J-Lo, ya tú sabes, no hay más na'

Neveah lets go of me and looks at me with wide eyes. 'Let's go!' She shouts as she pulls me over to the others again.

'Let me introduce you to my party people in the club, huh!' Brandon shouts, dancing around like crazy.

We all look at Celine, since she's jumping in the middle, and wait for her to continue, but she can barely form a sentence right now.

We all start laughing and continue to dance to the rhythm of the music, sometimes shouting at the top of our lungs just like everyone else in the club.

'Dance the night away! Live your life and stay young on the floor!'

It's the night of our lives, we're singing and dancing and having a lot of fun. Just one last time. At least for a long time.

'La la la la la la la! Tonight we gon' be it on the floor!'

Someone bumps into Brandon, almost making him fall over, and strides straight past him.

It's the same dude Tina bumped into earlier.

He just brought some friends this time as they circle around us. Fuck...

'Bitch what the fuck?' Brandon asks, looking at the guy that bumped into him.

He doesn't even turn around, but I can feel him grinning. 'Are you okay?'

Another guy bumps into Brandon, almost pushing him over again.

'Mira hacia donde vas!' One of the guys shouts at him, giving him another push.

Brandon stumbles over and drops onto the ground, looking up at the guy that pushed him.

He seems too young to even be here.

'Sal de aquí!' Rosa sneers while Neveah and I help Brandon up. 'What the fuck is your problem?'

Celine takes a step forward, almost stumbling over to the guy, and points her finger at him.

'Are you okay?' Brandon rubs his ass and nods, before glaring at the guys across from us again.

'Calm down, chica. It's not that deep.' Neveah pulls Celine away from the guy, but another dude steps forward, making something switch in Neveah.

Fuck...

There was this one time where we went out before. It was at a simple houseparty where this guy tried to flirt with me when I was clearly not having it.

Neveah was drunk, but she got sober real quick when she heard what he said.

And she was ready to fight.

'Isn't it past your bedtime, little guy?' The boy stares her dead in the eyes and she does the same, Celine standing right by her side.

Forming a front.

The other dudes all start laughing, pointing at Brandon who's ready to pull out a knife any second now.

All except the one who it all started with.

Because he's staring at me.

'Tell your friend to calm down.' He says, looking at Neveah with disgust.

'You guys bumped into him, apologize.' I say trying to seem as confident as I should. Because there's no way I'm letting them walk over my friends like that.

'What?' The guy asks, frowning at me. He steps forward, ending right in front of me. 'Do you even know who I am?'

'Do you?' I ask as I look straight into his eyes.

I just know this is the booze talking, but right now, I don't give a single shit.

He grabs onto my wrist and squeezes the shit out of it, hurting me a little.

I didn't want to cause a scene, but knowing the people I'm with, Neveah, Martina, and Rosalia, there might not be any other way.

'You should be glad I don't hit girls-' Before he can even finish his sentence, Brandon swings at him, giving him a right hook.

He lets go of me and stumbles back, wiping the blood dripping from his mouth.

Everyone explodes and turns to Brandon, ready to murder him for hitting their leader. 'Get him!'

'Piece of shit!' Neveah shouts, slamming her fist into the guy in front of her since he's the one who moves towards Brandon first.

We all start throwing punches, getting hit left and right, while everyone else slowly starts noticing that something's going on.

It doesn't take long for security to get in between, and they send the boys away. Because apparently, they've been causing a lot of trouble before.

'Fuck them.' Rosa groans, having a hard time keeping Celine from lunging at them again. 'We should probably leave too, they ruined my whole mood.' Isabelle says, rubbing her cheek.

One of the guys hit her hard and she seems a bit dizzy now. 'I swear to god, I want to kill them.'

My blood is boiling and I can't believe that actually happened, but it did.

'I'm sorry I ruined the night guys...' Brandon mumbles. 'It's not your fault that they're just a bunch of assholes!' Celine grunts, finally stopping to try and get to the guys.

'Fuck it, let's just wait a few minutes, and then we'll leave.' I don't need them following us back to the house.

'Why not leave now, we can still beat their asses on the-' 'Tina, now is not the time.' I say, pulling her back before she runs after them and gets herself into some serious trouble.

'Leya, your lip.' Neveah stumbles over to me and scans my face, while I try to shake her off. 'I'm fine, I promise.'

I did get hit, but I'm fine.

After a few minutes of debating what we should do, we decide to indeed head back home and call it a night.

The guys aren't waiting outside either, meaning they left already and won't bother us anymore.

We drop Tina and Rosa off first, taking our time saying our goodbyes since it will be our last time seeing each other.

After listening to their cries and pleas to come with us, we make our way to my house.

We all head through the gate, instantly being welcomed by the guys.

'What the fuck happened to you guys?' Vince asks, instantly rushing over to Celine who's having a hard time staying on her feet.

I can tell that Kai wants to inspect her too, but he contains himself.

'Why are you all waiting by the door?'

Rio frowns as he takes me in, not even blinking as he strides over to me. 'What the fuck is this?'

He takes off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders, my nose filling with his scent.

His finger brushes over my lip, hurting like crazy. I flinch and turn my head the other way, but he forces me to look at him again.

'Who did this?' Just like Neveah has a protective side, so does Rio.

But I think Rio's protective side is way worse.

'Tell me what happened. Who did this to you?' He asks, slowly brushing over my lip again. It hurts a little less, but it still hurts.

Unable to say or do anything, I keep my eyes on him. Completely entranced by his eyes.

'North?' He takes his eyes off of me for a split second, probably looking at Neveah for an explanation.

'Some guy bumped into Brandon and acted all tough with his group of fucking twelve-year-olds- I swear to god I thought I was going to kill them.' She groans, rubbing her temples.

It was certainly not a fair fight, but some of their guys got beat up pretty badly.

'Any names?' He asks, looking at me again. 'They all had some stupid chain on.' Brandon says, searching for something on his phone. 'Like this.'

He shows a picture to Rio and waits a second.

Now that I think about it, they were all wearing a chain with XIX.

'Marco, portameli.' I inhale sharply at the sound of his voice, feeling my heart race again. 'On it.'

Marco helps Isabelle into the house, followed by everyone else, except for Neveah and Rio.

'How much did you guys drink?' Rio asks, keeping his eyes on me, but I doubt he's asking me. 'A lot.' Veah answers.

'You'll regret it in the morning.' Rio sighs, turning towards Veah as she heads towards the front door as well. 'That's not your problem though, is it?'

'I'm not waiting for your ass to wake up, so you better not be late tomorrow.'

She mutters something as she heads inside and closes the door behind her.

Rio turns back to me and looks at my face again, as if staring at my busted lip will fix anything.

'Are you sure you're okay?' He asks as he helps me to the front door. I nod and take off his jacket, suddenly feeling very warm. 'Valentina-' 'Come here.'

I pull him closer and press my lips on his, letting the heat rush through my body, melting every cell in my body.

I can taste my blood on his tongue and feel something else rush through me. Something new.

Something I felt earlier as well.

'Stop it.' He groans, trying to keep me in one spot instead of touching him everywhere.

'But I want to.' I groan desperately, his eyes glimmering in the moonlight. 'Please, Rafael.'

He's debating if he should just pick me up and carry me inside or continue what he's doing now. Which is being difficult.

'You're drunk.' He mumbles against my lips as he slowly pulls me towards the kitchen.

'Fuck you.' I say as I head to the freezer. He follows me towards my side of the kitchen and frowns at me. 'What are you doing?'

'I want to eat some ice cream.' I'm definitely drunk, 'What are you going to do to those guys?'

'I'll kill them, of course.' My heart skips a beat and I look him dead in the eyes, wondering if he's lying or not.

But I should know better.

Of course he's not lying.

'There's no need, it's not that deep.'

His frown only deepens as he takes a step closer, almost locking me in between him and the freezer. 'Valentina, no one puts their hands on you and gets away with it.' Fuck.

'You don't have to kill them.' He rolls his eyes and leans against the counter right next to the freezer, smiling a little. 'We'll see.'

'You are not killing them.'

I finally find the tub of ice cream and throw it onto the counter.

'Teach me Italian.' I say as I search for two spoons. 'You want to learn Italian?'

I nod and hand him one of the spoons, before opening the tub of ice cream. 'Why?'

'Because it makes Rafael Adriano Curzio the man he is,' I say as I shove the spoon in the ice cream, my mouth watering as I bring the spoon to my mouth, 'and he's going to be my husband so I want to know how to speak to him.'

Husband... He's going to be my husband.

I jump onto the counter and move the tub of ice cream closer to me.

'You can do that perfectly fine in English.' I roll my eyes and look him dead in the eye as I take another scoop. 'Just teach me.'

With a grin playing on his luscious lips, he makes his way over to me, ending between my legs.

'Sei sicuro?' It sounds different, but it makes me want him even more. 'What does that mean?'

'Guess.' He says, placing his hand on my thigh, slowly drawing circles with his thumb. I look at his hand and feel my heart beat faster, before looking back into his eyes.

Those gorgeous golden brown with green eyes. Fucking hell... I should not have drank that much...

'I have no idea.' I answer honestly, unable to think of anything else while he's so close. Touching me.

'Are you sure?' He says, leaning in a bit more. 'Yes, I'm pretty sure I don't know-' 'It means, are you sure?' Oh...

He chuckles and pulls his hand away, before leaning on the counter across from me. Don't go...

I want him close. I want every inch of him, but that won't happen tonight, so I want him close.

'Sei strano.' He says, the words rolling out of his mouth like honey.

Suddenly I do feel like a little bee.

I chuckle at my own thought and stare at Rio's lips, unable to stop. 'Say that again.'

His lips curl up as he shakes his head and waits for me to answer. 'Sei is you are, but I have no idea what strano is.'

'Weird.' He says, moving over to my side again. He places his hands on both sides, locking me between him and the counter.

'So you called me weird?' He nods and chuckles, making me chuckle as well. 'That's mean.'

'Another one.' I insist, throwing the spoon into the sink because I won't be eating anymore. He sighs deeply and looks into my eyes again, my heart skipping a beat when his lips part a little.

'Sei la mia vita.' Sei... La... Mia... Vita... 'You're la mine vita.' I repeat, melting as his thumb caresses my skin again. 'Vita sounds like vida.'

He smiles and shrugs, not giving me an answer. 'Tell me.'

'Take a guess.' Everything goes blank as he places his hands on my thigh and massages my skin, making me move closer to the edge so that he has to hold onto me more. 'I have no idea.'

'You were close. Sei cosi bella.' I think about it for a second and stare at his lips again, instantly losing my train of thoughts. 'Valentina?'

'Mhm?' He tilts my head up by placing his finger underneath my chin. 'Translate it for me.'

'You're something... Beautiful?' He drags his finger down my lips and smiles. 'Almost.'

'Baciami.' He says, leaning awfully close. Baciami? It sounds like food... Or... Bésame.

I lean in as well and press my lips on his, feeling his hands wrap around me as he lifts me off the counter.

I automatically wrap my legs around his waist and let him carry me away, while our lips collide in the best way possible.

He lifts me up, carries me to the bedroom, and places me on the bed, not breaking the kiss once.

I turn a little, wrapping my leg around his waist to keep him close.

'Sei mia.' He whispers as he wraps his heavy arms around me, making me feel warm and safe like never before. 'What does that mean?' I ask, feeling extremely tired. 'You're mine.'

'One more.' I mumble, fighting the tiredness taking over my body. 'Uhm...' He thinks about it for a second, letting his fingers stroke over my skin.

It's as if it makes me sleepier by the second.

'Ti voglio bene.' Ti... Voglio... Bene...

'What does-' I can't help but yawn, 'it mean?'

'Go to sleep.' Right...

----

A/N: THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO FREAKING LONG JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!

ANYWAYS! I love you guys so much and I want to thank you guys for all the support! I'm so glad you guys are so invested in the story and all of that, so just THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER BABIESS!!!!

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