The Dangerous Past
Autorzy
Sissi Grandeur (with S. S. Sahoo)
Lektury
89,5K
Rozdziały
28
Angela and Xavier Knight finally take a vacation without kids and family! They desperately need a break to rekindle their intimacy and the famed seaside resort in Capri, Italy, is the perfect hideout. But their idyllic second honeymoon turns into a nightmare when Xavier meets a long-lost friend and gets entangled in a web of crime. As Xavier’s wild past comes back to haunt—and hunt—him, Angela becomes the one caught in the crossfire. Can their marriage, and Angela, survive the secrets he’s been trying to keep?
Age Rating: 18+ (Assault, Extreme Violence/Gore, Violent Death)
Chapter 1
ANGELA
I took a deep breath, watching the sun set on the horizon. The corners of my lips curled into a little smile as I looked up at the clear blue sky and took in the summer breeze.
My skin tingled from the slight chill, and goosebumps appeared on my naked shoulders. Strong arms wrapped around my torso, and I closed my eyes, savoring the sense of tranquility.
“I missed you in bed,” Xavier whispered into my ear, hugging me tighter from behind. I leaned my head back on his chest and interlaced my fingers with his.
“It’s almost dinner time,” I replied, pressing my body against him and feeling the heat radiate from him.
“You are my favorite dessert.” He gently nibbled my earlobe, and the memories of our most recent lovemaking washed over me, causing an inferno of sparks to travel through my body.
“We have a reservation.” I bit my lip when he started kissing my neck, seeming not to care about my weak objections.
His hand cupped my breast, working my nipple, while his mouth gently moved down to my shoulder, licking all the sensitive spots he knew would set me on fire.
“Xavier,” I moaned, reaching back with my arm. I squeezed his thigh and felt his hard member pressing against my body through the thin fabric of his T-shirt that I was wearing, and I realized he was completely naked behind me.
He didn’t waste time with formalities. He placed his hand on my neck and roughly bent me over the railing, entering me from behind. I gasped, arching my back.
I gazed at the people on the street under the balcony. We were on the seventh floor, but if I screamed, they would easily hear me.
I whimpered, suppressing a loud moan, when Xavier gripped my hips and started thrusting into me. I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing hard as the pleasure spread from my core to every cell of my body.
The pressure in my lower abdomen grew, and when my husband moved his hand between my legs and began rubbing my clitoral area, I forgot about my surroundings.
A few noisy sounds escaped my lips before Xavier took a fistful of my hair and pulled me up while still pushing himself inside of me.
“Quietly, darling,” he muttered into my ear, tugging on my hair, “we don’t need witnesses, do we?”
I pressed my lips together, groaning when he plunged into me harder. My whole body shook, and my trembling legs barely held my weight when he continued leading us to our release.
I reached my peak, stifling a scream and seeing stars in the clear sky. He finished after a few more pushes, leaning his forehead between my shoulder blades.
“Now we can go out, darling.” He kissed my shoulder, supporting my trembling frame.
I was still in my post-orgasmic bliss, not really able to think clearly, and thankfully, he wasn’t in a hurry, quite the opposite, actually. He cradled me in his arms and carried me back to bed.
Laying himself down beside me, he gently pecked my back, shoulders, and arms while I focused on the pleasurable tingling of his soft lips on my skin.
At that moment, I couldn’t be happier. Our marriage needed this vacation—without our kids, parents, and friends.
Of course, we loved our family members very much, and we adored our kids, but we also missed our intimacy and connection.
However, we were on a great path to restoring the harmony and balance in our relationship. One day in this paradise, and we were already back to being our usual selves.
“I’m hungry.” I groaned into the mattress when my stomach rumbled with discomfort. We had been in the hotel suite since we came from the airport, and I’d only had fruits for breakfast.
“Then get dressed.” Xavier slapped my ass playfully, chuckling because it jiggled. I rolled onto my back, stretching my arms above my head. I felt great, and I couldn’t wait to see the beauty of the island of Capri.
“Is this an invitation for another round?” My handsome husband leaned closer, kissing my nipple, and I sighed in contentment.
It was such a tempting offer to stay in bed the whole night, making love and cuddling, yet my stomach was strongly against that idea.
“Dinner first,” I said, placing my palms on Xavier’s cheeks and connecting our lips in a quick kiss before I left the comfortable bed. He pouted, frowning at me, but I only shrugged and hurried into the bathroom.
My new dress, bought specifically for this occasion, was hanging on the door, and I touched the soft black fabric, smiling happily.
I took a shower, taking my time to wash and dress myself. I wanted to look great when I walked out of the room. And I managed to fulfill my own expectations perfectly.
The dress hugged my body like a second skin, showing a decent piece of my cleavage. It ended an inch above my knees, but the high slit in the back could cause trouble if I bent over too much.
A photo of my black underwear would be a wonderful catch for the paparazzi.
I let my brown hair fall freely down my back in big waves, and I decided not to wear makeup because of the heat.
I didn’t want to spend half the evening in the restroom checking if everything was staying in place. A light touch of mascara was the only thing I was willing to add.
“You look stunning, Angela,” Xavier exclaimed when I joined him in the living room of our hotel suite, and a wide smile stretched across my face.
“You don’t look so bad either,” I complimented, taking in the man in front of me. My husband was the most handsome and sexiest man on the planet, and nothing and no one could change my opinion about that.
Staring at the six-foot-three inches of pure perfection before me, I thought back to the first day I had met him in Central Park for our wedding photoshoot.
His appearance hasn’t changed much since then. He was still tall, dark, and breathtakingly handsome. Looking at him was like looking into the sun; the unbearable intensity of his presence was sometimes overwhelming.
Even when we were together for years, I never got used to the strong aura that surrounded him.
The black tailored suit fit him perfectly, and the white shirt worn without a tie hugged his muscular chest. For a moment, I regretted that we were about to leave the sanctuary of our room.
We were far from home, but reporters were always on our heels. We couldn’t be ourselves on the other side of the hotel suite door.
“Ready, darling?” my grinning husband asked, stretching his arm in my direction. I took it without hesitation, nodding, and together, we walked out.
The ride in the elevator was silent because Xavier was replying to texts he had ignored during the day. I checked myself in the mirror, adjusting the last details of my dress and hair.
“Let’s go.” Xavier offered me his elbow, and I hooked my arm into his, letting him lead us into the grand hotel restaurant.
The big, circular room had several tables with white tablecloths and was full of people enjoying the elegant atmosphere and undoubtedly delicious meals.
Our table was outside on the terrace with a spectacular view of the ocean, boats, and pier. I couldn’t stop staring in the direction of the water. I was hypnotized by it.
“Do you like it here, love?”
I turned to my husband, giving him a wide, sincere smile. “It’s amazing.”
I reached for his hand on the table. He entwined our fingers, and a satisfied grin settled on his face. He was the one who picked this vacation for us, and he picked it perfectly.
We spent a great evening together, eating and drinking, joking and laughing, and remembering our ups and downs. We had so much to catch up on.
During the past months, we had been apart almost the entire time because of Xavier’s work, and I didn’t even realize how much I had missed him. I hated that I almost got used to the lifestyle when he was away, and I was a stay-at-home wife.
I made a promise to myself to never agree to that. I loved my husband, and I wanted to be with him no matter what.
“I’ll go to the bar to pay the bill,” Xavier suggested when the waitress clearly forgot about us, and he stood up.
“Okay.” I wanted to leave and get some rest because our first day here was very exhausting, albeit in a very pleasurable way. I drank a glass of water to refresh my mouth and took a look around.
The place was packed to the gills, so it wasn’t surprising that the personnel had a lot of work to do. I wasn’t angry or annoyed that they didn’t pay us attention. I was actually glad for it.
A long fifteen minutes passed, and my husband didn’t come back. I was trying to find him with my eyes, but there were too many people around, so I decided to go look for him.
I finally located him at the bar, talking enthusiastically with some other man. Because of the way they talked, I presumed that they were old friends. Xavier had spent some time in Italy before we got married, so it wasn’t a surprise that he knew people here.
“Good evening,” I said politely, standing on my husband’s right side. He turned to me, smiling. He looked overjoyed, and of course, it was probably the result of the half-empty bottle that was in front of him and the mysterious guy.
“Hello, darling,” he replied, leaning closer and kissing my cheek. I almost rolled my eyes when he chuckled in my ear, clearly drunk.
“You left me there,” I accused, frowning at him, and his brows shot up.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled while giving me his irresistible puppy eyes. “I’ve met a long-lost friend.”
He turned to the unknown man who was watching us, and when I looked into the stranger’s cold, green eyes, shivers ran down my spine—and they weren’t pleasurable ones.
It was like staring into dead eyes. The man was smiling, but his orbs were empty. There was no life in them, no joy.
But my husband was so excited to see his old friend that I didn’t want to ruin his good mood with my bad feeling about someone I had just met for the first time.
“Meet Aston, my love. We attended university together.” I tried to smile, but my mouth refused to cooperate. My face probably twisted into an unpleasant grimace when I was staring at Aston, who stretched his arm in my direction.
“Hello, I’m Angela,” I managed to say, and I placed my small palm into his.
“Pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Knight.” To my shock, he kissed the back of my hand while maintaining eye contact with me the whole time.
I glanced at his face, trying not to be afraid of him. He wasn’t frightening or anything—quite the opposite, in fact.
He was very handsome, well-built, and obviously, filthy rich. His designer clothes screamed luxury, the golden watch on his wrist shone, and his face was one that could attract the attention of every woman in the room.
Yet something about him didn’t match up. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
“I was just trying to persuade your husband to go play poker with me.” Aston winked at Xavier.
I looked at my husband, who flashed me an innocent smile, and I gritted my teeth.
I didn’t like the idea of him going somewhere with that man.
“He said that he needed permission from you,” Aston continued, clearly mocking our marriage with his stupid comment.
“Xavier doesn’t need permission for anything from me,” I stated, flashing Aston an angry glare.
He raised his eyebrows but remained silent, so I proceeded to say more. “He just loves and respects me enough to not just disappear without further notice.”
“Where is the fun in that?” Aston asked, raising the glass of alcohol to his lips. I strongly disliked him already.
“Don’t mind him, love,” Xavier leaned closer to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. His mouth was next to my ear when he spoke again. “One game, and I’ll be back.”
I sighed heavily, hating the idea of him leaving me alone at the hotel. I was tired, and I would probably sleep, so it was no big deal, but I was concerned about his friend. I had a bad feeling about it.
“It’s our second honeymoon,” I pointed out, trying to stop him from leaving. My husband was a stubborn person, and I wasn’t one to forbid him to do anything. We trusted each other, and a hunch was never a good reason to make him stay.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He kissed my cheeks and looked into my eyes. “I’ll be with you for the next ten days. You will hate me.” He chuckled, his brown orbs swirling with mischief.
“I could never hate you,” I muttered, placing my palms on his chest. “Do you really want to go so badly?”
My voice sounded like a little whining girl’s. I was well aware of it, but I couldn’t help myself; I didn’t want him to leave.
“I didn’t see him or the other guys for years. It’s just a small reunion party.”
“Okay.” I sighed, a sad feeling settling in my chest. I had survived worse than him going away with his buddies, but this time it was different.
Something was in the air; my sixth sense was warning me of it. I only hoped that it wouldn’t involve my troublemaking husband.
