Vik (Shot Callers 2)

“Hey, you. We just came from the mall. I thought we’d visit.” Mina smiled up at her brother lovingly, and it was the biggest form of gaslighting I’d ever seen. As though Cora being half undressed wasn’t bothering anyone. Like Alessio being furious at this scene was uncalled for. And I inwardly crowed with laughter when his fists balled and his jaw ticked once, twice, then three times.

Hell. Like a tea kettle at boiling point, he was ready to blow.

And when Cora replaced the little black panties with a bright-red pair that had a heart-shaped jewel in the center of the waistband and black ribbon dangling from the sides, she rested them over her skirt and asked Davi, “Which color do you like better?”

Davi made a sound in his throat. It was almost a cross between a laugh and cry.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alessio fight to keep himself calm. I didn’t miss the way his nostrils flared, nor the vein pop by his temple.

Glee filled me.

Yeah. It was working.

“Put ’em on,” I suggested disinterestedly. “How can he tell unless he sees them on the model?”

Alessio’s body went taut.

Cora looked up in thought, then shrugged. “Makes sense.”

And when she reached under her skirt to pull down the panties she wore, Alessio moved.

Holy shit, did he ever.

Faster than a bullet, he was across the room, scooping her up over his shoulder. Cora yelped and clung to him, gripping onto his tee and holding on for dear life, then let out an outraged, “Hey! Put me down, you asshole.”

But he didn’t get to see the way her eyes twinkled.

Her skirt flipped and skewed as she wiggled. He growled, panting out raw fury. Alessio lifted a hand and brought it down over her ass, hard. The solid smack of skin-on-skin damn near echoed through the room. The way she moaned was pure sex, and I could tell from the way Mina’s eyes widened that she was a little embarrassed by it.

When next Alessio spoke, he rumbled, “Fine. You want to play games? Come on. Let’s play.”

He was so angry that the room around us shrank from the size of it. Wrath spread from every step he took. And as he strode away with his prize, he turned his face into her butt and sunk his teeth into the curve of her ass, biting, then sucking harshly.

My eyes widened. I’d never seen Alessio so out of control, so undone or primal.

I had to admit. It was a treat.

Cora gasped loudly, her eyes rolling into the back of her head with obvious pleasure. Just as they disappeared from sight, Alessio chuckled but let out a dark and humorless, “I warned you, sugar, but you didn’t listen. And now you’re gonna learn there is nothing soft about me.”

Jesus Christ. That was hot.

Would I be a freak to admit the curious part of me kind of wanted to watch?

Our forgotten Davi looked around first to Mina, then to me. “Quê?”

I shrugged. “Sorry, bud. I guess he wanted her more.”

He rose up from his seat, still looking at the path in which Alessio had taken Cora, and when he began to walk away in the opposite direction, muttering hastily in Portuguese, looking a little miffed, I imagined he felt a little pissed at being used.

“Bye, Davi,” Mina called out contritely after him, then looked back at me with a sad frown.

“I know.” Poor guy. I’d make it up to him somehow.

After a few minutes of sitting in awkward silence, Mina quietly said, “So, do we just wait or…?” At that very moment, from behind a closed door, somewhere down the hall, Cora moaned so loudly it bordered on a scream.

Mina’s lip curled in repulsion, and it was fair. Alessio was her brother, after all.

My own brows rose, and we both stood fast. “Time to go.”

“Yep.” She spat the word out like day-old chewing tobacco.

And away we went.

Six hours later, as I sat watching the television, I heard a car pull up, and when I peeked out the window, I recognized Alessio’s black BMW M2. Cora stepped out of the car, her shoes in her hands, her purse tucked under her arm, and she exited the car without a backward glance.

It drove away, and I stood. A minute passed, and with a slight frown, I opened the door before she even knocked. She was a mess. Disheveled beyond repair. I wondered if Cora even remembered how to knock.

My brows lifted.

One look told me she’d had a day.

Her hair was out of place and knotted. Mascara flecking off onto her cheeks. The smear of her lipstick heavy around her mouth, lips pink and swollen. And she looked dazed.

She staggered inside, and my lips pulled down. She walked robotically all the way to my sofa, and when she crawled onto it slowly, lowering herself to her stomach with a sigh, she reached for a pillow and hugged it tight. Her lips were smooshed against it when all she continued to do was blink into nothingness. The anticipation made me antsy.