Emme didn’t say anything. This was the woman who had laughed with Val over Emmanuelle’s lack of knowledge when it came to sex. Running a strip club where anything went in the back rooms, Emme could imagine that Marge had a vast experience that she didn’t.
Valentino groaned and reached for her wrist again. He settled his fingers on her skin gently but firmly. She knew she shouldn’t let him. She should even feel repulsed, but she ached. Hurt. Needed comfort, even if it was from the enemy. She stayed very still and didn’t look at him.
“There were all kinds of rumors about the two of us. Miceli wanted a way to get to me. All he had to do was confirm that I was crazy about you, Emme. We were careful, so no one ever managed to see us together, but I had to deny to everyone that you mattered to me. I knew the moment Marge started coming on to me and slipping in sly little questions about you that he’d sent her.”
Emmanuelle tried to push away the images of the woman, naked, laughing with Val at her expense. Unfortunately, they were burned into her memory for all time. Subtly, she tried to pull her wrist free of his hold.
Val clamped his fingers tighter. “Will you just listen?”
“Why? Are you going to tell me how good she was at sucking your cock for you?”
“She was never going to suck my cock. For fuck’s sake, Emme. Every time Elie put his hands on you, I knew it. We’re tied together. If another woman touched me or put her mouth on me, don’t you think you would have known it? I had to convince her you didn’t mean anything to me and that Giuseppi was trying to get dirt on your family. More, I had done a little bit of establishing some groundwork of my own, acting like I was more open to some things my father wasn’t in terms of trafficking.”
Emmanuelle was silent, trying to process what she’d seen, the sound of his voice now, both stark truth and even annoyance at her for not believing him when he’d tried to explain over and over and she hadn’t let him. She forced herself to remember what Elie had said to her when they’d been in the pizzeria together. Sometimes things weren’t what they appeared and people needed to be heard out.
It was difficult to get past the sight of the naked blonde or the sound of the shared laughter. Maybe that was the worst of it. The humiliation. Did Brielle feel that same humiliation every time she looked in the mirror the way Emmanuelle did? Emme wanted to go find Elie and kick him just the way she wanted to kick Val.
“How were you going to avoid her sucking your cock when she was so very intent on doing just that and still have her go back to Miceli and report you were one hundred percent on board with whatever she wanted?” Emmanuelle didn’t even care that there was sarcasm in her voice. She couldn’t wait to hear his explanation.
“Dario. He knew the setup. He knew what Marge was there for. The moment she stripped down, got on her knees and crawled to me, I sent him the signal to interrupt us. Fortunately, she asked the question I was waiting for. Or unfortunately, due to your timing. In any case, Dario arrived, walked right in with an emergency, ignoring Marge and telling me we had to go now.”
“I see.” Emmanuelle wasn’t certain she could believe him. She didn’t know what to believe. She’d had two years of reliving that scene.
“No, Princess, you obviously don’t see. Did you see my fucking cock hard as a rock like it is for you? No, you did not. I had to stroke myself to pretend I was the least bit interested, and even that wasn’t working. I tried thinking of you, and putting you in the room with her didn’t work. Suffice to say if you’d paid attention to me and not her, you would have noticed something was a little different from when I’m with you. I’ve got a monster when you’re around, babe—hard to miss. Where the hell was it?”
Emmanuelle’s heart clenched hard in her chest. She had looked at Valentino. Right into his eyes. His gorgeous green eyes. He’d looked as devastated as she felt. As shattered.
There were so many things wrong with their relationship. Too many things. Even if they straightened out what had happened with the blonde in the bedroom, she knew the ties binding their shadows together were far too dangerous to her family. She could never allow that to stand. If she told Stefano, he’d walk right into the room and shoot Valentino without even discussing the subject. She knew he would. He would never allow the shadow riders to be in danger.