His Mark by B.L. Brooks
Vance
I pace by the door,my body strung and tight as the hard bastard between my legs continues to pulse, causing this pre-cum to drip out of me like some leaky faucet. I ended up having to change into a darker pair of sweats just to try and cover up the soaking fabric.
I spent all night jerking off, going round after round until my balls were drained. Though every passing minute, the only thing on my mind was getting up and going into Nina’s room.
After inviting her to dinner last night, I knew she was staying with me. There was no way I was letting her go home another night all alone.
I ended up kicking everyone out of the shop, closing it down for the night. I brought Nina upstairs to my loft apartment that stretches across the whole top floor of the five-shop building. It cost me a pretty penny, but I knew it’d be worth every cent.
I made Nina a batch of my chicken parmesan for dinner, adding plenty of garlic bread to the side as the girl filled up, looking full and at ease as she ended up passing out on the couch shortly after eating.
As bad as I wanted to carry her up into my room, stripping her bare as we fall asleep for the night; I knew I couldn’t. The angel needs time, which is exactly what I was willing to give her last night. But now…time is up.
“Oh, shoot!” I hear Nina gasp, sounding as if she’s getting up out of bed.
Fresh out the shower with a towel wrapped around my miserable cock, I head to the guest room to see my angel.
Right as I reach the doorway, Nina comes tearing out, slamming into me as I quickly catch her, pulling her close and feeling zero guilt as I do.
“Whoa, there. I got you,” I grumble, looking down at this beautiful mess.
“I-I have to go, Vance. I’m going to be late for school,” she says worriedly, making me realize she still has yet to graduate.
“If you’re late for school, then just skip. I’m assuming you’re almost done with classes.” That may not be the best piece of advice for my angel, but the thought of her leaving my sight pains me enough.
“About a month from being done for good. But I really can’t skip today. I need to go in.” The thought of Nina being around those boys, those little punks staring at her, drives me fucking insane. “But can I come back after school? You said you’d give me that tattoo today if I still wanted it.”
I nod, though I haven’t made my mind up yet as she hugs me, her little hands pressed against my back as the tips of her fingers dig in, almost as if she wants to hold on.
“You better come back, angel. As soon as school’s over, okay?” I tell her, the light roil in my gut settling slightly as she shakes her head yes, smiling at me.
It takes every scrap of effort I can choke up to let her go, watching her walk away as she leaves my sight for the first time since stepping into it. But the minute she’s gone, I phone Arlo—my right hand.
He picks up on the first ring. “Boss?”
“I want you following Nina at a distance. Anyone so much as breathes on her, they’re done,” I growl, scowling at the thought of someone touching my angel.
“You got it, boss.”
I don’t bother responding as I end the call, regretting what I haven’t done.
I should’ve said fuck it and taken Nina last night, staking my claim. But how the fuck do you tell a woman you’ve only known for hours that you’re in love with her, and pretty sure you can’t so much as breathe unless she’s all yours…
It sounds insane, but yeah, that’s where I’m at—the point of insanity.
Deciding I can’t do much more than making sure my angel’s protected when she’s away, I get dressed for the day, putting on one of my most hated things in life—a fucking suit.
Thirty minutes later, I’m dressed and ready with a cup of coffee in my system. Out the door, I slide into the back of Mateo’s car, the asshole grinning at me knowingly.
“Don’t fucking start,” I throw the warning out. As much as I love my brother, I’m not looking to kill him today.
“Start what?” he mocks. “Can’t a man be happy for his little brother?”
I glare, shifting in discomfort as I know he’s aware of Nina. Word travels quickly around here.
“I hate these goddamn suits. Why the hell can’t I just wear what I want?”
Mateo’s grin fades. “You can anytime we’re not meeting with the head of the Russian mafia, Vance. It shouldn’t take long and you know it. We both know the man knows the score.”
“The score being that you’ll kill his entire firm and feed him the scraps if he doesn’t deliver?”
My brother preens, taking it as a compliment.
I shake my head, forcing a relaxed feel to come on as I take a seat, thinking business now instead of Nina.
We’re having a meeting based on fellow alliances and various shipments in need of attention. I don’t normally handle this, but being that I clean the profits through Mural now, I’ve come to take interest in knowing what’s going on. We all get our fair cuts at the end of the day. Everything’s already hammered out, we just need to fine tune the details and touch base.
“So, about this Nina I’ve heard so much about,” Mateo starts up again.
“Don’t,” I mutter, cutting him short.
“What? I said I’m happy for your grumpy ass,” he comes back. “After that bitch Natalie screwed you over, I didn’t think you’d feel a fucking thing for a girl ever again.”
“Nor did I,” my low tone escapes me as I haven’t allowed a woman to come close to my heart in so long, I never thought I would again. But then Nina came down from the skies, giving me the determination needed to work towards keeping her around.
“That makes this all the more better then. Joy hardly slept last night. She just kept jabbering on and on in my ear of a new sister-in-law and babies, and more family dinners. Do me a solid here and tell me you’re game. My wife’s not going to be happy if she doesn’t get her way,” he mutters, making me chuckle as I know how Joy can be.
I love Mateo’s wife. And I love her even more now that she has my big bad brother by the fucking balls.
“We can do that every now and then. But first, I need to convince the girl I’m the one,” I say knowing it’s not a concern. Nina will be mine whether she knows it or not.
“The young girl who’s still in school,” Mateo adds with a smirk.
I glare at him, annoyed by his antics already. “She’s a month out from graduating. You can fuck off,” I grunt, though lightening up as he chuckles through our brotherly banter. It never fails.
“If you think I didn’t pull her file, I did,” he tells me, and I should’ve fucking known. He’s just as nosy as I am though I just hadn’t made it that far. “Girl’s got some brains. Seems to be great at math.” He hints, making me snarl, baring my teeth as I know what he’s thinking.
“She’s not for business. Don’t even try it. I have far better plans in mind if the angel lets me—”
“Lets you?” he interjects. “Vance, you and I both know she has no choice,” he scoffs, knowing my ways. But what he doesn’t know is I’m trying to win this girl the right way. “To make it easier, my advice would be to knock the girl up on the first try,” he muses.
“Like you did with Joy?” I chuckle, thinking of my nephew and how close Mateo is with his son. Makes me look forward to a future with my very own children. “Did it work?”
He smiles. “You see me now, right? It worked like a charm.”
I shake my head as I know he’s right. It certainly worked like a charm for him considering my brother is one of NYC’s most well-known mobsters, and his wife just so happens to be the Deputy DA of the city.
So maybe his advice is the way to go…but when it comes to my angel, I know I can win her over with far better ways.
