Breaking Bella by Jenna Rose
Brax
SeeingBella grow and change has been the greatest joy in my life. But she’s not the only one who’s changed.
That cold sensation deep in my gut is all but gone now. It’s only there when I have to deal with business, which is why I’ve decided that it’s time to call it quits.
I’m going to retire. Put it all behind me.
I made it to the top. I became the king of Miami, but when I made it there, I was alone. I had it all, but at the same time, I had nothing. Now I know what having it all really feels like, and all I need is Bella.
My competitors can have the city. They can have whatever is left of my empire when I’m gone. Let them fight over the scraps I leave behind. I’ve got her.
I twist a strand of her hair around my finger as she lies beside me in bed. I won’t wake her. She sleeps soundly next to me.
I inhale deeply. Her scent calms me like a designer drug made just for me. She’s all I need now. Her happiness feeds mine. Her soul and mine are intertwined. I love her more than I’ve loved anything in my life, and that’s something I never thought possible.
I never believed in love.
That was something reserved for fiction, for fairy tales and film. But then I found her, and everything changed.
Put it all behind me…
Yes. It’s time.
I get out of bed, careful not to disturb her, and shower downstairs so as not to wake her. As I’m dressing, I get a call from Amy at the gallery.
“You better not be calling to cancel the show,” I joke as I answer.
“Oh, on the contrary,” she replies. “I’m calling to tell you that I’m getting a ton of early interest from the images I’ve put up on the website. In fact, I’ve already got a few buyers lined up and was hoping I could speak to Bella about her thoughts on selling some of her pieces.”
None of my men are around, so I don’t even bother hiding the goofy, completely out of character smile that comes over my face.
“She’s sleeping right now, Amy. But I’ll make sure to have a chat with her when she gets up. How big are the offers?”
Amy clears her throat. “Let’s just say they are…substantial.”
“That’s great, Amy. I’ll speak with you soon.”
I hang up.
Of course Bella won’t need the money. She has me to provide and care for her, but that’s not the point. It’s the acknowledgement and recognition that is going to send her to the moon. I’m so excited to tell her that I almost rush upstairs and wake her up. But I stop myself. She’s been working her ass off and needs her rest. This is about her, not me. Besides, I have business today.
I have a retirement to plan.
I have the chef cook me up a few eggs and some bacon and toast and eat quickly while making some phone calls. I’m going to have to sell off some real estate, hand over my imports and exports as well as my underground gambling spots, and inform my law enforcement and political connections that I’m going to be stepping aside.
They won’t be happy about that. I’ve got so many cops on the take that I might as well be the police chief. But if they’ve got any issues with it, they can take it up with me personally. And I’m willing to be that they won’t. Crooked cops have no balls; if they did, they wouldn’t be crooked.
I spend the main part of my day taking meetings across town, visiting places I haven’t had to show up to in years, and meeting with men I haven’t seen in person in just as long. They look shocked when they hear my news, and most of them are skeptical. They think I’m playing them—luring them into a trap. And they’re right to be. That would have been something the old Brax would have done. The wrong Brax, hungry for the top.
But that’s not me. Not anymore.
I have what I want, and she’s back at home waiting for me.
“How do we know you’re going to make good on what you’ve said?” Marco, the guy who will be handling my gambling business, asks as I conclude our meeting. “That you won’t come back in a month’s time and try to reclaim what’s yours?”
I have to smile. The thought of coming back to this, my old life, seems like nothing more than a bad dream at this point.
“Marco, I’m retired. And if you don’t want me coming back, just make sure you don’t give me a reason.”
I narrow my eyes at him to make sure he gets the message.
Leave me and my woman alone, and you can live in peace.
He gives me a nod to let me know he understands. Marco always was one of the smarter ones.
I turn my back on him and the rest of my old life and head back to my car. It’s time to go now. Go to my woman, to my new life and future I have ahead of me.
She’s in her studio when I get back to the house, wearing a loose pair of overalls with just a bra underneath. Her hair is a mess in a bun on the top of her head. She must have skipped her shower today and come straight down here to get to work on the last couple of pieces for her show.
I stand at the door for a few minutes watching her. She’s a work of art herself. A piece of pure joy in my life that warms my chest every time I see her. The intensity with which she works makes me smile. Her passion is so contagious. I don’t have an ounce of artistic talent in me, but when I’m with Bella, I feel like I could pick up a pencil, put it on a piece of paper, and end up with something someone might actually want to look at.
I couldn’t, of course. She’s the artist in the family.
Family…that’s right. I came here to ask her something.
“Amy says she’s already getting requests to buy your work,” I say softly, trying not to startle her. I fail, however, and she jumps and drops her pencil and lets out a soft little yelp like a startled chipmunk.
“Oh, flying Jesus, you scared me! How long have you been standing there?”
“What, can a man not admire his fiancée?”
The look that comes over Bella’s face when she hears that one is priceless. She sort of freezes as I go over to her and take her hand.
“Brax…” she whispers. “F-f-fiancée?”
“Come with me.”
I should have had the ring with me, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve lived a life of restraint, control, and planning. I’ve had to to maintain my position. But when it comes to Bella, I find myself acting on emotion. On impulse.
And sometimes, like right now, I just can’t help myself.
Her hand is quivering when I take it in mine. I lead her from her studio down the hall and upstairs to the bedroom. I try to leave her at the bed, but she holds on to my hand like I might just vanish if she lets go.
“I need this.” I smile.
“Oh!” she giggles, releasing her grip on me. I know her heart is racing right now, and her body is tingling all over like it always does when she gets nervous, but I’m feeling like there’s a tropical storm raging within me as I go to the walk-in and retrieve the ring from the safe where I’ve been keeping it.
I’ve given Bella diamonds before. Hell, I gave her a bunch when she moved in with me. But this ring…this ring is special.
I keep it hidden behind my back as I return to her. She’s done something to try and make her hair less messy in the meantime. As if I care. To be honest, I’m glad she looks the way she does. I’d rather this moment be natural and pure between us.
When she bites her lip and gives me that nervous look that goes straight to my gut, I get down on one knee before her. She squeals and covers her mouth with both hands.
“Bella,” I say slowly. “When you came into my life, I was a cold shell of a man. I didn’t know it at the time, but you made me see how much more I could become. How much different my life could be. And as of today, I want you to know that I have set things in motion so that I can retire. I will no longer be the Devil of Miami, I will be your husband. That is, if you will have me.” Tears begin to fall. I want to wrap her in my arms. But I’m not finished yet. “Bella, you have been my angel since the moment I took you home from that bar. But now, now will you be my wife?”
“Yes!” I move to put the ring on her finger, but Bella has different plans. She hurls herself off the bed and spider-monkeys herself onto me, wrapping her arms and legs around my torso and squeezing harder than a UFC fighter in a championship bout.
Of course, I’m well above her weight class and can take it. I pull her lips to mine and kiss her long and deep. Christ. Who knew it was possible to be this happy?
I spin and roll, pinning her down beneath me.
“You better let me put this on your finger,” I whisper, kissing down the side of her cheek. “So we can make it official.”
I sit up and take her hand. “It’s covered in charcoal,” she says, sounding embarrassed.
“As it should be,” I smile. “My little artiste.”
The ring fits perfectly, as it should. I snuck a photo of her hand while she was leaning on the counter beside a couple of coins so I could take it to the jeweler and get it sized to fit her.
She looks at me, noticing immediately that this isn’t just another ring that any rich guy could pick up at the jewelers.
“It’s been in my family for generations,” I tell her. “My great-great grandmother’s originally. I kept it, but never expected to give it to anyone, Bella. My only regret is that my mother isn’t alive to meet you. She would have loved you.”
I can hardly describe how it feels to talk to someone like this, because I never have before. These feelings—I was never meant to have them. Not even my closest men know about my mother.
But I want to tell Bella everything about me. My past, my childhood, what made me into the man I am today.
“Brax…” she sobs through a smile accompanied by tears.
“I love you, Bella.”
“I love you too!”
I dip down and kiss her, then sweep her up in my arms and carry her to the bed. It’s like I’m lost in her as I strip her naked and slide inside her, my lips moving across her body, from her breasts to her neck, then back to her lips again, her moans soft in my ear as I pump in and out of her, feeling her heartbeat quicken against my chest as I press down against her.
Every thrust I give her reaffirms my love.
I’ve owned everything in this life, but Bella is my most prized possession. She belongs to me know, and the best part is, she knows that she deserves to now. No more bad dates with bad men who don’t respect her. No more doubting herself or her self-worth.
I broke her down and I built her back up and made her see how truly special she really is. And at the same time, she changed me. Made me a better man and showed me that I am more than just the Devil of Miami. That I can leave all that behind and be happy. Be more happy with her.
We share an incredible climax, and I slump down on top of her.
“I want to get you pregnant,” I tell her again as I lie beside her, my arm draped over her breasts. But I can tell by the way she’s breathing that she’s already asleep, and I just smile.
Making Bella a mother would be the top for me. What a life we could start together, away from all of this—the blood and the ruin I left behind me in order to get here. I could be with her, only her, and be a new man. A changed man.
“I love you,”
My Bella.
My queen. We’ll be together forever.
