Page 62 of Beautiful Villain
He pushed in and out, hard and rough, taking me to the edge again, and just as I reached the peak and was about to climax, he reached up and removed the panties from my mouth and I came with a ferocious roar, screaming out his name to the dark valley and everything beyond it.
“The chef would’ve heard that,”I whispered, horror crawling up my spine.
Gianni didn’t look bothered in the slightest.He moved with calm purpose, using my discarded underwear to clean the mess from my thighs like it was the most natural thing in the world.Then, without hesitation, he folded them and slipped them into his pocket.
I stared at him, stunned.Because who does that?
“He left after the last course,” Gianni said easily.He grinned, and for a second, he looked younger.Lighter.Almost boyish.“You really think I’d let another man hear you scream for me like that?”
The words hit deep, sinking into the most guarded corners of my soul.They wrapped around something inside me.Settled me.Grounded me.And instead of fear, warmth spread through my chest—slow and unfamiliar.I realized then how much it mattered that he’d made sure we were alone.That he’d thought about it, and planned it well.That he’d wanted me without witnesses.
For the first time, I understood what it meant to be wanted—not tolerated, not chosen by default or taken as a debt, butclaimed.
Gianni took my hand and walked me to the bathroom so I could clean up.He watched me step inside, his gaze lingering like he wasn’t quite ready to let me go, then turned away when his phone rang.“I’ll join you in a minute,” he said.
The door closed behind me, and the quiet rushed in.
I cleaned myself up as best I could with what little was available.It felt strange and careful, like I was trying to erase evidence of something that had already changed me.I’d already bled all over Gianni’s car before—I didn’t want to leave his come there, too.
When I finished, I washed my face and pressed a paper towel against my skin.Then I looked up.
The girl in the mirror didn’t look like me.
My eyes were too bright.My lips curved at the edges, smiling.My skin glowed, flushed and alive, like it hadn’t felt in years.
I was happy.
The realization stunned me.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this light, this settled in my body.But the feeling didn’t come alone.Something darker sat just beneath it, tugging at the back of my mind, refusing to be ignored.
Because what did this mean?
For me, and for Gianni.
Mikayla Gregory, you are thoroughly fucked,a small voice whispered.
I huffed under my breath.I was just thoroughly fucked,I told it back.That doesn’t mean anything.Don’t turn this into something it’s not.
Then what is it?the voice pressed.Because men don’t look at you like that for no reason.And you don’t feel like this for no reason.
I stared at my reflection again, the truth tightening in my chest.
You’re in trouble,the voice said softly.Because you don’t just want him.
I swallowed.
You’re already falling.
And no matter how hard I tried to argue with myself, I couldn’t find a single reason to believe it wasn’t true.
26
Gianni
The drive home was quiet in the best way.
Mikayla leaned into my side as the car moved through the dark, the road unspooling ahead of us like it had nowhere else to be.Her head rested against my shoulder, light but certain, like it belonged there.I didn’t shift or breathe too deeply, for risk of breaking the spell.
