Free High Stakes by Vanessa Waltz Page B

strokes my neck, holding me still as if trying to seduce his prey.
    “It really pissed you off when you saw me with that waitress, didn’t it?”
    He loves, loves the attention. He’s eating all of this up. This is torture for me, but it makes him so happy that I oblige. “Yes, it did.”
    His thumb strokes my bottom lip, and I let out a sigh as he pulls me closer. I wrap my arms around his waist, sliding inside his jacket as his lips fall against mine. He takes my breath away with a hard kiss, his lips crushing mine. God, it’s intense. The moment his lips touch mine, it’s like being prodded with a live wire.
    Desire flows into my belly as he kisses me, and I can barely move because I’m so surprised by how amazing the chemistry is. My hands wrap around his back, stroking the hard muscles under his shirt. His hands are still around my neck, his body following me as I lean back over the bed.
    My body takes control as if it has a mind of it’s own. I tug at his shirt, unbuttoning the first few to catch a glimpse of his muscled chest. I grasp the tie tickling my skin and I pull down. He laughs against my lips and takes my hands in his, stopping me from undressing him. He kisses a line down my jaw, and I gasp as he licks and kisses my neck, his teeth nipping at me. I moan when he pulls down my t-shirt.
    The door knocks. “Vinny!”
    Vince straightens himself as I jump horribly, his arms still wrapped around me as he addresses the door.
    “I’m coming. Give me a minute.” He turns back to me, his face flushed and smiling. “Well, I definitely didn’t expect this. You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
    I don’t want him to go. My heart is still pounding with the feeling of his lips on my skin. Every cell in my body screams for more, and the same battle seems to rage in his eyes.
    “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
    I sigh heavily and nod, but Vince takes my face in his hands again.
    “Tomorrow at 8p.m, I’ll take you out to dinner. Anywhere you want to go.”
    Wild happiness floods my chest as he kisses me again. This time, his lips are as soft as silk. They’re barely there, teasing me. Then he pulls away, his hands drop from my skin. He turns around and heads out. His shirt is still unbuttoned, but I don’t think he cares. There’s a smile on his face that makes him look like he’s on top of the world.
     

Chapter 5
     
    Can’t—I can’t. I can’t breathe.
    He mouths the words, looking like a gaping fish, except blood sputters from his lips.
    “Daddy! Daddy!” I scream his name like it’s a chant—a magical word that will instantly cure him if he answers.
    The man standing over Daddy drops the knife. He looks confused. The other two bolt towards the door and he soon follows.
    Mom’s hands are wrapped around his throat. Dark blood pulses through her fingers.
    “Adriana, call 911! Go!”
    My hand is clenched over my cell phone when I wake up, my head echoing with my mother’s voice. Jesus. Not again. My back is drenched with sweat and I throw back the covers, listening to Maria’s soft snore.
    The agony over losing my father threatens to engulf me. Eying the mini fridge, I roll off my bed and grab the bottle of alcohol inside. I can’t remember what it is and I can’t see in the dark. It doesn’t matter what it is—as long as it burns on the way down, it’ll do. If only it could burn a hole in my head where the images were.
    I pour it straight into my mouth and swallow, wincing. I’m still shivering in the dark, clutching the cold bottle to my chest. Faces, images, jump out at me. They materialize from shadows. I drink more from the bottle, a mouthful, and I cringe as it hits my stomach. It’s fast. It’s hard. I replace the bottle and stumble into bed, and this time I sleep the whole way through.
    * * *
    “You’re dating him now? Seriously?”
    Her clothes are strewn all over the dorm. A pink suitcase sits in the middle of the room, half-filled. She’s leaving for France