Chapter 232 Restraint & Doubt

"Why don’t you give me a hand?"

Zade’s sudden words broke the spell between us, or whatever it was that had made me forget the rest of the world existed.

"W-With what?" I replied distractedly, keeping my eyes on his lips that seriously called for mine to taste.

I gasped when he lifted me to the countertop and grabbed some supplies from the cabinet. Shaving cream and a razor.

Zade smiled as he handed me the supplies, and I pinned him with a look.

"No!" I blurted.

He chuckled. "What?"

I set the supplies aside and cupped his cheeks, a sweet shiver taking over as I caressed his stubble with my thumb.

"I’m not shaving your stubble. I like it."

He raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

I brought my face closer to his. "Yes, it makes you look sexy."

"Careful how you throw that word around."

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip, spreading my hands across his solid chest, hard as rock beneath my palms.

"Why?" I teased.

He caught my chin and tilted my face up.

"When you say things like that, then I don’t wanna hold back anymore."

"Why are you holding back?"

He took one look at my leg, and I knew what he meant.

"I’m not a gentle man, Anastasia. You know that."

I nodded, entirely focused on his moving lips. The strong smell of alcohol was all over him, and it stole the usual scent of cigarettes away.

"When I decide to fuck you, kitten. Being gentle is not in the cards for me."

"I know..." I traced my lips against his, and I felt his grip on my waist tighten. "All I’m asking for is a kiss from my husband."

I sucked in breath when he gripped my hair and forced my head at an uncomfortable angle. His hot breath flared across my face like pure heat directly from the flames.

His hand moved, and the moment it touched my bare thigh, I realized I was wearing nothing but my pajama shirt.

Heat crawled up my spine as Zade glided straight to my pussy, the fabric of my panties the only thin barrier between us, and perhaps keeping me sane right now.

"I-I said kiss," I rasped, clenching his shoulder as his hand inched closer, stroking against my panties already drenched from how wet I was.

"Z-Zade..."

"Shhh..." It was his turn to trace my lips, and I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss me, but he held back, leaving me yearning for something I could get if only I could just lean... closer.

I groaned softly when I felt his fingers touch my clit. My panties had been tucked to the side, and he was so dangerously close to penetrating me, but Zade considered that this was the right time to stall and make worse of the already cluttered moment.

Unable to bear this very obvious torture, I sealed our lips, roaming mine so recklessly against his.

It felt like my body had been wired alive, and I moaned freely as I savored the taste of whiskey covering every inch of his mouth.

But Zade yanked my hair to pull me away just as his finger shoved into me with ease.

"Hmph!"

"Don’t get ahead of yourself, kitten."

"I-I should say the same. You’re not being fair, as always."

He smiled against my lips, shoving his finger deeper, and my mouth fell wide as tight pleasure gripped me.

"That’s the most fun part, isn’t it, kitten?" He murmured.

I turned the other way, his lips tracing along my collarbone before moving to my ear where he nibbled the helix.

"You love when I don’t play fair."

A phone suddenly rang.

With his finger still buried in my pussy he pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Yes?" he added another digit, and I jolted, gripping onto the edge of the countertop for balance.

Zade made a humming sound of approval as I heard the speakers vibrate. This seemed like a very important call, but Zade Salvero preferred to draw me closer to the edge.

His eyes were drowned in delight as he watched me spasm and tried to control myself.

If I didn’t keep it in as best as I could, then I’d let whoever was on that line know he had his fingers up his wife’s pussy.

But I had a sickening feeling that Zade wanted me to give myself away. Of course he did.

So I don’t play fair anymore.

I caressed him right at his bulge, and his eyes darkened instantly. His cheekbones tightened with pressure.

Whilst smirking and trying to navigate my own distress, I undid his belt, then his zipper.

I could tell Zade was so close to tossing his phone across the room, but instead, he added another digit, pushing me closer to a coming release that was about to rip through me.

I rasped, moving my hand until I found his cock.

"What about the Benefactor?" Zade grunted out those words in a restrained tone, and I froze.

T-The Benefactor?

My mind suddenly recalled that ball, and everything that happened that night, from Julius’ actions, the Syndicate, and then the car accident.

"I see. Stay alert. Report back to me ASAP." Zade ended the call and dropped the phone on the counter, then snatched my hand away from his cock.

"W-What was that about?" I asked so quickly.

"The part where you have your hands up my cock like a needy slut?" He brought his fingers that had been inside me to his mouth and sucked.

Heat rushed to my head, but I needed to stay focused.

"The Benefactor. I have heard that name before, from Gabriel, in the car before..."

A ghostly echo of tires screeching and the crashes drowned my ears. I recalled how suffocating it felt in that car until Zade pulled me out.

I flinched when I felt Zade’s hand glide lower and gripped my ass, almost lifting me off the counter. The way his nail dug into my skin felt almost painful, but if it weren’t for it, I would still be reliving that car accident.

"I’ve got everything under control, kitten."

I shook my head, gripping his shirt tightly. "Tell me everything you have on the Benefactor. Please."

His gaze was stern as they held mine. "All you have to do is focus on recovering."

"What’s the point of recovery? Zade, this Benefactor has been the one pulling the strings from the beginning. He used Shane and Clara, dragging them down to the gutter just to get to you. He also used Julius and Gabriel. Can’t you see?"

Zade inhaled sharply as he straightened his spine.

"This Benefactor is the one who killed my father too. I know it. Which is why I want you to tell me everything you know about him."

"Don’t tell me you wanna get revenge for your father, kitten," he said, amused.

I gulped. "Not for him, for you. Everything that has happened down to this moment has been to destroy you. He tried to use me too, through his puppets."

Zade cupped my face, his thumb stroking my skin. "This is dangerous."

"It is dangerous. With or without me involved. He’s after you, and that doesn’t stop him from coming after me too."

Zade didn’t say a word for over a minute until he broke the ice. "What did Julius and Gabriel say about the Benefactor in the car?"

I sighed. "Not much... Everything happened so fast I couldn’t keep up. But I know this Benefactor was like their boss or something... they had a briefcase of confidential materials that could be used to take you down. Information that shouldn’t have got in their hands in the first place."

"Already did a sweep of my men. My network. Even the company. There’s no rat."

If there’s no rat, then how was this Benefactor able to get his hands on all that information about Zade and his company?

"My suspicion’s on Elliot."

I snapped my gaze to Zade. "Elliot?"

"Do you have any reason to doubt that suspicion?"

My mouth hung open, but I forced the answer out. "Yes, sweetie. I do. Elliot wouldn’t have done something like that."

"You trust him."

"Of course I do. He’s your brother and my brother-in-law. He—" I froze, then blinked. "You don’t trust him."

"I already established that when I mentioned my suspicions about him."

"You can’t be serious, Zade."

"I’m a playful person, baby. I tease..." His hand cupped my breast, and a hot shiver shot up my spine. "But this is not a joke."

I gulped.

"Elliot and I have been in a landslide. We both share ideas that collide."

I had a feeling there was more to this, and it was very obvious Zade was withholding something.

"Do you really think he would go this far?"

"Who else would wanna send me to hell with every damn chance they get?"

I rested my hands on his chest. "More reason why we shouldn’t jump to conclusions and find out who really does."