Chapter 13

Lily needed to move. The tension from the party, the slap, the kiss, and the way Gerald had taken her the night before sat heavy in her body. 

She changed into tight black leggings and a sports top, then took the private elevator down to the gym inside the apartment complex.

The gym was quiet at that hour. She put on headphones and started with the treadmill, then moved to weights. She pushed herself hard, sweat running down her back, until her arms and legs burned. For a while the physical effort drowned out the noise in her head.

When she finished, she grabbed her towel and walked into the women’s locker room. The door had barely closed behind her when she heard voices near the far lockers.

“That is the girl Gerald Maldovo has been keeping,” one woman said. “ Everyone knows she is just a paid sex toy. Nothing serious.”

“I heard the same,” another replied. “He only brought her to the party for show. She is not his woman. She is just the current hole he is fucking, disgusting.”

Lily stopped walking. She pulled the headphones down around her neck and stepped around the corner.

The three women froze when they saw her.

Lily kept her voice calm. “Keep talking.”

One of them recovered first and gave a cold little smile. “We are only repeating what everyone already knows. You are a contract. A toy. Do not act like someone special, you’re not.”

Lily stepped closer. “Say that again.”

The woman lifted her chin. “You heard me. You are nothing but a paid ....”

Lily cut her off. “I will only say this once. If I hear my name in your mouths again, I will make sure Gerald Maldovo knows exactly who has been running their mouth about what belongs to him. You know who he is. You know what happens to people who cross him. So tell me the truth. Who started this?”

The three women glanced at each other. The bravest one finally spoke, voice lower now.

“Cleo. She has been telling people since the party. She said you are just a sex toy he bought and that no one should take you seriously.”

Lily stared at them for a long second, then nodded once. “Good. Now stay the fuck out of my business.”

She turned and left the locker room without waiting for a reply.

That evening Gerald returned to the penthouse still carrying the anger from the Luciano meeting. He found Lily in the living room, fresh from a shower, wearing a simple robe. The moment he looked at her, the frustration of the day rose higher.

“People are talking about you.,” he said.

Lily crossed her arms. “I know. I heard them myself today at the gym. Cleo is telling everyone I am nothing but a paid toy.”

Gerald’s jaw tightened. “She will be handled.”

“Will she?” Lily’s voice rose. “Because from where I am standing, she is walking around destroying whatever image you tried to build at that party while you do nothing. And yes, i know i’m a property you can lock away or fuck whenever you feel like it, but can you not make my situation so obvious?”

Gerald stepped closer. “Watch your tune, Lily.”

“No,” Lily shouted. The word came out raw and loud. It was the first time she had truly raised her voice at him. “I am tired of watching my mouth and tune around you. I am tired of being called a toy by your ex.. Or whatever the hell she is,  while you keep me in the dark about everything. And today I had to threaten random women in a locker room because your precious Cleo is out there telling the whole city I am just a hole you paid for. I don’t need the world telling me how fucking pathetic I am.”

Gerald’s eyes darkened. The anger from the Luciano offer mixed with the sound of her shouting at him. He closed the distance in two steps, grabbed her waist, and pulled her hard against him.

“You think I do not care?” he growled. “Do you know how fucking pisssed i am right now, because of this whole Cleo shit?”

Lily pushed against his chest, but he did not let go. “Well if you’re so pissed, then act on it.”

Something snapped in him. He kissed her roughly, full of frustration and possession. Lily kissed him back just as hard, still angry, still shaking. He lifted her and carried her straight down the hall to his bedroom. The door kicked shut behind them.

Gerald dropped her on his bed and pulled the robe open. He did not bother with softness. He shoved his own clothes off, spread her legs, and pushed into her in one deep thrust. Lily cried out at the sudden fullness. He was hard and thick and relentless.

“You are not disposable,” he said against her ear as he fucked her. “You are mine. I refused a million dollars and a major deal today because of you. Do you understand that?”

Lily’s hands gripped his back. Her anger was still there, but it mixed with the sharp pleasure of every hard stroke. “Then stop letting her make me look like nothing.”

“I will handle Cleo,” he growled. He hooked one of her legs higher and drove deeper. “But you do not get to shout at me and think there will be no consequences.”

He took her hard and deep on his own bed, the one place he had never brought her before. The bed frame hit the wall in a steady rhythm. Lily moaned under him, nails digging into his skin, her body tightening around him. The argument still burned between them, but so did the need.

Gerald kept his eyes on her face the entire time. The same woman who had just shouted at him like no one else dared. He fucked her until she came with a broken cry, then followed her over the edge, burying himself deep and finishing inside her with a low, rough sound.

They stayed locked together afterward, breathing hard. Gerald did not pull out right away. His forehead rested against hers.

The fight was not over. The rumors were not gone. The Lucianos were still out there. But for now, in his bed, she was exactly where he wanted her.