Mated to the Moon (Portal City Protectors Book 6), Georgette Clair [best classic books to read .TXT] 📗

His father was dead, but his memory breathed still in the lives of the men left behind in his wake. In a woman who lived in peace but remained hidden to stay away from his world.

Abuse left untold victims behind, and even when revenge was served, it didn’t heal the scars.

“You are not your father.”

“Fabiana, you’re resting against the blood of a man I killed tonight for stealing from me.”

She jerked and pulled away, having forgotten the blood when she’d come to help him through his pain. Her wild eyes met his, the dampness on her cheek and against her chest registering in her mind.

“Can you still say I’m not my father now?”

Chapter Fifteen

“You’re not your father.”

Her words registered but didn’t sink in. How many times had Fabiana told him he was just like her father? How could she not see the similarities between Primo and Antonio? They were cut from the same cloth, determined to terrorize everyone around them. Putting them down like a dog was the only way to stop them.

Adonis was the head of his own cartel, gaining money in drugs, weapons, and so many other dirty dealings that he wondered how he was numb to it. He’d never touched trafficking, couldn’t stomach it, but that didn’t mean he was kind. He couldn’t be. And now …

Now he had a mate who stood beside him, worked to created suits to protect his men, and brought life to this place—a life he hadn’t known was missing. And just like his strip of attractions, the best he could give her was fantasy.

Yanni and his crew were Adonis’s hit squad, ready at any time to decimate their enemies and rivals alike until no one dared touched Adonis. Encantado enjoyed a freedom other portal cities weren’t afforded because the world know Adonis DeLuna called this place home. Touching it would mean he’d reach back, and the risk was too great.

Fabiana didn’t know all that, and he wouldn’t tell her. Her continued safety meant she couldn’t be aware of all he did. Plausible deniability had been drilled into his head since childhood. His mother didn’t know half things her former husband had done. It was the way of their world, and being mates didn’t change that.

He spun away from Fabiana, disgusted at himself for not being conscious of her coming close enough for the blood to touch her until it was too late.

He was even angrier at Raphael for putting him in this position.

His friend, the brother of his heart, meant well, but the puta had too much of a knack for making moves to surprise and confuse the enemy.

Yanni had taught him that.

Adonis hadn’t expected him to use it like this though.

He growled in frustration, a rock sitting on his chest. He couldn’t describe this crushing feeling, tightening and strangling him until he couldn’t breathe. He needed to get away. Fabiana was pure and kind, a soft-spoken woman who didn’t need to force anyone to acknowledge her.

His entire fucking pack asked about her when she wasn’t around. The women fretted over who would cook for her next or get to spend time helping her dress.

She told them of her life among the Lombardi and entertained them with stories about Silva and Kalinda. His pack enjoyed her softer touch, the way she stood up to them but with a shy smile and unconscious sensuality around her shoulders.

Perhaps he was tainting her, forcing her to heights she wouldn’t have attained if he wasn’t her mate. Mierda, he even fucked her unforgivingly each time he took her to bed. He’d never be able to be soft and loving, no matter if he tried.

“Adonis.”

He ignored her still, heading to their bedroom to get out of his clothes and into a shower. He couldn’t look at her. Not like this, not with the blood of a dead man soaking into his pores and branding him with damnation.

To the outside world, his business was fantasy. The shows of fire and gemstones from Blaze tantalized spectators with her dangerous acrobatics and heat, but Blaze trained for hours on end, hiding the way the fire burned her when it got too close. It didn’t matter if it was her element, it could still harm her. And more times than not, she limped off the stage at the end of the show and went straight to the healers so she’d be ready for the next one.

She loved it, but it hurt all the same.

Starlett dealt with broken bones in her feet and endless nights of dance that pushed her exhaustion to the extreme. Her skill had a shelf life, and soon enough some newer, younger entertainer would take her place. She’d fade into memories of tourists, even if her wolf blood allowed her to remain viral a bit longer.

Entertainment always needed something newer and more exciting.

But while that all went down on the front line, behind the scenes were broken bodies buried in unmarked graves, deals in the darkness, and shipments that paid handsomely for a race toward death.

“Wait,” Fabiana called out.

Not happening.

He slammed open their bedroom door, already stripping his clothes and leaving them on the darkened carpet. He needed to be clean, to wash away the stain. He couldn’t face her, not as exposed as he was. Raphael’s story, their story, only served to remind Adonis how far away from perfection they really were. Knowing how much he hated for Fabiana to know made him realize he despised the person he’d become. Adonis now regretted the choices he’d made when he had no idea what else to do. He could have been so many other things, in another life, another time, but he was a murderer instead.

Fuck!

Fabiana was close on his heels, but he moved quickly to stay ahead of her. She didn’t understand,