Identity Pt. 02

Vicente could smell the juices beginning to pool in the crotch of those fortunate underwear covering that hidden pearl. He wanted to put another two hundred in them but he didn't think he could resist pulling her onto his lap and tonguing her. Her body was so flawless she could put a supermodel to shame. She wasn't just skinny though, no he loved that she was a full figured woman with a round ass and hips. She was pure Colombian bred, he could tell. The women on television had nothing on Esperanza. A few customers came to the edge of the stage to put more bills in her underwear and Vicente tried not to be possessive. Technically, she wasn't his— yet.

Be my vixen... You always said you wanted to be an actress... With Miguel's last words of the song, Gabriella unclipped those lacy panties and threw them directly in Vicente's face. The last few beats in the song allowed her time to wink at him, then spin on her heels and walk slowly off stage. The crowd cheered and clapped, whistled and yelped for more and the DJ announced that Esperanza would be walking the floor if anyone wanted some "special time." Gabriella hated when he said that, it made her feel like a hooker.

Vicente joined Rico at the bar after his constant nagging. "What the hell man? I gave up easy pussy tonight. I thought you said you needed a drink." Rico slid one of the shots he had lined up down to his brother. "Come on, take this with me, hermano!"

"Ugh, fine. But you're not getting me as hammered as you did last time." Vicente smirked as he raised the shot glass and clanged it with Rico's. The two downed their shots and two more right behind them before Rico started to feel a little woozy.

"Shit, you always fuck me over when I drink with you." He groaned putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"When will you learn, hermanito?" Vin chided, gripping his little brother back on the opposite shoulder. "Okay, come on, one more for the road!"

Rico whooped and dry heaved at the same time making his brother burst out in a fit of laughter. It was almost funny enough to keep the escalating scene across the club from drawing Vin's attention. Almost.

"Ouch! What the fuck?" Vicente's attention immediately shot to the sound of her voice. Esperanza was over by the stage on some guy's lap, but she didn't look like she wanted to be there. The grungy looking guy was gripping her wrists in one hand and fiddling with the new black bra she had changed into with the other, while she was trying to pull away from him.

"Come on, baby I was just kidding." He tried to slip a hand in her new black panties and pull her in closer but she managed to jerk her hand free, cock back and punch him square in the nose. "Fuck!" The man yelled jumping up and throwing her off his lap onto the floor. "The fuck is wrong with you, bitch?" The angry customer's nose was gushing blood. He even had the nerve to kick her while she was still down on the ground.

Vicente dropped the shot glass in his hand and darted over to the man. His eyes were full blown white by now, the wolf in him having gone insane when he saw his mate was involved. He put himself between the man and her, "didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Vicente punched the man so hard he flew back into one of the glass tables in the middle of the club.

"Hey!" One of the man's friends launched himself at Vin tackling him to the ground. The two crashed into an armchair tearing the arm off of it before landing hard on the ground. Vin brought an elbow down on the man's spinal cord with a bit more force than necessary. The man cried out and Vicente pulled the man up enough to deliver a good blow to the face.

The man's friend went down easily just before Rico arrived with the bouncers and Finn frantically blowing a whistle. Rico pulled the man off Vicente and helped him up as Finn called for the party responsible. "Your eyes, Vinny." Rico whispered in his brother's ear urging him to pull back his animal instincts before they took over completely.

"Senor Cruz, are you alright? What is going on over here!" Finn turned to see Brielle still on the ground holding the leg the angry customer had kicked. "You! Why is it that every time something happens, you have to be involved, E?"

"Are you kidding me? He fucking kicked me!" Gabriella shouted as Finn tried to dust Vicente off.

"I told you, one more time! Mr. Cruz, I am so sorry about this."

Vicente jerked away from Finn appalled that he was yelling at Esperanza. "I'm not the one you owe an apology. That jerk grabbed her and kicked her. You really allow your customers to treat your dancers this way?"

Finn felt infinitesimally small looking at the 6-foot man hovering over him. Though Finn was not a small man, it was clear in his slightly crouched posture just how intimidating he found Vicente. "I, of course not! Exotica has a strict no touching policy. Jorge, remove these men!"

Vin bent down to Gabriella's level, "Are you hurt? Can you walk on it?"

She looked up into his gray eyes feeling a connection with him. "I, I'm not sure."

Vicente took her in his arms and lifted her from the ground. Gabriella gasped as he picked her up effortlessly. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and without thinking about it, leaned her head into the crook of his neck just taking in his subtle scent. He took note of how perfectly she fit there. "We should get you some ice." He carried her over to the bar with Rico trailing behind them. "A glass of ice and a towel, please." Gabriella noticed how he was polite, but commanding when he spoke to the bartender. He set her down gently in one of the barstools sideways so he could rest her leg on the stool next to her. Vin made sure to position himself at her side to be positive she could not fall. The bartender sat a beer mug filled with ice and a white bar towel in front of Brielle and she thanked him. She went to take some ice from the mug, but Vicente stopped her placing his hands over hers. "Please, let me. You just relax."

Gabriella's features softened at his words. "You really don't have to—"

"I know," he gave her a genuine smile that dazzled her. She noticed a chip in his front tooth at the right corner and wondered what kind of accident might have caused the injury. He splayed the towel open on the bar and poured the ice over the center before setting the mug back down. She watched his long fingers as they folded the now moist towel over and placed the makeshift icepack on her shin. Brielle made a slight hissing noise as she sucked the air through clenched teeth when the cold pack made contact with her mocha skin. "Am I hurting you?" Vin asked pulling back immediately.

"No, no, it's just cold." He let out a sigh and placed the pack back on her leg and the other hand on her calf. His calloused hands felt amazing on her skin. "Thank you."

"No need. I saw how he grabbed you. I was waiting for one of the bouncers to enforce that 'strict' no touching rule." He used his free hand to make air quotes when he said strict.

"Yeah, guess it isn't quite as strict as the sign says." Vicente made a mental note of her joke taking it more seriously than she'd meant it. He would make sure Finn got his security in line tonight. No one was to lay another hand on his girl, lest they wanted it amputated. "That guy is in here like every other week and he gets a bit handsy when he's drunk, but I've never seen him that bad. He really shook me for a second there," Gabriella thought of her last meeting with her mother before she was hired at the club, wondering if she had set everything up. It would have been very characteristic of her.

"You need to get his attention again. The attraction for you is clear, so now you need to draw him in." Her mother's words echoed in her brain as she thought about the night they'd begun this scheme. She was only eighteen when she was enlisted into her mother's little revenge army.

"I still don't understand the point of this, mother. I mean if they have Rico brainwashed like you say then we need to get him away from them."

"And what do you think we are doing here? Planning a tea party? This is how we get to Vincenzo. You go through him." She showed her daughter a picture of Vicente Cruz, better known as The New Alpha of Medellin. "Vincenzo's son, Vicente. He recently took over the family business, giving us an opportunity." Her mother paced the scorched floor of their old home. She had designated this as the last place they would see each other until the time came. "You'll be working here," she pointed at the picture of Exotica. "The Cruzes own this club so not only do he and your brother frequent it, but many of his men are known to spend much of their time there as well. This job will put you directly in his path and give you a chance to get right to the heart of the Cruz Empire."

"Why do I have to sleep with him? Why can't I just use the club to get to Rico?"

"What do you think you can just walk up to him, tell him who you are and he'll leave with you? No, you need to get close to them both. Earn their trust and when they let their guard down, we'll destroy whatever twisted illusion that sick son-of-a-bitch has brainwashed my baby with." Reina slammed her fist down on the charred countertop making Gabriella jump.

"Fine, so what do you suggest when I actually meet him?"

Vicente watched her gaze into the crowd as if she were wrapped up in her own head. He didn't mind it though. He was content just to stand there and look at her. It was an odd feeling, actually wanting more from a woman than just her body. From their first meeting, he had seen she was full of fire and she had a hell of a swing, but he was dying to know more. Staring at her there, he wondered what it would be like to have her love him. He could tell she would be an amazing Alpha female, taking no shit from any of his wolves.

Thoughts of her taking control of the pack and running things by his side stirred the sleeping beast within him. The instinctual lust he was trying to keep buried began to resurface with a vengeance. Just like the other girls working the floor, she was barely clothed and he was beginning to take serious notice.

"You may be missing work for a bit." He noted seeing her shin swelling even under the ice pack. The guy must have kicked her pretty hard. Still lost in her own thoughts, Gabriella didn't respond at first. She was still noticing how different this experience was than anything her mother could have prepared her for. Reina had been very clear about how drawn Vicente would be to her, but nothing could have warned her body of how mere proximity to him would fry her senses and numb her inhibitions.

"I'm sorry, what?" Brielle asked him shaking her head and bringing back her wandering mind.

"I was saying you might need to see a doctor for this leg."

Gabriella smiled, "yeah right." She took the ice pack from his hands and moved it off her leg. Putting on a bold face, she swung her leg off the other barstool forcing him to take a step sideways. She pushed herself off her seat putting her full weight on her injured leg, but she quickly realized how she'd underestimated her injury when a surge of pain caused her leg to give out. Vin knew she would not make it very far on that leg, and so he was more than ready to catch her when she lost her balance and fell into his chest.

"Careful," Vin whispered feeling the heat of her body pressing against his.

"Guess you're right." Brielle looked up into his gray eyes ad subconsciously moved her hand to feel the stubble along his chin. It wasn't prickly as she'd expected, but soft to the touch, almost like fur.

Vicente couldn't help himself as the desire to taste her lips overwhelmed his judgment. His hands curled around her lower back just above her panties, pulling her close. He could taste the faded mint on her breath as he leaned in agonizingly slow. Gabriella closed her eyes I anticipation and Vicente completed the journey covering her lips with his. She moaned softly against him as he ran his tongue along the dividing line between her lips as if pleading for entrance. She easily complied, granting him access to an entirely new territory that he intended to map out in great detail. His right hand slipped down to cup her ass and Brielle momentarily forgot she worked here as she gave into him. Vicente scooped the young girl up and placed her back on the barstool, stepping in between her legs. Gabriella slid her hands down the front of his body, her fingertips caressing the hard muscle under the cotton thermal until she reached his belt buckle. He growled into her mouth when she tucked four fingers between his jeans and his undershirt and pulled him even closer. Vin slid his hands along her thighs and as his callouses scraped her smooth skin; she wondered exactly what had put them there. She imagined those long digits gliding along the frets of a guitar.

"Whoa, if you guys needed some privacy, you could have just asked." Rico interrupted the two bringing their surroundings back into focus.

Vin pulled away while he was still coherent enough to do so. He smirked at his little brother's comment making a mental note to kick his ass later. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"You're apologizing?" Brielle smirked at him. "What are you a virgin?" Rico made a noise somewhere between a gurgle and a laugh as her jibe caused him to choke on his beer.

Vin was still very aware of just how close he was to her center, and his nose was telling him just how wet she already was for him. In light of her comment he was having an even harder time now keeping his urges in check, and Gabriella had no idea just how close she was to being fucked right here and now in the middle of the club. With a wicked smile, Brielle only continued taunting him slipping a hand down to trace the bulge in his jeans. With the way he was still gripping her thighs, no one, not even the bartender could see when she quickly slid down his zipper.

Vin's hand opposite Rico swiftly flew to stop hers from any further torture she was about to put him through. He leaned in bringing his lips close to her left ear. "Be careful, you might just get what your pussy is begging for if you keep that up." Hearing him talk to her like that just made her want him even more. She let out an involuntary groan at the loss of his body heat and his hands on her skin when he took a step back and discreetly zipped his pants in the process.

As soon as he was arm's length away, Brielle felt as if she was coming out of some sort of trance. She could almost see the smoke clearing from her mind. Her desire for the man in front of her was still very, very strong, but just then she felt that if he had pulled his hard member out and plunged it home right there she wouldn't have been able to stop him— even her own body was doubtful she would have tried.

Brielle felt her judgment smack into her like a garbage truck. "I, I have to go." She excused herself standing to her feet. The pain shot through her leg again but she was prepared this time for it. She winced a little and bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from making too dramatic a noise.

"Wait, I'll help—"

"No!" Brielle shouted recoiling from him like he was going to burn her if he touched her again. In all actuality she was just too afraid to loose control again. There was something so... animal about him. Everything about him screamed sex to her, and she felt like she was constantly fighting the urge to jump his bones. But when he touched her, when he had his hands on her flesh, all she could think about was taking it further. She needed him to stay back where he was in order to maintain control. "You're neglecting your brother on my behalf, really I'm fine now."

"I think he's making out just fine. He'll probably be face deep in your coworkers chest soon." Vicente gestured over his shoulder at his brother who was in fact trying to work his magic on one of her fellow dancers.

"Really I'm fine. I should probably get back anyway. Thank you again!"

Vin watched as she rushed off, and his keen eyes picked up on the change in her walk. She was trying very hard not to limp away. He wasn't sure what bothered him more, the fact that she nearly ran from him or the knowledge that she was willing to endure severe pain to get away from him. He found himself pondering that for the next hour as he kept an eye out for her, but she never came back out. When he asked Finn where she'd gone, he was even more disappointed to hear she had asked to leave and gone home.

After discovering his ladylove was no longer in the club, Exotica suddenly lost all of its appeal. Rico chose to stay behind and continue flirting with one of the other dancers. Vin carried himself and his wounded pride all the way back to the estate, leaving the car and Manuel at the club with Rico. As he walked, he could feel those animal instincts scratching at the surface, trying to break out. After getting all worked up with no actual release, he knew it would only be a matter of minutes until he lost all control. So he dipped into an alleyway and stripped out of his clothes in the darkness.

It had been a long time since he'd changed into a full wolf. Being a born shifter, it wasn't as pressing for him to change regularly as it was for bitten werewolves. It also helped that he was an Alpha— the more power a shifter had, the more control they needed to possess. Vicente had become a master of self-control after taking over the pack at age 16, but she was surely testing his will. By her reaction, he was positive she felt the pull to him that he felt for her. Vicente folded and placed his clothes neatly hanging on a ladder attached to the side of some building forming the right side of the tiny walkway. He made a mental note to have Manuel pick them up and take them to be cleaned.

Standing there in his boxers, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his mind up to the world around him, allowing his instincts to take over. Vicente released that breath slow and steady through his nose and opened his eyes with new clarity. It evaporated into the air like the water vapor appearing while one talks in the cold of winter. His irises clouded from that deep gray to a smoky white and the ancient magic that ran deep in his ancestry changed his body from the upright form of a human to a bushy black wolf. His huge paws planted firmly on the ground, Vicente quickly adjusted without the dramatic bone breaking, agonizingly painful grotesqueness of a full moon change for bitten wolves.

Assessing his changing site, he sent Manuel the order to pick up the clothes and then freed his mind of his pack's thoughts, completely letting go. With such adrenaline rushing through him from withholding a shift, he was eager to challenge his body and rebounded up the walls quickly hopping out onto the roof with the meta-human balance his wolf form allowed. His second form only complimented the fitness of his human body as he was large but those lean muscles still supported his athletic, agile frame as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

Vicente didn't look like any of the other wolves in the area. Although his roots lay in the Mansion and Cruz Estate in Medellin, his father had traveled the world in the years that he searched for his mate. A human woman had conceived Vicente in the United States, but she died during childbirth and Vincenzo never brought her up. He had never once seen a picture of his mother, and when he asked his father he simply said she was "a means to an end." Even his father's wolf form showed similarities to a large black and red fox, and while Vin's body was just as long and sculpted as his father's, Vicente favored the shape of the extinct form of the gray wolf, once found in North America.

He ran for hours taking off once he reached the woods past the estate just enjoying the freedom he rarely got to experience in his lifestyle. The wind running through his fur, the Earth directly under his feet, it was like opening gifts on Christmas morning and biting into a delicious burger all at once. He moved faster than any ordinary wolf, saw better than any normal human, smelled everything within 5 miles of his home. There was nothing like the freedom he felt in his wolf form, but when he caught the unfamiliar scent of a wolf, his alpha duties slammed back into him.