Dani eyes me suspiciously. “Okay.”
I join her on the couch with two steaming cups of coffee.
“That enough cream?” I ask after Dani takes her first sip.
Dani cocks her head. “What’s up with you, Mia? Just tell me.”
I blow the steam from my coffee, buying time to gather my nerve.
“This whole…Anton thing. How badly does he want me, on a scale of one to ten?”
Dani’s mouth falls open like I’ve just said the dumbest thing she’s ever heard. “Ten,” she says, confidently.
“Right- but-“ I look away from Dani’s prying gaze. I throw my hands up in frustration. “There are so many other girls to choose from. Why me? Maybe he could find someone more appreciative.”
Dani rubs her temples and sighs. “That’s not how it works. I don’t get it. Why are you fighting this? Just go for it. What do you have to lose?”
Before I can answer, we hear my bed creak.
Dani’s face becomes alert. “Who’s that?”
I look down into my coffee cup. “It’s a guy.”
Dani grabs my arm so hard coffee sloshes onto my hand. “Mia, are you crazy? You can’t see other guys.”
We’re interrupted by Leo walking into the living room. It seems Dani and I are both distracted by his perfect form. He’s not wearing any clothing. The only thing covering him is a sheet he’s holding around his waist. This beast of a man, with his chest and arms covered in tattoos, looks out of place in our apartment so early in the morning. He gives us both a sleepy grin.
“Are you Mia’s roommate?” Leo asks Dani.
Dani’s been staring up at his muscular chest. She snaps her mouth shut and forces a smile. “I am. I’m Dani.”
“Leo,” he says, shaking her hand.
Dani’s eyes are wide, and her face is almost frozen. I can’t tell if she’s overwhelmed by how hot he is, or the fact that there’s a Romano brother in her living room.
“Is that coffee?” Leo asks.
I set my mug on the coffee table and jump up. “I’ll get you some.”
Leo follows me into the kitchen. He hugs me from behind as I pour his coffee. His body is still warm from sleep.
“Good morning,” he breathes against my ear.
Leo turns my face towards him, and he kisses my lips. The taste of his mouth makes my knees buckle. Though I don’t look her way, I can feel Dani staring at us. I pull my mouth from his, blushing. Leo grabs my waist, then presses his hips against me, allowing me to feel his very large erection poking through the sheet.
“I was hoping to wake you up with this,” he says. “Come back to bed.”
I turn around, holding the hot cup of coffee between us. Leo backs up a little, and I can finally think without lust clouding my judgement.
“I’ll be in there in a minute,” I say.
Leo pouts a little, but takes his coffee and heads back to the bedroom. I stand in the kitchen, focusing on the chipping linoleum countertops. Dani sits silently in the living room, but I can feel the heat of her anger. After a few tense moments, Dani stands, and rushes up to me.
“What are you thinking?” she says in a harsh whisper.
“I don’t know. It just happened,” I say, shrugging defensively.
Dani places her hands on the side of her face, shaking her head in disbelief. “A Romano? A fucking Romano? Do you know what will happen if Anton finds out?”
I shudder, preferring not to think about it.
“Anton hates the Romano family,” Dani says, visibly upset. “They’ve been feuding for years. Not only will he kill you and Leo, it’ll start an all out war.” Dani glances down the hall where Leo is waiting for me. She raises her finger, then pokes it hard into my chest. “Get rid of him.”
Chapter Seven
———————-
Leo
I’m waiting in Mia’s closet, the sheet piled around my feet. One taste of her lips in the kitchen, and my cock is standing straight out, rock hard. I take deep breaths, sending oxygen to every part of my body. All I can think about is getting my hands on Mia and owning her thoroughly. My need for her is getting me worked up. I hear her talking to Dani, but hot, lustful blood is rushing in my ears and I can’t make out what they’re saying. I don’t care what they’re talking about. I just want Mia to come in here, now.
When I hear the door open, I stifle my breathing, causing a light growl in my throat. I watch through the cracks in the closet door as she looks around in confusion. She glances at every corner of the room.
“Leo?” she calls out.
I wait until she’s close to the bed, and her back is to me before I burst out. Before she has time to turn her head, I’ve got her arms pinned behind her back, and I’m bending her over the bed.
“Leo?” Mia asks frantically, trying to turn towards me.
I plant my hand over her mouth.
“Quiet,” I hiss in her ear. “You don’t want your roommate to hear.”
Mia’s breathing softens, and she relaxes against the mattress. I look down at her body, held helplessly against the bed. This is just how I want her, under my total control. I yank down her pants and panties, then slap her ass. Mia yelps against the palm of my hand. I slap her ass again and watch her soft flesh turn red.
“You kept me waiting.” I press my cock against her, letting the tip slip between her folds. Her warm wetness clings to me. I want to thrust myself inside of her, but I hold back. I slide myself up and down her slit, and her pussy grows even wetter. Mia tries to raise her hips to grind against me, but I keep her tightly pinned against the bed. I stretch her arm down, and wrap her hand around my cock. “Is this what you want?”
I lift my hand from her mouth. Mia is trembling so hard she can’t speak. She opens her lips and mouths, “Yes.”
“Good girl,” I say, stroking her hair. I gather her tendrils in my fist and tug. “I’m going to fuck you, and it’s not going to be gentle. It’s going to be rough. Do you understand?”
Mia nods between spasming breaths. I straighten my back and take a deep breath. Holding her arms tightly, I slam my cock inside of her, giving it to her all at once. Mia lifts her head and cries out. I don’t waste any time. I start pounding her relentlessly. Mia squeezes her lips together, trying to keep quiet. I don’t make it easy for her.
“Who do you belong to?” I ask, pumping inside of her.
“You,” she says in an orgasmic breath.
“That’s right,” I say, through gritted teeth. I slam inside of her. Her pussy hugs tightly to my cock, and I feel it pulse when she comes. I smack her ass again and thrust faster. My head is starting to spin with the pleasure, and I feel my balls tighten. I double over, laying my chest against her back, and breathing roughly in her ear. Once I reach the point of no return, I pull my cock out and explode all over her lower back.
Mia is completely relaxed against the bed, breathing with satisfaction. I take a moment to study her. Her ass is red from my hand, and my cum is dripping into her crack. I look forward to the day when I can finish inside of her, spill my load into her belly and fertilize her womb.
Once the lustful heat subsides, I gather Mia in my arms and hug her. She takes a long exhale, then looks up at me.
“Well, that was fun,” she says.
I bend down to bite her earlobe. “You never know when I’m lurking in the shadows, waiting for you.”
A shiver runs up Mia’s spine. She giggles and pushes me away. As we search around the room for our clothes, she’s unusually quiet. Her brows are pinched, and I can tell she’s thinking about something. I lie back on the bed, and pat the spot next to me. She joins me and curls against my chest.
“What’s on your mind?” I lightly kiss the top of her head. Her hair smells amazing.
“Just thinking about all I have to do today. I’m covering for someone at work. They had an emergency or something.”
She still doesn’t get it, I think. She belongs to me. She’s under my protec
tion now.
“You don’t have to work at the Fry Hut anymore,” I say. “I can take care of you.”
Mia looks up with surprise in her eyes. “You’re telling me to quit my job?”
“If you want. I don’t know how passionate you are about fried chicken.”
Mia laughs. “I used to love it. Now the smell of it makes me sick.”
“So quit.”
“Quit?” Mia says, raising her eyebrow. “I can’t afford to just quit. And how are you going to take care of me? I don’t even know what you do.” The corner of her mouth twitches. I recognize it immediately as a tell. She’s lying.
“You can ask me anything,” I say, nuzzling against her neck. “And I’ll tell you.”
Mia sits up slowly. She glances to the side, avoiding my eyes. “I guess I have a confession to make. I searched for you on the internet.”
I feel a tingle in my hands, something I’ve never felt before. Could it be shame? I’ve never been ashamed of anything I’ve ever done, or what my family’s done. I’ve never had to have this conversation with a girl, because I never stuck around long enough. But Mia’s so pure and innocent, I don’t want her to think of me as a bad man.
“So you do know,” I say. I sit up, folding my hands in front of me.
“Yeah, I think so.” Mia’s mouth spreads, showing her teeth. She lowers her head and whispers, “The Romano family?”
“That’s right,” I say, affecting my most racist, Italian accent. “I’m a real wise guy.”
Mia laughs, albeit awkwardly. I take her hand in mine.
“Does that bother you?”
Mia shrugs, and looks at me, cautiously. “Maybe it should, but it doesn’t. Not really. Leo, I don’t know exactly what you do, and I don’t know if I want to.” She hangs her head down, covering her face. “This is embarrassing.”
“Go on,” I say, nudging her encouragingly.
“You seem like a god to me. And not just because you’re so ripped.” She trails her finger down my chest, biting her lip. “I don’t know- You’re so protective and strong. I can’t imagine you being anything but just. Even if you’ve hurt people, even killed people, I imagine you always have a good reason. Maybe I’m being naive, but that’s just how I see you.”
I nod, a smile spreading across my face. “I like that. A god.” I lift my arms, flexing my muscles. I flash her a grin, and lightly tickle her sides. “Every god needs a goddess.”
Mia laughs, playfully slapping my chest. Then her face becomes serious.
“The thing is, there’s a lot of bad people out there,” she says. “And I need someone like you on my side.”
My cock stirs at the thought of protecting her, but what she said bothers me.
“Are you talking about someone in particular?” I ask.
“No,” Mia insists, shaking her head. “I mean hypothetically.”
I study her face, looking for her tell. She turns her head quickly.
“My family’s pretty normal, actually,” I say. “More normal than you might think.” I can’t believe my stomach is fluttering before I ask this question. I must really be falling for this girl. “You want to meet them today?”
Mia turns to me, her eyes sparkling. “You want to introduce me to your family?”
“Yeah, I do. I know they’ll love you. Ma’s cooking lunch today. It’s always a huge feast with way too much food. She’s a really good cook.”
“I bet she is,” Mia says. She heaves her shoulders, sighing. “I already said I’d come in today. And I appreciate you wanting to make me a made woman- did I say that right?”
I tickle her sides making her laugh.
“Anyway,” she says. “It’s too late to get anyone to cover for me. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”
Her mouth is twitching again. What could she be lying about? Maybe she’s just not ready to meet my family. I decide to give her some space.
“Okay, next time.” I tangle my fingers in her hair, and give her another kiss. “Just promise me something. Don’t ever go near those Nabatovs again. It’s dangerous.”
“I won’t,” Mia says.
Before I can look for her tell, she’s kissing me again.
———————-
I’m in the basement of my parents’ house with my brothers, going through Pop’s books, the real ones he keeps locked in a safe, not the official ones. Pop would flip if he knew we were looking at this, but he’s currently asleep on the couch upstairs after his third scotch. I study everything, line by line, double checking to make sure I’m understanding correctly.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” I say. “How can revenue be this low?”
“Still more than most people make,” Vince says, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t want me to look at these books. I convinced him to give me the combination to the safe, letting him know I was back now, and ready to get back into the family business.
I wasn’t planning on getting back in right away, but over the past few days, something’s switched inside of me. Ever since I met Mia, she’s all I think about. I mean it when I say I want to take care of her, and the only way to do that is to restore my family’s greatness, so she can have the kind of life she deserves.
Mateo bangs his fist against the table. “The Russians have been bleeding us dry. Our turf is shrinking and theirs is getting bigger.” He pulls a pistol from his ankle holster and admires it. “We should go in there and waste them all, just like I’ve been saying.”
Mateo’s eyes glimmer when he stares at the piece in his hands. It puts me on edge a little, probably because he reminds me of myself. I was careless at that age, and always seeking a thrill.
“What happened, Vince? How could Pop let the Nabatovs take so much?” I ask.
“What does it matter? The war’s over. People aren’t dying anymore,” Vince argues.
I slam the books on the table. “The war’s over, and we lost.” I lean forward on my palms, leveling my eyes with my older brother. “What are you going to do about this when you take over? It won’t be long now. Pop’s getting feeble. What’s your plan?”
Vince scratches the left side of his face. I see his tell hasn’t changed since I’ve been gone.
“What do you mean, plan?” he says. “I’ll keep things the way they are. Pop made the right decisions. We lost too many.”
“Including Nico,” I say. My pulse races when I say his name. I feel the anger bubbling up, just as fresh as the day they killed him. “Do you remember what they did to him? How they made him suffer?”
Rage flashes across Vince’s face. I know he’s remembering how Nico looked when we found him, little pieces of him scattered everywhere. The worst part was, they weren’t even trying to get information from him. They tortured him for the hell of it. A young kid, barely eighteen years old. He was my cousin, but I loved him like a brother. When his parents were killed in an accident, Nico moved in with us, so he was my brother in a sense.
“A lot of people died,” Vince says.
“Nico deserves justice,” I say. “And I deserve revenge. I’ve waited long enough.”
“It’s not worth it,” Vince yells.
I raise my eyebrows and scoff. “Not worth it? Do you remember why the war started in the first place? The reds were abusing the neighborhood. Corner stores getting robbed, girls taken from their families and forced into prostitution.” I grab the collar of Vince’s shirt. “Tell me that’s not happening now. Tell me it’s not happening on your watch.”
Vince pushes against my chest. “Take it easy.”
I back off. “Tell me.”
Vince rakes his hands through his thick hair. “It’s not as bad as it was,” he admits. “Look, I don’t know why any of this is my responsibility. Why’s it up to me to protect everyone?”
“Because you were born a Romano,” I say, pointing at him. “It’s your birthright, and yeah, your fucking responsibility. If you don’t step up, then you let them hurt our people.
”
Vince shakes his head slowly, laughing. “You talk about responsibility. You left, for what, ten years? Then you come back acting all self righteous. You never wanted this life anyway. Now’s your chance. Walk away. Leave.”
I clench my jaw so tight, the veins in my temples throb. I pace back and forth a few times to let off some steam. “What do you think I was doing out there? I’ll tell you what I was doing. I was sleeping in abandoned buildings, or on the cold hard ground with nothing more than a thin blanket. I was keeping watch for hours, not moving, not blinking, waiting for my shot. You think the Nabatovs are bad, you should’ve seen some of the motherfuckers I was up against. But I took them out, one by one. One bullet, right in the middle of the forehead, and they drop to the ground. Reload, reset, repeat.”
Vince makes a face at Mateo, mocking me. “Look at the war hero here. We should’ve thrown a parade.” Vince leans forward on the table, flexing his arms. “You wouldn’t even be here if they hadn’t thrown your psychotic ass out.”
I throw up my hands in surrender. “Maybe you’re right. But you know what I’ve figured out. People need people like me to protect them. So that’s what I do, no matter where I am. You forget that what our great-great grandfather started, and all the men after him have continued, it’s about them, the people of this neighborhood. They need us to keep the peace.”
Vince’s face is stubborn and hard. I know he sees my point. He’s just refusing to acknowledge it. He narrows his eyes.
“This doesn't have anything to do with that broad I saw you with the other night, does it?” Vince ask. He holds his hand out to illustrate her height. “About this tall, real pretty. Great tits. Let me guess, you want to act like this big bad mafia boss to stunt for some piece of ass.”
My blood runs cold. I hold my arms firmly by my side to control my anger.
“You fucking followed me?” I ask.
“You’re damn right I did. I can’t have you fucking things up just when everything’s calmed down.”
Witness: A Dark Mafia Romance (Romano Brothers Book 2) Page 20