“I had loooots of help. And Nero,” she added.
“I should have known.” Drago’s smile was momentary before it disappeared. “What happened to your cat tree?”
“Well…” She looked at the much smaller but reasonably-sized cat tree. “Nero made me return it and said I could have one that didn’t take up half the apartment.”
“I think that was a good choice.”
Kat giggled. “Me too.”
“Do I get to look upstairs now?” There was an excited glow in his eyes at seeing the transformation.
“Y-Yeah.” She grew nervous yet again as she went up the stairs behind him, hoping he wouldn’t hate her for letting Nero get rid of his gym.
No words came out of Drago upon seeing their new bedroom filled with updated furniture.
She grew impatient for him to answer. “If you don’t like it, we can put it ba—”
“Kat, come here.” He demanded her to come closer to where he stood. When she slowly approached, he took her face in his hands. “Why did you think I wouldn’t like it?”
It was hard for her to put her thoughts together as she was staring up at him so closely. “Nero said that you wouldn’t mind, but I should have asked you if it would be oka—”
“I love it.” Drago leaned down, his lips brushing the side of her cheek. “Thank you.”
Kat stiffened, self-consciously remaining still. If she looked at him, they would be kissing, and she didn’t know if Drago wanted to kiss her, or if she was the only one who wanted to kiss until their lips were sore. Equal parts of dread and excitement battled inside of her knowing that the second their lips met, they might not stop.
Drago was fucking attractive, and she wouldn’t be the first woman who wondered how he would kiss when he really meant it, and if he was even capable of being gentle while doing so. Gentleness wasn’t what came to a woman’s mind, when looking at the Caruso bodyguard.
A firm hand on her chin took the choice out of her hands as her face was turned. A hairsbreadth separated their lips. She desperately wanted to lick her suddenly dry ones but was terrified that Drago would misinterpret the movement.
Using his free hand, he picked up a pretty pink strand of silky hair. “You’re not nervous, are you, Kitty Kat?”
She couldn’t take it any longer. She had to lick her lips. She just wished she hadn’t stared so intently at his juicy-looking ones as she did. “No.”
He came just an inch closer, so his chest pressed against her breasts.
Katarina suddenly felt surrounded by the warmth of his body. He hadn’t removed his hand from her chin, and she felt imprisoned in his grip even though a small voice in the back of her mind told her it was safe to pull away. It was those hell-bent eyes that held her spellbound.
He leaned closer and finally slid his lips over hers so softly she couldn’t be sure that he actually had. It was only when she felt the glide of his tongue on the seam of her tightly closed mouth that she realized she wasn’t imagining it.
“Kiss me, Katarina.”
Oh fuck. She shivered at the temptation, unconsciously parting her lips to let Drago’s tongue slip inside her mouth. Their breaths mingling was just as erotic as giving in to Drago’s exploring mouth, becoming embarrassed at the small moan that escaped her.
Drago had kissing down to an art. He wasn’t an inexperienced boy; no, Drago was anything but inexperienced. The man who had her heart beating out of her chest and her hands gripping his shoulders to pull him closer wasn’t a novice. Drago knew exactly what he was doing, which was sending off darts of need to her sensitive body parts that she had never paid attention to before.
Shifting, she thought at first that he was pulling away but found herself lifted upward and taken to their new bed. Sitting on his lap as a seeking hand went to her thigh, she made no attempt to move it, clutching his shoulders tighter.
Drago’s arms went around her ribcage, tugging her tighter against him. “Should I stop?”
She buried her face in the crook of his neck, knowing when she finally let him get their first deep kiss, there was going to be no stopping.
“No,” she mumbled.
When his mouth returned to hers once more, Kat was the one to let her tongue slip into his, wanting to taste all that he had to give as her fingers went to his hair to feel the smooth texture. She gripped his hair harder when one of his hands went to her thighs, gradually sliding intimately between her legs.
Her muscles tensed as his hand slid back up to cup her mound just beneath her jeans, sending trembling sensations storming through her body. It was like being hungry and not knowing what you wanted to satisfy the craving that was slowly leading her searching down a tunnel that she didn’t know where it was leading.
Kat only knew she wanted to come out the other end in one piece. As Drago unsnapped her jeans, she quickly began to doubt that was going to happen. Each touch of his fingertips led a trail of fire along her skin that matched his eyes. When his fingers finally touched the soft, moist flesh between her thighs, she was consumed by the scorching heat. It all centered on the throbbing nub that Drago tantalized by barely skimming the aching point of her desire.
She gave a startled scream when his thumb pressed down before swirling downward to find her opening.
When a large finger entered her to his knuckle, her back arched at the sensation. She felt herself being shifted until she was flat on her back and Drago was above her. She knew he wasn’t going to ask her if she wanted him to stop again; that point had passed for them both. Unabashedly, one of her thighs fell to the side, opening herself even more to his touch before her hips lurched awkwardly under his hand trying to drive his finger deeper within her. The hunger inside of her wanted more, but she didn’t know how to get it or how to make Drago put the fire out that was stealing every thought from her head.
Not releasing her just yet, he removed his finger only to slide two back in, making it a tight fit within her.
A whimper escaped at the burning sensation he had just given her. He carefully cooled it down as his thick fingers coaxed her insides, and it wasn’t long before she wanted even more. Much, much more than what he was doing to her now.
Kat wasn’t going to ask but beg for what she wanted next, but the second her mouth opened to do so, his thumb rolled over her clit in a way that had her crying out in pleasure.
Placing a light kiss on her stunned lips, he removed his fingers that were still deep in her.
Did I just—
He placed another light kiss on her rosy cheek as he buttoned her jeans back up.
Is he just— Her body was only just beginning to feel the need fulfilled. “That’s it?” The words fell out of her mouth, her foggy brain feeling frustrated.
“Yes.” Drago smiled down at her. “For now.”
Kat wasn’t holding on to her virginity for any special reason; it was simply that there had been no one to give it to. Being one of the unlucky ones, she’d never built up her virginity as something to be protected or cherished, too afraid that it would be stolen from her, giving her another scar for life.
She wanted sex to be what it was meant to be, for pleasure, not to be used as a form of abuse or to feel pain. She wanted to have control over her body, and with Drago, she felt she did. She felt a sudden need he could give fulfilled; she felt in control as though she could ask him to stop at any time, and he would. But most importantly, Drago could take away the fear of her possibly losing her virginity to someone to whom it didn’t belong.
It should have been a win-win, but watching him get up off the bed and leave her without doing exactly that frustrated her. She had seen the fire in his eyes, seen that he didn’t want to leave her there without taking more, so why didn’t he?
I mean, what’s the fucking point of having a husband if they can’t—
Fuck.
Drago had lain in bed for over an hour just staring at the pink hair that seemed to glow in the moonlight while she slept. He had let himself
touch her, something he hadn’t wanted to allow himself to do just yet. He’d found himself swept up in the moment from the sweet act she had done for him, and lost control of himself by losing himself in her.
Thankfully, he stopped himself before it went further. Only the guilt he would feel of defiling her had stopped him. Even though they were married, she was much younger than him and didn’t belong to him just because he’d picked her out of a line.
If or when he would allow himself to take her, it would have to be a cold day in hell. For that guilt of possibly ruining her life to die inside of him, all because Katarina was the only one who could give him the revenge he so desperately desired.
He had won. There was no denying it. Drago had taken what had mattered most to the Luciano men, their sister. The price they paid was far greater than those five bullets and three months he’d spent in purgatory.
For him, it turned out revenge wasn’t that sweet. And now, every time he looked at his wife since saying “I do,” he was only reminded of how he had used her and ruined the rest of her life. It only hurt worse the more time he spent with her, to find that the cost the Luciano brothers had to pay was priceless. That was why he didn’t have it in himself to be mean or hurtful to her any longer, because he had to wake up every fucking day and look at himself in the mirror.
Lucifer might have killed him, but it was Drago who’d created the monster.
Thirty-Four
Face-to-Face
The remaining night after what they had shared was calm yet empty, but waking up the next day to realize Drago had left in the early morning made her feel emptier.
She had dressed and come down the steps to find the dreaded Amo sitting on the couch, but it wasn’t long after her feet left the stairs and stepped onto the floor that her heart sank to meet them.
THUD.
The door being kicked quick and hard into the apartment had Katarina jolting around. When her eyes fell on the dangerous man at the door, she shouldn’t have been shocked to find Amo hadn’t moved an inch.
The demonic man stalked into the room, carefully creeping up to her like she was his prey.
Sure of death to come, she stood there strong and ready to face her killer.
“Katarina….”
Her skin turned as cold as his voice. Swallowing hard, she knew well enough that her time had come.
“Why don’t you ask Amo what happens when you jeopardize my relationship with Chloe?” His voice cut colder this time.
Now, Amo had finally moved, standing up from the couch where he’d lazily sat, his uncaring demeanor quickly changing into confusion over what was happening.
She was just as confused, looking to Amo before her eyes turned back to the boogieman.
“Amo is not allowed to see her, speak to her, or be in her presence ever again because he thought his love for her and hatred of me could come between us.” It was Lucca who glanced at him, this time with disdain in his eyes. “And now here he stands, only alive because I wouldn’t be able to look at her beautiful face if I killed him.”
Those cold bones in her body started to lightly shake.
“Leave us,” he demanded of Amo.
However, Amo didn’t move. A protective expression finally covered his face.
She knew the boogieman would only give one final warning. “Leave. Now.”
“I-It’s okay,” Kat managed to say, assuring him in hopes that she would be all right.
Amo walked slowly and what seemed to be regretfully as he left the apartment, closing the door behind him and leaving Kat to face her demon.
“I think you have mistaken my kindness as weakness, Katarina.” Lucca reached out, grabbing her chin with a light force like he had the first time they’d met. “Or been mistaken that I had any kindness at all.”
“You’re the one mistaken…,” she whispered on a shudder, already knowing there was no kindness in him. And finally, the truth would come out as it took everything she had to say these next words, “You remind me of my father. I see him in you, and that is why I believe you are the killer.”
His eyebrows slightly drew together. “You think I’m One-Shot?”
“Yes,” she proclaimed after hearing what she assumed was the killer’s nickname.
The cold rage seemed to dissipate into curiosity as he lessened his hold on her chin. “Why?”
“Because Todd disobeyed you, and Chloe wasn’t at the wedding. It doesn’t seem like coincidence to me.”
His grip tightened once more. “When I kill one of my incapable soldiers, it isn’t with a bullet, Katarina.”
She could see the wickedness in his eyes that showed her exactly why he reminded her of her father and why she thought they were one and the same. However, she could also see the truth in them, having no need to lie to her alone in this room. “And Chloe?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“If Chloe went, then Amo couldn’t, and I wanted him to go to the wedding and be forced to watch his uncle marry a Luciano.” Seeing the now confused look on her face, he continued, “As punishment for nearly breaking every bone in Angel’s body.”
She licked her dry lips. “Oh.”
“You don’t seem surprised,” Lucca stated, lifting up her chin higher to read her face.
“Angel… already told me.”
Smiling, Lucca let her chin go. “Amo doesn’t know you know, does he?”
“No.”
There was a sort of wonderment as he continued to look down at her. “And Drago?”
“No,” she revealed, keeping that secret she had known the day after she’d met Amo. Angel had finally told her, wanting her to know, so she could be wary of him, but remembering the way he was with Shadow, she knew the truth. “He’s not evil,” And like her brother Matthias, he was… “just broken.”
And now I know why.
There was an essence in Lucca that was “all knowing” like he could read minds or see the future. It was an intuitive ability beyond his years that should have been unknown to man, but here he was, living proof that such existed. “Amo will heal when he’s ready, but others will never get the chance. You can fix a break, but you can’t fix obliteration.”
A single tear welled up in her eye before it fell splashing to her cheek, knowing his words to be true for those who walked this earth with a similar pain that Matthias held. The saddest part was they would often hide that pain behind laughter or charisma, but eventually that darkness would overtake them, consuming them for all they were worth till they couldn’t take it anymore…
“Do not cry, Katarina, for we need men like him to balance out men like your father…” Reaching out, he wiped the tear with a cold finger. “Me…” Then he rubbed the salty liquid between his fingers before he gave her another all-knowing look. “… and Cassius.”
Her heart sunk instantly back to the floor. “How did y—”
“You can’t hide pure evil. Even in the form of a boy.” The boogieman returned in a flash, showing her that same evil. “I hope we have reached an understanding, Katarina. I like you but not enough that I won’t kill you if you speak to Chloe that way again.”
It had been a long time since she’d prayed. Watching the boogieman leave after she nodded, she prayed not only for the souls he had taken, but also that they had been worth sacrificing.
Amo stood on the other side of the door very quietly, listening to every word they were saying.
She knew… this whole time.
Wanting to feel anything but nothing since Chloe, he had chosen hatred. Hatred toward a family that had tried to take his uncle away. A family born from the devil, who he thought there wasn’t a one worth saving.
But it turned out… there’s one.
Drago opened his apartment door to see Katarina asleep on the couch.
Getting up from the table, Amo came up to him face-to-face. “I need to speak with you.”
“Okay.” He matched his nephew’s quiet tone, so they wouldn’t wake her up.
; “I did something, Drago, that you might not forgive me for.”
He paused for a moment as every muscle in his body tensed, worried for what was about to pass through his nephew’s lips. Whatever it was, was bad. That he knew in his gut.
“I wanted to get even with the Lucianos after what they did to you, and when I heard Tom died, I think a part of me lost it. So, I set out to even the score.”
“What the fuck did you do?” Drago took a grave step toward him.
“While you were gone, I took it out on the Luciano who was closest at the time.” His voice didn’t waiver, and he didn’t sugarcoat it as he stood there strongly, confessing his sin. “Angel.”
“You were one of them wearing the mask.” It wasn’t a question but a statement, having heard what had happened to Angel when he’d returned to this plane. Lucca had said he was handling it, and with him being so busy recovering, he hadn’t thought of it. Truthfully, he hadn’t much cared about the Luciano brother being hurt when he first heard it. It was that the Carusos had defied orders, knowing that Angel was here under Lucca’s protection, and committed the crime knowing that it was so severe they needed to hide their faces. “Does Lucca know?”
“I was assigned to watch her”—he nodded to Katarina still peacefully sleeping—“as punishment.”
Lucca was a smart man, that was for sure. Forcing him to watch the sister of the one he’d almost killed was serendipitous in a way. Being constantly reminded of the thing you did wrong was a hard pill to swallow, especially when that pill came in the form of Katarina. That he knew all too well. You couldn’t hate her, no matter how hard you tried, and Lucca fucking knew that.
He took another step toward him, until his face was an inch away while not only his eyes breathed fire, but his mouth did too. “De Santis men don’t like to lose, but you lost her to him. Now… you are losing yourself.”
Amo could only nod.
He stepped away before opening the door. “Get your shit together and get the fuck out of my face.”
Drago (Made Men Book 6) Page 13