“I’m so sorry,” I say, taking a few steps toward him. I reach out, grazing his arm with my hand. And I am. I’m also very aware of how hard it is to move on when you have so much unresolved anger festering deep inside of you.
It’s poetic that he suffers so much from his own lack of closure, and yet he’s the reason why I lost my own opportunity for it.
“Nobody knows. My father never told anyone. And I never owned up to it. That’s why I do this, why I always take care of them, no matter what. I have to, because of all that I caused, the grief and pain. Nothing gets in the way of my responsibility to them.” His jaw twitches. “Everything happened because I lost control of myself and let my emotions rule me. I fed into the anger. I’ve trusted the wrong people, yeah. And I’ve paid the prices over and over. So when I took the reins, I made sure that I kept a clear head. If I had to make a move, it would only be because I have a strategy to execute. Everything I do has a purpose, even if nobody but me knows what it is.”
“So what’s the real purpose of you bringing me here?” I murmur. “Was it really to save me? Or yourself?”
He lets out a dry laugh. “There’s no salvation for me, Aria.”
I run a hand down the front of his chest, his muscles tensing under my fingertips. “I don’t believe that. Everything you do gets you one step closer to it.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Yes,” I whisper, my hand settling on his hip. I inch closer to him, drinking in the scent of his cologne. A weighty cloud of lust fogs my brain and for a second, I forget everything…my plan, my demons, my living nightmare — all of it. “Moving forward is the only way to find that peace. Time helps you make up for what you lost,” I murmur.
“Time can’t bring anything back,” he mutters, running a hand down the small of my back, his forehead leaning against mine. “Time can’t change the past.”
“No, but it’ll give you clarity.”
“I’m only clear on one thing right now,” he growls, tugging my head backward by my hair. “And it’s you, Aria.”
Chapter Fourteen
Vincenzo
I crush my lips against hers, tightening my grip on her hair as she yelps into my mouth. I attack her mouth with a ferocity I haven’t felt in…well, ever. My teeth grip her lips, tugging and taunting them as I drink in the carnal energy flowing between us. Her tongue taunts me like a hot coil wrapped around my own, dragging me deeper and farther until I have no choice but to succumb to the spell she’s cast over me.
My cock jerks and I grab her ass, pressing her against me. She rubs herself against it, lifting one of her legs and snaking it around my hips. My fingertips dig into her thigh as I thrust my hips into her. I flip her around so she’s against the wall, the force sending the framed pictures crashing to the tile floor.
We devour each other like caged animals who’ve just been set free.
Free.
I didn’t think I could ever feel that way. I figured I gave up the right when I took over as head of my family and was saddled with the heavy cross that came with it. Responsibility, obligation, expectations — all of it just pulls the noose around my neck tighter and tighter. It’s only a matter of time before it chokes me to death. But right now, in this moment, I’m oblivious to it.
We stumble into one of the bedrooms of the pool house, banging into tables and knocking over lamps along the way, but I don’t hear anything except the blood rushing between my ears. I unhook her bra and toss it to the floor, diving into her heaving breasts. I knead them as I feast on each one, sucking the nipples through my teeth as she writhes against my cock.
Aria slides my shorts down to the floor and I kick them off, bringing my lips back to hers. She pulls away for a second, her heavy-hooded gaze making me even harder, and I push her onto the thick white comforter. She falls onto her back, her legs spread out for me as I climb on top of her. With a slow and seductive lick of her hand, Aria grins, looking every bit the bad girl I hoped she’d be. When her slick hand wraps around my dick, sliding up and down the shaft, I almost lose myself immediately.
I groan, slipping my fingers into her soft pussy as she strokes me harder and faster. I hook my fingers, sliding them against her clit as I drag them in and out. Her juices flow fast and furious as I hit her spot. She gasps for air, her hand squeezing my cock as her muscles tighten around my fingers.
“Vince,” she rasps, trembling as the orgasm rockets her.
I grit my teeth, trying so hard to keep my own shit together. “Tell me you want me, Aria,” I hiss. “Tell me how bad you want me.”
“Oh my God, I want you so bad!” she wails, a piercing cry following her words.
With my hand still buried deep in her throbbing pussy, she yelps before assaulting my mouth with her own greedy one. I pull her toward the edge of the bed, lifting her hips to give me leverage before I drive into her. I look down at her, to see what stirs behind those eyes and she stares at me with an intensity that has my dick dripping.
I’m so fucked right now.
Why the hell did I do this?
Why did I bring her here?
Why couldn’t I answer her question?
My head is swarming with too many thoughts, too many concerns, and way too many warnings.
So I mute them all.
And I slide my cock deep into her pussy, my hands moving to her ass and gripping it tight. Her walls stretch for me, her muscles coaxing me farther into her depths. I clench my teeth as I drive into her, making her screech with each hard thrust. She locks her legs around my waist, lancing my back with her fingernails as her cries get louder and more desperate. I pull her up so that she is pressed against me, holding her close as my dick pulsates within her velvety soft folds.
I lock my lips on hers to silence the screams, connecting with her on every possible level, but still, it’s not enough. Her muscles tense, drowning me in her desire as the dull ache in my balls intensifies with each passing second. Her juices flow over my cock, her walls slick as I pull out and slam back into her, grazing her clit each time I thrust.
When her body calms, when the tremors finally settle, I flip her over onto her belly and run a hand down the curve of her back, leaning in to graze the soft skin with my lips, her salty sweetness on my tongue. I grab a fistful of her hair, pulling her head backward and dragging my lips down the side of her neck, flicking her earlobe with my tongue and teeth. She gasps, her pussy quivering as I sink into her, one hand splayed across her tits, one hand sliding between her ass cheeks.
I massage the tight ring of muscle gently as she backs her pussy into my cock, squeezing it like a vise each time she shoves her hips against it. I slowly slide my finger into her ass, making her gasp. I drive it deeper and she lets out a piercing scream as she rides me with frenzied movements that have my raging cock ready to burst. Our bodies slap together, the air heavily laced with the scent of sweat and sex. My dick throbs between her walls, pumping into her as my finger slips deeper into her puckered hole, each time making her pussy throb harder around my dick. She cries out for God, her voice muted by the white noise consuming my senses. A fiery heat ignites in my groin, swirling through my insides as my body spasms from the release. The explosion comes fast, the build short and sharp. It erupts out of me with a vengeance and I let out a low roar, tremors rocking my body as I finally let go, emptying myself…literally and figuratively.
I clutch her tight, my head falling onto her shoulder as she collapses back against me. I struggle to catch my breath, the aftershocks quaking every cell in my body. I keep my hand wrapped around her, her thumping heartbeat in time with my own.
Free.
That’s the best way to describe this very foreign-to-me feeling.
If I’ve learned anything over the past few years, I know it’ll be short-lived.
But I’m going to relish it for as long as I can.
I release a long, shuddering breath, squeezing my eyes closed as I graze the side of her neck with my lips.
But all it did was murk everything up for me.
A few weeks ago, I knew what I was, where I was going, where I could take us.
Now?
My plans have gone to hell, and I’ve slapped a big ass bullseye on my family name again just by bringing her here.
And with that realization, I’m back in the fucking shackles.
“Don’t get dressed,” I growl hours later as Aria rolls over to grab a t-shirt laying over a nearby chair. “I’m not finished with you yet.”
“I need to eat,” she says with a breathless giggle. “Trust me, if you want another marathon session like that, you’re going to need to feed me.”
“I’ve got something for you to feast on,” I say, waggling my eyebrows.
She gives me a playful smack. “And I did. Multiple times. Don’t worry, I plan on having that course again and again, but right now, I’m thinking carb loading might be a better bet. Pasta? Pizza? Bread? You choose.”
“And you’re assuming those are the only choices because I’m Italian?”
She shrugs. “Was I wrong?”
I snicker, stretching my arms overhead. “No.”
“Okay, then! So get out of bed and make us a snack. Then we can come back here for dessert.”
“I like the sound of that. But I’m picky with my dessert. And I’m a slow eater. It may take a while to get through that last course. I hope you’re not too tired.”
“Well, then, I hope you have some espresso,” she whispers, tracing a finger over my pec. I grab her around the waist and pull her on top of me and she lets out a breathy moan. “Mm, maybe we should stay here after all.”
“Not hungry anymore?” I ask, stroking her sexed-up hair.
With a shrug, she flashed a sheepish smile. “Oh, trust me, I’m ravenous.” She dips her head down over mine, caressing my lips with her own soft ones, her pussy hovering right over the head of my cock. She slides against it as it twitches and jerks awake.
Not that it ever really clocked out.
“You know, we didn’t use a condom before,” I say. “I guess I got caught up. I, uh, don’t do this too often so I wasn’t exactly prepared.”
She grins. “I guess that means we’re really living on the edge, huh?”
“Guess so,” I smirk at her, stroking the side of her face. Crazy as it seems, my cock actually twitches at the thought of my putting a baby in her belly.
A deep, rumbling growl echoes in the still air and we both chuckle. Aria’s cheeks turn bright pink and she slaps a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, that was so loud!”
“I guess you really do need food.” I lift an eyebrow and give her ass a smack, making her squeal. “But I want you naked, got it? So I can fuck you on the table right after you demolish the pasta, pizza, and bread you’re so convinced I stockpile here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she murmurs as I roll her onto her back and trail kisses down her abdomen. My lips linger on her belly, snickering as the vibrations hum against my mouth.
“That’s the sound of an angry stomach.” I get out of bed and pull her to her feet, snaking my arms around her as we walk toward the kitchen at the front of the pool house.
She starts opening cabinets, peering around the insides for anything edible. But I like to be prepared with ready-made meals. “Check the freezer. You’ll find it all there.”
Aria busies herself pulling out boxes and containers and spreading them out on the counter. “Wow, do you entertain a lot?”
“Nah,” I say, flipping on the oven and sticking in as many aluminum containers and trays as I can fit. “Tommy uses me as his guinea pig. He tries out new recipes and brings them over here.”
“Why don’t you eat any of it?” She waves her hands around the frozen feast, a questioning look on her face. “If someone cooked me gourmet meals, I’d definitely dive right in!”
“Most of the time, my appetite is pretty much crushed by my work. I don’t eat much when I come out here. I usually show up after doing some pretty serious damage to someone, or a group of someones who need to be taught a very painful lesson. And when I decompress, I much prefer drinking my meals, as opposed to gorging myself on pizza and pasta. And anyway, Tommy’s sauce hits a little too close to home, especially his bolognese. Sometimes I wonder if any of his targets end up in these containers.”
Her mouth drops open, the look of sheer horror on her face is too much for me to handle with a straight face. I let out a hearty laugh as she clutches her stomach.
“I’m kidding. I have a separate freezer for that shit.” I wink at her and she lets out a loud yelp.
“I’m not hungry anymore!”
I wrap my arms around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. He’s been so focused on the restaurant lately that he hasn’t really done any jobs for me.”
“Argh!” she groans. “You are seriously impossible!” Then she takes a deep breath, a smile on her face. “At least I know it’s not the cartel because that only happened earlier today. Not nearly enough time to cook this feast, especially with a bum arm.”
I chuckle. “That’s right. He’s good, but not that good.”
“But, my God, it smells amazing, whatever and whoever it is.”
I lean forward, grazing her forehead with my lips. “I didn’t scare you?”
Her eyes open and the smile fades from her face. “No,” she whispers. “You didn’t. You could never.”
“You say that now.”
“And you think that’s because of the work you do? You think it makes me nervous?” Her eyes darken. “It could never be as brutal as what I’ve seen. What I’ve lived through myself.”
“What happened back in Croatia?”
Her eyes drop to the counter and a pang immediately assaults my heart. I never pressed her for details. I only put together the bits and pieces of information she volunteered and connected the dots through everything Alek divulged before I rescued her from Sil’s place weeks ago. I need to know. I have to understand what I just walked into when I inserted myself into her life and killed her father and his crew.
Who else is out there searching for her?
And how long will it be until they find her?
She hugs herself tight and I open a nearby closet, pulling out a sweatshirt for her to put on. “You’re not upset about blocking the view?” She forces a smile, trying to make a joke, and I brush my fingertip against her cheek.
“So long as the view stays right here with me, I’m good,” I murmur. “I’ll even throw on a pair of shorts so I don’t get too tempted to touch.”
Aria leans her head on her hands and stares at me with beautifully expressive eyes as I pull on my discarded board shorts. I remember how guarded those eyes had been early on, how much emotion they now hold…not just loss, but pain, anger, and regret. “It was a hard life, Alek,” she whispers. “I know a lot of people would think I’m crazy for saying that because of everything I was given — money, clothes, jewelry, cars. But it was all bullshit, just material things that could never replace the numbness or the realization that your own flesh and blood hated you.” She shakes her head, a faraway look on her face. “Papa kidnapped young women. He addicted them to drugs, sold some of them, raped others, sold the babies.” Tears spring to her eyes, and if the fucker wasn’t already dead, her words alone would send me on a suicide mission to find him and bring him to justice.
“Mama knew, but he threatened her with physical beatings. She could never come home to Sicily, never communicate with her family. She married him, and in doing so, agreed to leave that part of her life behind. She tried to make moves to leave him, but he got her pregnant and threatened to kill her, killing her baby, as well. And once I was born, he held my existence over her head, promising her that if she ever tried to leave him or tell anyone about what happened behind closed doors, he’d kill me and make her watch. I was really all she had. We were all each other had. Everyone was p
etrified of my father, of what might happen to them if they ever went against his wishes. I grew up never feeling his arms around me in a tight hug, never showing affection to me or his own wife. He kept us captive because he had to have the perfect family in public. His business required a perfect and shiny image, and he beat us any time we made moves to defy him. My mother always did her best to protect me, but in the end, it was me who got her killed. It was my plan that got us out of Croatia.”
I pull Aria onto my lap and lay her head on my chest, soft whimpers tumbling from her lips. “We don’t have to talk about this anymore,” I whisper, rubbing her back. “You don’t have to tell me anymore.”
She sits up and looks at me, her eyes glittering with tears. “No, I do. I want you to know why I hate him so much, why I needed to be the one to pull that trigger. I need you to understand.” Aria swallows hard. “I’d only found out about his business recently. He kept it hidden for a long time, and Mama knew if she told me, I’d do something to give it away. She was right. I’d stumbled on his hidden quarters where he kept the girls. It was an accident. I was trying to find my uncle, Nikola. He worked closely with my father but always gave him lip. He never behaved the way my father wanted him to. Nikola became my friend, or so I thought. He got me to trust him. I know now it was all a bullshit smoke screen to get me to trust him. My father wanted Nikola to keep my occupied so I wouldn’t find out the truth about my family. And then one night, I found him…in my father’s dungeon…” Her voice trails off. “I’d never been so horrified in my life. He and my father had created hell on earth and I’d plunged right into its flaming core.”
Fallen: A Dark Italian Mafia Romance (Men of Mayhem Book 4) Page 13