by Kelsie Rae
Opening my mouth, I graze the tip of my tongue against his lower lip before shifting until my knees are on both sides of his legs. I expect the feel of his slacks against my bare inner thighs to shake me out of this madness, but it only spurs me on. Rolling my hips against him, I place my hands on his shoulders to help me balance.
“You have me, Little Bird,” Dex whispers against my neck before snaking his arm around my lower back and guiding my movements. “You’ll always have me.”
I pause at the promise in his voice. Looking down at the man who swept in and saved me, I decide it’s only fair if he has all of me too. My hands fumble with the belt buckle on his pants before sliding down the zipper and reaching for the hard length that was pressed against my core only moments before. Gently, Dex stops me, nearly swallowing my wrists with his hands as he holds me in place.
My gaze snaps up to his, silently asking why he’s stopped me when he murmurs, “What are you doing, Little Bird?”
With crimson cheeks, I tell him the truth. “I want you to have me too. I need to give this to you before it’s taken from me. I need one moment with you that’s all mine that no one can take away. Please—”
Grabbing the back of my neck, Dex cuts off my pleading with a kiss that burns me to my core, marking me for him and him alone. In the blink of an eye, I find myself on my back as Dex hovers over me. One of his hands is planted on the cold cement floor by my head while the other tugs his pants down and pushes my underwear to the side.
“You sure you want this, Little Bird?” His sincerity weaves into his words as well as his expression.
With a nod, I reach between us and place him at my entrance. I’m done talking. His mouth quirks up in amusement before he leans forward and distracts me with it, teasing me with his tongue. When he presses into me seconds later, I gasp. My breathing is shallow as waves of unfamiliarity wash through me. Wiggling my hips, I try to get used to the intrusion.
“Look at me,” Dex growls. His face is pinched in concentration. “You okay?”
The concern in his voice is probably the biggest turn on I’ve ever experienced in my life, and my need to have him closer flares to life.
“Yeah. I think I am.” Still, he doesn’t move. He’s too busy inspecting me the same way I’m inspecting him. Tiny beads of sweat cling to his forehead from restraint, and I watch in fascination as one rolls down toward his lips. Curious, I raise my head an inch off the ground and lick the salty moisture. The action is enough to snap the last of his self-control.
With rolling hips and messy kisses, I find myself on the brink of oblivion minutes later, panting for some much-needed air as Dex thrusts into me, marking me as his.
A moan slips past my lips, and my toes curl when Dex finally pushes me over the edge, following right behind me. Groaning deep in his throat, he collapses onto me and tries to catch his breath. I want to laugh when it tickles my neck but restrain myself out of fear that it’ll pop the bubble that we’ve created together. The weight of his body pressing me into the cold cement floor is surreal. And so freaking good.
“I think I liked that,” I joke, considering the last thirty minutes of our activities.
“Think?”
“I mean, there’s definitely room for improvement. Less clothes, for example—”
Dex blows a loud raspberry kiss to my neck, cutting off my teasing and making me squeal like a schoolgirl. Wiggling against him in an attempt of self-preservation, an unfamiliar set of giggles erupt from deep inside me. Somewhere I didn’t even know still existed, and it’s all because of him.
So this is what happiness is like.
Chapter Fourteen
Little Bird
“So, what’s with the tattoo?” I ask, lazily tracing over the black X on Dex’s forearm with my finger.
Dex glances down at it. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I assume it means something. Am I wrong?”
He purses his lips before admitting, “No.”
“And?”
“It’s the Roman numeral for ten.”
“And what’s so significant about that number, Dex?” I ask as I lift myself onto my elbow and rest my chin against his muscular pec. He’s so warm and cozy that I kind of want to just wrap myself around him like a little monkey.
“I was ten when my mom used me to pay off her debt to Burlone. I was ten when I found out I had a father and a brother who didn’t want me. I was ten when I saw a man die, and a few months later, was given a gun to do it myself. My entire world was turned upside down, and for better or worse, I think it’s the time that I can truly pinpoint and say that it’s when everything changed, and I became who I am today.”
Schooling my features, I try to keep my shock from showing. “I can’t imagine that, Dex. How could your mom do that to you? How could your father and your brother?”
He shrugs, and the action makes me move a few inches up and down as we lay on the cold, hard ground. Neither of us suggested the stained mattress, and I’m totally okay with that. I can only imagine how many haunting memories were created on it, and I don’t want them to taint this moment with Dex. When he notices my head bouncing up and down with his shrug, he smiles softly before remembering the shitty topic of conversation I had unwittingly brought up.
“I don’t really blame my dad,” he admits in a quiet, yet deep voice. “My mom was a prostitute. How the hell was he supposed to believe her? Although, the older my brother and I get, it doesn’t take a DNA test to see the resemblance.”
A brother. He had mentioned him a minute ago, but I didn’t piece it together until now.
Shit.
My blood runs cold as I ask, “So, you know him? Your brother?”
With a nod, an indifferent Dex twirls a few strands of my hair with his fingers. “Not really. I know of him, and I’ve seen pictures. But we don’t exactly run with the same crowds.”
“Who is he? What’s his name?” I try to keep the shaking from my voice, and it appears that post-sex Dex isn’t very observant. Or maybe he’s just naive enough to believe I’m a random girl off the streets like I wanted him to.
“Diece. Which is ironic, isn’t it? Diece means ten in Italian. My name means an order or factor of ten, and my entire world fell apart when I was….” He drags out the word to emphasize his point.
“Ten,” I answer for him.
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”
Biting my tongue, I try to keep myself from voicing a question I’m not sure I want the answer to, but it slips out anyway. “I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?” he asks as he brushes a stray strand away from my forehead.
“Do you know my name?”
With confusion clearly written across his face, he looks down at me and shakes his head. “You know I don’t.”
“Are you telling me the truth, Dex?” I press.
He counters with a question of his own. “Why would I lie?”
Shaking my head, I sit up and tuck my knees to my chest in an attempt to protect myself from falling apart. There’s no way this is a coincidence. There’s just no way.
“What’s going on, Little Bird?” he probes before pushing himself up and sitting next to me on the dank floor.
I’m terrified right now. I’ve been hiding for a reason. I haven’t revealed my name because it would only put me in more danger, if that’s even possible. But this? Knowing the connection we have? I can’t do this to him. I can’t lie.
I bite my tongue until the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.
“Tell me, Little Bird.”
The truth tumbles out of me before I can stop it. “I know your brother.”
His mouth opens an inch before closing again. Then he looks me straight in the eye as his defenses slide back into place. “What? How?”
“We were practically raised together.”
With narrowed eyes, his suspicion spikes. “What’s your name, Little Bird?”
Touching my lips and bre
athing deep, I tell him the truth. The one I’ve been hiding since he opened my prison door and slid off his shirt to keep me covered. The memory feels like so long ago, yet it’s been less than a couple of weeks.
“My name is Regina Romano, the princess of the Romano family. I’m Kingston’s little sister, and I’ve been taken to get back at him for screwing up your boss’s plans.”
A tense silence fills the air as he registers my words, staring at me as if I’m a ghost coming to haunt him.
Sucking my lips between my teeth and pulling them into a thin line, I wait for him to say something. Anything.
Minutes later, he utters one word while staring me straight in the eye.
“Shit.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dex
“Do we have everything in order?” Cigar in hand, Burlone sits behind his desk and asks his question through a puff of smoke.
I stay quiet because I have nothing to do with the tournament. My only job is to keep the fruit from being spoiled. Too bad I failed epically on that one. But he doesn’t need to know that. He also doesn’t know who he has in his basement. Unless he already does, and I suspect he might.
The real question is, how the hell do I figure out the truth without drawing attention to the fact that I know Little Bird’s true identity when Burlone has exhausted so much effort to hide it from one of his closest men. My gaze shoots to Sei. Does he know? Is that why he’s so interested in getting to her? I almost laugh. Of course, he knows. He was the one ordered to bring her in. How the hell has he kept it a secret, though? I shake my head as my mind tries to piece everything together. Sei has spent more time traumatizing the other passion fruit than he has with my Little Bird. But why? Maybe it’s because he knows her true identity and understands what would happen to him if Burlone found out he spoiled her before his plan could come to fruition. Maybe that’s why he’s been so focused on the other girl. Because he knows she’s a nobody while my Little Bird is the exact opposite.
“As far as I know,” Sei offers with a shrug, bringing me back to the topic at hand. “It’s not like you tell us much.”
Burlone glares, narrowing his eyes. “Want to say that again, Sei?”
Sei has the decency to look bashful, and I don’t blame him. Burlone’s in a shit mood. And no one is safe from his wrath when he gets like this.
“No, sir,” Sei mutters. “I just meant that you only give us pieces to work with but not the whole picture, which makes it difficult for us to know if everything’s in order. That’s all.”
Shifting his gaze to me, Burlone asks, “And how’s the fruit?”
“Ripe for the picking.” The lie slips past my lips without a hitch.
“Good. And since Sei is feeling out of the loop, would you both like to know a little secret?”
We lean forward in our chairs in the middle of Burlone’s office, ears perking up. Is this it? The moment where I find out if Burlone knows who he has in his custody? Or is this the moment when I finally understand his plans for her so that I can figure out how to get her out of it?
“The passion fruit is going to be picked in front of everyone after the tournament finishes.” Burlone’s twisted laughter interrupts his comment before he can even get the entire statement out.
Sei and I look at each other in confusion before Sei asks, “What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’re going to make Kingston watch a group of men take his girlfriend and his sister over and over again before slitting his throat and making them bathe in his blood.” With an arrogant smirk, he takes another puff of the cigar, rolling the stogie between his fingers.
My blood runs cold, but I know I need to extract as much information as I can from the sorry sack of shit in front of me even if it makes me sick to my stomach. It’s the only hope I have. The only hope we have.
Clearing my throat, I probe, “His sister?”
“Oh, did I not tell you that part?” He laughs. “One of the passion fruits. The one who was drooling over you during the photo shoot. She’s the Romano princess.”
“So you found her then?” I ask, turning to Sei while pretending I didn’t know the truth.
Rolling his eyes, Sei puffs out his chest. “Of course, I did. Burlone ordered me to retrieve her. You’re not the only one who knows how to do their job, Dex.”
“Now, now,” Burlone interjects. “Dex deserves a little more credit for not being a nosy sonofabitch. He understands the importance of keeping his head down while focusing on his tasks and his tasks only.” Burlone’s beady eyes shoot to Sei. “You could learn a thing or two on that front, Sei.”
Jaw clenching, Sei’s earlier amusement vanishes, but he keeps his mouth shut.
“So, you have no intention of letting Kingston leave?” I ask in an attempt to pull a bit more information from Burlone while he seems to be in an arrogant enough mood to give it to me.
“Of course not.”
“Even if he wins?”
Burlone scoffs. “Do you really think that’s possible?”
“No.” I shrug. “I was just wondering if you’d honor the rules if he performed a miracle and did. That’s all. Does anyone else know about your plan?”
“Not yet. I thought it’d be fun to surprise everyone. They all see how weak he is. It’ll be a relief for them to finally cut his family line.”
That’s a load of bullshit, I think to myself. The Romano name is not to be taken lightly, and I don’t think Burlone has really considered the possibility of his idea backfiring. Even with Burlone’s sizeable backing from multiple cartels and a few other key families who have a problem with the Romanos, taking them on is a death wish. And killing the head of the family while at a sanctioned neutral location? It’s ballsy, to say the least. And insane.
Which is exactly what Burlone is counting on while assuming his associates will choose his side over Kingston Romano, and consequently, my Little Bird.
“And the Feds? Anything new on that front?” I probe, even though I can’t stand to hear another word. The need to see Regina and figure out a solution is overwhelming, but I fight the urge to run out of Burlone’s office and slam the door behind me. Keeping my composure cool and relaxed, I cross my arms over my chest and wait for his answer.
“No. They’ve been quiet lately. Although, we’ve been laying low too, so maybe that’s why. Have either of you suspected anything?”
Sei shakes his head, and I follow suit.
“Interesting. If either of you hears anything, I expect you to report it immediately. Understand?”
Duh.
“Yeah, Boss,” Sei confirms.
“Good.” The ash falls from his cigar, landing on his desk before he brings it to his mouth and inhales slowly. Seconds later, he exhales and lets the puff of smoke swirl in the air. “Dex, make sure the women are showered and have clothes. We need them to look presentable for the tournament. Sei, can you please get everything ready for the transport to the sanctioned location?”
Again, we both nod. “Sure thing.”
“Good.” With a flick of his wrist, Burlone excuses us. “Now, get out of here. And close the door on your way out.”
I try to keep my steps casual when a burst of adrenaline pumps through me. I’ve got shit to do too.
The question is…where do I start?
Chapter Sixteen
Dex
With a soft click, the door to Regina’s prison closes behind me.
“Hey.” An innocent smile tugs at Regina’s lips when her eyes flutter open. She’s been sleeping more peacefully since we had sex as if her trust in me is absolute. And it’s that same blind trust that urges me forward, pulling her into a hug. Her entire body melts as soon as she’s in my arms. A soft sigh escapes her lips.
“Mmm…I’ve missed you,” she admits dreamily.
“I’ve missed you too, Little Bird.” I squeeze her a little tighter before remembering how tiny she is. How breakable. Loosening my hold, I mutter, “We need to talk.”
<
br /> Sensing the urgency in my voice, she pulls away and looks up at me. “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t let you go to that tournament.”
“Yeah, I know—”
“No,” I interrupt. “You don’t understand. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible, and we need to warn your brother that if he goes, he’ll be walking into a trap.”
Her mouth opens in shock, her eyes wide. I watch as her lips form a small ‘o’ before releasing a slow breath. “Okay…how do we warn him?”
“I need you to write him a letter.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out a pen and paper. “I need you to explain that if he shows up at that tournament, then he won’t walk out of it. I need you to tell him that I’m on your side. That I fell for you. That I’m going to do everything I can to save you. I need you to tell him to trust me. Do you think you can do that?”
Her eyes bounce around my face, soaking up every word like a sponge before she asks, “Is that true?”
“Is what true?”
“That you fell for me?”
Shit. I’d been so focused on her safety, I hadn’t even realized my feelings for her had slipped out in the process.
Swallowing thickly, I bring her back into my chest and hold on for dear life. “I can’t let you go to that tournament.”
She burrows into my chest, trembling slightly as she whispers, “What if you can’t stop it?”
“Then I’ll die trying.”
“Don’t even say that. I’m not kidding, Dex.” Her tone is sharp, her back turning rigid. She’s pissed at me for even bringing up the possibility that I might not make it out of this. The irony isn’t lost on me. She’s fine sacrificing herself for me or her brother, but when it’s the other way around, it’s unacceptable to her.
She’s a brave little shit. I’ll give her that.