22. 22 – Caterina
22 – Caterina
I lean back in my seat. “It’s not the strongest plan.”
A lot of it hinges on my shoulders. “If I can’t persuade the rest of the senior soldiers to follow me, we’re going to struggle with numbers.”
“Assuming Matteo’s numbers drop as we hope they will, that might not be an issue.” Gio leans forward, studying the rough sketch with a frown. “You think you can get him onto campus?”
“I don’t think he’ll be able to resist. Not if he already thinks he’s won.” My hair brushes against his as I lean in too, pointing at the hall we use for ceremonies. “We pin him down there.”
Stefano clears his throat. “If there’s anything left standing at the estate, there should be plenty of weapons. Ammunition. Gear.”
“What of the rest of it?” Luc voices the question. “You’re the Asante capo now. Like it or not, you’ll need to decide.”
Stefan’s eyes flash to mine. “It’s not a legacy I want. And the type of men Salvatore kept under him – you don’t want them. Trust me.”
“A clean out then,” Dante says quietly. “You could start again, if you were of a mind to.”
A bloody, drawn-out process. Stefano sighs. “Not a priority right now.”
“Leave it too long, and a power vacuum will appear. They’ll start scrabbling for scraps, and it will bubble over into smaller gang wars.” I hold his gaze. “Most of his senior men died at the compound. The others will fall in line.”
His jaw tightens. “I don’t have a single ally in the Asante ranks. Not one.”
“But you have five out here.” Gio taps his fingers. “Admittedly, we can’t stretch ourselves too thin right now. But when this is done, we can help you.”
Dom shifts in his seat, but he doesn’t say anything to dispute Gio’s words.
Stefan’s face twists. “Why would you do that?”
None of them speak. Luc eventually shrugs. “Family.”
“Ba!” Alessia kicks her legs, and Stefan glances down at her. Swallows. “I… would appreciate that.”
Family.
***
I take my time getting ready. Study the clothes Luc ordered, take the time to wash my hair and let it dry into waves that fall down my back.
I study myself in the mirror for far longer than necessary.
Don’t be ridiculous, Caterina.
When the door knocks, it’s a relief to pull it open. Dom lingers on the other side, smartly dressed in a deep blue shirt and cream chinos. He swallows, his eyes sweeping my body. “Perfect.”
I smooth down the dress with an irritating amount of self-consciousness. The sweetheart A-line neck dips low, leaving my brand, my ruined crow tattoo on display. The green material hugs my waist, flaring out into a skirt that dips low at the back. “I actually forgot about the brand until I put it on. But I don’t want to cover it up.”
It would be another victory, another small hold over me, and I refuse to let them have it.
Dom’s hand lingers in the small of my back as we walk. “I can design something to cover it. If you want to.”
My hand reaches up to trace the puckered skin. “Maybe.”
Dom leads me to the gray Masteri we drove to the Fusco estate, opening the passenger door and waiting. I grin at him as he climbs behind the wheel, and he narrows his eyes at me. “What is it?”
I turn to look out of the window. “Just… it’s funny to see you being chivalrous, Domenico Rossi.”
But… nice.
I turn back to him, sucking in a breath when I find his face close.
Warm lips close over mine. Dom’s hand slides behind my neck, cupping it as he tastes me.
“Trust me,” he says gruffly when he pulls away, “there is nothing chivalrous about the things I dream of doing to you, Cat.”
Well. I press my lips together.
He keeps his hand on my knee as he drives, his thumb tracing tiny circles against my bare skin where my skirt rises up. By the time he pulls up, I’m trying not to squirm. He gives me a wry glance as he turns off the engine. “Feeling okay?”
I press my tongue into my cheek. “I’m enjoying the chivalry. But I’d really enjoy it if we slid the seats back and I climbed onto your lap.”
The temperature rises as we stare at each other.
“Let me do this,” he says finally, cupping my cheek. “I want you. It’s been too long. But let me do this first. I want to take you on a date, Caterina Corvo. I want to push the rest of it out, just for a little while.”
And I want to let him.
Our fingers tangle together as we walk down toward the beach. Ahead of us, the sun is setting, casting the sky in vivid shades of orange, pink and purple that takes my breath away. “It’s beautiful here.”
“Is it?” Dom’s lips turn up. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Why – oh .” Heat rises on my cheeks. “You charmer, Rossi.”
Dom’s low laugh settles something in my chest. “I’m trying.”
He’s trying hard. My breath catches as he leads me around a corner, and I take it in. The large rug is scattered with colorful pillows, tall candles embedded in the sand around it. A cooler sits alongside.
“The sky isn’t technically blue.” Dom’s voice is apologetic. “But there is sand, and the sea. And the sunset.”
Memory flickers.
I don’t remember him saying those words. But Stefan did, repeated them back to me. Gave me hope that I didn’t even realise how much I needed.
“Dom.” My voice is thick. I don’t – can’t – say anything else. So I pull his face down to mine, kiss him deeply, trying to push everything I’m feeling – too much – into it.
My cheeks are wet when we break apart. He leads me to the blanket, opening the cooler to reveal an ice bucket and a chilled bottle of white. “You thought of everything.”
He hums as he pours me a glass, pulling out a bottle of beer for himself. We settle against the pillows, my head on his stomach as we watch the colors move across the sky and deepen into rich, vivid red.
Dom plays with my hair as we talk – about memories, our childhood, about anything that isn’t the bloody reality we’re trying to forget, just for tonight.
I sit up as he lights the candles around us, the flickering amber lights sending shadows bouncing across his face as he leans down and fiddles with something next to the cooler.
My cheeks crease when the music starts. “I like this song.”
“I know.” He holds out his hand. “Dance with me, Caterina Corvo.”
I’m going to dance with you as the sun sets.
The area around us is deserted, either by design or by chance. So there’s nobody to see us as I rest my head against Dom’s chest and we sway to the quiet melody, his arms wrapped around me as we face the setting sun, watching until the last rays disappear on the horizon.
“Full marks for you, Domenico Rossi,” I whisper. “You’ve set the bar extremely high, you know.”
He kisses the top of my head.
I tip my face up to his, catching his lips with mine before I glance around.
His brows dip as I take a step back, my hands rising to the back of my dress. “Caterina.”
I tug at the zip, pulling it as far as I can before I turn, sweeping my hair back. “I need a little help.”
His fingers brush against my skin. “Someone might see.”
“Live a little.” I suck in a breath as he drags the zip down, his lips following. My whole body heats as I feel the touch of his tongue. He tugs the zip down to just below my hips before pausing.
“You don’t seem to be wearing any underwear.”
His tone is wry, but there’s heat flickering beneath as I turn, pushing the dress down until it slips to the floor. “I forgot it.”
His arms band around me in the next second, lifting me before he lays me back against the blanket. My hand moves to the button on his chinos, but he bats my touch away. “My turn first. Hands up.”
I stretch my hands above my head, curving my spine like a cat for his mouth as it travels over my skin. Letting him think he’s won.
The noise he lets out as I wrap my legs around him and flip us is… satisfying. I grin down at him. “Stay.”
“ Cat .”
As I unbutton his shirt, his fingers grip mine. “I was going to keep it on.”
I pause, my eyes moving to his. “Dante told you?”
“Not everything.” His eyes sweep my face. “Just to leave it on. Was he wrong?”
Slowly, I shake my head. “Unbuttoned is fine.”
I move down, my finger brushing the hard length beneath Dom’s trousers as I undo his buttons, sliding my hand in and cupping him. “Looks like I’m not the only one who forgot my underwear.”
He groans as I squeeze. His hips lift, letting me drag his trousers down. “When I thought about this, I was the one – uh – playing with you.”
“Trust me.” I trace my tongue down the underside of his cock. “You’re not going to have any regrets, Domenico.”
He bucks beneath me as my mouth seals over his head. “Definitely not.”
I sink down until his head presses against the back of my throat before pulling back and finding a rhythm. Dom moves with me, hips twisting as I suck. He buries his fingers in my scalp, massaging. “No regrets. Not a single one.”
I keep going as his hips move with greater insistency. I want to feel him release in my mouth, to lose control as I swallow him down. But he moves, sitting up as his hands slide to my waist, lifting. “Up.”
My legs curl around his waist as I sink down onto him. His cock stretches my soaking pussy as I sink down on him, my forehead pressed against his shoulder.
And then we’re twisting again, Dom giving me a smug look as he flips us and pushes inside me, spreading my legs wide as my head tips back on a gasp.
With my thighs pushed apart, I feel every inch of him as he bucks into me, his chest pressed against mine. Our breathing turns to shuddering gasps in the cooling air. “Dom – I’m going to—,”
“Yes,” he hisses. “Come around my cock, Cat.”
My cry rings out, muffled by Dom’s lips on mine as he presses into me with a groan. Wet heat spills as he comes with my name on his lips, filling me even as he keeps gently pumping his hips, pushing my tremors on for endless seconds.
He rolls onto his back, taking me with him as his hands run up and down my spine. We both try to catch our breath. “This was not an approved date activity.”
“Don’t make me take a point off.” I bury my face in his skin, breathe him in as his hands skate down my back, over the cheeks of my ass and back up. “We needed this.”
“We did.” He finds my lips as we lay there, content with each other.
“I should get dressed,” I whisper eventually. His hands eventually release me as he watches with heavy-lidded eyes, his arm propped behind his head.
I realise my error as I pull my dress back on. “I need to clean up.”
Dom smirks at me. “No.”
I stop, my hands on my zip. He hauls himself up and brushes my fingers out of the way, tugging it up before his lips press against the back of my neck. “You wanted to be fucked, Caterina. You can walk around full of me for the rest of the night.”
I stare at him. “Seriously?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Do I not look like I mean it?”
I consider it. “Do we… have anywhere else to go?”
He shrugs, a smile playing his mouth. “Maybe.”
He ducks out of reach as I throw a punch at him. “So violent.”
We pack up as the sun sets fully, taking it back to the car before he pulls me away. “We’re not done just yet. A little walk, and then we’ll head back.”
I know I’m not imagining the amusement in his voice.
I swallow. “Just so you know, you are sliding down my leg.”
At my words, he throws his head back, a genuine, loud laugh bursting from his mouth. I stop to stare at him. “I missed that.”
His grin softens into something more tender. “I thought about what you said.”
“Which part?”
“All things fade in time,” he says quietly. “Good memories will outweigh the bad ones eventually.”
“I’m not sure it works like that.” Even though I wish it did.
“I know. But it doesn’t hurt to build as many as possible.”
We stroll down toward the marina, several people passing us on the way. They glance at me, at Dom, and promptly put distance between us and them.
I glance up at him. In the darkness, he looks nothing less than intimidating, the bulk of his shoulders, the muscles beneath his shirt obvious. And then there’s the bruising. His lips quirk up. “Do I have something on my face?”
I look over my shoulder at the couple hurrying away from us. “Most know we still maintain a presence here. They’re wary.”
The Cosa Nostra may not have the power it used to in Sicily, but people have long memories.
He leads me into the marina and take in the rows of yachts bobbing in the water. Most are dark, but he leads me down until we pause outside one of the biggest. “Remind me what they say about compensating?”
He grins, holding out his hand to help me up the gangway. Lights flicker up on the deck, and my ears prick at the low hum of conversation. “Who else is here?”
He doesn’t say anything as we climb on board. The side deck is lit with floodlights as we make our way to the main observation deck on the upper level.
I stop short, my smile stretching.
Luc lounges back in his seat, a glass of wine hanging from his hand. “Did I hear you complaining about the size of my yacht, little crow?”
They’re all here. Seated around the glass dining table, looking remarkably relaxed beneath the strings of lights above them. Gio holds up a beer in greeting. “Good surprise, I hope.”
“It is.” Dom pulls out a chair, and I settle between Gio and Stefan before looking to Dante. Dom slides into the seat beside him. “Where is she?”
He points, and I turn, spotting the playpen, the small bundle inside it. “She’s asleep.”
“She ate most of the food first, though.” Luc pops an olive into his mouth. “But we saved some for you.”
“Good.” I reach out and snag the antipasti platter, dragging it toward me. “I seem to have worked up an appetite.”
The smile playing around Dom’s lips deepens. “I thought you were full .”
I pick up a piece of tara donne , biting off the edge of the flatbread. “I seem to have space for more.”
Luc points his glass at me. “Tell me why that sounded like something else.”
“Ask Dom.” I settle back in my seat, listening to Luc throw questions at Dom about our date which he refuses to answer. Low music plays around us, the low swish of the waves soothing as I sip at my wine.
Gio waits until I push the platter away before he pulls out the pack of cards. Dante groans. “Not again.”
Gio raises an eyebrow at me. “I’ll be better prepared this time.” Then he looks over at Stefano. “She’s a shark. Just to warn you, since nobody bothered to warn me .”
“So is Luc,” Dante mutters. “I happen to own ninety per cent of Las fucking Vegas. And she still wiped the floor with us.”
Stefano turns dark eyes on me, considering. “Is that so?”
I shrug nonchalantly. “I’m not bad. And I’m not wearing any underwear, so—,”
I stiffen, my eyes flying to Dom. “Actually, excuse me for a moment.”
But he stands. “Why don’t you stay where you are?”
The flush curls over my skin. “ Dom .”
But I stay in place as he heads inside, the others watching with curiosity. My cheeks are burning by the time he comes back outside. He leans in and murmurs in my ear. “Cheek against the table, Caterina. Since I made the mess, it feels only fair that I clean it up.”
My stomach swoops, clenches.
Slowly, I lower myself to the table. Their attention focuses on me, their eyes sending flickers of heat across my skin. “That sounds… acceptable.”
“Lower.” I flush at the sound of Gio’s voice. “Cheek against the glass, Caterina.”
My palms, my face, I press them down against the cool glass in an attempt to ease my flaming face.
A warm palm slides up the back of my leg. Higher. And the cool air kisses my bare skin as he slowly pushes my dress up, flipping it over my hips.
“Look at you,” he says, his tone full of primal satisfaction. “Stuffed full of me. You look perfect stuffed with my cum, boss .”
I grit my teeth, even as my knees weaken.
Sneaky, sneaky bastard.
From my position, I can only see Gio. My eyes widen as he pushes his chair back. He offers me a smirk. “Only fair to share with the group.”
“Jesus,” I mutter. My heart stops as chairs screech and footsteps move around me. “Form an orderly line.”
Laughter. Low, soft laughter as they gather around me. I crane my head to look.
Gio and Luc are standing there, shamelessly… looking .
I twist, catching Dante’s eye. He pushes the sliding door open with a still-sleeping Alessia in his arms, disappearing inside, and I breathe a sigh of relief as he reappears with the monitor in his hand.
This is definitely not the lasting impression I want to leave my daughter with.
Dom strolls past me, settling back into his seat. He meets my look with a smirk. “I’ve had my fun. Thought I’d give you an extra point by watching instead.”
But there’s still someone missing. I turn my head, the glass warm now, and look for Stefan. He hasn’t moved from his chair on my other side, his jaw tight.
“Stefano.” There’s a challenge in Gio’s voice. But there’s an invite, too.
I bite down on my lip as our eyes meet. The uncertainty in his gaze doesn’t help the sudden panic that grips my stomach at the thought that maybe… maybe this isn’t what he wants.
Five of them. Only one of me.
What if I’m not enough?
He reads my expression, and his eyes soften. “You need an army, Caterina. Nobody else would be able to keep up.”
Luc’s voice is dry. “I said something very similar, once.”
But Stefan doesn’t look away from me. “Is this… what you want? From me?”
I don’t speak. I only nod, not trusting myself.
His hand brushes against my cheek as he stands, and that clenching in my stomach turns to something deeper as he joins them.
Fingers trace my slit, barely brushing it before a warm towel wipes over me. Dante speaks. “We don’t have a bed big enough for all of us, so we’re going to have to make do.”
“A mistake I intend to rectify as soon as possible,” Luc murmurs. “But in the meantime… how many of us can fuck you before your legs give out, little crow?”
My hands twist, searching for something to hold onto. “I’m pretty sure I can outlast all of you, Morelli.”
A lie. An absolute, bald-faced fucking lie . It feels as though I’ll combust as soon as they properly touch me.
“Big words. That sounds like a challenge.” Gio. “What do you want if you win?”
I consider it. The fingers push against my entrance, testing, and I press my hips back in silent demand. “I quite like this yacht.”
Luc whistles. “So do I. Challenge accepted.”
“What do you get?” I jolt as those fingers slide into me, twisting and flicking as I push up onto my tiptoes. “If you win? Unlikely, of course.”
The hoarse rasp of my words doesn’t give off a huge amount of confidence.
The fingers disappear, and I hold my breath as I feel something thicker. Gio leans in, his words murmured directly into my ear. “If you could see what we see, you’d know that we’ve already won.”
He slams into me, fingers gripping my hips, and my cry echoes into the air. I try to hold on as he sets a punishing rhythm. My toes scrunch, my panting making the table beneath me mist up. “Oh, God .”
“Not God.” Another slam, so deep I swear I can see fucking stars. “Say my name, principessa .”
“Gio.” I almost slur it as he increases his movements, my legs pushing further apart until he’s almost holding me up, his fingers buried in my skin. “Fuck – yes. Harder .”
“Merda,” he hisses. “You’re gripping my cock so fucking tightly, I’m not going to last.”
“That’s—,” my words cut off with a moan as he moves one hand to my clit, pinching the already swollen bud. “—the plan .”
I clench around him, squeeze him as hard as I can, and he roars into my neck, his chest pressing into my back as he finds his release. He spins me as I’m still catching my breath, his hands gripping either side of my face as he finds my lips.
“Alright, enough. I’m feeling a little competitive this evening.” Luc’s eyes sparkle as he nudges Gio aside. His thick cock is already in his hand, and he rubs over the barbells. His eyes trace my body, the small straps around my upper arms. “Let me see those pretty tits of yours, little crow.”
I raise shaking fingers to the straps, yanking them down and reaching to tug at my zip until I can pull the top of my dress down and shimmy as it falls to the floor. My breasts spill free, and Luc groans, deep in his throat as he steps forward. I move to turn, but he stops me. “No. I want to see your face when I’m fucking you. Hands around my neck.”
I raise shaking hands, and he swoops in the brush his lips across mine. “All you need to do is hold on.”
He slides his hands beneath my ass, hoisting me up. One hand stays there, his other arm banding around my back. He holds me as though my weight is nothing, those hazel eyes bright. “Remember – hold on.”
He pushes into me gently, mindful of the solid steel lining his cock. I grip him, my face buried in the shirt he’s still wearing as our hips bump together. He pumps in and out of me, slow enough that I shift, silently asking for me.
“Use your words.”
“ Testa di cazzo ,” I hiss, and Luciano Morelli laughs against my ear as he picks up the pace, his hips pistoning into me until my orgasm rolls over me in a sudden wave of sensation. I tighten around him – my arms, my pussy - as he follows me, pressing in as far as he can with a groan that rips from his throat. He holds me there for several seconds, his lips traveling against my neck before he slowly releases me and takes the towel Dante hands him.
My feet stumble, trying to catch their grip against the deck floor as he gently runs it over my sensitive skin, cleaning me off.
“Feeling a little off balance, tentazione ?” Dante teases as he slips into Luc’s vacated spot. I blindly reach behind me, feeling for the edge of the table. I feel full despite Luc’s very thorough clean-up, swollen and thoroughly fucked already, and both Dante and Stefano are watching me with hungry gazes.
Slowly, I spread my legs. “Think you can steal the win, V’Arezzo?”
Dante’s smirk is an echo of the boy he used to be, the boy that chased me until he caught me. Somehow, the man… he’s even more devastating. “I’m not going to fuck you. Figured you could use the break.”
I frown. “Oh.”
Except he doesn’t mean that. He can’t, because he’s unbuttoning his trousers, pulling out his cock as he runs his hand over it, tugging.
No. Instead, he crooks his finger. “Come here, tentazione .”
Pursing my lips, I test my balance. Debate whether to risk it.
“Scared?”
My brows fly down. “Absolutely not.”
I force my legs to straighten, force my face to settle into an aloof expression as I take those few steps away from the table. “See? I told you—,”
The world disappears from beneath my feet, along with every bit of breath from my body.
The blood rushes to my head as my vision orients itself, and I find myself face to face with Dante’s cock. Upside fucking down . “What the fuck?”
He holds me tightly, arms around my back as my knees come to rest on his shoulders. “Wrap your arms around my waist, tentazione .”
I take a breath, possibly to demand that he puts me the fuck down, except that at that precise moment, he buries his face in my pussy. Deep, long licks, teasing the swollen flesh, nipping at my clit.
I throw my arms out and around him, my eyes crossing. I almost feel dizzy with it, with the feeling of being upside down as he holds me steady and just… takes. The head of his cock is level with my lips as I lean forward, experimenting with a lick before I open my mouth and take him in.
He doesn’t stop licking, doesn’t break his concentration for a moment as I play with his cock, testing how far I can take him like this.
I get my answer when he hits the back of my throat, and I swallow.
Dante doesn’t rush me, doesn’t thrust – he just holds me, his arms a steady, solid band around my body as he licks me like a fucking ice-cream cone. Like this, it feels intense – I can’t move, can’t do anything but let him do exactly what he wants.
My thighs start to tremble around his head. Dante pushes his tongue inside me, mimicking a thrusting motion before he pulls out and clamps his lips over my clit, sucking.
My pussy flutters, squeezing desperately around empty air as my muscles contract. Dante’s cock slips out of my mouth, and dizziness threatens.
My arms nearly slip. Dante has me upright in a moment, his movements steady as he rights us. His arms slide back around me as he keeps me upright.
I blink at him hazily as he pushes my hair back with a slight frown. “Dizzy?”
Dizzy, overloaded, full. I only blink at him hazily in response, and his hold on me tightens.
Just in time, as my legs crumple. He catches me with a curse, the others jumping to their feet. “I think you lost, Caterina.”
Like fuck I did. The smirk I give him feels strange on my face. “You sure?”
Soft laughter from Luc. “Maybe we all won.”
I blink, some of that haziness clearing. “Stefan?”
Warmth covers my bare back, his large hands landing on my shoulders. I’m still balancing against Dante, but he steps away, allowing Stefan to wrap his arms around me as I lean back into him. He kisses my shoulder. “It’s okay.”
No, it’s not. But my body stubbornly refuses to cooperate, and I glare at Dante. “You nearly broke me, stronzo .”
He doesn’t even look a little bit apologetic as he shrugs. “You loved every second of it.”
Stefan pulls off the navy blazer he’s wearing over his shirt, wrapping it around my shoulders. When he lifts me, I expect him to carry me to a seat.
But he places me down on the table instead, his blazer cushioning my back as I blink up at him. “When I said it was okay, I meant that I’ll do all the work, Caterina. Lay back.”
Oh.
I stretch out, listening to the sound of his zip. Stefan runs a finger up my center, pushing one inside, then another. He curves them, stroking against my walls as he watches. And my body slowly comes back to life beneath his soft, gentle touches. My hips begin to shift restlessly. “More.”
“But you’re tired.” He pushes another finger inside me, one eyebrow raising cynically. “Perhaps we should stop.”
“Do not stop.” I push myself against him, my leg wrapping around his hip in an attempt to pull him closer. Stefan leans forward, careful not to place too much weight against the glass as he kisses me deeply.
And I gasp against his mouth, as the full length of his cock thrusts into me in one push. My hands wrap around his neck as he rocks into me, his pace slow and steady and enough to drive me out of my own mind, until I’m clawing at his back in silent demand. He grips my wrist, pushing it up.
“No.” His smile is a curling, heated smirk that makes my stomach flip. “You’re exhausted, Caterina. So lay back, and don’t move.”
He punctuates his words with a single, sharp thrust that makes my eyes cross.
My orgasm builds slowly as he works me into a pleading mess. But he doesn’t stop, doesn’t speed up. He tortures me with his patience until I’m dancing on the edge, my pussy fluttering around him. “I’m more than fucking awake now, damn you.”
His teeth sink into my lower lip. “Good.”
He pinches my clit hard, the shock of the touch enough to fucking catapult me off that cliff, my body twisting beneath Stefan as he fucks me through the waves until his hips twist and he groans against my lips.
I thump my head back against the glass, drinking in the stars. “So fucking good. Ten out of ten, Domenico.”
“What?” Dante sounds furious. “Why does he get a ten?”
I wave my finger lazily. “For the date. Plan your own.”
And then I pass out.