29. Damiano
Last night I came home to find Paige and Gina passed out drunk on the couch, each dressed in one of my suits. They were also each wearing a leather holster loaded up with knives in each loop. Gina had live flashbang grenades clipped to hers, and Paige was wearing brass knuckles.
It was hot as fuck finding them like that.
I disarmed Gina and left her on the couch to sleep it off. Then I carried Paige into my room and undressed her from everything except the holster, brass knuckles, and her pink panties.
First thing this morning, I had a guy from my crew drive a very hungover Gina home. Then I grabbed a bagel and orange juice for my sleeping angel’s hangover. But it turns out, Paige wakes up horny after a night of drinking, so sliding back into bed with her was an excellent bonus.
Morning sex. Morning sex with Paige. Who the fuck knew that reaching over to find an almost naked Paige, with her skin burning hot from being under the blanket and her sighs soft and her legs spread just enough for me to slide in, was abso-fucking-lutely worth blowing through every no-sleepover boundary I’d ever set.
It’s hours later now. My bed is huge, plenty of space. But me and Paige are using the same third of it, her head resting on my abs, my hand resting on her lower back, fingers tucked into the back of her little panties. Half the time we’re home, that’s all she’s wearing.
Or those teeny-tiny shorts with a tight little tank top, nipples on full display. Who the fuck knew having an angel at my place would be fucking heaven?
Right now, she’s telling me about growing up near the beach in San Diego. I’m half listening and half admiring the different shades of blonde and the lightest brown in her hair.
I can’t remember ever taking an afternoon nap before, but after Paige rode me on the couch, then we showered together with her soaping me up, which led to another round in the shower, our warm bodies collapsed onto the cool, crisp sheets. I could drift off easy.
But I have an even better idea.
I slide out from under her, roll her onto her back.
She gasps from the sudden movement.
“Keep talking, angel.”
I kiss her tummy.
“What are you doing down there?”
“Mangerò la tua bella figa mentre mi racconti qualcosa in più sulla California.” I’m going to eat your pretty pussy while you tell me more about California.
She giggles. “What did you say?”
“I said, ‘tell me more about California.’” I lick a line along her hip bone, suck in a mouthful of her skin letting go with a loud, wet squelch.
“Okay. Yeah. Or just, you do your part, and I’ll just. . . Yeah.”
I run my hand down her long, smooth leg, admiring my olive skin against her tan thigh. I hitch her leg up, place it over my shoulder as I shift into place.
I nuzzle right up against the cotton, take a deep inhale of her tang. “Keep talking, angel.” Press my nose against her clit, her smell lighting me up.
“Uh. . . something? I was. . . saying something. . . Words?”
“Words?”
“I think I was saying words. Maybe?”
“Yeah, baby. You were saying words. Say some more.”
I push the cotton to the side, latch onto her shiny little clit. She’s sloppy wet already and I can still taste my jizz from finishing deep inside her in the shower. I squeeze her thighs like I’m never going to let go.
I’m thinking we—
Click. Woosh.
Did my front door just open?
Thud.
It slams closed. What the fuck?
Paige sits up. “What—”
“Shh. I’ll handle this,” I whisper. “Go into the bathroom and lock the door. Nod your head so I know you understand.”
She just stares at me, her eyes huge.
“Paige?”
She nods.
I grab my pants off the floor, pull my dagger out of the clip. I’d rather not shoot someone in my apartment if I can avoid it.
Even though it’s afternoon, my living room is dark. The window shades are on timers to allow the ideal amount of light in for the plants depending on the season. I edge into the room so I can catch whatever asshole broke in off guard.
The lamp on a side table flicks on, illuminating Rob. “You come at me with that fucking knife, and I’ll punch straight through your skull.”
I exhale, then twirl my dagger a few times. “What the fuck, man? Why’d you break into my place?”
“I didn’t break in. I used the code.”
There was a time not too long ago that I actually thought my apartment was a fortress. Now I have to revisit my entire security scheme. I still don’t know how Mas got in. “Since when do you have the code?”
“Since I asked Salvo for his door code. What the fuck, Dom? You have your own code for my loft. Why don’t I have a code for your place?”
I tilt my head to the side. Is he busting my balls, or is he really offended? I honestly can’t tell. “What are you doing here, man? You came in like a fucking bullet train.”
“Check your phone once in a fucking while, and I won’t have to come all the way the fuck over here.” Rob picks my phone up off the coffee table and tosses it to me. I haven’t looked at it in hours. Once Paige started whispering sweet nothings to my dick, I forgot about the rest of the world.
The screen shows seventeen alerts for texts and missed calls. That many alerts and an amped-up Rob tells me something has gone way fucking sideways.
“You want to tell me what’s going on, or you want me to read all this?” I toss my phone onto the couch, making it clear I’m not reading any of it.
“I’ll tell you on the way. Get dressed so we can go kill some people. A whole lot of people need to die tonight. It’s going to be a huge fucking blood bath, so grab your shit and let’s go.”
“The fuck, man? Keep it down.” I tilt my head toward the bedroom.
Hopefully Paige actually listened to me and went into the bathroom and closed the door so she didn’t hear that. “Alexa, play white noise on the bedroom speakers, level six.” I step closer to Rob. “ The whole world doesn’t need to hear any of this.”
Rob’s mouth opens like he’s going to say something, then he closes it. He definitely wasn’t expecting me to have anyone here. Honestly, until recently, Salvo was the only person who’d ever been in my apartment.
Rob lowers his voice. “The rabbit girl still here?” He looks toward the bedroom. “Bring her out. I want to meet her.”
Paige was mostly naked five minutes ago, and Rob’s shouting about killing people. No way they’re meeting right now. I ignore his question.
Instead, I get back to the business that forced me to get out of bed. I lower my voice and lean in, hoping he takes the hint and keeps his voice down too. “Why are we hurting people, and how many?” I need to know what gear to grab.
“Get this. My dad was just arrested for killing those three Bianchi brothers.”
“ What? He didn’t have anything to do with that.” Three low-level Bagliateri guys were found beaten to a pulp in an elementary school playground a few weeks ago. We didn’t give a shit because they weren’t our guys and they weren’t in one of our neighborhoods. We assumed it was a drug deal gone wrong.
“Chief Brisbane is saying otherwise. Put on a whole press conference about it.”
“Roberto hasn’t gotten his hands dirty in years.” That’s what I’m here for. Rob, too. If Roberto wanted those brothers taken out, I would have done it, not him.
“Yeah, well. They’re booking him as we speak.”
“That’s fucking ridiculous.”
“Yup.”
“So what now?”
“Now we go grab every Bagliateri soldier we can find and beat the piss out of them until they tell us who actually killed those guys and who’s setting up my dad.”
Rob loves getting his hands dirty. I fucking hate when he does. My entire job is to keep him safe. But I also get that he’s not the type of leader that sends troops out to fight while he stays inside a bubble. I hate it, but I respect the hell out of it.
“So grab your shit and let’s go hurt some people.”
“It’s going to be a long night.”
Rob puts his hands on my shoulders. “Long. Reckless. Violent. Messy. Me and you, man. Our kind of night.”
Our kind of night.
In fact, spending the afternoon with Paige, then this as my evening entertainment, then coming home to Paige in bed in her tiny panties? Might be the perfect day. I’m smiling ear to ear.
“Give me a minute.” I motion toward the bedroom.
“Just one?” He shakes his head as I walk away. “Don’t I get to meet your—” I slam the bedroom door closed before I hear the end of his question.
Paige is sitting quietly on the bed, not far from where I left her. She switched off the white noise at some point.
“Hey, I overreacted. It was just my boss, Rob.”
“Okay.” She’s avoiding eye contact, seems a little shaken up by the threat of a break-in.
“I’ve got to head out to take care of some work stuff. Do you want to call Gina and invite her back over to hang out again? I can send someone to pick her up.”
She shrugs one shoulder. “I’ll probably just watch some TV or something.”
“I’ll be gone a few hours. You sure?”
She nods. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
I kiss the top of her head. I’ve never left for a job knowing a girl would be waiting for me after.
I could get used to this.