37
Alessio
What started as a punishment ended with my Sirena beneath me, screaming my name while I fucked the soul out of her, riding that line between pleasure and wreckage until she nearly blacked out.
Most women would’ve broken, but Liv screamed for more.
Her body gave out first, limp and shaking under me, but her mouth didn’t quit until I made damn sure she had nothing left to give.
Afterward, I scoop her up in my arms, her skin is burning hot against mine, and carry her to the bath so she can soak her ass, that’s still sporting the red imprint of my name on both cheeks.
I could stare at these marks for hours.
And hell, I just might later.
Liv curls into me as we lay in my bed, with her head on my chest, fingers gripping the band of my boxer briefs like I might up and vanish if she lets go.
My hand moves through her hair without thinking, smoothing out the tangles I made when I had her pinned under me, yanking on her red curls while she begged for more.
My girl’s got a mouth on her—smart, sassy but damn if she doesn’t know how to use it.
Her breathing slows as she snuggles closer, throwing a leg over mine.
Her body softens against me, and when I think she’s out cold, she slurs, “I love you.”
Cue my entire fucking system short-circuiting.
My lungs forget how to do their one job, and every muscle in my body goes rigid as those three words sink their claws into me.
She loves me.
My heart pounds hard enough to shake the fucking bed, thudding like it’s trying to punch through my ribcage.
Meanwhile, she’s settled against me like she didn’t just turn everything upside down.
Like she didn’t just drop a damn bomb and close her eyes like it’s no big deal.
I should say it back.
I should pull her closer.
Remind her she’s mine, and that she’s been mine since I dragged her into my world, whether she likes it or not.
But I don’t.
My tongue suddenly doesn’t know how to string three fucking words together.
Marriage was one thing, an arrangement to keep her alive, but now it’s real.
And anything that’s real can be torn away and ripped apart until there’s nothing left but scars and regrets.
I’ve lived that.
I know how it ends.
So, I stare at the ceiling, fingers still threading through her hair like nothing’s changed.
Maybe she dreamed it.
Hell, maybe she won’t remember this in the morning.
At least that’s what I tell myself.
It feels easier than dealing with what those words are stirring up, emotions and shit.
The thought barely settles before my phone vibrates on the nightstand, pulling me out of this spiral and dragging my ass back to the shit that needs my attention.
Carefully, I shift out from under her, moving slow enough not to wake her.
Liv murmurs something, and her brow twitches like she’s searching for me in her sleep.
It’s almost cute if my heart wasn’t ready to come out of my fucking chest.
I wait until her breathing evens out again before grabbing my phone.
Seb : Found something on those names from Kota.
I slip into the hallway, open the message, and start reading.
And just like that, it feels like I was kicked in the fucking nuts.
Seb : Leah Johnson was working as an informant with a man named Philip Clover.
No details on what she was handing over, but it’s not good.
After that, she went off the grid for a bit, and then a missing persons report was filed for Leah and her husband, Richie.
The daughter’s name isn’t listed anywhere; someone deliberately wiped the record.
Whoever it was, they left the case open to make it look like there’s hope.
Well, this is fucking fantastic.
It just keeps getting better.
This isn’t some quick cover-up.
Whoever did this knew how to clean up a mess without leaving crumbs.
But it still doesn’t make sense.
Me: Why the fuck would they leave it open?
Seb’s response comes fast.
Seb: Close the case, and people stop looking.
Keep it open, and everyone holds onto hope.
Smart play.
It gives the impression that they’re still out there somewhere.
Whoever did this was good.
They covered all their tracks.
Yeah.
Real considerate of them .
Another buzz follows, and the words staring back at me hit harder than they fucking should.
Seb : Pulled the last number Franco texted.
I can’t see the message, but it’s a burner.
Liv’s got it saved in her phone.
My grip tightens around the phone until my knuckles crack, or maybe it’s the phone breaking.
A fucking informant.
Liv’s mom was working with the police, a fucking rat.
That alone is a shitstorm, but the missing parts of the file, they erased records.
None of this shit sits right with me.
Pieces slide into place like a twisted fucked up puzzle.
And surprise, surprise, Liv’s right at the center of it.
I sneak downstairs, her purse is still in the car.
I pop open the car door and grab her phone.
Five contacts saved and yet, there it is…
Ezra .
Me : Find out how Franco and Ezra Morano are connected.
Seb : On it.
Liv’s working with them.
She’s undercover.
Lying to my face while fucking me.
Playing me from the start.
I flex my fingers, trying to breathe past the sudden tightness in my chest.
Every second she’s spent in my fucking house, in my bed—every look, every touch, those wide, innocent eyes staring up at me like she wasn’t feeding me bullshit the entire time.
It was all part of her fucking game.
Information, that’s all she wanted.
It’s what she’s been pulling from me, piece by piece, setting me up like I’m some pussy-drunk fool.
My fingers twitch, itching to put a fist through the nearest wall because I need to fucking destroy something.
Instead, I push off the wall and head back upstairs.
I turn toward the bedroom, standing in the doorway, watching her sleep.
Liv’s tangled in my sheets, curled up, like she didn’t just gut me with three words that didn’t mean a damn thing.
I love you.
Yeah fucking right.
She’s a snake, waiting for the right moment to sink her fangs in.
And the worst part is that for a split second, before everything was ripped out from under me, I almost believed her.
I drag a hand over my face, pulling in a breath before exhaling slowly through my nose, trying to calm the wrath clawing inside me.
She got in too fucking deep, and I let her.
Mistake noted, but now I need to fix it and get rid of her.