Chapter Twelve
Vito
Fuck.
How could the sex be even more intense than it was before? How could I have lost myself completely as soon as she contracted around my cock? Before I had ensured her surrender—which was what I had intended to do when I had spotted her hard nipples beneath the damp cloth, begging for my mouth…
Mia stirred, her sex clasping me—too tight, too exquisite. But as she shifted and attempted to lift off me, I dragged my hands down to cradle her butt and hold her still, before my needy cock surged to life once more
‘Do not move yet,’ I groaned, aware I was the one having to beg.
She sank back onto my chest and stilled, her staggered breathing audible over the murmur of the tide.
But then the rumble of the patrol boat coming around the point forced me to act.
The men had binoculars, and although they would not dare to stare at my woman without my permission, I did not want her naked where they might be able to see her.
Rolling over, I covered her body with mine, shielding her from prying eyes. I threaded her wet hair back from her face, dragged my thumb across her flushed cheek.
My cock twitched again, but I forced myself to pull out of her, then gathered the remnants of her dress to cover her nakedness as best I could. She took the torn cloth in unsteady hands, her fingers trembling.
The satisfaction—that she had been as deeply affected as I had by that insane joining—was short-lived, though. There was not enough cloth to cover the mound of her pregnancy. I stared down at her belly, which only triggered my arousal again.
Standing, I pulled up my trousers and tugged off my wet shirt, then offered her my hand. She took it in silence, allowing me to help her onto her feet, and did not object when I draped my shirt over her shoulders, fed her arms into the sleeves and buttoned it with clumsy fingers.
There, at least she was no longer naked for anyone to see.
‘Come,’ I said, clasping her hand. ‘We must return to the villa,’ I continued. ‘You will sleep in my bedroom from now on,’ I added in a desperate bid to prove I still controlled this situation. Even though I knew I did not.
But if I could get her to my bedroom and keep her there until I got my rampaging heartbeat—and my rampant cock—under control, I would be able to reestablish the power in this relationship. And figure out what had just happened.
Could I believe her? That she had no desire to escape from me now?
Why should I even want to risk trusting her, when it would be so much easier not to? If I did not trust her, I could justify keeping her close without having to examine the reasons why.
But instead of doing as I asked, she tugged her hand from my grasp.
‘No, Vito,’ she said, the mutinous expression familiar. ‘I’m not going to let you treat me like a prisoner here. I thought I made that clear.’
I pressed my hand to her stomach, the spurt of panic returning which had propelled me down those steps in the first place.
‘If you are telling me the truth—and you are aware you must remain here—then you also know you are mine to protect…’ I said. ‘And I did not hear you complaining a moment ago when you were full of my cock.’
She stepped back, but what I saw in her eyes—not just temper and embarrassment, but disappointment—had the hollow ache pulsing in my chest again. Damn her.
‘Stop trying to use sex as a weapon, Vito.’ She glanced at my thrusting cock. ‘We both wanted it. We both came.’
I swore as desire surged through me again. Aware that somehow she had got the upper hand. Because she was right. I wanted her just as much, and my hunger for her was impossible to hide.
‘I’ll move into your rooms, but you have to let me call Evie,’ she said.
‘And I refuse to be a prisoner here. You kidnapped me without clothes, so I would like to return to Naples and buy some more.’ Her voice sounded firm, but I could see the wariness in her eyes—as well as the determination. And somehow, it gave me pause.
‘Now who is trying to use sex as a weapon, bella,’ I replied.
No way was she going anywhere near Naples. It was too dangerous, with Dante’s exact whereabouts unknown. But my desire to control her didn’t seem to matter as much anymore as the desire to take the disappointment out of her eyes.
Which made no damn sense whatsoever. Since when had I ever cared what a woman thought of me? Not since I was a boy, and my mother had begged me to protect her.
And I had failed.
I brushed the brutal recollection to one side, because it had no place in this negotiation.
The blush charged up her neck to incinerate her cheeks, giving me some satisfaction. She was no more in control of the desire which had just crucified us both than I was…
‘It’s… It’s not the same thing. I didn’t kidnap you,’ she murmured.
There it was again, the defeated tone which made the hollow ache return. The hollow ache I couldn’t destroy.
I cupped her cheek, pulled her gaze to mine and gave in to the desire to give her something. ‘I will let you contact your sister, but I must witness the exchange.’
I could not trust her, not that much. Some things were non-negotiable.
‘And you will not leave the island,’ I added.
She clasped my hand to pull it down from her face, but the tremble of emotion in her face seemed to eat into my soul. ‘I can’t be a prisoner here, Vito. I won’t.’
My temper spiked at her reaction. What more did she expect of me?
‘I will not compromise your safety, or my own. Naples is too dangerous right now,’ I said, not even sure why I was bargaining with her.
Why should I care if she was disappointed in me? What mattered was that I prevented her from doing something foolish. But the plea in her eyes made the hollow ache unbearable when she replied.
‘Then let me go somewhere else so I know I’m not a prisoner here.’
I swore in Italian, frustrated beyond belief. ‘Fine, you may go to Milan…’ Because I owned several properties there and had influence, while Dante had none. ‘But I will accompany you…’
This too was non-negotiable.
Instead of arguing further, though, tears shimmered in her eyes. Tears of gratitude, I realised when she murmured, ‘Thank you, Vito.’
Confusion assailed me, and emotions I had never experienced before. Emotions I did not like.
I had lost control of the situation with these concessions. But I would get it back.
Gripping the lapels of my shirt, I tugged her towards me. I covered her mouth, determined to get control back the only way I knew how.
Her lips opened, and my tongue claimed her.
I drove deep, exploiting the soft sobs of her instant surrender.
There was only one language we both understood, only one way to make this work.
But as she sank into the kiss, giving of herself, her fingers clutching at my shoulders, the scent of her arousal filling my senses… I lost sight of my objective.
Not a problem, I told myself as I swung her into my arms and began the long climb up the stairs to the villa.
Each step of the way, I focussed on my physical needs, and my determination to possess her again.
I had not lied to her when I had told her that keeping her riding my cock would be the best way to keep her out of trouble…
She could have her damn precious freedom, up to a point. She had fought valiantly for it, and I respected that. And if conceding this much meant she would not run from me again, that she would give herself to me without holding anything back—these small concessions would be worth it.
Mia
‘Evie, it’s me,’ I said when the video call connected.
Evie’s face lit up, and the guilt blindsided me. My sister looked exhausted, her usually bright eyes dull from lack of sleep.
‘Mia, thank god. I’ve been so worried. Where the hell…’ Evie trailed off as her gaze shifted to the man over my shoulder.
As per our agreement, Vito was sitting behind me, his hands on my abdomen. His thighs bracketing my hips.
He’d insisted on showering with me when we’d reached his suite, and he’d taken me against the wall of the cubicle. The man was insatiable, but then, so was I.
‘You contacted him?’ Evie asked, confused and wary.
I shifted in his lap.
‘Your sister is with me so that I can protect her and our child,’ Vito said, his low voice husky with purpose.
‘Why didn’t you tell me, Mia? Didn’t you trust me?’ Evie asked, her expression devastated that I hadn’t confided in her something which had never happened.
I wanted to kick Vito in that moment for making Evie think even for a second I didn’t trust her. But I had to concede it was better for Evie not to know how I had really got to Isla Donna, or she would move heaven and earth to rescue me.
And after everything that had happened, I knew I didn’t need to be rescued anymore.
Even though I already suspected my decision to remain with Vito wasn’t just about the need to protect my baby.
It was also about all those glimpses he had given me of another man.
Not just the ruthless, dominating mafia boss, but the man who had risked his life to save mine.
And the man who had looked overawed by the sight of his baby in the surgery in Naples last night.
The man who had draped his wet shirt over me and carried me up about five hundred stairs as if I were precious.
The guy who could make me feel cherished and more alive than I had ever felt before.
The man who could bend if I pushed him hard enough.
‘I’m sorry, Evie. I didn’t know he planned to come and get me,’ I said, trying to lie to her as little as possible. ‘Until he turned up at the flat yesterday.’
Had it really only been yesterday?