34. ALESSIO
34
ALESSIO
When we reach the house, I don’t stop moving as we make our way through a side door that leads through the kitchen and then out into the main hallway. Bodies litter the floor, and men move to get rid of them. I don’t even look at them, instead heading down the hall and toward the stairs. “Alonzo,” I bark when I see him emerge from a room down the hall. His head whips up, and when he sees us, he hurries over.
“Do you need the doctor?” Alonzo demands, looking at Sienna in my arms.
“No. See to getting a space for Rori to bathe Hades and ensure he has space to destress. And get him a steak. Then, you’re back with Rori, but only to make sure that there aren’t any more of those fuckers lurking around, to try to get revenge on her or the dog. We’ll reconvene later to discuss next steps.”
I continue on, knowing he’ll obey orders. I take the steps two at a time until we reach the second floor, and then I walk briskly down to our room and kick the door shut. I set Sienna down on the bed, where she sways slightly, but as soon as I’m kneeling in front of her, she launches herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my back as her mouth finds mine. Desperation fills her kiss, and it sparks every instinct inside me to reassure her. To give her whatever she needs.
“Sienna,” I groan, pulling my mouth from hers, trying to get some kind of control over the desire rushing through me.
“Alessio, I need you,” she gasps, pulling my mouth back to hers. “I don’t want to break down yet,” she adds when I start to ease away again. “I need you first. I need you to show me we’re both okay. Please?”
The plea in her tone is all I need to know I’ll give her whatever she asks for. Always. I’ll never deny this woman anything she desires, as long as it’s not her leaving me. Because after today, there is no way I won’t be tying this woman to me forever. Never again will this happen. She’s mine, and I’m going to show her.
Maybe it’s the adrenaline, or maybe it’s the relief of the moment, but we tear at each other’s clothes until we’re both naked. I lay her back on the bed, her legs over my shoulders, as I lick her pretty clit and fuck her hard with my fingers. Sienna cries out sharply at the intrusion. “Alessio!” she screams, and the sound is everything I need. Fuck, it sounds so perfect coming from her lips. “Yes, yes, yes,” she chants when I curl my fingers and suck on her at the same moment, making her body bow and grind into my face. “Oh fuck, yes, right there.”
I lift my eyes to watch her. Her eyes squeeze tight, her belly flutters with her impending orgasm, and the tips of her breasts harden. She’s exquisite. I’ve never seen something more perfect, and I never want it to end. Which is why, when she finally crests over that peak, I pull my mouth away and order, “Again,” before I set to work on doing exactly that.
She groans, her hands coming down to grip me by the hair, yanking it as she tries to adjust to the onslaught of sensations that I’m making her accept. I ignore the pain; instead, I let the feeling of it drive me to push her higher. To make her lose control again.
When her second orgasm hits, her body bucks violently, her scream echoing around the room. When she finally subsides, I pull my mouth and fingers from her, desperate to be inside her. I flip her to her stomach, pulling her back so that her feet fall over the side of the bed and brace on the floor. I kick her feet further apart, before lining myself up with her entrance and thrusting inside. “Fuck. Fuck, I love how you feel wrapped around my cock,” I grit out as I start to move, thrusting in and out of her in a slow, steady pace, enjoying the feel of silken flame.
“Yes, Alessio, yes,” she moans, moving to meet my thrusts. “So good.”
The sound of flesh slapping against flesh fills the room, but the only thing I can focus on is the feel of her, the sounds she makes as I push her toward another orgasm. But I’m not done. No, I need more. I need it all. I reach down and grip her hair, pulling her up and back so that I can growl in her ear, “Mmmmm, that’s it, cara mia , you take my cock so perfectly. Do you feel that? Do you feel the way your body tries to hold onto me because it knows how much you need it? How much you crave it? Knows that I’m the only man that will ever fill you just right? Because that’s all you need, isn’t it, cuore mia ? You need your man filling up this wet pussy until you’re sure you’re going to fall apart, don’t you? Tell me, Sienna. Tell me what you need.”
Sienna lets out a soft, choked sob. “Yes,” she grits out, her breath coming in short pants. “Yes, Alessio. Fuck, yes.”
I move my hips harder and faster, pounding into her, desperate to brand her. To leave her feeling me inside her forever. To remind her that she’s here, that she’s mine. “You belong to me, don’t you, Sienna?” I rasp into her ear as I release her hair and then move my hand down between her legs, finding her clit. She cries out sharply when I rub at her quickly with just the right pressure. “Tell me, coniglietto ,” I coax. “Tell me.”
“Yes,” she cries, desperation tinging her voice. “Yes, Alessio, I’m yours. Please, please, I need to come. Please.”
“Then come for me, cara ,” I croon, pinching her clit and making her scream as her orgasm overtakes her. I snarl as her walls clamp down on me and her orgasm has me chasing my own. I pound furiously inside her, until I groan her name and spill every ounce I have into her.
I don’t move for a long time, trying to catch my breath, until I feel her slumping and I release her, following her down onto the bed, not ready to be apart from her. I groan when her inner walls flutter once again around me at the change in position, but as much as I want to fuck her again, I know I need a few minutes. Instead, I cup her cheek in my hand and look at the swelling starting to overtake her face. Fury burns as I examine it. “Who did this?” I ask tightly.
“Rafaele,” she replies softly. “Nothing’s broken, but it’s going to be bruised.”
If I could, I would go back and kill the bastard all over again, but knowing he’s dead will have to suffice. Still, I lean forward and kiss her cheek gently. “I’m so sorry you were hurt, cara mia ,” I murmur, stroking my thumb over her cheek. “They should never have gotten to you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Sienna soothes, her hand coming up to cup mine, her hazel eyes catching and holding my own. “I was so scared that you would be hurt. Sofia suggested we should get some additional weapons, and I’ve never been so glad we did.”
“Where did you get them?”
“She led us to the armoury and we grabbed a bunch in there.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You left the passages?” I ask carefully.
She narrows her eyes back at me. “Don’t even start, because Gia and I never left the passages. It was Sofia and Rori that got everything; we never stepped out of the passages. We also know that they didn’t get in that way. When we were coming back through the passages to the office, we hit a spot where it forked off into a bunch of different directions. That’s where they were waiting.”
I’m only slightly mollified, but make a mental note to talk to Nico about that after. “And that’s how you all got separated?”
She nods, lowering her hand from mine and pulling her face back. I lower my hand to rest on her side, waiting for her to explain. As she recounts the story, my anger burns, but I am also overcome with gratitude that Sofia and Rori were able to hold them off long enough to give them that chance. When she finishes, she swallows hard. “I was so scared, Alessio. So scared that they would get to Gia, or that you were dead and I wasn’t going to see you again.”
The emotion in her voice has my heart clenching in my chest. I press my mouth to hers, soothing her before pulling away. “I’m here, Sienna, and I’m not going anywhere. I won’t leave you, because you are my reason for living, cuore mia .”
“What does that mean?”
“What?”
“ Cuore mia ?” she asks, her tongue twisting around the words, only mangling them a little.
I smile, charmed with her. “It means you’re my heart,” I explain, pressing a kiss to her nose when her eyes widen in shock. “And you are, Sienna. Even when you were making me chase you and pushing me so hard, you were digging your claws into me so deep that I didn’t want you out. As I keep telling you, I knew then that you were mine. That I was never going to let you go. But knowing I almost lost you? I was ready to burn it all down, Sienna. Everything, if it meant that I got to you faster.”
“Alessio,” she breathes.
“I will always come for you, Sienna. Even if you don’t want me to, I’m never going to leave you to handle anything on your own. I know we’ve fought plenty over the last couple of weeks, but all it’s done is make me want you more. I want to see you pass that fire on to our children, and I want to see it grow when it’s something you feel is important. And then, I want to feel it burn when I’m deep inside you like I am now.” I grind my hips into her, my cock twitching inside her when her breath hitches. “I want you to know how much I crave you, and never plan to let you go.”
“Do you love me?” she whispers, vulnerability reflecting in her eyes.
“How could I not? You are everything I could want and more, Sienna.”
Her eyes grow wet as she stares at me. “You really mean that.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, cara mia ,” I chide softly.
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that,” she whispers. She swallows hard. “I don’t know how you can be in love me with so quickly, Alessio.”
“A man knows when a woman is meant to be his everything, Sienna. My grandfather took one look at my grandmother and went to her father that day for her hand. My father, at one time, knew that he wanted my mother, and he married her within weeks. And despite everything, he loved her even after she betrayed him in the worst way possible. She slept with an enemy and fed him information about us. It’s also, in part, why he’s never remarried, and hates that he still loves her. And it’s how I knew the moment I read your file and saw your picture that you were going to be mine. You Americans fight the most natural of things when it doesn’t need to be so complicated. I love you, and you either love me or will grow to love me in time. But we cannot find out if you are not with me.”
“But that’s just it, Alessio,” she whispers. “I think I’m already in love with you and it scares the shit out of me.”
I’m elated and disappointed all at once that something so wonderful would elicit fear from her. “Why?”
“Because we’re so different, and I’m terrified I’m going to love you and then you’ll either change your mind, or you’ll get hurt in all of this and leave me alone. Realizing I might not see you again earlier was hard. You’re always going to be in the middle of this kind of thing, even when this one is all over. There’s always going to be something else that you have to get yourself involved in, right?”
“There are always going to be things that go on in this world, though perhaps not to this scale,” I reply honestly. “In Sicily, there are small skirmishes, but nothing like an all out war. Americans move quickly, and that is why there is always a power struggle. But back home, most things are settled quietly and with only small amounts of bloodshed. It is the soldiers more than myself in the direct line of fire. Will there be other issues that come up? I imagine so, but we can’t let fear hold us back, Sienna. And if anything ever happens to me, my family, and your family, will ensure you are well taken care of, I promise. But living in fear of death or what ifs is not living, cara mia .”
I can see her processing my words, and I wait patiently—well, mostly—until finally, she whispers, “Okay. Then I guess I’ll tell you that I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you. But the marriage part, we need to put that on hold for now. I’m not ready for that big of a step yet.”
I plan on fixing that as soon as possible, but I leave it unsaid. There will be plenty of time to change her mind.
I kiss her, needing the connection, the taste, of her. Of course, it’s not long before my cock is once again hard inside her, and I’m rolling us so that she’s beneath me as I take her. This time, I’m slow, gentle, murmuring soft words to her as we move together. Her nails score my back as her orgasm rises slowly, and her legs wrap around my hips, even as I pull my mouth from hers and move it down to her breasts.
I suck one hard point into my mouth, and groan at the answering tightening of her muscles around my cock. Fuck, that was perfect. I give the other one the same treatment, eliciting the same reaction, and drive a little harder inside her in return. Neither of us speak, letting our bodies do all the talking for us, until finally, she falls over the edge and I allow myself to follow her over.
I lay over her, sated, my mind finally calm. I smile when I feel her playing with my hair, and then lift my head when she gives a soft laugh. “What’s so funny?” I question, arching a brow.
She grins at me. “Before Rori showed up, we were talking on my burner phone and she was asking me how you were in bed. I told her we hadn’t done anything in a bed yet. She was very jealous. I’m going to have to tell her that you definitely know what you’re doing in a bed too.”
I smirk, already hardening again. Her eyes start to heat as she grinds down into me. “Well, maybe we should try again. Make sure you have two very good stories to tell her.” I rock my hips and slide back inside her slowly.
“Mmmm,” Sienna sighs, taking my mouth with hers.
“Alright, break it up, you two,” a feminine voice calls just before the door is thrown open. Sienna lets out a yelp as I yank the sheets up and over us, turning my head to glare furiously at the woman walking into our room, grinning. “Looks like I came in at a good time or this might be embarrassing, huh?” Rori quips.
“Get the fuck out, Rori,” Sienna growls at her. “What the hell? I know you know how to fucking knock.”
“Of course I do,” Rori sniffs, stopping next to the bed. I pin her with a glare that tells her just how unhappy I am with her interruption. “But I figured you would both want to know that Lazaro called. He found a woman named Amara, and considering how interested Alonzo was in the news and that he would let you know, I snuck out to tell you before him.”
“I’m going to tan your ass, woman,” Alonzo’s voice barks furiously from the doorway. “And then I’m gagging you so I don’t have to listen to your whining.” The glare he aims at Rori could peel paint.
Rori grins at him wickedly. “Oh, now you’re tempting me with a good time, Goliath,” she replies sweetly. I see the flash of heat in Alonzo’s eyes, and nearly roll my own.
“Both of you, get the fuck out. We’ll meet you down in Nico’s office,” I order. “Alonzo, if she gets away from you again, I’m kicking your ass,” I add for good measure.
“Next time, maybe you should just lock the door,” Rori points out. “Oh, and Sienna, considering the state of you, am I safe to say that he’s proven to be adept in a bed as well?” Sienna just glares at her, not answering. “I’m taking that as a yes. Alright, well, we’ll see you soon. You know, since now I’m trusted and allowed in the inner circle.” Then she heads for the door, unfazed when Alonzo stalks out after her, slamming the door behind them.
Sienna and I say nothing for a moment, waiting to make sure that there won’t be another reappearance. “Is she always like that?” I ask in exasperation.
Sienna gives a dry chuckle. “Pretty much. But I’ll talk to her.”
“Good, because I’m not having her interrupt me again,” I warn her as I resume thrusting inside her. Despite the interruption, I’m not anywhere close to done.
“O-okay,” Sienna gasps, her legs tightening around me once more.
By the time we leave the bedroom, we’ve showered and redressed, and I called Sofia to bring me an icepack for Sienna’s face, which is really starting to swell now. When we get to Nico’s office, Sofia has it there waiting, and gives Sienna a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright, darling,” she tells Sienna, kissing her uninjured cheek.
“Thank you for helping us get away,” Sienna says with a soft smile.
Sofia waves that away, and then she rolls her eyes when I lean down to kiss her cheek and hug her tight. “Enough of the sap,” Sofia scolds. “It’s going to take more than that to get rid of me.”
“I’m just glad you seem to have been brushing up on your skills,” I tease. “We both know how terrible you were growing up.”
“Fuck you,” she replies without much heat. “Now get in there. Nico’s already impatient, and after everything that’s happened, he’s a bear and in a foul mood.”
We walk inside to find Nico sitting behind his desk, holding Gia tightly in his lap, and glaring furiously around the room. Alonzo is in the back corner, glaring at a grinning Rori, who has taken a seat on the couch, looking far too pleased with herself. She’s going to be trouble, and I hope to hell that Alonzo knows what the hell he’s getting himself into with that one. Dante is sitting in his normal spot behind his desk, but I don’t miss the way his eyes go instantly to Sofia as soon as she walks in. His relief is clear, and he simply waits until she makes her way over to stand next to him. They don’t touch initially, but it’s obvious from the way she leans into him and puts a hand on his shoulder that she wants the connection, and he briefly touches her hand before he lets it drop.
“You finally decided to join us,” Nico remarks irritably.
“Boo Bear, there’s no need to be cranky. I know you missed me, but I’m here now, so you should feel a bit more chipper,” I tell him as I lead Sienna over to the couch. She sits down between me and Rori, and she shoots me an exasperated look.
“Boo Bear?” Rori repeats with a snicker.
“Don’t even think about it,” Sienna warns her.
“I’m going to kill you one day,” Nico vows, glaring at me.
“Nico,” Gia scolds while rubbing at his chest soothingly. “It’s been a very stressful day, and you taking it out on everyone else isn’t helpful.”
I grin at her. “Yeah, Nico,” I mock, grunting when Sienna’s hand comes up and smacks me in the chest. She turns her head to see me past the covered icepack on that side of her face, and she glares at me. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” I assure her, picking up her hand and pressing a gentle kiss to it. “But he makes it far too easy. Now, what’s this I hear about Lazaro?” I ask Alonzo.
“He called and let me know he’s tracked her down and he’s going to approach her today, but he’s waiting until he can get to her when she’s closed up her salon,” Alonzo replies. “He also said that he saw some other men lurking around town. He sent pictures to Papa, and he identified them as Leonardo’s men.”
“Then why the fuck is he waiting?” Nico demands. “Take her now before they catch wind of her, or him, and blow this whole fucking thing.”
“She runs a hair salon, and as it is, he said that she’s a timid thing,” Alonzo replies patiently. “If he goes in and grabs her now, shit is going to hit the fan. That many people around, we don’t need cops getting involved.”
Nico grumbles something under his breath, but none of us catch it. Though from the exasperated look that Gia gives him, I can imagine what it is. “Tell him to continue on as he’s planning,” I tell Alonzo, who nods. “And to keep us updated. If he needs back up, we have connections out that way we can call. No signs of Marco’s or Giovanni’s men?”
Alonzo shakes his head. “Nothing that he reported. So far it’s only Leonardo’s.”
“Well, we can count our lucky stars that our intel is so thorough that Lazaro can get to her first,” Dante remarks. “But now we need to figure out about the others and get to them as well. If we can get them all under our roof, we stop all this shit.”
I nod. “Alonzo, get Aurelio and Papa on the phone. We’ll see if they have any further information.”
Alonzo nods and pulls out his phone, making the call.
“What I want to know is how Tommaso got in the tunnels,” Sofia interjects, looking down at Dante expectantly.
We all turn to look at him, and Dante’s lips thin. “It appears that while we were gone, Tommaso figured out how to override the system and get his biometrics added to the list. We can only assume he learned of the tunnels when everything went down at the wedding and saw us put Gia and Sofia into them.”
“So Tommaso was a traitor,” I summarize darkly. I look at Nico. “It seems you need to look closer at your men, Nico.”
Nico nods. “As soon as the bodies are cleared out and things are fixed up, we’ll be seeing to it personally. The issue now is how many other people know of the passages and how to access them.”
“Can you not change the biometrics so that no one else can access them?” Sienna asks curiously. “I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, but it’s a start.”
“We’ve done that,” Dante explains. “But the issue is they’ve been compromised. For now, unless it’s absolutely essential like it was today, no one is to be in them until we can secure them again.” He gives Sofia a pointed look that she returns archly. “Sienna, you and Rori will be added for access, along with Alonzo and Alessio. When Lazaro comes back, we’ll add him and Amara as needed. But again, they will be locked down until we determine they are secure or we have to use them.”
“The place is like labyrinth, so I’m good,” Rori drawls. She looks at Nico. “Your obsession with mazes is weird as shit, by the way.”
“That would be my parents,” Nico answers tightly. “But they come in handy when you need them.” He gives Gia a heated look, and she flushes, trying to hide a smile.
“I have them on the line,” Alonzo announces, coming closer.
“I hear you were victorious for this round,” Papa says through the line, pride in his tone. “And I have also heard that I will need to provide my condolences to Rafaele’s father. Though from reports on my side, it looks like Don Parisi has stepped back into the seat his son left all those weeks ago and is now preparing for his second eldest to take it over.”
“I thought there was talk that Rafaele killed his brothers,” I remark.
“Apparently not, though there is no sign of the other brother, so we can’t discount the rumor completely,” Papa replies. “For now, we’ll see how Armando Parisi settles in before we decide how we’re going to proceed on that front. But by all accounts from our sources, his father is trying to avoid another situation like with Rafaele.”
“He knows that once people find out about Rafaele’s death, that there might be retaliation from any of the people that Rafaele wronged,” I predict. “Well, that may come sooner than not once he finds out I killed him.” My voice doesn’t hold even an ounce of regret.
“We’ll handle any retaliation that might come our way,” Papa assures me. “Though considering the state of things, I doubt it will come to that. Now, what’s this I hear about Lazaro finding the other girl?”
Before anyone can answer him, Nico’s phone rings, and we all turn to look at him expectantly. His face goes tight when he looks at the Caller ID. “It’s Leonardo,” he says tightly. Then he swipes his finger across the screen.