15. Lily
CHAPTER 15
LILY
“I t was a few months ago, right after Christmas. I’d been home for winter break. One night, I was leaving the gym and it was dark. The parking lot was empty.” A sigh deflates my shoulders. “At least, I’d thought it was. I walked to my car, and before I had a chance to react, a black van showed up out of nowhere and two guys jumped out.” I fist my hair. “It wasn’t a random assault, though. They knew my name. I tried to get away. I did everything I could. Screamed, kicked, scratched.”
“You used your signature move?” Zeno asks with a half-smile, still stroking my back.
I nod. “And then I ran back to the gym. Almost made it to the door, too. But one of them yanked me backward. He had a knife…” My voice trails off, the horror of that night launching a full-on assault on my soul.
“Did you ever find out who they were? Pissed-off employees of your dad’s?”
“Not quite.” A chill slithers through me. “They never got that far. I didn’t get much about the guys. They had on masks and the van was unmarked. But they had accents and both of them had tattoos on the right sides of their necks. Five-pointed stars. But it was all my brother Nico needed to figure out who was behind the ambush.”
“How’d you get away?” His expression morphs into one of concern and he laces his fingers with mine. It makes me feel nice. Safe. Protected, just like he said.
I never wanted anyone’s protection before.
This time, I don’t push it away,
“They couldn’t stop me from screaming, and I guess I was loud enough for someone to hear because before I knew it, there were sirens and light flashing all over the place.” A rueful smile lifts my lips. “I used to say I got lucky. My friend Kat tells me it was the ninja moves she taught me that saved my life.”
“You’re definitely a fighter,” he says, tracing his fingertip over the outline of my lips. “I’m actually a little surprised you didn’t steal their knife and start slicing. Seems like it would be your thing.”
“I’ve got strong knees and a pretty good aim, but cutlery was never my forte. Although, now that I’m going to vet school, I’ll learn how to wield a scalpel.”
My eyes flutter closed for the briefest second as his fingertips caress my cheek.
It almost makes me forget.
Almost .
“So what happened, Lil? Who was behind the attack?”
“From what I heard, there was a guy, a Sicilian guy — Messina was the name.” A name forever burned into my memory.
“Messina?” Zeno says, his voice rising. “As in Domenico Messina?”
I furrow my brow. “Yeah, why?”
Zeno’s jaw twitches. “Never mind. Tell me more.“
“My brother Nico didn’t tell me everything, but I managed to get some of the details out of him. Basically, the guy wanted to use my father’s territories to move contraband and drugs to other areas of the country. His American girlfriend is pretty high-profile and approached my dad on his behalf. But he wasn’t interested. They knew that my dad has a large distribution network and wanted to strong arm him. That’s why they came after me. It was supposed to be a threat. A message, I guess, since these guys are all about sending fucking messages,” I grumble, toying with the edge of the comforter. “My dad ordered the hit on the guys who tried to take me, and my brother’s guys found them and took care of them. It was supposed to be over. Handled.” I say, my voice shaking. “And then when I spoke to my brother the other day, he said…he just seemed…like the threat was back,” I shrug. “I guess it’s never really over, is it?”
“Never,” he grumbles, collapsing back on the bed. The cuts of muscle in his biceps flex as he raises his hands up to his face. “Fuck me, I can’t believe this shit is really happening,” he says, I think, more to himself than to me.
“What do you mean?” I say, lying down next to him and resting my head on his chest.
“The same Domenico Messina who was moving in on your father was doing the same shit to my family. Greedy bastards. They kept moving in to our territories in Sicily, trying to get their hands in whatever pot of money they could. My father didn’t want to go up against them. He didn’t want any heat on him because he knew we wouldn’t be able to battle then. It’s part of the reason why he’s so hell bent on getting accepted by the syndicate. He knows we need more muscle to ward off assholes like Messina.”
“So what happened?” I ask.
“I made a stupid move, dragged my youngest brother into the shit with me, and got a nice big target slapped on my ass. I could have gotten us killed.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “If it was just me, fine. But my brother Gallo…he’s too smart for this life. He could really be something, you know? But he always looked up to me and I took advantage of it. I brought him into something I knew we both might not escape. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
“But your intentions were good. You were trying to stop someone from doing harm to your family.” I lean my head on one hand, dragging my fingertips over his inked skin.
“I should have done it on my own,” he grunts. “I caused a lot of damage for everyone when I went after Messina. I didn’t even find him. I stormed one of his casinos looking for him and he never showed up. It was a trap. One of his other enemies came in and shot up the place. Gallo and I made it out alive, but my father knew it was only a matter of time before they found me in Sicily, so he made arrangements for me to leave for the States. That’s when he got the call.” He lets out a dry laugh and looks away for a second. “I can’t believe how all of this has come full circle.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. His muscles tense as he looks back at me, jaw twitching.
“Your brother’s guys didn’t take out your attackers, Lil.” He sighs. “I did.”
“What are you talking about?” I whisper. “Why would you…I mean, how did my father even know…?”
“Let’s just say that both of our families have a lot to gain from being partners in this syndicate. Your father was asked to be part of Red Ladro, and he wanted to be sure he could trust the other families. My father didn’t waste a second volunteering me for the hit. It was to kill two birds with one stone. I take care of the Messina problem and it ingratiates us with your dad. Then we all live happily ever after in our sick and twisted gangster world.” He shakes his head. “Except, your father never told us they attacked you . He only told us about the strong-arming. Said Messina’s crew took out a few of their guys and needed to be taught a lesson for moving in on territories that aren’t theirs. I taught the lesson. And now they’re back to take the fucking test.”
He groans. “Now, here we fucking are. And the people who want to take us out for crippling their lives and their businesses are ready to pounce and crush us once and for all.” And despite everything, a sexy smirk lifts his lips. “But hot sex really is the best way to block out the demons, ya know?”
“Well, if we eliminated them, it’d be even hotter, don’t you think?” I smile, dipping my head toward his.
“What, I’ve turned you into a vigilante now? A vigilante vixen?” He chuckles.
“This is completely insane,” I mutter. “It’s safe to say we’re both being hunted by the same person. Our entire families, for that matter. And yet, I can’t stop thinking about you inside of me.”
“I think that’s a much nicer thought than us all getting iced.” He shrugs. “And for the record, I haven’t really stopped thinking about being inside of you either. I don’t give a damn what your father has to say about it, either. You’re worth the risk and possible castration.”
“Is there something wrong with us? Or is this just another…what did you call it? A defense mechanism?”
“Yeah, let’s call it that,” he says in a husky voice, sliding his palm over my ass. I jump, a fluttering sensation in my belly erupting in anticipation of his fingers navigating a very naughty path that will have me screaming all over again.
God help us if we really are the future of our families.
“We can’t do this,” I whisper breathlessly, my pussy quivering with need. His fingers push inside me once again, flicking my clit as he drags his lips down the slope of my neck.
“We need a distraction,” he murmurs, his lips vibrating my already-tingling skin. “Besides, it’s not like we can do anything right now anyway. We’re safe.”
“I know, but—” My head falls back as his fingers move faster and with more intensity. It’s hard to form a thought right now, and even though my brain is screaming, it’s a bunch of gibberish. Completely undecipherable.
“No buts. Not yet, anyway,” he says with a devilish twinkle in his eye. “We’re just gonna escape for a little while, okay? And I’m gonna make you feel so good, you won’t wanna come back.”
“Yes,” I rasp, praying that he delivers on that promise sooner than later. My body is about to spontaneously combust from the sensations coursing through me.
“Sounds like you’re close to coming,” he says in a warning voice. “Don’t make me punish you, beautiful. I need to be inside of that pussy.”
“I w-won’t. I p-promise.” My words are shaky at best because I’m damn close to tumbling over the edge right now. This crazy and twisted combination of danger, carnal bliss, and fear is like an all-crushing wave consuming me and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold out.
His fingers slide out of me for the last time and he picks me up and backs into an armless chair in the room. He sinks into it, with me on top of his lap. His cock stands straight up, perfectly pink and stiff as a corpse. My belly flutters at the beautiful sight, the anticipation of what it did to me such a short time ago making me want to shout out in glee.
I don’t care about the burn. I can fight through that if the pleasure is even half as amazing as it was the first time.
But the threat of him delaying my pleasure is very real and I need to focus on something else to make sure I can hold out for more of this erotic little game.
With lightning speed, he rolls on a condom. Then he lifts my hips and places them over the swollen head of his cock, lowering me onto it. My loud gasp turns into a full-on moan as it fills me up, stretching me wide. I grit my teeth, swallowing the yelp rising in my throat.
Screw the pain and focus on the mind-numbing ecstasy, Lily!
“Remember what I said,” he mutters, his fingertips digging into my hips as he slowly thrusts into me. Each push and pull makes my heart rate soar, and rational thought has officially escaped me.
So much for my plan to hold out.
I fall against him as he plunges deeper, thrusting my own hips against him to create a delicious friction. And when his thumb joins the action, pressing against my clit, I almost let out a howl, it feels so incredible.
“Don’t do it,” he hisses against my ear. “I’ll stop if you do.”
My head falls into his shoulder as he plunders and plows, and he grabs one of my legs, looping his arm under it for leverage to drive into me even harder. Oh, sweet Jesus, he must know how hard he’s making this for me.
Hard.
Ha! It would be funny if I wasn’t so focused on not letting the orgasm building in my core erupt like wildfire.
“We should…we need to make a p-plan,” I whisper, my eyes squeezed shut. What’s the plan for again…? My mind goes blank, the slow rumble of the euphoric wave gathering speed. I bite down on his shoulder as his dick throbs inside of me. Oh, right, how to thwart an attack from the people trying to kill us. “Yes, a p-plan!” I screech.
“The only thing I’m planning on right now is how many ways I can make you come. Doesn’t that sound better than a plan?”
“Y-yes,” I say through gritted teeth. Oh God, does it ever! “B-but, Zeno, we need…we need to—” I take a sharp breath as his cock swells inside of me, hitting my spot. It isn’t just a gentle grazing, either. I clench my muscles tight, keeping him buried deep, his shoulder muffling the scream that reverberates through me.
“You’re so wet. You’re pussy is dripping all over me,” he groans. “Fuck me harder, Lil. Fuck me with that tight pussy and make me come with you.”
I barely hear my cries pierce the air as my body is swept away by that crushing, euphoric wave. The sounds are muffled by white noise filling my ears and I can only focus on two things right now — how it feels as his body shudders against me and his fingers press into the small of my back when his orgasm erupts inside of me, and how unbelievably crazy fate is.
Because although I’m not a big believer in that kind of thing, I know we were meant to find each other tonight.
To save our families.
And ourselves.
I can’t explain the feeling, but when we collapse against each other, our limbs entwined and our bodies sated, I’m convinced that our paths were meant to tangle.
We were supposed to get into each other’s crosshairs.
I just hope that we can figure out which of our paths doesn’t lead to a literal dead end before it’s too late.