CHAPTER SEVENTEEN #3
My rhythm falters as I lose myself inside her, hips slamming hard one last time as I come with a grunt, hooding her thigh like I might break if I don’t. It’s hot, raw, dizzying, like the world narrows down to the feel of her wrapped around me and the sound of our hearts racing in sync.
I stay there, breathing hard against her skin, my body still half-draped over hers. She shifts underneath me after a minute, and I slide off. Cassie sits up so she’s looking over me, and the smile on her face is glorious.
“So, did I keep my promises?” I ask, my heart still pounding.
“That was… amazing,” she breathes, smiling lazy and satisfied.
“Good. Because I’m not done,” I say chuckling, low and dark.
She laughs when I climb over again. I lift her hands, pinning them above her head.
“There’s no way you’re ready to go again, old man,” she says teasingly.
“Don’t underestimate me, mi vida.“
Or should I say she shouldn’t underestimate just how much power she has over me?
One look at her has my cock growing hard again.
I kiss her once hard, before my lips start trailing downward, sucking on her neck, the valley of her breasts, before closing over one nipple.
She looks at my cock like it’s about to break her in half.
Her breath stutters. “Damien, I can’t—there’s no way I can take more. ”
I reach down between us, sliding my fingers through her slick heat. She’s soaked. Still begging for more even as she says she’s done. I lean in, my voice low and dangerous against her ear.
“I’ll tell you when you’ve had enough.” That lights something in her.
Her breath hitches, her eyes flash, and instead of pulling away—she shifts.
Spreads her legs wider. Tilts her hips to give me better access. Fucking perfect.
She groans softly when I bite down hard before suckling the pain away. Her hands tighten in my hair, holding me close.
I’m shifting my attention to her other nipple, when a sharp ringing suddenly cuts through the air. We both look down towards the floor where my clothes were discarded. The sharp ringing is coming from my jacket pocket. My phone.
“Any chance you could ignore that?” Cassie asks, breathing heavily.
I sigh as I climb off her, feeling a chilling disappointment sweep through me. And then anger when I see Luca’s name flash across the skin.
“What is it?” I snap, answering the call.
“We have a problem, boss.”
I turn back to face Cassie, marveling at the sight of her smooth, naked skin. She lies there, waiting and ready for me and it’s enough to say fuck it all and climb back in there with her.
But I’m the Don, and I have responsibilities.
“Tell me.”
“I just got the call. Someone took out some of our men, laid their bodies out on the street,” Luca grits out.
Raw, hot rage slices through me, “Who did?”
“No idea, boss. But it’s a mess. It’s clearly a message to us, but I have no idea who it’s from.”
My brows furrow. There aren’t a lot of people who would dare cross me and make such a spectacle of things.
My first thought is Santori. He’s still at large, has been since he sent his men to the warehouse.
But why? He’s an idiot, but this all feels very targeted. Like there’s something else going on.
I think back to the warning Moretti gave me at the wedding, and uneasiness slithers through my stomach.
“Get the car ready. We’ll head over there now.”
He hangs up leaving me to face Cassie, who’s pretending not to have been listening to every word of the call.
“Sweetheart,” I call softly.
She sits up, shifting toward the edge of the bed. She looks up at me, hazel eyes suspicious, “What happened?”
“I have to leave.”
“Yeah, I got that,” she replies. “Why do you have to go?”
I exhale a soft breath, “No need to concern yourself with that.”
She doesn’t move or say a word as I move forward to press a kiss to her forehead.
“I’ll be back soon,” I tell her.
She holds my gaze, “You’re going to kill someone, aren’t you?”
“You asked to forget who we are. But I don’t think the world wants you to forget, mi vida ,” I tell her in lieu of answering.
“You’re going to go out there and take someone’s life and then expect to crawl back into bed with me? You think I’m going to let you cuddle me with someone’s blood in your hands?”
“I have the blood of hundreds on my hands, sweetheart. One or two insignificant ones shouldn’t matter,” I state.
Her face pales and I shut my eyes briefly, reminding myself that this isn’t what she needs. I hate scaring her.
“They’re not insignificant,” she says, her eyes filling with tears. “They were people. Actual human beings that had families and lives. How could you have taken that away from then?”
“People die. That’s the way this world works, Cassie,” I say calmly.
“Not my world.”
“Yes. Your world. When you married me, it became yours. All the bloodshed and the death, it’s our legacy now.”
She shivers, “I won’t let you bring me into your darkness.”
I stop to take a breather before saying another word.
Then, I crouch downward so we’re face to face, placing a hand on her cheek.
The atmosphere is tense, and I hate how fast this situation has evolved into something so volatile.
For a while there, we were happy. I want that again. I want it always.
“I don’t want you to be a part of my darkness, Cassie.
Hey look at me,” I begin gently, ensuring our eyes remain connected.
“You’re my bright light. I chose you because you provided me with something I wouldn’t have been able to achieve anywhere else, at least not on my own.
What do you want me to say? That I hate who I am?
I could tell you that. I’m sure it would bring you some measure of peace.
And maybe a part of me does hate it. The things I’ve done, the lengths I’ve had to go through to keep this position.
But the truth is, I can always do so much worse.
When it comes to keeping you, nothing will stand in my way.
I’ll kill whoever tries because you’re mine.
Mine to protect. And I’ll do whatever it takes to do that. Even from my darkness.”
She stares at me for a long moment once I’m done. And then her expression softens.
“You can go.”
I arch an eyebrow, “You’ll be in my bed when I return?”
“That’s for me to decide and for you to see when you get back,” she says dryly. “Bye, Damien.”
I rise to my feet, shooting her one last look before heading into my closet to get dressed. When I step outside again, she’s still in that same position, expression thoughtful. A part of me is worried she won’t be here when I return.
But it would be the answer to the biggest question running through both our minds. Will she ever be able to get past who I am and what I do?
She’s got a big decision to make. And a part of me is terrified about what she’ll choose. They can call me a monster. Hell, she can believe it too.
But the truth is—I'd never hurt Cassie. Not physically. Not emotionally.
I could break men without blinking, burn cities to the ground if I had to—but her? I'd rather bleed than see her cry.
And that’s the problem. Because now… if she walked out? I couldn’t touch her friends. Couldn’t go after her uncle. Not without a damn good reason.
She’s my weakness. And if she leaves me now? I’m fucked .
***
It quickly becomes clear that whoever took out my men left no trace of their identity. Which means I have to play a waiting game or at least smoke them out in order to get them to reveal their identity.
“We’ll find him, boss,” Luca says from the front seat of the car as he drives us home.
I don’t say a word, keeping my eyes fixed on the tablet in front of me. I’m wiring money to the families of the men who died. They were good, loyal men, and they died for nothing. It’s unacceptable. And I’ll make sure that someone pays for this.
Luckily for Cassie, there was no need for me to shed blood tonight. No one for me to kill. But she doesn’t know that. Which is why a part of me is expecting not to find her when I walk through the doors of my bedroom. But she’s there, wearing one of my shirts and lying underneath the blankets.
She’s also fast asleep. My steps are slow and quiet as I hurriedly remove my clothes before sliding into the bed beside her. She wasn’t lying about the cuddling. As soon as I’m in bed, she shifts so that her head rests on my chest. And I’m all too willing to wrap my arms around her.
“Good night, sweetheart,” I whisper, placing a kiss on the side of her head.
And then my dreams claim me as well. Even better now that I have her in my arms.