Chapter 15
L EILANI
I’m wet between my thighs like I’ve never been before.
That kiss almost undid me.
His hand is wrapped around mine, and I know we need to leave––I’d go to the end of the world with him–– but all I want is to experience a kiss like that again.
He must have not realized that he could make come against his chest if he deepened the kiss a little more.
My core pulses, and all I want is to lean against the handrail, squeeze my thighs together, and enjoy the pleasure from his touch.
It blows my mind how he makes me feel.And then him being so hard against my body?
That alone is a testament to how I make him feel.
Please, don’t stop. Let’s do it again, shall we?
But right now, he looks away as if wanting to make sure no one is around.
Well, there are a few people.
Some are looking for some privacy, like us.Some just happen to walk this way.
Although I can’t spot his men, I’m sure they are here, nearby.
He squeezes my hand, a secret signal that I need to gather myself and start walking.
So much lusting after him is still harbored in my body.Despite that, I set myself in motion.
I never thought that he could feel like that against my body.All the things I had imagined?
They couldn’t match what happened in real life.
He’s strong, powerful, and tender. With just a kiss, he brought me to my knees.
I was ready to do anything for him before, but now?I’d do it all with a smile.
He’s the first man who’s shown me something different.
We walk to our place and split our ways downstairs a few minutes later.
“Go upstairs. I’ll join you in a moment.”
His men are in the main room on the first floor, and I get a sense that something's happening, despite his expression staying the same.
He looks unfazed.
“Sure. Should I change?” I ask.
He turns his focus to me, his eyes sliding down as they have done many times this evening.
We’ve picked up new clothing at a luxury boutique this afternoon, and I’m eager to put on something new, yet his eyes tell me otherwise.
“No. I like this dress.”
I like it, too.
Especially how his hands felt through my dress when he touched me.I don’t know how I’ll keep myself in check if we’re doing this again.
And I want to do it over and over again.
I take the stairs up, convinced that he’s looking at me, feeling the heat of his stare on my back, trying not to glance over my shoulder.
I fail, though, and reaching the next floor, I look back just as his eyes move away from me as he sets himself in motion.
A smile tickles my lips.
He looked at me.
He definitely looked at me.
I walk onto our floor and head to the bathroom.
My reflection in the mirror broadens my smile. What a difference a day makes.
A smile glows over my face.
My eyes look like stars fallen from the sky,and my lips quiver with a knowing grin as my entire body seems to have grown into a seductive weapon.
I pinch my dress at my back and pull so I can see the shape of my body, the way he imagines it, an hourglass-shaped promise for some memorable, hot nights.
My nipples push against my dress, begging to be touched.
I let the dress fall back in place and turn the water on.
Running my hands through the stream of water, I try not to think about the tension in my abdomen, the pull of sweet pain.
If that happens… My cheeks burn with a flush.
If that happens, my deepest desire will be fulfilled.
I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than I want him.
I dry my hands with a small towel and walk out of the bathroom just as two people from a nearby restaurant stride into the room, accompanied by Cosimo.
They set the table for Callum and me under Cosimo’s eyes, while I make a beeline for the terrace and let them work in silence.
My eyes move over the rooftops and the sea before I glance over my shoulder. The table for two is set inside, which is different from what he said initially.
Moments later, Cosimo is gone, and plates of food sit on the table along with a vase of roses.
An old Sicilian song plays in the background, making me travel back in time.
It’s so easy to visit an imaginary past when everything about it is so inspiring, reflecting a long-gone world.
The stairs begin to creak, and I can tell it’s him, judging by the cadence and firmness of his steps.
He enters the room with a deep line between his eyebrows.
"Something happened?” I ask, equally concerned.
He clicks his tongue.
“Not yet,” he says, draping his suit jacket over the back of a chair.
He wears his favorite waistcoat, and obviously he’s collected his jacket from downstairs.
‘Not yet’ is not a good answer.
“What made you say that?” he asks with a smile, inviting me to take a seat at the table.
I flick my chin toward our dinner table as he pulls the chair for me.
“You said we’d eat outside,” I say.
“It’s probably too early for that.”
Again, I don’t know what that means.
We sit across from each other and start eating, barely taking the first sip of wine, when the stairs creak again.
It must be one of his men. Maybe two. They’re talking to each other.
Callum has looked preoccupied these past few moments, so his men approaching us doesn’t come as a surprise.
The man in front of me sets the napkin to the side, still chewing, ready to rise.
“If you’ll excuse me,” he says and pushes to his feet, just as Cosimo enters the room, followed by another man.
“We need you downstairs, Boss.”
Cosimo is usually more relaxed than he appears to be now, and seeing a frown on his face, so similar to Callum’s, makes me shudder.
This can’t be good.
“Don’t move,” Callum says to me on his way out, picking up his jacket and sliding it on, tense and dark, so different from the man I kissed before.
Sighing, I look at the food, no longer in the mood to eat, the silence growing thicker.
I won’t move.
Where could I really go?
CALLUM
“I was right, wasn’t I?” I say, pacing down the stairs.
“Yes, you were. They picked him up.”
I knew someone was watching us.
Couldn’t point to the exact person, and frankly, no one in particular had caught my attention, but I knew something didn’t feel right.
“He says he doesn’t know the man who paid him to give you the message.”
“He might be right,” I say, deftly smoothing my collar and checking my holstered gun.
“Who did he say he was?”
“The son of a fisherman.”
“Does he look like one?”
“He does.”
“How old is he?”
“Nineteen.”
“He’s most likely only the messenger.”
We reach the first floor, exit the main house, and enter the adjacent one.
The space used to be the staff's living quarters, and it now serves as the headquarters for my crew.
We doubled and tripled our security. I know how precious Leilani is to so many people, especially now.
I bet my bottom dollar that the Gallos would love to have her back and offer her to Varela.
At the same time, I bet that Varela would like to have her at his quarters just about now.
Forget about negotiating her transition into his family.
He’d hand her to one of the women in his circle, who’d instruct Leilani on what she’s allowed to do in his house.
If Giorgio told him that I had her, knowing what he knows about me, Varela must be convinced I’m up to something, and he’d be right.
These are not stupid people.
They may be bad and reckless, yet they’re also very clever.
They know what’s at stake.
They get anxious when they lose their leverage, and they make mistakes.
I hope the fisherman’s son is such a mistake.
I push the door open, and a scrawny kid, terrified by the big brute clasping the back of his neck, looks at me with begging eyes.
“ Signore? I swear I have nothing to do with this,” he says before I have the chance to open my mouth and speak.
“What exactly is this?” I ask, pinning him with my stare.
"Someone came to me this afternoon. I was at my father’s shop. Someone like you. Well built, I mean. They said they had ‘un messaggio importante' for you and that it was essential you learn about it. The man gave me some money to follow you around and try to speak to you.”
“Who is his man? How do you call him?”
“He said his name was Giovanni. I think he lied, though.”
‘Describe him for me. How did he look?’
“About his age.”
He points to Cosimo.
“But not as handsome as him.”
I look at Cosimo, amused.
He cracks a smile.
“Did he pay you to tell jokes?” Cosimo asks.
“It’s no joke, Signore, ” the kid says to Cosimo.
I look at him.
“And?” I ask.
“And he wanted me to give you this address.”
He pulls out a scrap of paper with some words written on it.
I look down as I take it from him.
It’s a deserted area behind a church.
Right.
Have they gotten that lazy, really?
It’s probably an ambush.
“He said he had a message for you from Stefano Varela,” the young man says, and my focus sharpens.
“He said that?”
The kid nods a couple of times.
“Yes, he did. He also said it was a pressing matter.”
I signal to my men to walk him out and release him before I turn to Cosimo.
“He could call you,” he says.
“He could also give up,” I toss back at him with sarcasm, not directed at him, though. “Which will never happen. Giorgio talked. Obviously. All right… Let’s see what he wants,” I murmur, picking up a few more guns.
“I’ll go,” Cosimo says.
“You stay here with her. I’ll take half of our men since I don’t trust Varela.”
“Okay, Boss.”
Minutes later, I slide into my seat in the back of my bulletproof car, thinking about Leilani and how I might regret that I didn’t go further with her.