Chapter Six
Neil
HE HAD his arms on either side of Marco, trapping the man against his desk because he wanted to do something stupid and dangerous, and he wasn’t about to let him. Marco had his bottom lip between his teeth, gaze dropping to Neil’s mouth for a moment before he slowly raised his gaze to Neil’s eyes again.
If Marco thought sex would get him out of this, he was wrong. While his self-control was low as hell around Marco, it wasn’t that low.
“I don’t know why you insist on this,” Marco said, throwing up a hand.
“Because you’re being an idiot.”
Marco raised a dark brow at Neil. “You think I’m an idiot for wanting to have dinner with you?”
“Yes,” Neil snapped and made Marco laugh, the sound making it damn hard for him to keep from smiling.
“But what if I want to take you out for dinner?”
“Too bad.”
“But, if you―”
“No,” Neil growled, cutting him off.
Marco leaned back, a smug smile on his face. He licked his lips, drawing Neil’s attention to his mouth. That gorgeous mouth he wanted to ravage. Marco ran his teeth over his bottom lip and Neil surged down, catching Marco’s lips with his, tongue plunging into his mouth.
Fuck, fine. He had no control where Marco was concerned. He wasn’t sure he really cared, either.
Footsteps had him leaning back, breathing hard as he stared at Marco. The man was looking at him as if he’d won. He was so fucking weak when it came to Marco.
He didn’t turn around when he heard the door open. He could see Alicia just fine in the reflection of the window behind Marco. Her snort was low, but her smile was big.
“I guess this is why Rome was so adamant I couldn’t go in,” she said, a note of laughter in her voice.
Marco rolled his eyes and tried to move away from Neil, but he kept his hands on the desk, trapping the man there.
Marco looked at him, then shook his head, smiling as he pressed a kiss to Neil’s lips. He released Marco and turned to lean back against the desk, watching as the siblings exchanged glances.
“Alicia, this is Neil,” Marco said.
Alicia grinned at Marco, then turned her gaze on Neil. She eyed him curiously, head slowly tilting to the side.
“We’ve met before,” she said.
“We have.”
“You’ve… met?” Marco asked, eyes flitting between the two of them.
“Not someone on the staff, then,” Alicia said with a wry smile.
Neil shook his head, smiling back at her.
“No. Just the owner.”
“Huh.” Alicia crossed her arms. “What are your intentions with my brother?”
He grinned at her and said, “I don’t think you wanna know.”
She pulled a face and took a step back. “Yeah, probably not.”
Marco huffed out a low laugh and when he looked at Neil the softness in his eyes had him feeling a kind of light he hadn’t known existed before Marco walked into his life.
“How long has this been going on, then?” Alicia asked, brows raised at them.
“None of your business,” Marco said at the same time as Neil said, “A year.”
Alicia pressed her lips together and gave her brother a cheeky look before she walked up to Neil and linked her arm with his and said, “I think you and I are gonna be best friends.”
Marco’s groan had them both laughing and as Neil met Marco’s gaze, the warmth he saw in those brown eyes had his heart soaring.
Alicia tugged him toward the couch, and he was grinning as he sat down with her.
“How did you two meet, and no, I don’t want the police-friendly version,” Alicia said, brows cocked inquisitively.
“Too bad,” Marco said and sat down on the couch next to Neil, their thighs pressing together and making a thrill run through Neil. “That’s all you’ll get.”
“We met in a bar,” Neil said, fighting back a laugh at the disapproving look Marco gave him.
Alicia’s eyes lit up. “Were you guys there looking for some bow-chicka-wow-wow?”
Marco groaned and dropped his head into his hands, and Neil met Alicia’s gaze, matching her grin.
“I was actually just trying to enjoy my expensive glass of whiskey when your brother walked in and turned my world upside down.”
Alicia gave an excited squeal and grabbed Neil’s hand though she quickly let go with a goofy look on her face and Neil didn’t have to look to know Marco was glaring at her.
“I turned your world upside down?” Marco asked with one brow arched.
Neil nodded, throat drying out. “That’s putting it lightly.”
He found himself lost in brown eyes and he knew he was smiling, just a little quirk of the lips. Marco was looking back at him with intense eyes.
“Did you just take a picture?” Marco asked, gaze snapping onto his sister. She was sitting with her phone and when she turned it around, there was a picture of them on her screen.
Only his side profile was visible in the picture, but Marco’s face was in full view and his heart took flight when he saw the way Marco looked at him. There was something deep and emotional in those brown eyes that he recognized right into his bones.
Love. He was seeing love.
No one had loved him for so long that even the notion of it scared him shitless. Seeing the evidence staring right back at him so clearly? He wasn’t sure if his heart was about to burst from love or terror.
Falling in love with a mobster was a stupid thing to do but he couldn’t help himself and as he stared at Marco, he only fell harder.