73. Wynter
Wynter
O nce Priest was gone, Bas pulled me back into his arms. I pressed my face against his chest and inhaled deeply that familiar scent. Last month had been a whirlwind, but it wasn’t until I saw Bas bleeding that it hit me. Life was too damn short and I refused to waste a single moment holding back.
He was mine and I was his. Nobody would ever take him away. I’d lie, steal, and kill for him.
“Now tell me what I missed,” he ordered, the kingpin in full form, back in control.
I didn’t mind it though. It was who he was. He’d warned me from the beginning and I went into it eyes wide open. His father caused an obstacle but Bas tortured him for me. Sasha killed him to protect us.
“Well, I should start by saying that my great-grandmother is batshit crazy,” I sighed, remembering that unhinged look in her eyes.
“Priest, Dante, Sasha, and his brother showed up at the perfect time. Otherwise, the Pakhan’s bodyguards would have peeled me off your body and shot you, then probably dragged me to somewhere in fucking Siberia. ”
“The fuck they would,” he growled, his voice dark. “I’d come for you.”
My lips curved into a smile. “Even in death, huh?”
“Nothing will ever keep me away from you. Not death and not the fucking Pakhan.” If there was anyone that could make that happen, it was certainly Basilio DiLustro.
I brushed my mouth over his. “Thankfully, that’s not necessary.
Your cousins and the Nikolaev men killed her men but she got away.
” A shudder rolled down my spine remembering that freaky look in her eyes.
However, the world is a small place because apparently, the woman is Bianca Morrelli’s great-aunt or something.
Sister of her grandfather’s. Sophia Catalano. Alexei recognized her.”
“Fuck, the world is too small,” he muttered.
“Well, my brother wants to sacrifice himself and make it known he's a descendant of the Volkov family too. Mom and your uncle object. Mom in particular. She sacrificed raising him, and if he went ahead and did it, she feels it was for nothing.”
With a pensive look, his hand around me tightened. “Priest is stubborn, and in my experience, if he decides something, nobody and nothing will stop him. Does Dante know?”
I swallowed. That didn’t bode well for anyone.
“Yeah. He’s pretty much pissed at everyone.
Mom, your uncle and me… “ He stiffened, but didn’t interrupt.
“And Juliette is not helping. Something happened between the two of them, and as she was leaving the hospital, she keyed his car and smashed his windows.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I murmured. “And now Cassio and his gang are all up in arms about this Pakhan too. And then there were the Ashfords. Byron showed up too. He checked on you, then harassed Dante about a debt owed. It was like a soap opera here.”
He shook his head, a small smile pulling on his lips. “Maybe it’s good I slept for a bit. Byron probably wanted to confirm himself that I wasn't dead. If something happens to me, the seat in the Syndicate goes to him as the closest kin that’s not a member.”
“It’s a cluster,” I mumbled. “And I thought training for the Olympics was hard.”
He chuckled, then brushed his lips against mine. “You’ll be my Kingpin Queen.” His grip around me tightened and I felt his hand roam down my hips. “I want to fuck you again.”
A spike of heat ran through my veins but I fought it. “Absolutely not. The nurse will kick me out.”
He let out a frustrated breath and my gaze flicked to his that burned dark and hot. “If I have a hard on, I’m out of the danger zone.”
“You’re crazy, Bas,” I rasped, glancing at the door. A doctor walked by and I quickly shoved his hand away. “Stop it. I’m serious.”
The doctor paused at the door, shot an annoyed look at both of us then left. I turned to look at my husband and realized why the doctor scurried away. My husband’s eyes threatened retribution if he entered.
“You’re the worst patient,” I murmured, laying back down against him. His one hand ran a path down my back, then back up, almost absentmindedly. When he didn’t say anything for a while, I searched his face. “What are you thinking about?”
“You’re related to Nico Morrelli,” he remarked pensively.
I lifted my head and rolled my eyes. “I guess through marriage.”
“Nico is part of Cassio’s gang. It might make for weird family reunions if the Syndicate and Cassio are not on the same page.”
I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “It will be weird anyhow because when Sasha found me after your father-” My words faltered and I felt Bas’ body tense underneath me. “Anyhow, he took me to Cassio’s place and his doctor. Cassio was adamant about calling Uncle and I sort of threatened him.”
His chest rumbled with a laugh he was trying to suppress. “What did you say to Cassio?” he said, approval ringing in his voice.
“That I’d blame him if he sent me back to Uncle,” I admitted, slightly ashamed. “I didn’t want uncle Liam to go after you. I didn’t care about your dad getting hurt in the process, but never you.
“My queen,” he murmured softly.
I scoffed but his words made me smile. “The whole thing is kind of weird. Stealing from Nico, threatening Cassio. It won’t make for a good reputation.”
He chuckled and winced the next second. “What is it with you girls stealing money? You know we’re rich, right?”
I grinned. “Really?”
He nodded. “What’s mine is yours,” he said, his dark eyes shining with amusement.
“That’s good to know,” I said. “What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine.”
His hand tugged on my hair. “Ours, principessa. Everything is ours. Now tell me why do you need the money?”
“The girls and I want to start a school,” I told him. “When we burned down Garrett’s house, we realized how inept we were at handling crime. We were born in the underworld and didn’t even know how to go about erasing the surveillance after that prick Garrett threatened us.”
“You came to me. That was the right thing to do.”
I shook my head. “No, we want to be able to do it ourselves too. Anyhow, after you erased the surveillance, we kept the money we stole from Uncle and decided we'd start a school. To help sheltered daughters of men like… well, you.” He stared at me like I was crazy. “The school will be for both boys and girls though. We don’t discriminate.”
He stared at me and I started to wonder if he thought he could stop me.
“I fucking love it,” he finally said. “I’ll give you the money for it.”
I raised an eyebrow surprised. “You love it?”
“Yes. It was exactly what Emory needed. Priest, Dante, and I taught her what we knew but it was hard for us to fight the urge to protect her from some things. A school like that… it would have been perfect.”
At this point, I was smiling so wide my cheeks ached. I didn’t care. “And it will be just a few hours from the city. So win-win. I can be your wife, coach, handle school stuff, and we can have kids that will be a big part of it.”
“You want kids?”
“One day,” I whispered. “You?”
Bas’ gaze was full of possessiveness and he pulled my head so my forehead rested against his. Inhaling a breath, he kissed me so softly, it made my heart ache. It was the kiss that could break my heart or make it soar to unimaginable heights.
“Only with you. I want it all but only with you.”
My heartbeats slowed and happiness vibrated beneath my skin. It was the kind of love that was raw, passionate and all-consuming. The kind of love that made it all worth it.
“Bas?” I started in a hesitant voice. His eyes were closed, his jawline covered in stubble. I pressed my lips to his jawline, the skin slightly rough against my mouth. “Is it true what you said?”
“Yes,” he murmured, opening his eyes. God, I loved his eyes. I loved his taste and smell. I fucking loved everything about him. Even his psychotic ways. “But which part are we talking about exactly?”
I kissed a line down his throat. “There hasn’t been anyone for you?” I whispered my question, running my tongue up his throat.
He cupped my face and brought it close to his.
I closed the distance and kissed the corner of his mouth.
It was easier to kiss him, then drown in his gaze and let him see how scared I was that he’d see how much I loved him.
It was the insane kind of love that consumed you and could destroy you. Still, there was no stopping it for me.
He swallowed my sigh in his mouth, kissing me wet and rough until he nipped my bottom lip.
“There has been nobody else for me, Wynter. You are my star, moon, and sun. I love you and I’ll never give you up. It’d take a better man than me. It's a good thing we’ve established from the beginning that I'm not a good man. I’m a villain.”
My heart glowed in my chest and fire spread through my veins. “But you’re my villain. I love you,” I breathed, my throat choking with all these emotions. “After I left, I felt dead inside. My mom said love shatters you but it’s not true. Giving you up shattered me.”
“Fuck, principessa,” he rasped, kissing me with a new kind of possession and demand. “We’re in it for life. I’ll make you happy, I promise.”
I smiled, tasting salt on my lips. “I’ll make you happy too, Bas. I promise.”
He was my fairy tale. My villainous prince.