25. Renato
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
RENATO
Iheld Dante inside me. His cock still stretched me after his release, the condom the only barrier between us.
His weight pressed me into the leather seat, our sweat mingling as his breath came in uneven gasps against my neck.
For one fleeting moment, I had all of him without the fortress of walls he meticulously maintained.
My fingers traced lazy patterns on his skin, committing every muscle to memory. I knew his openness wouldn’t last. Soon, the armor would slide back into place, piece by impenetrable piece, and the Dante who’d shared his deepest secret would retreat behind calculated smirks and cutting remarks.
But for now, he was completely mine.
I tilted his chin up, capturing his lips in a kiss so tender it made him tremble.
I tried to convey my unspoken devotion since words would send him running.
Dante had been taught that love was another weapon to be used against him, and I refused to give him reason to believe I was arming myself for battle.
Dante withdrew with excruciating slowness, his thick cock dragging against my inner walls. The ridge of his head caught on my rim before slipping free, leaving me devastatingly empty.
My body contracted around the void he left behind, desperate to reclaim the fullness that had filled me so completely.
Hot lube trickled from my used hole, sliding down the curve of my ass to pool on the leather seat beneath me.
The evidence of our passion marked the expensive upholstery, a silent rebellion against Salvatore’s domain.
The burning stretch of my entrance pulsed in time with my heartbeat, still sensitive from Dante’s relentless pounding.
Each throb sent aftershocks of pleasure radiating through me, my body’s way of clinging to the memory of him inside me.
I would feel the ache for days, a secret reminder carried within my flesh that I belonged to Dante in ways Salvatore could never control or commodify.
I wanted to pull him back, to keep him inside me where the walls distancing us dissolved into nothing but heat and connection. Losing our intimacy felt like watching a door slam shut, leaving me alone on the wrong side.
The scent of our sex filled the confined space of the limousine, musky and primal.
I watched as Dante removed the condom, the only thing that had stopped his cum from flooding my insides.
Part of me wished he had taken me bare, marked me from the inside out.
I wanted to carry a part of him within me, something real that Salvatore would never allow.
Dante’s expression cooled, the calculated distance returning to his gaze. “We should get dressed,” he muttered. “We’ll be at Gennaro Corporation soon.”
I held in a sigh as he tied off the condom and tossed it in the discreet waste bin. The man who had come in my arms moments ago was being sealed away behind reinforced steel.
“You can pretend this didn’t happen,” I said, stretching before reaching for my clothes. “But you can’t keep me out. Not anymore.”
Dante’s jaw tightened as he redressed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” I pulled on my briefs and jeans. With no time to clean myself, the slick reminder of our encounter stayed with me. The sensation of dripping lube was deliciously filthy, a hidden reminder that beneath my clothes, I still carried the physical memory of Dante’s possession.
I smiled at the thought, enjoying how he tracked my movements despite his scowl. When he said nothing, I couldn’t resist poking his buttons a little. “I know you, Dante Gennaro.”
“You know what I let you see,” he snapped while buttoning his shirt. “Nothing more.”
I laughed. “Is that what you tell yourself? That you’re in control of what I see?” I slipped my white sweater over my head. “Your body betrays you every time I touch you. Your eyes give you away when you think I’m not looking.”
“Fuck you.”
“You just did,” I countered.
He grit his teeth. “It was a mistake.”
“Is that why your cock was harder than it’s ever been, and you came so hard you nearly passed out?”
“It was only sex,” he insisted, but his voice lacked conviction.
“If you say so.” I trailed my fingers along his buttoned shirt. “But we both know it was more than that. You cried my name, Dante. Not Lorenzo. Renato.”
His nostrils flared. “Don’t read too much into it. I’ve called out plenty of names during sex.”
“The difference is you meant mine.”
He shook his head. “You’re delusional.”
I reclaimed my position in his lap. His hands rested on my hips, betraying his words even as he glared at me. “And you’re terrified someone might see past all this bullshit and still want you.”
“Get off me,” he growled, but his hands groped my ass, pulling me closer.
I cradled the back of his head, my fingers threading through his hair. “Make me.”
His expression darkened with challenge, but instead of shoving me aside, he tightened his grip. “You think you’re so clever and irresistible that I can’t help myself.”
“Am I wrong?”
“Yes,” he lied, even as his body arched into my touch.
I pulled back to meet his gaze. “Your mouth says one thing, but your body tells me another. Which should I believe?”
“Neither.” His smile was sharp. “You should assume everything about me is a lie.”
“Except Raphael,” I said.
Dante’s fingers dug into my waist. “Don’t talk about him.”
I cupped his face, forcing him to meet my gaze. “Are you afraid I’ll use him against you?”
“Everyone uses whatever leverage they can get,” he said flatly. “That’s how the game is played.”
I shook my head. “Not by everyone. Not by me.”
“Bullshit.”
“I’m not Salvatore,” I said firmly. “I’m not interested in owning you.”
His laugh was bitter. “Everyone craves dominion over something. Don’t pretend you’re different.”
“I don’t want to control you. I want to free you.” Pressing my forehead against his, our breath mingled.
Suspicion flickered in his eyes. “Who are you, really?”
“Someone who knows how to navigate organizations like Gennaro without getting caught.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s all you need for now.” I pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “The rest you’ll have to earn by trusting me.”
His fingers tightened in my hair. “Trust is a liability. What’s your angle?”
“You,” I answered simply. “All I want is you.”
His expression hardened. “I’m not for sale.”
I shook my head. “I’m not trying to buy you.” My thumb ran across his lower lip. “I want to save you.”
“Don’t bother. I can save myself.”
“As amazing as you are, you can’t do it alone, no matter how much you want to believe otherwise,” I pointed.
He snapped at me. “You don’t understand what you’re getting into.”
I held his gaze without flinching. “I’m well aware that Salvatore would kill us both if he discovered we were talking about this.
The Gennaro family has tentacles that reach into every corrupt corner of this city.
You’ve been planning his downfall for years, gathering intel, making connections, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. ”
His eyes widened. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Because it’s what I would do. It’s what anyone with your intelligence and determination would do. You didn’t survive this long by being passive. You survived by playing the long game.”
A muscle worked in his jaw as he studied me. “And where do you fit into this long game of mine?”
“Wherever you need me.” I cradled his face in my hand, caressing his cheekbone. “As your ally. Your confidant. Your weapon against Salvatore.”
“And my lover?” Dante challenged, his tone making it clear he expected me to deny it.
I knew better than to agree. It was the fastest method to make Dante shut me out. “In every way you’ll allow.”
His hold on me tightened. “You’re asking for things I can’t give when he owns me.”
“I’m not asking for anything,” I corrected him. “I’m offering everything. There’s a difference.”
“Why?” The single word contained years of suspicion, of betrayal, of learning the hard way that nothing came without strings attached.
“Because from the moment I saw you, I knew you were worth fighting for. Worth dying for, if necessary.”
He flinched as if I’d struck him. “Don’t say that.”
“Does it scare you to think someone might value you more than their own life?”
“It’s fucking stupid,” he snarled. “No one is worth dying for.”
“Raphael is,” I countered. “You’d die for him in a heartbeat.”
The truth of it silenced him, although his expression was revealing. “That’s different. He’s family.”
“Is it? Or is it easier for you to understand sacrifice when you’re the one making it?”
His expression hardened. “Stop acting like you know.”
I pressed closer, my body flush against his.
“I understand what it means to protect someone at any cost. To put their safety above your own. To sacrifice everything to keep them from harm.” I had done that for my younger brother Luciano every day of my life until I was banished from the Accardi family.
It still tore me up inside that I had failed to protect him when he needed it the most. Now, Luciano’s gentle heart had been burned away to leave him as ruthless as the other members of our family.
He had earned the nickname the Lucifer of Rome for a reason.
Something in my voice must have revealed more than I intended because his eyes narrowed with sudden interest. “Who did you protect?”
I smiled, the expression not reaching my eyes. “That’s a story for another time.”
“You expect me to trust you when you won’t trust me with your past?”
“I trust you with my life,” I corrected him. “My past is more complicated.”
“So is mine.”
“I know. And when you’re ready to share more of it, I’ll be here. I promise I’ll share mine when the time is right.”
His hands slid up my back, a touch that was both possessive and uncertain. “You’re not what I expected.”
“Good.” I nipped at his lower lip. “I’d hate to be predictable.”
A reluctant smile tugged at his mouth. “You’re anything but that.”