Caterina
I’m struggling not to drown in the sensation of his touch.
This is exactly why I kept his little tracker.
To lure him here.
Connor Gallagher is dangerous, and I’m fighting not to come right now.
Mind over matter.
Mind over Connor’s talented fingers, his smoky, citrusy scent, and his dazzling smile.
But I can handle this.
I’m on my own, which Connor proved by tracking me. Can’t even be bothered to properly woo me for an alliance or a night in bed.
Lazy, that’s what he is. Lying about his identity. Putting cameras all over the Ricci estate. Slipping a tracer into my coat’s inside pocket.
I wonder what would happen if I stripped Connor Gallagher of all his con artist tricks and he stood naked before me, with nothing but his pearly white smile.
Who would he be then? I’ll probably never know.
What I do know is I need to purge him from my life before he ruins me completely.
The bastard just pissed all over another one of my favorite spots. My pool.
This is where I go to reset.
“Have something that belongs to just you, Caterina. Something no one can take away. This will keep your heart in balance.”
My father built this facility for me, and this dog just treated it like his personal fire hydrant.
Asshole.
I can’t believe I briefly entertained the idea of a partnership with him. That I thought I’d met a like-minded individual who didn’t see me as the lesser sex with inferior intelligence.
It hurts just enough to channel my rage.
Connor still has two fingers inside me, so maintaining a level voice and clear head is an exercise in self-control. My life and my place in the Ricci family depend on my restraint.
I suck in a deep breath, dig my fingers into his shoulders, and wrangle my thoughts. “I want the rat who gave up our air routes to the FBI dead.”
“Domenico Verone.”
Connor’s knowledge and ability to name the rat shouldn’t surprise me. I bet he also knows that Verone’s in a safehouse protected by US Marshals, waiting to testify against my father.
Connor slips his fingers out of me, but relief doesn’t come. I was over the hump and could see my orgasm right there on the horizon. My body was galloping toward release.
But business is business.
I’ll live.
Connor’s eyes crinkle at the corners and his lips curl into a smile. “I’ll do it. For you.”
When his face relaxes like that, he looks like he did when he was eating half my lunch a few days ago. Younger. Almost honest. A flash of the Connor who existed before a life of organized crime sank its hooks in him.
I push the thought aside. “Perfect. I know where he is, as well as the schedule of the Marshals watching him—”
“But I want a favor in return.”
Who the hell does he think he is? “The favor is I’m going to partner with you.”
That smile shifts into sinister territory, and I imagine myself slapping it away.
“Tit for tat, Cat. The partnership is mutually beneficial.”
I cross my arms over my bare chest, shivering as the water starts to dry on my skin. “I’m not killing anyone or planting bugs or cameras or locking men in any closets.”
He shakes his head. “Good thing my favor doesn’t involve anyone else but you.”
I huff out some hot air. The nerve of this guy… “And I’m not dressing up like a dominatrix or having a three-way or willingly doing a sex video. That’s not me, and I’m not changing my stripes for you.”
I hate how his laugh echoes off the shower walls. “I would never ask you to do any of that. Well…not unless you were into it.”
Good to know. “Then what do you want?”
He reiterates my request. “You want Domenico Verone dead.”
“I do. It would change my father’s life…take the weight of the world off his shoulders.” We both already know I’m not a good liar, so I might as well just stick with honesty.
He sinks to his knees, staring up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “And I want to eat you out. Right here, right now.” He doesn’t seem to notice the water seeping into his pants.
I swear my jaw clanks on the tile. “That’s it?”
I peer into his beautiful, mischievous gaze, hoping to find the truth swimming inside those black holes he calls irises.
They’re so dark, like the sky at night. Too dark to read anything. Before I can give my official agreement—
Connor pushes his face between my legs, his scruff rough against my thighs, and plunges his tongue deep inside me. He’s hosting a make-out session with my pussy.
I’m still aroused from earlier, so I jump right back in where we left off, no warm-up act necessary. This is the main event. My pleasure claims center stage, because Connor treats my satisfaction like the damn star.
I arch off the cool tile, my legs trembling before I can suck in a breath.
He’s going to kill me, and I don’t think I would even care.
I wondered how this would feel. Got myself off to the thought of his mouth on my pussy, his fingers on my thighs, and…
This is so much better than my fantasy.
He sucks my clit and adds a finger to the party, sending shockwaves of tingling goodness through me. My fingers weave through his damp strands as my head knocks back against the wall.
I don’t understand his end goal. Right now, I don’t care, just as long as he keeps doing that with his tongue…
Part of me—deep in my chest—ponders if I should hate this, hate Connor for making me want him. But most of me just wants to experience more.
The orgasm to put all others to shame builds within.
I relax onto his hand and mouth as he tag-teams my opening and my clit with his tongue and his lips. Sucking and lapping me up. No one’s ever paid me this kind of attention.
No one’s ever gotten to know me this well…or ever even tried to.
That reality terrifies and excites me simultaneously. Adrenaline surges through my limbs, adding to the buzz of heightening pleasure.
I can’t get a read on Connor Gallagher, and I can’t get a read on myself either.
“Connor…” I tug on his curls, winding them around my fingers and bracing myself as the orgasm approaches. I don’t want this to end yet.
I gaze up, across the room, and find our reflection. He’s on his knees, his head buried in my pussy and driving me all kinds of crazy.
He pulls back and exhales while stealing a glance at my face.
I peer down to discover he’s even more handsome than usual, pink-cheeked with his hair all messed up, his eyes wild with desire, and his lips red and wet.
“You taste incredible, Cat. Like a treat.” He licks those lips and dives back down, moaning as he eats me out.
The vibration of his mouth shudders through me. As I yank his hair and hit my elbows on the tile, tingles shoot up my arms.
I can’t take it. His words and our mirrored image hurl me over the edge. I scream his name and watch myself come in the mirror, my eyes wide, my mouth open, my chest heaving. The noise bounces off the walls.
I look…beautiful.
Like this, I can almost understand why Connor keeps returning.
As I float back down from the high, my thighs trembling, I desperately suck in air. I feel more out of breath than I did after my swim.
Once I’ve extracted myself from Connor, I travel back under the spray, shivering beneath the warm water. After all, I still need a shower.
Connor stands up, wipes his face on his damp sleeve, and smiles. “Consider my favor to you as good as done.” He’s remarkably composed after swallowing me like that.
Since I can’t manage words yet, I simply nod while tilting my head and letting the water saturate my hair. My legs are wobbly, and the rest of me remains in that floaty post-sex haven.
“I’ll bring you, what? An eyeball? A hand to prove I did it?”
Shit, please tell me he’s kidding. Though I’m the opposite of cold, goosebumps break over my skin. I can’t tell if the suggestions terrify me or turn me on.
Why would murder trigger arousal? I’m not that much of a mafia princess.
He laughs at my expression.
I huff. “Word on the street will do.”
He bows like a circus ringleader, then he’s gone, the heavy metal door to the showers clanging shut behind him.
Despite the hot water and even hotter memory that lingers in my mind, the space feels too big and cold without him.
As I wash my hair, I hear a voice in my head urging me to reel the whole plan back in. We founded this entire relationship on a string of falsehoods. How can I trust him? Or partner with him on anything? He has no tells. His lies and truths present the same.
But Connor’s attention, the way he regards me like I’m the only woman in the world…
Despite being a master of disguise and a narcissistic prick, the man’s difficult to resist. I enjoy his company and touch a little too much, but family comes first.
I just need to keep reminding myself of that.