Chapter 24
DANTE
It's nearing three in the morning when I finally finish with Rico and the others.
The plan is solid.
The couriers are briefed.
The timing is locked down to the minute.
Everything that can be controlled has been controlled.
Now we just have to execute it.
I climb the stairs with exhaustion weighing on every step.
My body aches from tension I've been holding for hours and my mind refuses to slow down even though I need sleep before tomorrow night's operation.
I push open my bedroom door expecting to find the space empty and dark.
But Angelica's there.
She's lying in my bed on her side, facing the window.
The moonlight filters through the glass and illuminates her profile.
Her eyes are open.
She's not sleeping.
She's just staring at nothing.
I close the door quietly and stand there for a moment watching her.
She doesn't turn around or acknowledge my presence, but I know she heard me come in.
I strip off my shirt and toss it over the chair, then strip my slacks off and kick off my shoes before I walk to the bed and slide under the covers behind her.
The mattress shifts slightly with my weight, but she still doesn't move.
"Why can't you sleep?" I ask.
She's quiet for so long, I think she's not going to answer.
Then she says, "I keep thinking about tomorrow night."
"The operation will go fine, Bella," I try to reassure her. "My men know what they're doing."
"But what if it doesn't?" She turns to her back staring up at the ceiling but she still doesn't look at me. "What if something goes wrong and you end up dead because of information I gave you?"
I shift closer and wrap my arm around her waist.
She's tense.
Her body feels like a coiled spring ready to snap.
"That's not going to happen," I say.
"You can't guarantee that. He could have men waiting for you."
"No. I can't guarantee anything in this life, but I can tell you that I've been doing this for fifteen years and I'm still here. I know how to survive. I know how to adapt when things go wrong."
She turns over to face me and her eyes search mine in the darkness. "Were you telling me the truth when you said you love me?" Her voice breaks on the question. I can hear the vulnerability there.
"I don't lie about things like that," I say. "Of course I was telling you the truth."
My hand cradles her cheek and I let my thumb brush over her lips.
She closes her eyes.
Tears slip down her cheeks, and I wipe them away with my thumb.
"What if you don't come back?" she whimpers, but I pull her closer until there's no space between us.
Her body is warm against mine.
Her breath is soft on my neck.
"I've always had your best interests at heart," I say. "From the moment I met you six years ago in that club. I saw what Antonelli was going to do to you, and I couldn't walk away." I kiss her forehead. "I'm not walking away now either."
I've done a lot of terrible things in my life.
I've lied and killed and manipulated people to get what I want.
But I've never loved anyone like this, and I'm not about to start being a weak man and let them hurt me when she needs me.
"I've never loved anyone," I say. "And then you showed up with Sofia."
"What does Sofia have to do with it?"
"Everything…" I sigh softly as I remember the way she wormed her way into my heart with her charming smile. "Her innocence made me realize how badly I've been behaving and how desperately I need to do better."
I pause and brush a strand of hair away from Angelica's face.
"It started with her," I continue. "That feeling of wanting something beyond power. And then it spread to you. Now I can't separate the two. I love Sofia because she's mine. And I love you because you gave her to me."
She reaches up and touches my face.
Her fingers trace the stubble on my jaw.
"I don't know how to do this."
"Do what?"
"Love someone like you, who lives in such a dangerous world."
"Then don't think about it. I'm here with you now, and I'll be here with you tomorrow, and the day after and the day after. And I'll work to ensure that the scary parts of my world are far from you at all times."
She closes her eyes again and more tears slip free.
"I love you."
The words are so quiet I almost miss them.
But I hear them and they make my heart unclench.
We've come so far from her hating me and being terrified of me.
I don't know when it happened, but I managed to break down her walls and now she's in my bed waiting for me, to tell me she loves me.
"Say it again," I say.
"I love you. I don't want to. I didn't plan to. But I do. I love you and it terrifies me because I don't know how to protect myself if you get hurt."
I pull her against my chest and hold her fiercely.
She breaks down completely.
Her body shakes with sobs.
I feel the wetness of her tears streaking across my skin.
I feel her fingers digging into my back like she's afraid I'll disappear if she lets go.
"I'm not going anywhere," I say into her hair. "I'm not leaving you. I'm not leaving Sofia. I swear on my life, I'm going to come back from tomorrow night."
She pulls back enough to look at me.
Her face is wet with tears.
Her eyes are red and swollen.
She's never looked more beautiful.
"I need you to come back," she says. "I need you to survive this. Because I can't do this alone anymore. I can't keep pretending I don't need you."
"Then stop pretending. Let yourself need me. Let yourself trust that I'll be here."
She searches my face for any sign of doubt, but I don't give her one.
I believe what I'm saying.
I have to believe it because the alternative is unacceptable.
I lean down and kiss her and when she kisses me back, it's with a desperation that tells me everything she can't put into words.
Angelica has fallen helplessly for me the way I have for her.
We're inseparable now, and it makes me want her more than ever.
I deepen the kiss and she responds immediately.
Her hands move to my hair.
Her body presses against mine.
All the tension and anxiety from the past few hours pours into this moment.
I roll her onto her back, my body covering hers as the kiss warms to a passionate flame.
Her lips part under mine, and I taste the salt of her tears mixed with the sweetness that's all her.
My hands slide down her sides, gripping the thin fabric of her nightgown, bunching it up until I feel the smooth heat of her skin beneath my palms.
"God, Angelica," I groan against her mouth. "You drive me insane."
She arches into me, her nails scraping lightly down my back, sending sparks through my veins.
"Then show me," she whispers, her breath hitching. "Show me how much."
I don't hesitate.
I tug the nightgown higher, exposing her thighs, her hips, until I can pull it over her head and toss it aside.
She's bare underneath, her body glowing in the moonlight, every curve and shadow begging to be touched.
I dip my head, trailing kisses down her neck, nipping at her collarbone as she gasps, her fingers tangling in my hair.
"You're so fucking beautiful," I murmur, my mouth closing over one breast, sucking hard enough to make her moan.
Her nipple hardens under my tongue, and I tease it with my teeth, just on the edge of pain, while my hand cups the other, rolling the peak between my fingers.
She bucks against me, wrapping her legs around my waist. "More," she demands, "I need more of you."
I shift lower, kissing a path down her stomach, feeling her muscles quiver under my lips.
My hands spread her thighs wider, and I settle between them, inhaling her musky scent.
I glance up at her, her eyes locked on mine, dark with desire.
My tongue flicks out to taste her, savoring the way she shudders.
She's already wet, and I delve deeper, lapping at her folds, circling her clit with gentle pressure.
Her hips lift off the bed, grinding against my face as she moans softly and fists her hands in the sheets.
"Oh God, yes," she moans. "Just like that. Don't stop."
I don't.
I suck her clit into my mouth, humming against her, the vibration making her thighs tremble around my head.
My fingers join in, sliding one inside her, then two, curling to hit that spot that makes her gasp my name.
She's tight, clenching around me, her body building toward release.
"Fuck, you taste so good," I growl, lifting my head just enough to watch her face contort in pleasure. "Come for me, Bella. Let me feel it."
Her back arches as she shatters, walls pulsing around my fingers; her cries echo in the room.
I keep going, drawing it out until she's writhing, oversensitive and begging.
"Please," she whimpers. "I need you inside me."
I crawl back up her body, shedding my boxers in one swift movement.
My cock is hard and aching, and I position myself at her entrance, rubbing the tip through her wetness.
She's still trembling from her orgasm, her eyes half-lidded and hungry.
"Look at me," I command, and when she does, I thrust in deep, burying myself to the hilt in one stroke.
She grunts softly, her nails latching onto my shoulders.
"Yes! Fuck, you're so huge."
I hold still for a moment, letting her adjust, feeling her heat envelop me completely.
Then I start moving, pulling out almost all the way before slamming back in.
Each thrust draws a moan from her lips that does things to my mind.
"Harder," she urges, her legs locking tighter around me. "Give me everything."
I pick up the pace, pounding into her with raw intensity, while the bed creaks under us.
Sweat slicks our skin, and I grip her hips, angling deeper, hitting that perfect spot over and over.
Her moans turn to breathless cries, and she starts panting.
"You feel so fucking perfect," I rasp, leaning down to capture her lips in a bruising kiss. "Tight and wet just for me."
She meets every thrust, her body rising to mine, our movements frantic now.
"I'm yours," she gasps, "all yours. Don't stop."
"Fuck," I grunt, sliding into her deeper each time I thrust in.
Her body fits me like a glove and I never want it to end, but I'm starting to lose control.
Her confession of love made something inside me snap.
I can't keep holding out.
"I'm close," she whines. "So close."
"Come with me," I demand, one hand slipping between us to rub her clit in tight circles.
It sends her over the edge again, her pussy clenching around me like a vise and I follow seconds later, thrusting deep as I spill inside her, groaning her name into her neck.
She bucks and twitches and lifts her hips off the bed to meet me, but I maintain my pace until she begins to settle.
We collapse together, breathless and spent, her body pinned under mine while I hold her close, our hearts pounding in sync.
When I pull out and roll to the side, she curls into me, without saying a word I know she's feeling safer.
I pull the blankets up, ready to get a few hours of sleep before the real work begins, and let my eyes drift shut.
Knowing she loves me changes everything for me.
I'm not just fighting for a possibility.
Now, I’m fighting for a reality.
This is my family, Angelica and Sofia, and Antonelli Gerard just unleashed the beast in me.
He won't see us coming, and I’ll destroy everything about his organization so he can never come after me again.
My daughter's future depends on it.