Chapter 21
21
THREE DAYS LATER
COEN
A llegra’s knee bounces wildly under the table, and I reach across it and place my hand on top of hers next to her uneaten beignet and the napkin she’s shredded while we’ve sat here waiting.
“Don’t be so nervous. Remember, treat this like any other game. Stay calm and cool. Hold your cards close to your chest.”
Her gaze cuts to me—the first time she’s actually looked at me in the ten minutes since we arrived. Instead of enjoying her breakfast, she’s been constantly scanning the street and sidewalk around us at Café du Monde, on high alert.
And she’s become a bundle of nervous energy that needs to diffuse quickly.
Those pretty lips of hers twist at me, analogizing meeting her dad to a poker game—but it seemed a good way to describe it, and I thought it might be enough to drag her from what could be a spiral of nerves. “Was this really the best place to tell him to meet us?”
Her brow furrows as she looks at the throngs of tourists surrounding us, occupying every table and wandering on the sidewalk.
I lift her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles gently. “Absolutely. All this is exactly why we chose Café du Monde.”
Her eyes widen slightly before she returns to watching everyone suspiciously, as if any one of them might be a spy for the opposition, the way she was for her father. “Why?”
“Because it’s always packed with tourists, and your dad is far too intelligent to do something stupid in such a public place.”
At least, that’s the theory we’re working under today.
And it hasn’t failed us in the past when we’ve had to meet with Satriano and wanted to protect ourselves from an ambush.
Public places.
Busy times.
Lots and lots of witnesses.
Allegra considers me for a moment, then releases a heavy breath and nods. “You’re probably right.”
“Besides…”—I kiss her fingers again, earning a little shiver from her—“I haven’t gotten to take you to do any of the touristy things in town.”
A smile plays at the corner of her lips. “No, you haven’t.”
In the few days since the tournament, since our talk with the rest of the Hawkes and her full confession, we’ve barely left my condo. Not because I’m afraid of what Satriano will do—more because I can’t get enough of this woman and don’t want to let her out of my arms or my bed.
Her scent permeates every surface of my condo, her presence there becoming so familiar and easy that I can barely remember a time when she wasn’t with me.
I suck one of her fingers into my mouth and her eyes widen, her cheeks pinkening.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Getting some of the powdered sugar off.”
Allegra glances at her beignet. “I haven’t even eaten it yet.”
I grin at her. “But you touched it. Or is this sweetness from you fingering your cunt? You naughty girl…”
She laughs, and I finally get to see her relax slightly—precisely my intent. If she goes into this so nervously, she could make a mistake. And father or not, she needs a clear head to deal with a man like Satriano.
“It’ll be okay, Allegra.” I squeeze her hand. “You know we have to do this. If we don’t…”
I trail off, unwilling to take the next logical step in that thought.
She says he won’t hurt her, and I believe her because I know Dad could never hurt me. Savage could never hurt Kennedy. None of the Hawkes could ever hurt their children, no matter what might come between us. And for some reason, Satriano strikes me as a man who lives by the same principle, despite everything else he seems to have no qualms about doing.
And after talking more with Allegra the last few days about growing up with him as a father, it sounds like what she said that night is true. He really was a pretty normal dad. Taking her to ballet lessons. Horse riding. Ski trips and summers at the beach.
All the things a normal dad would do—when she wasn’t off at boarding school.
Constantly moving from place to place, country to country to different schools and houses doesn’t sound like the easiest way to grow up, but it turned Allegra into who she is today, and I could never be anything but thankful for that.
Her back suddenly stiffens, her gaze zeroing in on something behind me, and I glance over my shoulder as a black Town Car pulls to a stop at the curb.
I clench her hand tightly. “Just remember the plan.”
She gives me a tight nod, then sucks in a long, deep breath, squaring her shoulders to physically prepare herself for the showdown with her father that’s about to come.
It had to happen.
We couldn’t just sit around and wait for him to try to take her, for him to force her away. Because if he had taken her and locked her away somewhere the way she described it, and I couldn’t get to her…
I would burn the whole fucking world down to find her.
So, I’m not about to let that happen. Not if there’s any chance of resolving this peacefully.
It seems like an impossibility with a man like Satriano, but I have to try.
The alternative isn’t anything I’m willing to consider.
I quickly scan around us, checking to ensure everyone’s in place.
Bishop sits at a table in the corner of the outdoor patio, newspaper up and sunglasses, covering her dark eyes, but I can feel their focus on us like a fucking laser similar to the one Gabe has on his sniper rifle from the roof of the building across the street—just in case. Saint leans against the wall of the main building near the window, pretending to wait for an order, his huge presence unmissable.
We didn’t dare bring any more than that for fear that Satriano wouldn’t make an appearance if we had a large show of force. Of course, he knows we wouldn’t come alone, but there isn’t any point in setting things off on a bad foot before we’ve even begun.
Two of his men climb out of the car after him and fall in line behind him.
Satriano approaches our table with a sly grin curling his lips. “ Bambina …” He bends down and kisses Allegra on each cheek affectionately, then slides into the chair directly across from me and next to her. “Thank you so much for the invitation to join you this morning.”
I snort. “Is that what you thought it was?”
His smile falters. “Are we back to being rude, Mr. Hawke?”
“You tell me.”
I raise a brow, and Allegra slides her hand under the table and squeezes my knee, reminding me of the plan, which definitely isn’t to antagonize him.
Damon glances at the uneaten beignet and the cup of chicory coffee Allegra hasn’t touched, either. “Not hungry this morning?”
She shakes her head. “I suddenly lost my appetite.”
“Well, I do hope it comes back.” He reaches forward and tears off a piece of the beignet, popping it into his mouth and licking off the powdered sugar from his fingers. “Because as much as this place can be a tourist trap, they really are divinamente squisito .”
“We didn’t come here to talk to you about pastries.”
He chuckles. “I didn’t think you did. I assume you wish to discuss Saturday’s game.” Allegra swallows so loudly I can hear it, and Damon’s gaze moves to his daughter. “Am I to assume it was some sort of statement?”
“I would think that was pretty fucking clear.”
His gaze cuts to mine, hard and sharp. “Oh, it was, and I’m not very happy about the fact that you failed to live up to your end of the bargain.”
“Hey”—I hold up a hand—“that’s bullshit and you know it. I did exactly what you asked. It’s not my fault a better player came around.”
Those typically hard eyes soften with pride as they move to Allegra. “Yes, Allegra certainly is that. Spectacular, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
And I definitely haven’t told her that enough.
Something I will remedy as soon as we get back to my place.
Damon focuses on his daughter again, reaching over to rest his hand on her other one atop the table. “Am I to assume this means you’re done working for the family?”
She presses her lips together, and a war rages in her eyes, a battle between the love of a daughter and the morals of a woman who wants to draw a line in the sand she won’t cross. “I was done before Saturday, Papà , and you know it.”
He shakes his head, tsking, and lifts her hand to look at it. “You know, I missed your whole childhood. Missed seeing those tiny baby hands and holding you in my arms. By the time I got to you, your mother had already sunk in deep.”
“Don’t talk about my mother like that.”
The confident defiance in her tone snaps his gaze up to hers. “She stole you from me. Prevented me from knowing my daughter for twelve years of her life.”
“She was trying to protect me from you…”
He raises a brow. “Do you need protecting from me, bambina ? What have I ever done that hasn’t been in your best interest? That hasn’t been completely for you, Allegra? Since the moment I picked you up in that shithole you were living in, I’ve done nothing except what I thought was best for you.”
It’s exactly the argument I expected him to make, justifying his sinister actions with this idea that it’s all for Allegra’s benefit—to ensure her safety and to leave her wealthier than she can probably even imagine.
“I don’t want it, Papà .”
His jaw hardens, and he tightens his grip on her hand.
She jerks it out from under him. “You’re right. I’m done working for you.”
His gaze lifts to me, fiery and determined. “So…you’ve made your choice then?”
Allegra doesn’t hesitate. “I have.”
He nods slowly. “Well, I do hope you’re happy with it because it will be a final one.”
I slam my hand against the table. “Don’t you fucking threaten her.”
His eyes widen. “That wasn’t a threat, Mr. Hawke. Just a statement of fact. She’d decided to cut ties with me. That’s fine. She’s an adult and is well within her rights to do so. But if it’s really what she wants, then she needs to understand the ramifications.” He turns his gaze on her. “Your condo in New York—gone. The places in Denver, London, Paris, Madrid, Monaco, Morocco, all the other countries you’ve spent so much time in—gone. Your access to my private jet, your access to your bank accounts—all of it gone. If you are going to partner with the people who won’t partner with me, then you’ve made your decision.”
He pushes back from the table, but before he steps away, he turns back to me. “Unless you’ve reconsidered?”
I think back to the conversation we had the night Allegra came clean and have continued to have over the last few days about whether partnering with Satriano might be the way to end all of this.
But so far, no one’s been on board, and I can’t say that I fully am, either.
Is making a deal with the Devil better than trying to defeat him?
“No.”
Damon spreads out his hands with a tight smile, but his eyes remain cold, detached. A dangerous look from a man like him. He may have come knowing what Allegra did, but deep down, he thought he stood a chance of convincing her to come back to him. “As I assumed.”
He bends down and kisses her on each cheek again, which seems to startle her back in her seat. “Goodbye, Allegra. Tutto ciò che ho sempre fatto è stato amarti .”
* * *
ALLEGRA
All I’ve ever done is love you.
His parting words won’t seem to stop repeating in my head.
He never says anything without thinking precisely about how it will affect the listener. And they definitely hit their mark with me. He knew exactly what he was saying and how it would affect me long after he walked away from that table.
For so long after I went to live with him, I had a hard time believing he could love me.
How, when he didn’t even know me?
Yet, time and again, he proved to me that I was the most important thing in his life. He demonstrated that all he wanted was what was best for me, which is precisely why he used those words today, to try to get under my skin, to try to get me to cave and come back to him.
And I hate to admit that for a split second, it almost worked.
I almost ran after him to throw my arms around him and tell him I love him, but it wouldn’t have done any good because where I really wanted to be is where I am right now, in Coen’s arms, cocooned in his strength with his heart beating under my ear and his arms wrapped around me tightly.
He shifts slightly, burying his face in my hair. “Are you awake?”
I nod.
“What’s wrong?”
His voice, still gravelly with sleep, rolls through me, and it doesn’t take much to ignite my need for him, even though we’ve already spent hours wrapped up in each other.
I shake my head. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. I’m just…”
“Overthinking things again?”
Should I love or hate that he knows me so well already?
I nod, trying to bury my face against his neck, trying to hide how embarrassed I am for still feeling this way about a man who did so many horrible things to Coen and his family.
Coen slides his hand under my chin, tilts my face up, and silences all the noise in my head with a single kiss.
Too bad it only lasts a brief moment before he pulls away, brushing a stray hair back from my face.
He gives me a sad smile. “It’s hard to turn it off, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“When you love somebody…it’s hard to turn it off, even if you want to.”
The depth and sincerity of his words can only come from someone who has suffered it himself.
My chest aches. “Why do you sound like you’re speaking from personal experience?”
He narrows his gaze, his hand sliding back to cup my nape. “Do you really have to ask me that?”
Energy crackles between us, something far more powerful than the mere sexual attraction we’ve always seemed to have in spades. His thumb brushes reverently across my cheek, and he tilts his head slightly, like he’s waiting for me to process what he’s said.
Wait…
“You don’t mean…”
I try to pull back, but he keeps me exactly where he wants me with his firm grip, forcing me to continue to look into his eyes.
“I do mean it, Allegra.”
“But… Coen, it’s only been less than two months.” I release a mirthless laugh. “And for most of that time, you hated me.”
“No.” He drags me up over him easily. “I didn’t hate you. I hated myself for wanting you so much when I knew I shouldn’t.”
His confession rattles me as much as mine must have him. Maybe more. Because it doesn’t make any sense. It can’t.
“You don’t love me, Coen. You don’t even know me.”
He takes my face in his palms. “I know enough. You sacrificed yourself for my family when you had every reason not to. You could have stayed at home, pretended none of it was happening because it didn’t affect you. You could have maintained your relationship with your father, but you didn’t. You chose what was right even though it cost you something huge. That tells me all I need to know.”
Tears pool in my eyes, a combination reaction to his words and the emotional upheaval that happened today.
My bottom lip trembles as I try to hold in the sob threatening to come out. Before it can, Coen kisses me. Softly this time. Unrushed. Filled with more than just sexual attraction.
He pulls back only enough to press his forehead to mine. “I promise that things are going to get better, that they’re going to be okay.”
And then his lips are back on mine with another torturously reverent kiss.
But it doesn’t take long for it to grow more heated, for my body to ache for him, even though he just took me a few hours ago.
His hands slide down to my ass and squeeze, using his leverage to adjust my position so my pussy glides along his cock pinned between us. “I hate seeing you cry…”
I laugh through the tears. “I hate crying. God…” I swipe at them. “I’m such an emotional mess. I swear, I’m not normally like this.”
A grin tugs at his lips. “I know you’re not. And while you may think there’s no possible way that I know you, I do .”
“From those reports you had your people dig up on me?”
He smirks, playfully swatting my ass. “Partially, but I’ve watched every move you’ve made since we first met, Allegra. Not only at the poker table.”
His lips trail down my neck.
“I’ve memorized the way you walk. The way you drink. The way you laugh and smile.” That wicked mouth reaches my chest, and he slowly tugs one nipple into his mouth, making me instantly clench everywhere. “And I’ve memorized your body…”
He moves to the other breast, letting his warm breath drift over it, making the already hard peak ache. “And I have memorized what you like…”
Those talented hands squeeze my ass and then he slides one over, slipping his fingers so close where only he has been that it makes me grind down on him in anticipation.
A low chuckle shakes his chest. “And what you love .” His other hand slides around and slips easily along my drenched core. “And I’ve learned what I love most about you.”
Torturing me?
Because that’s what this feels like.
A prolonged demonstration of pure domination with fleeting touches.
“Wh-what’s that?”
He drags me up farther, until I’m seated just above his cock. “How good you taste after I’ve come inside you.”
Oh, my fucking God.
He did not just say that.
This man’s filthy words are my kryptonite.
I’m powerless to deny what I want when he urges me to say it, and when he does this —tells me exactly what he wants in such an open and sensual way—I have no choice but to admit that he completely owns me.
My pussy clenches at the fire in his eyes.
Like he’s literally burning for me.
Good God.
Strong hands tighten on my hips, and he smacks my ass. “Climb up here and sit on my face.”
“What?”
“Grab the fucking headboard and sit on my face.” He digs his fingers into my skin. “I’m going to make sure that any tears you have for the rest of the night are only because you can’t handle another orgasm. Do you understand?”
Fuck yes, I do.
And it sounds like a much better alternative to being stuck in my own head.
I slowly follow his command, shuffling up on my knees over him until I’m straddling his shoulders, my pussy centered directly above his face.
He grins up at me as he glides his fingers through the wetness coating me that we both know full well isn’t just my arousal. His cum still fills me since we both passed out and never made it to the shower earlier.
Those talented fingers play there, slipping through the moisture, drifting it across my clit, dipping into me only briefly, before he pulls them away.
Coen brings them to his mouth and licks, issuing a primitive, appreciative groan. “There it is.”
Christ.
My breath catches at the gleam in his eyes.
The feral look of an animal about to devour its prey.
He holds my gaze for a moment, almost like he’s dragging out my anticipation on purpose, before he finally lifts his head and he’s on me.
His mouth latches onto my core.
“Oh, fuck!” I grip the headboard as my body seizes, my hips bucking and rolling against his face. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”
He thrusts his tongue inside me as deep as he can, like he’s trying to clean me out with it, and good God, he might be able to.
So fucking good.
They say lawyers are supposed to have silver tongues, but this non-lawyer who never wanted to be one sure as fuck has a golden one.
Every flick across my clit. Every lick along my slit. Every thrust of his tongue inside me. They wind me tighter and tighter.
My hips roll of their own accord, grinding against his face, chasing the release of everything that’s been pent up inside me, refusing to be let out any other way.
All my nerve endings spark. My limbs shake. That heat stares low in my belly.
“Fuck, Coen…”
He drags his face away from my flesh. “We can do that next, I promise.”
I laugh, struggling to keep my eyes open against the sensual assault happening between my legs.
He slides two fingers into me, curling and finding that spot he knows drives me absolutely wild. Those calloused fingertips drag over it in a slow, come-hither motion as he sucks my clit into his mouth.
I gasp, the start of my orgasm already there on the periphery.
Little lights starting to flicker, warning of the oncoming lightning storm.
“When you come, Allegra, look at me.”
It’s impossible to process his words when my brain is already fried, concentrating on the feeling of his hand and mouth rather than his words. “W-what?”
“Open your eyes and look at me.”
I manage follow his command and stare down at the man who has changed my life so fucking quickly. In a matter of weeks, I went from being miserable, stuck tied to my life because I’m a Satriano. Even if I don’t bear the name, I bear the burden of what my father expected of me.
But now that I’m free of it, of him, it feels like I’m finally free of everything that has held me back.
I reach down and grip his hair with one hand, tugging on it sharply in the way that I know always makes him give me that low growl that borders on savage.
His chest vibrates with it, the vibration running up through my legs.
As I stare down at him, he keeps moving his fingers inside me, then flicks his tongue over my clit, never looking away.
I struggle to keep my breathing even as he redoubles his efforts, alternating between long glides, sharp strikes, and grazing teeth.
“Eyes. Fucking. Open.”
Every time he pulls his mouth away to issue another command, I whimper.
But then he’s right back there, giving me exactly what I need.
He suctions his mouth around my clit, and it hits me so hard that I’m blindsided by it.
My eyes stay locked with his for only a second before my whole world goes bright white, my hips grinding down against his face wildly. He issues a groan of approval, devouring me, licking and sucking until I finally collapse against the headboard.
His arms snake up around me, and he starts to help me slide back down, but my stomach hits something wet.
I force my eyes open and look at him. “Did you…come?”
He grins and slowly glides his tongue along my lips, allowing me to taste the flavor of our releases together—and now I know exactly what he’s talking about because it’s intoxicating. “I sure as fuck did. Eating your cunt has to be my favorite thing in the world, and knowing I had been inside you, that you were still filled with me…” He kisses me lightly, keeping his lips against mine as he continues. “It’s something so…” He shakes his head. “I don’t even know how to explain it?—”
“You don’t have to.”
A second passes before he pulls his head back, and as soon as his gaze locks with mine, I know I’m right about what he’s feeling and what he’s trying to say.
“Knowing you’re mine, all of you, it changes everything.”
His gaze softens. “Exactly.”
Renewed tears, these happy , the kind I don’t mind, start to fall. “I’ve always felt a little adrift. Constantly moving with my mom. Then being sent to different schools in different countries. Moving from house to house, so we didn’t stay in one place for too long. All of it gave me this sense of?—”
“Restlessness?”
I grin at him. “Yes, but since I’ve been here with you, I’ve felt grounded.”
He tunnels his hands in my hand, bringing my mouth to his, stopping just short of kissing me senseless again. “Me, too. Suddenly, I’m not so restless anymore. I’m just…home.”