Chapter 33
JULIUS
Eddie is pissed. I’ve known him long enough to recognize the signs, even though he smiles as I head in through the door to my office.
“You took your time.”
He laughs at his own joke, and I shrug, taking my usual seat behind the polished desk.
“It’s done.”
I point to the decanter of bourbon.
“We should raise a toast to my new wife.”
“About that–” He shakes his head with annoyance as he splashes the whiskey into two glasses and hands one to me.
“I wanted to be your best man.”
He raises his glass and smiles. “To a mission accomplished.”
For some reason, his words anger me because it is no longer a mission. However, he doesn’t need to know that, and so I shrug. “If you say so.”
“Seriously though, what were you thinking? Giorgio and Connor lost their shit when you didn’t show up for the ride to the airport.”
“It was necessary. You see–” I lean forward and stare him directly in the eye. “We were ambushed in Spain, and the only people who knew we were there were you, me, Giorgio and Connor. How did they find us?”
“Are you accusing me?” A flicker of pain lights in Eddie’s eyes, which reassures me.
“You tell me.”
“Fuck, Julius, what do you take me for? If we have a leak in the organization, you’re looking in the wrong direction.”
“Then who?”
He swirls the whiskey in his glass thoughtfully.
“Connor told me they tailed you the entire time and noticed the car pull out from the curb when you came out of the restaurant. It happened quickly, but they managed to get the license plate, and we ran a check on it, and it was a hire car. They checked out the company, and the man who hired it was a man named Bill Roberts and paid cash. Almost definitely a fake name, so we have no leads.”
“I hate this.” I glare at him. “At least with Samson we understand the scum we are dealing with. It’s familiar and easily dealt with. Not this. Anything else?”
He nods. “We have no word on the other two women; your brothers are on information lockdown.”
“As expected.” I remind him, and he nods.
“However, there is one loose end we can follow.”
I lean forward, and he sets the glass down.
“Morgan Sorcusi.”
“What about her?”
He has my attention.
“Landed in Washington yesterday and is currently staying at the Astoria and, by all accounts, called your mother to arrange a lunch with her and Rose.”
I stare at him for the longest second because apparently news does travel fast.
Eddie shrugs, “Perhaps we weren’t as careful as we believed because if Morgan was aware you were here before you arrived, she must have known this was always Rose’s destination.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she was aware of every one of your movements, so think carefully, Julius, is there anybody you can think of who is feeding her information? ”
“I could say the same to you, Eddie.”
His frown causes me to add, “You didn’t work alone, asshole.
I’m not accusing you, but what about the guards we employ?
Can you vouch for them all? If Morgan flew in yesterday, it’s possible she didn’t realize we weren’t already here.
Perhaps she was aware our cars left the airfield in convoy and assumed we were inside them.
We may have a leak in our organization, and I’m not happy about that. ”
“So, make a list.”
Eddie pulls out a notebook and a pen and writes, “So, you, Rose, Connor and Giorgio and whoever you asked to arrange your wedding, I’m guessing.”
I say nothing, and Eddie huffs with frustration. “I’m not stupid, Julius.”
“I didn’t say you were. Yes, it was Richie.”
He writes down the name.
“What about your family? Did you tell any of them where you were and what your plans were?”
“No, and I take exception to you even considering that my family would ever go against me.”
My hard glare causes him to squirm, and then he adds, “What about the nun, the one who arranged it all?”
“You are seriously accusing a woman of God now. Have we stooped that low?”
He chuckles. “She’s a possibility, or somebody in the convent.”
I say nothing, wondering if he is on to something.
“Do some digging on Sister Agatha and run a check on anyone who lives at the convent and while you’re at it–”
My fists clench as I hiss, “Start with the fucking gardener. I want everything you’ve got on that fucker, and I want it today.”
Eddie raises his eyes. “What do you know?”
“That I don’t like him.”
He says nothing, but a small smile plays on his lips, and I lean back and sigh. Perhaps it’s him. I sincerely hope it is because the idea of Rose gazing after any other man than me fills me with a murderous heart, and I will happily take down that bastard personally.
After catching up with Eddie, I head off to find Rose because it’s been too long already since she smiled in my direction.
I am intrigued by how much she fascinates me. I never expected to actually miss her when she isn’t beside me, and I wonder if I’m going slightly mad.
As I walk through the familiar surroundings, I am immune to the surrounding decadence. We have a good life to a point, but it’s a careful one. I always accepted that, but now it’s even more important to protect it all because Rose lives here now.
I head to my rooms, and the first thing I see is the woman currently nestling in my heart standing by the window gazing out over the landscaped grounds. She turns, and her smile could light up a continent, and as she runs into my arms, my heart aches as they close around her.
“I missed you.”
She squeezes me hard, and I catch my breath. “It’s been thirty minutes.” I chuckle, and she tightens her hold.
“An eternity.”
I smile against her head and savor the moment when somebody missed me.
It feels kind of good, and even more so when she whispers, “You have a big bed.”
My eyes fall to the emperor-size bed and I smile.
“I do.”
“It’s too big even for two. I could lose you in that bed.”
“You’ll never lose me, Rose. I’ll always be right beside you.”
She pulls back, and the light shining in her eyes takes my breath away.
I stare for the longest moment before she whispers, “I want to do it again.”
“It?” I laugh as she blushes.
“You know, well–”
I silence her misery with a kiss and then waste no time helping her off with her clothes, loving how she stands with no shame, naked before me, dressed in nothing but a sexy smile.
I rip off my clothes, my gaze holding hers, and her chest rises rapidly as I smile with an evil grin.
“Go and lie on the bed, angel.”
She nods, swallowing hard as I retrieve the eye mask from my side table.
I place it over her eyes, and she gasps, “Why?”
“Shhh.” I place my finger on her lips and press her back against the covers.
My kisses trail down her body like I’m following a path to paradise, savoring the journey, every single millimeter of her skin.
She moans as I dip my head between her thighs and feast on her sweet honey. She grips the sheets as her body responds to my attention.
“Julius.”
Her soft sigh lights my passion, and my cock throbs as it prepares for more pleasure than it can stand.
Her sweet honey drops across my tongue, and as I kiss a trail back up to her breasts, she arches her back as I feast on each one. My cock finds her pussy like a heat-seeking missile, and as I ease in slowly, she moans as I stretch her from inside.
This time I take things slow; there is no urgency, and I savor every inch of her pussy that I am commanding right now.
She matches my passion, her fingernails dragging along my back as I dance inside paradise, marveling at how different it is with her.
I will never fuck another woman again. I’m surprised at my vow because I never believed for a second I was the monogamous kind.
But why have takeout when you can feast on a home-cooked meal?
There is no other one I would prefer, anyway.
My dish of choice is Rose, and I’m hoping like crazy it always will be.