Chapter 20
RAFAEL
An entire day of looking for the bastards on the list, the pricks who sided with Tony and tried to take me out.
And nothing. I sit in the bar, grinding my teeth, as Dante beats the fuck out of the Hungarian mobster tied by his hands to the ceiling.
I watch the man, listen to his protests, then eventually gesture to Dante to stop.
It’s goddamn useless. This guy doesn’t know anything. But he deserves a beating anyway. When we got here, he was getting hot and heavy with two girls who didn’t look like they wanted to be there… and didn’t look anywhere near old enough.
I stand, walk across the bar, grab the bloody man by the face as the other Hungarians cringe all around us. “If you ever touch someone you shouldn’t again, I’ll know. And we’ll fucking find you.”
I head-butt him hard, causing his whole body to jolt with the force and his eyes to fall shut.
“If any of you hear from those men,” I snarl, “you make contact with the Bellini family. Your bosses know I’m on the hunt and they haven’t declared war, which tells you all you need to know about whether or not they give a single fuck about these bastards.”
We leave the bar. Outside, Dante leans against his car, scratching at his scar. “What now, boss?”
“We keep searching.”
He looks at the ground, and I know he’s thinking that it’s not good enough. It’s not like I can disagree with him, but this is what this kind of work comes down to.
“In the meantime, we can get some rest. We’ll rotate other men in. Pick this up in the morning.”
He nods. “Matteo says we’ve got more soldiers coming from home.”
Yeah, but not as many as I’d like. I can’t leave our home unprotected.
I slide into my car and drive through the city, checking every angle, every turn, for signs of a tail.
Tony must have a safe house somewhere in this city, somewhere to hole up with his rat friends.
I’ve got my financial guy looking into it, but so far, nothing.
If Tony paid with cash, that’s a likely dead end anyway.
Outside the hotel, I check in with Ava’s guards, who tell me that none of them have left the suite. Luckily, it’s a Friday, meaning I don’t have to worry about Ava going to work for two days. But sooner or later, they’re going to want to leave. And then what?
I ride the elevator up, then knock on the door. I expect one of her parents to answer, steeling myself for the standoff. The last thing I want is a bad relationship with my son’s grandparents.
Ava answers the door, wearing a hotel robe. I clench my jaw. Yesterday, I was focused on the wrong things. Focused on her body. Her ample and gorgeous curves…
Instead of her heart. Her understandable and justified inner conflict.
“Can I come in?” I ask.
“Mom and Dad are sleeping,” she murmurs, stepping aside.
“I’ll try to be quiet.”
“That must be tough for a big guy.”
“I’ve had practice,” I grunt.
I regret saying that straight away when she goes quiet, like she doesn’t want to be reminded of the bad things I’ve done. Sneaking around. Hurting people.
She leads me into the living room. Theo is asleep in his bassinet in the corner, by the window.
“He likes it there,” she says when she sees me looking.
“Perhaps he’s watching the city, planning how he’ll take it over one day.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. Maybe she’s missed me as badly as I’ve missed her. I’ve been aching for her all damn day.
“Can I say hello?”
She nods, biting her lip nervously. I walk to the window, catching myself in the reflection. I look huge and tired and not like a warm, comfortable father figure at all.
I kneel and gently take Theo’s hand. He murmurs and looks at me with my own eyes, his lip twitching slightly like he’s trying to smile.
“I swear,” I murmur. “I will let nothing happen to you or Mommy. Grandpa or grandma. I promise, Theo. Okay? I promise.”
I stand, turn to find Ava staring at me with her mouth slightly open. That flush from earlier has returned, disappearing into her nightgown. It’s open at the top slightly, showing a tempting sliver of her chest.
“I should…”
“Do you want a drink?” She quickly cuts in before I can finish.
So, she doesn’t want me to go?
My blood stirs at the possibilities, until she adds, “I need to tell you something.”
I try to drag my mind out of the gutter as she walks to the kitchen. She takes out a jug of water and pours two glasses, handing me mine.
I place it on the marble counter and look at her, waiting. She swallows, cutely nervous.
“I told my parents who you really are,” she says.
I sigh, running my hand through my hair.
“I had to tell them something,” she snaps.
I say nothing.
“Well?” she demands. “Or are you going to give me the silent treatment?”
I walk around the counter, slowly grip her hips in my hands, and pull her roughly against me. Her gasp is fucking magic, shock, and hunger, and that conflict she can’t shake.
“I’m sure you had your reasons,” I tell her. “I just hope they didn’t record anything you said.”
“I made them swear on Theo they wouldn’t tell,” she murmurs.
“Then you did more than I can reasonably ask of you.”
“You’re not mad?”
I bring my face to hers, feel her breath ghosting over me. She stares directly into my eyes.
“I remember the first time you looked at me like this,” I whisper, tucking hair behind her ear. “I remember thinking that no one had ever looked at me like that before. And if they had, I wouldn’t have wanted it. But with you, Ava, it felt right.”
“How am I looking at you?” She murmurs.
“Like you want to know every single part of me. The good and the bad. The dark and the light. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
Her answer is to kiss me. Hard. She pulls herself against me, hands spreading over my back, letting me feel the fact she’s not wearing clothes under that robe. Her breasts press against me, her thighs rubbing like she’s urgently seeking friction.
“What’s gotten into you?” I growl between hungry kisses.
“Are you complaining?” She shoots back.
“Hell.” I pick her up, making her squeal. “No. Which one’s your room? Wait, will Theo—”
“He’ll be fine,” she says, wrapping her legs around me. “We’ll check on him right after. And if he cries, we’ll hear him anyway.”
“Hmm. Then which fucking room?”
I’m vibrating as she directs me. My cock has never been this hard, especially when she starts kissing and nibbling my neck. I carry her through the door and lay her on the bed, then turn to close the door.
When I turn back…
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She’s let her robe fall open, propped up on her elbows, one leg crossed over the other. Her naked breasts spill free, thick and veiny and fucking glorious. Precome surges out of my tip, soaking my briefs as I take shaky steps toward her.
“You asked what’s gotten into me,” she says breathily. “Maybe I just like feeling sexy. Is that so bad?”
I drop to my knees at the edge of the bed, grab her thick legs, and indulgently sink my fingers in. She whimpers beautifully when I pull her right to the edge, spreading her thighs even wider, so that I can see the hooded, hungry peak of her clit poking almost shyly between her thick, swollen lips.
“I could spend all fucking day licking and sucking and fingering this pussy,” I growl.
I suck on my finger, then move in circles around her entrance. “The way your slit moves for me, Ava, the way it flutters. Like your body’s begging me to slide inside you. To work your body hard until you’re leaking all over the floor.”
She gasps as if she couldn’t produce words if her life depended on it.
I push my finger inside her, feeling her tempting heat.
“Your mind’s a mess,” I growl, leaning in closer, kissing her folds, then her clit. “But your body doesn’t give a fuck how complicated this is. Your body just wants to be claimed. Just like that night. One magic night on repeat every time I use this perfect body.”
“Oh, fuck,” she moans, her legs twitching.
“But now it’s even better,” I snarl.
“It… is?”
“You fucking know it is.” I slip another finger inside her, pushing all the way in, curling them to feel that hot, deep space inside her that makes her whimper.
“Now you’re curvier. Thicker. And those fucking stretch marks…
a reminder of how hungrily you took my cock, my load.
Drinking it into your body after one night. ”
She shatters for me then, pumping her hips in time with my thrusts. My fingers make a wet noise each time I push into her eager hole. I flick my tongue up and down her clit, drawing more aching moans from her.
She closes her legs around my head, trapping me against that beautiful, tangy scent.
I slide my free hand between the mattress and her ass, squeezing down on her thick ass as I bring her to an orgasm. She bites down on a pillow or the sheet. Or maybe her fist.
All I know is that her moans are muffled. But I’m not going to look up, not going to do anything except feast greedily on the juices squirting out of her swollen pussy.
When she’s done, I stand, staring down at her in awe.
“I could see you naked a hundred fucking times,” I growl, my hand going to the front of my pants. “And it’d feel like the first every single time.”
She bites down on her lip, nods, eyes wide.
“That look… it fucking breaks me.”
“This look?”
She does it again, looking up at me as she wriggles to the end of the bed.
“I don’t want to think about anything else. I want time to stand still.”
My balls pulse tightly, my tip throbbing with tension as she grabs my belt and undoes it. Soon, she’s got my pants and my underwear around my knees. My cock surges forward, precome sliding off the tip.
“I don’t want you to think you’re in control either,” she moans, leaning forward.
I stare down, captivated, lost. Nothing else matters.
When she wraps her lips around the head of my cock, I can’t think about anything else. She works my shaft with her hand, sucking my end, looking up at me the entire time like she needs to see the enslaved look on my face.
I slide my hands into her hair…
And she leans back, pouting. She shakes her head. “Nah-uh.”
“Fuck.” I let my hands drop to my sides. “This is all you, Ava.”
“You’re damn right.”
She starts sucking again, taking more of me into her mouth, her hand twisting at my base. Soon enough, I’m burning. Lava licks up my length, threatening to explode.
“I need you,” I groan. “I need it now.”
“Lie down,” she demands.
When I move to take off my shirt, she shakes her head again. “I want you almost clothed. And me naked.”
“Why?” I ask, climbing onto the bed.
“Because it makes me feel like your personal plaything,” she admits, looking away shyly.
I reach up, cup her chin, and guide her gaze back to mine. “Don’t get shy on me now, Ava. Climb onto my dick and ride it. I’m here to make all your fantasies come true.”
I swear I almost bust when she sinks her hands into my chest and wriggles on top of me. Each movement makes her body sway in the most tempting way, pure mouthwatering curviness.
“Can you…” She raises an eyebrow, smiling adorably.
I grin. “Sure.”
Reaching down, I grip my base and guide my swollen shaft to her waiting lips. She sings out a ball-tingling moan as she begins to rock down on my shaft, slowly grinding down my entire length.
I massage her ass as she sinks lower, greedily pressing and kneading her flesh. I fucking love feeling her like this, wild and free. When my finger strays close to her asshole, she leans down, breath hot against my ear.
“Easy… there.”
I laugh softly, squeezing the lush curve of her hips and guiding her up and then down against me. She whimpers in my ear when I move deeper, our bodies pressed flush together.
“Oh, fuck,” she moans in my ear. “You’re deep.”
“I fucking love being deep inside you, fucking buried, Ava.”
“Yes, yes…”
I glide out, then push in again, harder. Holding her up by her juicy, perfect ass. She bounces in time with me, rocking her hips like she can’t stop. When she clamps down on my neck with her teeth, I turn into her, seeking the heat, the claim.
She leans back, giving me a view of her tits. I groan and cover both of her tits with my hands, squeezing them together as I lightly pull on and tease her nipples.
She steals the show, grinding back and forth on my length, the boiling friction making me want to roar. But I must try to be quiet and not disturb her parents.
“You look like you’re ready to fucking come,” I snarl. “Ready to leak all over my cock and balls and drench the sheets with your juices.”
Her eyes snap open wide. Her body is patchy with flushed redness now.
I slide my hands to her hips and go nuts. Using her hips to throw her up, I glide out, then pull her against me as I slam back inside. She throws herself forward again, burying her face in my neck to trap the screams. I fuck her ruthlessly until her thighs are shaking around me.
When her pussy grows tighter and pulses, I know she’s close. I grip her ass and plant my feet firmly on the mattress and fuck up into her, the mattress whining. My shaft begins to burn. I can’t fight it anymore.
A river of come explodes out of me, wave after wave pumping into her, flooding her swollen and perfect pussy.
She slides off me, breathing hard. I pull her into my embrace and kiss the top of her head. She smells like sex and shampoo, and just her, and that’s the best part.
“I didn’t plan any of this,” she murmurs, moving closer to me, like even an inch of space is too much. “But when I saw you with Theo…”
“It turns you on,” I say.
She laughs quietly, slapping my chest. “Don’t say it so confidently.”
“I noticed it before. There’s nothing wrong with it, angel.” I slide my hand down her chest, find her nipple, and gently move it between my thumb and forefinger. “You like knowing I’d do anything for our family. Anything.”
She starts to moan again, shifting at my touch.
“I should check on him,” she says, moving away.
“Bring him in here. He’ll keep me from mauling you again.”
She laughs. “You want to stay?”
“For a little while.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I’ll leave. Heartbroken.”
She rolls her eyes at me, like she thinks I’m joking. And sure, I meant it as a joke. But there’s some truth in there too.
She grabs her robe, then leaves the room.
Soon, the scene is like a dream. Our son is sleeping on one side of the room. I’ve got his mother cradled in my arms, my own lids growing heavy as her breath turns even.
I know it can’t last forever.
But right now, life is pretty damn good.