23
I was Sampson, but instead of having my power stolen by a haircut, it was from a soul-sucking orgasm. My head was still fuzzy with the force of it. Slight tremors wracked my body. I’d imagined it so many times, but nothing could compare to Anita on her knees for me. Or the way she’d nonchalantly groped her breasts and invited me to come over their perfect peaks. Fuck. It would take a war to make me leave this room. My cock was already hardening at the thought of being deep inside her.
“I hope you have nothing planned for today because I’m not letting you leave this room.” I prowled to the edge of the bed, fingering the towel wrapped around my waist. Anita was already tucked beneath the covers, the hideous nightgown hiding her beautiful body. I was going to have the damn thing burned. She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a yawn, winking.
“I’m pretty tired.” Her sly smile faltered for a moment, and I knew the high of what we’d just shared was catching up to her. Yesterday had ripped me to my core. I couldn’t do anything butwatch as Anita crashed, taking my heart into the dirt with her. My throat had been thick as her shattered cries pierced the wispy white clouds hovering in the sky. She’d clung to me, sought my comfort. I’d brought Paolo because I knew she would need someone who loved her. Who she loved back, even though she refused to admit it. But instead, she’d folded into my arms.
“I’d be content to hold you while you sleep, if you would permit it.”
Shadows crossed her face, and I cleared my throat, intending to brush the offer away. To cut through the rejection, pursed on her lips. Anita had let me touch her. That was a surprise. I promised myself I would never press her for more. A scratch at the door interrupted my musing.
“Romeo, sorry to disturb you, but you’ve got a phone call from Mr. Orazio. He says it’s urgent,” Maria’s apologetic tone bled through the door. I pushed away from the bed with a curse. The last person I wanted to speak to right now was my father. He’d seemed unmoved when I phoned him yesterday to tell him I’d done what he asked. He’d been quiet for such a long pause I thought he’d hung up. I dressed with little care, not intending to stay in my clothes for long. Anita hummed when I leaned in to press a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll return to you in a moment.”
Maria had the receiver balanced on the side table, and I picked it up, shoulders tight with tension.
“You need me?”
My dad clicked his tongue, and it rattled down the line.
“Took you long enough. I need you on the east side. You know that delivery we were waiting for? Our friends decided they couldn’t wait for it. I need you to remind them about the proper protocol. They can’t just swoop in and take products without repercussions. Got it?”
His voice was deceptively casual, and he tacked on a little laugh at the end. I heard paper shuffling and wondered if he was still hauled up in his office. I hummed as I decoded his purposely vague statement. There was always the risk of someone listening in to phone conversations.
“Our small friends?” I clarified.The Donatos.
“That’s the one. I’ve already had a few of our men detain the cheeky culprits. Now I need you to give them a talking to.”
Confusion festered in my veins as I told him I was on my way.
“I’ll take a few of the guys I have with me here,” I told him, and his sharp exhale exploded through the speaker.
“No need. I already have them in hand with our other employees. Just get there and make this right.”
Anita unfurled as I entered the room, the point of her nipples visible through the sheets of the bed. What I would give to stay and see how long I could keep them like that. I was becoming soft. It warmed my chest.
“What has happened?” she asked, her fingers dancing over the bed toward me. Now that she’d given herself permission to touch me, was it hard for her to stay away from me? My lungs burned with fervent hope.
“The Donatos have attacked one of our convoys. They’re holding them hostage and demanding a trade. I have to go. Remind them of the reason we rule Greenich Bay and not them.” I sighed, jaw tight.
“So be it.” Her eyes flared with syrupy warmth. “Later.” The sordid promise zinged down my spine and I left the room before I crawled back into bed with her and took her offer. I disregarded my dad, collecting two of the guards posted at the gates of my house. The location he’d sent me was a residential house. The porch sagged in the middle, and the wood groaned when I stepped on it. It smelled of turpentine, the hairs in my nostrils curling.
“Just give me a second.” I held my hand up to Darren, one of the guards, but he pushed into the house before I could stop him. There was apfffftsound and a neck-breaking snap. The gunshot muted slightly from the suppressor, but an explosion rang in my ears. Adrenaline fired through my body, as if the bullet had gone through me instead of Darren. Or was that the point? Gio and I burst into the house, surprising the single assailant there.
“Don’t,” my voice cracked like a whip, no match for the blast of Gio’s fired gun. The assailant slammed into the wall, red smears following him as he slumped to the ground.
“Sorry, boss.” Gio shrugged, checking Darren’s pulse. “He’s still alive.”
“Well, isn’t this a party? Orazios taking each other out now.” My head turned to the shadowy corner where Cassio Donato was tied to a chair. He dipped his head in a mocking salute. Cassio was the younger of the two Donato brothers, but his mutton chops were still streaked with gray. His chest rattled with a wheezing breath, and when he grinned, it was with red-painted teeth. I ignored him in favor of sweeping the house, Gio and I working with rapid efficiency. Once clear, I pushed him out the door. I tamped down the unease swirling in my stomach.
“Take Darren to the Doc and get him looked at. I’ll sort this out.”
Cassio laughed softly under his breath. His piercing green eyes were made brighter by the purple bruises framing them. His top lip was split, marred with congealed blood. I tilted my head.
“You expecting backup?” I nudged the body of the Orazio guard with a frown. I recognized him as one of the guys who worked with Tony. He had a mole on his nose that looked like a marker had drawn it.
“Nah, I didn’t have a chance to call the cavalry before you assholes snatched me off the street.” He hawked up a glob ofspit and spat it on the floor with a sneer. “But I guess Daddy is shaking in his boots if he’s sending you to clean up his messes.”
