“Paolo isn’t The Gardener, you small-minded idiot. I am. And this isn’t your city anymore.” My eyes glinted as I leaned over the former head of the Orazio family. The Lady of Death worked quickly, carried away in the frantic stream of his blood, adrenaline working hard to quicken his death. His breathshuddered like a stalling car crawling to a stop. Romeo’s fingers clutched at the shoulder of his father, and for a moment, I thought he might regret what we’d done. But when I met his gaze, there was only blistering awe.
“Greenich Bay belongs to us now,” he said, reaching out to cup my cheek.
25
“I think you’re plenty clean enough,” Romeo drawled from the doorway.
I cracked an eyelid, a flush of warmth flooding between my legs. I made no move to cover myself. The bubbles in the bath did that well enough, but I brushed them aside so he could look.
“Do you want something from me, husband?” My fingers slid over my thighs under the water to dance over my clit. Water kissed the side of the bath in rhythmic excitement.
Anticipation, nerves, and excitement tangled in knots and zinged down my spine.
Romeo let his dark hair fall over his forehead, turning his attention to his cuffs. He flicked each button open, revealing his body for my perusal. The shiny, black dress shoes clipped over the tiled floor as he approached me. He dropped into a crouch beside the bath, arms resting on the lip.
“I don’twantanything. I need it. Look at me while you touch yourself.”
The tip of his tongue slid along his lower lip, and I wanted to follow the path it left. We’d barely had a moment together since Matteo’s murder. Nobody knew the truth except for us and Paolo.
I hadn’t needed his ruthless rescue, but the murderous glint in his eye sparked a fire in me that was steadily incinerating my insides. The way we worked together, rising from the mess as bloody phoenixes. It wouldn’t make sense to anyone but us. I knew this like the steady thump of my heartbeat.
We were made for each other.
Romeo had told me about what had happened between Cassio Donato, what he’d let slip about his mom. I wished I hadn’t killed Matteo so quickly now, but what was done was done. If Romeo’s mom was alive, she had disappeared into thin air. Romeo found letters from Lanton addressed to his mom in his father’s house. They detailed his desire, his love and devotion. He called them soulmates, but it was unreciprocated, as far as we could tell. Especially with the rising desperation of each letter. He’d tied each one with a black ribbon of velvet, asking her to wear it when she realized they were meant to be together. The blondes made sense now; they were all ineffectual replacements for the one he really wanted.
For Matteo, the death of Lanton was the catalyst for destroying his anchor to sanity. His best friend had been dripping poison in his ear for so long, about Romeo and the future of the Orazio legacy. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't killed him, but something tells me my husband wouldn't have a future if he were still alive. Romeo was still cleaning up the mess Matteo created, smoothing over promises made to those in the flesh trade. That was a firm line I never wanted us to cross, and my husband agreed.
Were we hypocrites for picking the line our morals crossed? Sure. But who was going to challenge us? Greenich Bay was oursnow. I wondered what my father would think of the legacy I was building. He would approve of Romeo. How could he not? This was a man who had fought for me, doggedly throwing himself at my walls until he sunk back into my heart.
Where he belonged. I watched his gaze slide over the patches of visible skin, and the words I wanted to say hoarded the tip of my tongue.I love you.I funneled them into my fevered touch. Spreading my legs so he could see my swollen, tingling flesh. I pretended my touch was his.
“What do you need?” Knowing the answer already. Romeo reached out and ran his fingers down my neck. Shudders rained down my spine as his touch reached my breast. He tweaked my nipple.
“You’re a tease.”
His hand dipped into the water, palm flat against my slick skin.
“Tell me what you want?” I breathed, the crash of my heart making the water shiver. I rolled my fingers around my clit, energized by the heat in his gaze. He nudged my hand aside and cupped me between my legs. I held his gaze, refusing to squirm or squeal as he expected.
“I want your sweet pussy wrapped around my cock.” His fingers sank inside of me. I swallowed a soft moan. My cheeks would have reddened if the hot bath hadn’t already colored them.
“So crude,” I whispered.
“I’m going to have you in every hole all day long. Then I’ll fuck you from behind. You’ll see the animal you married.” He smirked as his fingers teased sparks from the sensitive skin. I pushed his hand away and stood, rivulets cascading down the peaks of my breasts. Romeo kneeled in front of me, looking up with a mixture of awe and dark hunger. It quashed the nerves tangling in my stomach.
“Merissa told me about that position,” I informed him with a sharp smile. “She said men preferred it, and it often made the act finish quicker.”
Romeo reached out and gathered me in his arms, urging my legs up to wrap around his waist. I felt his hardness pressed against my most vulnerable place. His fingers sunk into my soft ass cheeks, grinding me against him.
“This won’t be quick. I won’t stop until you’re hoarse from begging,” Romeo warned, carting me into the bedroom. He tossed his dampened shirt into the corner, shucking the remaining clothes like they had offended him. My eyes widened as I took in his cock. Stiff and upright, in a nest of dark hair. I let myself sneak a peek. Nope, still ugly, but my pussy clenched at the sight. I wanted every ugly, dark piece of him. He lowered himself on top of me, his breath ragged in my ear.
“Romeo…” I whispered. But he only pressed a sharp kiss to my mouth, silencing me. My heart rampaged against my chest, the pulse echoing in my ears. His lips latched onto my neck, nipping and sucking until the tension melted.
“These belong to me,” he muttered against the swell of my small breasts. “Mine to kiss.” He grazed the sensitive skin with a scrape of his teeth. “Mine to suck.” He drew my nipple in his mouth, and I cried out at the tingling sensation that erupted as he sucked. “Mine to bite.” His eyes flicked to mine, teasing the point with a flick of his tongue before his teeth clamped. My back arched, shock making me groan. He soothed the slight pain with the twirl of his tongue.
“Careful, I might reciprocate.” I tried to move out of his hold, but his weight held me immobile. His smug smile made my lungs constrict.
“Do you remember when you bit my lip? The night Merissa came to the house. I tasted the iron on my tongue and knewinstinctively my wife was bolder than she pretended. I might push you, but you can always push back, sweetheart.”
