“That was perfect.”
“It was. I never knew—never imagined—not even when I used to?—”
He snaps his mouth shut. I practically hear his teeth click together. I’m too relaxed to move, so I can look up at him. I stroke my hand over his chest instead. I love the feel of the hair between my fingers. It’s just enough to be hot. He’s not a wooly mammoth.
“When you used to what?”
“When I used to jerk off to a photo of you I took at Laura’s wedding reception. I snapped it while no one was looking. You were so fucking gorgeous. I was looking at perfection.”
“You took a photo of me?”
He freezes, and I’m certain he thinks I’m pissed. I laugh and kiss his throat.
“I took one too.”
“You did?”
“You looked more handsome than any man I’d ever seen. You could have stopped traffic in that tux.”
“I thought the same thing about you in your evening gown. I know the attention is supposed to be on the bride, but I couldn’t tell you a single thing about Laura’s dress beyond it was nice. You had my entire attention.”
“I never guessed. I kept stealing glances at you, but you were never looking at me.”
“I was always looking at you. I’m just sly. I assumed you were looking at me because of something Laura told you about Juan.”
Silence falls between us. His cousin caused a shit ton of trouble for my sister when she started dating Maks. I know there was more shit than she told me, and I know it kept happeninguntil he disappeared. Supposedly, he moved to Chicago, but I never believed it was true. Laura confirmed it a few months later. He was a douche to everyone but Laura, and that’s because my sister never put up with his shit. He was taller than Pablo for about a year, and he was a complete asshole to his older brother. Pablo put up with it, so he wouldn’t get in trouble for picking on his baby brother. Juan believed that was the green light to be a complete asshole to Pablo for years.
While Laura and Juan were off playing, Pablo looked out for me like his little sister. He helped me with my math homework and would play soccer with me in their backyard. He’d come over and hit a tennis ball against the side of our house for hours while we shared our interest in science. He told me about some of the stuff Juan did to get him in trouble, but neither Margherita nor Luis ever bought Juan’s lies. He wound up in trouble for what he did and for trying to blame his brother. It still didn’t stop him from doing it. I know it hurt Laura when Juan was unkind about her and Maks, but I haven’t missed him for a second.
“Laura hadn’t told me much before the wedding. I knew they were fighting, but she was nervous about joining a bratva family. She was nervous about being thepakhan’swife. She and Lanie weren’t getting along back then either. She took Juan’s side and believed whatever bullshit he spewed about Maks. I’m glad Michelle was there to stand with me at the altar since there were so many men there on Maks’s side.”
In a twist of fate that I now know was just starting, Laura’s other best friend, Michelle, married Lorenzo Mancinelli. He’s the Mafia’s accountant. Her sister, Elizabeth, married Enzo’s brother Marco. Now I’m with Javier. Four girls from a rich neighborhood in Jersey wound up with four syndicate men. Who would’ve thunk it? Sure as hell not me.
Javi tucks hair behind my ear before kissing my temple. My heart’s so fucking full, it feels like it’ll burst. His left hand holds my ass, and his right strokes up and down my back.
“You’re going to put me to sleep. I haven’t been this relaxed in years. I’m completely content.”
If only his body cooperated, but his cock does its own thing. I still feel just as connected, even if he isn’t inside me anymore. I’d happily stay like this for days, except we both hear his phone vibrating on the counter. I sit up, and he reaches for his pants. He slides it out and looks at the screen before looking at me.
“We need to get dressed, Maddy.”
Chapter Fifteen
Javier
Why can’t things just be simple?
Tío E
Drew O’Sheehan? You need to explain now then get back to the city.
I can practically hear my uncle’s voice in my head. I know he isn’t pissed that I brought Maddy here even though it’s our family retreat. He thinks I don’t have her protected well enough. In case he truly orders me to bring her back, we need to get dressed.
But not until we finish our bath.
Maddy’s ready to climb off me, but I reach for the shower poof and body wash. I didn’t open the text, just read the preview. It’s a family mandate that we have read receipts on, so I don’t need my uncle to know I saw his command. I’ll call him back, but not before I’m ready. He said nothing that makes me think there’s imminent danger if I don’t.
There’s a lead glass window above the tub. It’s difficult to see through, but I can still make out things on the ground. I’ve been able to see the men patrolling. If anyone breached the security, I’d see it, and we’d hear the alarm. Anyone who comes through the first gate without the code or anything heavier than a pigeon sitting on the top of the property wall sets off the alarm.
