I choke out a gasp, but he doesn’t relent. The pounding doesn’t miss a beat. The pleasure only continues to build inside me, and his hands close tighter.
And oh. He could kill me.
And I’d enjoy it.
And I’d let him, as long as he didn’t stop.
And that realization brings me over the very edge. My orgasm comes out strangled and utterly hopeless, but this isours,and when I close my eyes, I’m at peace with the fact I might not wake up.
But then that pressure on my neck disappears, and Teo’s arms are around me gently, so unbearably soft as he cradles me to his chest while his own ecstasy pours from his lips with a tense shudder.
Then we're both falling back into the bed, curled around each other, unable to let the moment end.
21
TEO
I’m so fucking ruined.
Isabella sleeps soundly at my side, blissfully unaware of the turmoil within me. Her soft features are practically glowing in the warmth of the low-level lighting of the room.
A deal was a deal. She gave me vital information about her brother— information that, whether she was aware of it or not, would help me cripple the Prince’s Hand financially.
Even if the Californians have already financed Leon’s plans to attack the Guild, he won’t receive another cent. And war is a very expensive business.
It’s a win. It’s a huge win. But having to leave her here feels like I’m losing, like I’m cleaving an even bigger wedge between us with no hope of ever fixing it.
All I can do is work with what I have, which is a way to cut off her brother and to uphold my end of the bargain.
As I slip out of bed and pull on my clothes, I do a check over the bunker.
It’s been a while since I’ve had to use this space. Most of the rooms are simply stocked with living supplies, but there's an office filled with books and a TV that shows static unless you put in a DVD.
Contact with the outside world is blocked by three separate layers of encryption on my various computers and monitors scattered throughout the space. The front door itself has four and a biometric scanner.
There’s no way she can get out, not without passing a cryptography course that I basically wrote for Stanford University.
Still, I double-check the cameras before I leave. My eyes linger a moment too long on her soundly sleeping figure.
I could go back to bed, hold her close, and just wait down here until everything blows over. There are enough supplies to last usyearsif we needed them to.
But there’s too much work to do. With one last forlorn look, I make my retreat.
It takes an hour to get to the compound, and though I’ve spent most of this week actively covering up the fact I have Isabella in my…well, bed, I suppose…it’s still a relief to find my men none the wiser.
Marco is waiting for me in my office when I arrive, his usual scowl heavy on his forehead.
“You asked to see me?” he says sharply as I take a seat at my desk.
“I have new information on the Prince’s Hand that I’d like you to act on,” I reply without missing a beat. “They’ve tapped intoa financial arrangement with the Californians and I need you to cut them off.”
Marco takes his own seat. “There are three Italian mafiosos in California, five if you count the Sicilians.”
“But only one who can afford to finance a war on the other side of the country,” I counter.
He nods. “I knew Rocco should have sat them at a higher table at the wedding.”
“By all means, remind them that we do not take their fickleness lightly.”
