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I pulled in a breath, my hand making its way to his arm and gripping it. “But…”
“But what?”
“The other woman?”
“Is done with. I don’t make promises, Aida. I never commit to something I know I won’t see through, so the second you agreed to give me a chance, I was all in.” He blinked. “All in with you.”
I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to process everything he was saying. In some ways, it sounded too good to be true. Only time would tell, but I knew I couldn’t go forward, not until I’d said, “Change your desk.” His brow rose at my words, but it only took him a second to register what I was saying.
“Done.” His gaze drifted behind me again. “The sofa too.”
“The sofa?” I asked, turning so I could see it on the wall beside the door. “Why the sofa?”
“That’s where I fucked all the women I brought in here.” I turned back to face him, realizing that if we were going to give this a real chance, we needed to be brutally honest with each other. And it looked like Lorenzo was on the same wavelength. “Never in my bed, though.” He pulled me so close our lips were only a hairsbreadth away from each other. “Only you in my bed.”
“Only me.”
“Only you.”
I smiled, the first real smile I’d ever given him, and dipped forward, placing my lips against his, sealing our deal with a kiss. He yanked me closer, his half-naked body covering mine as he slipped his tongue inside my mouth.
I got lost in the moment, lost in him, until a small knock sounded at his door.
“Auntie Aida? Are you in there?” My eyes widened, and I pushed at Lorenzo’s chest with such force he groaned.
“I’m coming, V!” I leaped out of bed, cursing myself. She was in a new house, and I’d left her in the bed all alone, not even thinking about what she would think when she opened her little eyes and saw that I wasn’t there with her.
I pulled open the door, spotting her standing there still half asleep in her purple Dora the Explorer pj’s. “I woke up, and you were gone,” she said, dipping her head back to look up at me.
“I’m sorry.” I scooped her up and held her to my chest. “I was just checking on Uncle Lorenzo.” I spun us around so she could see him.
“Morning, Uncle Lorenzo,” she said softly, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Morning, princess.” He sat up and pulled the covers over his lap. “Did you come for morning cuddles from Auntie Aida?”
“Mmm-hmm,” she whispered, and I had no doubt she was falling back to sleep on me.
“Come on, then.” Lorenzo pulled the covers back, and I didn’t hesitate to get back into bed with him. I placed Vida between us and hugged her just like I used to back home, but within minutes she was back asleep, snoring her little head off. “She’s all pooped out,” Lorenzo said, staring down at her. He grasped my hand and brought it to his lips. “I’ve got to get to a meeting.” His gaze locked with mine. “Stay in here with her. Go back to sleep.” He pulled up a little and planted a second kiss on my lips. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
I sighed happily. “I’ll see you at dinner,” I replied, watching as he got out of bed and headed toward one of the doors in his bedroom. I heard the shower click on, and I closed my eyes for just a second, but that was all I needed to fall back to sleep, cuddling Vida and feeling like I was finally in the place I was meant to be.
LORENZO
“How many crates a week?” he asked, shuffling on the spot. He was nervous, the first sign that he wasn’t the right person to make a deal with.
“How many crates can you load?” Christian asked the question he knew I was thinking. I wasn’t going to talk, not when we were this new into a deal. I didn’t know this guy from Adam, and my gut was already telling me he was undercover. I’d seen many undercover FBI agents try to infiltrate our ranks unsuccessfully, although one of them had been close a couple of years ago. Dad had made a deal with him, and just as they were about to exchange money, I caught him out, spotting the listening device he’d placed in a button on his shirt.
It wasn’t like in the movies where they’d have a wire taped to their chest that you could feel when you patted them down. These days, all it took was a click on a link someone sent you, and they could get into your cell whenever they wanted, gaining all the information they’d ever need. They were high tech, but I was onto them.
“As many as you need,” the guy said, pulling his confidence back, but it was too late. My gut had told me what I needed to know.
Christian glanced over at me, a question in his eyes, and with only a small shake of my head, he knew my answer. “We’ll be in touch,” he said, leaning back in his seat.
Neither of us moved as he exited. I never left a meeting first, especially one with a new contact. I flicked my wrist in the air as I ground out, “Follow him. See where he goes.” I may not have been going into business with him, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to find out exactly who he was. I was always suspicious when someone new flashed on my radar, especially when my gut told me something wasn’t right.
I pushed forward in my seat, planting my arms on my thighs and trying to make sense of it. I’d been boss for two months now, and I knew it would cause people to come out of the woodwork and try to take us down. But they’d made a mistake. I wasn’t some fresh-faced guy who didn’
t know what he was doing. I’d been part of this business for two decades, learning the ins and outs and watching from afar. My dad always said being able to read people was a skill and a necessity in our way of life. Which was why I turned to Dante, narrowing my eyes on him. “What do you think?”
