Page 6 of His Sinful Need

I take a seat opposite the stranger and study him openly, trying to place him in the hierarchy of our organization. Who the hell is he? A new recruit?

And why does he have to be so goddamn sexy?

I joked about men in uniform this morning, but the truth is, myrealweakness is older men. I know that says something about me, so I keep it quiet. But in the privacy of my own thoughts, I drift into dangerous territory as I picture myself with this guy here, tangled together, bodies slick with sweat and—

Ugh, it’s been too long since I had someone in my bed. Working on The Plan occupies my mind from dawn to dusk, and has done for the last six months we’ve worked on it.

But…yeah. It’d be nice to have this guy’s strong hands roaming over my body, fingertips tracing out where he plans to put his tongue. Would he play rough? Maybe open up my ass gently but then—

The door opening cuts through my fantasies like a cold shower. The Shadow stands in the doorway of Anna-Vittoria’s inner salon with his usual air of menace. I rise from my seat, eager to get underway. But the Shadow raises his hand and gestures toward my chair with a firm “sit” motion.

With a sigh, I sink back down, feeling like a scolded child as the Shadow motions for the other guy to follow him.

On his way out, the man gives me one backward glance. I think I see curiosity in his eyes.

CHAPTER4

MAX

I follow Stevie Falco,sometimes known as the Shadow, as he leads me into the next room. Anna-Vittoria’s closest and most ruthless bodyguard is well known for his willingness to do whatever it takes to protect his Boss. I have a lot of respect for him, but he’s less interesting somehow than the guy who showed up while I was waiting.

I give one last glance back at him from the door, that young man with an oddly familiar face I can’t quite place. He stared hard at me, too, while we were waiting there silently, and I let him do it without staring back. It was almost flattering, the way he showed such brazen interest.

And he sure is attractive, based on the few times I glanced over at him.

But there’s no more time to ponder as I’m ushered into the inner sanctum, a kind of salon, much more intimate than the grand salon at Redwood, but just as luxurious as every other room in the place, with maybe some extra gold leaf here and there.

Anna-Vittoria rises from a silk-embroidered settee, smoothing down her designer skirt, and offers a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Signor Pedretti. Welcome to my home. Thank you for agreeing to act as envoy between our Families.”

I give a curt nod. After twenty-plus years under the Castellani standard, just being in the same room alone with another Don unsettles me. “The pleasure is mine, Donna Esposito.”

“Maestra,” she reminds softly. “My Family calls me Maestra.”

When in Rome, I guess. “Maestra.”

“I hope our customs won’t be too strange for you,” she adds, resuming her seat. I take the chair opposite when she gestures to it.

“I’m adaptable, Maestra,” I tell her as I sit. “I’m sure I’ll manage.”

“Bene,” she says coolly.

The Shadow moves to stand behind me, an old trick to keep visitors on guard. Barone is in the other corner, watching with a smile. Guess he came in a different way.

There’s a coffee table between Anna-Vittoria and me, with a few small but heavy-looking bronze casts of some of those bodies from Pompeii. Well, not bodies, but the space left behind when they were cased in the lava of Vesuvius.

Gruesome sort of thing to have as an ornament.

Anna-Vittoria sees me looking at them. “Amemento mori,” she tells me. “It is always good to remember one’s mortality, don’t you think?”

I don’t know what the hell to say to that, so I just nod.

“Now,” Anna-Vittoria goes on, “to your new assignment. You will be working with a team of financial acquisition specialists.”

I know exactly what she means.

Bank robbers.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect in coming here, but it sure as hell wasn’t this. Ciro Castellani muddied up my past after I took my vows—part of his protections, and I was grateful for it. These days, Sandro and some of the higher-ups are the only ones who know about all that, but there’s no way they’d spill. If Anna-Vittoria knows about that time in my life, she’s dug real deep.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com