AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Feeling was a dangerous game these men never dared to play. It was a weakness, and weak mafiosos ended up in shallow ditches. Still, here he was, feeling so damn much that my chest burned with the anguish in each one of his sobs.
“I’m here,” I whispered, my fingers tracing the same line from his temple through his thick black hair, smoothing back the tousled strands over and over again.
It was a selfish feeling when Giancarlo was breaking in my arms, but I couldn’t help the warmth that spread through my chest at the notion that he’d come here. That he’d come to me to fall apart. His vulnerability was heart-wrenching, but it somehow mended a piece of mine.
“He’s gone, Elena. He’s gone.” His body shook again with new tears, the pain in his voice forcing new tears from my eyes, too. Who? Who was he talking about? “He’s gone and it’s all my fault.”
He cried his heart out, and I let him grieve in peace for as long as he needed. After a while, he quieted down, his breathing eventually evening out.
“Giancarlo,” I called, tugging on his arms so that he could come lie next to me. I needed to look into his eyes and find a way to take away his pain. I couldn’t bear to see him like this, I needed to do something. “Look at me.”
It was too much to ask, apparently, and I had broken the fragile link that bound us in his vulnerability. He sat up on the bed, keeping his back towards me, and I followed him. I kneeled behind his broad body, placing my hands on his shoulders, beckoning him to turn to me.
A gasp left my mouth when he did. His shirt was drenched in blood while his face wore a mask of destruction.
“You’re hurt,” I said, frantically trying to see where the blood was coming from.
He placed his hand over his shoulder and turned his gaze back to the bed. “I’m okay.” He replied, keeping his head down, taming back the emotions that had rendered him so vulnerable just a second ago.
“Look at me,” I demanded again. It took him a minute to comply, and when he did, my heart broke all over again from the look in his eyes. Bloodshot red, swollen and swimming in sadness.
“He’s dead.” His voice broke again, “My brother, the only family I ever had, is dead.”
In that moment, I was sure there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop his pain from wrecking him. No one would ever have that ability, but I could at least try to help him cope. If he came here, there was a possibility he thought I could be the person who’d help him mend.
I grabbed his face, looked deep into his eyes, and tenderly placed my lips onto his. He welcomed me with his hand holding onto the back of my neck, his lips parting to deepen our kiss.
Carefully, I climbed over his legs, straddling his lap and pouring all of my own emotions into that kiss. It held all the same passion, but there was so much more, too. A profound connection, an understanding, something unspoken that had my broken heart beating faster for the same man who had torn it to pieces.
Giancarlo held me tight to his chest, even after wincing from the sting of his wounds. He held me to him with a grip that told me he wasn’t ever letting go.
“I have no one else,” he murmured between kisses. “I’m alone in this fucking world.”
“That’s not true.” I stopped, taking his face in my hands to make sure he heard me. “You have me. A part of me will always be yours.”
Giancarlo’s gaze lingered on mine for a moment, taking in my words before he took over my lips again. His tongue was as demanding as ever, pouring all his passion, anger, and need into that kiss.
“I’m not good for you. I’m scum.”
“I want you just as much as if you were a Don.”
“You plucked my roses.”
“You broke my heart.”
It was like a little war between us, yet neither of us gave up the all-consuming kisses that bound us.
“I’m broken tonight, Fiore mio. I won’t be able to hold back on the only thing that can piece me together, even if just for a moment.”
“I’m broken, too,” I admitted, my mouth hardly leaving his. He was trying to convince me to push him away, yet his tongue consumed mine with increased intensity with each word we spoke. “Mend me.”
I shouldn’t have felt it, but a new fire suddenly lit in my core.
“I gave you up. Isn’t that what you said?” He asked, his kiss turning more urgent with the harsh tone of those words.
“I’m yours tonight. Until day comes, and your oath wins out whatever this is.”
It was as if I’d insulted him. Giancarlo growled, pulling on my hair and kissing my neck. His teeth grazed my sensitive skin before he sucked hard on the spot just below my ear. It stung and sent a thrill of lust snaking down my spine at his possessiveness.
