For a long moment, neither of us moves. Then, carefully, I pull out and gather her against my chest, both of us breathing hard and trembling.
“You okay?” The question comes out rough with concern.
“Okay doesn’t begin to cover it.” Her laugh is shaky but genuine. “That was, God, Alessandro, that was—”
“Too much?”
“Perfect.” She turns in my arms to face me, and the satisfaction in her expression eases something in my chest. “That was absolutely perfect.”
“Good.” A kiss presses to her forehead, gentle in contrast to everything that just happened. “Because we’re not done yet.”
Her eyes widen. “Not done?”
“Not even close. You said you wanted everything, tesoro. I’m going to spend all night showing you exactly what that means.”
The next few hours blur together, her mouth on me again, me buried inside her against the window with the city spread below us, her riding me while I watched her take her pleasure. By the time exhaustion finally wins, the sheets are destroyed and Elena is marked with my fingerprints on her hips, teeth marks on her shoulders, evidence everywhere that she belongs to me.
She falls asleep tucked against my side, sated and trusting and completely unaware that giving her body to me has sealed her fate in ways she can’t comprehend yet.
Mine. In every way that matters. No going back.
The thought should satisfy the possessive thing living in my chest. And it does, for about three hours.
Then my phone rings.
Marco’s voice comes through tense, urgent. “Boss, we have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Keeping my voice low to avoid waking Elena takes effort.
“Greco. He’s talking to the feds.”
Every muscle goes rigid. “Since when?”
“Apparently months. We just got confirmation from our source in the bureau. He’s building a case, not only against us, but against every major family in the city.”
“Fuck.” The word is whispered but vicious. “How much does he have?”
“Enough to be a problem. Names, transactions, locations. If he flips officially, we’re looking at federal indictments across the board.”
Which means RICO charges. Which means life in prison. Which means Elena would be caught in the crossfire of a federal investigation.
“Pull everyone back. Clean up anything that could connect to federal charges. And Marco? Find out who else knows about this. If Greco’s talking to the feds, someone had to facilitate the introduction.”
“On it. Boss, the girl needs to know. If the feds are investigating, they’ll find out about her. She’ll be questioned, maybe charged as an accessory.”
“She’s not an accessory. She knows nothing.”
“Doesn’t matter. They’ll use her to pressure you. You know how this works.”
Yes. Unfortunately, knowing exactly how this works is the problem. Elena would become a target, not only from Greco, but from federal prosecutors looking to flip witnesses, from rival families who’d use her as leverage, from every direction.
“I’ll handle it.”
“How?”
Good question. “I’ll figure something out. Just keep me posted on the fed situation.”
The call ends, and Elena stirs beside me, making a sleepy sound. “Everything okay?”
