"He can drive you anywhere you want to go. But you don't have to drive with him. I know you might want to drive..." He stifles a tight smile. "Lady... but he'll be driving behind you."
I clear my throat. "This is weird. You're acting weird."
"No. Well, to the first part anyway." He shakes his head a little. "Our biggest overhead is security. It's very common. Aurora has four guards. Stacey has three."
"And I only get one?" I say it as a joke because the whole concept is laughable.
A slow, sly grin meets his lips. "Only one you'll see."
I breathe out fast. "This is insanity."
When he reaches for my hand, I look down to watch his tattooed fingers stroke mine. Running the full length of his ring finger is a new tattoo that I'd never noticed before. It reads:Ardente One.
"If I'm busy, at work, or you want to go out somewhere, he'll take you. To the movies. To dinner. Whatever you want."
My mind is swimming. "Aren't you going to take me to the movies and dinner and?—"
"Of course, Little One. This is just for when I can’t be around. You can get him to take you on dates or watch you rehearse. And I don't need to worry about you falling in love with him because he's fucking ugly."
Carter laughs again. "But I'm not as scary as I look."
Somehow, I doubt that...
Between this conversation and Max's hand stroking my fingers with such gentle, chaste love, my breaths become shallow and uncontrollable. "I don't?—"
"I'm taking this thing between us very fucking seriously now." His eyes leave mine for a moment. His jaw tics. "Fuck. It's how it should have always been done. You kinda snuck up on me, Little One. Our relationship wasn't something I was planning on."
"I'm not sure?—"
His other hand reaches up, sandwiching mine between his big warm palms. "Do you still want in this with me?"
My breathing stops altogether for a second. "Yes."
"This is part of the package."
Still holding my hand tightly between his, he stands and then sits beside me on the bed. I crane my neck to look up into his grey, emotion-ridden eyes. Dark. Intense.Ready.Leaning in until his nose touches my cheek, his hand slides along my thigh and up to grasp the nape of my neck. Withworshipful fingers, he strokes the skin at my neck, summoning flutters throughout my body and deep within my heart.
When he turns his face until our lips lightly touch, my mouth opens and breathes into his. His into mine. Then his mouth presses against mine. Deep. Humming. Loving. Loving me with his kiss. With his actions.
Loving me...
And when he pulls his lips from mine, I feel my heart hammering against my ribcage in the best, most dizzying way.
His mouth moves to my ear as his grip on my nape tightens. "Max is never going to let anyone hurt you again."
And this time, I believe him.
Cosa Nostra
Book Two
“Everyone is made up
—of little contradictory pieces and you should never judge another person's decisions because you don't know the pieces they have to choose from.”
Max
Most of ourdirtier jobs go down outside of the city, at Capel Grove—Jimmy's abattoir. But Mickie happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and we needed to get the deed done before he left the District. Or worse.
