“Open your eyes.” It took effort, but I did as he instructed and opened my eyes. My whole body was burning and melting for him. When my eyes met his, he whispered against my lips one word, “Later.”
Chapter Eight
Lorenzo
It took everything in me not to pick her up, take her back up to the suite, and plant myself so deep between her thighs that she wouldn’t know what it was like not to have me deep inside her anymore. I wanted to bury myself so far under her skin that she would stay with me despite her concerns over our world.
She was also tipsy from the alcohol she’d had while she enjoyed her spa day, and when I took her, I wanted her to be clear-headed. Instead, I took her shopping, so she could not only see a little more of the resort, but also use me as her personal Ken doll and pick out a suit for me.
I didn’t realize how isolated she’d been all these years. I knew she had dance, and her sisters and Rome, but outside of that, it didn’t occur to me that she was so alone. The look she had on her face as we walked through the hotel suite was one of pure awe. She lived in a mansion on the edge of Brooklyn, complete with a wall surrounding it for added protection. I’d seen her bedroom as both a kid and an adult; she had plenty of space and a good-sized bathroom. Her family was more than well off; she was set for life from her father’s business dealings, but with all her wealth, what did she have?
Nothing. No friends. No vacation memories. Just her siblings, dance, me, and memories that brought her pain from her dad’s way of life. She’d been in awe of the room, but I’d been in awe of her. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for. Her body had been trained to move with grace on a stage. She was tiny, but strong.
She wasn’t getting the wedding she deserved yet, but I would give it to her later. For now, we had to settle for what the situation demanded, which was quick and quiet, but one day I’dmake it right. In the meantime, I had to show her that she could still have her wings and live as long as she did it with me by her side.
“Try this one.” She held up a midnight black three-piece suit, complete with a vest.
“Okay. Any particular shirt you want me to try on with it?” I asked, letting her have her way.
She smiled and grabbed a deep red shirt from the rack. “This one.”
I nodded and accepted the clothes that she pulled in my size. “What size shoe do you wear?” Her excitement made me smile. “We’ll get my shoes in a bit. Have a seat right there and wait for me.” I nodded at the soft sofas just outside the dressing rooms.
She sighed, exasperated at me, but nodded and went to sit down. I watched her pull her phone out before I opened the door to the fitting room and slid inside. My cock had been at half-mast ever since I picked her up from the salon. When I held her against me, I’d been rock hard, but forcing myself to calm down, I was able to keep my dick mostly under control.
Bianca was captivating when her inhibitions weren’t lowered by alcohol. With her inhibitions down, she was fucking lethal. I’d planned to order a bottle of wine at dinner tonight, but I didn’t want her to have regrets come morning. I also didn’t want her to have a chance at saying it was a mistake because she was too drunk.
I removed my clothes and changed into the suit Bianca had picked out for me. It fit like a glove, and the dark colors of the suit with the deep red of the shirt made me look exactly like what I was, a made man. Typically, I didn’t do the whole suit thing–that was Romeo’s MO as the underboss. Since I was a soldier, not even a capo, I was able to get away with wearing jeans most of the time.
I finished buttoning up the vest and pulled the jacket over it before walking out of the dressing room to find Bianca sitting there, and a man I recognized standing over her as they spoke.
“Alek,” I snapped when his eyes met mine. He had an amused, predatory smirk plastered across his face.
Alek Zakahrov, aka The Grave Digger, was one of the deadliest men I’d ever met. His body count was all speculation, but I would wager it was higher than anything anyone would deem to consider. He was the hitman for the Kozlov Bratva who owned the Obsidian.
“The boss wants to see you,” Alek stated with a Cheshire grin as he sat down on the arm of the chair next to Bianca.
“I’ll change and drop her off in our suite.” I nodded, not daring to defy the Russian Bratva’s boss on his own turf, not if I wanted to keep Bianca safe.
“No need. She can come with us.” He notched his chin. “Wear the suit. It’s on the house.
At least that meant he wasn’t planning to kill me, yet. Why give me a four-thousand-dollar suit only to ruin it with bullets and blood? “Okay,” I agreed. “Thank you.”
I didn’t take my eyes off Alek as we stared each other down. We weren’t enemies, but we weren’t friends either. “Bianca, do me a favor and grab my clothes from the dressing room for me.”
Alek grinned, knowing I didn’t trust him enough to turn my back and leave him alone with Bianca again. His pale blue eyes were filled with deadly amusement and reflected the ice in his soul. He was a lethal son of a bitch, and if his boss wanted to start shit with the Morellis, the request to talk to the boss wouldn’t have been so affable.
I never asked Bianca for a favor, so she moved without question to do as I asked. The more distance between her and Alek, the easier I could breathe.
“She’s beautiful,” he commented as she disappeared behind the fitting room door.
“She is,” I gritted out. I knew other men looked at her, hell, her own guard ogled her until I put the fear of God in him, but it didn’t mean it didn’t piss me off to have someone so blatantly comment on her physical appearance.
“She’s yours then.” He notched his chin toward me.
“She is,” I admitted, claiming her as mine. She’d always been mine, but tomorrow it would finally be legal and official.
“She’s also Morelli’s daughter.”
