He turned his head to look at me. “Would it have made a difference if I tried?” My raised brow was all the answer I offered, and he grunted a curse. “Cocky bastard.” I laughed harder and he smiled. “I’m surprised she’s put up with you this long.”
“Not like she has a choice.” I scraped my hand over my jaw.
“She’s good for you, Remo, she makes you smile. Still sadistically but more often now.”
“Don’t go ringing any church bells, brother. I like fucking her. That’s all.” Uncomfortable with the conversation, especially since my earlier thoughts about wanting her permanently in my bed surfaced, I stood, heading for the door.
“Keep her safe,Fratello,” his words paused my feet. I turned to face him, frowning. “If she hasn’t already, she’ll become your weakness.”
“She hasn’t and she won’t,” my voice edging tightness, the confused fuck in me lied.
“Why?” he asked simply, yet I heard the care in his tone.
I exhaled on a slow breath, dropping my chin to my chest. “Because I have nothing to offer her besides an animalistic void that will scare the fuck out of her,” I muttered, remembering that moment on the boat and how close I’d come to confessing my secrets to him.
“Plenty flowers bloom in the dark and still retain their beauty, their scent, their naivety about the harsh realities darkness brings,” he said and my gaze met his. “All it needs is the right nurturing, attention and sometimes…” He looked at me squarely. “A little love.”
“I think you hit your head when you fell,” I scoffed.
He chuckled, the sound more a throaty cough than mirth before he sighed. “If Arturo took her right now, what would you do?”
“They’d have to kill me before I let that happen,” I blurted, shocking myself more than my brother. Annoyed, I pulled out my phone, avoiding his eyes and scrolled through shit I didn’t even bother reading.
Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, but I knew he was studying me in that intensely scrutinizing way he did most things before he made decisions. Where I was the spur of the moment, irrational doer, he remained the levelheaded, ‘let’s look at all the scenarios’ thinker unless it involved Rayden. Then he’d lose his shit.
“Love makes us protective,Fratello, whether we admit or not,” he said quietly. I looked up, scowling my disagreement. “No?” he challenged.
“Fuck off,” I muttered.
He tried to laugh instead winced. “Fuck,” he gritted, clenching his fist.
“You want something for the pain.” I moved to him just as Dario walked in, holding out his phone to my brother.
“Rayden.”
The only painkiller Lorenzo needed. Immediately, his expression changed, an ever-persistence glow brought on by just the name of that sandy-blond boy who held his heart in a vice-grip.
Smiling, I left the room with Dario to give my brother some privacy. Outside, I paused at the door, my eyes settling on Ishika tending to our men’s injuries. She smiled at something Joey said, and it fascinated me how easily she’d adapted to my world.
The clatter of something falling in the room I’d just exited had me swiveling sharply and pushing through the door in time to see Lorenzo trying to get up, his face contorted in a wince.
“What–”
I was shoved out of the way by Ishika rushing past me. “You’re not going anywhere.” Her tone unrelenting firmness, sheplaced her hands on his shoulders and gently guided him back down to the mattress. “Unless you’re desperate to bleed to death, you need to stay put, Mr. Rossi,” she scolded when Lorenzo’s erratic breathing evened out, pulling the blanket over him. “You might be a don but you’re my patient now and that means I decide when you move,” she continued in that commanding voice as she checked his vitals and oblivious to the grin he and I shared.
Lorenzo Rossi was the most controlled man I knew, his presence commanding respect. No one dared to dictate to him and those that challenged him, soon learned it was a waste of time. Yet, my little fox handled him like a kindergartner, catching him completely off guard. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was enjoying the gentle attention, the caring, a sort of maternal compassion we’d lacked as kids.
When neither of us spoke, she lifted her head from the monitor she was inspecting and with her brow puckered, her gaze shifted between me and him. “What?”
“My brother, Lorenzo,” I said to her then to him. “Ishika, the doctor I like fucking.” Her eyes rounded the same time her naturally tanned skin bloomed a beautiful shade of red. “No need to act shy, little fox, he already heard how you moan when you come,” I goaded.
Her jaw dropped. I grinned, loving her discomfit.
“Christ, Remo,” Lorenzo scolded.
“Just saying it like it is, brother.” I winked at her.
She rolled her eyes, shifting her gaze to my brother. “Hi,” she said softly. “We meet again, not the best of circumstances but an absolute pleasure.” I heard the extra sweetness in her voice, the subtle glance my way suggesting she’d done it on purpose.
