“You’re turning me into my nickname.Printessa.Making me feel like a princess.”
“Good.” Warmth fills his tone, immediately followed by amusement. “Your Russian accent is terrible, and I say that with as much respect as possible.”
“As if your Italian would be better.”
He chuckles. “Fair point.”
As he continues, only the sounds of water filling the small room, the pressure of the question I woke with can’t be ignored any longer. “This has to be a secret, doesn’t it?”
The cloth stops moving for the briefest second.“Da.”
My shoulders lower, heavier. “My brother probably wants everything with the Vitales over with.”
Another brief pause before he grunts his agreement that has me wondering if it doesn’t really make a difference to him. After all, this is so new. Maybe I shouldn’t read more into last night.
Although, this isLev.He wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t care, even a little.
I twist around and catch his hand. “You’d be in trouble, wouldn’t you? That’s why.”
His jaw rotates, and he refuses to meet my eyes, focused on washing me. Even that’s lost its warmth, though. “Vanessa wouldn’t be pleased. She’s already made it known I can’t think of you likethis. That you’re meant for more.”
She did?“Not Alessio.”
“No.” He shakes his head once. “No, just in general. Zeno wants you away from the mob, and after the mess with the Vitales is over with, it’ll be that way again.”
Oh.How do I make him see I don’t share my brother’s views? That Vanessa doesn’t get a say in who I sleep with? I want to make Lev smile again, the way he did last night. No matter what my half-siblings believe,Ichose him—Bratva Elite and all.
“It’s always been you and me. This is no different. Ignore them.” Besides, I wouldn’tlethim get in trouble, even if it meant begging Vanessa and telling everyone this was my doing.
I grab his hand again, this time prying the cloth away before twisting around and onto my knees, the ceramic tub between us. “Does this mean last night was a one-time thing?”
“It should,” he huffs with a hint of a smirk. “But remember what I said about obsessions and how I get when I find something of interest?”
“Sì.”
“You’re it, Fina.” Fingers scrape my hair aside, baring my neck for him to lean down and kiss a gentle path. So gentle, my body jerks from the ticklish sensation. “You’re my obsession, and I’m not giving you up until you tell me to.”
Oh.Beneath the weight of his words and his mouth, my previous anxiety is washed away.
He cups my chin to press a gentle kiss against my lips that quickly becomes more. He tips my head back, controlling everything—the pressure, the speed, and how my body comes alive.
He lifts me from the tub, water and soap streaming from me all over the floor and him. He doesn’t seem to notice as his clothes get drenched, or when he breaks from my mouth to lower me to the tub’s edge and drops to his knees in front of me.
“Thought you don’t do eighteen-year-olds?” I tease.
“Said I don’t doinebriatedeighteen-year-olds. Big difference. The bratty ones named Serafina…well, they’re my exception.”
His smile is a slow climb, beautiful by the end. He needs to know, because I’m getting the sense he isn’t often given compliments unrelated to his tech skills.
“You should smile more.”
He catches my hand from where I was about to touch his face and nips my fingertips. “Never had a reason to before now.” He spreads my thighs, his inquisitive eyes staring at my pussy with the same intensity he works with. “You might be my new obsession, Fina, but the taste of you…” He groans. “Not entirely sure there’s a word to properly describe it.”
He might not use words, but he describes it with his mouth well enough.
To the point, I’m dirty all over again, but this time, he pulls me into his shower.
Together.
