Page 56
Matteo held it closer to the camera. “There are names inside that still matter. At least one appears beside a Veles Maritime payment notation. We will not transmit it electronically. I will deliver it personally.”
“When?”
“I’ll leave within the hour.”
Raffaele’s eyes locked on mine. “This should have been yours thirteen years ago.”
“Yes,” I replied. “It should’ve. I understand, though, Raffaele.”
The call ended shortly afterward. By the time Alessia and I returned to the townhouse, midnight had passed, and the rain had started again, whispering against the windows in a soft, steady rhythm. I checked the locks because I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I tried. Alessia watched without commenting, then hung up her coat. I poured two glasses of water. She accepted hers, took one drink, then set it aside without moving away.
She stepped closer until less than a foot separated us.
“Were you afraid in there?”
“Yes.”
Her fingers touched the front of my shirt, resting lightly over my chest. “You didn’t look afraid.”
“My fear rarely looks like fear.”
“What does it look like?”
“Plans. Guards. Locked doors.”
Her hand moved higher, fingertips brushing the open edge of my collar. She was quiet for a long moment.
“Did I frighten you?” I asked.
She considered the question honestly. “A little.”
I forced myself not to move.
“Not because I thought you would hurt me,” she continued. “But because I understood what you could do if someone did.”
Her palm settled against the side of my neck, warm and soft over the pulse I kept controlled through practice rather than calm.
Then she kissed me. There was no performance in it. She just rose up onto her toes and pressed her mouth to mine. I held still for one second, just long enough to give her the chance to change her mind.
She didn’t.
Her fingers tightened, pulling me closer, and I wrapped one arm around her waist. The kiss deepened slowly, heat building beneath the restraint I had carried since Nocturne. She tasted faintly of coffee and mint. Her body fit against mine with enough softness to make every hard part of me remember exactly how long I had been alone.
“I keep thinking about it,” she whispered.
“About what?”
Her cheeks warmed, but she didn’t look away. “Being over your knee. How you punished me. How you pinned me down and belted my bare ass because I needed it.”
My grip tightened involuntarily at her waist.
“Then I think about the way you touched me and the things you said to me. The things you said you would do to me. Every time I go to sleep at night, I think about it.”
I watched her carefully as she took my hand and placed it against the small silver ring at the center of her choker.
“I don’t want to run tonight,” she whispered.
The words went through me like a lightning strike.
