Page 62 of Sweet Temptation

Damon smirks as slides his leather jacket on his body. "You might, but the girls downstairs would be staring." A smirk appears on my lips as I slide on my white blouse, buttoning it back up. "So, therefore, a new shirt is the better idea," he replies, pressing his lips to mine.

Nodding, I take his hand in mine, returning the kiss. "All set?" he whispers, eying my body. A shiver overtakes me as I grin. Damon's arm wraps around my body as we make our way back downstairs to rejoin the party.

THIRTY-FIVE

When my feet hit the bottom of the stairs with Hanna behind me, I scan the room for my friends. Sam has his tongue down Mary's throat, and I notice Damien standing in the kitchen taking shots with Bailey.

My eyes move around the room, but there's no sign of Ace. I mean, there never is—he hides or he takes a girl and disappears. But ever since we introduced him to the mafia world, he has been even more distant than usual.

He said he wants to do this, that he needs it—his words, not mine. But since we initiated him, he's been off. Like a screw is loose, he's unhinged, waiting for his next taste. My mind plays back to the initiation.

"Ace Deems, repeat the words back to me." My mother's words are like a whip as she slides a knife into his bare shoulders, leaving a slight cut and a blood trail. "Every breath is taken through vengeance. Every move is considered war. You come in alive, you leave dead."

His words are sharp, like he has been practising his whole life to be here. Damien and Soren stand next to me as we stand behind our mother off to the side. All the soldiers are in front of us behind Ace, and a lot of them snarl as they watch the rookie.

Most of them were against a mundane becoming made men. Yet they didn’t argue when my mother offered them death; they accepted it. "Now I accept my fate," Ace finishes as my mother takes the hot poker with the famiglia-branded symbol on it and stabbed his left peck.

There is no sound, just the gritting of teeth as the smell of searing flesh fills the room. Ace is now a famiglia soldier. He killed one of our traitors just twenty minutes ago.

The smell of blood is still potent in the air where the corpse lies headless behind him. Soren enjoys watching pain inflicted. He enjoys creating it more, but I think my nineteen-year-old brother has a hard on for death.

My eyes fly back to Ace as he turns to the soldiers. "Always leave dead! Always leave dead! Always leave dead!" Is chanted through the room as my friend stands there shirtless, showing off his famiglia branding to his new family.

I just pray he doesn't lose his humanity after he kills twenty or more liabilities.

Hanna slides her hand into mine, snapping me from my thoughts and back to the present. "Now what?" She smirks with a twinkle in her eye.

Fuck. I can't believe she just did that. I mean, I didn't expect that from her and there she was, blowing my mind. Smiling, I grip her hand. "I want to show you something…" I want to show her a place that is absolutely everything to me.

"Didn't you already show me lots just now?" She winks at me.

Jesus.

Grabbing a handful of her hair, I yank her head toward me. "This is something different," I whisper.

She smiles, allowing me to lead her out of the condo, away from the half-naked people all over my kitchen and living room. Sliding into the front seat of my car, and once Hanna is buckled in, I slam into first and speed out of my parking spot.

I glance over at Hanna as she stares out the window, probably wondering where I'm taking her. Shifting into second, I take a corner quickly as I head for my jet. Averting my eyes from Hanna, I stare at the road ahead as I drive. Pulling up next to the jet, I put the car in park, turning it off.

Once we're settled in the jet, I wait for take-off with a smile. Chicago awaits and so does my favourite place in the entire world.

"Where are we?" Hanna whispers, climbing out of my car two hours after the flight and twenty minutes to the river's edge.

She follows me toward the riverbank. "I used to come here as a kid. When everything got tough, and I didn't want to be around my mother anymore. This was my safe place," I whisper, staring off toward the dark river.

I feel Hanna's hand slip into mine, gently squeezing it. "It's okay. You're here with me," she whispers.

A smile takes over my face as I look down at her. This woman is seriously the best thing I have ever had in my life. Out of all the women I could have ended up with, she's the one that caught my heart. Her green eyes peer up at me through the darkness as she watches me with a smile.

"You know, when I started tutoring you, I never guessed this is where we would be months later. What I would know about your world and my own," she whispers softly.

Gently, I lean down and press my lips to hers. Gripping the back of her thighs, I lift her into the air. Her legs wrapped around my waist. Laying one hand on her cheek, I continue to kiss her. My lips crave hers. Hanna's nails dig into the back of my neck as she pulls my face closer. I need more.

"Well, well, well, look who's a long way from Princeton," a voice rings through the air.

Mother.

Hanna's arms grip onto me. Gently, I set her down, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her close. "I thought after everything that went down with Emily, you'd learned your lesson. I was wrong. Wasn't I?" My mother's voice fills the clearing.

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