Page 11 of Heartbeats Amidst Chaos: Part 2

He turned back to her.

“Couldn’t let those burn,” he said. “But they do need a minute to cool.” He stepped closer, laying a hand on each thigh, confidently this time, and leaning forward. Rissa surrendered to her desire and wrapped her arms around his neck, their lips meeting with an eagerness that belied how long both had been resisting the urge.

She shuddered with delight as his fingers slid higher on her thighs, his thumbs stroking gently along the insides. Reaching down, she captured his hands in her own, halting their motion.

Cut off from the normal, useful life she had been living for so many years, Rissa was quickly growing tired of letting everyone do everything for her—strangers doing the stalking, Reagan doing the research, Elio making the sandwiches. She was filled with a vibrating desire and urgency to take action herself.

Elio stilled, drawing back slightly, perhaps thinking that she didn’t want to continue. Rissa slipped down from her perch, their bodies nearly touching. She held his gaze, watching it change from puzzled to curious as she replaced his hands on the counter on either side of her and said softly, “Don’t move them from here.”

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, standing on her tiptoes to start her kisses on his temple and trail downward, tracing the straight line of his jaw before kissing her way down his neck to his collarbone and along the scar there.

Elio sighed shakily, his head dropping toward her, though he kept his hands obediently in place on either side of her. Dropping her own hands to his belt, she captured his lips in another kiss as she unfastened and unzipped his jeans, sliding them down over his narrow hips just enough to free his erection, which pressed against his white briefs with an urgency that told her it wouldn’t take long to bring him to full release.

Rissa slipped her fingers into his briefs and slid them downward as well. She reached for the coconut oil Elio had left open on the counter and scooped some into her fingers, massaging it into her skin to warm it before dropping her right hand to encircle his rigid penis.

Elio gasped as she closed her fingers around it, squeezing gently and sliding them slowly outward, steadily increasing her speed as she repeated the motion, finding a rhythm. Elio’s breath quickened to match it. She could feel his arms tensing and trembling on either side of her as he struggled to keep them in place on the countertop, and she smiled, turning her head to kiss and then gently bite his ear.

“Rissa,” Elio sighed, and then he dropped his head against her shoulder and came with a shudder and moan.

Chapter seven

Elio glanced in his rearview mirror once again, checking the cars behind him. As he’d left his meetup with Rissa, he thought he noticed a man falling in behind him on the sidewalk. He had dodged in and out of a few places and circled before returning to where he had left his car, but he still felt uneasy.

Had someone been following him from the beginning? Or had they been following Rissa and switched to following him?

Despite being unable to spot the tail, Elio took a long route around the city before heading for his grandfather’s home. The old man had called a family meeting tonight, and knowing that Rissa would be brought up, this was one Elio wasn’t willing to miss.

The connection everyone else seemed to see between him and Rissa still baffled him. Why had the cops been so eager toconnect her to his escape? Because they thought she would cause issues with their case unless she was incriminated herself? But why all the suspicion from his family? He readily admitted that some of his past romantic partners had caused issues. But his family didn’t even know he was romantically involved with Rissa.

Elio put his window down, letting the hot summer air blow in and mingle with the cool blast of the air conditioning. He ran his hand through his hair, reliving the sensation of Rissa’s deft hands on him as they stood in the little back kitchen of the closed diner. Never had he responded so quickly to someone’s touch. But more than that, never had he expected Rissa to take the lead. It had been astonishingly hot. He wasn’t quite over it.

Whatwasthe connection between them? Elio wondered. Every time they met up, his body hummed with the sexual tension. At the same time, he had begun to feel an easiness with her that he felt with no one else.

He shifted uneasily as a thought sprang to mind.Am I starting to trust her too much? Maybe that’s just what she’s been waiting for.

But that was his grandfather’s training talking, not his own thoughts.

The gate opened to let him in, and he pulled into the garage and closed the door behind him.

He headed straight to the sunroom, where his grandfather preferred to hold his meetings. Angelo was already there, as was Vince and Vince’s mother, Angelica. Elio felt his tension increase at the sight of her. Angelica always brought a heightened intensity to their family meetings, and she and Vince together could occasionally be a powerful force in influencing Angelo’s decisions.

“Good of you to join us, Elio,” Angelo said gruffly as Elio murmured his greeting and sank into a chair some distance from his aunt. “Especially as the main topic of discussion is you.”

“What’s going on?” Elio asked, his stomach twisting uneasily. “I didn’t think there was anything else to discuss about me right now. I’m just laying low while we try to figure out who the real bomber is and why they set me up.”

“Is that nothing to discuss?” Angelo queried. “One of our safehouses has been compromised.”

Elio frowned. “Which one?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we had four men there at the time, and they only let one of them live. This man was to come to us and ask the question, ‘Where is Elio Accardi?’”

“The cops?” Elio asked, surprise shaking him.

“The shadow gang,” Angelo said, slamming his fist into the table for emphasis.

Angelica spoke for the first time, her voice sharp with blame. “Three men died today, and it was in your name,” she said. “What do you say to that?”

Elio winced. “I’m very sorry this happened,” he said slowly. “But you know I never wanted to be a part of any of this.”

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