Page 49 of Diavolo

Elyse nodded and released a blissed-out sigh, "Please..."

This time, he didn't tease her. Not even a little. His mouth took but a second to lock onto her folds, kissing and sucking and lapping hungrily at her most feminine flesh like a starving man. Wave after wave of wondrous, blinding pleasure blossomed from her core and rolled throughout the rest of her body. Elyse became lightheaded and breathless. His tongue lingered here and there, exploring her crevices, the secret folds within her folds, nudging her toward the brink of madness, until she became a moaning, writhing mess of a woman.

His wicked lips closed around her clit, sucking on it sweetly, and Elyse ascended to a whole other realm of ecstasy. His talented tongue swirled and caressed until Elyse saw stars even with her eyes tightly shut. She was already slick with excitement and thoroughly worked up from their foreplay in the shower. He easily slipped two fingers into her tight, welcoming warmth. Alessandro began to thrust his fingers in and out of her pussy while his mouth continued to worship her clit.

Time stood still even while her world spun. Elyse's climax swallowed her wholly, violently, as though it was a stormy tide and she—a vessel lost at sea. Primal feminine cries escaped fromher breathless lungs. She'd never come so hard before in her life. Alessandro held her through the powerful rise and fall and lingering ripples of her orgasm. When, at last, she drifted back down to reality, her body felt limp and boneless. Her legs were still trembling.

Alessandro shuffled Elyse under the covers before sliding in beside her. He bent down and tried to place a quick, chaste kiss on her lips. Even in her state of helplessness, however, Elyse remembered to turn her head away from him. She possessed no qualms about what they had just done together in the shower and on the bed, but, somehow, kissing still felt too intimate. Her reasoning made little sense, but she feared that their first kiss might serve as the catalyst to unlock her restraint, and Elyse wasn't ready to examine her Pandora's Box of feelings for this treacherous, complicated man.

A look of disappointment crossed Alessandro's face, but he didn't protest. With a sigh, he proceeded to gather Elyse into his arms as though nothing was amiss between them. Alessandro held her in this way for quite some time as she dozed in a cloud of post-orgasmic fatigue. They passed out in each other's arms until morning.

When sunlight began to stream through the windows, she felt him shuffling beside her. Alessandro was awake. Elyse willed her sleepy eyes open, rolling over to face him.

He smiled. "Good morning,angelo."

Why was Alessandro gazing at her like a man in love? Elyse blushed. "Morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Like the dead."

Grogginess began to fade. As the ability to form coherent thought returned, Elyse narrowed her gaze.Enough with the small talk.The slick bastard had escaped her questions again last night. Elyse was determined to hold him accountable.It wastime for answers. She coughed, "Speaking of dead. Someonealmostdied—"

Alessandro eyed her warily and interjected, "I would much rather talk about how beautiful you look right now. And how happy I am to wake up beside you."

Elyse frowned. Clearly, he was dodging and deflecting again. She refused to be swayed, barreling on, "Marcello will need to be on bed rest for the next week or so. He's lucky that the bullet didn't cause permanent nerve damage. The man could've lost mobility over his entire arm."

"Marcello was lucky to have you at his side," Alessandro expressed in grateful tones. "He is like family to me. Thank you for watching over him when I could not."

"Luca said that he wasn't with Marcello when the gun was fired, so I couldn't get the answers I needed from him. Were you present when Marcello was under fire?"

"Maybe."

She tried to guilt him into lowering his defenses. "I’m only asking because he’s my patient. I need more details if you want him to receive the best care I can provide."

Alessandro's face grew withdrawn. "I see."

"Please tell me everything you know." Elyse proceeded to ask Alessandro the same set of questions she'd directed at Stefano and Mikey when they delivered him to her Queens apartment. But Alessandro was nowhere near as cooperative as Stefano and Mikey. On the contrary, he clenched his jaw tighter. The man didn't look like he was willing to reveal anything. Elyse poured on more guilt, "I may need to bring Marcello to another clinic. One that can run an X-ray or CT scan. There are still many things that might go wrong during his recovery."

This was a lie. There had been an X-ray machine in the small 19th arrondissement clinic, and Elyse had been able to run some chest and arm imaging on Marcello the other day, butAlessandro didn't need to know this information right now. In reluctant tones, he admitted, "Marcello was shot from behind. About thirty feet away."

"So youwerewith him."

"Maybe."

"Why did he get shot?"

Alessandro didn't answer right away. Tension ticked between them. He glared at her. "As a physician, you do not need to know the motive."

"No," she agreed, "but, as someone whose life is tied to you and your men, I'dliketo know the motive. For my safety. And my sanity."

Alessandro's eyes narrowed sharply. "I have told you before that I will keep you safe—"

Elyse stared him down with an unrelenting gaze, interjecting, "I'm beginning to warm up to the idea of becoming Mrs. Vitale. However, if you keep stringing me along, I won't hesitate to cut ties with you. We've already established that you were with Marcello when he was attacked, so please stop hiding what you know, and answer the fucking question."

His face lit up at the first part of her declaration. Only to darken with vexation when she finished speaking. He scowled deeply. "I am trying to protect you. Why must you be so stubborn?"

"Because I'm trying to become an asset. Not a liability. The less I know, the more mistakes I'll make."

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