Page 11 of Sin & Sapphire

Goddammit.

I cursed our families, I cursed the violence, and I cursed my two sisters who’d left—Ginevra because she wanted out, and Sofia to run her own goddamned crime family. My father never made a secret of the fact that he’d wished his daughters were men, heirs he could be proud of, instead of me.

Never enough. I wasn’t brilliant like Ginevra. Charismatic like Sofia. Ruthless like my father. Charming like my mother. Instead, I was competent. I ran my father’s operations and made him more money than ever before, but because I wasn’t flashy, he didn’t care. I was the best shot he had, but because I wasn’t carrying out hits myself, he didn’t care. And I sure as fuck had the loyalty of our men, but again, because I didn’t see the need to constantly test them, he didn’t care.

There was no space in his throne room for the sort of ruthless competence that ran American businesses in the twenty-first century. He’d eventually run the entire Russo empire to the ground, and I wouldn’t inherit shit.

But that didn’t make the sting of his disappointment hurt any less.

When my phone dinged, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts, I scrambled for it.

Ana

Delayed by one day. Meet me at our usual spot. 10pm.

The wave of relief made my knees weak. A brief image of Ana tied to the hotel room bed, her legs forced open with a spreader bar, begging me to give her a break from making her come flashed through my head. If this was going to be my last night with Ana, I’d give her something to remember.

No, this couldn’t be about me. I’d give her one last night of peace and pleasure, the gentle escape she craved, even if I wanted to carve my name into her soul, make sure she knew who she belonged to, so that even if her uncle bound her to another man, she’d always be mine.

And I’d always be hers.

I shied away from the thought of the future, filing it for another day. Now I needed to make arrangements for tonight.

A soft knockfollowed by the whisper of the door opening over carpet drew me out of my reverie. I’d left Ana’s key at the desk with a hundred-dollar bill, ensuring discretion. I’d drawn the curtains and lit candles—Ana hated the characterless corporate interior of hotel rooms, but we hadn’t found a better way to meet in Yorkfield itself.

If my father caught her in my house, he’d never believe she was there for any reason but spying. And if I were to set foot in the Costa compound, they’d shoot me on sight.

Ana stepped into the bland hotel room then shut the door behind her. I drank her in, poured into a pretty summer dress, her perfect breasts high on her chest, the satin skin of her shoulders covered with the curly red wig she wore to our rendezvous, and big gold hoop earrings that she’d never otherwise wear.

Fuck, I couldn’t wait another moment to hold her in my arms.

I shoved her back against the door, spreading her legs with mine, and devoured her, inhaling her sweet citrus scent as if it were the last time I’d ever be able to. Maybe it would be.

Ana twined her arms around my neck and tangled her fingers in my hair, holding me close as my hands slid around her, cupping her luscious ass and dragging her against me.

Our tongues danced, stroking against one another. She was unbuttoning my shirt, frantically working down to my belt to unbuckle it, and I was sliding her panties down, and we were a desperate mess of arms and hands as we undressed. She tugged on her wig and tossed it to the ground, as if she couldn’t bear to wear it another moment.

Our bodies slammed together again, writhing against each other as if we couldn’t get enough skin-to-skin contact.

I’d tried to make our subterfuge into a game and only found myself falling deeper and deeper—no. Those thoughts wouldn’t help either of us right now. Tonight was about giving Ana one last distraction from her life, no matter how much it broke me to do so.

“Luca, I need—” she gasped, her plea breaking off into a whimper as I nibbled on the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder.

“I know, baby,” I murmured against her skin. I wanted to throw her on the bed, tie her up so she couldn’t move, and then eat her out until she begged for mercy, but that’s not what she wanted—not what sheneeded. I lifted her, wrapping her thighs around my waist and pressing her against the wall. “I need you too.”

She hooked one arm around my neck and reached between us with the other to angle my cock against her pussy, trusting that my arms would hold her.

“Fuck, you’re soaked for me,” I swore as she ran me through her folds, and I grinned when my piercing hit her clit and drew a tortured moan out of her.

“Always,” she said. The waver in her voice broke my heart, and I broke our kiss so I could look into her bottle green eyes.

“You okay?”

“Fuck me, Luca,” she commanded, without answering my question. I searched her expression for a hint of her emotional state. I didn’t move, and she shifted in my arms so she could lower herself onto me. The throaty moan that escaped her was the sexiest goddamned sound in the world. “I need you,” she said. “I needthis.”

I couldn’t speak. Fucking Ana was like coming home every single time, as if inside her was exactly where I was supposed to be. When I let go of her with my right hand for a moment to hook her knee over my arm and open her up even more, she clutched at me, and shameful man that I was, I loved the feeling of her arms tight around my neck, holding onto me for safety.

“Fuck, baby, so good to me.” I lived for pleasuring this woman, for the mewls and whines that escaped her when we made love. Carefully, I pumped in and out of her, my pelvic bone sliding against her clit each time I filled her.

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