Page 244 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

He paused for a moment and didn’t say anything, then smiled. “How’d Tommy take it when he brought you home?” he asked.

“I asked you a question, stronzo. I expect an answer.”

I went to take another sip of the sambuca, but he took it away from me and put it onto a table.

“And I said that you shouldn’t be drinking that shit right now.”

I tilted my head and stared at his lips. God, they looked delicious. I wanted them on every single inch of my body. On my neck, my chest, my pussy. Until I begged him to—

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my head swaying lightly.

He pulled me closer so his hips were grinding into mine. “I came to check on you.”

It was stupid, but I felt like a teenager again. Getting butterflies over the bad boy I knew I shouldn’t have feelings for.

I smiled and inched my face closer, inhaling his cologne. “You do care,” I whispered, my lips fluttering against his.

“I don’t care about you, so don’t get any thoughts in your head, reginetta. All I care about is keeping you safe. That’s all.” He didn’t pull away; he pulled me closer, curling his fingers into my sides.

“Why do you want to keep me safe? Why do you keep helping me?” I asked, nose brushing against his. “Tell me …” I said, desperate to hear those words from someone’s mouth who meant them.

He paused for a long moment and tilted his head closer to mine. “I don’t care about you,” he said, pushing his hands into my hair.

His chest was rising and falling against mine. I pressed my mouth to his, taking the damn chance because sober me wasn’t going to do it.

Almost immediately, Alessandro pulled me closer, his hand tangled in my hair, his full lips on mine, tongue sliding into my mouth. “I don’t give a fuck about you.” He pushed me against the wall, grinding himself against me.

My hands were all over his body, sliding down his chest, disappearing into his pants. He kissed me like he had been starved and that this one little kiss did nothing for him. Like he needed more, as much as he could get.

“Fuck, Chiara, I hate everything about you,” he said.

If this was what hate felt like, I fucking hated this man too.

“We shouldn’t—” I started.

He dipped his head below my ear and sucked the skin softly.

“We should … back … bedroom.” My words came out so incoherently that I could barely understand them myself, but he understood well.

He leaned down, wrapped his arms under my ass, and lifted me into the air, walking down the hallway and into one of Alice’s spare rooms.

He kicked the door closed with his foot and tore off his shirt, lips immediately finding mine again. I backed up until my legs hit the edge of the bed and let him push me down onto it. He collapsed with me, his lips never leaving mine, and ground himself between my legs, letting me feel how hard he was for me already. And, God, I was ready for everything he was going to give me.

26

chiara

“Chiara, I—”

Someone screamed outside the room, and the sound of bullets ricocheting off the walls cut through the air. Alessandro growled and ripped himself away from me, pulling on all his clothes. I stood up a bit too fast and grasped my head, pain splitting through it and my leg.

Goddamn. Why’d someone always have to ruin the moment between us? It was as if the world was against us fucking or some shit. But, damn, I wouldn’t let that stop me. I hated that stronzo—really hated him—after that.

Alessandro peeked through the crack in the door and swore. “How the fuck do they keep sending more people? They should fucking know that I killed everyone else they’d sent.”

Suddenly, his entire body tensed, and he shut the door. He grabbed my hand quite tightly and hurried to the window, opening it up. It was a two-story drop right onto hard concrete. “You have to jump, Chiara.”

“Why can’t we just kill them?” I asked, brows furrowed.

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