Page 67 of Little Dove

His expression changes from amused to serious. “No, I don’t want anything between us,” he says firmly.

I glare. “Well, it’s not all about what you want. I don’t want to deal with this mess all the time. Especially if it’s going to go on for days. It’s bad enough to have blood and stuff to deal with once a month, now you want to add more gunk coming out of there too?”

“Do you know how sexy it is to see you so filled up with my cum that it spills out of you?” he returns, his tone taking on a sexy timbre. “To see it dripping and coating my cock? No condoms, Amara. I’ll help you clean up afterward and handle all the sheets, but I want nothing between us. I want to feel every response when I’m deep inside you. Okay?”

I shiver at his words. “We can discuss it,” I say noncommittally, though something tells me that I’m going to give in. “But right now, I want to clean up and then go to sleep. I’m worn out.”

He smiles at me, cups the back of my head, and kisses me hard. Then he pulls away, presses his forehead to mine, and murmurs, “You have no idea how proud I am of you,colombina. So fucking proud.”

My throat thickens. I’m proud of me, too, but he has no idea what this one night has done. I’m finally starting to take control of my life for myself.

Fuck everyone who has hurt me in the past. I’m moving forward.

22

LAZARO

My phone buzzes softly,pulling me from my sleep. Amara mewls from where she’s sleeping on my chest, but then settles back in. As much as I don’t want to move her, especially considering how perfect this feels, I gently lift her and place her in my spot in the bed, bundling her back into the blankets. She gives a soft sigh, burrowing even further into my pillow and pulling up the blankets to her chin.

I smile, looking down at her. She’s so fucking cute, and if I didn’t know the call was important, I wouldn’t be leaving her. I force myself to turn away, grabbing my phone and heading into the closet to answer it, softly shutting the door behind me. I glance at the name. Alessio.

“Problem?” I ask, turning on the light and moving to grab some clothes.

“Got some movement out of Leonardo and Marco’s camps. Meeting in Nico’s office,” he says briskly.

“I’ll be right down.” I hang up and quickly dress. When I emerge from the closest, Amara is sitting up in bed with the lamp on, looking tired and worried. “I’m sorry,colombina, did I wake you?”

“Oh, um, I woke up when I realized you weren’t here,” she replies awkwardly. “Is there a problem?”

“I don’t know yet. Alessio called to let me know that there have been some developments with your uncle and cousin, so I’m going to meet them to find out what’s going on. I’ll be back soon. Are you alright?”

She gives a tired nod. “I’m good. Do you need me to come?”

“No, you sleep,” I coax. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She nods and lies.

“Can you leave the light on?” she asks sleepily. “The dark is okay with you, but I’m not ready to do it on my own.”

“Of course,colombina,” I promise softly, leaning down to press a kiss to her hair before pulling away. I can’t hang around any longer, so I force myself to go to the door. I look back and see that she’s already fast asleep, my pillow pulled up around her face, like she wants to keep breathing me in. My chest swells with satisfaction.

I quietly close the door, and turn to see Mario making his way toward me. “I’ll see that she’s not disturbed,” he tells me quietly as he stands in front of the door.

“Thank you,” I say simply, clapping him on the shoulder before I head down the hall. I barely pass Alonzo’s room when the door opens and he emerges as well. Then Urso does the same, though he looks a little more rumpled than we do. I arch a brow at him curiously, but he just grunts and keeps going. Alonzo and I share a look, but we don’t comment.

When we reach Nico’s office, I’m unsurprised to find everyone else there already. “About fucking time you joined us,” Nico snipes.

“Someone’s pissed that he’s been pulled out of bed with his wife.” Massimo snickers. “He’s a bear, so I take that to mean he didn’t get to love up on his wife either.”

“Fuck off,” Nico barks.

“Nail on the head,” Alonzo agrees with a smirk.

“What’s going on?” I ask when Nico looks like he’s going to lose his shit.

“Some of our men spotted Leonardo’s car leaving his property fifteen minutes ago,” Dante explains briskly. “I contacted our rat, and he said Leonardo is meeting up with Gregori Esposito and his right-hand man. He left in the middle of the night with minimal security to keep people from paying too much attention.”

“But Marco’s also on the move?” I ask.

He nods. “He left about ten minutes after his father, but he wasn’t as quiet about it. Took four SUVs full of soldiers and sped off. Our men are tailing them, and our tech crew is following them on the cameras. It looks like they’re heading in the same direction as Leonardo.”

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