Page 32 of Forbidden Vengeance

She’d grabbed my wrist as I tried to pass. “Whatever you’re involved in with Anthony…please be careful. You can come to me with anything. You know that, right?”

If she only knew.

“Then we need to be more careful.” Mario moves behind me now, his chest solid against my back as his arms cage me against the counter. “No more risks. No more close calls.”

But we both know it’s too late for careful. The evidence grows inside me, a ticking time bomb of complicated loyalties and dangerous choices.

Every day that passes makes it harder to hide—from Anthony, from Bella, from the world. Soon, everyone will know I’m carrying a Calabrese heir. The thought makes panic rise in my throat.

What happens when Anthony finds out? When he realizes I’ve been sleeping with someone else while carrying his child? When Bella discovers I’ve betrayed not just her trust, but her entire family?

The DeLucas and Calabreses have killed for less.

When Mario’s lips hover just behind my ear, I feel a shiver run through me, like electricity crackling between us. His breath is warm against my skin, a soft, steady rhythm that stirs a heat deep inside me. It’s a dangerous thing, how close he is, how easily he seems to ignite something in me that I’ve tried so hard to keep buried.

I want to pull away, to remind myself of the weight of everything that’s at stake, but my body betrays me, leaning into him instead.

The moment his lips press softly to that sensitive spot just below my earlobe, a quiet moan escapes before I can stop it, my chest tightening in response to the intimate caress. His lips move against my skin, featherlight at first, sending waves of heat cascading through my body. He knows exactly where to touch, where to tease, and how to make me forget every damn thing except the feel of him.

I can feel the faint press of his chest against my back, his breath hot and steady in the curve of my neck as his arms tighten around my waist, holding me there. I let myself fall into the moment for just a second, letting his warmth and his touch erase the world around us.

The weight of our lives, the secrets we carry, the betrayals and the choices—they all blur into the background as his lips brush along my skin, sending another shiver down my spine.

His hands tighten, pulling me impossibly closer, his body pressing against mine in a way that makes it impossible to ignore the undeniable chemistry between us. I tilt my head slightly, offering him more of my neck, more of me, feeling the tension build between us with every inch closer he draws me. The warmth of his lips deepens as he kisses me there again, his tongue grazing the soft skin at the curve of my ear.

It’s a slow burn, the kind of touch that makes my pulse race and my breath catch in my throat, reminding me of how easily I’ve surrendered to him.

But even as my body craves more, my mind is at war. Anthony’s claims, Bella’s suspicion—they flash in the back of my mind, haunting me, reminding me of the danger we’re in.

But for now, for this one, stolen moment, I let everything else slip away. It’s just him. Just his lips against my skin, his warmth surrounding me, making everything else feel irrelevant.

Mario’s driverdrops me at my apartment building as evening shadows stretch across Fifth Avenue.

The memory of Seamus O’Connor’s voice still echoes in my head from Mario’s earlier phone call, each word dripping with barely contained violence.

“You test my patience, boy,” O’Connor had snarled through the speaker. “I didn’t give you sanctuary just to watch you fucking play house in New York.”

“I’ll be on the next flight,” Mario had replied, his jaw tight. “The situation here needed handling.”

“The only situation you need to handle is the one I’ve assigned you. Or have you forgotten our arrangement? Forgotten who owns you?”

The threat in O’Connor’s voice had made even me shiver. I’d watched Mario’s face darken, his fingers white-knuckled around the phone. For a moment, I thought he might shatter it.

My own phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since this morning. The texts from Anthony grow increasingly demanding:

7:15 AM:Missing you, beautiful. Dinner tonight?

9:45 AM:Elena, at least answer my calls.

11:30 AM:Are you feeling unwell? I can send my doctor.

1:45 PM:This isn’t like you.

3:20 PM:I don’t like being ignored,cara.

4:15 PM:We need to talk about your recent…disappearances.

The last one makes my stomach clench. Bella’s text feels like a lifeline in comparison:Dinner tonight? Just us girls. I feel like I never see you anymore.

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