Page 56 of Captured Fantasy

“Give or take. I’m a religious wearer of condoms and I get tested regularly,” he said. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Have you ever had a relationship? Was it all just hookups?”

“I was with one girl for about a year when I was twenty,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “But we slept with other people while we were together. I wanted to try being monogamous, but she wasn’t down for it. Eventually, I got jealous and we broke up before things turned ugly.”

“When was the last time you had sex?”

He narrowed his eyes, thinking hard. “Maybe a year ago. It was a little after Gino’s funeral.”

That caught me off guard. What had happened that he’d made such a drastic change? I shifted as close as I dared while we were still out in the open like this and he brushed back my hair. His fingers lingered on my cheek, stroking me softly with his thumb.

“When I met you at your husband’s repast, I lost interest in hookups,” he said. “I kept imagining you when I fucked them. Amadeo encouraged me to go after you, but Gino was barely cold. And I knew in the back of my mind that I was destined for an arranged match.”

I bent and kissed him, not caring if we were seen. He gathered me in his arms, winding his fingers in my hair, and consumed the breath from my lungs. When I pulled back, we were both panting.

“This is a fucking mess,” he observed.

“Yes, it really is.”

“I’m going to fix it,” he said grimly. “I don’t know what Lucien’s angle is, but I’ll figure it out and find a way to sway him.”

“I don’t think his angle is that complicated,” I said. “He’s embarrassed and he doesn’t want someone he had sexual encounters with fucking his brother-in-law. And, he’s right in wanting an arranged match for you. You’re important to the outfit.”

“I think he’s genuinely trying to protect you too,” he mused.

I nodded. “He is.”

“What about Rico?”

“Don’t let him know that you know, please,” I begged. “Rico controls my money, my house, my social life. I can’t have him turn on me.”

“I’ll fucking gut him,” he said, clearly relishing the prospect.

“You can’t kill another underboss unless you want to die too,” I said firmly. “Keep control of yourself and let me handle Federico.”

He sat back and I returned to my seat. His jaw worked and he released a heavy sigh.

“Alright, I’ll let you handle Rico. But I’m not going to be able to hold out forever. I need you, Enza, I need some goddamn relief so I can sleep. And I don’t fucking share.”

I nodded, my heart pounding. He watched as I slipped out of the truck. Through the window, I saw that hot, dark fire crackling in his gaze. This time it flowed through his body, through the heaving of his chest, through the tensing of his knuckles on the steering wheel.

Right down to the top of his boot, still stained wet where I’d left my mark on him.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

COSIMO

It took everything I had not to confront Federico. I’d promised Lorenza to keep quiet until she had the chance to send him away on her own terms, but every cell in my body rebelled against inaction. The last several months had taught me it was for the weak, that men who stood back and waited for the world to hand them things came in dead last every time.

I wasn’t willing to be anything but the only man in Lorenza Russo’s bed.

No, I’d wasted enough time already.

About a week after our encounter, I woke with a new determination. It was another sweltering day, the sky a crystal blue, and the riverbank dotted with boats. I showered and put on my motorcycle clothes and went down to the garage, wheeling my Triumph out onto the street.

I kicked off the ground and sped out onto the highway, heading for the suburbs. I’d never spent as much time outside the city as I had the last several months.

When I pulled up outside Lorenza’s house, I parked the Triumph in the open garage and walked around the front of the house. When I knocked, there was a long silence before the screen door creaked open and Lorenza appeared.

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