Page 41 of Surrender

Fox’s lips part, and his eyes widen. “I…” He trails off.

I wait patiently. This is something he has to decide for himself.

Then his expression changes. “Right, Silvano.” Fox pulls away from me. “I was going to say. Are you sure you trust him? Because at the club… I don’t know. He gave me a vibe.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, frowning at him. “He’s Cresci’s son, his underboss. We’ve been friends for years. He’ll be taking over when Cresci retires. It’s all but guaranteed that I’ll be his underboss or continue as consigliere. I’ve earned more than that, though, over the years.”

Fox shrugs. “You know him better than I do. But it was something about the way he looked at you. Hell, how he looked at me.” Then he smirks, and it’s such a relief to see him smiling again. “Also, my gaydar was pinging really loudly around him. Unrelated to the weird feeling I got from him.”

I consider for a moment. I don’t want to immediately dismiss the concerns of someone whose senses have been honed to a fine point over the years, but Silvano has been good to me. He knows my loyalty to him is second only to his father.

“I don’t have a finely tuned gaydar,” I say slowly. “I haven’t had a real encounter with a man since…” My own mood drops, and it’s my turn to pull away slightly. “Let’s just say it’s been a very, very long time. Until you, I thought I might be cured.”

“Yep, that’s me. My twink powers are so strong, I turn even the straightest of men.” Fox wiggles his fingers in a ‘spooky’ manner. “I bet I could seduce Silvano.”

Even the thought of it is enough to make my hackles raise, and I glare at him. “Maybe you could, but you’re not going to,” I snap. “Don’t get any ideas, Fox. You’re mine. Understand?” I grab him by the back of the neck and pull him in hard, kissing him, demanding that he open his mouth to me as I thrust my tongue inside.

Fox groans and yields, allowing—no, inviting—me to conquer him with just this kiss. He clutches at my sides and starts to lean back, dropping to the mattress and pulling me on top of him.

“More, Daddy,” Fox moans, rolling his hips.

If the last time hadn’t been so intense, I might even have been able to go again.

I groan, kissing him with all the hunger I feel, all the need, as though this is the last time I’ll ever have him beneath me like this.

Considering the fact that I plan to chain him to my bed for the next five days, it might well be.

CHAPTER TWELVE

FOX

“I’m going with you,” I tell Cristiano. He stops mid-movement, one foot already in his nice shoes while he’s tying the laces on the other.

“No,” Cristiano says flatly. “You’re staying here, and I’m going to chain you to the bed so you can’t cause trouble.”

I cross the distance between his bedroom door and where he’s sitting on the ottoman in front of the bed. I’ve already put on a suit, courtesy of the clothes stashed in Briar’s room. Briar will never have to know.

“I have a list of reasons.” I wait for his glower, then continue, “One: you’re still being targeted, and we don’t know by whom. Me being with you could draw them out. Two: I am very, very good at reading people. Even if nobody is out to kill you, I could help with your business. Three: You said you wanted to make me part of your gang. And four…” I get down on my knees, put my arms on his thighs, and look up at him. “Please, Daddy?”

Cristiano’s breath catches, and he stares down at me. “You’re also down to two days to kill me,” he points out. “How do I know Corbin isn’t stalking us, where he’ll give you a weapon to take me out when I’m least expecting it?”

“Nah, that’s not his style.” I smile widely. “He wouldn’t risk getting seen at an event crawling with former clients, and he definitely wouldn’t bother helping me fix my mistakes.” I run my hands up his thighs. “I already got all dressed up, too. Don’t you want to show me off to the world, Daddy?”

He touches my chin, tilting my head up a little more. “Briar’s going to murder you if they realize you borrowed one of their suits,” he says. He smirks down at me. “Well, that would solve one problem for me.”

I nod agreeably. “Yep. Because if they attack me, it’ll be self-defense when I shoot them point blank.” I mouth at his knee for a second. “Maybe you should have bought a suit for me when you got me clothes for our date. Then I’d be wearing your clothes, and not one of your conquest’s.”

Fuck, I hate how much I wish he had. I can already imagine him picking out clothes for me, making me model for him, forcing me to stand perfectly still while he pretends to measure me…

Marking me as his own.

I keep thinking back to what he’d said. That he would make a space for me with him. I know it’s too good to be true, I know that I can’t rely on something like that.

But, what if…

“I told you, Briar isn’t a conquest. Briar is an employee who’s paid to be on hand for me whenever I need them—and not for sex. I’ve never had sex with Briar, and I’m not interested in Briar. Nor is Briar interested in me,” Cristiano says.

“Sure. But if you leave me here, I’ll escape my chains and start really provoking Briar.” I bite his thigh, though I don’t know how much he’ll feel through the heavy wool slacks. “The point is, Daddy… you should take me along to your fancy party with all the big, strong men.”

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