Page 58 of Damiano De Luca (The Five Syndicates)
Our movements were frantic. His hand tugged at my hair. Mine reached for his belt and yanked. When his fingers brushed against my slit, it struck me hard that we were really doing this. Excitement drove a path through my body.
How had I talked myself out of this the past month?
Why had I talked myself out of this the past month?
He felt so good on me, and I needed him in me. I reached into his pants and grabbed his thick erection. I stroked it twice, the smooth skin bliss against my palm.
He reached into my underwear, gathered my wetness, and pushed it back into me as he slid three fingers into me and curled them. “That tattoo on your finger means you’re mine. It means you’ve always been mine.”
I didn’t understand what the tattoo had to do with anything, but fear over the last time my heart broke resisted his words. “It’s just sex. We’re fucking as much as we can this weekend to get each other out of our systems.”
He laughed. “Keep telling yourself that.” His teeth bit down on my neck, eliciting a groan from me. “Once I’m in you, you won’t want me to leave.”
His pants were halfway down his legs when my alarm rang out. I groaned against Damian’s lips and apologized.
He watched me turn it off. “What’s the alarm for?”
I cocked a brow. “The roundtable meeting in a couple hours…” His features darkened, and my lips parted on a heavy breath. “Oh.”
He hadn’t been invited. I’d thought something had changed last month when he initiated the most peaceful roundtable discussion in the history of the syndicates. I guessed not.
“I have to go.”
I nodded. “Of course.” I considered what my dad would do if he found out he’d been excluded from an important meeting. “Don’t spill too much blood.”
Despite the gravity in his eyes, he allowed himself a small smile. “This isn’t over.”
“It’s just sex,” I reminded him, though the way my body arched toward him spoke volumes.
“It’s more than that.” I didn’t answer, so he held out his hand. “Phone? Unless you’re just going to switch phones and change your number again.” He arched a brow and dared me to argue.
“I didn’t switch phones. I just chan
ged the number.”
“So, you had my number this whole time?”
He left the rest of his question unspoken, because we both knew the answer. Not only had I changed my number, but I’d also had his and chosen not to call or text him. I’d spent so much time running from us that I’d become afraid of us. I couldn’t tell him this, because it was bullshit emotions that could be picked apart with ease. It was mortifying how I could be fearless in every way but the heart.
I wanted to ease the hurt Damian felt, like he had when he’d distracted me with naughty texts at Vince’s life celebration dinner. Instead, I pulled out my phone and unlocked it as he watched.
Renata: Roundtable discussion. Same location. Noon... And now you have my number. You’re welcome.
His phone buzzed, and he read his text. My eyes dared him to ask for more. Instead, he nodded his head and said, “This isn’t over, Renata.”
That was the problem.
I didn’t want it to be.
The De Luca family had been fractured for so long that, when I had taken over, I only trusted Cristian to become my consiglieri. Time passed, life happened, responsibilities became overwhelming, and I knew I needed to appoint an underboss if I wanted to get shit done.
I did the only thing I could think of. I turned to my advisor, and now he was both my consiglieri and my underboss. The only all-in-one consiglieri/underboss of his kind. That little fact gave him an ego the size of a Texas debutante’s teased hair. Coupled with our lifelong friendship, his ego meant he never held back with me.
Like now.
“You went to see her.” He popped an ice cube in his mouth, dipping his fingers into his Dalmore 62 like a fucking Neanderthal. “First thing you did in the city, too.” He shook his head. “Not a good look, man.”
I couldn’t stomach thinking of Ren. She looked tired. Like she hadn’t slept at all in the past month. Maybe that was my fault. Maybe we weren’t good for one another. I cut the thought off before I could consider stopping my pursuits. When I was with Ren, everything felt better and more real than anything I’d ever touched. If I lost that again, that bereft feeling would return and sicken me.
