Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Okay. Whoa whoa whoa,” he cut me off, exhaling hard. “I’m not going to lie to you. I went through a whole fucking whirlwind of feelings after seeing you in my office. But I didn’t have the whole story.”
“And now that you do?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“Now I understand that you didn’t have a choice. I’m assuming Renzo has been leaning on you. And the weight of knowing your brother was being held against his will…”
“It doesn’t make it okay.”
“Look, honey, I think the morality that exists in this world we are both in is different than in the general population. A lot of things can be seen as not only okay but understandable or even logical in this world.”
That was likely very true.
“I didn’t lie about anything else,” I told him. It was important that he know that. “I wasn’t just… trying to distract you. Or faking anything.”
“Oh, baby, I know you weren’t faking it,” he said, smirking a little.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said, feeling a small smile tugging at my lips.
“I know you weren’t faking anything. No offense, honey, but you can’t be that good an actress.”
“That’s fair,” I agreed.
“So… you were falling for me, huh?” he asked, releasing my face, and sitting on the couch right by my feet.
“I… yeah,” I admitted.
“That’s… convenient,” he said, reaching out, his hands sinking into my hips, pulling until I had no choice but to slide down until I was straddling him. “Because I was falling for you too,” he admitted.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Emilio
It was an insane turn of events.
But what in this Family didn’t involve some fucking soap-opera-worthy shit like that?
I wasn’t worried about Renzo, about Cage, about the Irish.
That shit was easy enough to fix.
A couple of meetings and it would all be behind us.
It didn’t matter.
What mattered was what we could salvage from this situation.
And after hearing what was going on, I decided it was a lot.
Because, like my mom had suggested, like Lorenzo had assumed, Avery had just been a pawn in a much bigger situation. One where she had very little control and a lot on the line.
Sure, a part of me bristled at the idea that once shit got personal between us, she hadn’t brought the truth to me. But I also had to appreciate how much more vulnerable she was in the whole thing than me.
And, of course, how hard it would be to say those words to me after things had gotten physical, to not know how I would respond to that sort of betrayal.
She’d done the best she could in a bad situation.
What mattered wasn’t all the bullshit.
What mattered was what was building between us.
“Really?” she asked, refusing to look at my face when she asked, like some part of her was worried I was bullshitting her.
I grabbed her chin, pulling it up until her pretty gaze was on mine.
“Really,” I said. “Trust me, no one is more surprised than I am.”
“Gee… thanks,” she said, wincing.
“That has nothing to do with you,” I assured her. “It’s me. I’ve been… in a dark place for a long time. You started to bring in the light. I didn’t think I would feel that again. I don’t want to lose it.”
“You’re sure?” she asked, feeling raw, vulnerable, but hopeful at the same time.
“Yes, I’m sure. Besides, you didn’t finish decorating the office. Can’t leave the house unfinished like that.” She smiled a bit at that, her hands resting on my upper arms. “I’m sure,” I told her, seeing the need for reassurance. “You’re coming back with me. We’ll figure out the rest of the shit later.”
“But…”
“We will figure out the rest of the shit later,” I repeated, getting a little smile out of her at that.
“Oh, okay,” she agreed, leaning in, resting her face in my neck, and taking a deep breath. “I missed this smell,” she admitted.
“It’s been half of a day,” I said, but my heart warmed at the idea that she’d missed me so much.
“Felt like a lifetime,” she admitted, her arms squeezing my sides, prompting me to wrap her up and squeeze her back.
Then her head was shifting up, and her lips were softly landing on mine.
Just sweetness for a moment.
But it wasn’t long until the need was starting to envelop us both, pulling us in, making everything else fall away.
My hands roamed over her, sinking into her ass, pulling her more firmly against me, feeling my cock hardening against her, something that had her hips wiggling, wanting more of the sensation.
My hands went up, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling upward, finding her naked beneath.
My greedy hands were moving up her back, pulling her backward, so they could continue to explore up her belly, then over her breasts, teasing her nipples until they were hardened points, until her hips were writhing against my cock, until she was whimpering for more.