Twisted Loyalties (The Camorra Chronicles 1)

I covered my eyes with my hand, trying to catch my breath. Fabiano took my wrist and pulled my shield away, then pulled me up, so I straddled his legs. I wrapped my arms around his neck, searching his eyes for confirmation that he was okay with me enjoying this so much. “You were worth it, you know?” He nuzzled my neck and I smiled to myself. “What exactly?” I whispered.

“The pain, the wait, Remo’s wrath. Everything.”

This was where it all started. Where my dreams of an ordinary life ended and something other, something equally good I realized now, had begun.

“I love you,” I breathed.

“And I love you,” he said, and the words still sounded foreign from his lips.

I touched the tattoo on his wrist. “More than this.”

“More than this.” But because I knew he loved the Camorra, loved Remo as a brother for whatever inexplicable reason, I would never ask him to choose.

He brushed my hair back from my sweaty forehead. “You should start looking into application forms for college. University of Nevada is a good place to start.”

I pulled back. “I don’t have the money.”

Fabiano smiled. “I might as well put all the blood money in my account to good use. The Camorra still needs a good lawyer. Why not you?”

I couldn’t believe it. “You mean it?” I didn’t dare hope I’d understood him right.

He nodded. “But I have to tell you that it has to be in Vegas. I can’t let you go, being a possessive bastard and all.”

I kissed him, excitement surging through me.

“My possessiveness never excited you that much before,” he said wryly.

I shook my head, having a hard time forming words to express my gratitude. “I don’t want to leave Las Vegas. Because Las Vegas is your home, and you are mine.”

He pulled me into a painful embrace and I sunk into him. My protector.