Fabiano pulled me on top of his body. “Do you think I’d ever allow it? I will do anything to protect you.”
“Even kill Remo?”
He grew tense. “Remo is like my brother. If he goes down, so will I.”
I searched his eyes. He was serious. “You could leave Las Vegas. Start somewhere new.”
Leona, stop this. End this.
He shook his head like I couldn’t understand. “The Camorra is in my blood.”
Blood. Screams.
I glanced at the tattoo on his wrist. The Camorra was the love of his life. Nothing could compete with that, least of all I. “Blood,” I murmured.
Fabiano’s eyes were like a stormy summer sky. “I will handle Remo. Don’t worry about it. Now that your father is gone, things will settle down. You can continue with your life.”
Gone.
Killed. Murdered. Tortured.
“Do you really believe that?” I asked. What life was I supposed to continue?
The look she gave me now was the one I’d expected in the beginning. It was a look I hated seeing now. I was risking my reputation, my life and Remo’s trust for her. All for her.
I kissed Leona hard. For a moment she froze, then she returned the kiss with the same force.
I deepened the kiss, my hands coming down on her hips and I rolled us over, stretching out over her. I supported my weight with my elbows as I kissed her harder. She returned the kiss with as much need. I slid my hand under her shirt, fingers trailing over her smooth thigh. I wanted her, had never wanted anything as much. She pulled away from my mouth, growing tense beneath me. “No, Fabiano,” she got out. “I can’t do this now, not after everything that has happened.”
I sucked in a deep breath. Who said there would be another chance for us? My cock was so hard it threatened to tear through my boxers. I had half a mind of ignoring her ‘no’ and just keep going. I could imagine how tight and warm she’d be, how tightly her channel would squeeze down on my cock. Fuck. I wanted her. I wanted to have her before I faced Remo tomorrow, before I risked my life again. What if he’d changed his mind?
Her blue eyes met mine. I hated that the trusting innocence was gone from them, hated that I was the reason for it.
Fuck. What had I become?
I pressed my forehead against hers, breathing in deeply. “You’ll be the end of me, Leona.”
She didn’t say anything. I rolled off her, because staying between her legs gave me ideas I didn’t need. I pulled her into my arms. She didn’t resist. She held me just as tightly. “I won’t,” she murmured sleepily.
“Won’t?”
“Be the end of you.”
Her body went soft. I propped myself up on my elbow. I trailed my fingertips over her throat, watching her sleep. I was glad she’d finally drifted off, glad her eyes weren’t looking at me with that broken expression anymore.
She didn’t understand what I’d risked for her today. She couldn’t possibly understand.
I would do it again, would save her again even if it meant risking Remo’s wrath.
Chapter Twenty
I woke to silence, and an empty bed. I rolled over, staring at the rumpled sheets beside me. I buried my nose in the pillow, soaking in Fabiano’s familiar scent, letting it take me back to the time when I’d been able to pretend I didn’t know what he was.
Regret came over me. Last night when he’d wanted me, I should have let him. I should have allowed us that one night, that one moment to cherish. Too late now.
I allowed myself to lie in the feather soft bed for a few more minutes before I sat up, my legs dangling over the edge of the bed. Everything smelled fresh and clean, and the room was flooded with light. This was nothing like the places I’d grown up in and lived now. It had seemed like a dream at times. Fabiano’s attention. That someone like him could want me. I should have realized it wasn’t meant to last. Dreams always came with a price for girls like me. But the time for dreaming was over now.
I quickly gathered my clothes and got dressed. I allowed myself a couple of seconds to admire the Las Vegas Strip stretching out below the apartment. This luxury was something I’d felt uneasy with the first time I saw it. I’d seldom had more than a few bucks and here I was standing in an apartment that had cost more than I’d make as a waitress all my life. Beautiful things are always taken from you, that’s what my mother used to say. I hadn’t wanted to believe her, even though this thing between Fabiano and I seemed too good to be true in a city ruled by someone like Remo Falcone. And now her warning came true.