Page 68 of Fastest Kill

"There now, don't you feel better?" she teased lightly, running her nails over his abs. "You stay there. I'll be right back."

Dario only whimpered, which made her laugh wickedly all the way to the adjoining bathroom. She cleaned herself up before running a cloth under the warm water.

Dario still hadn't moved, which made her smile widen even further. He groaned as she wiped him down in gentle swipes.

"Come here."

"Let me finish…"

"I'm clean enough." Dario pulled her up beside him without asking, his arm going around her waist, tucking her against his side.

He took the wet cloth from her and tossed it toward the bathroom. Frederica sighed, her cheek finding the perfect place between his shoulder and pec.

Dario ran his fingers through her hair slowly. "Frederica."

"Mmm?"

"Thank you."

"Don't make it weird, Colleoni. I did it for me, not for you."

Frederica felt him smile against the top of her head. His hand kept moving through her hair, slow and steady. Frederica closed her eyes and told herself she would let him drift off before sneaking out again.

She was asleep in four minutes. She never did make it back to her own room.

29

Frederica woke to the church bells and decided she would sneak out of bed, make coffee, then surprise Dario with it before fucking his brains out before breakfast.

It was the perfect plan until she walked out of his room and ran straight into Giana Sorrentino.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Frederica asked, her heart in her throat. She hadn't heard anyone in the house. No doors closing or voices talking. Had she slept that deeply?

"I…" Giana's dark eyes moved from Frederica's face to the T-shirt she was wearing, down to her bare feet, and back up again. The whole journey took approximately two seconds, during which her face turned to delight and unholy satisfaction. She lifted her phone and took a photo before Frederica could produce a single word.

"Do not—" Frederica started, and Giana's send tone pinged. "Who did you just send that to?"

"Athena."

"Why?"

Giana looked up, and the smile on her face was pure evil. "Because she owes me fifty euros. She bet me it would take longer for you two to hook up again."

Frederica stared at her. "You had a bet on me?"

"On the two of you," Giana said, as if this were a reasonable distinction. "Don't take it personally, amica mia. You did it to me, remember? We also have one about how long it will take Leo and Dante to get a dog. Come on, Athena's making coffee."

"Can I shower first?" Frederica grumbled.

"Absolutely not." Giana linked her arm through Frederica's and steered her firmly toward the stairs.

Athena was at the kitchen island, both hands wrapped around a coffee mug, her blonde hair loose and pale blue eyes bright. She looked at Frederica in the doorway, still being half dragged by Giana, and her mouth curved into the sharpest smile Frederica had seen since the last time she'd watched someone lose a knife fight.

"There she is. Giana was meant to wake you up, but she caught you doing a walk of shame instead. What a great start to my day," Athena said and waggled her brows. "The Colleoni balls were so magical you went back for more, huh?"

Frederica tried to pray for patience and chose violence instead. "They were in my mouth last night, and they sure felt magical. Maybe it's transferable, and I'll get some special abilities too."

"Like growing your own pair?" Athena quipped.