Page 109 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
I breathe in his scent and shudder as his cock twitches inside of me. His fingers are so tight on my thighs, I’m sure I’ll have bruises tomorrow, but right now, my body’s oblivious to pain.
Around Giorgio, it sings with pleasure.
CHAPTER27
GIORGIO
“Give Tommasoand Allegra the night off,” Martina whispers in my ear once we’re lying in bed and catching our breath. “I’ll make dinner.”
I press a kiss to her temple. “All right.”
A moment later, she climbs over me and walks to the bathroom. A trail of my cum drips down her thigh, and I get the urge to drag her back into bed and shove it back inside of her.
The possessiveness I feel toward her is a recipe for fucking disaster, but I’ve decided that while she’s here, I’ll indulge it.
It crossed my mind more than a few times as I was telling her about my past that I should stop before I get too far. But then I thought, why hold any of it back? As the words left my mouth, I kept waiting for disgust to flash across her features. I was sure that when I saw it, it would put whatever we were doing here in a neat little box. A temporary fling between two people who couldn’t be more unsuitable for each other.
But that’s not what happened. She saw the real me and didn’t even blink.
My lips curl into a bitter smile. She might think she can mend me, but she’s so very young. I can tell she’s an optimist at heart.
And me? I’m an old cynic.
I might find some peace when Sal is dead, but it won’t absolve me of my original sin.
While Martina showers, I get dressed and seek out Allegra to relieve her and her husband of their duties. After I speak with her, I intend to search for Polo, but Allegra tells me he’s gone into town and hasn’t returned. Apparently, he twisted his ankle earlier, and it was bothering him enough that he wanted to get it looked at.
I spend the next hour reviewing recent phone calls I’ve recorded, but the exercise proves fruitless. My access to people in Sal’s orbit has weakened over the last few weeks. The phone chatter has decreased. During times like these, conversations are had in person and in locations the don can be sure aren’t bugged.
Fuck. I need to know why his attention is trained on me.
I pick up my phone and consider giving him a call, but I quickly decide against it. I never call him. Doing so now would only heighten his suspicion.
It’ll show him that I’m nervous. I’m rarely nervous, because I’m always in control. But now, I feel the puppet string slipping through my fingers. I frown. Something is off, but I can’t place my finger on what…
My thumb presses on a number, and three rings later, Damiano picks up.
“Did something happen?” he asks as soon as the line connects.
I lean back in my chair and prop my feet up on the desk. “No, everything is fine.”
“Good. I was about to call you. We’ve had a few meetings fall through, and I was wondering if you know why.”
“Who?”
“Carlo Moretti, Vittorio De Rosa, and the Esposito brothers.”
Which each name he lists, my gut grows tighter. “They were families I was sure we could rely on.”
“So was I. Carlo and Vittorio are the ones who’ve suffered the most from Sal’s strategic failure with the Mallardos, given that their territory is by the border. The Mallardos have already started doing raids in retaliation. Sal must have told them something to sway them, and I was hoping you could tell me what.”
“I’ll look into it. I don’t have any ins with those two, but I have access to the cameras in Esposito’s warehouse, since I’m the one who set up the system. The younger one, Allonso, spends a lot of time there. I can let you know if anyone from Sal’s inner circle has paid them a visit. If they talked, there’s a chance my cameras picked it up.”
“Yes, fine.” There’s a long pause. “I don’t like it, Napoletano. The meetings were easy to set up, but they cancelled abruptly. Only hours before we were supposed to meet.”
“If they were definitively backing Sal, they wouldn’t have cancelled. They would have just tipped Sal off on where to find you.”
“I know. I still think they want to see me as don, but they got spooked. Sal’s got something up his sleeve. Is there any chance he could have an idea about Mari’s whereabouts?”
