8. Michelangelo

Itrailed my fingers over Penelope’s sleeping form, imagining I was painting her skin. I swirled her nipples until the lower half of her body writhed and her eyes opened.

“I need you,” I confessed, knowing all too well the agony I’d feel if I couldn’t sink myself into her.

“Take me.”

Her words set off my desire in such a way that my desperation was like that of a man who would die if I couldn’t feel her pussy wrapped around my cock. I flipped Pen onto her stomach and pulled her up by the waist. She braced herself with her elbows on the bed and raised her arse so her wet heat was right where I wanted it. I momentarily panicked when I looked around and, at first, didn’t see the second condom I’d set on the mattress.

Finding it behind me, I hurried to rip it open and roll it on. “Tell me if I’m too rough,” I said, unable to wait for a response before sliding deep inside her in one hard thrust.

“Never,” she moaned, pushing back against me, and I gritted my teeth, stopping myself from impaling her.

When she quivered, it was my undoing. I could not go slow or soft. I slammed into her, pulling almost all the way out before doing it again. Then I picked up my pace and didn’t relent, especially when I heard Pen’s whimpers of pleasure.

“Touch yourself. Finger your clit,” I demanded, knowing I was on the brink of exploding inside her but also that I couldn’t until I knew she’d go off with me.

We convulsed against each other, then her body collapsed on the mattress, taking mine with her.

I got up.

“Where are you going?” Penelope whined, turning her head to look up at me.

I reached down and squeezed the cheek of her bottom. “Be right back.”

After disposing of the second condom—the ones I’d purchased and brought with me, not really believing I’d make use of them, at least not tonight—like I had the first, I glanced at the mirror. I looked sated, yes, but more, happy. My body had yearned for release inside a woman, but this was so much more than that. This was Penelope, and now that I’d made her mine like she’d begged me to, I’d be damned if I ever let her go.

As I’d expected,when we woke again mid-morning, Penelope was withdrawn. It was a modus operandi I’d seen happen in the past and had prepared myself for.

It wasn’t just Pen who did it. Tara did, too. And Quinn. I hadn’t witnessed the behavior with Ava and Aine, but as twins, they probably withdrew into one another when they were uncomfortable or feeling insecure.

Shared dysfunction in their families was what had brought the five then-girls together in the first place. I was no stranger to it myself. I’d just rebelled instead. So much so, I’d spent five years in prison.

Rather than let her pull further away, I walked up behind her as she looked out at the ocean. It was a gray and cloudy day, and the surf was high. I put one arm around her waist and rested the other on her upper arm. I leaned close so she could feel the warmth of my breath on her neck. “Butterfly,” I whispered.

She turned her head, and I kissed from her ear down the side of her face. When she breathed my name as much as said it, I glanced up and saw her eyes had drifted closed and her cheeks were flushed. It would be so easy for me to slip my hand down the front of her jeans and finger her until she begged me to let her come, but I wanted more. I wanted everything, and that meant I couldn’t let her pull away.

“Come here.” With my arm still around her waist, I moved backwards to a chair, sat, then pulled her onto my lap. I kissed her, but when she tried to take it deeper, I was the one who withdrew. “Talk to me, Butterfly. Tell me what’s got you so lost in thought.”

She rested the side of her face next to mine. “Real life beckons.”

“Which means you and I go back to living separate lives.”

She shrugged. “Won’t we?”

“Are you rethinking the undercover assignment?”

She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. “Do you think it will really happen?”

“Actually, while you were catching up with your tribe, Doc, Merrigan, and I were discussing the training we’d both need to undergo if we proceed. That is if you can take time away from the gallery. The amount you do is up to you.”

She sighed. “I fucking hate what the forgers did. Not just to our business but to so many others. I don’t want them to get away with it.”

I eased her off my lap and sat on the sofa and sat beside her. “I need to be completely straight with you.” I took both her hands in mine.

“Whatever it is, just say it.”

“If this forgery ring is connected to the people I believe it is, what we’re walking into is risky. More than that, it’s dangerous. To be honest, I strongly encourage you to think hard about your involvement. Which, based on some of your comments, sounds as though you already are.”

Her mouth gaped. “What did you just say?”

The words were different, but Pen’s tone was identical to when Tara had told her she informed the other three partners about the forgery scandal. I wanted to smile, to pull her into my arms, and tell her how much I loved her fire. However, since I was on the receiving end of her ire, I steeled my reaction.

“If I’m right, the group we’re talking about infiltrating may be one of the biggest crime organizations in Italy. Maybe even the world.”

She folded her arms. “Then, why did you suggest I get involved in the first place? Or was it all just a ruse to…”

The muscles in my shoulders tensed. “Finish your sentence.”

She waved her hand. “This was what you wanted, right? Me. In bed. Us fucking like bunnies.”

I kept my gaze riveted to hers while I thought through my response. I’d witnessed Penelope push people away before they could do it to her. The only exception, outside a couple of older family members who were no longer living, was the tribe. Sure, they’d had ups and downs, particularly with Tara, but they’d resolved a number of misunderstandings and remained friends.

I’d paid attention to the romantic relationships she had, most of which were over before I realized they’d started. As far as I knew, Penelope had ended every one.

“I knew it,” she muttered. She stood, but I grabbed her wrist before she could escape.

“You’re wrong.”

She tried to yank away, but I pulled her back on my lap. I gripped her nape and brought my face close enough to hers that, with a single breath, we’d touch.

“Is that it? I’m wrong. Nothing else to say?” she snapped.

“I promised I’d never clip your wings. You are everything to me, Penelope. You must know how much I?—”

She slammed her mouth into mine, using an angry kiss to stop me from saying the words that were too terrifying for her to hear.

Maybe now wasn’t the time, but one day soon, she’d be ready to accept that what I felt for her was real. More real, more important, more essential than anything else that had or would happen in either of our lives. I’d do whatever it took to convince her of what was already burned on my heart. She and I belonged together. Forever and always.

“What will it take to convince you that it wasn’t just about sex for me?”

She raised a brow.

“I’m not joking, Butterfly. Tell me what I can do to convince you I want it all with you.”

“You can’t.”

I cocked my head. “Now, you’re just being obstinate.”

“You’ll never agree to it.”

“I can’t very well agree to anything if you don’t tell me what it is.”

“No sex.”