Chapter 21

MIA

‘ I come bearing gifts.'

I stood at the doorway to Lorenzo's office. In my hands was a tray of steaming coffee and a plate of biscotti, duettos and granelati cookies with the enticing flavours of almond, chocolate chip and pistachio lemon.

He glanced up, easing off the glasses on his nose, and I relished how his eyes warmed and mouth curved when he turned to me.

‘Come in, love.'

The man was freakin' handsome. Who else rocked sweats, a grey tee that clung to the defined musculature of his arms and chest and was barefoot, yet still appeared like an Italian prince?

The hand that beckoned to me made me blush, recalling what those lean fingers had stroked and flicked my clit, how their pull on my nipples drove me wild.

I swallowed and inhaled, needing to calm the fuck down.

Lorenzo reclined in his chair behind his extensive work desk, eyes on me as I approached.

‘Where's Mauri?' I asked.

‘He had an errand to run,' Lorenzo growled as I placed the tray down and bent over to kiss him.

Our lips melded as he raised a hand to brush a finger over my hardening nipple.

‘No,' I commanded,' stepping back. ‘First, you take a coffee break.'

‘Later -?' he ventured with a smirk.

I waggled my fingers at him. ‘Drink and eat up, and you may just find out.'

He obeyed as I spotted a photograph on the surface of Lorenzo's desk and exclaimed with joy.

It showed Bianca surrounded by four handsome Italian adolescent men.

I recognised Lorenzo in the midst of it.

‘That's an amazing picture.'

‘We took it on a trip to Lake Como,' he told me with a wistful smile.

‘We were all so young and carefree back then,' he said reminiscing, ‘and everything was possible.'

Sadness came over me as I glanced at the photo once more. ‘When did she become your guardian?' I asked.

‘Soon after losing both my parents and her husband. She'd been in Sydney because she and Costa lived here most of the year. She flew up immediately, wrapped all of us lost and grieving boys in her arms, making us safe, giving us all a sense of comfort and familiarity that we much needed.'

‘Tell me more about her,' I invited.

Lorenzo shook her head. ‘She was something else. When she hugged you, it was like a snug blanket. But her grip was firm and controlled, a subtle hint of her strength and might. From the start, it was clear she was not someone to be underestimated or messed with in her soft cashmere sweaters and tailored pants. Her warm, gentle personality and dark bob gave the impression of a loving aunt, but the way her piercing gaze swept the room. Taking in every detail revealed her true power and steeliness, each movement calculated and precise. At home, I loved and laughed with her; at work, I was freakin' terrified of her.'

We exchanged a smile.

‘I always sensed there was more to her than she let on,' I murmured.

‘Oh yes, Mia cara. A formidable woman, in appearance a cuddly aunt, but in reality, a ruthless mafia boss. The only giveaway was the calculating sparkle in her eyes that hinted at her real nature. A master of deception, she hid a steely will and cunning mind that ruled over a pitiless operation, guiding us and our entire clan from darkness to light.'

His voice trailed off, sipping his coffee and dunking a biscotti into its heat, his face a study of wistfulness.

I thought about his words. I remembered the stories Bianca had told me of her idyllic life growing up in Italian, touching only on the fact that her family was connected to the Mafia.

Turning to my man, I asked, ‘Why do you think she kept most of that part of herself hidden from me?'

He hesitated for a moment as if weighing his words. ‘Because, bella, unless you're blood or family, one does not share our realm with anyone. It's a dangerous life, one filled with darkness and brutality. She might have cherished you too much to put you in harm's way, to free you from the violence and chaos of our messed-up reality. That's why she hid almost all of it and went to lengths to protect you. I'm glad she did, for we'd no such luck. We were Calibrese blood, exposed to the nightfall of Mafia life. When she became our guardian, she insisted that we learn the family enterprise alongside studying for an education that would equip us for modern society. She was the one who encouraged and nurtured in us a hunger for a more justifiable purpose. We turned our attention toward building a legitimate business and using our connections for the greater good rather than the dark world our parents inhabited because of her. When the time was right, she revealed all our fuckin' secrets, and we had the learning and insight to separate them from our desired future.'

‘Which one is that?' I asked.

His eyes smouldered. ‘This one, here with you. Now,' he growled, pushing his empty coffee cup away. ‘Come here.'

I rose to my feet and crossed to him, my heart beating faster as I drew close, the heat from his body flooding me.

He took my hand and pulled me towards him, causing me to lose my balance and fall onto his lap. I let out a small gasp, the turgid bulge in his pants throbbing against my bare skin below my shorts.

He leaned forward, then raised a brow as I touched his lips.

Straddling him and grinding my pelvis over his hard length, I made my demand. ‘I hope you never keep any freaking secrets from me, my love. I want to know it all. Everything.'

His eyes darkened, then gleamed. ‘Every fucking thing?'

‘Every one.'

‘Why?'

‘Because if we're going to be together, we will be partners who share it all—every burden, triumph, secret, moment—Every. Single. Thing. Can you handle that, Lorenzo?'

‘Just like you kept your father undercover?' he teased.

‘Fuck off, I was waiting for the right time to tell you. I didn't deny him when we met him.'

He gazed into my eyes and nodded. ‘True. You also risked yourself to protect yet again. It seems you are the badass queen I need in my life, and I can deal with anything with you, cara. Anything.'

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his, loving the raw intensity of his passion.

I moaned, gripping his shoulders as I lost myself in the moment.

His arms encircled me as our kiss deepened.

‘I want this rocket off the ground, Mia. You're so beautiful, it's hard to behave.'Lifting off my lips, Lorenzo whispered, ‘I want to make you cream for me.'

My breathing became ragged as he explored my body.

Lorenzo lifted me onto his desk, and I wrapped my legs around him as they continued to grope and fondle with urgency.

His hands roamed all over me, caressing my curves and sending shivers down my spine. I moaned into his mouth, and he took that opportunity to slip his hand into my panties.

I gasped as he found my clit, and proceeded to rub it in tight circles.

‘Undo your shirt.'

I stared down at him for a beat before getting his meaning.

Taking my time, I unbuttoned it, savouring his wild and heated eyes.

‘Your bra,' he growled, eyes gleaming with need and desire.

I did so, again elongating the pleasure.

Bare in front of him, he growled and bent forward.

Pulling one nipple into his lips, sucking on it, grazing it with his teeth as I writhed under him.

At the same time, his fingers worked their magic inside me while his thumb flicked my clit to the edge of oblivion.

‘Lorenzo.'

I trembled with rapture, close to coming. Lorenzo sensed it too and leaned in to whisper in my ear, ‘Let go, love. Come for me, baby.'

Those words were my undoing.

I moaned long and hard as my orgasm crashed through me like a wave, causing my entire body to shake.

Only then did Lorenzo remove his hand from my underwear, wrapping his arms around me until I came down off my high.

When I did, eager to give back, I reached for his belt buckle, but he stopped me. ‘Not now, bella, later. Tonight. When we have all the time in the world. After dinner?'

I gave him a slow smile. ‘Sounds like a plan.'

We both chuckled.

‘I'm soaked. I need a shower after that,' I whispered.

I slipped off his lap with a wicked grin.

He tapped my bare ass as I picked up my discarded top and underwear, smirking as I twisted to escape him.

He whistled under his breath, admiring the sway of my hips as I went and laughing when I over-exaggerated my walk.

I paused at the door, blew him a kiss, and then ran out of the room. Loving how natural life became with Lorenzo and how at peace he made me feel.

LORENZO

The news came in at one am on a Friday night.

I was tangled in bed with my woman, her limbs all over me.

A light sleeper, my eyes flew open when my phone vibrated.

Scrambling for it, I swiped to my messages, to a text from Alessio alerting me to the fact that he'd sent me a crucial update.

I knifed up with care, not wanting to wake Mia. She'd come in tired and cranky from a busy week of classes, two exams and a growing client list to service.

Keeping the noise to a minimum, I rose and slipped out of the room, heading downstairs to my office.

I opened the communique on my laptop.

It was a news video in Italian.

It told the gory account of how attackers on motorbikes, masked, in the middle of the night had gunned down Neapolitan businessman Ricco Abrazzio on a luxury beach holiday in Greece with more than 20 bullets. Abrazzio, 69, was killed, while his two sons were wounded and hospitalised.

‘They were rushed to a local medical centre, where one succumbed to his injuries, and the other, due to the severity of his wounds, was transferred to another hospital in Athens,' the media announcer intoned. ‘It would appear the murdered Don was a leader of the Naples-based Abrazzio clan, which had been at war with other drug-running plots for years. Law enforcement sources are reported as saying the killing appeared to be mafia revenge. After the liquidation, the beach town was blocked by police patrols. Crossings to Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey are being checked because it's assumed that the killers came from outside Greece and fled across the border.'

I turned off the flashing imagery.

My scorched earth plan had worked.

Better still, I'd kept to Omertà not by snitching to the authorities but by handing the tapes of the Abrazzio's skimming of the Cadaveri profits to the snakeheads themselves.

I flung my head back in my chair, unsure how I felt about it.

Bloodshed was not our preferred way, but needs must.

The Abrazzios had dared come for us and tried to wipe us out.

We were only returning the favour.

But with the annihilation of their clan leader, we had also destroyed their cornerstone of authority, leaving behind a power vacuum.

We had always assumed that we'd remain safe by upholding the code of honour and dignity that our families had sustained for generations. However, things were changing. It appeared that no one was safe anymore.

As the moon tracked across the sky, I found myself in contemplation. I had always believed in preserving a balance where dominance was concerned. To be a supreme player in the game, one had to evolve and adapt to the new challenges.

With that, I rose from my chair, shut off my laptop, and went back upstairs to seek the comfort of my woman.

Mia lay on her side, a hand under one cheek, deep in sleep.

I curled around her and sunk my nose in her scented hair.

She'd come into my life when I most needed her.

I craved her strength and love now more than ever. Her presence was a constant reminder of the goodness that still existed in the world despite all the chaos surrounding us.

She stirred and turned, lifting her lips to mine.

I indulged her, and in seconds, the tender kiss transformed into fiery passion.

Our bodies moved against each other as we kissed with a primal urge.

She reached between us, sliding her hands into my shorts and tugging on my throbbing cock.

I arched my head, welcoming the pressure, the pleasure.

I groaned, begging for her brand of heated love.

She sensed my need, and, pulling away the covers, she slid her grasp under my ass and pulled down my gear, releasing me to the cool night air.

She lowered her mouth and took me into her warmth with a glint in her eye. Suckling, licking, and running her tongue up and down the thick vein beneath my throbbing member.

I jolted, rammed my groin upward, and she impossibly took all of me.

Damn, she brought me to my proverbial knees every single fucking day.

I blew a few moments afterwards, undone, gone for her.

I was still hard as a rock, thighs still trembling after I orgasmed when she lifted and moved up, swinging her hips over mine.

Seconds later, Mia pulled me into her, her hair cascading around us like a silken waterfall. I thrust up into her as a shattering, thigh-shaking bliss took over her.

It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, and every time I was with her, I discovered more of myself, heart, and soul.

As our bodies intertwined, I couldn't help but think of the future ahead. The world we lived in was ruthless, unforgiving, and ever-changing. But for now, I had Mia.

We spent the night wrapped up in each other's arms. As I drifted to sleep with her, I knew I'd found my lullaby, my sweetest buona notte, my true forever.