Chapter 12

This is a side of Lili I’ve never seen before. Then again, considering I’ve only known the woman for a few days, I’m sure there are plenty of sides of her I haven’t seen yet. Honestly, she’s a little scary—maybe even more so than her father and brother combined—and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be on her shit list.

How can someone so sweet and fucking pure also carry that level of brutality and aggression with her?

I don’t know. But watching her knee that asshole in the balls was something else. I’m conflicted, torn between wanting to shove her behind me and not let anyone get to her… and wanting to see just what she’s capable of.

I follow her out of the bar, her brother and their friend trailing behind us. Lili opens the door of the SUV that’s still parked at the curb and climbs inside. As soon as my ass lands on the seat beside her, she turns to me. “I’m really sorry. I swear I’m not usually like this. But I’d get it if you wanted me to just drop you at your hotel and part ways now.”

“My hotel room is fine… if you’re planning on coming with me. If not, I’ll follow you wherever you’re going, babe,” I tell her. “And you can be yourself, Lili. Whatever that means, no matter how many versions there are. I want to get to know you, the real you. Not the you that you think I want to see.”

“Okay,” she whispers with a small smile. It drops the moment the doors open again and her brother and friend get inside the car.

Lili reaches over and grabs hold of my hand. I have no idea where we’re going, and I don’t ask, because I meant what I said. I’m going wherever she’s going. Usually, I’d be out with my team. Especially after a win. Tonight, there’s only one way I want to celebrate, and that’s with the woman sitting next to me. Preferably naked.

A few minutes later, we’re pulling into a garage under an apartment building. “This is one of my Zio Luca’s places. We’re kind of borrowing it,” Lili explains.

“Kind of?” I ask.

“Well, we didn’t exactly tell anyone where we were going,” she says.

“Why not?”

“Because I didn’t want my father to ground the jet.” She shrugs. “He’s not exactly a fan of yours right now, and trust me when I say he will do anything and everything to keep me from seeing you.”

I’ve been wanting to ask her what her father said to her when we ran into him the other day. I know it’s really none of my business, though.

“Not a fan is an understatement, Lil. I’ve never seen Pops want to gut someone as much as he wants to gut you.” Alessandro looks over to me while pressing the button for the elevator.

“Shut it,” Lili hisses at her brother.

“What? It’s the truth.” He smirks.

“He’s not going to gut you,” Lili attempts to clarify. “He might want to, but he won’t.”

I don’t say anything. My head is spinning with all of this talk about her father… and being at the top of his very real hit list.

How the fuck did this become my life overnight?

I look at Lili and squeeze her hand tighter. That’s how. She’s got some kind of spell over me, because I can’t for the life of me find a reason to let her go, even knowing all the dangers that come with us being together.

Lili drags me down a hallway in her uncle’s apartment, and Alessandro calls out after us, “Door stays open, Lil.”

“You wish,” she throws back. And as soon as we step foot in the room, she makes a point of slamming the door shut. “We’re only staying here until my cousin shows up. Then we can leave,” she says. “I just need to make sure someone is here to stop my brother from going after that douchebag again.”

“You think he’d go back?” I ask her.

“I know he’s already planning it.” She nods. “Trust me, he won’t let it go. But once Lorenzo gets here, my brother is his problem. And you and I… well, we can get to the celebrating part of the night.”

“Yeah? What’d you have in mind?” I ask while taking a step forward. She takes one back. We repeat the process until the undersides of her knees are hitting the edge of the bed.

“Well, I thought we could go to a hotel.”

“And what would we do at this hotel, Lili?” I run the tips of my fingers along her neck, and she tilts her head to one side, allowing my lips to dip down and replace my hand.

“We’d, uh… well… fuck…” She gasps when I bite down.

“Mmm, I like your kind of celebrating,” I hum. “How long before your cousin gets here? Because I gotta tell you, you’ve had my cock hard all fucking night, babe.”

“Um… maybe we could start the celebrations early,” she says as she reaches a hand down and cups my cock over the denim of my jeans.

A loud bang has her dropping that hand like I’ve burned her. The door swings open, and I take a step back. Not because I want to, but because I’m trying to be respectful. To her. And to her family.

“That ain’t fucking happening on my watch, Lil,” Alessandro grunts, one arm outstretched as he points a finger from me to his sister.

At least it’s not a gun, I think to myself.

“Oh my god.” Lili throws her hands in the air. “You’re being ridiculous, Alessandro. You know I’m an adult, right? That I’ve had sex plenty of times before and will have it plenty more.”

I look at her. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask for their names. I don’t like the idea of other guys knowing what she feels like. I’m not an idiot. I know she wasn’t a virgin. But, fuck, hearing her talk about fucking other guys doesn’t sit well with me.

“Got a list?” I ask, not able to stop myself.

“A list?” Lili turns to me.

“Of these guys. The ones you’ve had plenty of sex with,” I clarify.

“No, and what makes you think they’re all guys?” She raises a questioning brow at me.

“Babe, I couldn’t care less about their gender. I just want them gone,” I tell her.

Lili rolls her eyes at me. “Fine, I’ll give you my list… as soon as you give me yours.” She smirks.

“As entertaining as this isn’t, the fucking door stays open,” Alessandro grunts. “Unless you’d like a bullet between your boyfriend’s eyes.”

“I’m telling Mom,” Lili says.

“Tell her. I’ll tell Pops why I had to follow your ass to fucking Nashville,” he counters.

I’m an only child, so this whole sibling rivalry thing is something I’ve never understood. I can’t help but smile as I watch them try to one-up each other, though.

“Anyone hungry? I’m going to order takeout,” I say while pulling my phone from my pocket.

Alessandro and Lili both look at me with odd expressions on their faces.

“What?”

“Nothing,” they say at the same time.