Chapter 7

She’s late, but I’m not surprised. My younger cousin is never on time. Aurora lives by her own set of rules. I should find out what my Zia Savvy ate when she was pregnant with that girl and avoid whatever it is whenever I decide to have kids of my own. Because the world doesn’t need more offspring like my cousin. At just eighteen, she’s seen more trouble than all of us put together. And there are a lot of us.

I scroll through my phone, mindlessly looking at my social feeds to pass the time. Aurora will be here soon. She may be late, but she always shows.

“Shit, have you been waiting long? I’m sorry,” she says, as if on cue.

“Not long. What held you up?”

“You don’t want to know.” Aurora gives me that devilish smirk she’s mastered.

“Tell me the oldies aren’t about to bust in any moment because you’ve done something reckless again?” I plead with her. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“They’re not. Don’t be so dramatic, Lil. I covered my tracks.” She shrugs, and I huff out a sigh.

“I have plans after dinner and I really don’t have time to be saving you from your parents,” I tell her.

“Pfft, as if I need anyone to save me.” She laughs before quickly changing the subject. “So plans, huh? What are they? And can you order me a cosmo?” She bats her eyelashes at me.

“Nothing, and no.” I pick up my glass of wine and sip at it just to annoy her. She’s eighteen, but no stranger to alcohol. Even so, I refuse to buy it for her, and anyone who knows what’s good for them won’t either. Which only makes it more of a wonder as to how she always seems to have a stash of liquor somewhere in her bedroom.

“Fine,” she grunts.

“I’m assuming there’s a reason for this impromptu dinner?” I ask, trying to get right to the point.

“Can’t I just want to have dinner with my cousin for the sake of having dinner?”

“You can, but it’s you, and you don’t do anything without an agenda.”

“I think Nonno is getting ready to hand over the reins to Zio Theo,” she says bluntly.

My glass pauses midair. This is huge. “What makes you think that?”

“I overheard Nonno and Nonna talking about it.” Aurora lifts a single shoulder.

“You mean you eavesdropped on what I’m assuming was a private conversation?”

“Same thing.”

“Nonno isn’t even that old yet,” I say. “You don’t think he’s sick, do you?”

Aurora shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Why would he be handing things over so early, then?”

“No idea, but it’s what I heard.”

If what she says is true, my world is about to be turned upside down when my father becomes the Don. He’s the current underboss, so it’s only one step up. But it’s still a huge change. I wonder if he’s ready for it. Especially so soon.

“Well, whatever happens, it’ll be fine,” I tell Aurora.

“What if my dad ends up having to be the new underboss?” she asks.

My Zio Matteo is a criminal defense attorney, so is my Zia Livvy. They have a firm together. My uncle may be a made man but he’s also chosen to keep his hands clean—as much as he can anyway.

“They’re not going to do that. It doesn’t make sense. Besides, there are other options.”

“Well, it’s not going to be Zio Romeo,” Aurora muses. He’s the current mayor and more on the up-and-up than most politicians.

“Zia Luca is my bet,” I suggest with a nod.

“Makes sense. Now, enough family chitchat. Who and what is the thing you’re doing after dinner?”

“Again, nothing you need to know about.”

“Come on, you know I’m going to follow you and find out anyway if you don’t tell me.” Aurora says.

“Do not follow me.” I direct a manicured finger at her. “I met someone last night. I’m seeing him again tonight.”

“Does he have a name?”

“He does, but that’s all you’re getting out of me. I don’t want him scared off just yet.”

“Lorenzo says someone who can be scared off isn’t worth a dime of your time in the first place,” she counters, referring to her eldest brother.

“He’s right,” I agree.

My head is spinning as I consider what my cousin told me at dinner. My father taking my grandfather’s place isn’t news. But the timing is. I don’t know how it will shift the dynamics in my family, or if it will at all. What I do know is that I’m going to make the most of the time I have with Travis before he finds out he’s sleeping with a mafia princess and runs for the hills. Because, let’s face it, my father is scarier than the devil himself.

I don’t blame anyone for running. It’s the best form of self-preservation.

I lift my hand over the door, knock, and take a step back. I told Travis I was going to text him, but I decided to just rock up instead. I hear his footsteps on the other side of the door and then it swings open.

Travis smiles before his mouth drops into a frown. “How’d you get up here?” he asks while scanning the empty hallway.

“I, ah, my family owns the building. We have a penthouse here,” I tell him and wait to see if he’s still going to invite me in.

His arm snakes out and wraps around my waist. “Get the fuck in here. I’ve been waiting for you,” he says. The door slams shut right as Travis’s lips descend onto mine.

He ravages my mouth, pushing his tongue past the seam. There isn’t anything soft or slow about his kiss. It’s rough, hard, and fast. Like he’s starving and I’m the thing he’s been craving. My arms close around his neck, pulling him tighter against my body. And I moan when I feel his hard-on press into my stomach. I can still feel the effects of last night’s encounter. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting him again. My feet are lifted off the ground, and we’re moving through his apartment. Travis doesn’t break the kiss as his tongue duels with mine and his hands palm the flesh of my ass.

“Fuck, it’s been a long-ass day without you,” he says into my mouth.

I don’t really know what to think of that. So I pull on the ends of his hair instead, deepening the kiss. My body is lifted higher and then I’m falling. Travis follows me down, and we collapse onto his mattress.

This is not how this is going to go this time around. I want him. I want to get the most of this body of his before it’s too late. My legs hook around his waist and I turn, flipping him onto his back. His eyes widen as I straddle him. I lift the hem of my sweater over my head and toss the material behind me.

“You hungry, babe?” Travis asks with a smirk.

“Starved,” I tell him and claw at his shirt. He props himself up on his elbows and helps me peel the fabric from his body.

“Well, now that you have me in front of you, what are you going to taste first?” he lifts a questioning brow.

I drag my nails down the middle of his torso. Damn, this man is cut to perfection.

“I’m going to start here,” I say, circling my fingers around his nipple. “And then work my way down to… here.” I trace that same finger around his belly button. His stomach muscles flex and his eyes darken as I slip my hand under the waistband of his sweats and fist his cock. “Then I’m going to taste this.” I pump twice before releasing my grip and pulling my hand back.

Travis groans as he squeezes my hips until he shifts his focus and unclasps my bra. “You have amazing tits.” He palms them as soon as the straps slip down my shoulders.

“Thank you.” My back arches into his touch. I almost forget my plans to run this show when he rolls my nipples through his fingertips. “Shit,” I hiss.

I bend forward, forcing Travis to drop his hands, as my tongue darts out and I lick around his right nipple before sucking it into my mouth. His hips lift off the bed and his hard cock presses against my core. My skirt has already ridden up and my lace panties are doing nothing to hide my arousal. I don’t stop, though.

Instead, I move across to the other nipple, flicking my tongue over the tip and then sucking hard. Travis combs his hands into my hair, fisting it as he holds the stray locks away from my face, and stares down at me. “I’ve never seen a more fucking beautiful sight.”

I start making my way down his body, kissing, licking, sucking, and biting. Until I position myself between his legs, reach back inside his sweats, and free his cock. Travis groans the moment my hand makes contact. The tip glistens with precum as I bend forward, stick my tongue out, and lick. He hardens in my grip. I continue along the underside and around the front again.

“Babe, stop fucking with me,” he grinds out, and I smile up at him.

I like that I affect him just as much as he affects me. I open my mouth and take him as far back as I can manage while my hand wraps around the base to cover what’s left over.

“Fuck me,” Travis hisses and grinds against my face.

Hollowing out my cheeks, I suck up and down his length. Slowly. The feel of him in my mouth is arousing. I don’t want to stop, but I need something for myself. So I reach down, between my own legs, and press my fingers to my clit as I continue to suck. I moan around his length.

“Fuck, nope, not happening,” Travis grunts, forcing me to look up at him just as he tugs me up and his cock pulls free from my mouth.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him.

“I’m not letting you get yourself off, babe. That’s my job,” he says before spinning me around like a rag doll as he positions my body so that I’m on top of him, my ass inches from his face. “This will work better.” He presses on my spine, guiding me forward again.

My hand returns to his cock, and I take him back into my mouth. Travis pushes my panties out of the way as he slides his fingers through my wet folds. I pause, losing myself to the pleasure.

“If you stop, I stop. Don’t fucking stop,” he warns.

I nod my head, because I have manners and all that. Never speak with your mouth full, am I right?

Travis’s tongue circles around my clit, and I have to force myself to focus on the job at hand. I want to make him feel as good as he’s making me feel. My thighs shake, my orgasm building fast, so I increase my efforts. Sucking harder and faster. I need him to come. I want him to lose control for me.

“Fuck, I’m coming.” He taps my hip, but I don’t stop.

I want him. I want all of him. And as soon as I feel the first squirt on my tongue, my own orgasm washes over me. I swallow as much as I can, while my body convulses with wave after wave of pleasure.

A few seconds later, we collectively fall back onto the mattress, lying head to toe, each trying to catch our breath. Travis’s hand lands on my thigh. “Fuck me, babe, that was so fucking hot,” he says. “Five-minute intermission before the next act.”

“Five minutes,” I agree, because I still don’t feel like I’ve had my fill of him.