8. Sal

I knowGia sees the lust in my eyes.

I can see the minute it hits her veins, flooding her system with adrenaline and hormones that make her full lips part and her eyes glaze over.

"Sal…"

I take a step forward and grab her by her elbows.

She's too close to me.

I can see the individual eyelashes against her cheeks when her gaze flutters closed, and I can see the flecks of gold in her dark brown eyes.

She's so fucking beautiful it hurts.

"What, Gia?"

"You're very close to me."

She says it as she leans closer, her eyes looking down at my lips. I can practically feel her trembling under me, and the sensation punches even more arousal through me.

I nod. "You seem to be putting us closer."

"I am?"

"Yes, Gia. You are."

"Oh."

Damn it. She leans in again, and she's up on her tiptoes, her face tilted up toward mine.

She's doing this on purpose.

I want to kiss her. I want to taste the little sigh she makes when I part her lips with my tongue, and I want to feel her as she gives in.

I want to tell her that she's mine.

But this is not the place. "Gia. We can't."

"We… can't?"

God. Her lips are brushing mine, and I can't think when her skin is so close to mine. "We're in a closet."

"I know. That means no one is watching."

"We'll ruin your makeup."

"I'm going to re-do it anyway so I look like an ugly old woman."

"You couldn't be ugly if you tried, Gia."

I hear her breath catch, and I know I shouldn't have said it.

"Sal…."

I can feel her lips brush against mine. I can feel how she sighs my name against me, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that in that moment, Gia would let me fuck her in this dirty Danish broom closet.

But I can't.

Not with her. Not here.

If I'm going to have Gia, I'm going to have what I've always wanted.

All of her.

And I'm going to want her to have all of me as well.

"Gia," I murmur. "We can't."

"Why?"

She's angry.

I pull her closer before she runs from me. "Gia…"

"You want me. I know you do."

One of her hands drifts over my pants and I shudder as she caresses me there.

"You're hard as a fucking rock for me, Sal. Why can't we?"

"Because…"

I suck in a breath.

I've never shared this with anyone. Not really. My brothers don't know, and it's not like I'm going to tell Caterina.

I don't really even know what to say.

"Sal?"

Gia isn't my brothers.

She's not Caterina.

She's not like anyone I've ever known.

She and I understand each other on another level. It's why after Belarus we couldn't be separated. I needed to know that she was okay at all times.

And she needed to be told she was okay.

"I… I want you," I grit out.

"I want you too," she whispers.

"But I… I can't…" I clear my throat. "I'm not interested in sex like… most people like it."

Gia freezes. "What?'

Shit. I want to stop, but I opened this door.

Now I have to walk through it.

"If I fuck you, Gia, it's going to be different than you've ever been fucked before."

"How?"

I look at her. "I need more than just… this," I pant.

My hand slowly slides around the column of her throat. She lets me, but I can see the question in her eyes.

I breathe in again. "IF you let me fuck you, Gia, then you're not going to be anyone's but mine."

"Fair. Same to you."

I smile slightly. "And I need you to do everything I tell you to."

"What?"

I tighten my hand slightly, and she breathes out. Her body relaxes under my fingers, like she's welcoming my grip.

That, more than anything, gives me the courage to go forward.

"I could take you right here," I whisper, leaning forward until I'm breathing the words in her ear. "But that wouldn't be enough for me."

"Sal…"

My hand tightens even more, and she lets out a little moan. "I need all of you, Gia."

"Okay."

"If we do this, you're doing it my way. You're mine. You won't be in control. You won't be able to boss me around."

"Oh. Oh."

She lets out a breathy sigh, and my heart thumps.

She understands.

"I've wanted you from the minute I saw you, Gia. I've been fantasizing about this fucking body ever since you sauntered into that café in Turin and told me that Elio was wrong about Caterina."

"I know," she whispers.

"But once won't be enough. The way I want you, Gia… I fucking crave you," I snarl into her skin.

She moans.

"I want you. I want all of you. And I want to do things to you that you'd never want from anyone."

And that's the problem.

I don't want Gia unless I can dominate her. Not anymore. Once, it might have been enough to hide that part of me from her.

But now, I can't. And I know that having Gia any other way…

It won't work.

Not since I saw her bend to that one command.

It gave me a craving for more.

One that I want to fix.

As soon as possible.

"Show me," she whispers.

I drop my hand and step back.

We're staring at each other in the darkness of the broom closet.

My chest is heaving, and I feel like I'm shaking.

Here.

She wants me to show her here.

"Gia…"

The sound of her phone buzzing snaps us both to attention.

Gia grabs it but hesitates. She glances up at me, then back at the phone. "It's Elio."

"I figured."

"I'm going to answer it."

"Please do."

"This is not over, Sal."

I shake my head and she picks it up.

This is just beginning.

Once she puts the phone on speaker, I crowd near.

"Gia," Elio barks.

"Yes?"

"Why are you and Sal listed as wanted in the Interpol database?"

"I don't know."

"Do they not know you're dead?"

I glance at Gia, who shrugs. "Good guess?"

"You're being followed."

"By a cop?" she asks.

"There's no other explanation. You need to lay low until I figure out what's going to help. Do you have somewhere you can go?"

My mind races. We can't go to any of Gia and Elio's properties in Italy because they're going to be on Interpol's radar.

Italy, however, is safest. It's where Interpol has a tenuous hold at best, outside of Eastern Europe, and that brings us too close to the Russians for comfort. I sigh.

I didn't want to have to go here, but…

Alas.

"I have somewhere. Stay here. Five minutes, come out front."

And with that, I leave the closet.

* * *

Stealinga car is far easier than it should be.

Mere moments later, I'm back, pulling around the corner in a cheap Volvo that runs like shit.

"Your chariot awaits," I say as I open the door for Gia.

She gets in.

It will have to do for now.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

The drive is long. We arc along backroads, racing south all the while. When we get to a train station in Zurich, we leave the car.

From Zurich to Lake Como, we take the train.

And when we get off, we take a taxi to a few blocks from my home.

When I use my app to open the door, everything is as I left it.

Dark, certainly, but not unclean. I hire a maid service for this house, which I bought only a year ago.

I do not rent it.

"Wow, Sal," Gia breathes.

I smirk. "Real estate pays off."

"It sure does."

I hand her the bag of her clothes. "Shower is upstairs. Pick a room. Come join me on the couch when you're done."

She nods.

I wonder if she even notices how she responds to me.

It makes me want so much more.

I can't get the closet in Copenhagen out of my mind. Part of me is hoping that she brings it up again.

Part of me hopes she doesn't.

Either way, when she comes downstairs a few minutes later, wearing one of my button-down shirts, her hair wet and sleek like a mermaid, I know something will change between us.

I hand her a glass of wine and she settles on the couch.

"Sal. This place is iconic."

With its view of Lake Como, it better be. "Yes."

"I can't believe it. It's exactly the house I want if I had one here."

I know that too. This is a more recent acquisition.

And I wouldn't be telling the truth if I denied the fact that I bought it with her in mind.

I'm standing at the opposite edge of the couch from her when she speaks.

"In Copenhagen…"

Every part of my body goes taut as I wait for her to finish that sentence.

"What about it?"

Gia tilts her head. "You're a Dom, aren't you?"

"I am." There's no point in denying it. I warned her about it back in Copenhagen, and more than that, it's part of who I am.

Part of who I want Gia to accept me as.

"How does it work? You just tie women up and tell them what to do?"

I shake my head. "It's more than that, Gia."

"Tell me."

She's sitting on my couch, wearing one of my t-shirts. With her glass of wine in hand, the scene looks so domestic, it makes my chest ache. Gia and I have been here many times before. After I rescued her from Belarus, we spent every night together, just finding comfort in each other's touch.

We've never been here, though.

"It's more nuanced than that," I say. "Sex… it's always a game of power. Right?"

"Not always."

I arch an eyebrow at her.

She shrugs. "I've heard it's about more but. I certainly don't see it that way."

Of course she wouldn't.

Gia wields sex as a weapon. It's just one in her arsenal, sure, but I know she knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"In my… situation, it's about me being in control."

"Okay. Seems selfish."

"And?"

She shrugs. "I just never pictured you as a selfish lover."

I can't help the smile that curls at my lips. "But you've pictured me as a lover."

"Sure."

It's one word that she puts out into the room, but underneath it, I can read so much more.

She doesn't want to tell me how often she's fantasized about me.

"You're correct, Gia. It isn't just about me."

I walk over to the couch and sit so that I'm facing her. We aren't close, necessarily.

But the air between us feels like it's sparking.

She sips her wine. "Okay. So, the person you're… with. They like to be submissive."

"Yes."

She tilts her head. "Why?"

I lean in slightly. "Life is full of choices, tesoro. Some are easy. Some aren't. But they must be made, as certain as death and taxes. When I'm with someone, I take the choice away from them."

"That sounds…"

"Freeing," I say before she can say anything else. "It's freeing."

She doesn't respond, but I can see the goosebumps on her arm.

I smile. I inch over on the couch until we're sitting side by side.

I lean in and run my fingertips over the skin of her leg. "Look at this. Your body responds to my touch. Everywhere I put my fingers," I pause, trailing the tips of them over her skin, "you feel something. Did you decide to do that?"

"No," she whispers.

"And when I go higher…" I trail my fingers just to the edge of the shirt she's wearing, stopping before they disappear beneath.

Her breath hitches.

I look up at her. "You like it."

"You don't know that."

I laugh. "Oh, Gia. I do. Your breath caught in your throat and your eyes widened. You shivered slightly when I got close, but you didn't flinch. You want me to keep going."

"What if I didn't?"

I chuckle. "You'd be making a decision based on what you think you should want, instead of what you do. That's the problem with choices," I whisper.

My hand slowly creeps toward the juncture of her thighs.

She looks down, but I use my other hand to remove her wine glass and set it on the side table. I put a finger under her chin, tilting her face to look at me.

Slowly, I move my other hand under the hem of the shirt.

"The thing about choices is you make them based on lots of factors. You calculate. You decide. You listen to a million people as you make that decision. But I only have one person to listen to."

She's breathing hard now. My fingers brush her inner thighs, and I push her legs apart slightly. "Open, Gia," I say.

Gia hesitates. That one second of hesitation makes my heart slam into my ribs.

Then, she does.

"I'm not making decisions based on what someone else thinks they should like," I whisper as I slowly trace the seam of her center.

She's wet.

I knew she would be, but the thought still makes me dizzy.

"I'm making decisions based on what I see your body react to. So when you tell me no, unless you use a special word, I'm going to keep going."

She tries to jerk her head away, but I hold it firmly. I press a finger inside of her and Gia bites her lip, trying to keep the moan inside.

"No no, cara mia," I whisper. "Tell me how it feels."

"I…"

I add another finger and she gasps. Her eyes close and she arches her back. She moans, loud and clear.

Exactly how I wanted her to.

"Good girl," I purr.

Then I take my hand back. I settle on the other side of the couch.

And when she finally turns to look at me, I lick the moisture from my fingers.

Her lips part in surprise.

"I want to make your choices for you, Gia," I murmur. "You wouldn't let yourself have this. But I will. Only if you want to let go."

It's an invitation.

I watch her, hoping she will answer.

Finally, she does. Her lips part and she says one word.

"Okay."