34. Chapter 34

34

I laria heard the light knock on her door at six A.M., and her pulse quickened. She could only think of one person who would show up at her door at this time of the morning.

Just in case, she peeked through the peephole to confirm and opened the door.

"Well, now," she drawled as she took in the gorgeous man standing in her doorway. "Are you my wake up call?"

Soren's black T-shirt and black sweatpants gave him a pantherish quality that heated her blood. His gaze had zeroed in on her the instant she opened the door. He gracefully stalked in and slammed the door behind him. "If I knew you were going to be up already, I would have come sooner."

He snaked his arms around her waist and pressed up against her, planting a hard, unyielding kiss on her lips. The kiss turned into a devouring, with tongue and teeth and a burgeoning erection, until Soren reluctantly pulled away.

"Hold that thought, love," he said, voice hoarse. "I told Galen I'd call him this afternoon, his time. I have to update both of you on the latest."

Soren grabbed Ilaria's hand and pulled her to the dining table. She took a seat, and he sat next to her, touching his knee to hers as if he needed the physical contact. He dialed Galen, who picked up immediately.

"Soren," he greeted.

"Galen, Ilaria's here too."

"Hi, love, how are you?" Galen's voice warmed.

"I'm great, Uncle Galen. I miss all of you." Ilaria realized how much she missed him.

"Let me update both of you on what I found out last night." Soren recounted the truck full of underage girls and the information he learned from Sam, their reluctant informant.

Ilaria's face paled, and then twisted in shock and anger as the meaning of Vincent's treachery hit her understanding. "He had this planned long before my father died," she said harshly. "He killed off my parents, and tried to kill me, so he could take over the business and bring this product out into the open."

Galen sighed. "It's very possible. Have you found any direct link from Vincent to the hitman?"

"Still no, and I'm not sure we will," Soren relayed. "We'd need access to payment accounts, and we don't have that kind of resources."

"But we've seen enough, haven't we?" Ilaria demanded. "The fact that he's manufacturing a drug right under my father's nose—my nose—is enough to shut him down." She was ready to go confront him right now.

"Well, technically it is," Galen hedged, "but I've got a potentially related situation here that requires both of you to sit tight for now."

Ilaria frowned. She didn't like to be told to wait. Soren put his hand on her knee and squeezed lightly. "What's going on?"

"This is only between the three of us," Galen began. "I've heard rumors that there is a traitor in the MacGregor ranks. I have my list of suspects, and traps are set. I'm just waiting for the fish to catch the bait. But if we tip Vincent off now—and I have to assume that Vincent and the traitor are related—I may never find out who it is."

Ilaria leaned her elbow on the table and rubbed her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Galen. I didn't want to bring Vincent to your doorstep."

"This is hardly your fault, sweetheart," Galen replied firmly.

"You're not responsible for his actions," Soren added, his fingers rubbing the inside of her thigh. They were distracting her in a good way.

"The problem, however," Soren continued, "is that the first production shipment of aestrium-x goes out next week. Let's assume the first part of the week. Once it's out there, among the distributors, there's no pulling it back." Ilaria's face showed dismay as she followed his line of reasoning. "It's going to go out into the streets. And we could have a lot of strung out, violent people on our hands. And potentially a lot of deaths."

Galen was silent for a long beat. "I need the traitor to show his hand on his own, but I may have a way to speed up my side."

"Galen, I'm also having a test meter shipped overnight to you," Soren said. "Test all your food. The informant said even a small overdose can kill."

Ilaria's eyes went wide. "Jesus," she muttered. "Galen, please be careful."

"Same to you two," Galen replied. "Send me an update every day, even if there's nothing new. I'd feel better hearing from you than not."

"We will," Soren promised.

They all said their goodbyes and hung up. Ilaria leaned back in her chair with a scowl. Guilt clawed at her throat, despite their reassurances that it wasn't her fault. Galen was testing his food for poison, for God's sakes.

Soren, apparently able to read her mind, tipped a finger under her chin and turned her head toward him. "Guilt is a useless emotion, Ilaria. It doesn't change the situation, and worse, it paralyzes you from seeing clearly what to do next." He leaned in to give her a peck on her nose. "So if you want to beat yourself up just for the hell of it, I'll give you exactly five minutes. Then when your time's up, you need to drop it once and for all."

"I can't just change how I feel in five minutes," she snapped.

"Yes, you can," he said simply. "It's a choice."

Ilaria huffed. "Then leave me alone for five minutes." She flounced off to the kitchen, preferring to battle it out on her own. One part wanted to wallow in the unfairness of it all. The other part knew Soren was right, that wallowing was a waste of time.

She filled a glass with ice and chomped her frustration out on the ice, wishing she had a punching bag instead.

When her five minutes was nearly up—as she kept her eye on the clock—her phone rang.

Lorenzo Costa.

What a perfect time for him to call.

"Lorenzo," Ilaria answered on her speakerphone. "Exactly the person I wanted to speak to." The guilt in her throat transformed to a cold fury.

"Ilaria," he said with a drawl. "You've had several days now to think about my proposal. I'm expecting to hear good news."

Cocky bastard.

"By the way, I never got to ask about Maria the last time we talked," she said, ignoring his statement and instead asking about his wife. "Last I heard she just had knee surgery. How is she doing?"

"Oh, uh, she's actually doing well." Lorenzo sounded a tad flustered. "She's already up and walking."

"I'm so glad to hear that," Ilaria exclaimed. "And Sofia and David? They're both in college now, aren't they?"

"Uh, yes, they are. Sofia is going to school on the East Coast. David's here in Chicago because he's going to work for me." Lorenzo sounded puzzled, but like most people, he couldn't resist talking about his family.

"I'm sure you're really proud of them." Ilaria let her voice warm.

He let out an exhale. "Yes, very much."

"Who is that?" A woman's voice spoke up in the background.

"Ilaria Carosi," Lorenzo said to his wife.

"Ilaria! Tell her I'm so sorry about her parents, poor thing. And invite her to lunch. I haven't seen her in ages."

"Maria," he said, sounding exasperated, "we're talking business."

"Fine, I'll leave you two alone. But invite her to lunch," Maria instructed.

Ilaria laughed silently.

The sound of a door shut. "Let's keep going," he suggested.

"Yes, let's get down to business, shall we? As I'm sure you don't have a lot of time." Ilaria's voice turned businesslike. "I honestly can't blame you for feeling uncertain about our future partnership. You've always dealt with my father, and naturally you'd be wary of working with me."

Ilaria walked slowly between the refrigerator and the farmhouse sink, holding the phone to her mouth. "But I'm going to tell you, Lorenzo, that I'm not going to change the terms of our agreement. The terms you worked out with my father have been in place for five years. I know; I've read the contract from start to finish. And the amount of money we've both made from this partnership has steadily increased every year. An average of twenty-five percent year over year."

She leaned over the kitchen island. She was just getting warmed up. "And you know why I think this partnership has been working so well for so many years?" She paused, but Lorenzo stayed quiet. "It's more than just the money, your percentage or our percentage. What makes this partnership work is mutual loyalty." She stressed the words. "We care about your business, and you care about ours. We've been to each other's homes for Christmas dinner. We know each other's families."

Ilaria stood in her kitchen, gesturing with her arms as if she were talking to Lorenzo in person. "Now where do you expect to find that anywhere else, Lorenzo? On top of the impeccable service we provide you, which, need I remind you, we've never had a late shipment in all our years working together, where are you going to find a distributor who knows and cares about your family? You want to risk a partnership that's been working for us both because you want a bigger cut?" Her voice rose at the end in outrage.

"Ilaria, I understand what you're saying," Lorenzo jumped in, "and it's not that I don't appreciate the personal relationship our families have. But you have to admit there is a risk now with you taking over."

"I admit no such thing, Lorenzo," she said adamantly. "You have no basis for your worries. Loyalty goes both ways. But you know what? I'm not going to try to convince you of anything. If you're no longer getting what you need out of this partnership, then I happily wish you the best. But I'm not changing the terms."

Lorenzo sighed. "Let me think about this a little more."

"That's fine. We can talk when I come over for lunch. Say hi to Maria for me." And she hung up.

Soren leaned against the archway of the kitchen, hands in pockets. "He sounded a little shell-shocked by the end."

"He should be," Ilaria declared. Lorenzo could very well decide to end their partnership, but at least she didn't back down.

Soren walked over to her and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her close. "Maybe you're cut out for this business more than you thought, huh?"

She grinned. "So what were we doing before that we had to put on hold?" she asked slyly.

His eyes flashed with heat. "Our kisses must be pretty mediocre if you can't remember." He nuzzled her behind her ear.

"I think it's slowly coming back to me, but I could use a little reminder," she murmured.

He ran his tongue along her neck from her collarbone back up to her ear, gently grabbing her earlobe with his teeth.

Ilaria, pulse quickening, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "I remember now," she breathed.

Her slight moan had Soren picking her up. She wrapped her hands behind his neck and leaned in to cover his mouth with hers.

Soren kissed her as if his lips were made for hers. She'd better take advantage while she still could.

All thoughts flew out of her mind when his tongue twisted with hers, his hands running down her ass and ghosting between her legs. He carried her to the bedroom.

At the foot of the bed, Soren set her down on her feet and lifted his head from her mouth. Ilaria made a sound of protest and reached for him.

"Will you do something for me, love?" he rasped, his eyes gleaming. "I want to watch you touch yourself."

Ilaria's heart jumped. She was no stranger to pleasuring herself, but being watched was on a whole other level. Her pulse ratcheted up, and the ache between her legs became unbearable.

She nodded. "Tell me what to do," she whispered.

His eyes flashed. "Take off your shirt." His voice was a low growl. He pulled a side chair in front of her and sat down, enjoying his own personal show.

Ilaria complied, slowly pulling off her tank top. She kept her eyes on his and shivered. His eyes were so dark and looked as if they wanted to devour her.

"And your bra."

She did so and heard his sharp inhale of breath. Her breasts felt achy and full, and the peaks were calling to be touched.

"Now your pants."

She slowly slid them off, smoothing her hands down her legs as she went.

"Lay on the bed on your back."

Ilaria climbed onto the bed, her head at the headboard and her legs spread in front of him. She felt as if she was going to blow any minute and she hadn't even touched herself yet.

Soren sat in the chair, hands gripping the armrests. His hard-on created an impressive tent in his sweatpants. "Rub your tits."

She had been dying to touch herself. Both her hands immediately grabbed her breasts and squeezed. She took her thumbs and forefingers and rubbed the rosy peaks, pulling gently. God, they were so sensitive. She wanted to close her eyes but kept them open so she could watch Soren's reaction.

His jaw was clenched, eyes feasting on her hands on her breasts. He looked like he wanted to jump on her, but his hands clutching the armrests, knuckles white, kept him in place. "Run your hands down between your legs and rub yourself." His voice, gravelly, vibrated through her.

Ilaria kept one hand on her breast, squeezing one nipple, and slowly ran the other hand down her belly. Her panties were still on, and she knew Soren could see how soaked they were. She took all her fingers and ran them up her center in one smooth motion. She moaned.

She tried to slip her hand into her panties. "Not yet," Soren said roughly.

Dammit. She was so sensitive, but even the thin satin of her panties was too much. She needed to feel skin. "Soren, please," she whispered.

He let out a harsh chuckle. "Not yet," he repeated, clearly enjoying her slow torture.

Two could play this game. Ilaria brought her knees up and wider. He groaned with approval. She took two fingers and slowly rubbed in a circular motion, soaking her panties even more. "Baby, I'm so wet," she rasped. "I need you. Inside me. Now."

Soren was leaning forward, straining to keep himself seated. "Take off your panties," he said through gritted teeth.

She lifted her hips, angling the view toward his face, and slipped them off. She spread her legs wide. Then, pinning his eyes, she inserted the tips of two fingers into her mouth to wet them, and then reached down between her legs.

Not that she needed the extra moisture, as she was already dripping with need. She slowly ran her fingers around her core, lubricating herself completely. She rubbed the sensitive bud at the apex, jerking, nearly making herself come.

Soren seemed at a loss for words, so she took the initiative to slip two fingers into her heat. She let out a gasp at the sensation, knowing that it wasn't even close to what having Soren's cock in her felt like.

He let out a groan deep in his throat. A vein in his neck throbbed from the effort to stay seated.

Ilaria pumped her fingers in and out a few times. "Soren," she gasped. "If you don't get your ass over here right now, I'm going to make myself come."

Soren surged out of the chair, pushing it backwards in his rush. He tore off his clothes, letting his impressive erection spring free. He grabbed her knees. "Let me just get one taste." He gave her a full lick from bottom to top, ending at the little nub which he massaged with this tongue.

Ilaria nearly flew off the bed, but she squeezed her eyes shut and clamped down, leashing her orgasm.

She felt the hot tip of his shaft at her entrance. "Open your eyes, love," he said. "Keep your eyes on me."

As she stared into his eyes, he gave a single vicious thrust and entered her to the hilt. Unable to hold her orgasm any longer, it started to build. With each hard thrust, it went higher and higher until she erupted, the waves of her release consuming her.

He followed soon after, and through her own release she watched as he exploded, his body shuddering as his cock jerked inside her.

As she caught her breath, Ilaria realized that having Soren watching her climax, and her watching him, was quite possibly the most intimate thing she'd ever done.