18. Dino

18

DINO

" A nything to report?" Rocco's voice filled the car, cutting off the soft melody of late night radio.

"My ass is numb and I need more gas for the car," I replied, stretching out my legs as far as I could in the cramped space of my car. Which wasn't actually that far.

"With Mae," Rocco said, irritation bleeding into his tone.

"Today was the same as the past five days. She takes Zack for a walk, sometimes to the park, although today, they went to the bookstore. She went to the pharmacy to pick up something for her mother, who seems to be under the weather. They ordered takeout for dinner, and now she's been inside for the past…" I glanced at my watch. "Four hours."

"Keep it up."

Rocco was tense—we all were. The ongoing war with the Russians was slowly spilling out of the city and into the surrounding suburbs, putting many smaller families in the line of fire. Aldo had excelled at keeping the smaller families safe so that all the work we did could continue even during times of conflict. It seemed the Russians didn't take too kindly to having all their major players wiped out by us.

They deserved it, though. After what happened at the funeral, there was no telling how far they would go to reach Rocco and hurt him. Which meant twenty-four-seven surveillance on Mae to keep her safe purely because Rocco had publicly shown her favor. He didn't need that to come back and bite him on the ass, but there was another reason I was here.

A reason Rocco refused to say out loud, but I knew it anyway.

He wanted to know who Zack's father was. Who was the man who had claimed Mae's heart to the point of having a child? What did he do? What did he look like? And how much of a hindrance would he be for us when seeking to claim Mae as ours?

Rocco was also hoping Mae would lift her ‘no contact' rule, which she still claimed she needed despite how freaky they'd gotten at the restaurant.

"Rocco?" I said softly, noting that he still hadn't hung up.

"What?"

"She's had no visitors."

"Good." He paused. "Dino?—"

"I know." I knew he was going to tell me to be careful. That she was important in ways he couldn't explain. He didn't need to say it. I already understood that whatever love Rocco had for Mae hadn't dampened during their years apart.

"Thank you."

The line clicked and the call ended, plunging my car back into darkness. I turned my attention back to the house and scanned the perimeter for anything that could have changed in those few moments. Luckily, everything looked good. There was an uncomfortable itch in the back of my mind, though, an itch that wouldn't settle until I was back with Rocco. I felt like I should be there, helping Jian to keep him safe. Though it wasn't unpleasant being here for Mae, I just wanted to make sure Rocco's grief didn't make him do anything stupid.

As my music resumed, the front door to Mae's home opened and she stepped out in a pair of black leggings and a checkered shirt that flapped in the warm summer breeze. Barefoot, she hurried down the path, across the road, and approached my car. I braced myself. If this was going to be another argument about my being here, then I had to do my best to keep my hands to myself.

She got too fucking sexy when she was all uptight.

Mae knocked her knuckles against the window and I lowered it halfway.

"Before you say anything, I'm not going anywhere," I said, hoping to cut her argument short before she got started. "And it's not stalking. I'm under orders."

Mae narrowed her eyes and gave me a withering look. "I'm not here to scold you."

"Oh." Then what did she want?

"Are you hungry?"

"I could eat."

"I've got a shit ton of leftovers, and if you're insisting on still following me around this entire time, then at least you can get a decent meal out of it."

"Well, how about that?"

Inside, Mae's home was warm and the scent of spices filled the air. The soft giggles of her son drifted down from the floor below, and after a particularly loud thump, Mae shot me an apologetic look .

"Sorry, it's bath time and he wanted my mom to do it. She insisted even though it will take so much longer than normal because she's under the weather and he's becoming a little terror."

"You don't have to explain anything to me," I assured her. "I can't imagine how hard it is to keep a kid under control."

"Hard isn't even beginning to describe it." She snorted softly and began spooning a curry dish into a small bowl. "Do you like spicy food?"

"To an extent." I chuckled. "I have my limits."

"Well, my six-year-old can handle it, so we'll see just how weak you are." Mae turned to face me and pressed the warm bowl into my hand. Our fingertips brushed together, and the spark of energy that passed between us was impossible to ignore. Mae's cheeks bloomed pink. She quickly stepped away toward the other side of the kitchen and rummaged in the drawer for a fork.

"Does it bother you?" she asked suddenly, turning back to me with a fork in her hand.

"Does what bother me?"

"That I fucked Rocco?"

I definitely didn't expect her to just come out and say it like that. My heart skipped slightly in my chest as I nodded. "A little."

"Jealous?"

"Only because I've wanted to taste you since college, and he's tasted you twice now."

Mae's eyebrows lifted as she approached. "Since college?"

"Did you think Rocco was the only one who noticed you?"

"Honestly, I didn't think anyone was interested in me. Even when Rocco asked me to dance back then, I was a little worried it was some kind of graduation joke."

"He's not that kind of man."

"No, he's the kind of man who fucks and dips."

"Mae." She stopped in front of me, and I took the fork from her loose fingers. "Life got in the way."

"What a boring excuse."

"Are you telling me you didn't put plans on hold because you had a kid? I know it's a tough comparison, but sometimes, things crop up that we can't avoid."

"Like that?" She lifted one brow.

"Family and loyalty are the most important things to the Mafia. You have to understand that. When someone above you says jump, you ask how high. You don't ask why."

"So… like his father?"

I shrugged, already having hinted too much. "My point is, I'm not trying to dismiss how that all made you feel back then, but it did hurt him too. And me, although I was more sad that he got a taste of you and I had fallen asleep in the bathtub."

Mae huffed out a light, amused breath and then tilted her head. "Why did you never say anything? Why didn't he?"

"Life." I shrugged and stabbed the fork into a piece of chicken. "It always gets in the way."

"Is that why you kissed me?" Mae moved closer, pressing up against me slightly, but then she continued past and moved into the lounge. I set the bowl down, far more interested in following her through to the other room.

"I kissed you because I didn't want to miss another opportunity. "

"And yet you let Rocco fuck me all by himself." Mae dropped down onto the couch and leaned back against the armrest with her knee cocked up on the seat.

"You told us to stay away. To leave you alone."

"I know." Mae's face softened. "It was the right thing at the time, and now… now I don't know."

"What don't you know?"

"What I'm supposed to do. What I think I should do versus what I want is constantly…" She raised both hands to her temples. "Staying away from Rocco, from all of you, should be easy as pie because you're all criminals, and that shooting was terrifying, but…"

"It turns you on?" I approached her slowly. "It does, doesn't it?"

Mae looked up at me, her lips set in a firm line, but she didn't deny it.

"It turns you on that three dangerous men can't stop thinking about you. That we want to keep you and your family safe. That we can't get you out of our heads because you're so utterly intoxicating that one touch and we were all hooked."

The flush on her cheeks deepened. "Stop."

I paused, hovering over her and the couch. "Can't handle the truth?"

"It makes it harder to resist you."

I lowered myself down onto my haunches in front of her, then settled onto my knees. "Why are you trying so hard to resist?"

"Because it's wrong."

"What is, exactly?"

"You're all bad men," Mae said, her voice soft and her lower lip trembling.

"And? Bad is exciting. "

"I have a child."

"We love kids." I placed both hands lightly on her knees. "Are you feeling greedy about wanting all three of us? Or is it the attention that you can't handle? The idea that three men want to eat up every delectable inch of you?"

"I don't know." Mae shook her head, and the flush on her cheeks swept down her narrow throat. "This is where logic and desire clash."

"Logic is for nerds. Desire is for us." I surged upward suddenly, leaned over Mae, and captured her lips in a soft, sweet kiss. She didn't resist. In fact, her hands were on my shoulders before our lips had even met. She kissed me back eagerly, pressing into the contact while stroking the back of my neck with her long fingers.

"See?" I murmured against her lips. "Why fight to deny yourself something you clearly want so badly?"

"I don't know what to do," Mae whispered back. I pulled back an inch and looked deep into her pretty green eyes.

"Let me show you how much I want you. I'll be impossible to resist after that." Asking her gave her a chance to say no, a window to pull back and put an end to this if it was what she really wanted.

She didn't pull away. She didn't ask me to stop. Instead, she nodded.

"Okay."

I kissed her again, full on the mouth, and then turned my attention to her body. With a hunger to sate, my fingers curled around the waistband of her leggings and slowly tugged them down. Mae lifted her hips, allowing me access to do just that, but I paused when the silver scarring of stretch marks across her abdomen came into view.

Rocco had told me about her attempts to hide her body and the clear disheartened feelings she had associated with them. Just as she reached down for me, possibly to cover herself up, I leaned down and kissed her marks. Each one, in turn, was mapped out by my lips while I pulled her leggings down and clear from her legs.

Her hands slid into my hair, caressing my head as I moved across her abdomen with my lips leading the way.

"You're beautiful," I murmured, and I removed her underwear next. Sliding one hand through the small, wiry curls at her pelvis, I dipped between her spread thighs and stroked slowly through her folds. Mae moaned above me and her gentle, caressing hands turned into claws. Pinpricks along my skull sent shivers down my spine, and her thighs trembled around my shoulders.

I kissed every inch of her belly that I could reach while lazily fucking her silken heat with two fingers. Those two fingers became three when I kissed down to her pussy and slid my pointed tongue over her clit. Her moans lifted, then muffled as she slapped one hand over her mouth as if trying to contain herself. With her family upstairs, I understood, but I accepted the challenge and buried my mouth against her pussy.

I wanted her to come apart. I wanted her to shake and writhe and moan, splitting apart at the seams from pleasure all while staying silent. Kissing between her outer lips, I slid my tongue along her folds and paid close attention to kissing each one. Fucking her gently, I moved my thumb over her clit and alternated between circles with my thumb and flicks of my tongue.

Mae started to writhe against me, so I clutched at her hip with my other hand and pinned her in place. She slid one leg over my shoulder and angled it around my head, drawing me closer. I fucked her hard and fast, ignoring the cramp in my shoulder. Mae's moans pitched, and her hand in my hair turned into a fist and pulled.

I groaned in surprise. She yelped, and then she came hard with a muted cry that escaped quickly past the fingers in her mouth. Sweetness gushed over my tongue as I continued to lick against her, and she trembled against me like a leaf caught in the wind .

After a minute or so, Mae finally slumped back down onto her couch, panting, and I kissed her clit.

"And what does that tell you?" I asked as I lifted my head and kissed the inside of her thigh that remained draped over my shoulder.

"It tells me," Mae panted, "that I can't make any decisions when I'm near any of you because you make my mind mush."

"Is that right?" I smirked and lazily kissed up to the inside of her knee. "Well you taste just as good as I hoped, and I can promise you one thing."

"Oh, yeah?" Mae's face was flushed a deep red, and her eyes twinkled at me like brilliant gemstones. "What's that?"

"I can promise you that I am not done. And I don't think I ever will be."