No, damn it, this had to work.
“Okay,” I said at last. “I'll slip it on her tonight before I tell her the news. She'll be ready to go tomorrow.”
“Make sure she is,” Lev said, ripping down to his pear's core with his teeth. “We've already taken some serious delays. You know the state's bringing the Feds in to hunt your ass, right?”
Daniel nodded. “It's a small miracle they haven't dropped in on us yet. Keeping the family name off this place will give us shelter for awhile, but it's only a matter of time before some badge comes sniffing here, looking for Anton.”
I didn't say anything. I wasn't a fucking fool. I knew damned well my chances to help end the war with the Italians were ticking away by the second.
Tick-tick-fucking-tock.
The big clock beneath our grandfather's portrait clicked behind me, a real world reminder of everything around me narrowing like a goddamned noose.
I'd make this shit work. Sabrina would waltz in, work with Gioulio to get us his location, and then I'd swoop in and carry her away after putting lead in that fucker. I'd carry her away like a caveman if I had to. No fucking way was I leaving her behind to rot.
And next time, I'd take my girl away from this shit for good. Far, far away. Somewhere we'd be safe from being separated. Anywhere we could both put this dark shit behind us and get down to what really mattered.
She was in the bath when I found her that evening, probably soaking her sore muscles after the night we'd had. I couldn't help but suppress a grin that I'd done that to her.
Her hands sloshed through water when I pushed open the door. “Don't you ever knock?”
“Not necessary, babe. It's not like there's anything in here I haven't seen before – and I'm gonna see it all again up close real fucking soon.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You're very sure of yourself.”
I shrugged. “It's easy to know my odds after the way you screamed on this dick last night. You gonna bathe here all night or have you worked up an appetite yet?”
“I'm starving.”
“Then let's get you dressed and have some dinner. I got the chef to set us up in a special spot. I think we can dine outside tonight. You won't run off.”
I stuck a hand in my pocket and fingered the bug. Fuck, slipping that little black chip into her shit tonight felt wrong. But it was the only sane thing to do before I sent her on her merry way, the only way my brothers were gonna let her go back to Chicago at all.
There was still a damned good chance everything could go wrong once she was outta here too. Who knew when I'd get to run my hands through that soft black hair again? What if it was months before I tasted her sweet cunt, or felt the way it jerked around me when I slammed my cock to the hilt?
Fuck, fuck fuck. I was already missing her, and she wasn't even gone yet.
“Let's go,” I growled, stepping up to the tub and pulling her up with one hand.
She looked so damned delectable I wanted to rip off my clothes, push her back into the water, and fuck her right there. I'd make the water in the tub rain all over the fucking bathroom with how bad I needed to be inside her, raw and desperate, fevered as the way my skin burned a few degrees higher just looking up and down her sleek, naked body.
“Okay, okay! I'm coming,” she said, flopping over the little step against my chest.
I reluctantly let her go and handed her a towel. Then I tugged her back into my grasp while I dried her off. Any excuse to get my rough hands on her was a good one. Something about the bath made her skin smoother than ever, exquisite in a special, feminine way.
My dick wanted to rip right through my trousers and push between her legs. The fiery pull between us was magnetic, pleading, do-or-fucking-die.
Goddamned it. I had to get her dressed now before I forgot all about the shit I had planned in the gardens. If I didn't, my appetite for anything besides serious fucking would be wiped.
“Pick something warm,” I said, dropping the towel and walking her over to the closet. “It's a chilly night out there. There's a little jacket in there if you really need it.”
She disappeared into the big walk-in closet. I waited outside it, re-thinking my dumbass encouragement for dressing in layers. Well, fuck. It's not like whatever she picked would be staying on all night anyway.
We'd all wind up naked, whether it was in the grass or in this bed. I was gonna fuck her like it was our last time tonight – and if God was cruel, it might be. My heart pounded lava through my veins, and it all went straight to my dick, hammering away in my pants 'til she finally stepped out.
Christ. Even when she was dressed in a cool cashmere sweater and a nice thick skirt flowing down to her ankles, she was beautiful. My fingers twitched at my sides, aching to grab her silky black hair and shove her to the wall, rip that shit off, and get inside her right now.