Chapter 25
1883words
The morning sun shines in through the slats in the blinds and casts a warm glow across Sapphire's bare back. She's lying on her side, and I can see a tiny starburst-like scar on her shoulder. I stand at the side of the bed, fully dressed and tracing my fingers over the pearly flesh, wondering where it came from.
She makes a quiet, contented sound, but her eyes remain closed as I work my way from her shoulder down the outer curve of her breast and across her abdomen to where her tattoo disappears beneath the sheet hiding her hip.
I've never done this—never watched a woman sleep, never wondered about her scars or the meaning behind her tattoos. Or lingered around after sex. I should be at the docks— I check my watch—in thirty minutes. My men would already be waiting by now. But first, I need to get a proper look at her tattoo.
It's an elaborate thick vine dotted with tiny moonflowers that stretch from the generous curve of her left hip across her flat belly and stops just short of her breasts.
I trace the vine back up over her ribs, grazing the outer curve of her breast, and she stirs. And when I cup her breast in my hand and catch her nipple lightly between my fingers, she moans quietly and shifts more, but still, her eyes remain closed.
Driven by an insane need to see all of her, I move to the end of the bed and lean over, slowly sliding my hands up her thighs and taking the bedsheet with me as I go. She's silky soft beneath my fingers, her muscles relaxed and pliant.
She moans, a quiet, breathy sound, and her plump lips part.
'Buongiorno, fiammetta," I say as my fingers reach the apex of her thighs, and I spread them open. She's smooth and dusky pink, and her scent makes my mouth water.
'What are you doing?" she murmurs. She hasn't opened her eyes, but her fingers are clasping the bedsheet beneath her lightly.
'I'm looking at you." I close the distance between us and drag my tongue along her slit.
She lets out a breathy moan, 'Zade, that's way more than looking."
'Is it?" I tongue her again, this time sliding all the way up to her clit.
Her body jerks like she's gotten a shock, but the look on her face is anything but pained.
'How about now?" I ask with a wicked grin, then return to my task, lapping at her clit with featherlight strokes.
She only shakes her head, and her hips start to writhe, fingers gripping the bedsheet tighter.
I force her thighs open wider and slide two fingers inside her while I keep up my gentle assault on her sensitive bundle of nerves. She's so tight, and her walls are already slick, ready for me.
She reaches for me, running her pink-tipped fingers over my shoulders and up the back of my neck. And then her hands move higher, sliding over her own abdomen up to her tits. She cups them in her hands, catching her nipples between her fingers just like I'd done.
Christ, what a sight.
I suck her clit into my mouth as my fingers pump into her wet heat. Her breathy moans grow louder as I use my free hand to force her thighs wide open, stretching her further until every bit of tension orbits around her core.
My tongue flutters against her clit harder and faster, turning her moans into garbled cries of my name and her thighs quivering with the need to orgasm. I finger-fuck her harder, scraping against the swollen patch on her front walls that drives her insane. Without warning, her pussy clamps down around my fingers and her back arches clear off the bed in a sudden and explosive climax. Her scream fills the room, feeding my own arousal.
She moans contentedly as her orgasm subsides, and she drops her hands to her sides like they've become heavy weights. I withdraw my fingers from her, and her already flushed cheeks turn red when I slowly lick my fingers clean.
'Zade," she whispers, trying and failing to look away from the sight. The way she bites her lips almost makes me free my raging hard cock and feed it to her.
'Yes, fiammetta?" I remove my handkerchief from my jacket and wipe my hand and face dry, feeling like a fucking deity.
'You're dressed."
'I need to be somewhere in fifteen minutes. A crucial meeting."
'Oh my God!" She freezes. 'What time is it?" She twists around, disorientated, searching for a timepiece.
I suppress a smile of pure masculine pride and point to the large digital clock sitting on her bedside table. Despite wildly glancing about her room, she somehow kept missing it.
'Shit! It's seven thirty!" She leaps out of bed and straight for the bathroom.
'When is your first session today?" I call after her.
'Eight-thirty."
'That's plenty of time!"
'For you, maybe. You drive like a maniac."
'Actually, now that you mention it, I've been meaning to say something about your driving, Sapphire."
She pokes her head out of the bathroom, a toothbrush stuck in her mouth, a single eyebrow arched high. 'What about it?" she mumbles around the brush.
'It's…" I trail off when I catch the glare in her eyes and the stubborn set of her shoulders. 'Very safe, actually," I finish, deciding not to mention that my eighty-four-year-old grandmother in Sicily drives faster and smoother than her. I suspect her driving is a sore point, especially growing up around the kind of men she did.
'Whatever," she grumbles like she already knows I meant to say something else.
I smile wickedly as the thought of Sapphire giving Damon a lift, occurs to me. That ought to teach the little shit a lesson in patience—if it doesn't kill him first.
'What's funny?" Sapphire asks, eyes narrowed at me.
'Nothing. Can you ride a motorbike, though?"
'Duh," she rolls her eyes and returns to the bathroom sink to rinse off.
Well, then, that more than makes up for her shitty driving. Maybe she could consider riding to work then. I catch myself already making plans to give her one of my Harleys, then I spin on my heels and head out of her bedroom.
'Later, Sapphire," I call.
'Sure," I hear her call back.
I'm about to pull open her front door when she comes streaking out of the bedroom, a towel around her breasts. I pause, wondering what she's up to.
She simply comes to me, reaches up, and curls her hand around my nape while she stands on tip-toe. 'Thank you, Zade." She plants a kiss on my jaw and immediately darts back to her bedroom.
I stand there for a full minute wondering what that was about, but more than that, wondering why I found that simple gesture almost as hot as spending the entire night with her.
I'm about to get into my Lambo when I see a brown sedan slide slowly away. Something about that raises the hairs on my nape. I've seen that car before—the day Sapphire and I left for Harmony.
Neighbors? I wonder, although the car has never pulled out of any of Sapphire's neighbors' driveways but always seems parked on the curb. I squint at the license plates, then take another look around her house.
It's a row of four unremarkable terrace bungalows. Hardly a target for opportunistic thieves unless Ms. Willoughby is sitting on a hidden fortune or some pricey jewels, which seems doubtful. However, I can't make the same assumption about her two other neighbors.
Damn, I've got to figure out who her neighbors are ASAP. If there's no rest for the wicked, then I must be one evil son of a bitch.
I'm about to call Pietro to have the plates checked out when my phone vibrates.
It's Mariana calling. What does she want this time? She doesn't appear to be as fond of the secluded island as I had hoped, though it remains the safest option for her for the time being.
The moment I answer, Mariana's urgent voice comes through. 'We need to leave this place. It's not safe."
Concerned, I immediately ask, 'What happened, Mariana?"
'It's not safe here!" she replies, her voice rising in pitch with every word.
'Mariana, calm down. Did something happen?" I switch on the ignition and back out of Sapphire's driveway.
'No, but it just doesn't feel safe. I don't think moving to the smaller place was a good idea after all."
'What do you mean it doesn't feel safe, Mariana?" I ask again, my patient starting to wear thin.
'It just doesn't, so we're going to leave," Her words are coming faster, as if someone put her on fast-forward. 'I have our things packed up. We're just going to a motel—"
'You're not going to do a fucking thing, do you understand me?" I snap, my voice stern and cold.
'But I—" Mariana starts to argue.
'Mariana, you're going to calm the fuck down and look after that child for me. I'll get someone to check out your security, okay," I warn. 'You don't do anything or go anywhere until they get there. Capito?"
Silence.
'God damn it, tell me you understand, Mariana."
She sighs, long and heavy. 'Fine."
'I'm sending someone to right now—"
'I want Pietro," she interjects, 'Can you send Pietro?"
I huff out a laugh. 'Pietro is busy handling business here, but he has very competent men—"
'No. It's Pietro I trust. Either him or you. No one else."
My patience snaps, and I state in a voice that brooks no argument. 'Well, it's either you get Pietro's man, or I send you a very pissed-off Damon." I already know what she'll choose.
Silence. Then a big huff. 'Okay, fine, send Pietro's man."
That's what I fucking thought. 'Sit tight, alright? If anything changes, call me back." I hang up before she makes another demand.
Mariana has always been anxious, but since I moved her to Cozumel, she's been completely unmanageable. At this point, I'm beginning to feel like her dad—heck, like Victoria's granddad.
I dial Pietro as the heavy Michigan Avenue traffic gives way to the less congested streets leading to the docks. He's the only one of my Capos who knows that Mariana and Victoria are under my protection.
'I need Mariana's home and set-up checked for any breaches," I say as soon as he answers.
'Again?"
I sigh. 'I know."
Pietro personally had her moved to another location in Cozumel last week. Mariana had complained about the house being too big and making echoes, so I asked him to move her to a smaller place.
'Is there something wrong with the house this time?" Pietro asks.
'She's worked herself up to a lather about something. She won't tell me exactly what, but I figure she might tell your man."
'Zade. The woman is grieving. She's lonely and paranoid. Of course, she's going to see threats everywhere."
'You're right. But she also needs to be reassured again and again that she's going to be fine. Let your man stick around for a few days"
'Will do, Zade."
