drown in the dark pools of honey. “Talk to me.”
“I want to kill him... I should have killed him.”
“So why didn’t you?”
It was the last thing I expected her to say, but I knew this wasn’t about her, it was about me.
“It’s not that simple,” I released a heavy sigh. “If I’d have killed him... it would start something we might not be able to finish. I can’t do that to the Family, to you.”
She nodded, dropping one of her hands to mine and lacing them together. “I hate Scott for what he did to me. I hate him so much that sometimes I wish you had done it.” Arianne took a shuddering breath. “But I want a life with you. I want a future. I can’t have that if you’re behind bars... or worse.”
“If he hurts you again, I can’t promise I won’t do it.”
Something flashed in her eyes, but before I could decipher it, Arianne kissed me. “I don’t want to talk any more, Nicco. I want you to love me. I want you to make me forget about the monsters.”
“Bambolina... You deserve—”
“Don’t tell me what I deserve. I can choose my own path, Nicco. And it’s you. Don’t you see that? It’s—”
My mouth crashed down on hers, swallowing her words. She was right. I didn’t want to be another man in her life taking away her right to choose. I wanted her by my side, as my equal. As the better half of me.
“I’m not sure I can be gentle,” I murmured against her lips.
I was too wound up to go slow.
Arianne gripped my jaw and eased back slightly, staring at me with nothing but love and lust. “Then don’t.”
Chapter 12
Arianne
Nicco looked ready to devour me.
Hunger simmered in his hooded eyes as they lingered on my lips. “Do you have any idea of how beautiful you are?” His words wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
When it was just the two of us, it was easy to forget everything else.
To get lost in him.
My hands went to the hem of his sweater, and I felt him shudder as I pulled the material up his body. Nicco took control, yanking it over his head. Reaching for him, I ghosted my fingers over the faded scars. There were so many. So many stories, so much pain. But every mark was a part of him. It made Nicco who he was. Fiercely protective and doggedly loyal. Nicco might have been mafioso but he loved with everything that he was, and I still couldn’t believe I got to call him mine.
No words passed between us as he pushed the jacket from my shoulders. He worked on the buttons of my blouse next, popping each one with measured precision. His fingers traced the curve of my breasts, toying over the lace shell of my bra. “Sei bellissima.”
My breath caught when his fingers found the waistband of my pants. Nicco only had eyes for me as he gently pushed the soft material off my hips, letting it pool at my feet in a silky puddle. He ran his hands down my spine, smoothing them over the swell of my hips. “I will never tire of this.” It came out a rough whisper.
Without warning, Nicco picked me up, my startled shrieks filling the room. “Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded, moving us in the direction of the bed.
His skin felt incredible against mine and I pressed myself closer, needing this moment with him.
Nicco stopped at the edge of the bed. I was curled around him, unwilling to ever let go. He nudged his nose against mine, inhaling a deep breath. A beat passed, delicious anticipation crackling around us. We’d only had one night together. This time felt different, like so much more. When our lips met it felt like a silent promise to everything that we were.
Everything that we wanted.
The world fell away around me as Nicco lowered me to the bed. He stood before me, strong and handsome; a dark angel put on the Earth to love me, and me alone. But there was a glint in his eye. A flash of something that had me sucking in a shaky breath.
Nicco popped the button on his jeans before dropping to his knees. His hair fell over his eyes so I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him. Feel every kiss as he explored my skin, touching and tasting. He branded me with his tongue, swirling it in my navel before dragging