she said.
He continued, giving her a wink, “After thinking and going to confession, and being here with you, I realized something. He only wants to make me an offer because now, I’m useful to him. Because I’ve got prospects, and I happen to be in an exclusive relationship with the daughter of the man who has been trying to dismantle the system of organized crime in Newcastle. He wants to use me to get to your dad.”
Fiona blinked slowly. “I can understand why that would be a tempting offer. You wouldn’t even be asked to do anything illegal. Just go about your business and maybe convince my dad to take a meeting.”
Levi sat on the edge of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. He looked down between his bare feet and noticed the shiny hardwood floors. “Yeah. In some other alternate universe, that’s all Girardi wants. In this world, there’s always a catch. I’d be beholden to him for my entire life. Apart from the pressure to control my father-in-law governor, there would be a life of crippling protection payments. And then when I needed money to stay afloat, he’d send his loan sharks to offer me the cash to get by, with 60 percent interest. After that it’s only a matter of time before I’m letting him use my business for a front for something truly despicable. I don’t want to start down that road. So I’m gonna say no.”
Fiona was quiet for a time. When Levi looked up at her, a tear fell on her cheek.
“Hey,” he whispered, barely able to get the word out because his emotions were going to get the better of him just by seeing her cry. Cupping her face with both hands, he asked her what was wrong.
She shook her head and sniffed as he softly swiped his thumbs along her cheekbones to catch her tears. “Nothing. I’m still stuck on the part where you called my dad your father-in-law.”
“Did I freak you out, Fi?”
Again, she shook her head. “I’m happy you think we have that much of a future.”
Levi wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
“Well, that’s the thing. I brought you here because tonight might be the only time I’ll be able to make love to you in a place this nice. If you still want me, knowing that I can’t ever give you the beautiful things you deserve or that you’re used to, then that’s all I need to know.”
A moment passed while Fiona studied his face. Then she reached out of the comforter to squeeze his arms while his hands lost their way in the waves of her hair.
“Listen, Levi.” Her face was achingly serious.
Levi held his breath.
“You’re a good man. And for as long as we’re together, we can give each other all the beautiful things. Moments of joy. A bunch of naughty little babies. Maybe they won’t be things, but it will be a meaningful life. I don’t care if we’re living with 13 kids in the apartment above YaYa’s garage. I’m good. I’m so good with that.”
So much emotion swelled his chest at the moment that he nearly proposed right then and there. The only thing holding him back was the fact that he hadn’t yet turned down Girardi’s offer.
“Give me that ass,” he blurted in his joy, forcefully hitching her so close that her legs had only one place to go: around his hips.
Fiona blurted out a surprised yelp, then sighed and settled in for a steamy kiss that set his desire for her aflame once more. He couldn’t help himself, he loved this woman and all the parts that made her what she was: that lovely, smart mouth, her tender heart, her sensitive soul, and that bodacious ass that fit perfectly in two hands. He squeezed her two round cheeks as they kissed sloppily. She gasped at first, then moaned and ground her pelvis into his hardening cock, settling in for a nightcap of joy-fueled friction.
Levi delivered Fiona to the governor’s mansion shortly before midnight. Ok, so it wouldn’t be a long winter’s nap until her Christmas morning, but he hoped he’d been able to give her good dreams.
He knew he would sleep easy, just as soon as he got off the phone with Girardi. There was something satisfying about waking up the old turd right at midnight as he drove home. It had been midnight on Christmas morning when the cops busted down his door ten