Savage Mafia King (Vicious Heirs #3)

Chapter Nineteen—Marcus

I lead her up to my penthouse in silence. I know she's having a hard time thinking straight, and it's not like I can blame her, with everything that has happened.

We left James and his lackeys at the apartment block where he asked to meet us. I should have known he was going to bring back up, though they clearly weren't equipped to handle me. I've never killed like that before, not without a second thought, but when she was in danger, I didn't even have to think twice.

I wanted them gone. So I made it happen.

And now, he's dead. I know that's not the end of it, not really, but it's something. It disconnects our family from the Castellanos, at least for now. And his death means she's safe. And right now, that's all I care about.

She pauses in the elevator before she steps out and looks at me for a long moment.

"You need to get washed up," she murmurs to me, brushing her fingers through my hair.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror, and I know she's right. I'm smeared in blood and God knows what else.

"Let me run you a bath," she suggests, and before I can say anything, she moves through to the bathroom, and I hear the water running.

I know better than to argue. She needs to make sure I'm okay, and I'm not going to take that away from her. She saw me nearly shot today and faced her own death—it's not like she can just brush all that off and go back to normal.

I make my way to the bathroom, following her after a long moment, to find her perched on the edge of the tub, her hand dipped below the warm water. I wonder how long she's been sitting there. Her eyes look distant.

I plant a hand on the back of her neck, and she jerks upright. "Are you okay?" I ask, and she meets my gaze.

Then, she nods. "Yeah, I am," she replies softly, reaching up to take my hand. "Just... just..."

Before she can stop herself, the tears start to fall from her eyes. I press a kiss against her temple and draw her into my arms.

"You're okay, baby, you're safe," I promise her as the water rises in the tub, steam filling the room.

I can't help but notice a ring of bruises forming on her neck. That fucker, he could have killed her.

"Here, come take a bath with me," I suggest. "Ease your muscles. Relax."

"I don't know if..."

"Please, Isabella. I just need you close to me right now."

She nods, knowing better than to argue with me.

I turn off the water and slowly undress her, gently tugging off her clothes one by one until she's naked before me. Though she's beautiful, seeing her like this feels more intimate than anything else. Once I've stripped myself down, I pull her close again, letting her feel my body against hers, the weight of it, the warmth of it.

And then we slip beneath the water, her between my legs, my arms around her waist. Though I can't ignore how goddamn sexy she is, I'm more struck by how vulnerable she seems. This is the queen bee of our college, after all, the woman who pretty much any guy would kill to get near. And here she is, lying in my arms, letting me hold her like it's the most natural thing in the world.

I brush aside a wet lock of hair so I can reach her skin and press a kiss against her neck. I can feel her pulse throbbing beneath her skin, a reminder of how alive she is—and how close we both came to losing this moment.

"What happens now?" she murmurs to me finally, sliding a little further down in the water, letting it lap over our bodies. The way she's lying, it's like there's no room between us at all. As though we could just blend into one.

"I don't know," I admit. "What do you want to happen?"

She takes a deep breath and leans her head back against my chest. Her eyes are closed, and I can tell how exhausted she is just from a glance.

"I want... I want to graduate," she admits. "And I want my brother to be safe. And I want all this shit with the Castellanos to be over with. I never want to have to think about them again. And I want..." Finally, she turns slightly so that she's looking me in the eye. "I want you, Marcus."

I stare at her for a moment. Despite everything, I'm surprised by her being so open about it.

"You do?"

"Of course I do," she murmurs, and she snuggles against me. "I know this started out as some kind of act, but I... in the time we've been together, the time I've gotten to know you, it's made me realize that the two of us have a lot more in common than we first thought."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Like... we both want to be at the top of our game," she replies. "Me at the sorority, you in your business. And we both protect our families. We both come from similar worlds. And we both trust each other. At least, I hope you trust me as much as I trust you."

"I do," I promise her. "After what you did, there's no doubt."

"And do you want to be with me?" she asks, her voice laced with nervousness. "I know... I know it's complicated, with your family and everything, but if you're willing to try—"

I kiss her, covering her mouth with mine before she can say anything else. There's nothing else for us to say, not anymore. All I want is to show her, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how badly I want her, how much I need her, how I don't give a damn what kind of complication this will bring into my life, as long as I have her here by my side. I never thought I could fall for her in the way I have, but when she touches me, everything falls into place. Everything makes sense.

She slips her hand into my hair, kissing me back, starting slow and soft at first, and then, as the heat between us begins to grow, deepening more and more.

I pull her back against my chest and slip my hand between her legs so she can watch me as I play with her pussy in the water. Though my cock is stirring to hardness already, all I want in the world right now is to get her off in any way I can.

"Oh," she gasps as my fingers caress over her silky folds. She's so soft, so delicate despite the tough exterior she puts out.

I dip my hand down between her legs properly, running my fingertips along her pussy before I push them inside. I can feel her contracting around me at once, her body giving in to how good this feels. She can't deny it, and right now, she doesn't want to. All that matters is that we give ourselves over to each other.

I thrust my fingers into her deeply, letting her feel how much I want her. My cock is pressed against the small of her back, but I don't care about getting myself off right now. No, all I give a damn about is taking her to that point of no return, letting her settle into the sweetness of our closeness.

I reach my thumb up to caress her clit as I move my fingers inside of her, and soon, her hips are grinding back against my hand, her body begging for more, begging for as much as I'm willing to give her. I lower my lips to her neck, grazing them lightly along her damp skin, and feel the throb of her pulse beneath my tongue. She inhales deeply, her body relaxing back against mine, her hips rising and falling in time with the motion of my hand.

"I want to feel you come, baby," I murmur into her ear before I catch the lobe between my teeth and tug gently.

She moans again, her body working even harder in the water. I can see her stomach moving as she gasps in helpless breaths, her pussy beginning to tighten around my fingers. She squeezes her thighs together around my hand, as though pinning me in place, and I grin, my tongue slithering into her ear.

"Anything you want, Isabella, I'll give it to you," I murmur as she lets out another little whimper of desperation. "Anything."

"I want you inside of me," she moans, and I still my fingers within her.

Much as it's tempting to make her come like this, there's a part of me that craves the feeling of her pussy contracting around my cock.

"You're sure?" I ask her softly as I graze my thumb over her clit once more. She whimpers but nods, planting her hands on my knees to give herself the leverage to move up and angle her pussy over my cock.

I wrap my arms around her waist as she lowers herself down on top of me, letting me feel the warm embrace of her tightness around me. I groan against her ear, sliding my tongue along the side of her neck, and she slumps against me, letting her full weight down on top of me for a moment, like she can hardly make sense of how good it feels.

"Fuck," she groans as she presses her hands into my knees again and begins to move.

I can't get enough of her. The way she feels, the way she reacts when I'm moving inside of her, it's everything to me. This has gone so much further than I ever could have imagined it would, our connection throbbing so deep inside both of us that it feels almost unreal, but right here, right now, all I want is to make her come.

I move up inside of her, taking her in long, slow strokes, savoring the sensation of her around me. My head hooked over her shoulder, I watch as my cock thrusts into her, deep, hard, filling her with every stroke.

"You look so good inside of me," she breathes, and those filthy words send another tremor of pleasure through my body. I push harder into her, and she lets out a cry, the sound filling the small space around us.

I can feel her getting close. I know it's not going to take much to push her over the edge. I find a pace inside of her, my arms still wrapped around her, pulling her down on top of me, letting her feel every inch of my cock as it moves inside of her. She's stirring her hips back against me, massaging me from the inside out, our bodies moving in perfect harmony with one another as we both move closer and closer toward our edge.

And then, all at once, I feel her come, her pussy clenching hard around my cock, the short, sharp shock of it enough to guide me into my own release. I plunge deep inside of her one last time and hold myself there, groaning as the pleasure courses out to consume my whole body. I'm still holding on to her, her body pressed against mine as I still myself inside of her, my cock throbbing as I fill her with my seed.

I can feel the pulsations of her pussy around my cock as she begins to come back down to earth, her breath still quick, her stomach rising and falling fast. She doesn't make any kind of move to pull herself away from me—at least, not yet.

She settles back against me, the water lapping at the sides of the bath. She lets out a slight giggle as she peers over the edge of the tub.

"We've made a mess," she murmurs as she finally starts to ease herself off of me.

"Worth it."

She turns to me and, despite the awkward angle, manages to press her lips to mine. And as we kiss once more, I know I mean every word of it. Whatever mess the two of us have found ourselves in, it's one that we've made together.

And I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world but with her, in the midst of our glorious mess.