Taboo Flames (The Sicilian Sins #2)

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Aurora

I don’t sleep much that night. I’m caught between heart-wrenching hurt that Gio could harm me like that and extreme worry for him.

Eventually, though, worry for him wins out, backed up by my curiosity. It doesn’t help that Fabio’s words of warning begin to play in my head in an endless loop.

What’s Gio hiding, or what hasn’t he said?

Whatever it is, I have to find out. Not just to satisfy my curiosity. It’s obvious that I’ve begun to feel for Gio, something far more than a simple crush on my brother’s best friend and past just the boundaries of a physical relationship.

If we are to have any hope of going any further, I have to know exactly what I’m dealing with here. I can’t just jump headfirst into a situation I know nothing about.

The first hints of dawn are playing on the sky when I sneak out of Gio's house, my heart pounding with the fear of discovery.

I don’t exactly want to see Gio right now. I don’t want him to distract me from what I’m about to do, and if I’m being honest, I’m still a bit nervous to be alone with him after what happened last night.

I drive quickly out of the compound, wondering how exactly I’m going to ask Fabio about Gio without coming out and admitting that I’m being nosy.

As soon as I get home, I slip into my room, fire up my laptop, and type Gio’s name into the search bar. There’s not much information about him on the internet.

There’s only something about an orphanage.

Too pumped with energy to stay in my room, I carry my laptop to the kitchen just to have something to do with my hands.

I drop the laptop on the kitchen island and start mixing a bowl of dough mix.

The only person I know who can give me the information I need is my twin.

So, without a second thought, I video call him to drive home the urgency of my call.

“What’s wrong?” he asks as soon as the call connects.

“It’s about Gio,” I say.

His eyes narrow at me. “What happened to your neck?”

I immediately slap a hand to cover my neck. I completely forgot about the light bruising Gio’s hands left behind.

“It’s nothing,” I say, waving a hand dismissively.

“That doesn’t look like nothing to me, Aurora. What the fuck did that asshole do to you?” he barks angrily. I can see the violence brewing in his eyes, and I know I have to deflect it before he ends up doing something stupid, like picking a fight with Gio.

I have no desire to pick sides in a fight between my brother and my… I don’t know exactly what Gio is to me, but he is something.

“It’s complicated, Fabio. I promise. But Gio would never hurt me. Not on purpose. You have to believe me.”

“If I find out that he hurt you, I’ll kill him, Aurora,” Fabio says fiercely. “I don’t care what kind of relationship you have with him. I will never let anyone get away with hurting you."

I just nod, not wanting to push him further.

“Anyway, you said this was about Gio?” he asks.

I swallow, unsure of how to bring it up or even if I still want to bring it up, considering the evidence on my neck.

“Something happened last night, and I know it ties back to his past,” I say. “You know something, Fabio. Something I obviously don’t know.”

“I told you to stay out of it,” Fabio says with a sigh.

“I don’t have any plan to,” I tell him honestly. “Even if you don’t tell me, I’m going to keep digging, and I’ll eventually find out. So you might as well just tell me now and save us both the trouble.”

“It’s better you let him tell you about it.”

“That’s the thing, Fabio,” I say in frustration. “I don’t think he’s ever going to.”

Not when he’s trying his damn best to prove our relationship is merely physical. The man is as closed off as a clam.

“There’s probably a reason for that,” Fabio says stubbornly. “Why don’t you take the hint?”

I glare at him. “If you’re not going to tell me, then I’m hanging up to go and do some sleuthing of my own.”

“Wait, wait,” he says as I reach for the end call button.

“So?” I probe.

“I don’t know everything. All I know is his father was a drug addict wastrel, and his mother just up and disappeared,” Fabio tells me. “He lived in an orphanage for a while before he ended up the same way most boys do. On the streets of Sicily.”

I gasp, knowing how rough the streets can be. I’ve heard enough horror stories about what kids on the streets are made to do to survive.

What did Gio go through back then? I can’t even imagine.

“He didn’t stay long though. He was rescued by someone called The Godfather.”

“The Godfather? Why does that name sound so familiar?” I muse.

“He’s mentioned often. He’s a kind of savior to most street kids. I hear he picks them up, refines them, and gives them a new life, and then they spend the rest of their life in gratitude and loyalty to him.”

“Gio’s never mentioned him.”

Fabio shrugs over the camera. “I’m not surprised. Things like this are?—”

“Miss Vitale,” one of the staff interrupts.

I look up from the laptop. “Yes?”

“Signore Lombardi’s here to see you.”

“Okay,” I say to him, gesturing for him to let Gio in.

“Don’t go digging further into this, Rory,” Fabio warns sternly.

“You’re not the boss of me.”

He frowns. “At least promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I’ll try my best,” I respond. And just as Gio walks in, I hang up and shut the laptop.

Today, he’s in a charcoal three-piece suit. He looks dapper and mouthwateringly gorgeous, and I can’t believe I get to have a man who looks like him be interested in me.

“You snuck out this morning,” he says in accusation when he sees me.

“Hello, Gio,” I say in return.

“Princess,” he says slowly. Then, his eyes take in the bruising on my neck, and his gaze hardens.

I brush my hand over it. “It hardly hurts.”

“Don’t try to make me feel better, Aurora. I fucked up. I know it,” he says. “I’m sorry, baby.”

My eyes widen at his apology.

He slowly walks forward until he’s standing before me then digs something out of his pocket and holds it out at me. It’s a tube of some sort. Uncapping the tube, he squeezes out some of the contents onto his fingers, then gently raises my jaw to apply the salve on my neck.

“I’m so sorry, angel,” he murmurs softly.

“I know.”

“I’d never lay my hands on you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” I tell him. Despite the aura of danger emanating from Gio, I’ve always felt the safest with him, and it’s because of the control that’s wrapped around him as exquisitely as his designer suits.

Last night, I caught a glimpse of him stripped of that control, and I think, that, more than anything, had been the most terrifying, knowing that at any point in time when we had been together, his famous control could have slipped.

We stand there in silence, staring at each other, electricity crackling between us. The magnetism between us is brewing and as alive as possible.

Then he yanks me to him, and his mouth brushes against mine. I clutch him tight to me, kissing him desperately.

“I missed you in my bed last night,” he says, then kisses me again, his tongue urging my lips open so it can slip into my mouth.

I dig my fingers into his hair, feeling the silky strands sliding against my fingers.

He grabs me by the back of my thighs and lifts me onto the kitchen counter, never breaking the kiss. I moan into his mouth as he presses tightly against me, and I feel his hardness against my pulsing center.

“Seriously?” My sister’s voice breaks us apart.

I push away from Gio and turn to look at Carmela, trying to catch my breath and clear my hazy, desire-filled vision.

“Carmie,” I say, “you can’t say anything about this.”

“Anything about what?” she asks slyly. “Just do us single folks a favor and not kiss in every room.”

“Of course. Thank you for not saying anything.” I let out a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t see anything.” She grabs a bottle of milk from the fridge, waves her hand at us, and says, “Carry on, bye,” as she leaves.

I bury my face in my hand. “Oh my God. This is so embarrassing.”

Gio frowns. “Why is it embarrassing? Are you ashamed of me?”

Why is his first thought that I’m ashamed of him? It’s a reaction I’ll never have expected from him, and I don’t know if I’m overthinking it now, but I have a feeling the answer is connected to his past.

“No, but I don’t want my sister seeing me with my brother’s best friend’s tongue shoved down my throat,” I explain.

His eyes darken. “I want more than my tongue shoved down your throat.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Do you ever not think of sex?”

“Princess, I’ll be hard-pressed to think about anything other than putting my face between your legs when you’re around.”

“And what would you do with your face between my legs?” I ask coyly, feeling the inside of my legs get wet.

“I’ll eat your pussy until you scream,” he drawls.

I swallow hard at the thought of cumming with his mouth.

“Let’s go back to my place,” he says.

I want to follow him back to his place because I know exactly what’s waiting for me there—endless pleasure and orgasms. But there’s something more pressing I have to do.

Right now, digging into him is my priority. I only know the most basic things about him, and I have to know more. If there’s ever another nightmare, I want to be able to know how I can help him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t.” I bite my lower lip. “Duty calls.”

“What duties?” he asks sharply.

“I have to be at the studio.” I wince at the lie.

He looks at me thoughtfully. “But you don’t go to the studio on Sundays.”

“I have a special class today. Some of the parents complained about how their kids felt a little lost because this was their first foray into the dance world. So I organized a special catch-up class.”

“Hmmm,” he mutters as he leans forward and kisses me. “I’ll miss you today.”

He’s being far more sentimental than usual, and I can’t say I don’t like it.

“I’ll miss you too.”

Guilt eats at me for my dishonesty, but I refuse to be dissuaded from my mission.

As soon as he leaves, I rush back to my laptop and copy down the name of the orphanage. On Google Maps, it’s about an hour’s drive from here.

It’s the only link I have to finding more about Gio. At least, I hope they still have records from all those years ago.

I take a quick shower and get dressed in dark jeans and a dark sweatshirt. Then, I grab my car keys, and just as I’m about to leave, my phone begins to ring, and I see it’s Fabio. I have a feeling I know what he’s going to say.

I silence my phone and tuck it into my pocket. I can’t let Fabio stop me from doing what I’m about to do.

I steel my spine, jump into the car, and drive out of the compound. I consider calling ahead to ask about the orphanage’s records, but ultimately, I decide against it.

I step on the gas and swerve onto the highway, the car eating up the distance.

I turn up my playlist, hoping the loud bass will block out all the nerves and doubts playing in my head.

Just as I swerve around a corner, a blacked-out SUV curves around my car, cutting me off. I almost crash into it at the speed I’m going, but at the last second, I slam on the brakes, and the car skids to a stop, just a few inches from making contact with the SUV.

My heart races dangerously as an imposing man steps out of the car and faces me with dark, menacing eyes.

I suck in a frightened breath.

How the hell did Gio find me here?