Taboo Flames (The Sicilian Sins #2)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Aurora

“ T here’s not enough syrup on it,” I tell Gio on Sunday morning as he slides a plate of pancakes over to me.

We spent most of Friday and Saturday in bed, eating lots of takeout and having even more sex. At this rate, I’m going to be walking bowlegged for the rest of my life.

I also just learned that the scary mafia boss could make a mean pancake.

He gives me a look and then pointedly stares at my plate stacked with pancakes swimming in syrup.

“I want them to drown,” I tell him defensively. “Stop judging me.”

“Hmmm.”

“Aren’t you hungry?” I ask, noticing he didn’t make himself a plate.

“I am,” he says, his eyes darkening. “But not for food.”

I glare at him. “Well, too bad for you because my vagina is closed until further notice. She’s recovering from the relentless abuse she took this weekend.”

Gio’s mouth curves up into a smile, and he steps forward until he’s within kissing range. Then he lowers his voice into a silky purr that makes my blood rush to my nether regions.

“Who made you the spokesperson for your pussy?” he asks, hands sliding up from my knee before slipping under his T-shirt that I’m wearing. “I think I’ll decide for myself what this hungry little pussy wants.”

I lick my lips, feeling my nipples harden as his long fingers trail up slowly to the pulsing junction of my legs. When his fingers finally brush against my wet sex, I release a gasp.

“Gio,” I sigh wantonly.

“Eat your pancakes, princess,” he whispers into my ear. “I worked so hard for them, and I’d really hate for my efforts to go to waste.”

He grabs me by the waist and lifts me onto the kitchen island before he takes my seat.

I’m already shaking in anticipation by the time he pulls me to the edge of the counter, spreads my legs, and begins to kiss a path from my knee to the inside of my thighs.

Suffice it to say, Gio really meant it when he said he was hungry because he eats me like a starved man until I’m cumming with a scream, my body bowed from the force of my orgasm.

“Isn’t it sacrilege to be having sex on a Sunday?” I ask Gio after, as I eat my cold pancakes.

He’s on a call, but he pulls the phone away from his ear to say, “I’ll go for confession as soon as possible and absolve my soul of this terrible sin.”

I roll my eyes at him. “I noticed you said ‘my.’ What about my soul?”

“Religion is a personal thing,” he replies with a grin before returning to his call.

Ever since I ran from Gio after discovering his brutality, it felt like there was suddenly this sort of closeness and openness between us. While he wasn’t exactly blurting out his whole life story to me, I could tell he was softer and less guarded.

Which is why I’ve been hesitant to tell him about the picture I found in Giordano’s library. I just knew such a conversation would have him shutting down again and destroying all the progress we were making.

It’s safe to say I’ve caught feelings for him, and I don’t know what to do about it. I should have suspected this would eventually happen, and I was itching to tell Gio. Especially since I know he feels something for me too.

I’m just not sure he’s ready to admit it.

I’m going to have to dig into that picture on my own. I’m still hellbent on paying Gio’s former orphanage a visit, which means I have to find a way to elude both Gio and Carlos.

I have no idea how I’m going to do that or if it’s even safe to drive out into the middle of nowhere when I have people sending me death threats.

I suddenly gasp, causing Gio to look at me sharply.

“What?” he asks.

“I remember something about the pimp.”

Gio immediately hangs up his call and turns to face me. “What do you remember?”

“He had a spider tattoo on the back of his palm, and I swear I’ve seen it somewhere else before,” I tell him. “I just don’t remember where. And don’t tell me it’s a coincidence. It’s not a coincidence. It’s an obvious identification.”

His gaze turns thoughtful. “Unless it’s a large gang, it’ll be difficult to put out the word that I’m hunting for a man with a spider tattoo on his palm.”

“If I noticed it, someone else has to have.”

“I’m just trying to be careful. These guys are controlled by a supposedly powerful man who doesn’t like people anywhere near his business.”

My eyes widen. “You know who is behind all this?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “Giordano gave me some information concerning him. This man is a veritable ghost, princess. Nobody knows who he is or how to get to him. And trust me, The Godfather is a very connected man. If he can’t find someone, then nobody else can.”

I let out a disappointed sigh. “So this guy is just always going to be behind the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to catch me and chop me into tiny, disposable pieces.”

Gio chuckled. “You have an over-imaginative mind. He’ll more likely chain you down with weights and toss you into the ocean.”

I frown at him. “You’re terrible at comforting people.”

“I try,” he says with a wry grin.

“I finally found something the great Giovanni isn’t good at. Here I was, thinking you were superhuman.”

With a laugh, he pulls me out of my chair and onto his lap.

“I was thinking we could spend today christening the rest of the house. So far, we’ve done a good job of my room and the kitchen,” he tells me, mouthing at my neck.

I snicker and wrap my hands around his neck. “We don’t have enough time for that today. I want to go shopping for new underwear. Someone’s been ripping all of mine.”

“I wonder who.”

I giggle. “Hmm, what a mystery.”

“Take my card when you go,” Gio tells me.

I raise a brow at him. “I don’t need your card. I have my own money.”

“I know. But you’ll take my card regardless.”

The one thing I'm not looking forward to is being ordered around by Gio for the rest of my life. The thought of that gives me pause. Am I subconsciously planning a future with Gio?

The thought should scare me a little because, after all, who the hell wants to be planning their future at twenty-two? But, instead, I feel at peace with the crazy thought.

“What are you thinking? You looked lost for a minute there.”

Tell him. Tell him. Something inside me roars at me to tell him. What is the worst that can happen anyway?

“Nothing,” I lie, pasting a smile on my face.

He presses his mouth against my jaw, peppering kisses along my jawline until his mouth is finally on mine. I open my mouth immediately, kissing him back and letting him deepen the kiss.

I can feel his hardness pressing up against me, and I rock against it, moaning into the kiss. Gio is like a drug, and I’m addicted. I cannot get enough of him.

I’m in lo?—

“What the fuck, and I mean, what the actual fuck is going on here?!” a very familiar, very furious voice barks.

I rip my mouth away from Gio’s and look over his shoulder to find my elder brother looking none too pleased by what he just walked in on.

I do a quick calculation in my head and wonder how I completely forgot he was due back in Sicily sometime this week. I’ve been so distracted by Gio that everything else has taken a back burner in my mind.

“Leo,” I gasp, trying to jump away from Gio and almost face-planting in the process. Gio’s hands catch me on time, and he helps me to my feet.

“You should be more careful, princess,” he says, glaring at me. I stare at him wide-eyed, confused by his lack of panic about our current situation.

“Is somebody going to explain what my sister is doing in my best, no, ex -best friend’s house with his tongue down her throat, or am I allowed to jump to my own conclusions?!" Leo demands.

“Will you believe me if I say I’m waiting here to surprise you?” I reply, wincing.

Gio chuckles. “I have a feeling not.”

“Fuck you,” Leo seethes, glaring at Gio. “She’s my baby sister. What the hell are you thinking?”

“You make it sound like I’m a child—” I begin defensively.

“You are a child,” Leo cuts in. “He’s far too old for you, and he should have known better.”

“I’m not a child!” I insist hotly. “I’m twenty-two. I haven’t been a child in years. If you can trust Fabio, who, in case you’ve forgotten, is the same damn age as me, to go off to another continent and run a whole city, then you can sure as hell trust me to make my own decisions on who I want to be with.”

Leo pauses before saying, “But him though? Of all the men in this city.”

“Unless you’re admitting to having terrible taste in friends, I don’t see what the problem is.” I cross my arms defensively.

“She’s got you there,” Gio says, his voice filled with amusement.

Leo whips around to face him, looking colder than I’ve ever seen him. “We both know, Giovanni, that if you had any plans whatsoever of having a real relationship with my sister, you’d have spoken to me about it already. You’re going to wreck her, and when you do, I won’t be able to forgive you.”

I stare at the two of them, watching the tension brewing between them. Leo is wrong. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Gio has feelings for me. We may have started out as just two people in a purely physical relationship, but we’re now so much more.

“He didn’t tell you for this exact reason,” I snap at Leo. “Because you’ve just made me look like an irresponsible child and made him look like a feelingless monster.”

I hate the doubts that creep into my mind, and it’s all because of Leo. I’m sure Gio would have told Leo, given more time. The sneaking around has been fun, but I’m ready for more.

I want everything with Gio: the dates, family dinners, and to be able to call him my boyfriend.

“He’s not?” Leo asks in surprise.

“No, he’s not,” I insist. “We’re together now.” Then, I turn to Gio and say, “Right?”

There’s a look in his eyes that I can’t place, but it leaves me feeling cold and uncomfortable.

“Right?" I ask again in a smaller voice.

I know Gio cares about me. He’s shown it in many ways, even if he doesn’t always mean to. He’s never let any other woman in his bed, but he lets me. He’s possessive and protective, always making sure I’m happy and listening to my ramblings. He even bought me a new studio because he thought the old one wasn’t safe enough.

But most of all, it’s the way he touches me—with reverence. Like I’m the only one he wants.

Pity fills Gio’s gaze, and it feels like I’ve just been brutally ripped in two.

“No, don’t give me that look, Gio. I know you know we share something real.”

“Actually, this was only supposed to be sex, princess,” he says slowly. “I should have walked away the second I realized you had caught feelings for me.”

“Y—you knew this whole time?” I gasp.

He nods. “You should really work on your poker face. You’ve been staring at me all weekend like I hung the moon.”

“You bastard,” Leo grits out in fury.

“You’re lying!” I exclaim, my voice rising. “You’re just saying these things because you’re a coward. You like me. Admit it.”

He sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “Your biggest attraction was the fact that you were forbidden. I’ve never liked to abide by rules, and corrupting you was the biggest middle finger to toeing the line.”

“You’re a monster,” I gasp.

“No, princess?—”

“Don’t call me that!” I yell.

“You knew who I was before you jumped into this,” he says through a clenched jaw. “You’re the one who fucked up by thinking you could fix me. But what did I expect? That’s what I get for messing around with someone far too young who thinks the whole world is a fairytale in the making.”

I take a feeble step backward, feeling all my hope and happiness come crashing down like dominos or a deck of cards.

“Fuck you, Gio,” I seethe.

“Rory, wait—” Leo calls out as I turn and run right out of the door and far away from the man who I was stupid enough to give so much power to hurt me.

The worst part is that Gio is right. He hadn’t made me any promises.

It didn’t make any of it hurt any less though.