Trapped (Sinners of Boston #5)

27. Santino

TWENTY-SEVEN

SANTINO

Delilah’s hands were clasped tightly in her lap. She sat next to me in the car, looking out the window. During the flight back, she’d barely talked to me.

Stonewalled .

All because I’d asked her to marry me. She stole glances when she thought I wasn’t looking. Sneaking peeks under her hair. She wasn’t happy with me.

I wasn’t too thrilled with her, either. Rejection didn’t sit well with me. I shouldn’t have to beg a woman to marry me. What about me wasn’t good enough? I had all the money in the world. A good family. I worked out constantly. I gave her everything, and she still said no.

Why was I not enough?

Trees whipped by the window as I drove outside of Boston. Delilah finally abandoned her pretense of ignoring me and whipped her head toward me.

“You missed the turn.”

My fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “We’re not going to my house.”

“Where, then?”

I kept my mouth shut. If she only wanted to be my girlfriend, then she wasn’t entitled to every little detail.

“Santino,” she pressed, louder this time. “Where are we going?”

“Sit back and relax. We’ll be there soon.”

Delilah’s petulant sigh made me want to swerve onto the shoulder, get out, and bend her over the car hood.

An hour later, a cabin popped out of the horizon, a black triangle silhouetted by dark blue. Gravel crunched under the tires as we turned down the tree-lined driveway.

We got out of the car. The cabin looked the same—rustic, a bit run-down, but solid. A piece of the past that had seen many grisly ends. I glanced at the shed in the distance. My brother used to kill people in there. He’d drag them into that small shed, and they’d come out in pieces, which he buried around the property.

I strode inside, Delilah following me. I flipped on a switch, and the bulbs flickered to life, casting a warm glow. The sharp pine scent triggered even more memories.

I grabbed old newspapers and kindling, arranging them under the logs I’d placed in the fireplace. I struck a match and lit the newspaper. It turned black and curled, the flames eating up the paper.

Delilah came out of the room, her long hair brushed in shiny, loose waves. She wore one of my shirts and a pair of socks. Nothing else. I could see her tits bouncing freely, the areolae dark circles peeking through the translucent white cotton. My cock twitched.

Back to her old games .

Irritation heated my chest like a rash. She flashed her pussy to get what she wanted from me, and it worked. Every single time. She’d done her job too well. She’d turned me into a junkie addicted to her taste. Would there ever be a time when I wouldn’t get hard just thinking about it?

Delilah kneeled beside me, her floral scent drugging me.

An orange glow began to fill the room. Light flickered in Delilah’s eyes as she rubbed her fingers together. The cabin was freezing. The only heat came from the fireplace.

I grabbed her hands, rubbing warmth into them. “Better?”

Delilah’s mouth softened. “Yeah.”

The fire caught, the small flames licking eagerly at the wood. Delilah jumped a little when a log popped.

“Is this where you had your family vacations?” she asked.

“Not exactly. This was more like a training ground. My Nonno on my mother’s side believed in preparing us for the real world.”

His version of it, anyway.

“Training for what?”

“Survival. Power. Control.”

She slipped out of my hands, and I sat back on my heels, watching the flames.

“Nonno was from the old country. He came over as a young man, scarred by poverty and war. Italy wasn’t kind to him, and he didn’t know if America would be either. So he made sure we were tougher than the rest.”

“Sounds like he was a hard man.”

“He had to be. He’d lost too much before he even stepped foot in America. When he finally made it here, he was determined not to let the world break us.”

She frowned. “Did you ever resent that?”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Nah. He just wanted us to be prepared.”

“Is that what you want for your kids?”

Good question . “They’ll be prepared, but they’ll know they’re loved.”

She frowned. “How do you know you’ll be a good dad?”

“You’ve met my brother Kill. You’re familiar with his reputation, right?” I watched her nod, remembering how she’d tense whenever he came into the room. “If he can be a good dad, so can I.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m nothing like him or Violet. My childhood was…awful.”

I laughed hollowly. “And mine was so much better? We slept four to a bed in a rat-infested apartment. My father was a bitter old man who drank and gambled every cent we earned.”

“Still, it’d be so much easier to find someone without my issues.”

“I don’t want easy. I want interesting and complicated.”

Her laughter, light yet tinged with sadness, filled the cabin. “Are you sure that’s really what you want? Because that’s all I can give you.”

“You gave me a reason to care about more than just surviving.”

Her eyes glistened. “I’m a magnet for trouble.”

“I want something that burns hot, even if it’s a little dangerous.”

“You’re so crazy,” she whispered.

I squeezed her hand. “We’re in this together, no matter how dark it gets. I want the good and the bad.”

She smirked. “So, everything, then.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, a small laugh escaping me. “If you’re going to want something, you might as well take it all.”

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I told you, I’m not good at being kept.”

Well aware of that, principessa .

I needed to get her pregnant.

Reaching over her, I grabbed her phone from the table. I turned it on and held it to her face, unlocking it.

She frowned. “What are you doing?”

“My sisters have apps to track their cycles. You probably do, too.”

I thumbed through them, stabbing on a pink icon. It opened to today’s date, a giant magenta circle highlighting the words: You’re fertile!

My smirk grew. “Perfect timing, Delilah.”

“Hey, you can’t just look through my stuff!”

I put the phone aside, sliding my arm over her shoulder and dragging her onto my lap. I kissed that gorgeous dent at the base of her throat, my lips trailing up her smooth skin.

She shivered. “Are you serious?”

“I want this,” I whispered in between kisses. “I won’t stop until your tits get swollen and your belly grows.”

Her skin flushed, but she let me fondle her over the shirt. I kissed her nipples, the dark circles standing at attention. I nipped her, and she dug her nails into my scalp. I sucked her through the fabric, playing with the stiffening peaks.

“Santino, this is crazy.”

“It’s what we both need.”

I set her on the couch and ripped off her panties, sliding to the floor to kneel between her legs. Her pussy was spread wide, glistening. She was ready for me before I’d touched her. What a perfect girl.

“You are irresistible,” I growled.

My hands glided over the tender skin of her inner thighs, teasing her. Delilah’s grip tightened in my hair, pulling me in.

I chuckled. “Can’t wait, huh?”

But I was done teasing her, too. My mouth closed over her, my tongue lashing out to taste. Delilah’s back arched off the couch, a sharp gasp slicing through the air as my mouth moved with precision.

“You taste so damn good,” I muttered, muffled by her wetness. I held her hips, pulling her closer. My other hand traveled up to circle her clit, pressing just right to send shocks of pleasure through her trembling body. I built up the pace slowly, alternating between quick movements and slow licks that made her writhe.

Delilah’s fingers tightened in my hair, her breaths coming in short, sharp gasps. Her mumbled words broke off into a whimper as I increased the pressure, my tongue and fingers moving in a relentless rhythm that pushed her closer to the edge.

I could feel her body tensing, the signs of her impending climax clear in the way her legs trembled and her breathing became erratic. I looked up at her, our eyes locking as I brought her over the brink.

With a loud cry, Delilah’s body bowed, her climax washing over her in waves. I didn’t relent, my tongue thrusting inside her, drawing it out until she was gasping for breath. A flush spread across her cheeks and chest.

As her tremors subsided, I kissed my way up her body, my lips tracing the path of her quivering muscles until I reached her lips. I kissed her deeply, unbuckling my pants.

I stood, pulling her up with me. Her eyes were hazy, her body still trembling from her orgasm. I turned her around and bent her over the arm of the couch, her ass raised, presenting her perfectly for me.

I entered her in one thrust. Delilah’s fingers dug into the cushions. I set a demanding rhythm, punching my hips forward. The sounds of my cock slamming into her wet pussy filled the room, highlighted by Delilah’s moans. She was so tight, clenching me in all the right ways.

Mine. All fucking mine.

Delilah’s body tensed, her climax building again. I could feel it in the way she tightened around me. She pushed back with her hips, meeting my thrusts. She groaned.

“Come for me again,” I commanded, my voice rough. “Let me feel you.”

Delilah’s convulsed around me, crying out. I thrust into her harder, my own release barreling through me. My balls tightened, and hot jets shot into her pussy. I kept fucking her in short jerks, riding out each wave.

We collapsed onto the couch, panting. I pulled her into my arms, holding her close. I grinned, still wading in euphoria. My hand brushed her lower belly.

“One day, this is going to grow our baby.”

Delilah’s brow furrowed, but I kissed it away.

I needed to get her ready for the next round.

She had a really good chance of being pregnant. I still had three more days before the fertility window closed, and then it’d be another few weeks of waiting.

Delilah had passed out around eleven p.m. I couldn’t sleep, so I scrolled my phone for hours. Then I called her father. I sat at the rickety kitchen table as it rang once before being picked up.

“I’m surprised to hear from you,” said Mikhail.

Asshole . “I bet you are.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Delilah is the only reason you’re still breathing.”

“Is that so?” he mocked. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

“You’re a snake. You sent your soldiers to Italy and risked your daughter’s life just for the chance to kill me. And for what? Because I stole her away from Dimitri?”

“Santino?”

I turned toward her.

Delilah stood at the doorway, wearing my button-up shirt. The firelight softened her figure, and she wore her hair in a messy bun, tendrils framing her face. She stepped closer, hesitating, before sitting next to me.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

The line crackled with his heavy breathing. I ended the call and put the phone down, hitching a smile.

“Yeah, babe. It’s fine.”

Delilah glanced at the phone. “Who was that?”

“Nobody important.”

She grabbed my wrist, squeezing hard. “I heard you say Mikhail.”

“Go back to bed.”

She fumed. “You talk about wanting more with me, but you don’t tell me anything real. You feed me scraps, not the whole truth.”

I toyed with a strand of her hair. “I don’t want you to worry about anything, principessa.”

“Well, I do. So, can we skip to the part where you tell me what’s going on?”

Men in my line of work didn’t confide in their women. I took out my wallet from my back pocket.

“Do some shopping. That’ll take your mind off things.”

She glowered at me. “I don’t want your money.”

“My bank account begs to differ.”

Delilah flushed down to her neck, that gorgeous pink shade spreading everywhere. Her eyes widened as she tried to come up with an excuse, but I didn’t need to hear one.

“I don’t care that you only want money from me,” I ground out, the lie heating my chest. “As long as you’re with me.”

“Being used for money doesn’t bother you?”

Of course it does .

I kept my voice even. “You get what you want, and so do I.”

“It hardly seems worth the money.”

“I disagree. I have the most beautiful woman in the city right where I want her. And soon, we’ll have a family. You think I’d let that go just because it costs me?”

“Maybe I’ll start charging interest.”

“With the rates you’ll probably charge, I’ll be bankrupt before the wedding.”

She lifted a brow. “Assuming there will be a wedding.”

“There will.”

“I don’t know. I don’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to following through on those.”

My lips curved. “You’ll want to marry me.”

I said it like a certainty, but I wasn’t sure of anything. The nagging feeling that she would leave twisted in my gut.

“Oh yeah? How come?”

“Because I’ll deposit a quarter of a million dollars into your bank account once you’re pregnant. And you’ll get more once we’re married. Plus, jewelry and clothes. Whatever you want.”

Her eyes lit up. “Seriously?”

“I’ll write it in the prenup.”

I grew up poor. I understood the appeal of wealth better than anyone. Who wouldn’t want complete freedom? I’d fantasized about being rich. Not just comfortable but rich . Extravagant vacations. Custom-built houses. Luxury cars.

Delilah had grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She had a taste for expensive things. Few men could afford to keep Delilah. Marrying me should have been a no-brainer. Yet she seemed conflicted.

I needed her with me. Money wasn’t enough, but it was the only leverage I had. That was all I was to her. A walking bank account. A means to an end. The second she got what she wanted, she’d walk away.

“I can’t agree to marry you for money,” she muttered.

“What do you want, stock options?”

She glared at me, then got off the chair and parked her ass on my lap. She twined her arms around my neck. “I’m not only interested in your money, you know.”

Sure, babe . “I was starting to think you need an itemized invoice to remind you why you’re with me.”

She huffed. “Stop it.”

I smirked. “What about a detailed expense report?”

Delilah rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched. “I should start sending you bills for all the therapy I’ll need after being kidnapped. Again.”

I slipped a finger in between the buttons of her shirt, grazing her stomach. “You look good in my clothes.”

Delilah’s fingers stilled, and her eyes closed. When they opened again, she looked like the lost girl that had stumbled into my club. All the fierceness left her.

I kissed her cheek. “Listen, I need to go somewhere.”

She dug her nails into my shirt. “In the middle of the night?”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re safe.”

She still looked freaked out.

I sighed, taking out my Glock. “Safety’s on. It’s loaded with one in the chamber.”

She gaped at me as I set it on the table.

I lifted her off my lap and headed to the coat rack. “You know how to use a gun, right?”

She grimaced.

I stood, heading to the door. “I’ll have to take you to the range.”

Deep inside Franklin Park, through a trimmed path and up lichen-covered stone steps, sat a group of giant, rusted enclosures. The old bear dens of a zoo. They’d been abandoned decades ago, left to rot to their skeletal remains. Early morning sunlight poked through the branches, illuminating the stone carving of two bears standing on hind legs.

I checked my watch.

As I glanced up, movement caught my attention. A strong silhouette moved out from a tree, flanked by two others. Vinn and his bodyguards.

I nodded at him.

Vinn’s eyes were like two tar pits. “You finally show your fucking face after taking off to Italy.”

“I couldn’t do what you wanted me to do.”

He crossed his arms. “Why?”

“She’s pregnant.”

Vinn exhaled roughly. “Knocking up the Romanov girl puts a kink in my plan to wipe them off the face of the earth.”

“Then set it aside. We’re not ready for an all-out conflict with the Russians. We’re still fighting for territory in Chelsea. We have the 12 th Street gang and the Animals growing in Dorchester and Beacon Hill. Another war will break us.”

“Sonny, you brought this conflict to my door.”

A foot scraped the path, and cold metal kissed the back of my neck. I didn’t move. I wasn’t too worried. If the boss wanted me dead, I’d be gone already. He had a reason for dragging me all the way out here.

“Look, I get that you’re pissed. But the Romanovs are dying. Mikhail has no heirs except Delilah. This marriage will let us dip our hands in Providence, which no Costa boss has ever been able to do.”

Vinn’s glare didn’t waver, but interest flickered in his eyes. “Those bastards turned our cousin into a human torch.”

“We need to think about securing our future.”

He smiled wryly. “ Your future, you mean.”

“The docks in Providence are a gold mine, not to mention the smuggling routes through New York. We could expand beyond Boston. Isn’t that better than a war that leaves us weakened? This kid could bridge the gap between our families. It’s peace or leverage, depending on how we play it.”

“Mikhail’s not going to sit back and let his daughter marry into the family that’s been trying to kill him.”

“We have his daughter. We’ll make a deal with Mikhail. Offer him stability under our management. We’ve done it before with the MCs.”

“Can you get him to agree?”

I met his gaze steadily. “I think so. He’s getting old. He knows Delilah’s the only future he’s got.”

Vinn nodded. “Alright.”

“It’ll work,” I assured him. “We handle this carefully, and we’ll come out stronger.”

Vinn motioned to his men, and they backed off, giving me space. “If you fuck up, it’ll be on you.”

I nodded.

I didn’t need a reminder of the stakes.