Born in Blood Collection Volume 1: Collection of books 1-4

by Cora Reilly

  That wasn’t the answer I’d hoped for, but I was too tired to ponder it. Instead I closed my eyes and let sleep claim me.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Going to the toilet burnt like hell, and walking wasn’t exactly comfortable either. I winced as I stepped back into the bedroom where Luca lay with his head propped up on his arm. He watched me. “Sore?”

  I nodded, blushing. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

  “Why are you sorry?”

  I lay down beside him. “I thought you might want to do it again, but I don’t think I can.”

  Luca traced his fingertips over my ribs. “I know. I didn’t expect you to be ready so soon.” He rubbed my stomach, then inched a bit lower. “I could lick you if you’re up for it.”

  My core tightened and I really wanted to say yes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Luca nodded and settled back against the pillows. The blanket crowded around his hips, revealing his muscled torso and the scars there.

  I moved closer and propped myself up above him. I traced Luca’s scars, wondering what kind of stories hid behind each of them. I wanted to know all of them, wanted to figure Luca out scar by scar like a puzzle. Where did he get the long scar on his shoulder and the bullet wound below his ribs? Luca was doing his own exploring with his eyes, wandering over my breasts and face. He ran his thumb over my nipples. “Your breasts are fucking perfect.” His touch was more possessive than sexual, but I could feel it all the way between my legs anyway.

  Trying to distract myself, I paused with my fingertips against a mostly faded scar on his abs. “Where did you get this scar?”

  “I was eleven.” My eyes grew wide. I was pretty sure where the story was going. “The Famiglia wasn’t as united as it is now. A few men thought they could grab power by killing my father and his sons. It was the middle of the night when I heard screaming and shooting. Before I could get out of bed, a man stepped into the room and pointed his gun at me. I knew I’d die as I stared into the barrel. I wasn’t as scared as I thought I’d be. He would have killed me, if Matteo hadn’t jumped him from behind when he pulled the trigger. The bullet went a lot lower than it was supposed to and hit my middle. It hurt like a motherfucker. I was screaming and probably would have passed out if the man hadn’t turned on Matteo to kill him. I had a gun stashed in the drawer of my nightstand, took it out and put a bullet in the man’s head before he could kill Matteo.”

  “That was your first murder, right?” I whispered.

  Luca’s eyes, which had been lost in another time, focused on me. “Yeah. The first of many.”

  “When did you kill again?”

  “That same night.” He smiled humorlessly. “After that first man, I told Matteo to hide in my closet. He protested, but I was bigger and locked him in. By then I’d lost quite a bit of blood, but I was high on adrenaline and could still hear shooting downstairs, so I headed for the noise with my gun. My father was in a shooting match with two attackers. I came down the stairs but nobody paid me any attention, and then I shot one of them from behind. My father took the other down with a shot in the shoulder.”

  “Why didn’t he kill him?”

  “He wanted to question him to find out if there were other traitors in the Famiglia.”

  “So what did he do with the guy while he took you to the hospital?”

  Luca gave me a wry look. I gasped. “Don’t tell me he didn’t take you.”

  “He called the Doc of the Famiglia, told me to put pressure on the wound and went ahead and started torturing the guy for information.”

  I couldn’t believe a father would let his child suffer through pain and risk his life, so he could gather information.

  “You could have died. Some things need to be treated in a hospital. How could he do that?”

  “The Famiglia comes first. We never take our injured to a hospital. They ask too many questions and the police get involved, and it’s an admittance of weakness. And my father had to make sure the traitor spoke before he got a chance to kill himself.”

  “So you agree with what he did? You would have watched someone you love bleed to death so you could protect the Famiglia and your power.”

  “My father doesn’t love me. Matteo and I are his guarantee for power and a way to keep the family name alive. Love has nothing to do with it.”

  “I hate this life. I hate the mafia. Sometimes I wish there was a way to escape.”

  Luca’s face became still. “From me?”

  “No,” I said, surprising myself. “From this world. Have you never wanted to live a normal life?”

  “No. This is who I am, who I was born to be, Aria. It’s the only life I know, the only life I want. For me to commit to a normal life would be like an eagle living in a small cage in a zoo.” He paused. “Your marriage to me shackles you to the mafia. Blood and death will be your life as long as I live.”

  “Then so be it. I’ll go where you go no matter how dark the path.”

  For a moment, Luca held his breath, then he gripped the back of my head and kissed me fiercely.

  * * *

  I’d thought Luca would want to sleep with me again soon after our first time, but he didn’t push me. Even though I tried to hide it, he could tell that I was sore for a few days after. He pleasured me with his tongue a few times, never even entering me with his finger, and I made him come with my mouth in turn.

  I wasn’t sure if he was waiting for an okay from me but when he came home one night a week after he’d taken my virginity, looking exhausted and angry, I wanted to make him feel better. After he’d showered, he stumbled toward the bed in only his boxers, his eyes filled with darkness.

  “Bad day?” I whispered as he flung himself on the bed beside me. He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling with empty eyes.

  “Luca?”

  “I lost three of my men today.”

  “What happened?”

  “The Bratva attacked one of our warehouses.” His lips thinned, chest heaving. “We’ll make them pay. Our retribution will make them bleed.”

  “What can I do?” I said softly, my hand stroking his chest.

  “I need you.”

  “Okay.” I slid my nightgown over my head and pushed down my panties. I knelt beside Luca. He got rid of his boxers and his erection sprang free. Gripping my hips, he made me straddle his stomach. Nerves twisted my insides. I’d hoped that for my second time Luca would still be on top. The thought of lowering myself on his length after how much it had hurt last time terrified me, but if Luca needed me, then I could do it. I cried out in surprise when Luca gripped my butt and hoisted me toward his face, so I was hovering over his mouth. He pressed me down and I screamed out in pleasure, my hands coming up to press against the headboard. This was more intense than anything Luca had ever done to me.

  His tongue slipped into me deeply and he massaged my butt with firm fingertips. I peered down into Luca’s eyes as he closed his mouth over my clit. I rocked my hips, pressing myself against his mouth. He growled. The vibration sent pleasure through me and I started rotating my hips, riding Luca’s face. I closed my eyes, let my head fall back as Luca fucked me with his tongue again, humming all the while. And then I shattered, rocking against Luca’s mouth and screaming his name. Somewhere deep inside, a part of me wanted to be embarrassed, but I was too aroused.

  When my orgasm subsided, I tried to pull away from Luca’s lips but he held me fast, his eyes burning into me as he licked me with slow strokes. It was too much, but he was relentless. With soft caresses and nudges from his tongue he slowly built my pleasure up again. My pants came quicker and I didn’t try to escape anymore; instead I let Luca move my hips back and forth as he licked me. I was seconds away from my second orgasm. Without warning he pulled back, and in one fluid motion he flicked me on my back and knelt between my legs, his erection pressed against my entrance.

  I tensed up but Luca didn’t enter. He bowed his head so he could suck my nipple into his mouth and rubb
ed the tip of his erection back and forth over my clit. I mewed helplessly at the sensation. I’d been so close to coming before and could feel myself getting there again. Then he dipped only the tip into my opening. I gasped at the brief pain, but he retreated quickly and slid his slick tip over my clit again. He did this over and over until I was panting and so wet I could hear it, then he released my nipple and brought his face up to mine. His tip slipped into my opening, but this time he didn’t retreat.

  Slowly he slid into me all the way, never taking his eyes off me. I bit my lip to stifle a gasp. It wasn’t as painful as last time but still uncomfortable. I felt too stretched, too full. Luca cupped the back of my head and began moving. My breath hitched despite the slow pace, but Luca didn’t falter. He slid in and out at an excruciatingly slow and gentle rhythm until my breath stopped catching in my throat. He sped up, but I clawed his arms and he slowed again. He lowered his mouth to my ear, his voice low and husky as he spoke. “I loved the taste of you, principessa. I loved how you rode my fucking mouth. I loved my tongue in you. I love your pussy and your tits, and I love that you’re all mine.” Luca kept up his steady thrusting as he whispered into my ear. And I forgot about the dull pain, and moaned. Nothing was sexier than Luca talking dirty to me in his deep baritone.

  Through the discomfort I could feel an orgasm building as Luca’s low voice washed over me. He sneaked his hand between us and found my clit, rubbing frantically as he thrust into me. His movements sped up a bit, and I whimpered from both pain and pleasure. Luca didn’t slow. He was panting, his skin slick with sweat as he fought for control. I could see on his face how his grip on it was fading, but he didn’t lose it. I moaned as he slid deeper into me than before. Pleasure radiated through my body.

  “Come for me, Aria,” he rasped, increasing the pressure on my clit. Another spike of pleasure mixed with pain slammed through me and I fell apart, gasping and moaning as my orgasm rocked my body. Luca growled and thrust harder. I clung to him, fingers digging into his shoulders as he approached his own peak. With a guttural groan, Luca tensed above me, and I could feel him release into me. I moaned at how full and stretched I felt. Luca kept thrusting until I could feel him soften. He pulled out but stayed on top of me, his weight supported on his forearms. “Was I too rough?” he asked thickly.

  “No, it was okay.” I didn’t dare ask how much harder he could go.

  He kissed the corner of my mouth, then my lower lip until he dipped his tongue into me for a delicious kiss. We kissed for a long time, our slick bodies pressed against each other. I wasn’t sure how long we lay like that, kissing, but eventually I could feel Luca getting hard again.

  My eyes grew wide in surprise. “So soon? I thought men needed time to rest.”

  Luca laughed, a deep sexy sound. “Not with your naked body beneath me.” He kneaded my butt. “How sore are you?”

  Too sore, but the way he rubbed his erection lightly against my folds, I couldn’t say it. “Not too sore.”

  Luca gave me a look that made it clear he recognized the lie but he rolled on his back, taking me with him. I straddled his abs. He must have seen how nervous I was because he stroked my sides gently. “Take your time. You are in control.”

  He rocked his hips, rubbing his length over my butt cheeks.

  “I want you in control,” I admitted.

  Luca’s eyes darkened. “Don’t say something like that to a man like me.” But he gripped my hips and positioned me above his erection. From this vantage point he looked even bigger. He rubbed his tip in small circles over my clit as his other hand trailed up toward my breast and cupped it. He lined himself up with my opening before grabbing my hips and slowly guiding me down. When he was almost all the way in, I paused, catching my breath. I lay my palms flat against his chest as I tried to get used to the new position. He felt bigger, and my muscles clenched tightly around his erection. Luca gritted his teeth. He ran his hands up my torso and cupped my breasts again, twirling my nipples between his fingers. I moaned and made small rocking motions with my hips. Luca pressed his thumb against my clit and flicked, then as I moaned he pushed me all the way down to the base of his erection.

  I cried out in surprise more than pain and froze, exhaling slowly to adjust to the feeling of utter fullness.

  “Aria,” Luca rasped. I met his gaze. A hint of uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

  I forced my lips into a smile. “Give me a moment.”

  He nodded, his hands resting lightly on my waist as he watched me. I released another breath, then shifted my hips experimentally. There was a twinge but there was also pleasure. “Help me?” I whispered, gazing at him through my lashes.

  He clasped my waist, his fingers splaying across my butt, and guided me into a slow rhythm of rocking and rotating. It was exhilarating to feel the strength of his body beneath my hands, to feel his pectoral muscles flex under my fingertips, but even better was the look in his eyes as he watched me on top of him. The hunger and admiration mixed with another emotion I didn’t dare to guess. Luca’s chest heaved under my palms, his breath coming faster as he started thrusting upwards, driving himself into me harder and faster. His thumb flicked back and forth over my clit as he drove into me. I cried out. Luca gripped my hips in a bruising grip and thrust faster. I threw my head back, riding through my orgasm as I felt Luca tense and release into me with a low moan.

  I shivered helplessly on top of him as I came down from my high. I slumped forward on Luca’s chest and pressed my lips to his. His heart pounded against my breasts. He slung his arms around my back and pressed me against him tightly.

  “I won’t lose you,” he growled, startling me.

  “You won’t.”

  “The Bratva is closing in. How can I protect you?”

  Why would the Bratva have any interest in me? “You will find a way.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A couple of weeks had passed and sex got better every time we did it. I had a feeling Luca was still holding back quite a bit, but I didn’t mind. Sometimes I wondered if maybe he needed the gentle lovemaking as much as I did after all the stress he went through with the Bratva.

  Lovemaking? No matter how much I tried to ignore my feelings, I knew I loved Luca. Maybe it was natural to fall in love with the person you were married to, the person you shared intimacy with. I wasn’t sure why I had fallen for Luca despite my best intentions not to let him into my heart; I only knew that I had. I knew what men like Luca thought of love. I hadn’t told him about my feelings, though a few times the words had been on the tip of my tongue after we’d laid in each other’s arms, sweaty and sated after sex. I knew Luca wouldn’t say it back, and I didn’t want to make myself vulnerable like that.

  I watched the sun set over New York from my position in the lounge chair on the roof terrace. Romero was inside, reading a sports magazine on the sofa. A few times I’d considered asking Luca to stop Romero’s constant presence—nothing could happen to me in our penthouse—but then I couldn’t go through with it. I would have felt more alone without Romero in the apartment, even if we didn’t talk all that much. Marianna only came in around lunchtime to clean and prepare lunch and dinner, and Luca was gone most days. I still hadn’t met any of the women from the Famiglia for coffee. After Cosima’s betrayal, I really wasn’t keen on meeting more of Luca’s family anyway.

  My phone vibrated on the small table. I snatched it up, seeing Gianna’s name flash on the screen. Happiness burst in my chest. We had talked this morning, but it wasn’t unusual for my sister to call more than once per day and I didn’t mind.

  The moment I heard her voice, I sat up, my heart pounding in my chest like crazy.

  “Aria,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears.

  “Gianna, what happened? What’s going on? Are you hurt?”

  “Father’s giving me to Matteo.”

  I didn’t understand, couldn’t. “What do you mean he’s giving you to Matteo?” My voice shook and tears already burnt in my eyes as
I listened to Gianna’s heart-wrenching sobs.

  “Salvatore Vitiello spoke to Father and told him that Matteo wanted to marry me. And Father agreed!”

  I couldn’t breathe. I’d worried that Matteo wouldn’t let Gianna get away with her rudeness toward him. He was a man who didn’t like to be refused, but how could Father have agreed? “Did Father say why? I don’t understand. I’m already in New York. He didn’t need to marry you off to the Famiglia too.”

  I stood, couldn’t sit still anymore. I started pacing the roof, trying to calm my racing pulse with low breaths.

  “I don’t know why. Maybe Father wants to punish me for saying what I think. He knows how much I despise our men, and how much I hate Matteo. He wants to see me suffer.”

  I wanted to disagree, but I wasn’t sure Gianna was wrong. Father thought women needed to be put in their place, and what better way to do that with Gianna than bind her to a man like Matteo? Behind his grins lurked something dark and angry, and I had a feeling Gianna wouldn’t have the sense not to provoke him until he lost it.

  “Oh, Gianna. I’m so sorry. Maybe I can tell Luca and he can change Matteo’s mind.”

  “Aria, don’t be naïve. Luca knew all along. He’s Matteo’s brother and the future Capo. Something like that isn’t decided without him being involved.”

  I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to accept it. Why hadn’t Luca told me about this? “When did they make the decision?”

  “A few weeks ago, even before I came to visit.”

  My heart clenched. Luca had slept with me, had made me trust him and love him, and hadn’t bothered to tell me that my sister was being sold to his brother.

  “I can’t believe him!” I whispered harshly. Romero was watching me through the windows, already getting up from the sofa. “I’m going to kill him. He knows how much I love you. He knows I wouldn’t have allowed it. I would have done anything to prevent the agreement.”

  Gianna was silent on the other end. “Don’t get in trouble because of me. It’s too late anyway. New York and Chicago shook hands on it. It’s a made deal, and Matteo won’t let me out of his clutches.”