by Bianca Cole
He sighs, unzipping a case and pulling out a laptop. “Try to sit back and relax. It’s a six-hour flight.”
I let out a deep breath and shut my eyes, letting my headrest back. The engines fire up a moment later, and my muscles tense. It’s always the take-off that is the worst, and I’m not sure why Rick is using his computer.
They always tell you to stow them away on commercial flights. Not to mention, we haven’t even had a safety briefing. “Aren’t you going to turn that off?” I ask.
He chuckles and glances at me. “Why would I do that on my plane?”
I stare at him with wide eyes. “Because the signals will mess with the plane, and we might crash.”
He sets a hand on my thigh and squeezes gently. “That’s a load of bullshit. I always have it on when we take off, and I haven’t crashed, have I?”
I swallow hard, clamping my eyes shut. I can’t believe Rick isn’t turning it off. The plane moves beneath us, making my heart pound in my ears.
The tap of Rick’s fingers flying over the keyboard next to me only makes me panic more. The engine kicks into high gear, and we are propelled down the runway. I keep my eyes clamped shut and hold tightly to the armrests either side of me. The terrible sensation as we lift from the ground makes my stomach twist with nausea.
As the plane steadies in the sky, so does my stomach, but I keep my eyes shut. Before I know it, I’ve drifted off to sleep.
A jolt in the air wakes me, startling me upright. Rick sets a hand on my thigh. “It’s only a little turbulence.” He smiles at me before focusing back on his laptop.
I swallow hard and stretch out my neck, which hurts like hell. “How long was I asleep?” I ask, glancing at him.
He looks so calm, as we fly toward our reckoning. My father won’t like it when I tell him I’ve got no intention of leaving Rick. He will be furious, as he has always been so protective over me, particularly with boys. Rick is anything but a boy, which will make it even worse.
“We’ve been in the air almost five hours,” he says, not looking at me.
My eyes widen. How did I sleep that long? I notice his brothers keep glancing behind at us, talking in hushed tones. All I want to do is get this over with.
I stand from my chair, and Rick grabs my wrist. “Where are you going?”
I yank my wrist free, glaring at him. “I don’t need permission to use the fucking bathroom now, do I?”
His eyes soften at my tone, and he shakes his head, swallowing.
The man can be too possessive. He may like to be dominant in the bedroom, but I won’t take that shit anywhere else. It turns me on when we have sex, but I’m not being treated like some slave the rest of the time.
I let myself into the bathroom, which is ridiculously lavish for an airplane. I walk toward the sink and lean over it, running the tap. The knots in my shoulders is painful as I splash water onto my face. The last thing I need to do right now is panic. My father will be pissed, and I feel like I’m betraying him.
It’s got nothing to do with allegiance, as I still love my father. I want them to put this behind them and get over it, as Rick is the man for me. There’s no doubt in my mind that I can’t live without him. The click of the lock on the bathroom door coming free startles me.
Rick stands in the doorway, blocking it entirely with his vast size. “What’s taking so long?”
I set my hands on my hips. “I’m taking a moment to myself. What is your problem today?”
His eyes flash, and he steps into the bathroom without a word, shutting the door behind him. He spins around and narrows his eyes at me. “My problem is that we’re flying straight into fucking danger. My brothers and you, the only people I give a damn about in this world.”
He grabs hold of my hips, pulling me toward him. I gasp as his lips descend on mine hard and rough, claiming my lips with a vengeance. When he finally breaks free, we’re both panting.
He presses his forehead to mine. “I can’t lose you, Alicia,” he mutters.
I grab his large, rough hand in mine and squeeze. “You won’t, I promise.” I pull away to gaze into his beautiful, dark eyes. “We will be okay.”
For the first time since I met him, Rick looks vulnerable. I can see it in his face. The dominant don is human.
“How do you know?” he asks.
I give him a weak smile. “I don’t, but you’ve got to believe everything will be okay. You will go mad thinking about any other outcome.”
He squeezes my hand back and pulls me close, lacing his fingers through my hair. He forces my mouth to his and kisses me softly. It’s the most tender he’s ever been with me, and it makes my chest ache.
When he breaks away, his eyes are full of such raw emotion. “I love you, princess,” he utters. Three words I never expected to hear from the brutal, hard mob boss who loves to dominate.
I swallow hard, staring into those eyes that have become so familiar so quickly. “I love you, too.”
He nods toward the bathroom door and holds out his hand. “Come on, if we stay in here much longer, people will think we’re up to something.” He raises an eyebrow.
I shrug. “Maybe we are?” I lift the bottom of my top up and tear it off, flinging it onto the counter. “Might as well pass the time.”
He growls and rushes toward me, kissing me hard and passionately. The beast is unleashed the moment he sees me half-naked. It makes me feel powerful. The way a man as mighty as Rick can be driven to act wild and untamed with nothing more than a flash of my flesh.
When he parts from me, he groans. “I wish you were right, but we’re only half an hour from our destination, and I’ve got a feeling we’re supposed to be in our seats.”
I run a hand across my chest, drawing his eyes to my breasts. “Since when does Rick Romano play by the rules?”
The way his eyes darken tell me I’ve won. He won’t walk away from me now. “You’re asking for it hard and fast,” he growls, voice low in warning.
“Exactly how I like it.”
In a flash, he has me pinned against the wall of the large bathroom. The zip of his pants echoes, and my thighs quiver in anticipation.
I unzip my jeans, and he shoves them down, groaning when he sees I’m not wearing any panties.
“You planned for this,” he utters, teasing my lips open with his swollen head. Without warning, he slides inside of me. My body is already ready to accept his huge size, always wet whenever he’s near. I moan louder than I should. Rick slides his hand over my mouth, stifling any sound.
“No moaning, princess. We need to be quiet,” he says.
I want to complain, pointing out that his brothers already know we’re together. His hand covering my mouth makes it impossible. The thick length of him hardens and pulses deep within me, filling me with such pleasure and desire I could almost cry. The longing to feel him fucking me almost hurts, as he holds still.
I try to move my hips back and forth on him in an attempt to drive him in and out of me. Instead, he spanks my ass. I could come just from that alone. My body is like a coiled spring, ready to unravel for the man I love.
A jolt in the air has us both falling backward. My heart pounds so hard out of my chest, as Rick’s hands remain firmly on my hips.
He steadies both us, planting his hard-muscular legs firmly on the ground. He chuckles a deep, manly rumble. “I bet that wasn’t the turbulence you were after,” he whispers, pressing his lips to my ear lobe gently.
I notice the mirror on the wall he had me pressed against. He’s watching me in it, eyes hot and fiery.
“Please fuck me, sir,” I breathe.
He grunts, digging his fingertips hard into my hips and fucks me.
I bite my bottom lip, trying to stop myself from moaning at the achingly beautiful sensation of this man moving inside of me, making me his. Every time we make love, it gets more intense and desperate.
Rick grunts as he drives into me so hard. It feels like he is trying to shatter me, and he will suc
ceed at any moment. The closeness of my orgasm rushing ever nearer with each thrust. Every nerve ending in my body sizzles with electricity, as we chase the euphoria we’re both so addicted to.
My head falls back against his chest as I come apart.
“Come all over my cock like a good girl,” he groans. “I want you to squeeze me so tight I have no choice but to shoot every drop of my seed deep inside of you.”
I cry out, no longer trying to keep the noise down. “Fuck, I’m coming.”
“You are mine,” he growls. The hard length of him thickens, pulsing inside of me as he comes to climax. His seed shooting deep inside of me as my veins burn with more need for him.
It’s a thirst I can never quench, no matter how many times I have him.
15
Rick
I’m on edge. We’ve made it to our safe house in California. Step one of this mission complete. Everything about this plan makes me uneasy, but getting to this house was the easy part.
What comes tomorrow is when everything could implode. That is when it gets dangerous.
Other than my two most trusted men, we’re alone. Backup is on the way by road, as we couldn’t all fly here. The Romano brothers are on a mission alone for a night. It rarely happens anymore.
Since our father died, the three of us rarely find ourselves together at all. One of us is always called away on business. It’s been a hectic eight years since we buried our father.
The sun is setting behind the house, painting the open plan living area in a warm, pink light through the floor to ceiling windows. Alicia is sitting on the terrace by the pool, staring out over the sea in the distance. Our Californian house is one of my favorites. One I rarely get to visit, and when I do, it is always for business.
When I told her I loved her, I regretted it instantly. A bathroom on a jet isn’t exactly the time or place to blurt that out, but I couldn’t help it. The emotions overwhelmed me. In an ideal world, I would have told her in a more romantic setting. When she said it back, my world became a little brighter.
She takes my breath away. Her dark hair blows in the sea breeze around her sun-kissed skin, which is accentuated by the setting sun.
I step out of the open bi-fold doors and approach her. She doesn’t hear me as I approach, as she is mesmerized by the stunning view of the ocean.
I sit down behind her on the sun lounger with my legs either side of her. Alicia shivers as I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me.
She doesn’t turn around, just settles against my chest as if she was made to fit. “Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” I say, pressing my lips against the nape of her neck.
She shivers slightly at my touch. “It’s so beautiful here.” She returns her gaze to the sea.
I can’t bring myself to tear my eyes from the woman in front of me. “So beautiful,” I mutter.
She leans back into me and shuts her eyes. “I wish we could stay here forever, just you and me.”
I smile at that, tightening my grip on her waist. It would be much better than the reality. We have to live on the outskirts of Philly and danger follows us wherever we go. There’s no way out of this life, and it’s something she will have to get used to if she wants to be with me.
“That would be a dream, but it would never happen.”
She nods. “I know, but we can come here on vacation once everything is sorted, right?”
“Are you planning vacations together already?” I tickle her, making her wriggle in my grip.
Her movements make me even harder in my pants. “Who says I want to keep you around?” I tease.
She tenses. “Well, since you said you love me, I assumed—”
“Right, break it up, you two, I’ve made lasagna, and it’s on the table,” Kane says.
I glance at my oldest brother who is wearing an apron. He is our family’s only decent cook. Jasmine looks a little puzzled as she stares at my brutal-looking brother in an apron. “What’s so confusing?” I ask
She shakes her head. “I never thought I’d see Kane Romano in an apron, cooking.”
I chuckle. “Kane’s the only one out of the three of us who can cook anything decent. You’re in for a treat, as lasagna is one of his specialties.”
She licks her lips and tries to stand.
I hold her close, stopping her from getting away. “Did I say you could leave yet?” I ask.
She glances back at me. “The food will get cold,” she whines.
I smirk, kissing her lips softly and then releasing her. “Go on.” I nod my head toward the kitchen. As she gets up, I spank her ass softly, making her yelp in surprise.
She narrows her eyes at me. “That was uncalled for.”
I can’t help but smirk at her. “Was it? What are you going to do about it?”
She stares at me for a moment more, before blowing out a breath and walking away. I watch the way her hips sway, feeling my pants become tighter. She has a way of getting me going by doing nothing. I jump to my feet and follow her. She’s already sat at the table, and Kane is passing out the dishes.
The smell is divine. It always shocks me that Kane wanted to be an accountant. He would have made a great chef if we hadn’t been forced into this life by our father.
Kane struggled the most with adapting to our crime-ridden way of life. Even though, anyone from outside our family looking in would believe he was born for it.
We always have to be hardened on the outside, but Kane resisted it the most. It changed him more when he finally submitted to our father’s beatings. He used to be put through hell by the man who brought us up—or more like the monster.
None of us really grieved his death, which may sound terrible. He’s the reason the Romano family is what it is today. The reason we have to be so brutal all the damn time. Keep up appearances or die, it is that simple.
“Damn smells good big bro,” Leo says, jogging toward the table as if he’s starving.
Kane narrows his eyes at him. “Make sure you let everyone else have some before you load the entire lasagna onto your plate.”
Leo chuckles as he grabs a plate and then dives for the server before anyone else. “I wouldn’t do that. Got to make sure Alicia gets some.” He winks at her, making my blood boil. Leo has always been the joker, and it can get tiresome.
God knows how Ellie puts up with him all the time, but she is in love with him. I’ve seen them together, and she makes him a better person. When she’s around, Leo calms down slightly.
He had it the hardest out of the three of us. Our dad didn’t let Leo grow up before he thrust him into this life. His first kill was way too young at fourteen years old, and he was scarred by it. After the trouble Dad had with Kane, he decided it was best to take an earlier approach with Leo.
“What are you waiting for?” Kane asks, breaking me from the daze I’d fallen into.
He already has a plate full, as does Leo and Alicia. I take a seat next to Alicia and squeeze her thigh gently. I glance at Kane. “Have you asked Dan and John to join us?”
Kane nods. “Yeah, but they preferred to eat out tonight and get some beers. I said it was cool.” He shrugs. “I think they would prefer to let us eat as a family.”
I shovel some lasagna onto my plate. “It doesn’t happen often, that’s for sure.”
“Why not?” Alicia asks, bright blue eyes wide as she glances at me.
“Ever since we took over the family business, life is too damn busy.” I shovel a piece of the delicious pasta into my mouth.
Leo chimes in, “Yeah, one of us is always dealing with something and not around.”
Alicia takes a mouse-sized bite of the lasagna and makes a humming noise, one that reminds me of how she sounded in the bathroom of that airplane. It stirs something primal within me. I grit my teeth, trying to resist this ridiculous pull I have to everything she does.
She glances at Kane and then back at Leo, before returning her gaze to me. “I hope you don’t mind me aski
ng, but you are half-brothers, aren’t you?” Her eyes meet Kane’s.
His jaw clenches before he nods his head. “Yeah, my mom died when I was one year old.”
Her eyes widen. “I’m so sorry—”
He holds a hand up. “Don’t be.” He shakes his head. “We only share our father.”
Leo chimes in. “But, we are as close as any full blood siblings you’ll ever meet.”
“Yeah, when you behave yourself.” Kane’s phone beeps, and he grabs it out of his pocket.
“Man, you are totally whipped,” Leo says.
Kane flips him the bird. It’s at that moment, Leo’s phone goes off. He answers the call, “Hey baby, sorry I’m having dinner, can I call you back?” he asks, silence follows, and Kane is smirking. “Okay, speak soon.” He cancels the call and puts his phone back in his pocket.
“Who is whipped now?” Kane asks.
Leo throws him an irritated glance. “Whatever.”
I can’t help but smile at the jests between my two brothers. It would be nice to do this more often, even if they are always taking the piss out of each other.
Alicia is picking at her food. She’s been quiet ever since she asked Kane about being our half-brother. We never see him as anything but a full brother, even if we don’t share the same mother. Our mom wasn’t exactly kind to Kane when she was around, but we always were.
I set my hand on the back of her neck and squeeze gently, drawing her attention to me. “Aren’t you hungry?”
She bites her bottom lip, shaking her head. “I’m so nervous about tomorrow.”
Leo quips in, “What have you got to be nervous about?”
She glances at him and then back at me. “My father will not be happy when he finds out I want to be with Rick.” Her cheeks flush, and she looks down at her plate.
“I still can’t believe a woman tamed the beast that is our brother,” Leo says, shaking his head.
Alicia goes an even darker pink at that.
Kane snorts. “I think it’s more unbelievable that any woman puts up with you.”
I laugh in response. “That’s something I truly agree with, Kane.”
