Her Mafioso King (The Vitucci Mafiosos Book 4)

by Terri Anne Browning

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, a delayed reaction from her if ever I’d seen one. She looked stunned, annoyed at my caveman tactics, but she couldn’t disguise just how turned on she was to be in my bed, with the proof of just how badly I wanted her straining against my suit pants.

  I rubbed a hand over my aching cock, repositioning it so it was no longer threatening to burst through the zipper. Her blue eyes followed the movement, her mouth falling open ever so slightly, and the tip of her pink tongue skimming over her bottom lip. I fought back the groan, in agony from so tempting yet so innocent a sight.

  “It’s bedtime,” I told her, answering her question.

  “Maybe for some. I…I still have work to do.” She jerked her eyes up to my face, avoiding eye contact, but moments later, her gaze was back on the bulge in my pants, and she had yet to move from the spot she’d landed in on the bed.

  “If you really need to go, then go.” I waited for her to move, saw the indecision on her face, watched as those beautiful blue eyes went back to my crotch. She licked her lips again, and I rubbed my cock again, groaning at how good it felt, imagining her fingers on me, stroking me off.

  A full minute passed before she let out a harsh sigh and started to get up. As soon as she was on her feet, I pushed her back down and followed her. Her thighs spread willingly, her arms going around my neck, her mouth seeking and finding mine. The instant her lips touched mine and I got my first taste of her all day, there was no turning back for either of us.

  She was my addiction, one I’d given up for five years. Now, I was starving for just the taste, just the feel of her under my hands. The night before had been over before it even began, the best quickie of my existence, but it hadn’t fulfilled even an ounce of the craving I had for her.

  Piece by piece, our clothes disappeared. Inch by inch, I tasted her, glorying in the wonder of having her in my arms again. She was beautiful, perfection in my eyes. I wanted to slow down time, make this moment with her in my bed last for days instead of hours, but we were both hurting. I needed her, could feel her shaking with her need for me, and all too soon, we were both moaning as completion overtook us both.

  Afterward, sweat coating her body and dripping from my own, I pulled her close and trapped her in place with my arms around her. “Don’t leave,” I commanded. “Stay with me.”

  Her huff was her only answer, but one of her arms draped over my waist, and within a matter of seconds, she was fast asleep.

  I touched my lips to the center of her forehead. “Stay forever.”

  --

  Around dawn, I reached for Anya. Not feeling her, I snapped my eyes open. Frowning, I tossed back the covers and grabbed a pair of pajama pants. Instinct told me where she was, but I needed to see with my own eyes that she was still here.

  Ryan’s bedroom door was slightly ajar, the lights still off, but the glow from dawn breaking through the window was enough to let me see that Ryan was lying half on top of Anya. One little hand was clenched in her hair, the other lying on the mattress beside them. Tearstains were on my son’s cheeks, but there was a small smile gracing his lips now.

  He sighed contentedly in his sleep and shifted. The small movement had Anya’s arms tightening around him, protecting him even in her sleep.

  Watching them like this was enough to fill my throat with a lump. Bending, I tucked the covers better around them both and kissed Anya’s lips before stroking a hand over my son’s hair. Her lashes flickered upward, and a smile tilted her lips for a moment before she was falling back to sleep.

  This wasn’t anyone’s definition of perfection by a long shot. My son’s dreams were haunted by the woman who had brought him into this world. Anya was barely speaking to me even if she had shared my bed the last two nights. But seeing her with Ryan, holding him like she was willing to take on the entire world to protect him, that was pretty damn close to the ideal I wanted with a few exceptions.

  Now I just needed to get her to forgive me so we could start the rest of our lives together.

  --

  I was alone at the breakfast table when Anya came down with Ryan. Scarlett had already taken the twins to school, and I was expecting Dante to arrive before I left with him and Ciro for the day. Franco called at the ass-crack of dawn to let me know he was going to hand Martina over.

  Ryan practically bounced into his chair and started scooping eggs onto his own plate as Anya sat beside him and poured them both some juice. I sat there, watching them with amusement. They hadn’t known each other more than a month, yet they were so natural together it was as if Anya was his biological mother.

  I waited until they were both well into their meal before bringing up the Martina issue. “Franco Sorrentino is smarter than I gave him credit for. He’s turning over the package you wanted.”

  She placed her fork and knife on her plate, providing me with her full attention. “What do you plan on doing with the package?”

  “I have a few ideas, but it’s your decision. What would you like for me to do, tesoro?”

  She sat back in her chair, contemplating. The night Martina and Gianni trashed her club, she had been ready to execute them both then and there. Now, however, she was hesitating. Her blue eyes dropped to Ryan, who was devouring his breakfast and not paying either of us a bit of attention. She stroked a hand over his brow, pushing a few locks of hair back from his face. “You need a haircut, l’venok.”

  “Will you cut it for me?” he requested earnestly. She smiled with a nod. “Tonight?” Another nod. “Thanks, Anya.”

  Her eyes stayed on him as he went back to eating, a few happy noises spilling from the boy as he enjoyed his meal. Finally, with a sigh, she lifted her gaze and met mine. “The night I fired Martina, she said she has children. Is that true, or was she lying?”

  “I don’t know. I will find out for you,” I promised.

  “When you know something, let me know.” She stood, her food only half eaten. “I have meetings today.”

  Ryan dropped his fork and jumped up, taking her hand. “Let’s go!”

  She paused and looked at me. “I can take him with me if you don’t care. He won’t be in the way.”

  I laughed as I got to my feet and crossed to them. Ruffling Ryan’s hair, I grabbed Anya by the waist with my free hand. Pulling her close, I brushed a quick kiss over her lips. “You don’t have to ask my permission, Annie. He’s not just mine now. He’s ours.”

  A flash of pain crossed her face, but her mask fell into place, and she was pushing me away before I could even try to ask what was wrong. “Ryan, go get your bag from yesterday. Hurry. We don’t want to be late.”

  She waited until he was out of the room for a few seconds before looking up at me again. “He’s not ours. As much as I wish it were true, he’s not mine. Stop trying to play happy family with me, Cristiano. That time has passed. Maybe five years ago, I would have been all too willing to go down that path with you, but you showed me just how important I really am to you. I refuse to play that game with you again.”

  “Then what was last night? Or the night before that?” I demanded, getting into her space, holding her in place with one hand on her waist, the other behind her head. “I love you, Anya.”

  “Stop.”

  “I have always loved you.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “I know I fucked up. Baby, no one knows just how badly I fucked up more than me. Breaking things off with you last time nearly killed me. Marrying Sheena was something I thought I had to do because it was a promise I made to my mother before she died. But I know if she’d ever met you, my mother would have kicked my ass for not marrying you instead.”

  Her fingers tangled in my suit, holding on for a second before she was lifting her head. “Your breaking things off nearly killed me,” she confessed in a choked voice. “Getting involved with you again is akin to committing suicide. This time around, I’ll love and respect myself a little more and tell you to go fuck yourself, Cristiano Vitucci. Because I’m not going to
let you hurt me like that ever again.”

  A shot of fear that she really meant it quivered down my spine. Fuck that. I wasn’t going to let her go, no matter how hard she tried to push me away. “I swear to you, Anya. I swear on everything I love and hold sacred. I won’t hurt you this time. I won’t let anything come between us. I love you.”

  The sound of running feet had her pushing me, breaking away from me just as Ryan came bounding into the room. “Ready?” she asked with a tight smile.

  “Ready!” He ran to hug my leg. “Bye, Papa. Have a good day.”

  “Bye, figlio,” I gritted out with a smile just as forced as Anya’s. I stood there, watching them go, dying to convince Anya just how much she meant to me.

  Chapter 16

  Anya

  Cristiano’s words stayed with me throughout the day. One minute, they would be like salt in a wound, the next, the soothing balm I needed. Then I would get pissed at myself for even thinking about accepting anything he said at face value.

  He showed me five years ago I couldn’t trust him with my heart, and I wasn’t stupid enough to believe him again.

  Too bad I wasn’t smart enough to begin with to have stopped loving him altogether.

  Irritated with him—with myself—I put the fear of God into my staff during our first official meeting before the club reopened the following week. Even the bouncers were cowering a little by the time I was done. Afterward, I stomped up to my office to find Ryan sound asleep in his blanket fort.

  Seeing him sleeping so peacefully calmed all the chaos swirling around in my head caused by his father, and I quietly walked over to my desk to finish up with the rest of the work needing my attention for the day.

  My phone went off a while later, and I picked it up on the first ring so it wouldn’t wake Ryan. “This is Anya,” I answered distractedly as I sifted through the stack of papers in front of me, looking for the right one I needed.

  “She has two kids,” Cristiano informed me without preamble. “Both little more than toddlers. The oldest is Ryan’s age. As young as they are, they’ve been in and out of child protective services since birth because of her drug use.”

  My fingers clenched around the phone. “Is that Gianni guy the father?”

  “If they were his, Franco would have already had custody of them, so no.”

  My gaze drifted over to Ryan. “Martina is all they have?”

  “From what I could find, yes.”

  I closed my eyes, unable to make the decision I wanted to make. Would have made if it weren’t for the small boy asleep across the room. I couldn’t take their mother away from them. Maybe she was a bad mother, maybe she wasn’t. Either way, I wasn’t going to be the reason they became orphans.

  That didn’t mean she wouldn’t pay for what she did to my club.

  Still, the bitch was going to get a second chance at life.

  “I’ll handle her personally,” I told him after another moment passed. “It will have to wait until after Ryan goes to sleep tonight.”

  “Whatever you want, tesoro. I’ll make it happen.”

  I started to hang up without even saying goodbye, but his next words stopped me.

  “But afterward, you’re coming back home with me.”

  I couldn’t stop the shiver that went down my spine, and I was thankful he wasn’t there to see it. “I’ll see you later,” I mumbled and disconnected the call before I could give away anything I was feeling.

  Go home with him, no fucking way. I might have given in to temptation the past two nights, but I wasn’t going to let the lust that ruled my body to rule my mind as well. No matter how badly I wanted him to make love to me and hold me until we both fell asleep again. It didn’t matter that the past two nights’ sleep were the most restful I’d had in so long I couldn’t remember the last time I’d woken up with so much energy.

  Damn it.

  I would be strong, I promised myself. I wouldn’t let him convince me to spend another night in his bed. My niece and nephew were expecting me to stay at their home, to spend time with them until my apartment was finished and I could return to my own place. I needed to consider their feelings, as well as Victoria’s, who had called twice already that day to ask if I wanted to get coffee with her and Sofia.

  By the time I was done with work, it was dinnertime. Ryan, having spent the last two hours drawing and coloring enough pictures to decorate a good portion of my office, was all too happy for us to leave. Gathering our things, we left the club together, and I buckled him into his booster seat in the back of my car before getting in and starting the engine.

  “Is Papa coming to eat with us?” he asked as he glanced out the window at the street beside him.

  “I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “I thought we would have dinner at your house. With Zia Scarlett and your cousins.”

  “Can we make cookies for dessert?”

  “Not tonight, l’venok. Perhaps tomorrow night, though,” I promised.

  “Okay.” He gave in easily enough. “What about ice cream? Can we have that for dessert?”

  “We will see,” I offered vaguely, not willing to commit to a promise yet.

  “All right,” he grumbled with a sigh, and I had to hide a smile.

  By the time we got to the compound, both our stomachs were growling with hunger. We walked in to find Scarlett and her family about to sit down for the evening meal, and I told Ryan to wash up. I’d let her know earlier in the day that I would bring her nephew home, and she invited me to join them, so there were places already set for the two of us.

  Ciro and Cristiano were already sitting at the table with Vito. It was the first time I’d seen him since returning, and my heart clenched when I realized just how sick and frail he had become. His skin was gray, his eyes drooping. The oxygen tubes in his nose were taped to his cheeks to keep them in place, but he still seemed to have issues breathing.

  When the old man saw me, his eyes brightened. “Anya, what a nice surprise.” He held out his hand, which I took immediately and squeezed in greeting. “Coming to put this son of mine in his place?”

  I glanced at Cristiano when he snorted. His snort was full of disbelief, but the look in his eyes and smile teasing at his lips said he wanted me to try. I wanted to put him in his place, but no matter how hard I tried, I needed to stay clear of this man. If only I could. “Something like that, I guess.” I kissed Vito’s cheek. “It’s good to see you, Vito.”

  Cristiano stood, pulling out the chair beside his. With the table nearly full, I had little choice but to take the seat. As I took my place, Cristiano retook his own seat, but he kept his arm across the back of my chair. When he started playing with my hair, I shrugged his hand away, only for him to tangle his fingers in a few locks.

  Before I could send him a death glare, Ryan came skipping into the dining room. There was a free chair across from me between Ciana and Scarlett, but instead of taking it, he came around and pushed at Ciro’s arm. “That’s my seat, Zio.”

  Scarlett laughed at her husband as he frowned down at their nephew. “Says who?”

  “Says me,” he said, lifting his chin determinedly. “I sit beside Anya. Always.”

  “Maybe I like sitting here,” the big man argued.

  “Maybe you should find a new seat,” Ryan told him as he pushed his shoulder again. “Up. My seat. Sit with Zia.”

  Ciro shot Cristiano a glance. “He’s definitely your son,” he groused as he stood and walked around to take the spot between his wife and youngest daughter.

  As soon as the chair was vacant, Ryan climbed up and placed his napkin in his lap. I stroked a hand over his shaggy locks, remembering that I’d promised to cut his hair tonight. Reminding myself to do that before his bath, I lifted my water glass and took a sip.

  Around the table, everyone was keeping up conversation, the noise a slight roar as everyone tried to speak over the kids’ chatter. It was hard to keep up with who was saying what at any time.

  “You
should stay home and play with me tomorrow,” Ciana was telling Ryan.

  “Why? I don’t like playing with dolls,” he told her with narrowed eyes.

  “We can play hide-and-seek instead,” she offered. “It’s not fun around here without someone to play with.”

  “I like going to work with Anya.”

  “Papa, your doctor is coming tomorrow. Please don’t yell at him. For me,” Scarlett pleaded with her father.

  Vito grumbled something as he ate his dinner. It was painful to watch how slowly he was cutting his food and taking small bites, more to satisfy Scarlett than any actual urge to eat. Looking at him, seeing just how ill he really was, hurt my heart. I didn’t know if he’d pushed Cristiano to marry Sheena five years ago or not, had no clue if he was part of the reason his son ended things with me, but I still cared about him. He had always been kind to me.

  “Papa, my best friend wants me to sleep over at her house for her birthday,” Zariah was whining. “Can I please, please, pretty please go?”

  “Not happening,” Ciro told her point-blank, not even looking at her. Maybe because he would give in to her big doe eyes with her fluttering lashes, pleading and trying to con him into giving in to her wishes. “You’re too young for a sleepover.”

  “Other girls are going to go. They’re my age, Papa. They aren’t too young.”

  “They aren’t my daughter either,” Ciro countered. “Not happening.”

  “Momma!”

  Scarlett sighed heavily. “Your father said no, Zariah. Maybe next time.”

  With a pout, the little girl folded her arms over her chest and sat there, refusing to eat her dinner. It must have been a regular occurrence, because her parents ignored her, and after about ten minutes, she started eating again.

  I felt a little out of place as I watched them all interact with each other. It wasn’t often that I had dinner with Victoria and Adrian and the kids back at their home, but when I did, the kids always kept me pulled into conversation and caught up on their day. Here, I remained quiet, watching them do something that was so natural to them.