Our heads turn in unison when the elevator swooshes open, and we see that Luca’s returned home.
“What did he say to you?” I ask.
He sends me a disappointed look and shrugs out of his charcoal suit jacket, throwing it onto the kitchen island. “He dismissed me too.” Then he walks over to Fallon and cradles the back of her head to press a tender kiss to her lips. “Hey.”
“Hey. What’s going on with Adriano?” she probes for me.
Luca sits down next to Fallon and stretches his arm along the back of the couch behind her.
“What else did he say?” I’m too impatient.
“Not much. He was still furious. Cam, do you know what dismissed means?”
Confused, I say, “What?”
“Dismissed in the Syndicate means that we’ve been stripped of our rank.”
“What?! Wait, so he fired us both?”
“No, he didn’t fire us. That’s not how this works. He took away our rank, so we can’t work until he reinstates us or decides otherwise.”
Fallon’s mouth is practically hanging open. “So you’re not his underboss anymore?”
“Not at this moment,” Luca replies.
“Why are you so composed?” I wonder aloud.
“Because Adriano’s being led by his rage. He’ll call me when he’s calmed down. But this will never happen again, Cam. I do understand his anger.”
“See, he did say more to you. You’re already back in his corner.”
Luca discounts my comment. “Go home. Before he gets there to find you gone.”
I bite my lip. “You’re right. Hopefully, he’s calmed a bit.”
“Compromise, Cam,” Fallon advises right before I leave.
***
I slide my key into the lock and come home to an empty apartment.
Trudging up the stairs, I climb into bed after removing my clothes and changing into Adriano’s dress shirt, wondering how to handle him without alienating him any further. Thankfully, it only takes half an hour before I’m not alone anymore.
I roll over to face Adriano as Fallon’s words ring in my head that I need to influence him. So I’ll apologize, because someone needs to take the first step in compromising. As long as he revokes my dismissal and can be reasonable, I can forgive him.
The mattress dips as Adriano sits on the edge, resting his hand on the curve of my hip.
Tentatively, I rub his beard and soften when I’m confronted with his weary face. Worn out, yet still as striking as ever.
“I’m sorry,” I start.
And for the first time ever, he actually apologizes. “I’m sorry too.”
“Have you calmed down?”
He nods once. “I’m not taking your rank, Cam.”
“Thank you. Did you talk to Luca?”
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” Adriano removes the shirt from my shoulder, exposing me. “You need to learn to follow orders better, and I’ll try to keep you updated more and listen to your suggestions.”
“I’ll do better too. Explain to me why you were so livid, Adriano?”
“Santino rubs me the wrong way. And I hate seeing other men around you, especially him. I resent the guilt you feel toward him.”
“Jealousy, I can understand.” I trace my knuckles down his face after releasing my arms from the shirt I was wearing.
His gaze snaps to me, and he understands I’m referring to Serena, who I still think arranged it so that Adriano saw me on camera with Santino, but I heed Fallon’s advice and keep my mouth shut until I have evidence. Neither she nor Santino is worth this rift between us.
“I need you to trust me. I know what I’m doing.” His tone is uncertain, unlike his normal authoritative one.
“I trust you.” Needing to feel close to him again, I sit up, naked, and start unbuttoning his shirt.
Intimacy that’s escaped our grasp the last few weeks returns as we stare into each other’s eyes. Nothing has changed regarding our feelings. If anything, they’ve deepened, and we’re just trying to find our path through this labyrinth of emotions that love activates.
Adriano’s fingers trace over the contours of my face. Electricity pulses from his fingertips from the heat of his touch. “I need you to truly get how much I love you, because we live in a dangerous world.”
“I realize that, Adriano. After my own annoyance faded, I could see your side. Stop pushing me away and wanting to keep me protected. I’m all in, and we need to move forward, as long as you always promise to come home to me – always. I felt so alone waiting here for you.”
I discard his shirt. Then I run my nails down his chest and abs and unbuckle his belt, gliding my hand inside his pants.
Adriano groans and holds the back of my head, pulling me forward in a rough kiss while I cup his balls and feel him stiffening within seconds.
“I need you, Cam.”
“I’m always here. I’ll learn to follow orders. I’ve already proven that I can follow them in the bedroom,” I whisper against his lips.
“Well, even in the bedroom, you disobey me because you love it when I spank you. However, I like it when you defy me in the bedroom. But only in the bedroom, Cam.” He grabs my ass and easily moves me to sit astride him.
Grinding in his lap, I wind my fingers into his hair as he rubs his cock along my pussy. I moan as passion flares to life, and his hands roam down my spine while I arch in his embrace.
Adriano pulls back, breathing raggedly and captures my wrists in one hand behind my back. But he holds me easily, so I don’t fall back.
“I can smell you, Cam.” He caresses my center, lingering just enough to tease me.
I round my hips while Adriano forcefully slips two fingers inside, sending hot sparks down my legs.
“Look at me, sweetheart,” he growls.
I comply and meet Adriano’s lusty gaze when he places his finger in his mouth and sucks on it. Then he pulls me forward again and nudges the head of his erection against my core. I sink down onto him, causing me to whimper from the exquisite pleasure.
He lets go of my wrists, and my arms wind around his neck when I’m fully sheathed on him. Nose-to-nose, we move slowly, a cherished moment that burns with yearning. No rough fucking yet, he makes love to me gently, giving me what I need as well. Intimacy. Feeling connected with him again on a level only he and I share.
His hands massage my ass cheeks as he guides me up and down his shaft. With a low groan, he sucks on my nipple, which causes a jolt of desire to streak through my body. And then we lose control. His hand caresses up my side, and he palms my throat. It’s a move he always does in anger or passion.
“Ride me, Cam,” he orders, lying back on the bed, cupping my breast. “I want to watch you.”
I place my palms on his chest, feeling that I’m going to come so hard and keeping his cock buried deep inside while his eyes don’t leave me for a second. Irrepressibly, I whimper as my nails dig into his pecs and his hips make circles.
“Oh god, you feel so good wrapped around me.” Adriano grips my hips and pushes up, furiously fucking me from the bottom.
Bowing my back, I throw my head back and climax in one magnificent outburst. Shuddering, I clamp my thighs against his while circling my center against him.
Adriano lets out another low groan, and he sits up, grinding my hips on his and biting my nipple as he spends himself inside me. It’s the obsessive lovemaking that we require to fill our urges. To pacify our need for one another.
He murmurs, “Ti amo, sempre.” I love you, always.
“Ti amo.” I love you.
Depleted, we collapse back on the bed, Adriano still in his half unbuttoned slacks and shoes. He takes them off as I hold up the sheets to invite him into bed, and he entwines our legs so that every inch of our bare skin is touching.
I fall asleep naked in his arms. The only place where the rest of the world can’t touch us and we’re peaceful. Our bond is unbreakable. Never-ending.
CHAPTER 11
Camilla
Apparently, even an unbreakable bond can snap. It might not get completely severed, but it’s not immune to outside forces. I’m not truly worried about us until it goes from bad to worse, instead of better, after our talk, and our cease-fire doesn’t last long.
My instinct has been right. Serena Bartoli is up to something, and I truly get it when I pass Serena, who’s talking to one of her girls in the dance club, the following night.
“It was nice to see Sophia again.” Serena glances at me, but I pretend not to have heard her.
A sense of foreboding settles in my soul. Adriano acted rueful last night, and he even apologized, which rarely happens. Perhaps he was feeling guilty because Serena and his mother have been spending time together?
When I first met his mother, Sophia, I thought she was a sweet woman. But she isn’t. Sophia’s clingy toward her children, and she obviously dislikes me because she thinks Adriano hasn’t been visiting her lately because of me. She believes he’s too involved with me.
After downing a bottle of water from behind the bar, I follow Serena out to the back entrance’s hallway.
“Are you looking for me, Camilla?” She awaits me in the hall in her hooker stilettos.
“You obviously have something to say to me. You keep throwing hints around when no one’s watching,” I snarl.
Her painted red lips tilt up. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t act all innocent.” I take one step forward. “I know it wasn’t a coincidence that you and a guard were just happening to watch my footage with Santino when Adriano walked in.”
Her face transforms into one of fake sympathy. “Did it cause trouble between you two? Is that why he took me to see his mother last night?”
I feel like I’ve been speared through the heart. He went to Friday night family dinner with Serena after he dismissed me? That’s why he acted so regretful!
Attempting to mask my total amazement, I steadily retort, “It would take a lot more than you to cause trouble between us.” I crowd her and her overconfident grin falters, so I smile sweetly and calmly turn around without saying another word.
Needing to talk to Adriano, I return to the club. Fallon’s at the bar, so I go over to her.
“Serena’s sneering at me every time no one’s looking. She’s devious. I just saw her, and she says Adriano took her to his parents’ last night?”
Shocked, Fallon defends him. “She must be lying. She’s trying to goad you.”
Serena returns too, which I think is strange because I thought she was leaving, and glowers at me.
“Did you see that?” I jerk Fallon’s arm, so she whips her head around.
“No. She’s good at hiding her displeasure with you, and you need to chill and talk to Adriano about what’s going on. I believe you, but with how professional she’s being and how impulsive you’ve been, you come off as paranoid. Be careful, Cam.”
“She’s really grating on my nerves. But you’re right. I need to talk to Adriano, but I’m afraid I already know the truth.”
“Why?”
“He acted very sorry last night. More so than usual. Something happened last night, something he didn’t tell me,” I reveal my concern.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. And Adriano’s not here, by the way,” she informs me.
I get my phone from my pocket and try to reach him, but he doesn’t answer. Upset, I decide to drive to our loft and wait for him there.
But I’m beside myself when it’s after three a.m. and Adriano hasn’t arrived home nor has he called or texted me to let me know where he is. Sleep is nonexistent while I wait on the sofa in the living room, and my annoyance increases with every passing minute. Anxiously biting my nails, I obsess over and over about whether or not he would lie to me about Serena.
Ultimately, I drift off to sleep and wake at six a.m., even more irate when I find that he still hasn’t returned home. He’s broken two promises in one night: to keep me updated more and to always sleep at home.
The front door unlocks, and I stand up, rubbing my eye with my phone dangling from my hand.
“Where were you?” I demand. Hours and hours of waiting have pushed any patience with this situation away.
“Why are you still up?” His gaze drops to my phone.
“Where. Were. You?” I purse my lips in anger, knowing he’s avoiding answering.
“At the club.”
“All night? Why didn’t you text or call me, or bother to come home!”
“We were short-staffed, and it was hectic. And my phone was in the office while I had to cover for Tez on the underground floor for a couple of hours. By the time I was able to get to it, it was so late that I didn’t want to wake you.”
“So you were in the sex club? With whom?” I rest my phone on the kitchen bar, next to the vase of flowers.
He cocks his head. “With Serena, but also with others.”
In an instant, I throw the vase at him, and he ducks. “Jesus Christ, Cam!”
The glass splinters into a million pieces, and Adriano charges at me, grabbing me by my shoulders and lifting me onto my tiptoes. “Calm the fuck down! We were only working. How often do I have to repeat that to you!”
He shoves me back onto the couch, but I jump up. “No! I take a lot of your shit, and I accept your overbearing personality, but I also expect you to keep your promises! You promised to keep me updated more, and the next night, you’re MIA. And then you didn’t even answer your phone. It’s a two-way street.”
“There was an incident in the club, and I didn’t have my phone at hand, Cam. You know that I always try to keep my promises,” he yells with bite.
“Not lately. You went with her to your parents’ last night? It’s true, isn’t it? She was all too happy to tell me about it. Now you tell me if I’m still seeing things that aren’t there.”
A vein on his forehead throbs as we’re stuck in a battle of wills.
“Tell me,” I shout.
“Lower your voice.” There’s such an undercurrent of irritation to his face. “It’s true, but my mother invited her.”
“So?” I raise my hands in the air. “In what universe do you think it’s acceptable for you to take an ex to your parents’ when your current girlfriend is waiting for you at home?!”
His mouth tightens, then he demands to know, “Did Serena tell you directly that she was at my parents’?”
“No, not at first.” I admit begrudgingly. “But she made sure I overheard her.”
“Godammit, Cam. This is all in your head. Serena hasn’t flirted with me once. My mother invited her, and Serena was even reluctant. You have got to trust me to handle her. I fucking love you.”
“I’m not doubting your love. It’s not about that. But I just want you to respect me enough to believe me when I tell you that she has an ulterior motive and you’re playing right into her hand. My word should mean more than her actions.”
Adriano scrubs his palm down his face. “We’re just going in circles. If you have evidence to support your theory, I’ll gladly kick her out. But for now, I need her clientele, and she was only there talking to my mother. I left after ten minutes because I missed you. And as my girlfriend, I expect you to trust and support me.”
“I did until you fucking lied to my face last night,” I scream.
“Camilla, this discussion is starting to piss me off!” His cheeks ripen from red to purple.
We’re both breathing heavily, but I’m puffing like a bull.
Angrily, Adriano grabs my face and steals a kiss, trying to seduce me. Usually, in situations like this, we argue, we fuck, and we make up. But this time, my fury is overpowering, so I wrench away from him.
“No, don’t try to seduce me,” I warn. “It won’t work. Don’t you see how she’s coming between us?”
“No, I don’t. This is all your paranoia. You need to stop this!” Adriano’s muscles ripple from annoyance.
“I’m not paranoid. I can’t
believe you still think this is all about jealousy. Serena has an agenda, and you’re helping her. I will not tolerate your not coming home because you’re too busy with the sex club. And with her. You can sleep on the fucking couch!” I trudge right past him.
Without the slightest warning, his fingers curl around my bicep and he twirls me so that I stumble back against his hard chest. Adriano’s black eyes glare down into mine. “I will not sleep on the couch, and you will stay here and talk to me!”
Shoving him back with all my power, I manage to startle him enough to release me. “No! Now, you can wait until I’m ready to talk to you again.” And I bound up the stairs.
“Camilla,” he shouts, but I ignore him and scramble into bed.
I hear Adriano chucking an item against the wall in defeat, and then it’s silent. However, he doesn’t come upstairs. Closing my eyes, I fight valiantly to keep my tears from falling while I wonder how unbreakable we truly are.
CHAPTER 12
Adriano
I sink down onto the sofa and lean forward with my elbows on my thighs and drop my head into my hands. I’ve completely lost my grip on Cam within the span of two weeks. I can pinpoint when it started: with Serena.
Apart from Cam’s distrust, which irks me, we’re miscommunicating constantly. I love her. Yet, in the meantime, I’m making her miserable. It’s affecting me in a way I’ve never encountered before. I should’ve called or texted; I’m not denying that, but she needs to handle the demands of my new position better, and so do I. And I warned her it would be difficult. During these times, she should be calming me, not riling me. I should be reassuring her, not adding to her suspicions by not returning her calls. I admit that this unendingly busy schedule is eating up too much of my time. But I honestly believe that her concerns are unfounded and feeding her resentment toward a situation that doesn’t even exist. And even if Serena does want more from me, I can resist her.
For Cam (Chicago Syndicate Book 4) Page 8
