by Cala Riley
“The sex is phenomenal, but I am not delusional. We agreed that this would be temporary. Only while I was in danger and in need of your protection.”
I go to turn away, but he pulls me back towards him.
“Is it just sex?”
My mind wars with my heart. I have all these walls built up inside. They are meant to protect me from this sort of thing. Somehow, along the way I got lost. Bash found me. He touched a part of me I didn’t realize still existed. I think he owned my heart before I even knew he was past my walls. My mind tells me that there is only heartache ahead, but my heart says to trust him. It says his actions prove more than his words have since the beginning.
“Isn’t that what we said it was?” I whisper as I avert my eyes.
“It was. We did say this would end. Even back then I was fooling myself. I thought that if I could just have a taste, my thirst would be quenched and I would be over whatever spell you put me under.”
My heart beats faster at his words. He reaches out and cups my cheek bringing my gaze to his.
“Truth is, you intrigued me. You didn’t fear my men and I thought ‘This girl is either brave or stupid.’ Then you curtsied and called me royalty in the most sarcastic tone that I have ever heard. No one speaks to me like that. I honestly don’t think anyone ever has. Most people are afraid to even speak to me and the ones that do, they just kiss my ass until its red. Not you though. You, my beautiful and unique Tesoro, you said what was on your mind. You challenge me and make me want to be better. I didn’t want this. I never thought this life was for a woman or a family. I watched it break my mom.”
He sighs and kisses me.
“I thought I broke you too. You sobbed in my arms at what you saw and had to do. Hell, you jumped in front of a bullet for me. It could have killed you, but you did it anyways. I thought I had lost you then. You had seen the dark side of my life. Then you demanded to stay at my side. You showed me how strong you are. When you pulled that trigger, I knew then you were something special. I don’t think I can let you go. If I was a better man, I would demand you run far away, but I am not a better man. I am a bad man and I do bad things. If you can accept that, accept me for who I am, then I won’t let you go. I can promise you will always be protected and cherished with me. I love you, Sofia. You truly are the Tesoro of my life.”
Tears pour down my face at his beautiful words. This strong man who I once thought was cold and careless loves me. I see how he is warring with himself, wanting to protect me from himself yet also not being able to deny himself.
I lean forward and capture his lips. In between kisses, I speak to him.
“I love you, Bash.”
Kiss.
“So much it hurts.”
Kiss.
“I accept you.”
Kiss.
“Hell, I think I was meant for you.”
Kiss.
He pulls back.
“You were meant for me, Tesoro. No other woman could have withstood the pressure you have had to go through the last 24 hours. No other woman would have stepped in front of a bullet to save my life, knowing it could have ended hers. No other woman would have been strong enough to face her past and walk away like it was a weight off your shoulders instead of being put on them. You were meant to be my beautiful, strong, fearless queen.”
I smile up at him.
“I suppose it is only right that a mafia king has a queen to share the throne. Shoulder the responsibilities of power.”
He rolls over on top of me and my legs immediately open for him. He kisses me before looking into my eyes.
“I like the sound of that. My naughty little mafia queen.”
I giggle at him.
“I have always called you the mafia king so it really is fitting.”
“No wonder you curtsied me.”
“I just wanted to see if you had a sense of humor. Turns out you do.”
“Only with you, Tesoro.”
Bastiano
“So, you love me huh?” I see the mischief in her eyes.
“I do. I love you with all my heart.”
A smile lights her face.
“The same man who was all ‘I don’t want marriage and children. There is no room for that in this life.’?”
She giggles.
“I also said it would take a special woman to capture my attention. Trust me, you are very, very special.”
I run my hand down her side and she wiggles as she giggles.
“I’m ticklish, Bash!”
I smirk.
“Nice to know.”
I run my hand back up and trace her nipple. Her giggles turn into a gasp as her hips rock into mine.
“Does my dirty girl want something?”
She bites her lip.
“Nope.”
I see the lie in her eye, but she’s not ready to give in so quick. She wants me to chase her. Challenge accepted.
“Oh really? Not a thing?”
I pinch and she moans before shaking her head no. I bend over to her other nipple and bite it while pinching the other. Her hands fly to my head as she tries to hold me there. I pull back
“You want me to continue?”
“Nope. I’m good.” She says as she takes a deep breath.
I lean in and kiss the bruise on the center of her chest. I can feel her pulse racing as her breathing become more erratic. I grab her hips and flip us. She squeals as I situate her right on top of me.
“Fine, since you don’t seem to want anything how about I tell you what I want?”
She smiles and nods.
“I want you, Sofia.”
“What do you want from me, Bash?”
I see the effect my smirk has on her as her face heats. I want a lot from her. Some honorable, but most dirty and delicious things.
“I want a lot from you, Tesoro, but for now I will settle for a taste. Bring that pretty pussy up here and ride my face.”
I watch as she gulps. Her breathing is coming fast now as she crawls up my body.
“That’s it, baby. Right there.”
I say as she positions herself over my face. I place my hand on her ass as I hold her to me. I take a tentative lick and she grinds down. I do another one with a similar reaction.
“Stop teasing me, Bash.”
“You want it? Beg for it.”
I hear her scoff as she tries to move off me, but I latch onto her and won’t let her move. I lick her clit a couple of times to get her going, but then stop.
“Bash.” She whines.
“Tell me.”
She stays silent. I repeat my actions then stop.
“Damn it, Bash.”
“What?” I say innocently.
“Fine. You win. Eat me out like me mean it, fucker.”
I grin before really digging in. I focuses on her clit as I slip two fingers in her opening. I start to pump them in and out and soon she is grinding along with my rhythm.
“Oh, Fuck! Yes, Bash. So good. Fuck!”
She starts to grind faster so I pick up the pace of my tongue and fingers. I feel her clenching around them with each pass. As she gets closer to her climax, I can barely get my fingers back in she is clenching so tight.
“I’m going to come!” She screams.
I have one last surprise for her. I pull my fingers out and stick one right up her ass. As soon as I do, it sets her off. She her thighs clench around me as I watch the wetness gush out of her. I lean down and lap it up as she settles down. Once she relaxes, I slip my finger from her ass as she slides down my body.
“Fuck, Bash. That was…. Wow.”
I smirk at her.
“There is way more where that came from.”
I flip her over and settle myself between her legs.
“You ready for another?”
Just as I am about to enter her, there is a knock on the door. I freeze.
“Isabella is up. Gio asked me to inform you.”
I look down at her and kis
s her nose.
“To be continued.”
I jump up and head to the bathroom.
“Come on. We can take a quick shower if you hurry.”
∞∞∞
“Izzy!” I watch as my woman runs over to her best friend. Mia is already sitting on her other side. I join Lo and Gio at the back of the room.
“How is she?” I ask Gio.
“Doc says she’s going to be okay. The fall was hard, but it didn’t do any permanent damage. She thinks she only slept so long because she was exhausted and when the fall knocked her out, her body took the opportunity to rest and heal. She said she should be good to go. We have to look for some danger signs though.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“Loss of memory, seizures, dizzy or fainting spells. Shit like that. I already told Mia. Her and Sofia will have to watch for it since she won’t let me near her.”
“Is the room safe to talk?”
“Safe enough.”
I look away from Sofia and up at my friend. He looks sad.
“Give it time. Things tend to work out the way they are supposed to.”
“What if it doesn’t work out in my favor?” He murmurs then pushes off the wall and walks closer to the girls.
“Isabella do you feel well enough to answer some of our questions?”
“Wait.” I stop him. “Lo go get Matteo.”
Lo looks surprised, but does as I ask.
“Isabella, if you are feeling up for it, we need to know what happened. As much as possible. From all three of you, actually.”
“I’m good to go. Just a little headache, but Dr. Fields said that is normal with a head injury. She said it should go away soon.”
“Good. We are all glad you are okay.”
I glance over to Gio who is staring at her. She gives him a glare and I notice him clench his fists as he backs away and sits on a chair in the corner.
Lo walks in with Matteo and I gesture for them to gather round.
“Who wants to start?” I ask.
“I will.” Isabella says. “Mia and I were watching Netflix. I knew the guys were outside. We had delivered some coffee to them after dinner. We offered to let them come inside, but they said it was better for them to stay outside so they could notice if anything was off. Next thing I knew, the front door was kicked in. We tried to run out the back door, but one of them caught Mia. I probably would have made it, but I couldn’t abandon her.” She pauses and reaches out to squeeze Mia’s hand.
“They grabbed me from behind.” Mia continues the story. “I should’ve called. My gut said something was wrong, but I thought I was being paranoid with the new security detail and all. Anyways, they grabbed me and Izzy turned back. I screamed at her to run, but instead of running out, she ran towards the man. She was able to bite his arm, but another man grabbed her. Before we knew it, we were being shoved into the truck on a car.”
“Together.” Isabella clarifies. “My rib still hurts from where your elbow was stuck.”
“Sorry, Iz.” Mia kisses her hand.
“It’s not your fault. It’s their fault.”
“Can you remember anything about the men?” Gio says from the corner.
Isabella doesn’t look at him, deciding to focus on me instead.
“They were Italian. I heard the accents when they were talking to each other. I heard one of them say your name. They said soon it would all be over and a new leader would rise from the ashes. Then they turned up the music. Once we got to the warehouse, they took us up to a room and zip tied our hands behind our backs.”
“Don’t leave out the most important detail, Iz.” Mia gives her a look then looks back at me. “Our resident badass here was ready for them. When they opened the trunk, she kicked one in the face while she fell out of the trunk. She got another one in the junk before they pointed a gun at her. I am pretty sure she was the reason for our wonderful guard dog.”
Isabella turns to Sofia.
“Are you okay, Sof? I didn’t even think to ask you after what you did.”
“I’m fine.” She glances back at me. “I killed their guard dog with my shank.”
I nod.
“Anything else you remember?”
“We only seen the one guy once we got there up until Sofia rescued us.”
“Sofia was a real badass too.” Mia smiles.
“Me? You offered to save a bad man’s son. You are brave as fuck. That is the definition of badass.”
Mia’s face goes blank.
“I didn’t save him.”
Isabella squeezes her hand.
“Good riddance too. He was probably just as bad as that bastard dad of his.”
Matteo speaks up behind me.
“Focus girls.”
I glance over at him.
“When I was healing, they would do this a lot. They would get lost in their conversation and get off topic. What happened to you before you got to them Sof?”
I nod a thanks to him. I’m glad he understands these women. I sure as fuck was getting confused by their banter.
“Well I got a call saying my Uncle Tony was hurt.” She gasps and looks at me.
“He’s fine Tesoro. We checked in with him and he has been told that you are fine too.”
She nods.
“I still don’t know why Gina lied to me. Anyways, Luca snuck me out to see Uncle Tony, but instead of taking me there, he took me to the warehouse. I accused him of being disloyal, but he said he was loyal to a different leader. Someone who was going to take over for you. I asked him who, but he clammed up. I know Luca betrayed us, but he wasn’t bad to me. He brought me food and water and even let me keep my restraints off. He said he wouldn’t let anyone else check on me to ensure my safety.”
Her eyes start to tear up and I go to her. I pull her up off the bed into my arms.
“Sorry. He was just a misguided kid. He really believed this other guy was the true leader. I don’t know why, but he also believed that women should be protected. I know he put me in danger, but he also tried to protect me. He gave his life for me in the end.” She shakes her head and wipes her tears. “Anyways, he left me alone without my restraints. The bed in my room has a rusty metal piece coming off so I pulled it off and used it as leverage to bust the door jam. Then I snuck out and kept going down until I found another open room. I needed to get out of the hallway in case someone heard my break. I found this man sitting on the bed in their room and he charged me. I stuck him in the neck with my shank then got them out.”
Pride swells in my chest as I hear her continue to describe how they made it down the stairs and almost made it out. She described how she was taken to another room and how Luca tried to save her from Ryan and the man whom I know to be Fillipo.
“You are sure he called the injured man son?”
I ask.
All three shake their heads yes. I turn to Gio, Matteo, and Lo.
“It was Fillpo’s son, Danny. Mia was still over him when we found her. He was behind all of this.” I turn back to Isabella. “I am so sorry you got hurt because of us. We set off that explosion hoping for a distraction.”
I hear Gio growls and shoot him a look. He looks angry, but averts his gaze from mine.
“It’s okay. You did what you had to in order to save us. I will forever be grateful for that.”
“Thank you for your forgiveness.” I turn to the boys. “We need to meet with the five families. We need to get permission to take Fillipo out.”
They all nod.
“You want Matteo in on this?”
I nod again.
“Matteo has been promoted to Capo in training. He will be specifically in charge of protecting Sofia, but will study with me. He has proven to be loyal and a great asset to this family. He will be rewarded as such.”
Matteo’s eyes widen as they meet mine and I see the little bit of shine in them.
“Thank you, Don Bastiano. You will not regret this.”
I smirk at him.
“Now that you are part of the club.” I let my eyes meet Mia and Isabella’s eyes as well. “All of you. You can call me Bash. It’s something only my closest family calls me. You qualify as such.”
Sofia squeezes me and I look down at her. She beams up at me as she leans in to kiss me.
“Lo, set up the meeting.”
“On it boss.”
“Isabella, if you are up for it, maybe the rest of us can meet downstairs for breakfast.”
“Food? Oh, I am starving. Thank God almighty. I knew I liked you Bash.”
I chuckle at Isabella’s enthusiasm.
“Let’s go then.”
Chapter Eighteen
Sofia
The morning passed by quickly. Before long, I found myself yawning and needing a nap. I look around the table and smile. These people are my family. Them and Uncle Tony, who I was able to speak to after breakfast. Seems no one knows where dear old Gina got off too. He swore he would kill her if he ever saw her again for putting me in danger.
He wouldn’t have to. I would do that myself if she was ever stupid enough to come around again. She burnt her bridges here in New York. If she were smart she would be on her own journey across the country. Then again, Gina never was the brightest crayon in the box.
I smile as I watch everyone laughing and having a good time. Izzy looks much better now that she has moved around a bit and gotten some food. While she glares at him, Giovanni is never far from her. Always making she’s to be within reach in case she falls or needs help. That man is in love with her and she doesn’t even notice it.
Or maybe she does and she doesn’t want to acknowledge it.
Matteo looks much better too. His shoulder is still bothering him. I can tell by the way he holds it, but he is moving better than he had been last week. He catches my eye and give me a wink. I smile at him. We have become such great friends since he took that bullet for me. Before him, I never really knew anyone who would be willing to die for me. That bonds you to someone.
I glance to Mia and see her eyes furrowed as she watched Lorenzo smile at his phone. I’m scared that like me, she has already lost her heart. I just hope Lorenzo is worth it. I would hate to have to kill the man for hurting my bestie.
