His Mark: A Mafia Romance (Forever Mine Book 1)

by Mila Crawford

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I whispered in ragged pants, skin slick as I clawed at his back, desperate for more.

  “It’s been the only thing on my mind since we met.” He caught my lips in a kiss. “I knew it was only a matter of time. I refused to have it any other way.”

  He caught my hair in his hand and arched my neck, sucking at the sweat-slicked flesh as his hips pressed against mine, fucking me into total submission.

  “Everything about you calls to me,” he said. With his hand in my hair, he pulled my chin to connect our lips. “I can’t stop fucking you. I might lose my mind if I don’t get enough.”

  His fingers slinked between my thighs, thumb working at the hard bud of my clit before stars seeped into my vision and my muscles tensed. My breaths grew shallower, his hands working more frantically against my skin before, with labored gasps, I came in a crash around him.

  Soft panting filled the room as both of his hands slid up my damp body, fisting at the flesh of my heavy tits before his teeth clamped down at the skin of my neck. I hummed, another orgasm pummeling through me as he fucked me at just the right angle, the pain-and-pleasure sensation too much to handle as waves of release flowed through every muscle.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” His words came out fast and firm, as if he had to get them out before he no longer had the courage to say them. “I’d die to protect you from pain, if that’s what it took.”

  I slipped a hand into his long hair, curling my fingertips around the roots and tugging gently as his body tensed, one hand gripping tightly at my hip as the other turned my lips to meet his in a kiss that blew my mind. He fucked me long and slow as he emptied his release deep inside my body. With emotion brimming in my eyes, I sucked in a slow breath, trying to control my body’s reaction to him.

  “That was…”

  “Beyond words.” He finished my thought exactly.

  “Yeah.”

  He tucked me into his body, pulling me under his arm and snuggling up close, our legs and arms and everything else entangled. Just how I liked it.

  It was at that moment that I knew I’d already fallen for Hawk.

  Maybe against my better judgment.

  Just then, my tummy rumbled, interrupting the silence. He laughed easily. “Let’s get you fed, pretty lady.”

  I laughed when he gathered me into his arms and carried me back into the kitchen, totally naked. When he caught sight of the apron hanging near the pantry, he slipped it over my head and wrapped me up in it, dotting a kiss on my nose when he’d finished. “Cute as a fucking button.”

  “Martha Stewart, at your service.” I curtsied and his laugh echoed around the room. “Pasta will be ready in ten, and if you’re lucky you may even get a freezer breadstick or two.”

  He pulled me to him, sinking our lips together and sending me spiraling into a pit of need all over again. “Sounds delicious, point me to the shower and I’ll be back in five to set the table.”

  He dragged his teeth along my lower lip when he ended the kiss, before I nodded back down the hallway to the bathroom.

  “This is an old building, I apologize in advance for how long the water takes to heat up.”

  “I’m used to it, across the street isn’t much better.” He called over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hall. I smiled when I turned back to the water on the stove, cranking the heat to high as the shower water turned on at the back of the apartment. I pulled a box of frozen breadsticks from the freezer, when I thought over the last thing he’d said: across the street isn’t much better.

  What did he mean by that? Surely not that he lived literally across the street--I would have noticed him long before now, coming and going. Wouldn’t I?

  I switched the oven to preheat mode when his phone blared from the kitchen counter. I frowned, ignoring it as I placed the breadsticks on a sheet pan. And as soon as the phone stopped ringing, it started all over again. I groaned, sick of listening to it, and more than a little curious about who might need to get a hold of Hawk so desperately.

  Leaning over the counter, I thought of how he’d planted me there ass first before he fucked me senseless, and saw something I could never again unsee. Just like he’d promised when he sank inside of me for the first time, there would be no take backs.

  Not ever.

  The name lighting up the screen was none other than Gino Gabrielli.

  Don of the Gabrielli crime family, and my father’s sworn enemy.

  Chapter 8

  Hawk

  “Mm, I’m ready for something ripe and juicy and it’s not the tomatoes in that homemade pasta sauce.” I teased as I turned the corner into the kitchen, eyes already on her sweet form when I sensed something off.

  Izzy looked up from the counter, where my phone was lit up and announcing three missed calls. I recognized the small contact photo on the screen, alerting me that it was the Don.

  She crossed her arms, covering herself from me.

  “No, don’t pull away from me.” I could sense her shutting down already. “I fucked up, but I can explain.” I crossed the distance to her, reaching out, but she backed away with a quick head shake.

  “Can you explain? Really, Hawk? And what about across the street? What the fuck is going on here?” Tears welled in her eyes with her words.

  “Shit.” I pushed a hand over my face, every fiber of me wanting her in my arms, to make this better. I had to make this right between us. “I don’t know how to start.”

  “The truth, if you don’t mind.” Her hands were shaking, lips pressed tightly together, not soft and open like they were for me just minutes ago. Fuck, I never should have left her alone, I should have skipped the shower, served me right for getting so damn close so soon.

  But then, that would make me a liar, and I didn’t lie. Ever.

  “The truth is Gino Gabrielli hired me to find you. He wants me to bring you to him so you can marry his son.”

  “Shit, shit, shit! I’m so fucking stupid.” She crashed against the counter, feet giving out from under her until I caught her, cradling her easily in my arms and supporting her back against the kitchen counter.

  “You’re not stupid. Too trusting? Definitely, but that’s why I’m here.”

  “No, no, that’s not what you just said. I’m pretty sure I heard you say you were hired to kidnap me.”

  I shook my head. “No, that’s not…”

  “That’s exactly what Don Gabrielli wants. Why do you think I ran in the first place? I won’t marry a man I don’t know.”

  “Izzy, please.” I caught her face in my palms, forcing her eyes on me. “I’m a man of my word and I’ve never meant anything more than what I’m about to say to you: I was sent to find you, but instead I fell in love with you. It took a quick online search to find your current address, so I rented the apartment across the street to keep an eye on you, but the more I watched you, the more I couldn’t stay away anymore. And the more I couldn’t bring you back to the Don. So I’ve been trying to figure out how to get us both out of this clean, but I haven’t come up with a clean break for either of us--and the longer I watched you, the more I knew I had to meet you. The more I knew I had to protect you. The more I knew I needed you.”

  “Hawk, I don’t think this is a good idea--I don’t think we are a good idea.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t agree more, but I’ve never been a man to like an idea just because it’s a good one.” I grinned, kneading the tension from her shoulders as the warmth came back to her cheeks. “Love is always a bad idea, but there’s no one I’d rather do it with than you, baby.”

  Her smile cracked open then, a chuckle breaking the stillness between us.

  “I love you, Izzy. You remember what I told you in there?” I nodded to her bedroom. “There’s no going back for us, then or now. You’re it for me.” I pressed my lips to hers in a slow kiss. “It may take some time, but I know I can convince my adopted father to accept us--he wants what’s bes
t for me, and you are what’s best for me.”

  “Your adopted father?”

  “Don Gabrielli, he’s the man that raised me--that’s why I will always remain loyal to him. I owe him my life.”

  “Hawk…” Her eyes turned down darkly.

  “I’ll ask him for a meeting. I swear, Izzy, I’ll make good on us.” I lifted her onto the counter just as the pot of water started to boil. I tipped the open box of pasta inside, watching them sink and churn in the chaos.

  I only hoped I wasn’t misjudging this situation and the Don’s true generosity--most people knew him as ruthless and cutthroat, but I knew him like a father. And if I was wrong, and he wasn’t the man I thought he was--I’d already told her I would die for her, and I was a man of my word.

  “Good on us, huh?” She asked, warmth misting her pretty eyes.

  “Promise, I’m hooked on you. He wouldn't risk losing me. And that is exactly what would happen if anyone took you away from me. I would die.” I melded our lips then, snaking my fingers under the apron and swiping at the peak of her nipple. She moaned into my lips, sinking against me and making me the happiest man all over again.

  As long as I could keep her happy, everything would be okay. And when the time came for that meeting with the Don, I’d figure that part out then.

  Chapter 9

  Izzy

  “I want to see the apartment,” I said as I cuddled into Hawk’s chest. I heard him grunt; something told me he wasn’t so keen on my request.

  “What’s the point of that?”

  “You’ve been spying on me for months. I just want to see where you’ve been stashing yourself while you have been stalking me.” I rose up, trying to move away from him. Hawk trapped me in his arms, pulling me back into place.

  “I don’t think I said you could push away from me,” he said, a hint of humor laced in his deep, booming voice. “I want you always near me, preferably in my arms, naked.”

  I rolled my eyes, placing my head on his chest, listening to the soft beat of his heart as we lay there, letting the silence shroud us.

  “I just need to know everything,” I said, breaking the silence.

  Hawk lifted me off him, adjusting us both so that he was gazing directly into my eyes. “I want you to be secure. So if you need to know everything, then that’s what will happen. I’ll do anything for you, my sweet Daisy. Anything.”

  “Ok, let’s go,” I said, jumping off the couch.

  Hawk sighed and reluctantly got off the sofa, moving towards me like a lion stalking his prey. I took a step back, bumping the back of my leg on the side table.

  “Ow!” I yelled as I prepared to crash on the floor, just as Hawk’s strong arms circled me, preventing the fall. “You’re making it a habit of jumping to my rescue.”

  “I always will,” he said, bending down and placing a gentle kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes, my hand going to my lips, thinking that I could still feel the warm touch from his mouth.

  “How do you do that?” I asked, breathless from a chaste kiss.

  “Do what, beautiful?” He shot me a cocky grin.

  “You know full well what.” I rolled my eyes at him. “How do you take my breath away, with just a simple kiss?”

  “It’s because we’re connected. We’ve been like that from the moment I laid eyes on you.” He smiled down at me, still holding me tight against him. Hawk bent down further. “You’re mine and I’m yours.”

  “Stop trying to charm me,” I said, waving my arm in the air. “All this isn’t going to make me forget about seeing your creepy stalker pad.”

  “Creepy?” Hawk laughed. “I’ll have you know there is nothing creepy about me.”

  “Who’re you kidding?”

  “God, I love you, even when you’re infuriating.” He dipped his head down, grabbing my lower lip and tugging it with his perfect, white teeth. “Let’s go and see the apartment.”

  We walked across the street in silence. Even in the quiet I could feel the power Hawk had over me. With him, I felt secure and completely happy. Happier than I had in a very long time. I knew that going up against my father and the Don wouldn’t be easy, but with Hawk beside me I felt like we had a chance. A slim one, but it was a chance. At the apartment block entrance, I tugged at Hawk’s hand, and he turned towards me, standing still, waiting patiently for me to finally speak.

  “What is it, sweetheart?”

  “I just want you to know that I’m with you. No matter what.”

  Hawk used his other hand to cradle my face. I knew that nothing mattered, I knew that he probably had done some questionable things in his past, maybe even hurt more people than I could count. He wouldn't be squeaky clean, not doing the things he did for the man he did them for. But I knew that I loved Hawk, that he was my soulmate in every way, and that before him I was walking blind in the darkness.

  “Good, because I’m never letting you go,” he said, bringing our hands to his mouth and placing a kiss on the back on my hand. “You’re my heart and no man, not even a cold vicious motherfucker like me, could live without his heart.”

  He fished his keys from his pocket, opening the door and holding it for me. I passed him, waiting as he secured the front entrance behind us.

  “After you, beautiful,” he said, gesturing forward. I started walking up the stairs, Hawk’s steady hand gently positioned on my back as if he was scared I might trip and fall behind. I couldn't help smiling at how protective he was, something I hadn't experienced since my mother was alive. It felt nice, knowing that someone cared.

  When we reached his apartment, Hawk cast his eyes down, his hands fiddling with his keys. It was the first time I had seen real vulnerability. Sure, the man had expressed his love for me, but it was always through sheer strength and will. There had never been any uncertainty or sadness lingering in his eyes before that moment. My hand shot up, my fingers tracing the worry lines forming on his handsome face.

  “It’s going to be fine,” I whispered, as he nodded his head and turned the key in the lock, moving aside to allow me to enter the room. My first impression was surprise over how open and clean the space was. For some reason I expected a complete bachelor pad, dirty and cluttered. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. Hawk’s job required him to be pristine, careful and organized. It made sense for his apartment to feel the same.

  I walked around the space, letting the whole situation settle over me. I glanced at the station set up by the window. As I walked towards it, I noticed a telescope and binoculars, and stepping closer I could see that the window faced directly across to my bedroom window.

  “That’s my bedroom,” I said, pointing out the window. Hawk smiled, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. If I didn't know better I would say he almost seemed apologetic. But that ridiculous notion evaporated as soon he smiled. He walked over to me, placing his arms around my waist and pulling me close from behind, both of us staring at my window.

  “I had many a night rubbing my cock while I watched your sexy body moving around on that bed,” he whispered in my ear, causing my entire body to combust with heat and passion. “I don’t have any regrets.”

  “By the bulge pointing at my ass, I would say you don’t.” Before I could turn in his arms to face him, Hawk’s phone went off, and he let go of me. I felt the warmth leave with his touch and missed him instantly. He pulled the phone out and listened for what felt like an eternity.

  “I need to talk to you about all this,” he said finally. “Yes, we can be there.”

  He ended the call, turning to me. I knew from the look on his face that I wasn’t going to like what that call was about.

  “That was the Don. He wants us to go back to Chicago.” His voice was softer than normal. The fear must have been evident on my face, because in a flash Hawk was beside me. He bent down, lowering his eyes so that he could look directly into mine.

  “I promise. It will be fine. I would rather die than let anything happen to you.”

  “That
’s what I’m worried about,” I whispered.

  Chapter 10

  Hawk

  The drive from Fox Lake to Chicago was a quiet one. I kept wanting to turn and say something to Izzy, but I could see how stressed she was just from glancing at her. Her arms were crossed, she was tapping her right foot on the floor and her shoulders looked so bunched up that I wasn’t sure they would ever lower again.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked, placing my hand on her leg, steadying its constant movement. Her dark eyes flashed to my own and I could see the worry laced in them. “Baby, I promise. It will be ok. I’ll protect you.”

  “You’re forgetting I know this world, Hawk. I was born into it. This world is full of pain, murder and crime. There is nothing good here, nothing good is going to come from the Don wanting us to visit him. You know full well what him summoning us when we’ve both gone against his wishes means.”

  I knew she was right. This very well could be the end of us, but I was never going to let it be the end of her. I stayed silent, not sure what I could say or do in that moment to ease her fears. I had learned at a very young age, if I couldn’t speak words of wisdom or truth, to just stay silent. Silence had always worked for me in the past.

  As we walked up the steps of the stone mansion, I could feel her hands shaking. I tightened my hold, hoping to let her know I was here and I would never let her go. Before I could even knock on the door, Georgio, one of Don Gabrielli’s men, opened it.

  “Mario, so good to see you. And is this the little bird?” He sneered, a twisted smile on his face, highlighting the dark red scar on his right cheek. A scar that I gave him twenty years before, when he dared call me nothing but a street bastard. He glanced at Izzy, a hungry look in his beady little eyes. I stepped in front of her to keep her from his dirty stare.

  “Watch yourself. I would hate for you to get another scar to match the one you already have,” I said, with a growl in my voice.