“Buongiorno.”

I open my eyes at the sound of Bruno’s velvety voice sending warm shivers down my body. His lips press against the back of my neck, making me twinge away from the ticklish sensation. His powerful arms are wrapped around me, with my head resting comfortably in the crook of his right elbow on the pillow. I have no idea what time it is, but I’m finding it really hard to care when there’s a beautiful man pressed up against my back. I yawn and pull his left arm over me tighter, wiggling backward into him so that my ass is pushed against his crotch. He’s so warm, radiating enough heat that I probably don’t even need a blanket. He kisses my neck again and I giggle, shrugging my shoulders playfully.

“Good morning to you, too,” I murmur, my throat feeling scratchy as it always does when I first wake up. Despite the fact that I routinely get up early to go into Bathing Beauty, I am really, definitely not a morning person. Left to my own devices, I would gladly lie in bed until noon. I know today is a work day, and I’m dreading looking at the alarm clock on Bruno’s nightstand. I don’t want to know. I want more time here in this warm, cozy heaven with the man I adore. The idea of getting out of this bed is completely repugnant to me right now.

“I should get up,” I groan. “Gotta go to work.”

“Mmm, that sounds terrible. Don’t do that,” Bruno replies in a growly voice, pulling me closer and breathing hotly against the back of my neck. Goosebumps rise up along my arms and legs.

“You’re making this very hard for me,” I chide him, grinning. He rocks his hips forward and I can feel his massive shaft stiff against my ass.

“Oh, I think you’re the one making it hard,” he answers coyly.

“Who, me? I haven’t done anything,” I reply, with mock indignation. “I’m totally innocent.”

Bruno chuckles and sits up a little, leaning over to kiss the side of my neck and up to my cheek. He turns my face gently to kiss my lips, his cock still rock-hard against me.

“Oh no, I have morning breath,” I protest weakly.

“You taste wonderful,” he replies, kissing me again. “I don’t care.”

“You’re going to make me late for work,” I add, feeling myself start to give in. It’s impossible to resist him, and every part of me wants desperately to stay in this bed.

“Well, we’d better get started then,” he replies mischievously. Before I can even respond, he dives under the comforter, pushing it back out of the way as he exposes my body bit by bit. He sleeps naked, unsurprisingly, but I’m wearing one of his t-shirts, which is comically huge on me, and a pair of decidedly-unsexy black panties. Nothing special. I mean, they’re not granny panties, but they’re definitely not lingerie either. I feel my face flushing pink at the realization that Bruno, the most blisteringly hot man I have ever been intimate with, is seeing this underwear on me.

“Sorry for the ugly undies,” I mumble.

Bruno, tugging them down my thighs to take them off, looks up at me with a wry smile. “First of all, you look fantastic in everything. Second of all, it doesn’t matter anyway because they’re about to come off. Lingerie is nice, but I think we both know I prefer you without anything on at all. You’re the gift. I don’t care about the wrapping paper.”

I can’t stop the grin that plasters itself on my face. I’ve never met anyone so good at putting my mind at ease. It’s like magic. He just melts away all my anxiety, all those years of stress and fear. He cuts away all that bullshit to get to me— the real me. The version of myself I never thought I could find again. And it’s liberating.

Bruno drops the offending panties over the side of the bed and pushes my thighs wide open, kneeling down between my legs. I inhale sharply in anticipation as he leans in and gently begins to suck at my clit, his tongue flicking over it while one of his fingers slides inside of me. Fuck, I’m already wet. All it takes is Bruno’s presence to make me give in. I can’t resist.

“Oh my God,” I murmur, my eyes closing and my head falling backward onto the pillow. My hands instinctively reach down to comb through Bruno’s hair, and before long my hips are rolling, bucking up to meet him. He knows just how to work my clit, just how to angle the tip of his finger inside me to reach that little bundle of nerves that makes me weak. He’s an expert, like he’s been studying my body for years or something. I don’t know how he knows, but he does. He just knows.

He groans, his finger sliding in and out up against that special spot faster and faster. I fling my arms outward to grasp at the bedsheets, gritting my teeth as my pleasure mounts to a climax.

Just before my orgasm hits, Bruno backs off, grabs me by the hips, and flips me onto my stomach. Then he pulls me to my knees and rubs the head of his thick shaft against my slick opening, sliding over my sensitive clit. I back into him, desperate for that delicious friction, but he grabs my hips and holds me in place.

“Please, Bruno,” I whimper. “I want to come.”

He lets out a growly kind of chuckle and says, “Oh, you’re going to come, sweetheart. But only when I’m good and ready for it.”

A shiver runs down my spine and I feel myself getting even wetter. I never expected to be the kind of woman who likes to be bossed around and dominated in bed, especially after what I went through years ago. But with Bruno, it’s different. I want him to tell me what to do. I want him to use me however he wants to, because I know he would never hurt me. I can trust him to push me right to the very edge and then bring me back over and over again, making it feel so good every time.

“So wet for me, Serena,” he says softly, his voice gravelly and rough. I can tell this is taking all of his self-restraint, too. And the thought that he’s struggling to keep it together, that he wants me just as badly as I want him, makes me feel powerful and desired.

“I want you inside me,” I beg him, twisting to peer back at him. He’s a formidable sight, all muscle and smooth skin, with that impossibly handsome face. Those flashing green eyes. And then, he smiles at me. A devilish grin. He knows just how badly I need this, and he’s going to give it to me.

He slides the full length of his cock along my wet slit, making me tremble. I’m so sensitive right now, all my nerves on fire, just hovering over the edge. Then he gives my ass a hard slap. I cry out, shuddering with the mingled pain and pleasure.

“Good girl,” he says quietly, now circling the tip of his cock around my wet opening, teasing me.

“Please, I need you to fill me up, Bruno,” I plead. I’m aching for his cock.

“Oh, I’m going to, mia passerotta. I’m going to fill you up and fuck you hard. But I don’t want you to come until I say so, si?” he explains, keeping his tone even-keeled even though I can hear that husky need in his voice.

“Whatever you say,” I answer, grinding back against him. I’m a little scared that I won’t be able to hold on— I’m already so close. He has me dangling over the edge, and I just know that the second his cock is inside of me, I’ll be a goner.

And then, it happens. He grabs my hips and pushes his cock deep inside me, penetrating me to the hilt. I can feel my pussy clenching around him and I cry out, grabbing for the pillow to hold myself steady. I’m trying so hard to keep myself from coming. I want to do what he told me to do.

“Don’t come yet, baby,” he says, even as his hips start to move and his cock slides in and out of me while he reaches around my thigh to gently rub my clit with his finger. By now, I’m an incoherent mess. Every last thread of my focus is centered on not giving in, not climaxing. But it’s so hard.

“Oh God,” I groan as he starts to fuck me deeper, but slower. “Bruno, I-I’m gonna come, I can’t take it. It feels so fucking good!”

“Yeah? You want to come for me, sweetheart? You want to come all over my cock?” he teases me, circling my clit with his finger and sending shockwaves of unbearable pleasure through me.

“Please, oh fuck,” I whimper. He slaps my ass again, hard.

“You want me to fuck you harder, Serena?” he asks.

“I need it, I need you,” I answer breathlessly. I’m hanging on by a mere thread. “Please!”

And with that, he starts to thrust harder, his cock hammering at my g-spot while his finger works my clit, fucking me hard and fast. “Are you ready? I know you want to come.”

“Oh God! Please, I need it!” I cry out, my fingers twisting in the sheets.

“Come for me, baby. Come all over my cock. Now.”

Instantly, my body seizes up in an overwhelming rush of pleasure. Wave after wave of electric bliss rolls over me and I let out an involuntary shriek, feeling my pussy pulsing intensely around his cock. Bruno doesn’t let up for even a second, fucking me harder and faster until I’m coming again and again, lost in a sea of extreme pleasure.

“Good girl, very good,” he groans, and I can tell he’s gritting his teeth, trying so hard to keep his own climax in check. I decide to take business into my own hands. He’s not the only one who can play at this game. I begin to roll my hips back, impaling myself on his cock hard and fast, clenching as tightly as I can.

“It’s. Your. Turn,” I manage to mumble, and I can tell by his increasingly erratic thrusts that he’s about to blow. He’s almost there. The fact that I have this power to make this beautiful, amazing man feel so good is intoxicating.

“Fuck, Serena,” Bruno groans. “Just like that.”

He thrusts a few more times quickly and sharply and then holds me still, his fingertips digging into my hips as he shoots his thick honey deep inside me. His deep voice thrums through my body as he cries out, and he shudders through his orgasm.

We’re both still panting as I feel him lean forward to kiss a gentle line up the arch of my back before withdrawing. We fall on our backs side by side, and his hand finds mine underneath the tangle of sheets. I look over at him, beaming uncontrollably, to see an identical look of bliss on his face. Warmth. Everything about Bruno is comfortable. Everything about him feels like home.

“Well, that was definitely worth being late to work for,” I laugh, turning over to get my phone from the nightstand. The battery is nearly dead, as I forgot to bring my charger last night, but it can still show me the time. Nine-thirty-eight, and then my phone dies.

“Shit,” I mumble, wriggling out of bed and whipping Bruno’s huge t-shirt off. I hop into the bathroom, pulling on my socks which I’m pretty sure are inside out, but that’s a problem for future me to sort out. “I don’t have clean clothes!” I call out, staring around the bathroom in a mild panic.

Bruno comes shuffling in behind me, totally naked and unreserved. He wraps his arms around me and presses a kiss to my cheek. “You can borrow one of my shirts again.”

“Uh-huh, and it’ll look like I’m a grifter who just wandered into the shop one day,” I giggle, rolling my eyes. Then, I get an idea. “Actually, could you bring me your biggest, longest, most stretched-out shirt?”

Bruno gives me a skeptical smirk but nods. “I feel like that’s the opposite of what you’d want, but your wish is my command.” He steps into the walk-in closet attached to the bathroom suite and starts poring through his surprisingly meticulous wardrobe.

“Any luck?” I ask, reluctantly slipping back into yesterday’s bra, panties, and leggings. I can’t just walk into the shop wearing the same dress as yesterday. Too obvious. Even if nobody else notices, I would still feel icky all day.

“Uhh, how do you feel about, um, vintage?” Bruno says, making me laugh.

“How vintage?”

“Let’s just say I had to dig back through my sort of nostalgic section of clothing for this one,” he explains, giving me an apologetic shrug. “All my clothing from recent years has been tailored. I have a guy. So there’s not a lot of wildly oversized stuff in here anymore.”

I hold my hand out. “Alright. Just give it to me. Let’s see.”

He hesitantly hands over a faded, well-worn gray t-shirt with some kind of brand logo that has nearly been washed blank by the years. It’s a little threadbare, but it will do. I tug it on, then knot the hem at one hip so that it falls almost like a stretched-out, slightly off-kilter shift dress.

Bruno laughs. “Wow. That is real ingenuity.”

“Shut up,” I giggle, swatting at him playfully. “Well, no time to really do my makeup now.”

“Can you do it in the car?”

I raise an eyebrow. “While driving? No, I value my life just a little more than that.”

“As a passenger, of course. I’m driving you to work,” he says, matter-of-factly.

“You sure? I could always get a cab.”

“I’m going to work with you anyway, so we might as well carpool. Save the earth and all that,” he adds, emerging from the walk-in closet again, this time fully dressed and looking like a million bucks. He’s only wearing a white button-down, black pants, and gray blazer, but he looks like some kind of secret agent about to crack a case or steal a diamond or something.

“Wow, way to show me up,” I comment, crossing my arms and eyeing him up and down.

“Well, I do have the advantage of my entire personal wardrobe here,” he says, walking over to envelop me in his arms. He smells wonderful, like a mix of fancy cologne and his own particular, musky, delicious scent. “And besides, you make everyone in every room you walk into look terrible by comparison. Anyway, let’s get you to work. Bath emergencies wait for no man.”

We pile into his car and head out, with the mid-morning sun beaming joyfully overhead. Everything is so bright and crystal-clear today, with the kind of bright blue skies and puffy cotton-ball clouds that seem better suited for a painting than real life. It’s hard to determine whether the beauty of the world is actually intensified today, or if I’m just seeing it this way because of the gorgeous man beside me in the driver’s seat.

“This is gonna be a good day,” I say softly. “I can feel it.”

“Every day with you is a good day,” Bruno adds, squeezing my thigh gently.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, there is a sudden flash of gray across the windshield and Bruno hits the brakes. I look out my window to see that there is a pillar of smoke blowing down from an alleyway next to us at the stop light. “What the hell?” I murmur, rolling down my window to look.

“Smoke,” Bruno says.

“From where?” I ask, squinting into the occasional clear spots. Then it hits me.

I know where we are.

Before the car can start rolling again, I unlock and hop out the door, taking off down the alleyway. Bruno somehow manages to pull over and park, halfway on the sidewalk, and run after me. I burst through the alleyway and across the street to stand in front of the source of the fire.

Room With A View is in flames, a clamoring crowd gathering in a messy semicircle out into the road. There’s a fire truck out front, its siren wailing while the firefighters run in and out of the burning building. I dart around, looking for Nico or Rafaela, my heart pounding in my chest. Bruno catches up to me and takes my hand, pointing to an area closer to the front line. Police are blocking the crowd from getting much closer, and luckily Bruno can see better over the crowd from his height than I can.

“Up there!” he says, pulling me along behind him as we push through the crowd.

I shove past lots of angry spectators, caring only about locating my friends. If they were inside when the place caught on fire…

“Rafaela!” I shout, catching sight of my best friend and wiggling past a couple of cops to reach her. There’s ash on her skin and she’s crying, but there’s a hardened expression on her face. Rafaela is not the kind of girl to cry over just anything. She’s incredibly tough, and even with the tears clearing a path down her sooty cheeks, she looks about ready to fight someone.

She turns to pull me into a hug, and I can tell she’s been needing this. As strong as she is, I know that she can be vulnerable, too, with people she trusts. Like me.

“Oh, Serena, it’s fucking horrible. Everything we have—had—it’s all gone. This bar was our everything. I-I don’t know how this happened. But I have an idea who,” she says, her eyes flashing with anger.

“Are you okay? Where’s Nico? Is there anybody inside?” I ask, panicked.

She shakes her head. “Not anymore. The firefighters got everyone out, but two of our boarders are already en route to the hospital. It—it doesn’t look good,” she adds, looking horrified. “But Nico is over there. The cops keep trying to talk to him but he doesn’t want to say anything to them yet.”

I glance around her to see Nico and Bruno huddled together, several feet away from the line of policemen. Nico looks unscathed, and I silently thank the heavens that both of my friends are okay. I link arms with Rafaela and walk her away from the cops, trying to look unobtrusive.

“So, what do you think happened?” I ask quietly. She shakes her head, blinking back tears.

“I think it was one of those fucking gangs, chica. Probably the same shitheads who graffitied your shop and hurt those dogs,” she says bitterly. “I just feel like this is my fault. I should’ve been here more. I’ve just been so distracted with school lately and leaving Nico to look after the Room by himself. I should’ve done something ages ago. Mierda. I fucked up.”

I give her another tight hug. “No. No. You can’t blame yourself for this, Raf. You’re not a superhero. Nobody could’ve prevented this.”

She sighs heavily and tucks her hair behind her ears like she does when she’s nervous. She fixes me with a sorrowful look. “I just know there’s something else going on here. No sé. I think—I think I’m a little out of my pay grade, you know? Like, maybe I should’ve just stayed in Harlem. Maybe I’m reaching too far trying to make it in this neighborhood.”

I squeeze her hand supportively. “Hey, don’t say that. You’ve achieved so much. Seriously, you know what I said a minute ago about you not being a superhero? I was wrong about that. You are a superhero, Raf. And you’re gonna get through this just fine. Like you always do. Just don’t blame yourself, okay? It’s not like you set the fire.”

“How do you know I didn’t burn it down for insurance money or whatever?” she pipes up, a flicker of that old attitude flaring through.

I grin.

“There’s my girl. Just, not so loud, the cops might hear. Now, let’s go find Bruno and Nico and regroup, okay?”

We weave through the crowd, gingerly avoiding eye contact with the cops. Rafaela is right. I may not know the details, but I’m pretty sure this fire is no accident. Somebody did this, and I have a feeling things are about to get worse before they get better. When we reach the guys, Nico puts his arms around Rafaela and points out a man in slightly nicer clothing than the rest of the crowd.

“Babe, that’s a detective. We’re gonna have to make a statement to him. No big deal. Just tell the truth, and nothing else. Everything is gonna be fine,” he tells her. Then, looking at Bruno and me, he gives a quick nod. “Thanks for being here.”

“Of course,” I say.

The two of them make their way down the street to the detective and Bruno turns to me, giving me a quick kiss before staring into my eyes emphatically. “We need to get away from here. Now.”

“What?”

“We’re being watched. I’m sure of that. Let’s go. Back to the car.”

We quietly sneak back through the masses and down the alleyway to the car. Once we’re inside and driving away, Bruno continues. “The two men who were injured are mafiosi. They’re in critical care. I do not expect that they will live through this.”

“Oh my God,” I murmur, my head starting to spin. “So, this is a gang thing.”

“Essentially,” he agrees. “The Cleaners are responsible for this, no doubt. I don’t know if you were aware of this, but your friends have been running a kind of halfway house there. Mafia guys in hiding, a place for newcomers to blend into the city, a place to lay low when things get heated. Well, they just got too hot.”

“How in the world… are you serious? Room With A View. A mafia den,” I mutter, raking my fingers back through my hair. I never would have expected it. Rafaela can’t possibly be involved with this stuff. But Nico—well, I don’t know as much about him as I probably should.

“Nico is one of our guys. A casual. Low profile. But he does what he can,” Bruno explains. “This is a hit by the Cleaners. Everything up until now has just been a test run, trying out our limits, making plans. Now, the war is started. There’s no telling how long the bar has been compromised. They could’ve had eyes on us for months, just waiting for the right time to strike.”

I think about our night together in one of the boarding rooms and my stomach turns. All this time, they could’ve been watching us. Even that night, maybe.

“So, what the hell are we gonna do?” I ask, feeling like my entire world has been turned upside down. Bruno glances over at me, those green eyes lighting up in the sunshine.

“We’re going to bite back, of course.”