I woke up to the sight of Vanessa wrapped around me. Her slender leg was tucked between mine, and her arm was draped over my hard stomach. Her dark hair was a mess across the pillow, tangled from the way I fisted it last night. Her plump lips were slightly parted as she breathed during sleep, and I could see her small teeth behind her lips. She hugged me like I was her favorite teddy bear, the comfort that kept her asleep all night long.

I turned over and rolled her to her back before I got out of bed. I pulled on a new pair of boxers and sweatpants before I glanced at her one more time. She was so tiny in my king-size bed, drowning in the sheets due to her petite size. She hugged the pillow like it was me and kept sleeping, her olive skin contrasting against the crisp white sheets.

I walked down the hall and into the kitchen, my bare feet tapping against the hardwood floors. My place in Milan had large, floor-to-ceiling windows that let the natural light into the house. It had a great view of the enormous city, of the ancient cathedrals and old buildings. The windows were tinted on the outside so no one could see in—and they were bulletproof.

I put on a pot of coffee then opened my laptop. One thing I liked about my job was the freedom. I didn’t have to work all the time, and I had weeks in between hits to recuperate from my travels. The money was directly deposited into my account, out of sight from the feds who were unable to monitor it.

Once I told Vanessa the hit list was never innocent people, she seemed a lot more accepting of it. The man she loved was a stone-cold killer, and I respected her for not trying to change me.

I wouldn’t change for anyone.

I drank my coffee and looked through emails. Richard gave me updates on the property in Lake Garda, and Max sent emails about business, nothing too confidential just in case someone took over our servers.

I got a text from Max. Call me when your lazy ass is out of bed.

I just got Vanessa back, so I wasn’t interested in leaving for a few days. It’d been so long since I’d had her incredible pussy that I was making up for lost time. It didn’t matter how well the job paid, I would pass.

I called him back.

“You’re awake?” he asked in surprise.

“It’s nine, asshole.”

“But I know how lazy you are. So, what happened to that woman you met the other night?”

“You owe me five hundred euros, by the way.”

He sighed into the phone. “I’ll pay you, asshole.”

“When?” I pressed.

“Like you need the money.”

“It’s not about the money, and you know it, asshole.”

He chuckled. “I’ll wire it to you. Happy?”

“A little happier than I was before.”

“So, what happened to you and that sexy lady?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t be coy,” he said with a laugh. “You’ve never been a gentleman before, so don’t start now.”

“I’m being serious. I walked her to my truck, and then Vanessa caught up with me.”

“Vanessa…?” His grin was obvious in his voice. “Jealous?”

“Extremely.”

He laughed. “This is getting good. What happened next?”

“Vanessa said she wanted me back.” I remembered the way she looked in the short teal dress, her heels held in her hand. Tears burned in her eyes and had ruined her makeup. She was hurting so much…in agony as she watched me touch another woman. I enjoyed watching her suffering because I’d been in so much pain myself. Every time she pushed me away, it was like a blade right in my heart. I wanted to watch her suffer, to know I wasn’t alone. She hated loving me, but I hated loving her just as much. Her family had ruined my life. I should have been a man and killed her. She dropped her heels on the ground and kissed me. The shoes remained on the sidewalk after we left, and I don’t know what happened to the woman I met at the bar… I couldn’t even remember her name now.

“Then what happened?” he asked.

“What do you think? I took Vanessa home.”

“What about the other woman?”

I shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. “No idea what happened to her.”

“So where does that leave you two? She’s still a Barsetti, and she’ll always be a Barsetti.”

I sipped my coffee and looked out the window. “When did we start having these girl-talk sessions?”

“Come on, we’re brothers.”

“Doesn’t mean we need to talk about this shit.”

“This is your first serious woman. We’ve gotta talk about it.”

I didn’t think Vanessa and I had any kind of serious future, but I wasn’t thinking about that right now. I was just enjoying her, loving her. “We’re living in the moment. Her family doesn’t need to know about me.”

“Could you imagine if they did know?” he asked with a chuckle.

The entire Barsetti clan would hunt me down with all their weaponry. Her father would stab me in the neck even if I were already on the ground. I was his worst nightmare, the worst man in the world for his daughter. “Vanessa would never tell them, so I don’t need to worry about that.”

“Does that mean you’re happy?”

I’d finally been able to sleep through the night, and my heart wasn’t aching in my chest anymore. Happiness was difficult for me to grasp because I didn’t really understand it. Even now, I wasn’t sure if that was what I was feeling. “Yes.”

“Good for you. Let’s go out tonight and celebrate. Introduce her to the guys.”

“I don’t want to share.”

“You know what I mean, Bones. I’ve talked to Vanessa a few times, but I’ve never really gotten to know her. If she’s your girlfriend, we should get acquainted.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I said firmly. “Men like me don’t have girlfriends.”

“Are you exclusive?”

Like I’d let another man go near her. “Yes.”

“Then she’s your girlfriend. Just accept it.” He told me where to meet him before he hung up.

I set my cell phone down then finished looking through my emails. In the distance, I could hear the sound of little feet tapping against the hardwood floor. My constant alertness forced me to pay attention to the details people didn’t think were relevant. So I knew when she was coming without looking over my shoulder.

A moment later, her hands went to my shoulders, and she massaged the thick muscles. “There you are…”

I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the way she dug her fingers into the perfect sections. She found the knots in my muscles and rubbed them away, making the tissue flatten and relax. “Miss me, baby?”

“Yes.” She pushed her hands down my bare chest then leaned over me so she could kiss my neck and chest. Her fingernails moved all the way down, covering my abs and skin. She kissed my neck then nibbled on my earlobe. “I woke up because my heater left.”

“That’s all you want me for? To keep you warm?”

Her hand glided down my stomach to the outline of my hard dick in my sweatpants. “I want you for other things too.” Her hand moved down my length, like she was petting an animal.

Anytime her hand was on my dick, even through my clothes, my cock twitched in response. “Then use me, baby. That’s why I’m here.”

She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and buried her face in my neck. “Come back to bed.”

“What about breakfast?”

She breathed against my skin. “I don’t give a damn about breakfast.” She repeated the words I’d spoken to her the other day, but she said it in a much sexier way than I did. “I only give a damn about you.”

My cock hardened further in my sweatpants because she knew how to say the right things. She knew how to make me hard without even trying. Only Vanessa could make me swell so large, get me so hard it actually hurt.

She kissed my shoulder then stood up. “Come on.” She stepped away and walked down the hallway back to the bedroom.

I stayed seated and took another drink of my coffee, purposely taking my time to make her wait. I wanted her to ache for me, for her body to drip with desire in anticipation. I rose to my feet a moment later and walked back into the bedroom.

She’d abandoned her clothes, and now she was on her hands and knees, her ass in the air and her sex gleaming with arousal. There was an enormous arch in her back before her perky ass pointed toward the ceiling. Her black hair trailed behind her, moving right down her spine. She looked at me over her shoulder, sex in her eyes. “Griffin…”

I’d seen her in some of the sexiest ways, when she was underneath me in the midst of a climax, or when she was heartbroken seeing me with another woman. I’d seen her in lingerie that cost tens of thousands of dollars. But seeing her like this, her pussy wet and her ass in the air, was my undoing.

I pushed down my boxers and sweatpants, letting my throbbing cock come free. I loved fucking her right before bed, but fucking her first thing in the morning seemed to be even better. My fingers wrapped around my length, and I pumped myself a few times before I approached the foot of the bed.

I gripped both of her ass cheeks and pulled them wide apart before I pressed my face into her lips. I kissed her, dragged my tongue across her most sensitive areas.

Like she hadn’t expected me to make her feel so good, her hips immediately bucked, and her face burrowed into the sheets. “Oh…”

My large hands kept her ass cheeks apart, and I sucked her nub, my nose right in her sexy little asshole. I felt her moisture on my tongue and added more of my own. Eating pussy wasn’t my thing, but since Vanessa was my woman, I couldn’t get enough of her. I wanted to cherish her cunt the way I treasured the rest of her.

I sucked her good and hard, pushing her to the brink of a deep orgasm. But then I pulled away, wanting to torture her because she was torturing me. Having her on her hands and knees on the bed like this, begging me to fuck her, was more than my dick could handle. My mouth pleased her first since my dick already wanted to come in that pussy. I needed to get her ready to explode before I shoved myself inside her tight wetness.

“Griffin…please.”

I licked my lips and tasted her as I jerked myself with my hand, watching this gorgeous woman beg for me. She could have anyone else she wanted, but she wanted me. She wanted the man who almost killed her. She wanted me, all the good and all the bad.

I moved onto the bed and positioned myself behind her. I grabbed the back of her hair and yanked her up, forcing the arch in her back to deepen and her chin to point toward the ceiling.

I pushed down on my shaft and slid inside her, feeling my saliva and her own arousal. I pushed in, stretching her small cunt to full capacity. I moved completely inside until my balls were right against her body. One hand wrapped around her hair like a line of rope, and I secured her in place. My other hand gripped her other hip, and I started to thrust deep and hard inside her, giving her forceful strokes that made her body lurch forward.

“Yes…” Her legs were wide apart so she could take me, her ass looking even more beautiful when she was so open for me.

I clenched my jaw and suppressed my moan, knowing if I enjoyed it too much, I would come sooner than I wanted. I kept my grip on her hair so her body would remain still as I shoved my entire package inside her, sliding through her tightness and making her moan. “Is this what you wanted, baby?”

“Yes…yes.”

My ass tightened with every thrust I made, shoving my big dick inside her and getting soaked in her juice. Her pussy was so wet, so indescribable. I’d fucked a lot of pussy, but nothing like this. Her little asshole stared back at me, gorgeous like the rest of her. I had this beautiful woman underneath me, someone who wanted me just as much as I wanted her. I was the only man she wanted to give herself to, the only one who was worthy of this stunning sight.

Finally, she came. Screaming toward the ceiling and bucking her hips wildly, she had a climax all woman would envy. She clawed at the sheets and thrust her body back toward me so she could get all of my dick over and over. “Griffin…”

Hearing my name from her lips spurred me on, and I pounded into her harder, my cock piercing her relentlessly.

It made her climax last a little longer, made it a little better.

When she finished, she slowed down and caught her breath, the satisfaction deepening in her veins.

Now it was my turn.

I released her hair and gripped the back of her neck. I forced her cheek to the mattress, pinning her down so her ass was higher in the air. I shifted myself closer to her, getting my cock deep inside her, and then I fucked her pussy mercilessly. “Hands behind your back.”

She locked her hands together and rested them against her back, her thighs spread wide for me.

I squeezed her throat as I kept her pinned down. I took her pussy without protest, dominating her completely because she was mine to do with whatever I pleased. Sometimes, I wanted to make love to her. And sometimes, I wanted to fuck her like this, fuck her so hard that she would see stars.

I came inside her with a deep moan, dumping all of my come inside that perfect little slit. I gave her everything I had, the white come building up along the outside of her cunt. I loved looking at it, loved seeing the white color contrast against her dark skin. I slowly pulled out and wiped the head of my dick on her asshole, getting some more of my come there.

Vanessa lowered herself to the bed, staying on her stomach as my come leaked out of her. She closed her eyes and caught her breath, her fingers resting on the sheets.

I got off her and pulled my bottoms back on. “I’ll make breakfast.”

“Save me some.”

“You aren’t going to eat with me?”

She kept her eyes closed. “I’m going back to bed…”

She looked at herself in the mirror as she fixed her hair. She wore a short black cocktail dress with heels, and her black hair was pulled back in an elegant updo. She put diamond earrings in her lobes then placed a white gold bracelet on her wrist. The eye shadow came next, a green color, accented by thick black lashes and eyeliner.

I watched her in the reflection of the mirror, enjoying these rare moments where I could study her without her noticing. I saw her candid expressions, the way she examined herself objectively without even understanding just how perfectly beautiful she was. From her bright green eyes to her dark skin, she was so perfect she didn’t seem real. She didn’t need makeup in the first place, but when she put it on, she looked absolutely stunning.

I stood with my hands in the pockets of my black jeans. I wore a black t-shirt with my leather jacket on top, choosing to wear black because it was the predominant color in my wardrobe. The cold didn’t bother me, so I probably didn’t need a jacket at all.

It was for her.

She always got cold but never bothered to bring a jacket, assuming my body was enough to keep her warm.

When she finished, she finally spotted my stare in the mirror. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Not long enough.”

She put her makeup away in the drawer, making herself at home at my place. Now she wasn’t just stuck there to keep her family safe. She shared my life with me, so she inhabited my place like it was her own.

I liked it.

I liked seeing her blow-dryer on my counter and her favorite cereal in my cabinet. I liked seeing her shoes by the front door. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” She walked up to me, her heels tapping against the tile floor. “You look handsome.” Her hand ran up my chest in the opening of my jacket, and she rose slightly on her tiptoes to kiss me on the mouth.

“And you look so sexy I’m thinking about making you change.”

She smiled playfully. “Never gonna happen.”

“Then I’ll just have to break a bunch of necks tonight.”

“Nothing you can’t handle, right?” She walked back into the bedroom and grabbed her clutch that was sitting on the bed.

I came up behind her, still a foot taller than her even when she wore heels. I knew one of the reasons she was attracted to me was because of my strength. When she was with me, she felt untouchable. She’d grown up in the presence of strong and fearless men, so naturally, that was the kind of man she wanted.

Since I was the most powerful man in the world, it wasn’t surprising that I was the man she loved.

The only man she’d ever loved.

My hands moved to her hips, and I pressed my lips to her ear. “I can’t wait to take this dress off…” I kissed the shell of her ear and pressed the outline of my dick against her back. “And this thong.” My fingers moved over her bare ass underneath the dress and felt the lace of her thong. “You’re gonna sit on my lap and take my fat dick nice and slow. You’re going to look me in the eye and please me until I give you permission to come. And you’ll only come when I say so.” I pulled my fingers away from her panties then pulled her dress back down over her ass. I listened to her breathing quicken as my words made their way right between her legs. “You understand me?” I spoke directly against her ear, my cock hard against my fly.

She swallowed, her throat shifting with the moment. “Yeah…”

“Yes.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

I arched my neck down and kissed her on the mouth. “Good.”

We sat in a booth in the corner, the lights low and drinks across the table. We ordered a few appetizers to snack on, but we focused most of our attention on ordering more rounds of booze. I drank scotch, like always.

Vanessa had a glass of wine.

Shane grabbed a handful of chips before he dropped them on his plate. He was the only member of the group who was married, and his black wedding ring sat on his left hand. He wore it everywhere he went—except when he was on the job. “Vanessa, I don’t mean to sound rude, but what the hell do you see in this guy?”

“I keep wondering the same thing.” Theron sat on the other side of him, grinning at me because he enjoyed pissing me off. “You’ve got a beautiful woman with a killer smile, and then you’ve got Bones…who looks like a gargoyle.”

Max was about to drink from his beer but stopped himself because a laugh escaped his throat. “Shit, he does look like a gargoyle.”

I kept a straight face, not amused by any of this.

“Maybe I like gargoyles.” Vanessa moved her hand to my thigh under the table and pressed up against me, displaying that playfulness in her eyes that I loved. “He’s definitely hard like one.” She moved her hand across my chest over my t-shirt.

I loved it when Vanessa touched me, regardless of the context.

“Does he talk when you guys are alone?” Theron asked. “Because I’ve rarely heard Bones say a few sentences without the words kill and blood in them.”

“Or pussy,” Shane added.

“Yeah,” Theron added. “It’s either sex or murder with this guy.”

I didn’t tell them to knock it off because that made me look like a pussy. I just let the jokes fly, not caring what Vanessa thought of them. They weren’t saying anything she didn’t already know. I’d killed as many people as I’d fucked.

“He says a lot of things,” Vanessa said. “He makes me food because I don’t know how to cook. He enjoys my artwork. He tells me I’m beautiful first thing in the morning…and he tells me he loves me.”

The guys immediately blanched at that last comment, all shocked.

Max was shocked the most.

I didn’t care that she shared that information with all of them. I had nothing to be ashamed of. I loved a woman, and I wasn’t afraid to say it. Men who didn’t wear their hearts on their sleeves were the ones who had something to be ashamed of. A truly strong man wasn’t afraid of anything—even his feelings.

Vanessa turned quiet, picking up on the tension that settled in the room. She pulled her hand away, like she regretted what she said the moment it came out of her mouth.

Shane turned to me, his shock slowly fading away before a grin formed on his face. “Bones is whipped…”

“You’re one to talk,” I shot back.

Shane shrugged. “Yeah, but we established that years ago. Didn’t think this would ever happen to you.”

“That makes two of us.” My arm moved around Vanessa’s shoulders, and I pulled her into my side. “But it has, and this woman makes me happy. So you guys can go ahead and tease me about it, but you’re wasting your time because I don’t give a shit. When this little get-together is over, I’m going to head home with my woman and forget this conversation ever happened. I’ll be too busy with her to think about you.”

Max chuckled before he drank his beer. “Alright, we’ll stop talking shit.”

“So, this is serious, then?” Theron asked. “Is she your second?”

A second meant if something happened to me, the rest of them were responsible for taking care of her as long as they lived. Shane’s wife was his second, and it was understood we would all look out for her if he died. And if it ever came down to choosing him or her, we would always save the woman over the man. Shane was the only one with a second since the rest of us had been more interested in whores and easy lays than long-term relationships. “Yes, she is.”

Max’s smile fell, and he turned serious.

Theron and Shane both had the same expression, understanding the significance of what I said.

There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to kill Vanessa. Now I wanted to protect her from everything in this world, protect her even if I wasn’t living anymore. I wanted the guys to treat her the way we treated Shane’s wife, with nothing but the utmost respect and protectiveness. “I’m glad we got that straightened out.”

I drove back to my place, Vanessa sitting on the middle seat beside me. She slipped off her heels because they were killing her feet. My arm was draped over her shoulders, and she rested her body against mine.

I’d given her my jacket because she was cold—like I knew she would be. The baggy leather surrounded her, hiding her curves in that skintight black dress. Of course, everyone stared at her because of the hot piece of ass that she was, but once my gaze landed on them, they didn’t make the mistake of looking at her again.

“Can I ask you something?” Her legs were crossed, and her hand rested on my thigh. We kept the music off and drove in silence.

I wasn’t angry about anything the guys had said. Everything exchanged in the conversation was true. I was just quiet and brooding because that was how I always was, naturally cold and aggressive. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Ask if you can ask. You know I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

She rested her cheek against my chest. “What does it mean to be your second?”

“Do you know what next of kin means?”

“Yes.”

“It’s like that. You’re my second, meaning you’re the most important person to me. If I die, it’s their job to look after you as long as one of them is still living. And if we’re ever in a bad situation and they can only save one of us, they’re supposed to save you and let me die.”

She stilled against me, absorbing my words like a sponge that just soaked up its full capacity of water.

“Shane has a wife, so she’s his second. If he ever goes on a job and doesn’t come back, we’ll always look after her. We’ll protect her with our lives and die for her if we have to. She’s a pretty cool chick, so I don’t mind.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“There’s no reason to say anything. Those guys are my family, even when they’re assholes. I know I can always count on them. It gives me peace of mind knowing they’ll look after you if I’m not around.”

She turned quiet as she moved tighter into my side, cuddling into me like we were lying in bed instead of sitting in a truck.

We didn’t say anything else on the drive home.

When we returned to my place, we took the elevator to the top floor and stepped inside.

Vanessa dropped her heels by the door and immediately unzipped the back of her dress.

I moved to the couch, expecting her to do as I asked. I wanted her on my lap, her tiny pussy taking my enormous cock.

She stood in front of me and let the silky dress fall to the floor, leaving her in just her black thong.

My arms rested on the back of the couch on either side of me, my cock practically bursting through the front of my jeans. I stared her down, commanding her to straddle my hips without saying a single word.

She reached into her hair and undid the pins, making her black strands fall around her shoulders.

I’d never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. She had an hourglass frame, womanly hips, a tiny waist, and perky tits I’d love to fuck sometime. She had a small belly button and flawless skin I loved to kiss. The scar on her shoulder disrupted her perfection, but I thought it made her look better. She’d survived horrific things, and she was stronger because of those experiences. She was fearless and strong, beautiful.

But she didn’t come closer to me, keeping her distance so she was out of my reach.

“Baby.” I commanded her with only the use of her name. I was getting harder by the second as I stared at her, this beautiful goddess in my living room. It was unfortunate I fell in love with my enemy, but there was no woman I wanted more.

She carried her body with perfect elegance, holding my gaze when most women would flinch in fear. “I want you to make love to me.” Her long legs led to small feet. She was barefoot on the hardwood floor, but the arch in her heels was noticeable. She partly whispered her words, making them sultry and sexy.

I’d fucked her so hard that morning, pounding into her pussy with enough force to break it. I loved taking her ruthlessly, fucking her like every man should fuck a woman. Lovemaking was novel to me, and she was the only woman I’d ever made love to. It wasn’t hard or fast, but I still enjoyed it.

When I didn’t move, she spoke again. “Please.”

Bumps formed on my arms when I heard her beg. I had never been the kind of man who made a woman beg, but I liked hearing the plea in her voice. I rose to my full height and pulled my black t-shirt over my head. I tossed it onto the coffee table as I walked toward her, my jeans snug because the monster in my shorts was at full length. I scooped Vanessa into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist as I carried her down the hallway.

Her arms circled my neck, and she pressed her forehead to mine, breathing deeply with me. I could feel the wetness in her panties against my stomach. I could feel the way she shook because she wanted me so much.

I carried her into my bedroom and dropped her on the foot of the bed. My hands wanted to yank her panties off, but instead, I pulled them down her long legs slowly. I opened her thighs and pressed a soft kiss to her wet folds, making her nipples harden in reaction. She moaned quietly in response, loving my hot kiss.

I got my jeans and boxers off so my cock could finally be free. I watched the desire in her eyes, watched the way she panted for me even though my cock hadn’t even touched her yet. Her lips were parted like she needed my kiss just to stay alive.

“Griffin…” She reached for me, needing to get her hands on me.

I grabbed her hips and positioned her ass at the edge of the bed. She opened her legs wide for me and pulled her knees towards her ribs. My hands sank into the mattress on either side of her, and I pressed the head of my cock against her wet folds.

Her hands finally touched my skin, caressing the hard muscles of my chest. Her hands dragged down until she reached the bottom of my eight-pack. Her fingers wrapped around my hard length, and she directed me inside her, wanting my cock as quickly as she could get it. She inhaled deeply when she felt me stretch her, biting her bottom lip as she enjoyed the pleasure and the pain.

I held myself directly on top of her and slid my cock inside until I was completely sheathed.

Her hands were in my hair and her lips were on mine, devouring me now that she had my dick inside her. Passionate and fiery, she made love to my mouth with her lips, giving me her tongue before I even gave her mine.

I started to thrust inside her, to slide through her wetness. I moaned against her mouth because it felt so good, so unbelievable. This pussy was my heaven, the closest I would ever get to the pearly gates. I was damned to an eternity in hell, but I got to enjoy this angel while on this mortal plane.

“Griffin…” She spoke against my mouth in mid-kiss, breaking our embrace to breathe and moan.

I fucked her with deep and even strokes, giving her my entire length until my balls tapped against her ass. It wasn’t about the speed or aggression, just the connection between our souls. Mine was black and broken, but when we were together, she loaned me her glow, her brightness.

“I love you,” she said into my mouth. “I love you so damn much.” Her hand cupped my face as she kissed me, her lips trembling with the words.

I was buried deep inside the woman who’d stolen my heart. I never wanted to love her, but she forced me to. I wanted to kill her and forget about her. But she clawed at my chest until she made her way inside. Now, I was desperately and hopelessly in love with this gorgeous woman, a woman I’d vowed would always be my enemy. Now, I would lay down my life to keep her safe. I would do anything she wanted, to make her happy. My cock had made a home inside her pussy, and I never wanted to leave. I loved the way she loved me, the way she accepted me for exactly who I was. I was no good for her, trash in comparison to what she deserved, but she loved me anyway. Even if this didn’t last forever, she still wanted to live in this moment with me. She still wanted to love me as long as she could. “I love you too, baby.”