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“You feel incredible,” he groaned, his control visibly slipping. “So tight, so perfect around me.”

My fingers twisted in the sheets as his words sent a thrill through me. I felt a surge of confidence, lifting my hips to meet his thrusts, drawing a harsh curse from his lips.

“That's it,” he encouraged, shifting slightly to hit a spot inside me that made my feet stretch outward. “Let go for me, Larissa. I want to watch you come apart again.”

He pressed down on my clit, circling it tighter, building a pressure within me that was cresting, and I threw back my head at the pleasure as it rose in intensity. When he angled his hips differently, I saw stars as the pressure broke over me.

This time, the climax was different—more intense, spreading outward from where we were joined until my entire body was engulfed in pleasure so acute it bordered on pain.

I cried out his name as the waves crashed over me, dimly aware that he was following me over the edge, his rhythm faltering as he pressed deep and shuddered against me. For several moments, we remained locked together, our breathing ragged, our skin damp with exertion.

As I floated back to awareness, he finally withdrew, and I felt the loss keenly. But he pulled me right in against his chest, his heartbeat gradually slowing beneath my cheek.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his fingers tracing idle patterns on my bare shoulder.

“More than alright,” I answered honestly, surveying the pleasant ache between my thighs and the lingering tremors of satisfaction in my limbs. “I didn't know it could be like that.”

His chuckle rumbled through his chest. “That's just the beginning, sweetheart. There's so much more I want to show you.”

We lay in comfortable silence for a while, his hand stroking my hair, my fingers tracing the outlines of muscles. In that moment, wrapped in the warmth of his arms, it was easy to forget the complications waiting outside this room, but the real world couldn’t wait forever.

“They must be wondering where are,” Gio said at last. “My siblings.”

Reluctantly, we began to get dressed.

***

On the drive back to Gio’s, doubt crept in like an uninvited guest. The music played on the radio, but my mind was busy replaying our encounter over and over. The physical memory was sweet, but I felt unsettled.

The man who had touched me with such reverence was the same man who believed my brothers were monsters. How could I reconcile these two truths?

By being with him, I betrayed my brothers. For once, I felt my loyalties divide.

We pulled up to the porch, and I didn’t even notice until Gio opened the door for me. I stepped out and saw him watching me with concern. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asked.

I paused, wondering if I should say something, but I also knew if I didn’t, he’d overthink the night and believe what happened between us was the cause of discomfort.

“It’s just,” I looked up at him, a plea in my eyes. “I need to prove my brother’s innocence. I haven’t done anything about it, and you said...”

A shadow flickered across his face. “I know what I said,” he nodded.

I gulped.

I felt a strange heaviness, a weight pressing down on my conscience. My brothers weren't angels—I knew that much. Still, they were my blood, my protectors since our parents' deaths. The idea that they might be involved in something as heinous as Gio suggested... I couldn't accept it.

“What do you need?” Gio asked, as though he could see the pain in my face.

“If it’s not too much,” I braved. “Can I have access to your computer?”

***

Two hours later, I was in the kitchen, pouring over all the information I could access on my family. I scanned the documents on screen. Gio had gathered various financial records over the years on my family, but I couldn’t tell what the transfers were for.

I clicked through several folders, memorizing what I could, searching for anything that might help me understand the true nature of the conflict between our families. But the more I read, the more confused I became. The evidence was circumstantial at best. Not once was there an outright attack against the Lebedevs that had been recorded.

All the mentions were from third parties; none directly involved my brothers. By the end of it, from what I had gathered on the internet and from Gio’s research, I knew one thing for sure: my brothers were good at maintaining our privacy.

“Finding what you're looking for?” Gio asked, surprising me with his presence as he slid a mug of coffee toward me.