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“Demanding,” he chuckled, leaning in for a kiss.

He began to move with deep, deliberate strokes that hit exactly where I needed him. My nails dug into his back as the pleasure built inside me, tension coiling tighter with each thrust. When his thumb found my clit, circling with just the right pressure, I lurched off the bed.

“That's it,” he encouraged, increasing his pace. “Let go for me, sweetheart.”

I mewled as I met his thrust with one of my own. Then, another. The next thing I knew, he was pounding into me, and my entire body shook from the strength of his cock. I reached down and clutched the sheets, throwing my head back, and when he slid his hand beneath my ass and tilted me up toward him until his cock hit just beneath my clit from the inside, I felt the tension ready to uncoil.

“Gio,” I moaned. “I’m close.”

“Mm-hmm,” was all the response he could muster and when I felt his cock throb, I knew why. He was close too. He then rammed into me, his balls pressing into me and that was when the coil snapped, spreading through me like wildfire.

I screamed out his name and then moaned when words lost all meaning. I shuddered and focused on the pleasure swimming through every nerve, every vein, every drop of my blood, and he followed right after, pulsing into me with a grunt just as I rode out the last of my waves.

We lay tangled together afterward, our breathing slowly returning to normal as my fingers traced lazy patterns on his chest. The secret of our child still hovered unspoken between us, but in that moment, I felt hope blooming alongside the life growing within me. We had broken, but we had begun to mend. And perhaps, when the time was right, I could share the news I carried and pray he found it good.

Chapter 21 - Gio

I was in my office, trying to focus on my paperwork. But, it seemed to be a difficult thing to do, with Larissa running through my mind. For the past four nights, we’d made our way to each other’s beds and every moment I wasn’t with her was an aching pain in my bones.

Just then, the phone rang and my heart lurched as I reached for it, allowing myself for a brief second to believe it was Larissa.

But then, I saw the caller ID. All my daydreams vanished at the number I saw, and my heart turned cold.

No, I thought to myself. Not now. Panic clung to me, not at having been discovered, but at the fact that she might be taken away from me.

This call had been inevitable from the moment Larissa's bodyguard, Dom, saw me take her away from the mall.

It’s okay, I released a breath. Whatever it is, I’ll handle it. With a firm hand, I accepted the call.

“Lebedev.”

“You fucking bastard.” Gastone's voice trembled with rage. “My bodyguard saw you. He saw everything.”

I leaned back in my leather chair, eyes drifting to the closed door beyond which Larissa was reading in the sunroom. “Did he now? And what exactly does he think he saw?”

“Don't play games with me. Dom was with her when you took her. You fucking kidnapped my sister and I’m going to—”

A smile curled my lips. “Kidnapped? That's a strong word for someone who was wandering around the mall, don’t you think?”

“How dare you insinuate what you do?” he roared into the phone.

“I’m not insinuating a thing. I’m simply telling you Larissa is well looked after.”

“Return her. Now. Or I swear to God, I will burn everything you love to ash. Your brothers. Your sisters. Your entire fucking organization.”

The threat slithered down my spine, but I'd spent decades in this world and knew when I heard a dog bark. “Gastone, you seem upset. Perhaps we should discuss this when you're thinking more...rationally.”

“You have twenty-four hours.”

“I don't respond well to ultimatums.” My voice dropped an octave. “And you should know better than to threaten a Lebedev. Your sister is unharmed and comfortable. More than comfortable, actually.”

A pause stretched between us. “What does that mean?”

“It means you should tread carefully. Your men come near my family, and I'll mail Larissa back to you in pieces.” The words tasted bitter. They were a lie, and I obviously had no intention of harming her, but Gastone didn't need to know the truth of what we were. It would only make him angrier, more powerful. But if I scared him enough, he’d be more careful. “We clear?”

“Like hell,” he spat. “This isn't over.”

“It never is with our families, is it?” I hung up before he could respond.