Page 48 of A Treasure To Keep (Leone Legacy #2)

Marco

A ndrea asks me the question I was hoping to avoid. I knew I wouldn’t be able to excuse my sudden appearance. I didn’t even think about what reason I would give them. Only that I needed to be there with them.

I don’t want to say this out loud, don’t want to admit what may be Alessandro’s fate. My heart hammers in my ears while I prepare to answer them. I almost choke on the words when I finally find the guts to answer Andrea.

“Alessandro got shot.” El and Andrea sit up simultaneously, and I don’t miss the sympathy in their eyes. I hate that.

El places her hand on my cheek, her thumb gently going back and forth in an attempt to soothe me. “We’re here if you want to keep talking. Believe it or not, I’m able to listen.”

I take a second to settle myself, knowing that if I talk too soon, I’ll end up crying. I fucking hate crying. I’ve cried enough in the last few months to cover the next few decades.

When I know I’ll be able to talk without choking, I tell Andrea and El the full story.

“Alessandro has been staying home for weeks, allowing other people to collect for him. Myself and the rest of our guys assumed he was staying at home to be around for Luci whenever she would need him. Especially considering how late in her pregnancy she is. Now I wonder if he received some threat and stayed home to keep himself safe. Alessandro is my family, my best friend. Other than Geno, he’s the only family I have left.

My mamma left, and my papa is dead. I’m an only child, and one of the few two people who took me in is in a position where he might leave me, too.

Every time I close my eyes, the sight of his bleeding body on the table replays in my head.

I can’t lose him. I realized at that moment that I need you two.

I need people I care about. Not exclusively in the sexual sense, either.

You two are the closest thing to a relationship I’ve ever let myself have.

Please don’t push me away. Not right now.

Break me later, but let me stay. Just for tonight. ”

I don’t realize I’ve let a tear escape until Andrea swipes it away, reaching over El in the meantime. “Of course you can stay. I’m going to make the three of us dinner while you and El shower. Please stay. We’ll take care of you.”

Andrea rolls out of bed, throwing on his pajama pants.

After he’s left the bedroom, El places her hand back on my cheek, turning my head to hers while she stares into my eyes.

I’ve never fully noticed how gorgeous her eyes are.

Andrea said they’re the color of water when the sun reflects off it.

I thought he was being his romantic, whipped self.

Now I understand. The sympathy that was there is gone, replaced with the signature confidence she shows the world.

“Alessandro is strong. A gunshot won’t kill him.

He’s got too much to live for. He’s also too fucking stubborn to die that way.

Now get up. I’m going to take care of you.

” El tries to grab my hand and drag me out of bed, but my hand slips out of hers.

She flips backward, rolling out of the bed instead.

Her head pops up from the side of the bed with her lips pursed as swords practically shoot out from her eyes. Her eyes narrow into slits when I laugh. She stands anyway, leaning into one hip and arms crossed in her typical stance.

“Get out of the fucking bed so I can wash and condition your pretty hair.” With that, El walks into the bathroom and turns on the shower.

When I get out of bed, my reflection stares back at me through the quickly fogging mirror.

I have to admit, El is right. My hair is pretty.

My focus switches to where the water falls off El’s body and splashes off the shower floor.

Through the steamed-up glass, I can’t distinguish El’s features, but can examine the shadow of her perfectly curvy body.

El turns around when I step into the shower, the last bit of shampoo washing out of her hair and smudged eye makeup lining her under eyes.

She reaches toward me and has me sit on the bench, grabbing the extra handheld showerhead while straddling my lap.

I sigh when the hot water sprays through my hair, causing my head to lull back as El’s long, round nails massage my scalp.

That reminds me, I need to get my hair cut.

The lingering scent of Andrea’s eucalyptus and mint shampoo hangs in the air when she’s done washing and conditioning my hair.

El kisses me on the forehead, snapping me out of the trance she had me in.

“You can be open with Andrea and I about your emotions. This apartment is a safe space. Anything you say here stays between the three of us. You don’t have to be afraid to be vulnerable.” At this moment, I’m thankful that we’re in the shower, allowing me to disguise what’s water and what’s tears.

El surprises me when her lips reach mine, kissing me gently enough that it shows compassion.

Little Marco doesn’t get the memo, my cock hardening underneath her.

She must notice because she licks her lips, sitting up on her knees.

My eyes roll back the instant she wraps her hand around my cock, slowly lowering herself. Jesus, fuck, how is she this tight?

I wrap my large hands around where her hips meet her thighs and rock her back and forth against me, giving us both the friction we need.

She brings her hands to her full breasts, rubbing her nipples as she tightens around my shaft and moans loudly.

A yelp escapes El when I suddenly stand, grabbing her ass as I press her against the shower wall, slamming my dick into her repeatedly.

“Fuck, El. I can’t get deep enough in you. No matter how I fuck you, I’m desperate to get deeper.” El screams my name when I ram as deep as her pussy will allow me.

Her blue eyes bore into me, lighter in the middle but with a dark blue rim on the outside.

They beam the same lust that shows through her entire body.

The way her plump lips part. The way her chest rises and falls when she makes pretty sounds for me.

The way her hips open, allowing me between them before wrapping around my back.

She whimpers, signaling her incoming orgasm.

I bend over slightly, taking her nipple in my mouth, and bite.

Instantly, she bows her back, tightening around my shaft as she drenches me in her cum.

Immediately, I fill her with every drop of my cum, staying inside of her until I soften before pulling out.

“C'était beau à regarder. Dinner is ready when you two are done.” El and I notice that Andrea is standing by the entrance to the bathroom, watching us with a shine in his eyes. He walks out of the bathroom, leaving the two of us to finish our shower.

I pull out of El and set her down on the floor. El stares up at me as I easily reach over her head to turn the shower off. The next thing I know, I’ve broken our sweet post-sex moment by laughing.

“What’s so fucking funny, Marco?” El crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up, and I notice cool air has hit them when her nipples harden. Apparently, El also notices when she walks past me, smacking the back of her hand against my junk as I wince.

When the pain in Little Marco is gone, I throw my pants on and walk into the kitchen.

Andrea and El are sitting at the bar top, silently eating their dinner.

When El sees me, she sets down her fork, glaring at it, then at my crotch.

It’s her way of subtly saying that she’ll stick that in my balls if I laugh at her again.

Andrea’s eyes flick back and forth between El and me, noticing the energy in the room.

“Did I miss something?”

“Marco laughed at me after you left the bathroom, staring at my tits when I got cold. You know, being the caveman he is.” She twirls pasta on her fork, eyes stuck on me as she puts the fork in her mouth.

“Woah, woah, woah. That’s not entirely true.

El always wears heels, and I never realized until today how short she is.

I was able to reach my arm out in front of her, and it completely reached over her head.

You cannot tell me that’s not funny.” Andrea stares down at his plate, avoiding our petty argument.

“Hahaha. Yeah. It’s hysterical. Sit the fuck down and eat. I was a good person and made you a plate.”

We eat in silence until I hear my phone ring. We all whip our heads up, the same thoughts behind our eyes. Is this about Alessandro?

With a shaky hand, I reach into my pocket and pull it out. Geno’s name pops up on the screen. I immediately swipe to answer it and put it on speaker. El and Andrea quietly reach over to place their hands over mine, their way of silently supporting me as I greet Geno.

“Geno.” Sobbing comes from the other end of the phone, and my heart sinks into my stomach. No. It can’t be. Please.

“He’s alive, Marco. Alessandro survived.

” I press my other hand on the bar top, hanging my head as tears threaten to escape.

When I finally open my eyes, Geno has hung up, and El and Andrea have gentle smiles on their faces.

I stare into their eyes, knowing this is it.

A one-night stand has turned into the relationship I always needed.