Page 1 of Angel of Light (Lords of The Commission: New York #5)

MAX

Three years ago

A silk soft hand rested on my naked chest. It was as light as a feather, but there was no mistaking the destruction those slender fingers left in their wake.

Before Alison fell asleep, they had danced in a soothing rhythm on the spot above my heart. It was a simple, maybe even muscle-memory-like gesture, but the path those digits traced seemed to cut me deeper than the acid-covered slashes her brother had gifted me earlier.

While she slept soundly, I stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out my next move.

As much as I tried to divert my brain with logic and facts, it constantly wandered back to the same resolution.

There was only one injurious word echoing in my brain like a damn life sentence – betrayal.

It didn’t matter what I chose to do, I’d end up double-crossing someone in the end.

This was a big fucking mistake.

As if sensing my thoughts, Alison stirred in her slumber, her leg lacing with mine while her pussy settled against my thigh.

She was still wet from both her orgasm and my saliva, and if I hadn’t already been hard for the whole hour I held her in my arms, her slick pussy rubbing against my skin was enough to do the trick.

Her long hair spread across my stomach and chest, painting it in stripes of raven in contrast with the red, punishing ones that still burned like hell.

How was it that not even that encounter with her brothers was enough to stop my craving for her?

This was not the plan. It never should have gone this far, but it was like Alison had a strange hold on me.

A magic way to make me cave. And if the first time it had been only a kiss, this second one was a lot less innocent.

Not to mention the devastating effects. Being buried in her virgin pussy did things to me. The way she smiled at me like I mattered. Like she saw me for who I was and not the puppet I’d been all my life.

I looked down at her again, my chest heaving slower so as not to shake her.

Alison’s soft and steady breathing whispered a promise of destruction against my skin. But it didn’t matter. Not when her face was a canvas of contentment, peace, and satisfaction.

I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been the culprit for such a sullen expression. The infinite possibility that could be true made my chest swell with pride and my cock twitch with a need for attention.

How I had managed to hold off for so long after being buried in her tight little cunt was beyond me.

I wrapped my hand around my hard shaft and stroked it once. The groan that left my lips at the immediate surge of pleasure made Alison stir again, her pussy grinding into my thigh further.

“Fuck,” I hissed as my hips bucked for another stroke of my hand on my dick.

How wrong would it be if I jerked off while Alison slept obliviously in my arms? Did it really matter? Absolutely fucking not. Not now that my muscles were tense with pleasure and the need to burst became too overwhelming to control.

Burying my nose in Alison’s hair, I inhaled sharply while my hand worked in a rhythm that would soon be spilling cum all over my stomach.

She smelled like rain. Like sex. She smelled like a night I’d never forget.

The taste of her arousal still lingered on my tongue, and the image of her writhing in pleasure fuelled each angry pump of my fist.

Every muscle in my body tensed, and with one more stroke, I came hard and glorious. Biting down on my bottom lip, I swallowed my groan of pleasure while my body jerked with each rope of cum that spilled from my aching cock.

Some of it had landed on Alison’s hair, and fuck me if that didn’t bring even more satisfaction to what I’d just done.

It would have been better if it coated her tongue or her pussy, but I’d take what I got, and right now, marking her in any way was better than her leaving without a part of me.

Before I could catch my breath, my phone buzzed in the drawer of my nightstand with an incoming call. The phone that should never ring.

As gently as I could, I pulled away from under Alison, stopping for a minute to make sure she was still sound asleep. She adjusted herself, turning around onto the other side, gracing me with the marvelous view of her naked ass in my bed.

In my bed.

Another string of buzzes pulled me out of that stare. I took the burner from the drawer, not bothering to look at the caller ID, together with a bunch of tissues to wipe myself clean.

“I thought we’d agreed you’d stay the fuck away and not bother me,” I said as I answered, tiptoeing away from my bed.

Losing her virginity must have taken a big toll on her body to still be asleep.

Or maybe she just didn’t have a heavy conscience to be in a constant fight or flight state like me, which prevented me from sleeping so soundly.

I made a point of walking all the way to the other end of the apartment, closing every door between me and Sleeping Beauty so that she couldn’t listen in on this very much unwanted conversation.

“Calm down, Fratellino,” little brother.

Vincenzo’s voice was covered in condescension, and if being torn from that bed in the middle of the damn night wasn’t bad enough, having my controlling brother breathing down my neck made it all the worse.

“I’m just calling to congratulate you on a job well done.

I see you didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity as soon as it presented itself. And with such conviction at that!”

Out of instinct, I stepped into the corner of the living room, my bare back against the cold surface of the solid walls, the shadows of the night working in my favor in this spot.

“Are you spying on me?”

My eyes racked the rest of the space, half expecting the fucker to be here, but I knew better than to believe he’d risk being caught in Battaglia territory unannounced.

“Of course I’m not,” He finally answered, pausing for effect as a little red dot flashed three times on the Pollock above the couch, the beam of the laser cutting through the living room like a bloody reminder.

“But Fabrizio is making sure you’re safe.

Besides, he says the view of your bed right now is enough incentive to be sitting out in the cold rain. ”

Fuck. He had a clean shot at Alison, too.

“That was not the agreement, Vincenzo.”

“You’ve been slacking on your reports. What did you expect me to do?”

“There was nothing to report. If your watchdog is doing his due diligence, which I don’t doubt, you know Miss Battaglia just returned today. There was nothing to fucking report. So call him off.”

“But there is now. I need to know what to count on.”

“Then I’m sorry to disappoint you, Fratello.

Brother. ” The word came out of my mouth cutting with all the disdain it held.

We were as far from loving siblings as we could get, so calling him that grated on my nerves more than ever.

“Miss Battaglia doesn’t hold the power you think she does.

Neither Don Battaglia nor Matt would start a war over her.

She’s not that important to them, not enough to threaten their precious position in the Cosa Nostra, ” I lied.

If these scars on my arms and chest could speak, they’d rat me out, call the bull in the shit that came out of my mouth.

“You’ll need to rethink your plan. This is not how you’re gonna get your army. ”

“ Cazzo . Fuck. This doesn’t make sense. Don Battaglia, and even Matt, for that matter, they are all about family.”

“Yes, their mafiosi family. We should have figured this out before. If she was of any consequence, they’d be the first to fix her with a husband that would benefit their interest. There’s a reason why she’s twenty-two, unmarried, and completely shut out of their lives.

She’s useless. We’d be safer trying to marry the mother. ”

I hadn’t planned on throwing the wrench into our agreement, but after meeting Alison, it was clear that I’d do anything to keep her safe, and right now, safe meant away from us. Away from me.

“Now, can I fucking leave?”

“No. You’re staying. You have to find a way around this. This is your duty to your family, how you pay for what you’ve done.”

What I’ve done.

Stepping aside for my father to get what he fucking deserved could hardly be regarded as action. But not doing anything when you have the power to is just as much of a decision as the opposite. And I did nothing with intention and a damn smile on my face.

“To what end?”

“Find a fucking way. We need an army if we want to keep our business and our heads. You, more than anyone else, should be the first to want Diego dead. Besides, knowledge is power, so you’re gonna be a good little Battaglia soldier and climb up the mafiosi ladder as if your life depends on it.”

I don’t need a fucking thing.

What I wanted out of this life was revenge, and I had gotten what I wanted the night my father died.

“I don’t think so. I’m done.” Staying would only end with me in a body bag. Leaving meant the same. Why postpone the inevitable?

Again, three red flashes of the laser attached to Fabrizio’s gun cut through the darkness. “Miss Battaglia just kicked off those white sheets. What a sexy little thing, isn’t she? Should we punch a new hole into that perfect body?”

All blood drained from my face.

I shouldn’t care. How did he know threatening her would keep me playing his sick little game?

“Don’t look so surprised, Fratellino ,” he hissed over the phone, making my jaw clench in anger at his gloating voice.

“I know you too well. Always needing to save the damsel in distress. If I were a shrink, I’d say that in your mind, it plays out like you’re saving your mother.

Succeed this time, Bastardo, bastard. You’re not seven anymore.

Make a man out of that pathetic little kid and do your fucking job. ”

With that, he hung up, and my fist punched a hole in the drywall.

If tonight had planted any illusions in my brain, this was the wake-up call I needed. There was only one thing that could save Alison – staying away from me.