Page 38 of Bittersweet Endings (Agostino Crime Family #6)

CARMINE RAGETTI

H er naked form, kneeling in front of me… It was a sight that settled something dark and primal inside me. The air in the room evaporated as I watched her follow my commands.

I sank onto the sofa, stretching out and watching her as she waited for my touch. Her instinct was to fight me, but she wouldn’t. Because she would be fighting more than just me. She’d be fighting that part of herself that craved me just as much as she loathed me.

She needed it. My touch. My approval. My attention.

And that? That was the sweetest fucking thing of all.

“Tell me, little doll.” My voice was low, edged with a roughness only she could bring out of me. “Did you get what you wanted tonight?”

She swallowed, her jaw tightening.

I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees as I ran my fingers through her hair before grabbing on to it. “No, I don’t think you did,” I murmured. “You’re still chasing something. Still fucking starving for it.”

Her breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away.

I tugged harder. “Say it.”

She wet her lips, her eyes flickering between defiance and surrender. “I…” She faltered, and I smirked.

“You want me.” I didn’t pose it as a question. It was the truth. The kind neither of us could deny.

She exhaled sharply, her body betraying her even as her mouth pressed into a stubborn line.

I let go of her hair and leaned back against the couch, spreading my legs wide in invitation. “Come here.”

She didn’t move.

“Octavia,” I warned. “You know I’m the only one who can give you what you need. What you crave. You can keep lying to yourself, or you can stop running and fucking take it.”

Her breath shuddered as she slowly crawled forward, her eyes locked on mine.

I tilted my head, my smirk widening. “That’s my girl.”

I dragged my fingers down her jaw, tracing the delicate column of her throat until I wrapped my hand around it and squeezed. The way her pulse hammered beneath my touch was fucking intoxicating.

“Look at you,” I murmured, my thumb brushing over her lips. “My perfect little doll.”

I felt the shiver that ran through her as I let my hand wander lower. Over the curves of her body, the smooth skin beneath my palm. She was always so soft for me, always melting. No matter how hard she tried to pretend otherwise.

I lifted my hand and brought it down sharply between her thighs. The sound cracked through the room, her gasp turning into a low, wanton moan. I wanted her fuckin’ panting under me .

“Fuck,” I exhaled, gripping her hips as she trembled. “That’s it, little doll. Let me hear you.”

Her nails dug into my thighs, a desperate attempt to ground herself. I didn’t want her to have control. That belonged to me. As much as she fought me for it, it had been too long since she’d felt that real part of me.

I repeated the action, watching the way she sucked in a sharp breath. The way her body jerked. Her skin was already flushed, heat radiating from the spot where I’d smacked her, but I wasn’t done. Fuckin’ far from it.

I gripped her chin, tilting her face up to mine, and her pupils dilated and her lips parted as she panted through the pleasure and pain.

“You can fight it all you want,” I murmured, dragging my thumb over her bottom lip. “But in the end, you always break for me. Now. Say it.”

She swallowed hard, her body betraying her as she pressed herself closer, seeking more. “I need you.”

The words left her mouth barely above a whisper, but they carried the weight of everything between us. I smirked, trailing my fingers along her spine. I was a madman, goddamn obsessed with the way she arched against my touch.

“That’s it. My little doll needs to come. But you’ll only do it for me, right?” I pushed her onto the sofa and quickly undressed, my dick aching.

Then I gripped her hips, my fingers digging into her flesh as I slammed into her. My cock claiming every inch of her body as mine. She gasped, her spine arching and her nails dragging down my back.

She writhed beneath me, her breath coming out in ragged pants as she tried to dictate the rhythm, tried to take what she wanted. But I wasn’t having that. I wrapped a hand around her throat, forcing her gaze to mine. She wouldn’t look away. She needed to see who owned her.

“Where do you think you’re going, little doll?” My voice told her how much I needed her too. “You were made to be mine.”

“For today,” she moaned. “F-for right now, I’m yours.”

“You’ll always be mine,” I growled.

I grazed my free hand down her stomach, between her thighs, pressing against the sensitive bundle of nerves that made her melt. Her eyes fluttered shut, her body clenching around me.

“Open your eyes.” I tightened my grip on her throat.

Her lashes fluttered, her dark gaze locking on to mine again. And, fuck, if that wasn’t the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

“That’s it,” I murmured, rolling my hips slow and deep, pulling her closer and closer to the edge. “Now, tell me. Who owns you?”

She shook her head, refusing to say it. Stubborn as always. I smirked, pressing harder, thrusting deeper. Her pleasure was making her wild, reckless.

“Say it.” My chest heaved.

“You,” she whispered, her voice breaking into a groan. “You own me.”

A wicked smile curled my lips as I watched her come undone. As I felt her body tremble and tighten around me. This moment, how she fell apart, this was why I’d become obsessed. She fit me perfectly.

“Good girl. Now come, little doll,” I said, and she shattered around me, squeezing the fuck out of my cock.

Unable to stop myself, I came too. Before I scooped her up and carried her into her bedroom. Tossing her onto the bed, where I took her again. Slower, yet harder. Sweeter, yet punishing.

And when she finally collapsed in a barely-conscious form, she relaxed. Wrapping her arms around me while seeking comfort. It was strange how perfect she fit in my hold.

Lying beside her, our bodies still slick with sweat, I tried to catch my breath. But my mind wouldn’t let me rest. I stared at the ceiling, the weight of everything pressing down on me.

“You knew I’d come for you,” I said.

She turned her head, her dark eyes steady, unwavering. “I never doubted it.”

I traced slow patterns over her bare skin. “You put yourself in danger. You could've died, Octavia,” I bit out. “Why’d you do it?”

“He deserved it.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “That doesn’t answer my fucking question.”

She sighed, rolling onto her side so she could look me in the eye. “I did it for you.”

“For. Me,” I repeated, not understanding what she meant.

She nodded. Her fingers grazing my broken knuckles.

“JP was a disease, Carmine. He had his hooks in you and he should’ve died years ago.

But all the stuff he did to you, it had an infectious hold on you.

” She inhaled deeply. “You deserved to be Capo, not him. You deserved to be more than the son of a monster. You deserved to be free of him.”

“Never do something like that again.” I gripped her face and kissed her. “You could’ve died. What if things went differently?”

She shrugged. “Rocco had eyes on me the whole time.”

I clenched my jaw, my fingers flexing against her waist as I pulled her closer. “I don’t need you throwing yourself into the fire for me.”

“You would’ve done it for me.” She didn’t hesitate. “I knew you’d come for me. And I had Rocco call my father to make sure you weren’t alone. I didn’t do this to be reckless, Carmine. I did it because...” She paused.

“Because what?”

“Why did you come to New York, Carmine?” She sounded angry all of a sudden. “Lucky would’ve helped me take down Peiro. You’ve been off fucking supermodels in Cali. Why come back?”

“Jealous?” I chuckled when she punched my ribs. “I was never going to allow that asshole to live.”

“Okay. He’s dead. Why’re you here now? You threw me away, Carmine.” A trickle of something wet landed on my chest. She was crying. “I was a pawn in your game, no matter how much I tried to control the board. So, why’re you here?”

The words I needed to say slammed into me like a bullet. Right to the chest. I stiffened, my pulse hammering, the air in the room suddenly too thick. “I never planned to let you go.”

She didn’t say a word. Just waited.

“JP saw too much. Saw you. And knew what you meant to me. That made you a liability. I couldn’t let him use you against me.”

She didn’t reply. She wanted more from me.

“I walked away so your family could keep you safe. So I wouldn’t have to put a bullet in every man who looked at you twice.

I went back like nothing had happened. Business as usual.

Dead inside. JP disappeared, and I needed him to believe I didn’t give a damn about…

” I froze. “Believe that we were done, because once I let you go, it was over. And now I’m here because he’s gone and we can fuck.

” I tried to force a smirk, but it fell flat.

“I don’t believe you.” Her tone was off. “Carmine, what’re you saying? ”

I knew what she wanted to hear, but I couldn’t give it to her. “Because you’re mine. I fucking own you.”

“Get out of my house.” She shrugged me loose, climbing off the bed. “Get the fuck out, Carmine!” she shrieked.

“The fuck?”

When I didn’t move, she hurled a lamp at me.

“Calm the fuck down, little doll.”

“No! Asshole. Get the fuck out. You got your dick wet, now go.” She walked into her bathroom and slammed the door.

My chest heaved, and my mind raced. It wasn’t easy to give her back before. And it was even harder to think about leaving without her. Matteo told me it didn’t make me weak, claiming her, so it was time she learned the truth.

I pounded on the door. She hurled some interesting curses at me, but didn’t budge. It wasn’t until I heard a soft sob coming from the other side that I finally decided to force my way in. I threw the full weight of my shoulder against the wood and felt it splinter.

“Goddamn it!” I pulled a piece of wood out of my skin and tossed it aside. “Fuck, you always make me bleed.”

“Physical pain is better than emotional agony.” She glowered at me, a satin robe hanging off her shoulders.

“I came back for you. I was never going to leave you… forever. You’re mine. Nothing is the same without you. No one fights me the way you do. No one… Fuck! You’re mine, okay, Octavia?” I shouted.

She didn’t flinch. “As I was saying before, I didn’t do this to be reckless, Carmine. I did it because...” She paused. “Because I loved you. I wanted nothing else in your way so you could decide what you wanted.”

She fucking loved me. And she said it like it was nothing, but the impact was deadly. This goddamn woman had broken me down and shredded my insides. She made me want to strangle her while I fucked her. Indenting her for the world to see how damaged she truly was and who she belonged to.

“Fuck, little doll.” I exhaled sharply, pressing my forehead against hers.

My fingers dug into her skin like I could hold her there forever. An overwhelming urge to protect and murder for her came over me. It was final. She was mine.

“You’re coming back to California with me.”

She opened her mouth, and I covered it with a hand.

“No arguments. I have a lot going on, and I can’t protect you on the other side of the country.”

She smirked, the fire not dwindling in her eyes. “I wasn’t going to fight you. I was going to ask what your family and il famiglia would have to say.”

“Well, il famiglia can get fucked. I’m already making a show of killing JP and announcing I’m his new replacement. They’ll do whatever the fuck I tell them to do.”

I held her tight against me, feeling her warmth seep into my chest like it could melt away everything. It also felt like I could breathe for the first time in a long while.

But it wasn’t enough. Tension gnawed at me, happiness coiled with something darker. Something I didn’t have the answers to. Matteo was right. It didn’t feel like a death sentence. I didn’t feel weak. Not with her.

When we returned to California, Octavia would make sure people respected her. Mario didn’t shy away from her growing up in the life. And she was a hell of a lot harder to crack than her siblings.

“Do you remember what you said to me? That day you let me go?” Octavia asked, her voice just above a whisper .

I didn’t answer her, unsure of which part she was talking about.

“How you’d hoped you’d disgraced Mario’s daughter by filling me with a bastard?”

I tightened my grip on her hair, holding her there just a little longer. “And?”

She pulled away slightly, enough to look me in the eye. “Now suddenly you want me in Cali at your side? What’s the real you, Carmine? Who do you want to be?”

“The fuck are you…?” I frowned, confused for a moment, but then I noticed something. Something small but so fucking obvious that it hit me like a punch to the gut. My eyes snapped towards the sink, and in that moment, I knew.

There, shoved behind the moisturizers, was a pregnancy test. Everything inside me stopped. I looked at her once, but her face was unreadable. All I could see was the test. I leaned over the counter to grab it, and when I held it in my hands, the words on the stick were clear. Positive.

For a second, I couldn’t move. I just stared at the piece of plastic in my hand, my heart pounding in my ears. She was watching me carefully, waiting for me to process it, and I could feel the world shift under my feet.

“Carmine,” she said again, softer this time. “You got what you wanted. You broke me in every way that counts. Left me to carry your child with nothing but your silence. Even now, when I tell you that I love you… you give me nothing in return.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. I always knew I’d have to pass down the family name. But so much shit had gone down. None of it seemed real.

Octavia stepped closer, her eyes locked on mine like a challenge.

“So now I need to know… what part of this was ever real? Am I going to California with you, or am I staying here and doing this without you?” Her voice didn’t shake.

“Because either way, Carmine… I will be fine. Don’t mistake heartbreak for weakness. ”

I’d barely even registered moving. But before I knew it, I was walking away. She was pregnant. And for a man like me, that meant something.

She didn’t say a word. She didn’t need to. I could feel it. The weight of it all, the way everything had changed in the span of a single moment.

I did that. I told her I’d hoped I’d knocked her up and made her a goddamn disgrace. A promise I’d kept but one I never really meant to make come to fruition.

Fuck, I was screwed.