Page 37 of Brutal Heir (Ruthless Heirs #3)

WHOLE

A lessandro

Pacing around the master bedroom like a caged animal, I hiss out another volley of Italian expletives, cursing out the entire staff at the Velvet Vault and everyone they’ve ever known. How the fuck did Jace Morello manage to slip through my fingertips last night?

One minute he was threatening Sienna on the VIP level and the next, he’d jumped over the railing, dropped into the middle of the dancefloor and disappeared in the masses while my security team just sat there holding their dicks in their hands.

At least Matteo had been able to give us a positive ID on the man. Jace Morello is a rising enforcer in La Spada Nera, a brutal Brooklyn-based gang known for extortion, underground fight clubs, and trafficking.

All in all, a hell of a guy.

I’m familiar with the up-and-coming gang who’d been trying to edge in on the Gemini’s territory for a while now, specifically into the nightclubs and bars.

Their leader, Vincenzo Carbone, was a former Gemini foot soldier who went rogue.

Up until now, they were insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but if they sent Morello in here, it’s clear they’re trying to raise the stakes.

But what is their end game?

If I hadn’t been so worried about getting Rory out of there last night, I would have stayed to question Sienna myself.

Instead, I left her interrogation up to Vincent.

And the incompetent bastardo still hasn’t gotten back to me with what he discovered.

What sort of trouble had she gotten herself into?

Sienna has been waitressing at the Vault for almost two years now and has been nothing but hard-working, not to mention loyal.

How could she be the one behind the theft and the murder?

“Alessandro?” A soft knock at the adjoining door sends my head whirling over my shoulder.

“What?” I bark.

Rory opens the door, her wild auburn locks piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Soft tendrils fall across her face, completing the sexy, sleep-tousled look. Merda , I was so pissed off about losing Jace last night, I nearly forgot how close I’d come to finally claiming Rory as mine.

Dio , if she hadn’t seen Sienna and Jace skulking in the shadows of the VIP floor, I could have spent the night fucking the woman I was crazy about instead of wallowing in anger and self-pity.

“Did you find out who that guy was?”

I nod.

“Are you going to tell me?”

“It’s probably best if I don’t.”

She looks as if she’s going to argue, insist I tell her the truth. And maybe I should. She deserves to know what she’s getting into with me. Just when I make up my mind to explain, her mouth opens.

“Fine, then are you done throwing your own pity party?” A devious smirk curls her lips and just like that the anger begins to wane.

“On the contrary, I was hoping you’d join in.” I erase the distance between us in two long strides, eating up the sight of her in those skimpy pjs that drive me absolutely wild.

Her breath hitches when I reach her, and instead of taking her in my arms like I’d planned, I find myself pausing.

Waiting. What if last night had been a fluke?

What if she blames it on—on what, I don’t know.

We hadn’t even been drinking. But what if she realizes what a mistake it was and how unworthy I am of her…

The doubts creep in, one by one, tearing at my insides until I’m no longer the king of the Velvet Vault. Instead, I’m that scarred, broken, shell of a man that woke up in the hospital in Milano.

So I just stand there, frozen, like a coglione .

Her fiery gaze lifts to mine, one brow arching in a questioning glance. “Well, are you going to kiss me, Rossi, or just stand there?”

My heart kicks at my ribs in a desperate attempt to get my stupid mouth to open.

“Because if I have one more night to think on all the reasons why getting involved with you is a terrible idea, this might never happen.”

My heart doesn’t just kick this time, it punches through my ribcage and lands right at her bare feet.

Rory Delaney. Standing in front of me in a tank top that hugs her curves like it was made just to torment me, shorts that might as well be painted on, and eyes that are daring me to make a move.

All thoughts of the Velvet Vault, Sienna, the theft, and La Spada Nera fly right out of my mind.

I inch closer so that our mouths are a heartbeat away. “You sure you’re ready for this, Red?” I rasp, my voice low and beyond wrecked.

Her chin tilts up, defiant. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

That’s all I need.

I seal my mouth to hers, swallowing her gasp as I back her toward the bed, devouring her lips like a starved man.

My hands are on her hips, then her waist, then up under her top, palming soft skin I’ve only dreamed about.

A soft gasp purses her lips as I find her breast. Cazzo , no bra.

Heat spills south as I toy with her nipple, and I can feel myself thickening.

She pulls me closer so that our bodies are flush, fingers diving into my hair, tugging with that same boldness I’ve come to crave from her.

Her palm slides down between us, petite hand curling around my cock over my boxers. Then those sparkling emerald orbs lift to mine, wicked heat sparking. “You’re not exactly lacking in the massive erection department.”

I hiss out a curse or maybe it’s a prayer. Because Dio knows I’m not a good man, so what did I do to deserve this woman?

When we reach the edge of the bed, it’s a flurry of movement, a tangle of limbs and tongues, of clothes torn off, and ragged breaths. She stands before me a perfect porcelain canvas dabbled in freckles, my tiny tyrant, my wildling, my little leprechaun. All mine .

“ Dio , you’re breathtaking, Rory, like you were made just for me, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve you.”

Merda , I hadn’t meant for that last part to slip out. Too much?

Her heated gaze rakes over me, and it takes all my restraint not to squirm, not to cover my scars beneath that piercing scrutiny. She’s seen me naked time and again, but never like this.

I wait for the hesitation, for her to race out of the room at the raw declaration, at the map of scars that mar my body. Instead, she only draws closer, rising on her tiptoes to frame my face with those small, powerful hands.

“You already deserve me, Rossi. Or else I wouldn’t be giving myself to you.”

With a ridiculous smile, I ease her onto the mattress and crawl over her.

My gaze chases to the tattoo along her ribcage, and I pause.

It has to mean something. Something big.

I only hope that one day she’ll tell me.

As I trace the lines of the frilly script, her legs part for me without hesitation, like I already belong there.

She doesn’t seem afraid. Not of my scars.

Not of what I am. Not even of what this could become.

And for one breathtaking moment, she’s all I see, all I am. It’s not about the scars or the wreckage. I see myself the way she does. Just a man. Hers.

With my arms caging her in, I kiss down her jaw, then her throat. As I lick across her soft skin, she trembles, but not with fear, with anticipation. Need.

I drag my mouth back to hers, slower now, savoring every second, every sound she makes. “You terrify me,” I whisper against her lips.

“Good,” she breathes. “That makes two of us.”

Okay, maybe I was wrong about the scared part.

Then there’s no more talking. Just her skin on mine as I move over her, hands eager to explore every inch. Her breath mingling between us as I devour her lips.

Then a quiet gasp when I slip my hand between her legs and find her soaking wet for me.

A groan parts my lips as I run my finger across her slick heat. “Mmm, Red, you have no idea what you do to me. Only you.” My cock is heavy against her thigh, and a desperate tangle of excitement and terror ravages my chest.

What if I can’t…

I start to slide down her body, resorting to what I know I do best. I’ll have her coming on my tongue in no time. But her hands curl around my face, forcing my eyes to hers.

“Uh, uh, Rossi. I want your mouth up here this time.”

“But…”

She shakes her head, then captures my lips. And as if she’s read my innermost thoughts, her fingers curl around my cock, positioning it at her entrance.

Fear claws at me.

But then she moves, and all that’s left is heat and her. She rocks her hips, and a groan vibrates my throat as she glides my throbbing head across her wetness, the sound echoed from the lips of the beautiful woman beneath me. Just like that the dread, the anxiety vanishes.

With a reassuring smile, she releases me, and I take over. Sliding my cock through her wet folds, the building heat intensifies with every pass. Dio , I’m not even inside her yet, and I’m ready to explode.

Rory’s right. I can do this. More than that, there’s nothing I want more in this world than to fuck this woman and claim her as mine.

“Are you on the pill?” I rasp out. Oh, please say yes . All I want is to feel her pussy wrapped around my bare cock.

“I never would have let you get this far if I wasn’t, McFecker.” Her voice is rough, laced with as much desire as my own.

“Good.” A grin parts my lips.

Her arms wind around my waist, hands curving over my ass. She drives me closer, the tip of my head sinking into her sweetness. The unspoken command is clear.

My tiny tyrant wants me inside her, and I have every intention of obeying.

So I thrust my hips and sink into her pussy.

And everything stops. My heart. My lungs. My brain.

All I know is sensation. The incredible feel of her wrapped around me. So wet, so warm, so perfect.

“Alessandro…” My name on her lips is everything.

Our eyes meet, and a ragged moan splinters the moment of pure perfection, the melody of both our shattered breaths coming out as one.

Instinctively, my hips begin to move, slowly gliding out of her before thrusting all the way in. And in. Again and again. Until the lines between us blur, and I forget where her heartbeat ends and mine begins.

This time, there are no interruptions. No secrets.

Just two scarred souls finding solace in the wreckage of each other. And for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel broken. I feel whole.

Because I’m not surviving this life anymore.

I’m living it.

With her.