Page 16 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Pharrell

Fucking Pip.

I nearly killed him the second I saw the gun he had pointed at Ricardo’s head. The urge was so strong, it took everything in me to only bark at him to stand down.

My men were worried. I could see it more now that I’d had some proper rest and watched them take in the newcomer to our group. They didn’t know what to make of Ricardo.

Neither did I.

He wasn’t as clear-cut as I thought he’d be.

I’d assumed he was straight. No one had ever indicated otherwise. But what we’d done together wasn’t all that straight in my book. The looks he kept sending my way weren’t either.

His gaze was full of heat. It was also laced with confusion.

Was I an experiment to him? Would he up and run into a woman’s arms the minute he got me out of his system?

Doubt filled me as I went over the day’s progress with Henri and Pip. Ricardo remained by my side through it all, though his eyes were taking in our operations. He was looking for something, only I wasn’t sure what.

Only once we were alone in my office did he speak up. “There are still some men who aren’t loyal to you on the floor.”

“What makes you say that?” I leaned back in my chair, letting him think I was calm when really, all I wanted was to pull him into my lap.

I wanted to hold him.

To take care of him.

Fuck everything else. I was so damn tired of never getting what I wanted.

Ricardo leaned forward against the desk. “Call it a hunch, mostly. When Pip was ready to kill me, there was glee in their eyes. Like bloodlust. Then you stepped in and told them to trust me. It was like a flip of a switch. Disgust. Anger. Hatred. It’s not all that obvious, but it’s there.”

His eyes glazed over as he spoke, like he was lost in his own world. I wondered just what he was remembering.

My first guess would be Domenico. That asshole ruled with an iron fist. I’d known him for years before his demise. I had no doubt being under his thumb made Ricardo an expert at reading people.

Sometimes it’s the greatest skill one could have when trying to survive.

“Can you keep an eye on them? Maybe let Henri know as well? He is around them more than I am, what with my need to now manage the casinos and this part of the business.”

He tilted his head. “Let me guess, she handled some of the darker parts?”

The way he said she left no guesses as to who he meant. His disdain for my dead wife was evident the further we were away from the events that went down in the compound.

How had he hidden it so well before?

If I thought back, I knew it had to be because he wasn’t around much. Even when I’d meet up with Dante for drinks or dinner, Ricardo always found a way to either stay on the edge of everything, or he’d leave early.

It was like he couldn’t stand being around me. At least, that’s what I thought.

Maybe the problem wasn’t ever me.

“She did. It was her skillset being a Bratva princess and all.”

At the mention of my former in-laws, he sneered. “She was no princess. Her uncle cares more about her in death than while she was alive, I’m sure.”

While I didn’t want to agree with him so quickly, there was no denying there was some validity to his words. Stasia’s uncle was more upset about the slight to his family at her murder than he was with wanting to keep up with her before.

Then again, they could have talked daily, and I wouldn’t have known. She kept far more secrets than I could have ever imagined.

“Enough about her. Let’s discuss your thoughts so far. You’ve seen a lot of the high points of things. What do you feel should be changed?”

The impromptu quiz was meant to distract us from the obvious tension in the room. Ricardo had managed to lean closer to me, his body practically on top of the desk. I’d also moved forward, my torso pressed against the edge.

It was that pain, that pressure, which had me pulling back. I waved a hand for him to tell me his thoughts.

Ricardo dropped into the sole chair across from me and steepled his fingers. “There isn’t much to say at this time. I need to watch it all a bit more. It’s far too early to make sure judgements.”

“Outside of the fact that I still have rats in my ranks?”

“Yes.”

“How long do you think you’ll need?”

At my question, he frowned. It was probably an intimidating look to most people.

I found it quite adorable.

“A few weeks is ideal. I really want to get into the details of everything. It’s how I’ll be able to help you best. To know even the smallest jobs means the biggest have room to manage without becoming overburdened.”

Respect.

It ran through me in waves as he spoke. There was nothing demanding in his tone. You could hear just how much he believed every word he said.

Above that, it was the timeline he’d given me. A few weeks.

We could do a lot in a few weeks. If he let me, that was. I had a feeling the moment in the tailor shop spooked him far too much. I’d have to dial it back moving forward.

“Then that’s what we’ll do. We need to get you access to the casinos. Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet with security to have all of your fingerprints and retina scans done.”

He raised a brow. “Retina scans?”

“Yes. It’s imperative for certain areas. I’m the only other person who can go there, but I trust you to not abuse the privilege.”

His grin had my cock hardening beneath my desk. I wanted to drag him over and force that gorgeous mouth to open as I fed him each and every inch.

With a shake of my head, I pushed the image away. We had work to do. I could lust after him later once I was in my bed and alone.

Days passed with Ricardo stuck to my side. He was observant in ways I’d never seen anyone else be. His eyes took in even the most minute details.

Someone was sick and needed to go home? He’d call in their replacement and have their shift changed.

A dealer using sleight of hand to trade out real chips for fakes? They’d get pulled, beaten, and thrown on their ass before I had the chance to watch the security footage.

One of our girls getting hassled by a customer? He’d have them banned and barred from every casino in town with a single email.

It was fascinating to watch how his mind worked. I’d never been more aroused.

My body was in a constant state of need. Every glance of him or whisper of his voice had my muscles locking tight as I waited for the urges to pass.

Except, they didn’t.

The desire to claim him only grew the longer we were together. Evenings had me rushing to my room just to get a few minutes of relief.

I’d immediately strip and climb into my shower. With the water running to muffle my sounds, I’d stroke my dick until the pressure became too much. Then I’d paint the walls in the proof of my desire. In the proof that I was nowhere close to getting over the need I felt for him.

He hadn’t brought up our discussion about me being his Daddy since before his fitting. Sometimes he’d look at me like he wanted to utter the moniker. His gaze would be full of longing, though I had no way of knowing exactly what he needed from me.

I could assert my dominance over him, sure. But where would that get us?

Ricardo needed to be a willing partner. He had to submit to me, to give me all his trust. There was no future together if he didn’t.

While my body warred over what we’d do about the boy who was lost and in need of our Daddy nature, my mind was enthralled with every suggestion he made to change the business. It was as if he knew exactly what I needed to keep things afloat.

Hell, he’d even found ways to bring in more revenue for both aspects of my empire.

The casinos were running better than ever. Each new change brought about bigger smiles from the staff and better income ratios from our finance department.

As for the darker side of things, even they felt a kinship with Ricardo. He didn’t just tell them what to do and sit back while they worked.

My boy dove in headfirst to assist. Whether it was moving product or cleaning up after a beating, he’d be there to help. It gave him the respect of my men far quicker than most people earned it.

Pip stood by my side one evening as I watched Ricardo and two other guys plan out the best route to bring in our next shipment of weapons. With all the stolen orders, we’d had to get creative on how things made it to us.

We also had to tighten our ranks of who knew about the plans in advance. So far, we’d only discussed theories in front of everyone. The final route would only be known to Henri, Pip, Ricardo, myself, and the driver — though that wouldn’t get to them until the day of.

“Think you should just fuck him, Boss. Would make things easier. Help you focus, yeah?”

I startled at Pip’s words. “Why? What? How did — ?”

“Easy! I’m just making a suggestion. He’s just as thirsty for it as you are. Always watching you when you aren’t looking and shit. You two are living together. Surely there’s time for a quick fuck. Wait… is it because it’s not quick? Do you need longer to get it up?”

The way his hand waved at my crotch made me snort. I covered my mouth to cover the sound, but it was too late. Several heads turned my way. Forcing a cough, I made it look like I was choking rather than amused.

Of course, Pip had to ruin it by cackling like a fucking lunatic. I wave the attention away, which works for nearly everyone.

Except there was one set of eyes that remained on me. They watched me closely, noting things I didn’t want them to see.

Ricardo took far too long to go back to what he was doing. By the time he looked away, I felt flayed open, like he’d stripped me bare and read every desire I had.

Question was, would he do anything about it, or would he continue to leave me pining like the lovesick Daddy I’d become?