Page 6 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Pharrell

Sleep didn’t come easy after offloading the bodies from the compound.

While I should have been exhausted enough to pass out in the spare room I’d taken as my own, I felt a restlessness that wouldn’t ease.

How the fuck had this happened?

Stasia, my wife, my partner, my friend.

She’d betrayed us all.

I never cared if she had lovers. It didn’t matter because our relationship was more than what happened in a bedroom. We were connected through mutual respect and a desire to lead our people.

Yet she abused what power she had.

I paced in my room, my mind going over everything for the last several months to see if I could find a hole in the image she crafted. Were the clues of her betrayal there all along? Had I simply looked the other way with blind trust?

It didn’t make sense.

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. I couldn’t think of a single instance in which she gave herself away. We were too busy with the attacks on our…

Shit.

What if the attacks toward us weren’t from someone else? What if my dear wife had been double crossing me for far longer than I thought?

It would explain why no one could seem to figure out how to stop the people targeting us. And how they kept getting past our men.

Were there others involved in her deception?

Did I need to filter through all my men until I found the others?

Who could I trust?

The list had dwindled to less than a handful in the last twelve hours. Dante and Preacher were on it. Yamamoto too, though I knew he and I would not be working closely in any capacity anytime soon.

And then there was Ricardo.

I trusted him too. He’d been by my side through the battle last night, taking down men while also watching my back. I returned the favor along the way, up to the point we realized my wife was missing.

After that, everything changed. My brain and body were disconnected from it all, not truly understanding what was happening until I heard the gunshot.

I didn’t fault Preacher for taking the shot. If I’d been there, I’d have done the same.

The others probably wouldn’t believe me if I said as much. They had no clue the level of hatred I had for those who crossed me.

Vengeance and I were old friends. I’d welcomed it back into my life the second I heard Stasia claiming Romano as her lover and declaring us as fools.

She was the fool.

And now she was dead.

I dropped my head back as I closed my eyes. Her eyes haunted me every time I did this, yet I couldn’t stop. I needed the stark reminder of her betrayal. Needed to know what happened wasn’t some nightmare that I’d wake up from.

Because in the end, her death was only the start. Without her, the alliance between our families would no longer hold. There would be a need for blood, a desire for retribution.

Even with the recording from Memphis, I knew I’d have a fight on my hands from her uncle and his men. They believed Stasia was an angel. She could do no wrong in their minds.

I had a feeling they’d turn this back on me somehow. They’d blame our lack of intimacy as a reason she went to find comfort somewhere else. They’d blame Romano for seducing her or some stupid shit.

We all knew such a thing wasn’t possible. No one could convince her to do anything she didn’t want to.

A knock at my door startled me from my musings. I opened it to find Ricardo standing there with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in hand.

“Figured you might need someone to talk to,” he said when I didn’t ask why he’d shown up here.

While it wasn’t the best idea, I couldn’t turn him away. My mind was already a cesspool of bad thoughts. Maybe having company would slow it down enough for me to get some sleep.

The alcohol might even help. Who knew?

I motioned for him to come in, then closed the door behind him. He didn’t look around the space or speak again until he poured us two generous servings of the liquor. I tipped mine back instantly, then held it out for more.

He raised a brow, though he went about giving me what I silently asked for.

“These rooms are nice, but they still have that museum vibe to them. Always fucking hated them.”

I hummed as if to agree. “You lived here once, correct?”

His eyes met mine. “I did. Romano felt it was important for me to be ingrained in everything from top to bottom.”

“Is that how you wound up with Dante? Because you two were close?”

Ricardo laughed harshly at my words. “No, we weren’t. He and Preacher were connected at the hip. They didn’t need anyone else around, nor did they trust them. I watched them like the outsider I was. And sometimes still am.”

I tilted my head. “You don’t appear to be an outsider anymore. Not unless you’re looking for an invitation to their bedroom.”

He spluttered out, “Not a chance.”

Curious.

“I didn’t peg you as homophobic.”

“I’m not.”

“Then what’s with that reaction? You seem pretty shocked at what I said. It would be what anyone would guess given your words and facial expressions. You seemed almost jealous of the pair.”

His sigh was loud in the quiet of the room.

“Maybe I was,” he started. “It was hard being around them when we were all younger. I just wanted to have time to be a kid, you know. To not be elbow deep in grown folk business or being sworn into the mafia. I thought they had the chance to be more their age than I did.”

“But they didn’t.”

We both knew they hadn’t. Ricardo’s hurt over the past was based on his beliefs, not what actually happened. He would need to get over it to properly fall under Dante’s rule. I had a feeling Preacher would be right by his side the entire way, and Ricardo had to accept it.

That or he’d need to leave to find somewhere else if Dante let him. I imagined the younger Romano would be more lenient than his father in some ways.

“It doesn’t matter now. They’re happy. I’m happy. All good.”

He was lying again. I could hear it plain as day.

“You’re not though.”

“Sure I am. I’m doing fine.” He sipped at his drink, his gaze leaving mine as he went about looking around the room again. For someone who hated the space, he sure stared at it a lot.

Or it could have been him not wanting to reveal anything more to me. He’d already said a lot I’m sure he never meant to.

We sat silently for a while. It was nice to have someone around, even though I hadn’t thought I would want to.

Ricardo didn’t offer me any pity, nor did he judge my reaction to Stasia’s death. He simply guided me from the room earlier. And now he was here to offer me silent company while we drank.

When I finished the second glass, I waved away his offer for more. “Too much and I’ll start taking my clothes off,” I teased.

His eyes went wide. “Because it gets too hot or something? You could take your jacket off now, man. I won’t judge you if you’re not perfectly put together.”

“I meant more in the ‘nude because I’m horny’ kind of situation. It’s best I stop before things make you uncomfortable.”

Ricardo nodded, then scooped up my empty glass and the bottle he’d brought. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair then. Hope you have a good night.”

I followed him to the door, something inside me hesitant to let him go. It was an odd sensation given we weren’t close.

Yes, I’d been attracted to the man for far too long, but that couldn’t go anywhere.

It was a secret I’d kept buried as to not let anyone pick up on my interest. His heterosexuality was written all over his expression anytime being gay or having a partner came up.

I’d watched his reactions enough to notice.

That didn’t stop me from pulling him into an awkward hug at the door before he left. “Thank you,” I whispered against his ear. Then I pressed a soft kiss to the side of his head and let him go.

He was shell-shocked enough to squeak before he turned and sped away to his room. I didn’t stand there to watch him. I was already feeling the effects of the drink in my system.

I would try to lay down for a few hours. Maybe take one of those power nap things people rant about online.

“What are you doing?” I said, my voice heavily fogged with sleep. I rubbed my eyes, fighting against the hope my vision hadn’t failed me.

Ricardo approached the end of the bed with slow, seductive movements. “I’m doing what I should have years ago.”

I watched as he stripped off his shirt and jeans. His body was a work of art, all hard lines covered in a soft layer of hair. There were a few tattoos, but I couldn’t make them out over the roaring lust I felt.

“Ricardo,” I whispered when he crawled onto the bed.

He didn’t stop at my plea. Nor did he act like my shock was warranted.

I mean, sure, I’d wanted the man for far longer than was right. It was hard not to when someone was exactly my type.

But the shock was valid since he was firmly in the ‘straight and unobtainable’ category.

With him hovering over my body in nothing but a pair of too-small boxer briefs, I suspected that I might have gotten that last part wrong. Maybe he was more versatile than I’d thought.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll repeat myself once. What are you doing here?”

Ricardo’s lips tugged up at the corners. “What does it look like I’m doing? You might be confused but your body isn’t.”

His gaze went to my cock. The damn thing was harder than it had ever been. It stood at attention, demanding someone give it relief.

As if he could hear my thoughts, Ricardo moved back until his mouth hovered over the tented sheet. Hot breaths fanned over my crown through the material, making me twitch and grip the bedding beside me so I didn’t make any rash decisions.

Though I held back from pushing for anything more, I shouldn’t have worried. Ricardo was in complete control.

He pulled the sheet back without an ounce of hesitation. His hand wrapped around my cock, gripping it firmly as he whispered, “Tell me what you like.”

I trembled beneath him, my body already far too close to coming. My ego was going to take a hit from this. There was no recovering after blowing your load so quickly.

“You. I like you. Everything you do feels good.”

I wasn’t lying to him. He was what I wanted. What I craved.

He could have done something completely ludicrous, and I’d have still been turned on in a ridiculous way. It was all I could do not to let the dominant side of me take over.

But more than I wanted to make him submit to me, I needed to see what he had in mind. What did my quiet, observant boy want from me?

He hummed, leaning closer until his mouth was hovering over my length. “I’ve been wanting this for a while. Resisting you took everything I had.”

I didn’t get a chance to reply to that news. His tongue circled my crown, stealing the words from my lips.

My head dropped back, and my hips rose without my consent. I pulled back as quickly as I could to try to stop him from gagging.

I would never have guessed what would happen next.

Instead of choking on my cock like most men who’d never given head like this would, his jaw opened, and he swallowed me down whole. As I lowered my hips to the ground, he chased me. It was like he couldn’t stand to be separated from me, even for just a second.

“Fuck,” I shouted as I felt my orgasm crash over me.

There was no time to warn him. No way to see if he’d be ok swallowing the load I was about to give him.

Ricardo’s eyes met mine as the first spurt broke free. He didn’t seem surprised by the action. If anything, his gaze became even more ravenous. He sucked and swallowed until I was writhing beneath him, too sensitive to do anything.

“That’s enough, baby,” I moaned, my fingers in his hair attempting to gently pull him away.

He sat up slowly. His tongue ran across his lips, as if he were savoring every drop.

“You’re delicious, Daddy.”

With those three words, reality came crashing down. I opened my eyes to find myself alone, covered in cum, and desperate for a reality that didn’t exist.

How the fuck was I going to face Ricardo now? And why was I dreaming about a man I couldn’t have only hours after watching my wife be eaten by wild hogs after she betrayed me?

I’d thought my head wasn’t fucked from all the years in this business. Clearly, I was wrong.