Page 7 of Saint Of Envy (Tangled Hearts, Sinful Hands #2)

LUC

I know it’s difficult for Valentina to be kept inside the hotel suite for several days in a row.

I feel bad for her, having gone from one place of confinement to another, but this time, it’s for her own safety.

So far, Leonardo hasn’t made his move, but I know it’s just a matter of time before he does.

He’s not a man who will just let this go.

He’ll come for her, or me, or all of us.

Until then, I need to make sure that Valentina stays safe.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t try to make things easier on her in the meantime.

I don’t want her thinking that I’m just like Leonardo.

So, I came up with an idea—a romantic dinner date in the hotel room to make up for both her inability to go out and for all the time that the two of us have missed together during the past several years.

“What is all this?” she asks with surprise when I arrive back at the hotel suite with my arms laden with bags.

“It’s a surprise. Go take a nice relaxing bath, and when you’re finished, the surprise will be ready.”

Valentina looks at me with suspicion, unsure of what I’m up to.

But after assuring her it’s something good to look forward to, she gives me a small peck on the cheek and then turns to go draw herself a nice bath.

Unlike Leonardo Conti’s cold estate, the luxurious and comfortable suite at the top of Vincent’s flagship hotel offers a welcome change of scenery.

And right now, I intend to make it even nicer.

After hearing the bath water stop and giving it a few minutes to make sure she will not come out and ruin the surprise, I set everything up.

In half an hour, fine dining will arrive, and I’ve already packed candles, flowers, and an expensive bottle of champagne for our romantic in-house date.

I even picked up a fine linen tablecloth and asked the hotel staff to bring up a few artificial greenery topiaries to make it look like a candlelit picnic outside.

The hotel staff delivered the topiaries, and I had already laid out the food when I heard Valentina drain the tub.

I light the candles, pour the champagne, and wait for her to emerge.

Her face, as soon as she appears at the end of the hallway and sees what I’ve done, is the best reward I could’ve asked for. Valentina’s eyes light up with surprise, and her smile spreads all the way to her high cheekbones.

“This is incredible!” she gasps as she walks toward me, still smiling. “But why did you do all of this?”

“I wanted to make up for missed time,” I say as I hand her a champagne glass that is still fizzling with tiny, popping bubbles. “And I wanted you to feel like this isn’t such a terrible place to stay in for a little while longer.”

She takes the glass and smiles.

I offer her my hand, and we both take a seat to enjoy the aesthetic that I’ve created for our nice dinner.

After a few bites of tasty food, and a few moments of enjoying the cozy, romantic atmosphere, conversation once again flows naturally between us.

It’s rather incredible how, even after all the time we spent apart, it feels like we are right back in that first moment at that first gala, as if we haven’t missed a beat.

She’s the only one in the world with whom I’m unguarded.

The only person who I can reveal my deepest thoughts and feelings, even my fears and vulnerabilities.

It’s as if the words just flow from my usually carefully constrained tongue without her even having to press me about anything.

There’s a sense of freedom between us—free to be who we truly are with each other.

And I can tell by how Valentina opens up to me as well that she feels the same way.

She’s emotionally intuitive and deeply empathetic, and the more that we talk, the more I can see a subtle boldness and courage within her that is trying to emerge.

“I wasn’t sure how I would handle all of this at first,” she says, speaking freely as we finish our dinner.

“I worried that your protective instincts that you’ve shown over me might make me feel stifled, like I did with Leonardo.

But I’ve realized that instead of feeling controlled or diminished, I feel as if I have growing agency with you.

I feel more like you, and I are a balanced partnership, as if we both see each other as equals. ”

“Of course, I see you as an equal,” I agree immediately. “Valentina, I would never try to control you. Only a weak and pathetic man feels the need to assert his power over a woman, and I respect you too much to want your possibilities diminished by anyone, including myself.”

Her smile shines brighter than all the lit candles in response to my words.

“I was afraid to be vulnerable with anyone, to embrace the idea of love,” she continues. “But being with you has made me feel like I can be an active participant in my destiny, not be controlled or contained. You see me, just like you did when we first met.”

“I’ve always seen you for what you are,” I say as we sit together beneath the flickering candlelight, as the sky outside grows darker.

“I see you as a woman with limitless potential. Kind, smart, brave, and exceptionally lovely. I'm committed to protecting you, Valentina, as I always have been, even when I haven’t been right by your side. But I will never seek to dominate you. I understand all too well what it feels like to feel powerless.”

“You?” she asks, as if my remark surprises her. “But you’re in a position of power as a consigliere to one of the most powerful mafia families in Las Vegas. You’re highly skilled and respected.”

“That might all be true,” I say with a heavy sigh. “But there are things you don’t know about me, things that no one does.”

“Like what?” Her raw and innocent question prompts me to do something I hadn’t expected to—to confront my envy and need for control over my life.

Just as I’ve tried to help push Valentina to claim her own power, I suddenly find myself in a position to confront my own flaws, and reveal something to her I’ve kept close to my chest this whole time.

I shift in my seat, smoothing my palm down the front of my suit.

I hesitate for a moment before revealing the secret that I’m not so sure I want to keep any longer.

“Would you think less of me if I told you I might not be as honorable as you think?” I say carefully.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I have been struggling with something for a long time—with a deep envy toward my cousin’s dominance over the Moretti legacy.

Vincent is Don, and I’m his consigliere, and yet I have to succumb to all of the family pressures with none of the power and glory that comes with the title that he has. ”

“I don’t think that feeling envious makes you any less honorable,” she says graciously.

“Perhaps not, but my jealousy isn’t just a feeling. I’ve acted on it as well. Although now I’m not so sure I want to go through with it.”

“What did you do?” she asks.

“Shortly after Vincent took Isla to Italy, I started a rumor, a rumor that I placed into the ears of everyone who would spread it. The rumor talked of a new Don coming to Vegas, one that planned on taking over the city and ousting Vincent’s power over it.

” I explain as I fess up the truth to her, hoping that she won’t think less of me for it.

“Then, I pretended to deliver news of the rumor to Vincent, telling him that The Saint was coming to Las Vegas. I played it up until the fictional character of the rumors I created took on a life of its own, one that had everyone conflating whispers about this new Don. But the truth is?—”

I pause for a moment before I speak words I won’t be able to take back. “The truth, Valentina, is that I am the Saint, and that I was planning on taking over.”

Instead of looking at me with disgust or disappointment, her eyes soften, and she reaches her hand out to set against my lap.

“But you didn’t do it,” she says. “And from how you sound right now, it appears you no longer want to do it.”

She’s not wrong. In truth, I regret it. Having Valentina back in my arms has made the need for power, which once plagued and then consumed me, seem much less appealing.

If I were to go through with it, I would have the title of Don, but less time to be with her.

I have more agency without that burdensome position of authority.

“That’s true,” I admit. “Ever since the night I climbed through your window, I’ve thought less and less about being a mafia boss, and more about being with you.

Since bringing you back here from Italy, I no longer want to usurp power from my cousin.

All I want is to keep you safe and to keep you in my arms.”

She smiles softly and sets her water glass down before leaning forward to whisper against my ear. “Then think no more of it, Luciano. Instead, maybe the Saint can use his power to heal us both from our past sins and let us find solace in each other’s arms.”

Those are the sweetest words I’ve ever heard, and I couldn’t possibly want anything more. I’m no saint, but Valentina is an angel. At least she is to me.

I pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her—Heaven.

Valentina presses her mouth softly against mine. When her lips part, I slide my tongue between them. Passion swirls around us, thicker than the wafts of smoke from all the lit candles, as our intimate little dinner gives way to a yearning that we have years’ worth of making up for.

I try to keep myself calm, to keep my erect cock at bay, because I want to respect Valentina and what she said before about taking things slowly. But when she grinds her ass against my lap and presses her chest against mine, it’s almost too overwhelming to bear.

“Valentina,” I say in a ragged breath. “You’re killing me.”

As if to tempt me more, she unbuttons my shirt and slides it over my shoulders. Her fingers trace over the muscles of my chest and trail down my torso and into the front of my pants. When her fingertips touch the tip of my cock, I tense and then quiver.

“I thought you said you wanted to take things slowly,” I remind her, struggling to form words when my body is hijacking the control my brain is still desperately trying to hold on to. “If you don’t stop, then I’m not sure how well I can keep things from speeding up.”

“I wanted to take things slowly,” she says as she places gentle kisses on the side of my jaw.

“But that was then, and this is now. Now, what I want is to be with you, Luciano. I want to be with you in every way possible, over and over again, until we’ve both shed our pasts and replaced them with a new beginning. ”

That’s all I need to hear before pulling her down over me and laying my back flat against the floor of the hotel suite as I slip her clothes off and toss them aside.

Since she came from the tub right before our romantic dinner, she’s wearing nothing beneath her clothes, not even the slightest pair of panties.

The sight of Valentina’s naked body above mine makes waiting any longer to have her feel unbearable.

My pants are barely off for more than a second before my cock swells to the point of pain.

I grasp her hips with both hands and pull her down onto me.

Valentina moves slowly, purposefully, as she rocks her hips and grinds her body against mine in pure, unadulterated delight.

Her delicate frame moving rhythmically over me, pleasuring herself with my cock inside of her, is the epitome of pleasure.

But when the need becomes too great, the temptation too tantalizing, I wrap my arms behind her and flip her over onto her back, thrusting deep inside of her and driving us both to the orgasm that we share at once in an explosive eruption of climactic bliss.

After a few moments of catching our breath, I stand up, lift Valentina into my arms, and carry her onto the bed. When I climb beneath the sheets next to her, I pull her against my shoulder and feel her soft breathing as she lies against my chest.

“I’ve freed myself of all seeds of envy,” I whisper to her in the dark. “Because how could I possibly be jealous of another man when I have you?”