Page 69 of Single Mom's Mafia Daddies

“It’s the only thing I know to do to make up for leaving you before.” I placed my palms on either side of her neck. Her pulse rampaged beneath my palms, and she sucked in a choked breath. “I left to keep you safe. That’s what I told myself. Sevenyears, Lila. Seven years I told myself you were safe because I left you behind. Now I find out they knew about you all along and were biding their time, waiting for me before they made their move. It’s maddening.”

“Leaving me again, permanently, is not the answer. Don’t run headlong into death because it makes you feel better. I need you to think bigger than that. For me and for your son.” Her cheek pressed into my wrist. “Please, Alessio. Please don’t do this to me. I lost you once, and it was the most painful thing I’d ever experienced. Don’t put me through that again. My heart can’t handle being broken a second time.”

I loved this woman so much that dying for her would be a privilege. “I’m not trying to break your heart. I’m trying to save us all.”

“And you’re trying to do it all alone. You’re not alone anymore.” She nudged me back toward the desk.

“Lila.” I whispered her name and tried to shake loose from the desire swimming between us. “I would spend the rest of my life loving you.”

“No better time to start than right now.” She untied the cord on the front of her shirt. The white lace fell open to reveal her breasts and stomach. A white skirt wrapped around her waist and trailed to her ankles. “Sit down.” She ran a hand up my chest, then down again, unbuckling my belt and lowering my zipper.

I did as she ordered, shoving my way free of my clothes on my way to the couch. It was cold as I settled in with my back deep in the cushions, and I welcomed the sensation.

Lila climbed onto my lap with the skirt bunched up around her waist. She gripped my cock with one hand and positioned me at her entrance. My fingers ached to grip her waist her thrust her onto my cock, but I stilled, basking in her sweet torture. Shelingered, poised on her knees with our bodies so close I smelled her arousal in the thick air.

“I’m claiming you as mine, Alessio, the way you once claimed me. You belong with me.”

I ran my hands along the outline of her body, remembering the night I gave her those words.

“This is mine.” She lowered herself onto me.

Her pussy’s tight embrace excited me, but nothing meant more than her words, her promise. “I’ve always been yours, Lila.”

Always. Every part of me belonged to her, but especially my heart. I’d given it to her years ago. What did a mafia lord know about love? That was the question that kept me from finding her when months turned into years and I still wanted her. I’d claimed her, commanded her, fucked her, and loved her. It had never felt like enough.Ihad never felt good enough to be with a woman like her.

Her body lifted and lowered in a slow caress. My stomach tightened, my toes curling in the carpet as we made love slowly, with the kind of quiet power that healed decades of hurt. I worked my fingers through her hair and drew her down for a kiss.

Our bodies moved to the rhythm she set. I had no desire to turn this into a power struggle or a dominating game. I let her love me, and I loved her back to the best of my ability. Our lips met in a searing kiss. She opened herself to me and gave me everything from the moment we met. I’d paid her back with heartbreak and danger.

She deserved better, but I’d be damned if I let her go again. I was already damned. My list of dark deeds stretched far too long for forgiveness. Lila brought light and laughter back to my life. She gave me a son, returning the legacy to the Cavallo name.

I cared less about that than I did their safety.

Lila stroked my shoulders and worked her hands around to grasp the back of the couch. She shifted forward slightly, changing the angle and depth of her movements, and increased her speed.

Palming her ass, I lifted her, drawing out a whimper of need that I met with a thrust of my hips. Our bodies slammed together, and she shattered, crying out into my mouth and riding my cock until I forgot everything but the feel of her love. I had no choice but to follow her example and come so hard the edges of my vision blacked out. I held her close, the echoes of our pleasure sending tiny tremors through both our bodies.

Breathing heavily, I broke off the kiss. The passion ebbed into a comfortable acceptance. “After this is over, I’m never leaving you again.” It was the best I had to offer. No promises that I wouldn’t enact my plan, only a promise that if I came back, I was hers forever.

35

LILA

Ihad to tell them the truth. It was past time that I came clean. After all our talk about trust, I continued to hide my pregnancy. I wouldn’t be able to do that much longer, and I wanted them to hear it from me.

I waited until after Leo was nearly home from school to hunt down Alessio. I found him in his office, a place he practically lived from daylight until well after dark. He looked up at my approach and a slow smile appeared. It fell quickly once he looked me over. “What’s wrong?”

There was no easy way to admit the truth, no gentle way to lead into it. “I’m pregnant.”

A thick, weighty silence spread through the room.

Alessio stood. His jaw locked tight and he strode past me without a word. The door closed with a soft click that belied his angry steps.

My stomach roiled even though I’d gotten past the worst of the morning sickness. I collapsed onto the couch where we’d made love yesterday and dropped my head into my hands. Was this the end of it all? Dread mingled with fear created a potent concoction that almost drove me to my feet and out of the house-prison. Where would I go? How would I keep Leo safe outside these four walls?

My shop wasn’t ready to re-open, but staying here was too dangerous. We needed another city, maybe another country.

Footsteps approached…more than one set.