Page 26 of The Enforcer

She didn’t think about anything but the rising tide of ecstasy that swept them up, until they were both fighting for the release instead of trying to prolong it.

When it happened, she was shocked by the sheer ferocity of it. It slammed into her hard enough to steal her breath, pulling the world out from under her until all she knew was the throbbing, blinding release that spiraled into her veins and consumed her.

She was still shaking, gasping into the curve of Tino’s neck, when he jerked under her with a choked curse in Italian. The way he held on to her and pushed his hips against hers so tightly she could feel the warm pulse of his climax inside her had Brianna hitting a second high she wasn’t expecting.

They stayed there in their steamy purgatory for a while, swept up in pleasure, clinging to each other like no one else existed, but eventually the world righted itself under her again. Making her feel the tile against her knees and the hot water against her back.

“Fuck,” Tino whispered once the two of them started to catch their breath. “Jesus, Bri. I forgot. I forgot what this was like.”

“Yeah,” she whispered against his ear, still wrapped around him. “I forgot too.” It’d been so long since sex was something nice. Since she felt loved and protected and adored in a man’s arms. She clung to him tighter, afraid he would somehow get away from her again. “I just wanna stay here forever. Let me stay here, Tino,” she pleaded, not caring if she sounded needy. “Promise me I can stay here.”

Tino forced her back, until she was staring at him, his image blurred from the tears and hazed in steam like a mirage.

“How about we finish this shower, and then I spend all night making up for lost time?” He ran a thumb over her bottom lip softly, in a caress that had her parting to him on instinct. “Sound good?”

It did sound good, so she nodded, not noticing until it was too late that he didn’t agree to forever.

He never did.

Chapter Seven

The hotel had towels folded nice and neat in the bathroom, but Tino and Brianna didn’t use them.

Instead Tino jerked the comforter off the bed, and then the two of them fell into it, still wet, a little too cold, but he didn’t bother to notice anything other than Brianna under him. Her long hair clinging to her neck, her pale skin beaded with water and prickled with goose bumps as he leaned down and sucked on one pink nipple peeking out through wet red strands.

Brianna threaded her fingers into his hair, holding him there as she arched and moaned. The sound ricocheted through Tino like lightning, because he had almost forgotten this feeling, had tried really hard not to think about it once Brianna was married, to keep himself from taking a long walk off a tall building.

On good days sex had become something that made him useful. He couldn’t love another woman. Brianna had been gone to him forever, but maybe he could make another woman feel desired, appreciated, if not adored. Beautiful, if not loved.

On bad days, he reverted to his youth, letting himself be used and hurt and abused.

Tino wished he could say there were more good days than bad, but he always had a special gift for finding women who were good at reminding him of why he was here.

As an outlet for others’ sins.

There’d been times when he’d tried to convince himself it wasn’t true. He tried to believe he was more than that, but reality usually showed up and put him in his place pretty fucking fast.

And as sick as it was, he’d come to terms with that. They could hurt him to control Nova. He could lose all sense of dignity to keep Romeo and Carina safe. They could do just about anything to him, and it was all right because he was the expendable brother.

Not smart like Nova.

Not famous like Romeo.

Not insanely talented like Carina.

He was just Tino.

But there had been one thing.

One perfect, beautiful thing that made him feel like life wasn’t quite so mean.

Brianna made Tino feel like he mattered.

He surged up and captured her lips because he couldn’t resist, not when the emotion was welling up inside him, making him feel like he might collapse under it. He cupped her face with his hands so that they were chest to chest, naked and exposed without anything between them when everything in the world had tried to keep them apart.

“Ti amo.” He said it solemnly, like the prayer of a man who was taught to appreciate sovereignty when it was in front of him. “I love you so much.”

She pushed his wet hair away from his face and stared at him with soft green eyes. “I love you too.”