Page 24 of Unrelenting (Ruthless Temptations #1)

TWENTY-TWO

Lorenzo

As I head toward Gianetta’s, I’m surprised to find a large crowd of people blocking the end of the street. Something is clearly going on, so I push to the front and come up against a barrier manned by several police officers. Farther along the street, I see several trucks and an ambulance.

“What’s going on?” I ask one of the cops.

“Fire.”

My heart lurches. “Where? Which building?”

“Gianetta’s,”

“Fuck!” I push the barrier aside.

The cop tries to hold me back, but I shove him out of the way and storm toward the restaurant. Shouts behind me tell me to stop but I have to find Lucia.

As I get closer, the scene I witness is chaotic. The fire seems to be out, but there’s debris everywhere with glass, bricks and timber spread across the sidewalk.

Firefighters stand by their trucks, their uniforms blackened and their brows swearing from their efforts in extinguishing the fire.

“Signore Volante!” Enrico Moretti, one of the many cops on our payroll strides toward me. “You must go back. They need to secure the building.”

“Was there anyone inside?”

He shakes his head and relief floods my veins. “No. Signorina Lazaro got out in time. Your brother took her away.”

I don’t know what Damiano was doing here I’m grateful he took Lucia away from here. Seeing this devastation would kill her.

“Do you know what happened?”

Enrico’s lips purse. “Someone threw an incendiary device through the front window. The fire took hold quickly.”

Nodding, I turn on my heel and stride back along the street, pushing several gawping onlookers out of my way. I head straight for Lucia’s house, assuming that’s where Damiano took her.

I take only a few minutes to get there, and my assumption is proved correct when my brother buzzes me in. I charge up the stairs, taking them two at a time, to get to Lucia’s apartment.

“Where is she?” I demand as Damiano greets me in the hallway.

“In the bedroom. She needed a moment alone.”

As much as I want to rush through there to comfort her, I need some answers first. “What happened? Why are you here?”

“I wanted to know what happened at her apartment and maybe mess with you a little.” His expression grows more serious, and he straightens his shoulders. “When I got to the restaurant, I interrupted Adriano Rossini trying to assault her.”

“What the fuck?” I will kill the bastard. “Why didn’t we know he was out?”

If I’d known Adriano Rossini had got out of prison, I’d have assigned someone to guard Lucia around the clock and not just at the restaurant’s closing time.

Damiano blows out a breath. “We’ll get to the bottom of that later. Right now, your girl needs you. He must have hit her pretty hard when she tried to fight him off. She’s got a nasty bruise on her cheek.”

My fists curl. I hate men who hurt women. When I get my hands on him, I’m going to take my time tearing him limb from limb. I take a deep breath to calm myself.

“So how did the fire start?”

“A couple of minutes after he ran off we heard the window smashing. I looked out and saw the dining room was on fire. I guess Rossini threw a petrol bomb or something.” He pats my shoulder.

“Go be with your girl. I’ll track down Rossini and play with him a little until you’re ready to put him out of his misery. ”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Giving my brother a quick hug, I head for the bedroom. When I get there, Lucia is sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes red from crying. She’s wearing a white t-shirt and black work pants. Her white jacket lies on the floor by her feet.

“ Gattina , I’m so sorry.”

She looks up at me, and I struggle to hold on to my temper. Her cheek is swollen, bruised. I sit on the bed next to her and take her hand.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“You can help me forget.”

“What do you mean?” I think she wants me to get her drunk but then she makes her intent obvious by reaching for my belt. I put my hand over hers to stop her unbuckling it. “Lucia, I don’t think this is the time.”

“It’s the perfect time,” she argues. “I need you, Lorenzo.”

Despite my reservations, I don’t stop Lucia when she gets to her feet and strips off her clothes. My cock gets hard as I allow my eyes to wander over every inch of her beautiful body. I want to grab her, throw her on the bed and fuck her senseless but I hold back. She’s running the show for now.

Lucia straddles my lap and kisses me hard. Her tongue ravages my mouth, asserting her claim on me. I try to take over, to slow the kiss, but she tangles a hand in my hair and presses her lips more firmly to mine.

Groaning with desperate need, she unfastens my pants. She trails her fingers slowly down my front and slips her hand into my jeans. She strokes my cock and I struggle to maintain control.

I raise my hips and shove my clothing out of the way. Lucia raises herself up and then slowly sinks onto my cock, taking it one inch at a time until I’m deep inside her.

Gasping in pleasure, she rocks her hips, establishing a smooth, steady rhythm. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me as she quickens her pace.

“It’s not enough.” She pulls her lips from mine. “I need more. I need you to fuck me hard.”

Lifting her with me, I get to my feet and toss her onto the bed.

She spreads her legs wide in invitation as I strip off my clothes.

I grab her ankles and tug her to the edge of the bed.

I pull her legs up around my waist and plunge deep into her delectable body.

Lucia moans as I slide in and out slowly.

“Harder, Lorenzo. I need you.”

Her plea is impossible to deny. Driving into her more ruthlessly, I yank her hips toward me to meet my thrusts. Lucia flings an arm over her face and I slap her thigh.

“Don’t hide from me,” I say harshly.

Lucia removes her arm from her face, raising it over her head. She clutches her bedsheets as she writhes in pleasure. Her mouth twists and she whimpers with a need I’m happy to satisfy. Sliding my hand between her legs, I rub her clit.

Her response is immediate. With a cry that’s half agony, half ecstasy, her legs tighten around my waist as her orgasm takes hold. I come seconds later, Lucia’s tight pussy clamping own on my cock, milking me dry.

Taking care not to hurt her, I pull out and drop onto the bed beside her. Lucia immediately snuggles close and I welcome her into my embrace.

“Are you okay, gattina ?”

I feel her nod against my chest. “That’s just what I needed.”

While I’m glad to have taken her mind off everything for a few minutes, it’s not enough. Rossini’s actions demand retribution.

“I’ll make him pay, Lucia. I swear it.”

Pushing off me, she sits up. She looks down at me with obvious disapproval. “I don’t want that, Lorenzo.”

I sigh and sit up next to her. “I can’t let him get away with this. An attack on my woman can’t go unpunished.”

“Your woman?” Her lips purse in annoyance. “So that’s what this is about, your ego?”

It’s not just a question of ego. It’s bad for business to allow someone to strike a blow at us and not retaliate.

“Lucia…”

She holds up a hand and I stop to let her speak.

“I don’t want to hear your eye for an eye bullshit or whatever you’re about to say.”

“It’s not bullshit, Lucia.” How can I make her understand? “It’s how the world works.”

She gets to her feet and grabs her t-shirt from the floor. “It’s how your world works.” She slips the white t-shirt on over her head. “And I want no part of it.”

“I know, Lucia, but I have to do something about Rossini. He hurt you.”

“That’s right, Lorenzo. He hurt me, not you.”

“It’s the same thing. You’re a part of me now. You’re mine.”

She shakes her head. “Not anymore. I want you out of here.”

I reach out for her but she backs away. “You’re upset, gattina . Let me take care of you.”

Lucia scoffs. “You think I’m being emotional, right? That I need you to step in and take charge until I feel more myself again?”

“No, I think you need some support and it’s my job to give it to you.”

“I don’t need your support, Lorenzo.” Lucia breathes in and out slowly. “I need you to leave. This thing between us is never going to work.”

“Of course it will.” I step closer and she backs away again. “It does.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’ve had a shitty day, Lorenzo. First, I had some Russian gangster in my home, then I was attacked and my restaurant firebombed and your first thought is to commit more violence.”

“My first thought was to protect you.”

Her expression hardens and my heart sinks. I’m losing her and I have no idea how to turn this situation around.

“I want you to leave, Lorenzo. We’re finished.” She turns and walks to the door to her bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower. Be gone by the time I get out.”

As she disappears into the bathroom and locks the door, I feel completely helpless. I want to kick the door down, drag her back to bed and imprison her there until she realizes where she belongs. I don’t because even I’m not that big of an asshole.

Instead, I decide to do as she asked. I dress quickly, wanting to be gone by the time she emerges from the bathroom. I’ll leave her alone for now but if she thinks I’ll give up on her this easily, she really doesn’t know me at all.