A bullet wound to the skull is too merciful for a psycho fuck like him. I should have let Nicoli have him for a few hours. Let my brother torture him by slicing his flesh off with a fucking potato peeler. I’ve seen what my twin is capable of, and he would have given this fucker the slow, painful death he deserved.
But this isn’t about him or Nicoli’s twisted taste for torture. This isn’t about handing out fair judgment to a monster like Federico. This is about my wife. It’s about what’s best for her, what she needs. And the man I just shot in the head is…no, was still her father.
Blood oozes from his head, seeping into the concrete. It’s thick and vile and carries the pain of those he wronged. Of the children whose lives he ruined. Everything that’s wrong with the world is bleeding out on my goddamn floor right now.
“I would have done a much better job.” Nicoli steps in next to me, staring down at the body. “At least I would have made a show out of it.”
“Believe me, killing him with a single bullet was not my first choice either.”
“I know this was some epic moment and all,” Rome starts, “but my dad is on his way here. He knows you have Federico. Well,” he glances at the body, “had Federico.”
“Why the fuck would he walk into the lion’s den when he knows we have Federico, which also means we now know his plan?” Caelian asks, raising a brow.
Isaia scoffs. “Our uncle is ballsy. I’ll give him that.”
Rome shakes his head. “Just because you managed to snatch up this dead fucker here doesn’t mean you know anything. Plus, he has me. He knows I won’t let you touch him.”
Nicoli’s dark brows curve at the edges. “Would you?” He moves closer to Rome, sizing him up with a leveled stare. “You say you’re on our side, but if push comes to shove and foreplay turns into full-on fucking, will you save your dad when he’s staring down the barrel of my gun?”
“My dad’s made his choices,” Rome grits out.
“He’s your blood.”
“And a father who tried to make a cold-blooded killer out of me. You have no fucking idea what my father put me through, the shit he made me do before I finally managed to get the fuck away from him.” Rome inches closer, his jaw set and eyes wide. “So, to answer your question. No. I won’t save him. I won’t plead his case and ask for mercy because he wouldn’t show me the same courtesy if our roles were reversed. I came back to stop my father from ruining more lives. To fucking help you.”
Tension ripples off them in waves, and Nicoli leans closer into Rome’s face, their gazes fixed and eyes glowing with unspoken threats. Nicoli still doesn’t trust our cousin, and I don’t blame him. For a family as close as ours, it’s hard to imagine that a son would betray his father. But you can’t exactly compare Rome’s father with ours. Roberto is a scaly, sly motherfucker who doesn’t know the value of family. Makes sense for his son not to see the value either.
“Nicoli,” I snap. “Back off. Our cousin knows if he tries to save his father, we’ll bury him as well.”
Nicoli grunts, followed by a cocky smirk, before moving away from Rome. “So, what’s the plan? Are we just going to let our uncle waltz in here?”
“Security won’t allow him on the estate.” Maximo pulls out his phone, fingers gliding across the screen.
“No. Let him in when he gets here,” I say and look at Nicoli, then Caelian and Isaia. “It’s time we settle this shit once and for all. Maximo, make arrangements to get Mira and Leandra out of the house. I don’t want them here when shit goes down.”
“On it.”
I start toward the exit.
“Where are you going?” Caelian calls after me.
“Give me a few. I need to go speak with my wife.”
“Are you serious? Roberto is on his way here.”
I pivot, slapping Caelian with a glare that can incinerate stone. “I’m fully aware that there’s a war looming on my goddamn doorstep, brother, but right now, all that matters to me is to make sure Leandra is okay. The world can blow up in fucking flames around me at this very moment. I don’t give a shit. All I care about is her. So you all can manage without me for a few goddamn minutes while I go check on my wife!”
The echo of my outburst still reverberates off the walls when I turn around and stomp off. My brothers need to come to terms with the fact that the Dark Sovereign is no longer my only responsibility, just as I have. It’s no longer the only thing that defines me, and as much as I tried to fight that realization myself, it’s just the way it is. My heart has grown stronger since I fell in love with Leandra, and now it rules me. My wife trumps everything else in my life—including the family business.
I find Leandra in the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around her, waiting for the tub to fill. Leaning against the doorframe, I watch her silently for a moment. Her back is turned toward me, her long, dark hair pulled up in a messy bun. From here, I can see how tense her shoulders are, the way she pulls them up just a little. The hot steam around her licks her skin and leaves a faint sheen of moisture on her back.
My eyes trace the curve of her body. Even the fabric of the towel has wrought itself into her shape. I’m an asshole, no doubt about it. My swollen cock proves it. I’m not supposed to be hard for her while aware of her struggle because of what she just went through. But her flawless skin beckons me closer, and she sucks in a breath when I place my palms on her naked shoulders.
“Stray.”
“For so long, I’ve wondered what would have happened if I didn’t run that day,” she says softly. “I’ve spent so many nights thinking about whether I made the right choice.”
“I’ve come across some evil fuckers out there, Leandra. Trust me when I say your father was incapable of changing.” I brush my fingers along her glowing ivory skin. “If you had stayed, something far worse would have happened to you that day. And think of all the children you saved by turning your father in. Think of all the lives you protected by making that one split-second decision.”
“There’s at least comfort in that thought.”
“Are you okay?”
“I am.” She reaches up and places a hand on one of mine resting on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Right now, I can’t think of a single thing you need to thank me for.”
“You kept your promise,” she murmurs, and my heart constricts. “I know it had to be hard for you to do.”
I place a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck. “If it were up to me, I would have taken care of him myself, and you would never have had to go through this. The last thing I want is for you to hurt.”
“It doesn’t hurt.” She glances over her shoulder, her expression calm and eyes liquid. “It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s like burying my mother all over. Am I incapable of feeling grief? Am I broken?”
“No. You’re incapable of wasting your emotions on those who don’t deserve it. And that makes you strong, not broken.” I kiss the back of her head, closing my eyes, wishing there was a way to make her see inside me, to give her a glimpse of herself through my eyes. “You’re the strongest person I know, stray. Even after all you’ve been through and the cruelty the world has shown you, you haven’t lost your heart or your kindness. Your ability to forgive.”
“Maybe that’s why I don’t feel anything for my parents. I haven’t forgiven them.”
I drag my hand from her shoulder down her chest, where her heart beats beneath my palm. “They don’t deserve your forgiveness, and your heart knows it. God, I’m not even sure I deserve your forgiveness after what I’ve put you through.”
“My heart seems to think you do,” she whispers, and my entire fucking world lights up. What I did tonight was risky, but deep down, I knew she would be strong enough to handle it. I saw the wall of strength in her the day I walked into her apartment with my mutually beneficial offer—an offer that put everything in motion for us to end up here in a world where we would only ever need each other.
“I have a confession to make.” I lean into her, tracing a delicate line with the tip of my nose down the side of her neck, inhaling deeply. She smells of vanilla, and it’s an intoxicating fusion with the lavender-scented bath oil that lathers on the water.
“What is it?” She leans her head to the side, her skin gleaming under the bathroom light.
“I loved watching you go from scared and uncertain to a beautiful goddess of war.” I press my lips on her naked shoulder. “My own fucking Athena. God, you’re perfect.” I loosen the towel around her and let it drop to the floor and watch as it pools around her feet. Looking down at her naked body, I drink her in—the shape of her calves, her thighs, the firm rounds of her ass, and the tempting curve of her back. “I’m probably a sick son of a bitch for saying this,” I run a finger from the base of her spine, along every vertebra, up the middle of her back, “but you were fucking exquisite in your vengeance.”
She leans her weight back into me, her soft breaths quickening. “Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Del Rossa? After I told you to kill a monster less than an hour ago?”
I grin against her skin and snake my hand around her waist, tracing a fingertip along her belly. “It’s fucked up, I know. But you and me…we do fucked up really well.”
“I can’t argue that.” She raises her arm, reaching her hand behind my head, and sways her ass against my hard cock. “You just killed a man, and now you want to fuck me?”
My hand dips low and cups her sex. A soft moan rushes past her lips. “I want to make you come. Show you there’s pleasure in justice.” My fingertip finds her clit, and I start with soft circles, and it causes her to tremble against me. Her head drops back, resting against my chest, her delicate throat bobbing as she swallows. “Is that what you want, stray? You want me to make you feel good?”
“Yes,” she breathes, and I reach deeper into her slit, sliding my finger through her wet folds, spreading her arousal along the crease of her cunt. I kiss her neck, lapping my tongue along her flesh, tasting the sweetness of her skin. “You were fucking incredible. So strong. So fucking exquisite.” Her hips move, and I know she wants more. More of my touch. More friction. Pressure. She needs to feel good after what happened. She fucking deserves to feel good, and I’ll die a happy man knowing I’m the one who knows how to give it to her.
“Alexius?”
“Yes, baby girl?”
“Make me come, please.”
Winding an arm around her waist, I pull her closer as her legs start to tremble, clutching her tight as I find her clit again, this time working it harder and faster, teasing that bundle of nerves until her gentle breaths turn into wild whimpers.
Her wetness coats my fingers and palm, her swollen flesh warm and eager for my touch. She’s so slick and ready, the scent of her arousal fucking with my control. My cock is damn hard; I want to be inside her. I want to fuck her. I want to slam into her so hard she’ll forget how to breathe. But this isn’t about me. Not tonight. This is all about her. What she needs from me. And right now, she needs this release far more than I do.
I bend my legs slightly, reaching deeper between her thighs, finding her entrance, and sinking a finger into her.
“Oh, God,” she cries, her ass grinding against my aching cock. “I’m close.”
I groan and speed up my movements, placing more pressure against her clit, massaging harder and faster.
“Yes,” she moans. “Don’t stop.”
“I won’t stop until your pussy creams my palm, stray. I want your cum on my fingers, and then I want to watch it coat your inner thighs.”
She’s no longer holding herself up. I keep her pinned against me, loving how she leans all her weight into me while I stroke her cunt, listening to her moans fill the room.
“Come for me. And say my name while you do.”
“Hmm–mm,” she moans, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. Her pussy clenches around my finger, her body shaking as she chases the pleasure.
“My name, stray.” My voice is a dark timbre of warning, and her head lolls from side to side.
“Alexius.” Fuck, my name is a goddamn melody on her lips.
“Again.” I press hard on her clit, my fingers moving fast, working her body into a frenzy.
“Oh, God. Alexius, I’m coming.”
“That’s my girl.”
Her body goes rigid against mine, and her orgasm crests. Every muscle pulls tight as I carry her through the pleasure, erasing all the pain with euphoria. There is not a single sound in this entire goddamn world that’s as beautiful as her moans and whimpers while she comes.
“Alexius,” she says, out of breath, and I grab her waist, spinning her around as I drop to my knees, my gaze level with her smooth cunt.
“I want to see how wet you are.”
“Jesus,” she says breathlessly, steadying herself by weaving her fingers through my hair.
With my thumbs, I spread her pussy open, her clit blushing and swollen, her folds glistening with temptation. It’s fucking beautiful.
I work my fingers through her slit, opening it wide so I can see every inch of her, see her wetness cling to her thighs. “Fuck, your pussy looks delicious all coated in your cum.” I can’t stop myself. It’s too fucking tempting, so I slip my tongue through her wet pussy, lapping up her sweetness. Her taste only spins me into a frenzy, a crazed need to bury myself in her.
I reach around her and cup her ass in my palms as I eat her cunt with greedy licks, her fingers pulling at my hair.
“I need you.” She moves her hips and grinds her pussy deeper into my face. “I need you to fuck me…please.”
Abruptly, I straighten, slamming my mouth on hers, forcing her taste from my tongue to hers as she tugs and pulls at my pants, trying to free my cock. We’re swallowing each other’s moans when she pulls my dick free, wrapping her palm around my naked shaft.
A growl tears from my throat, and I hoist her into my arms, her legs wrapping around me as I carry her across the room, placing her on the bathroom countertop. Perfume bottles and bath oils fall and clang behind her. But we don’t stop. We grab and claw, kiss and bite, our primal needs pushing to the forefront and taking control.
Her hand is on my cock and lines it up with her entrance. I pull her closer to the edge, pushing forward and spearing into her.
“Oh, fuck.” Her lips part, her breath dancing like fire along my cheek. I clutch the counter’s edge with one hand, my other arm wrapped around her waist, plunging into her over and over, her body jerking against mine with every thrust. “You feel so fucking good inside me, Alexius. Don’t stop.”
“I’m not stopping, stray. Not until your body takes every drop of my cum.”
She reaches for my hand on her waist and jerks it up to her throat.
“No.” Instead of squeezing, I brush my fingers across her skin. “I’m not choking you, stray. You’re pregnant.”
“Don’t choke me. I just need to feel your hand there. Just a little. You know I like it when you fuck me rough.”
“Jesus Christ,” I curse and force her back, pinning her shoulders against the mirror, her body arched and tits bouncing while I pound into her slick cunt, all warm and tight.
“Yes!” she cries. “Like that. God, don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
Every muscle in my ass pulls taut as I fuck her with quick, incessant, wild thrusts, grinding into her.
“Can I come?”
“You better come before I do.”
With a violent shudder, her pussy walls clamp down around my cock, pulsing as her orgasm peaks. Her body tenses, her thighs squeezing my sides so hard she stalls me and fucks with my rhythm. I pull her back up, and she throws her arms around my neck as I pull her close, her body flush against mine, and I sink so deep into her that I come instantly, the pleasure bursting through my veins.
“I love you,” she mutters through panting breaths, my cock jerking, pouring my cum inside her.
“I love you, too.” I’m breathless, but I claim her mouth, willing to give my last breath just to kiss her.
My cock slips out of her, and I pull her into my arms, carrying her over to the tub, setting her down and helping her step in. I kiss her cheek as I crouch down beside her, splashing the water over her chest. To others, this strong connection I have with this woman is insanity, but to me, it’s life. It’s air. It’s the blood that keeps me alive.
I place my forehead against the side of her face, closing my eyes as her presence intoxicates me. “I want to burn down the world for you, stray. Rid it of all the monsters for you.”
“I know. And I love you for it.”
There are a few seconds of silence, enough time for reality to bleed back in and pull us out of the moment.
“I need you and Mirabella to leave.”
“What?” She pulls away, staring at me with confusion.
“Maximo is arranging for you to be taken to a safe place. Just for tonight.”
“Why? What else is happening tonight?”
I reach out, tucking a wet strand behind her ear. “Tonight, I end a war.”
