I pilot the yacht to the dock and head to the starboard side to throw the marina boy the rope.
“Don’t tie it,” I bark. “I’m heading out again right away.”
The faint tapping of small bare feet sounds behind me. I turn around and find Vasilisa standing with the laptop bag in her hands, staring at the deck.
“I called Guido. He’s coming to drive you to the house.”
She looks up, her eyes finally meeting mine. “What about you?”
I don’t reply. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pick her up and, holding her to my side, leap onto the dock.
“Put some after-sun lotion on your face when you get back. You’ve got a bit of a sunburn.” I lower her to the ground and jump back on board the yacht.
The marina boy tosses the rope to me. I coil it neatly and, without bothering to look back at Vasilisa, climb up to the flybridge and start the boat, taking it out in reverse. I last about thirty seconds before I kill the engines and turn my eyes toward the marina.
Vasilisa is still on the dock, her hair fluttering in the wind. I can’t see her eyes from this distance, but she is looking in my direction. Standing several feet away, the marina boy is staring at her. I snap. Grabbing the phone from my pocket, I dial the salivating little shit.
“Signor De Santi?”
“Keep staring at my woman one second longer,” I snarl, “and I’ll turn back to gouge your eyes from your stupid head!”
“Of course, Signor De Santi,” he wheezes.
I cut the call and cross my arms over my chest, watching my little hacker. She enjoyed being fucked by me. There was no mistaking the sweet little sounds—the moans and whimpers—she made, or how her body trembled under my touch. The way she clung to me while I pumped into her. How beautifully she unraveled in my embrace. The problem developed only once we were done. After she realized she let the monster take her.
Well, I can’t change the way I look, but I will find a way to make her see past my appearance.
She flushed my check down the toilet. Threw my flowers away. She even refused the jewelry I bought for her. Maybe it wasn’t opulent enough? I should have known better and gotten her something more expensive. A mistake I won’t repeat. No matter how good-looking, no man can compete with my power and will. And none can provide for her the way I can. I need to make her understand that.
Her attention gets snagged by an approaching vehicle. Guido parks his sports car next to the path that leads to the dock. I keep my eyes on Vasilisa as she throws one last look in my direction, then walks up to Guido and his ride. Only after she’s safely inside my brother’s pride and joy do I turn on the engines and steer the yacht back toward the cove where I saw that suspicious boat.
No stars tonight. Just a tiny sliver of moonlight that had punched its way through the clouds, not even enough to illuminate the garden below the balcony. I can barely make out the shapes of a few olive trees in the distance and the oleander shrub next to the antique water pump at the edge of the lawn. Everything else is murky, just like my feelings. I tighten my hold on the massive bath towel wrapped around me while I run my hairbrush through my still-wet hair and sigh.
What am I going to do when Rafael comes home? He still isn’t back from whatever caused him to storm out on his yacht this afternoon, and I’ve been on pins and needles for hours. Can I pretend that nothing happened between us? I don’t think I can. Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in that water again, reliving every second of it. Reproaching myself for enjoying it too much. For wanting him.
“You’ll catch a cold, Vasilisa.”
I tense.
Steps. Slow and determined, coming closer. Warmth at my back as Rafael halts just behind me. Fabric rustling, and then he puts his suit jacket over my shoulders.
“Did you put something on that sunburn?”
“Yes,” I whisper, staring at the grounds below. “Where did you go on your boat earlier?”
“I thought I spotted trespassers. But it was just dumb tourists.” His hands come to rest on the balcony railing, one on either side of me. “After, I had to drop by Messina to resolve a fuckup with a local drug gang.”
“I didn’t know you dealt in drugs.”
“I don’t. That’s what Cosa Nostra does within their part of Sicily. Here, on the east coast, there are a few small groups that deal drugs, and as long as they follow my rules, I let them be.”
“And if they don’t?”
He lets go of the railing, and his hands encircle my waist. I hold my breath, entirely tuned in to his touch as his palm glides lower, under the edge of the towel and between my legs.
“If they don’t, I personally execute the whole gang. Just like I had to do tonight.”
And there it is—one of the main reasons why I am so madly pulled toward him. No sugarcoating. No pretense. Even while keeping me here against my will, he’s treating me as an equal. I’m well aware of how the metaphorical scales stand between us—he is stronger, meaner, and holds the lives of my loved ones in his scarred hand. And yet, I’ve never felt domineered by him. He’s never made me feel inferior in any way.
“We need to talk,” I choke out while he slides his finger between my folds.
“About?” his rough voice taunts next to my ear. Then, he pushes his finger inside me.
“About today.” I grab the railing for support and widen my legs. “About this.”
A kiss lands on the side of my neck. “I’m all ears.”
He pulls his finger out only to push it back inside, deeper. His other hand slips to the inside of my thigh and drifts higher. Tremors shoot down my spine, all the way to my core, the moment his thumb finds my clit. My breathing picks up. Panting, I clutch the towel to my breasts and lean against his chest.
“What did you want to discuss, vespetta?” he prompts, upping his pace.
Yeah, what did I want to discuss? That what happened today on the yacht can never happen again, while I moan in pleasure with his finger buried inside me?
“Nothing,” I choke out as my wetness soaks his hand. “I don’t want to talk about this. Or earlier today. I just want . . .” A small whimper escapes me. What in the hell do I want?
He curls his finger and presses against a spot that makes me see stars. “You just want me to fuck you?”
