Page 12 of Destruction

“I hate to interrupt your…love fest here, but can you clarify?” Ignacio inserts himself into our conversation, earning a glare from us both. He immediately dips his head toward Lio, suddenly remembering that Lio is the Head of the Family right now.

“It was different before. Roman and I weren’t Heads of the Family. We were justus. Now there’s all these expectations. Am I supposed to be suspicious of him? Of their Family? What’s the protocol? Can I still treat him as a friend?” Words tumble from Lio, and my heart goes out to him, because yeah, this is a fucking shitty situation.

“And this is why I should have been given the position,” a new voice cuts in, icy coldness dripping off each word.

I turn in my seat and watch Luca enter. Since Ignacio left the door open, the fucker must have heard Lio. I grip the arms of the chair I’m sitting in, so I don’t do something rash—for now. Antonio files in afterwards, giving a discreet nod to Lio. He must have been able to confirm that Luca did actually fly in just now, and isn’t behind this attack—or at least not overtly.

“Luca. I’m sopleasedto see you,” Lio sneers, reminding everyone there’s no love lost between those two. “And you weren’t given the position for a damn good reason. You betrayedMaster before. I haven’t. If you want to be helpful, then you can be here. If you want to start shit, I’m sure any of the Boys would gladly escort you to the airport. Whether you’d be in one piece afterward or not, I wouldn’t give a fuck.”

Luca presses his lips together and crosses his arms as he tries to stare down Lio. He looks like a toddler who hasn’t had a nap yet. “You need me. After all,I’mnot the one who allowed Il Padrone to be kidnapped. That’s on you, as a Second.”

“Whoa! Back the fuck up, Luca,” I snarl, unwilling to let him attack our Boss. “Do you want me to list your sins from when you were in charge? Lio was kidnapped underyourcharge. Let’s not cast stones, because we’ll be here all night while I go over your fuck ups.”

Antonio laughs, trying to cover it with a cough. I thrust out my chin, waiting for Luca’s response. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll back down. Sadly, I’ve never known him to be smart.

Grumbling, Luca actually does shut up, even if he’s still glaring at Lio. I want to say something, but it’s not worth it. I don’t need to fight all of Lio’s battles. He wouldn’t appreciate it if I did, and when Lio ignores Luca, it confirms I made the right choice.

“Message Marcus. See when he’ll be here.”

“No need, Boss. I’m here,” Marcus states as he enters the office. Keegan isn’t with him, but I suspect he stayed back with their son. He gives a small nod to Luca, but that’s the warmest greeting he gets. I’d feel bad, but…no.

“Good,” Lio says as he keeps his attention on Marcus. “I need your expertise.”

Marcus nods encouragingly. There’s a reason Il Padrone nicknamed him War. Allesandro taught him strategy so well that I don’t think he can even turn it off.

“When we go into Amato territory tonight…how do I treat Roman?”

“Ah, because you’re used to hanging out as friends?” Marcus clarifies as he comes closer, stopping just behind my chair. It forces Luca back further, since he originally tried to take that position.

“Yes. I know things have changed now that we’re both Heads of the Family. But does that change our relationship or how we interact?”

Frowning, Marcus doesn’t answer right away, his eyes are unfocused as he seemingly starts thinking through the issue. Finally, he clears his throat and gives his attention to Lio.

“I would take my cues from him. But yes, things have changed. You’ll want to treat him with careful respect. Remember, you’re dealing with another Family, not your friend. However, if he chooses to react as a friend, then you can continue that way. It may start one way and transition. I’m not sure. This isn’t a situation I’ve seen before. We typically don’t…mix. Even for Families that are blood related. It’s just not done.”

“Alright.” Lio takes a bracing breath before rising. “Let’s head out. Benjamin, Marcus, Ignacio, and Luca, you’re with me. Antonio—please keep watch on everything. We’ll be back. Hopefully, with answers.”

“Of course, Boss,” Antonio says, before he stops Lio on the way out to the limo. It’s hard to hear, but I believe Antonio wishes Lio luck.I really hope we don’t need it…

Staring into my closet seems like the most insurmountable task of the day. Which is ridiculous, but after running on crisis mode all day, such a simple decision like choosing what fucking suit to wear feels impossible.

The feel of hands on my shoulders make me jump, but the familiar weight of them, paired with the whisper into my ear, helps calm my racing heart. “Shh, it’s just me, Little Prince.”

“Ten.” His name is barely a gasp, but in the closed confines of our closet, it sounds loud.

“What do you need, Roman?”

“I…I don’t know. Nothing, everything… Just…make it go away.”

He hums softly, his hands on my shoulders tightening a bit. “On your knees,” he orders softly, spinning me around.

It’s easy to comply, and is even easier to accept his half-hard cock in my mouth once he pulls it out. “That’s it. You’re going to take it all, Giocattolo. I don’t plan on stopping until I’ve had my fill of you. I’m going to take everything from you, so prepare yourself.”

I moan, the sound relaxing my throat and giving him the perfect opportunity to slide deep inside. Feeling him harden inside my mouth makes my cock throb, even as the burning stretch steals my breath and doesn’t give it back.

Yes…this…the utter lack of control I have, even over my own life, is exactly what I need. Too many decisions need to be made by me, too much control is making me feel powerless.

As Tennant grabs the back of my head, his fingers tightening in my hair and pushing me deeper onto his still-filling cock, I know he’s feeling the same way. We both need to feel in control again, and this is how we do that: me by giving it up, and him by taking mine away.

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