Page 482 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Islick on some lip gloss and run my fingers through my freshly washed hair. A thumping in my chest makes my lips curl upward and I look at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Spots of pink color my cheeks as the memory of Zeno’s demanding touch sends tingles throughout my body. If I close my eyes, I can conjure up the hungry look in his eyes, and it makes me want to curl up under the covers with my vibrator. His breath fluttering against my skin, his deep-set eyes boring into me, his lips…mmm…everywhere…

A shudder ripples through me and I hug my arms around myself, letting the delicious chill command my body.

I haven’t felt this way about a guy in…well, long enough that I can’t remember the last time.

Too bad he made a beeline for the exit once the girls got back. They totally cockblocked us, dammit. I flip my hair over my shoulder as I tuck the last of my toiletries into my overnight bag. Kazimir got us our own rooms so we didn’t have to worry about getting home after our big night out.

I suspect Nico had something to do with that.

My iPhone blares and I run over to the bed, flinging myself onto it as I click to accept the FaceTime call. Speaking of the devil himself…

“Hey!” I say in a cheerful voice. “How are you?”

Nico grins at me and runs a hand through his dark, wavy hair. He’s dressed in workout clothes and it looks like he’s just come from the gym. “I wanted to see how things went last night, but I didn’t want to call too early because I figured you’d be sleeping.” He lifts an eyebrow. “You’re up earlier than I thought.”

I shrug, not wanting to divulge the fact that fantasizing about a certain sexy stranger kept me awake for most of the night, and the shred of hope that I might casually run into him again on my way out had me out of bed and in the shower almost two hours ago. “I guess I was just too excited to sleep in.”

He snickers. “The Lily I know would have been buried under the covers for the better part of the day.”

The Lily he knows also never got off while grinding against a guy in a club.

But there are always first times for everything.

I smile. “Thanks for arranging everything.”

He fakes a look of shock. “I had nothing to do with it.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Really?”

“I just wanted to make sure you had a chance to relax with your friends. The Severinovs made the arrangements.”

“They closed down the private room for my soirée.” I bite the inside of my mouth, swallowing a gleeful smile.

Thank you, Nico…

“Yeah, well, I wanted to make sure you had the place to yourselves.”

“It was amazing. And so is the suite they put me up in.”

“You deserve it, Lil. We’re all so proud of you.”

“Thanks, I’m still beside myself. I can’t believe it’s happening, just the way I planned.”

Nico’s smile fades. “I know. And I’m so happy, but I miss you, kid. We all do.”

My throat tightens. “I miss you, too,” I whisper. “But, Nico, you know I have to do this. I want to make my own way, my own future.”

He nods. “This life was never for you. You know, I still think back to that night. Jesus, Lil. We could have lost you.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “If the cops hadn’t shown up when they did, if those guys managed to get you into that van…”

“I know, but you can’t keep focusing on what could have happened. I got away from them, remember?” I say, remembering Kat’s whispered words the night before. I am stronger than I realize and I really need to remember that a little more often.

“I know,” he says slowly. “And we took care of them.”

“See? The threat is gone. Now you can move down the list of your enemies and figure out who’s next in line to battle,” I quip, trying to make him smile.

But my weak attempt at humor doesn’t work. “Do you know how conflicted I get over my work, Lil? How much I hate that I dragged Shaye into it, how much I hate that I made our kids targets, too?”

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