Page 163 of With Us

Before I could move any further, Theo rolled us so I was on my back. I wrapped my legs around his thighs and lifted my shoulders off the bed to kiss him.

Everything from the previous couple months erupted between us. The time before when I’d literally jumped on him had been fueled by frustration and anger. There was none of that. As he pushed into me, filling me and making me cry out against his lips, it was about coming back together.

I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling it when Theo’s movements slowed. His biceps flexed under my palms with his effort to hold back as he made love to me. It was beautiful, but not what I wanted.

Biting his lip again, I rocked my hips faster. I rubbed up his arms to his tense shoulders, digging my nails in and scratching across to leave my mark.

Gone was slow and tender. Moving onto his knees, Theo’s thrusts increased in power and speed as he slammed into me. One of his hands held my pelvis down, his strong thumb applying a constant and maddening pressure on my clit. His other held my cheek before moving to trail down my neck, chest, and breast.

“I’m gonna be really fucking pissed if this is only a dream,” he said, his whispered growl sending goosebumps across my skin. “And if it is, I hope like fuck I never wake up.”

“Not a dream.” My reassurance ended on a moan as he rubbed my clit faster.

“It sure fucking feels like it.”

As my thoughts went fuzzy and my body tensed as I came, I had to agree with him. It felt like the best dream ever.

Theo’s body dropped against mine, his chest hair teasing my nipples as the rough hair on his pelvis rubbed against my oversensitive clit. “Love you, Dahlia,” he grunted,one word each time he thrust in, filling me as he came. Burying his head in my neck, his nose skimmed until his mouth was against my ear. “Let me take us back to where we were. Tell me what to do,anything, and I will. Anythingbutgive you up.”

It’s all or nothing.

There’s sweet in his shadows, I just have to reach for it.

“I don’t know if I can fit into your world,” I admitted.

“You can’t.” My stomach began to sink until he continued. “And that’s good. When I come home to you, I leave all of that shit behind. I’m just Theo to you, andthat’swhat I need.” His lips brushed my neck again as he pushed into me before sliding out. “Soft after all the rough.”

“With your… other business and what you do… It’ll never change?”

“I told you, I’ll walk away.”

“I know. But what you told me you all did. Will that stuff ever change? Or get worse?”

He rolled onto his back, pulling me so my front was pushed against his side. When I lifted my head to look down at him, he reached and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I can’t promise we’ll never change direction, but I can promise we won’t devolve.”

“How do you know that?”

“You want everything?” At my nod, he sat and propped some pillows behind him so he was leaning against the headboard. I lifted, too, but he held my hand, resting it on his abs. “What we do now, with the fights, is already lucrative. I wasn’t lying when I said I have very little to do with the actual fights, but they operate under me.”

“What does that mean?”

“Remember how Amaric took over a pharmaceutical company before? Some of the board members were resistant to change, so they were replaced. Not for any reason other than they were sinking the entire company to line their pockets. In that case, I replaced them with people not associated with Amato business. Not only because there’s no Amato qualified for those positions, but because there’s nothing a pharma company can offer that we need.”

“Okay…” I drawled, trying to follow along.

“On the other side, there are companies we’ve taken over that can benefit us. Real estate, for instance. A few years ago, we took over one about to implode with the mortgage market crashing. Since owning a real estate companydoesbenefit Amato business, the fired president and chairs were replaced.”

“Do you still own the company?”

He nodded, the familiar edge in his expression growing the more he talked. “I only fire people who deserve it, and I never replace them with someone unqualified. Even if the company could be of use, there’s no point in putting one of my people in charge if they’ll just sink the place.”

“That makes sense.” I knew there must’ve been more to it all.

“The fights are the same as the real estate company. I may own the company, but I don’t have anything to do with how it’s run. The numbers are good, I get paid, and the rest is in the new president’s hands. And she lets me know which buildings are on the market and suitable for fights… And other things.”

“Like?”

His lips pressed into a tight line. “Buildings under construction can be useful…”

---