Page 40 of The Prices We Pay
I wasn’t imagining it. This isn’t something I can avoid. I’ve had a taste of her, and I want it over and over again until the end of time.
This is real.
Knowing we still have an audience, I give her a few more feather-light kisses and pull away. “Do you know now?” she asks breathlessly.
“Yeah, Vita Mia. I know.” The double meaning doesn’t seem to be lost on either of us.
“Well damn, Sweetheart.” Josephine pulls away from me quickly, but when she sees Enzo jumping around like an excitable puppy, I watch her body instantly relax. “Wanna give Big Daddy or Seb a try before we get down to the nitty-gritty?”
Seb snorts out a laugh, and I pin Dante with a look. He takes my silent order and smacks Enzo across the back of the head.
“Goddamnit! Always with the hitting!”
“Yet you somehow never seem to learn,” Dante grumbles.
“Sorry, I’m funny, you big giant ogre.”
Seb nods his head in our direction and says, “Come on, Love. Let’s eat some lunch, and we’ll explain everything.”
I give her a soft kiss on the forehead before ushering her forward toward her kitchen. “No need,” she quips while grabbing the beef Pho and sliding onto a stool. “I figured most of it out while you guys were on your way over here.”
“Oh, you did, huh?” I ask, grabbing my food and sliding into the spot next to her before Enzo can steal it.
“Sure did.” She squeezes some lime into her bowl and sprinkles an outlandish amount of cilantro into it.
“Can’t wait to hear this,” Seb says to her.
“There’s just one thing I can’t quite put my finger on.”
“And what’s that, Sweetheart?”
“What were the three of you doing the night you scared the shit out of me in my office?”
“I told you, wewere—”
She points her chopsticks at me and says, “And don’t tell me paintballing. Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, Luca.”
The four of us look at one another quickly, trying to decide if we should actually tell her everything. But ultimately, I know it’s my decision.
However, considering our current situation and the skills necessary to get us out of it, it seems pertinent that she knows. Considering the woman sitting in front of us is about to become inextricably entwined in our lives, I don’t see how we could get around it.
Reading my mind like he always does, Sebastian shoots her the most adorable fucking smile he can manage before he says, “Let me sweep the apartment first.”
19
Josephine
Sebastian closes his laptop as he says, “All right. The house is clear. I didn’t find any recording devices or cameras, and all of our phones are locked down.” He hands mine back to me. “Love, I tinkered around with yours. It’s officially locked down like Fort Knox.” His bright blue eyes shine with humor as he asks, “Now, why don’t you tell us what youthinkyou know?”
I narrow my eyes at him in mock annoyance. But considering the way those dimples are out to play as he grins at me, we both know I’m not even a little annoyed right now.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Dante and Luca tagged along with Sebastian. And I’m glad they did. Having them all here, inmyhome, feels… right.
Twenty-four hours ago, I was doing everything in my power to avoid my attraction to them, but then three things happened that changed the way I viewed my feelings for them, from risks I’m not willing to take to adventures I want to dive into.
One: The series of events that happened in the hallway at Jean & Joan’s. The mix of emotions that I feel from everything that happened is a lot to pack in and of itself. But two feelings overtake them all. Fear and pleasure. Fearful of the fact that members of the Bratva know who I am. Fearful of the fact that because I work at Vittori Enterprises, my literal dream job, I’m now involved in something I shouldn’t be. And fearful of the fact that whatever is about to happen is going to come at a price. Yet, there’s so much pleasure. Pleasure over the fact that because I did my job so well—so fast—I uncovered something I shouldn’t have. Pleasure over the fact that I now know what it’s like to seean entirely different side of Lorenzo Santoro. One that went from casual and relaxed to violent and domineering at the drop of a dime. And pleasure over the fact that, had he not stopped me, I would have fucked him right there in that hallway.
Two: Luca Vittori just stormed across my apartment and kissed me. He gave me something I didn’t even know I really wanted. Something I didn’t know Ineeded. But I did. I did need it. Something about the way he felt against me made me feel desired in a way I had never experienced. Because, like me, and so much unlike Enzo, Luca wasn’t sure if what he thought he wanted was really what he wanted. He wasn’t sure if wanting to want me was in our best interests. Yet, despite all his better instincts, he took me anyway. He took me, and I’m not entirely sure I want him to ever give me back.
