Page 130 of Auctioned Innocence
The look Dante gives me is full of sympathy.
Whatever comes next will determine whether the Renaldi name survives the night.
27
DANTE
“Tell me.”
Sofia’s voice is soft, but it cuts through the rage threatening to consume me. Marco has gone to coordinate with his team, leaving us blessedly alone.
“Three families are already on board,” I say, scrolling through Mario’s intelligence. “The Torrinos, the Castellanos, and the Vitales. Lorenzo’s convinced them that your father has lost control, that the Renaldis are becoming a liability to the peace.”
She moves closer, studying the files over my shoulder. “What evidence does he have?”
“Every rescue operation we’ve run. Every time we’ve acted to protect our own.” The scope of his manipulation becomes clearer with each document. “He’s been documenting everything for years, building a case that we operate outside Council oversight.”
“Who’s supporting us?” she asks, though there’s an edge to her voice that suggests she’s already planning for the worst.
“The DeLucas stand with your family. Matteo and Mario have made that clear to anyone who’ll listen.”
Sofia’s smile turns wicked. “I’m surprised Matteo’s backing us, considering I snuck Elena right out from under his nose at the hospital. You’d think he’d hold a grudge about being outsmarted by a teenager.”
Despite everything, I can’t help but smile at her smugness. She’s still proud of that operation—and she should be. It was fucking brilliant.
Her smile fades. “And tomorrow’s meeting?”
“Is a tribunal.” I meet her eyes, seeing her process the implications. “They’re not calling an emergency session to help us—they’re calling it to strip your family of Council protection. To declare you fair game for anyone who wants revenge.”
Her hands clench into fists. “Viktor and Dominic get their war, and Lorenzo gets to watch our family burn from the inside.”
“Unless we stop him first.” I close the laptop, focusing entirely on her. “This ends tomorrow night, one way or another.”
She steps closer, her hand coming up to cup my face. “Whatever happens tomorrow, I’m not losing you.”
“You won’t,” I promise, leaning into her touch.
When she kisses me, it’s fierce and desperate—not just passion, but a declaration. That we’ll survive this. That we’ll protect what matters most.
“Sofia.” Her name is a prayer against her skin. “After tomorrow?—”
“Don’t.” She pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. “Don’t make this sound like goodbye.”
Her kiss is fiercer this time, demanding. When she pulls me toward the mattress, I follow willingly.
Her lips taste like cherries, and the way she moves them makes my brain fuzzy. She runs her fingernails down my arms but I quickly pin them down by the wrists and trace the opening of her mouth with the tip of my tongue. Sofia stifles her moan, biting down on my bottom lip.
God, that’s so fucking hot.
I groan, the sound vibrating down her neck as I drag the kiss down the column of her throat. She tilts her head back to give me more leeway and moans hard as I slip my hands under her shirt and bra and squeeze her heavy, full breasts.
Well, these are in the way.
I make quick work of her shirt and bra, tossing them onto the ground beside us before I dive back down toward her breast, latching onto her left nipple. Sofia cries out as I run my tongue over the stiff bud before sucking on it.
“You like that, don’t you?” I ask huskily as I stimulate her other nipple with my thumb.
Sofia only moans in response, her head flung back.
