Danger (Mafia Ties #2) (2 page)

Her eyes widened, but then they rolled back in her head as I sped up and swiveled my hips. I groaned at the sensations rocketing through me. “Do you feel that, Gianna? Your pussy gripping me tight, milking me, begging me to come?”

My mouth returned to her generous tits and I alternated, taking each one in my mouth, opening wide to fit as much in as possible. My hips started a punishing rhythm and in no time, she was at the edge. Slipping a hand in between us, I pinched her clit, hard. She broke apart, and I covered her mouth with mine to swallow her screams. One last thrust and I drove in so deep, I bumped her cervix, feeling her womb welcome the hot jets of semen pouring from my cock. “Fuck!” I gritted out, trying to keep myself from shouting my release. “That’s it. Take it all Gianna. Every last drop.”

I needed her to be pregnant. I craved the sight of her swollen belly as much as the sight of my ring on her finger. I collapsed on top of her, holding my weight up on my elbows so I didn’t crush her. I touched my forehead against hers for a moment, then kissed her eyelids, her nose, and then her mouth.

She melted into the kiss for a second, then stiffened and began to push against my chest again. I sighed and levered myself up so I could look her in the face. I did not, however, pull out of her. Instead, I kept her pinned to the couch with my hips, my cock still semi-hard, sealing her entrance to keep my come inside her.

“You’re not going anywhere, mia dolce,” I growled. “You’re right where you belong, and we both know it. No matter what I do, who I am, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re mine.”

She wiggled as if to test my theory that she couldn’t get away from me, but it only served to change the angle, so I slid even deeper inside her. She bit her lip, the skin around it turning white as she held back a moan.

“Bu—but, you’re a criminal,” she stuttered quietly. She was always guileless, her thoughts and emotions clearly projected on her face. Her tone was filled with confusion, but it was less about what I am and more about her reaction to it. Or rather, her lack of reaction. She was obviously fighting against her instinct to accept me and the instincts of the good little Catholic girl she was raised to be.

“Life is not black and white, Gianna. The gray fills the vast majority, and, it’s where I live my life. I may do things that are illegal, or some would find morally questionable, but I was raised to be an honorable man and there are lines I will not cross. I also make sure none of my people cross them either. I have to lead, to be seen as strong and unbreakable. Sometimes that requires more force than others. I will always,
always
, protect you and Sophia, as well as the rest of my family.” Her eyes were searching mine as she listened intently, and I could see she was looking for something in my words to justify my actions enough that she could accept me without guilt.

I shook my head. “I am who I am, mia dolce, and I know you love me. So, stop looking for an excuse to follow your heart and just do it.” I lowered my head so our noses were almost touching. “I won’t let you go, Gianna,” I growled. “Even now, you could be carrying my baby and as soon as I can, I’ll be putting a ring on your finger, so everyone out there knows you’re mine too.”

“You can’t simply decide I’m going to marry you and start walking around referring to me as your fiancée, Nic.” Her lips firmed into a straight line, a defiant expression on her face. But, the effect had been ruined by the tiniest softening of her green eyes at the mention of having my baby.

I grinned. “Now, we both know that’s not true. Besides”—I raised an eyebrow—“what will your parents think if you’re pregnant and unmarried?”

Her jaw dropped a little, her mouth forming a round
O
of surprise. It was adorable, and I couldn’t help but kiss her cute little nose. When I pulled back, I could see the fucking guilt still lingering in her eyes and it pissed me off. However, I knew I had to tread carefully and I decided she needed to know what was truly in my heart.

“Carly was right, you know.”

Gianna’s brows furrowed and the fingers she’d had resting against my chest suddenly curled into my shirt in a possessive hold, and I had to fight a smile at the display of jealousy. I was getting another glimpse of my tigress, and it was sexy as fuck. I shifted as I began to harden again, and we both moaned. Fucking hell. I would never get enough of her.

“You are my queen. And just like the royalty on a chess board, this king needs his queen to protect him. I’ve given you my heart to guard, Gianna.”

Her beautiful green eyes filled with emotion, although there was still an air of wariness about her. I was tempted to fuck her until she admitted that she loved me, but I knew our family would be awake soon and I didn’t want anyone but me seeing Gianna this way.

I pulled out of her slowly, my erection dragging against her walls and almost convincing me to take the chance of being discovered. But, I preferred not to scar my baby girl and put her in therapy because there were some things you just couldn’t unsee.

Gianna whimpered as I left the warmth of her pussy completely. It sent tingles down my spine and I shivered. Standing, I tucked myself back in before closing her robe and retying the sash. After helping her to her feet, I grasped her chin and forced her to meet my hardened gaze.

“Unless you want to find yourself spanked until you can’t sit for a day, don’t ever answer a door like this again. I don’t care who is on the other side. This”—I slid my hands down her back and cupped her round, little ass, squeezing her closer until our bodies were melded together—“is for my eyes only. Got it, mia dolce?”

Gianna’s eyes narrowed slightly, and I thought maybe she would argue with me, but after a moment, she nodded in capitulation. I rewarded her obedience with a scorching kiss that was suddenly interrupted by the sweet sound of my daughter’s voice calling for me.

“Daddy?” There was an odd tone to her voice. She was obviously terrified about something. Gianna and I sprinted to the door and out into the hallway. Sophia was standing at the top of the stairs, and I took them two at a time to get up to her.

When I got to the last step, I jerked to a stop and yelled for Gianna to call 911. I heard her spin around and race back down the steps as I gathered my little girl in my arms and followed her path. Sophia’s bleeding nose was soaking my shirt, her head resting against my chest as she softly cried. “My head hurts, Daddy,” she sniffled.

My heart started pounding at the signs of severe hypertension and I barely felt any relief as an ambulance pulled up in front of the house. Luckily, we didn’t live far from the hospital, so we didn’t have to worry about the truck having to navigate through city traffic, slowing down our journey.

Gianna stopped at the door and told me to go, that she would get dressed, get my mother, and meet us at the hospital. I nodded, hoping my eyes conveyed my gratitude for her among the stark terror ripping through my heart.

T
he day started badly, learning that Nic was the head of a mafia family, and it only got worse when Sophia was rushed to the hospital. I’d never be able to forget the sight of her standing at the top of the stairs, deathly pale with blood leaking from her nose in a steady stream. The look of horror on Nic’s face when he screamed at me to call for help. How shattered Allegra seemed when I woke her and told her what had happened. The way my heart raced as she and I rode in the back seat of the town car which we’d found waiting at the curb, our hands gripping each other’s tightly while the only sound was the prayers Allegra muttered underneath her breath to keep her grandbaby alive. It all replayed in my head, over and over, as I wondered how long it would be before the doctors would come out and tell us what was happening with Sophia.

In the blink of an eye, my anger at Nic for keeping such a monumental secret from me seemed unimportant. The only thing which mattered was Sophia’s health and well-being. My reaction—or lack thereof—to Nic’s place in the criminal world, him calling me his fiancée, and then point blank telling me he wanted to knock me up—all of it could wait until we made it through this crisis. Nic couldn’t afford any distractions. He needed to be strong for his daughter—and so did I. She’d quickly found her way into my heart, just like her daddy had. I couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. I couldn’t fathom how Nic would go on if anything happened to his precious little girl.

Allegra and I almost hadn’t been able to get back to the exam room where Nic and Sophia had been taken, but I refused to allow a simpering nurse who couldn’t be more than a couple years older than me to keep us from them. Allegra looked on approvingly as I begged and pleaded, cajoled and threatened—and ultimately used the DeLuca name to get what I wanted.

“You will take us to my fiancé,” I growled at her, a hint of menace in my tone. “And you will do it immediately unless you want to face the wrath of the DeLuca family once she’s well. Don’t think for one moment that I’ll forget the time you’ve made us stand here when we could be back there comforting Sophia.”

“It’s fine, Sandra,” another nurse chimed in, stepping forward to intervene, her eyes wide as they darted between Allegra and me. “I’ll take Mr. DeLuca’s mother and fiancée back.”

“Fine,” the other nurse huffed, stomping away.

Sandra
. I mentally marked the name down for consideration later. I hadn’t been issuing empty threats while I’d been talking to her. The sound of Allegra’s low chuckle had me jerking my head her way.

“What?” I asked defensively.

“You’ve been hiding some fire beneath your nice girl exterior,” she answered approvingly

“She’ll need it to be married to him,” the nurse mumbled as she opened the door to a spacious exam room.

“I thought they fixed it when she had surgery two years ago. Why is she having problems now?” Nic roared at a tall dark-haired man in a white lab coat. “And why has it taken so damn long for you to figure out what’s been going on with her?”

I hurried to his side, tugging his hand into mine and jerking my head towards the exam table where Sophia lay, watching her dad and the doctor with wide, tear-filled eyes.

“Niccolo,” Allegra tsked. “You can’t blame Dr. McGowan for Sophia’s condition.”

“He’s the only one who’s here,” he grumbled.

“Because you’ve probably managed to scare everyone else away,” Allegra chided, eliciting a snort of laughter from Dr. McGowan, confirming how true her words must have been. “Remember, she’s only been seeing him for a few weeks, which is hardly enough time to get the results back from all the tests he’s run.”

“Actually,” Dr. McGowan interrupted their argument. “Most of her tests came back this morning. If you’ll stay with Sophia for a moment, I’d like to speak with her father in the hallway.”

Nic gave Sophia a gentle hug and dropped a kiss onto her forehead before following Dr. McGowan into the hallway. I followed suit, pausing to whisper in her ear. “Love you, sweetie.” Her tiny hands gripped my back as she leaned up to reach my ear. “I love you too, Anna.”

I hurried after Nic, tears streaming down my cheeks at her admission. Both men turned to me when I joined them in the hall, shutting the door behind me.

“As I was explaining to Nic, Sophia’s refractory hypertension has become unresponsive to her drug therapy. When they operated two years ago, her condition was considered improved because her blood pressure was within normotensive range.”

“And now that they aren’t?” I asked, making Dr. McGowan pause and consider me assessingly.

“You must be the Anna I’ve heard so much about from Sophia.”

He moved forward to shake my hand, and Nic tugged me closer to his side. Dr. McGowan sent him a quick grin and took a step backwards, dropping his hand to his side. It was as though he completely understood why Nic didn’t want another man in my space. Some of the tension left Nic’s body. Apparently, they were united in their caveman-ness or some such ridiculousness.

“To answer your question, Anna, I’ve recommended another surgical intervention for Sophia. Her previous surgeon performed an aortorenal bypass with a vein graft, but the conduit has since undergone aneurysmal deterioration. I’d like to go in and use the internal iliac artery as a free graft. They’ve since become preferred for aortorenal bypasses.”

I gripped Nic’s hand more tightly, most of what the doctor had said going straight over my head. I glanced up at Nic, and the blank expression on his face made me think maybe he didn’t understand any better than I did. “Could you repeat that, maybe in English this time?”

“Sorry,” he replied wryly. “Sometimes I slip into doctor-speak and forget most people have no clue what I’m talking about. Basically, the method her previous surgeon used has failed, and I want to reconstruct her renal artery using one from her pelvic region. Recent studies have shown outcomes are much better this way.”

“What are our other options?” Nic gritted out.

The grave look on Dr. McGowan’s face was answer enough, but his words confirmed it. “She needs to have this surgery, Nic.”

I moved even closer to Nic and wrapped my arm around his waist, trying to lend him what little strength I had.

“Do it,” he growled.

Dr. McGowan gave us a jerky nod. “I’ll book an OR and make sure I have the best of the best in there with me. She’ll be in good hands.”

“She’d better be.”

In that moment, I had no doubt Niccolo DeLuca was a very dangerous man. If anything happened to his precious daughter, heads would roll.

***

D
r. McGowan moved quickly, and Sophia was prepped for surgery and wheeled away from us within less than two hours. Another ninety minutes had passed, and the three of us sat in the waiting room, Allegra and I on either side of Nic. His hand was wrapped around mine, and my head was resting on his shoulder. Head bent, his eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping and Allegra worried her rosary the entire time, lips moving soundlessly in prayer. The moment Dr. McGowan entered the room with another doctor at his side, we all leapt to our feet.