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He nodded. “While formidable adversaries, none of them alone or together hold a match to Lex Talionis.”
“Ha!” I sat up straighter. “You’re so arrogant!”
“Arrogant, how?” Again with that motherfucking smirk.
“You think your merry band of murdering Marys are the be all and end all and could never crumble against anything.”
“I never said?—”
“That if all the gangs in Westford teamed up to fight you that you’d be the victor?”
“Well, I mean, I do think?—”
“That if Haven Hart also thought you had something to do with my death they’d just sit on their thumbs and not retaliate?”
“Actually that helps my argument more because?—”
“Someone needs to knock you off your block, Vincenzo Whatever-your-middle-name-is Belini.”
He burst out laughing, and it just enraged me more. I stood from my chair and hovered above him.
“This is funny to you?”
He shook his head but continued to laugh.
“All this death surrounding me and no leads, and this is humorous to you. My life could be snuffed out in a breath, and you’re finding it funny.”
Too quickly he stood. Gone was the laughter, and in its place was fire—a raging inferno behind those dark eyes and an expression so grim, it made me want to step away.
“Never that. Your life is why I’m here and while I’ll remain here until I know it’s secure and whoever did this is six feet under.”
I had to crane my neck to see him. The heat coming off his body sparked a burst of lust in my stomach and definitely lower.
“I…”
“I’ll listen to your brattiness any day of the week, Fred. I love it. It’s your defense, and it’s stunning. I’ll even let you rip into me and try and shatter my ego and reputation, but I will never sit silent while you accuse me of being just fine with you dying.”
“I don’t…” I swallowed, willing my body to stand down. “I don’t understand why you care so much about what happens to me. You’re unstoppable. Why would my death affect you in any way?” I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been eating me up inside.
“Why are you even here, Vincenzo? If you’re so mighty and don’t really need anything or anyone, why are you risking so much just for me?”
He opened his mouth but not to answer me, no. I hadn’t even blinked before his mouth was pressed against mine. I’d thought many times what his lips would feel like. What I hadn’t expected was the realization that just one kiss would reshape my whole existence.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Vincenzo
Fred was a flavor all his own, quickly becoming an addiction I’d happily die from.
He gasped right before our mouths crashed together, and I’d have stopped if he’d pushed me away or said no. But whether he realized he was doing it or not, he gripped my open shirt and the second our tongues brushed together, he sighed and his body turned into Jell-O.
I held him close so he wouldn’t fall, and fed off his need to be touched.
When we broke away, I wasn’t sure which version of Fred I’d see. He might slap me and I’d gladly accept it. But he opened his eyes, and I was shocked to see how glassy they were.
“Don’t cry, I shouldn’t have…”
He pressed his finger to my lips, and it took everything in me to not suck it into my mouth.
