“Baby girl,” I growl into the speaker.
“Lance, oh my god. Are you okay?” she questions, her voice filled with concern for me, and it makes me smile. Even though I’m one of the worst men out there for her, she still loves me.
“I’m sorry I let you go with him,” I apologize. Shutting my eyes, I settle on my mattress and listen to her soft breaths.
“I know why you did it,” she whispers. “He told me about the deal.” This time, she sounds as scared as I feel. Nothing has ever made me fearful, not even the moment I walked into a senator’s house to kill him. Slitting his throat in front of twelve of his guests, I offered a nod and left the card from the Cavalieri on his table.
Nothing happened to me, of course, because everyone knows when the Cavalieri come for you, there’s no escape.
“You’re not angry?”
“Of course, I’m fucking angry, Lance,” she bites out, causing my need for her to burn bright. “You pushed me into the car with just a stare from you. My father could have hidden me away again.”
“He couldn’t because I made the deal before he turned up at my house.” This time, I need her to understand why I did it. “When I called him, I told him I want out. The Cavalieri mean nothing to me if I can’t have you.”
“You’re so full of shit, Lance Knight.” Giuliana’s fiery personality makes my cock hard. “We were lying in bed when you told me we’re breaking up.”
Sighing, I rake my fingers through my hair, feeling the tension dissipate when I tug the strands painfully. “I told you that so you’d go to him willingly.”
“I would never leave you willingly,” she shoots back. “I’m no longer a pawn in my father’s and your game, Lance. I’m done being a puppet.”
She’s right. I toyed with her as much as he has, and it’s not fair. I’m in awe of the woman she’s become. Strong, feisty, and so fucking beautiful.
“I love when you’re angry with me. I want you to ride my dick, baby girl.”
“This isn’t all about sex, Lance. I’m also—”
“You’re my fucking woman, and if I say I want you on my dick, then you’ll lower that pretty little cunt on it until I’m balls deep inside you,” I interrupt her, causing her breath to hitch when I admit what’s really on my mind.
“You’re—”
“Insufferable?” I chuckle. “Yeah, I know. But you love it. I can’t stop thinking about how pretty your virtue looked coated all over my cock.” I can’t help but smile when she whimpers over the line. “Am I right in saying you liked bleeding all over my dick, baby girl? Want to do it again?”
“Lance, stop.”
“Do you really want me to stop?” I taunt her, lowering my voice. I grip my dick through the boxer briefs I’m wearing as I picture her rosy cheeks, her face flushed, and her eyes wide and shimmering with lust.
“You don’t play fair,” she says, and it’s as if I can see her perfectly plump lips pouting. Jesus, they’d look good wrapped around my shaft right now.
“I’m sorry, Giuliana,” I tell her. “I’ll be home soon, and I’m taking you with me.” It’s a promise. “I k
now what I must do. There’s no denying it will be the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do, but I know I don’t have a choice. You’re mine, and I’m coming to claim you forever.”
“Are you going to finish the job Dad sent you on?” Her words fall into silence, and I think about how to answer her. “I’m not a child anymore, Lance. I know you have to kill someone.”
“My mother,” I tell her. She doesn’t respond, so I continue. “I saw her tonight. She’s . . . She’s dying anyway.”
“What?”
“I don’t know if it’s true, or if it’s Arthur playing games with me, but she told me she has AIDS.” This time, the sound Giuliana makes is far from lust-filled. She’s crying. I know she is because her sniffles are sounds I’ve heard before. And all I want to do is hold her in my arms and tell her it will be okay.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbles in between soft hiccups. I have no idea why she’s apologizing, but I’m not surprised. Giuliana Calthorpe takes after her mother — her heart is full of love and forgiveness, and her personality is one of purity and virtue.
“It’s just part of the job,” I tell her, trying to sound at ease with what I have to do, and what I just learned, but that’s one thing I could never do with Giuliana — lie to her.
“I know it’s not. This isn’t a job, not a regular one.”
“No, it’s not, and this is a man who you want in your life?” I question, hoping she’ll tell me she doesn’t love me, that I should leave her alone. I need her to push me away, but I know she’ll never do it.