Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(65)

“I called Lexi,” she admitted. “After. I had to hear her voice. Gavriil told me to come home.”



Her voice was muffled against his chest, but he heard every word. He stroked caresses through her hair and stared over her head at the wall. “Maybe that would be the best, Giacinta. I could finish up here and then join you.” He wanted her safe. Out of the mess, away from Luigi and clear of the Sorbacovs. At the same time, he didn’t want to give her up. The selfish part of him that had been alone all his life didn’t want to be more than arm’s distance from her.



“Go keep a watch on Luigi,” she murmured, not relinquishing her hold on him. She leaned into him, tilted her head so she was looking up. “But first, kiss me. I’m not going anywhere. I think we have a chance of staying alive if we go after the Sorbacovs together. Certainly I have a better chance of getting close to them than you do. I’m not about to leave you now that I’ve found you.”



Casimir closed his eyes for a moment, savoring her words. I’m not about to leave you now that I’ve found you. In spite of every reason not to trust, Lissa trusted him. She trusted in them. She’d given herself to him, committing to him and that meant something to her – and everything to him.



“Kiss me, Casimir. I need to feel alive again. I’m cold inside.”



He didn’t wait. He took her mouth and poured love down her throat. The fire inside him burst through him and into her. The temperature in the room rose by several degrees but neither noticed. Her mouth was soft and perfect. So perfect. He could kiss her forever. Somehow she always took him to another realm, a place where brutal schools didn’t exist and he wasn’t a man without a soul.



He reluctantly took his mouth from hers and brushed kisses over her eyes, trailed more to her temple and then down to her chin. “Will you be all right without me? Luigi and Arturo can go to hell. We don’t need to recon tonight.”



“I’ll wait for you. He’ll make a move soon. Luigi has endless patience, but whenever a job is completed, he wants to discuss it. That’s a given. Every single time he comes out of his wing of the house and insists we go over every detail. He won’t wait long, which means whatever business he has, he’ll want to conclude it.”



“I thought you said Arturo is always with him.”



She nodded slowly. “That’s true. It’s highly unusual for Arturo to leave Luigi without a bodyguard.”



He kissed her again. Meaning it. Letting her know she was his and he would never change that. “I’m going then. I’ll be back as soon as I know where they are.”



She reached up with one hand and stroked his face with loving fingers. “I’ll be here. Don’t forget the cameras.” Just the slightest hint of amusement crept into her voice.

She was teasing him. In the middle of the biggest mess she could be in, she still found a moment for humor. He let himself smile, when all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and carry her off like a primitive caveman. He took her mouth one more time and then turned away to take care of business. Because that was what men like him did.





10



Luigi came out of his wing in the late evening two days later, looking older and shaken. His tall frame was stooped and he walked hesitantly, as if his balance was a little off, but he refused help. Lissa followed him down the hall, staying close just in case he fell. Twice he had to stop and hold on to the wall, but he didn’t speak.



He had never before waited two days to go over every detail when she had disposed of one of their primary targets. Not one single time, and Lissa couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to. He disappeared each night, driving himself, without a bodyguard, sneaking away from the wing, and heading to a building on the outskirts of town. He didn’t go to his wife and children, or to a meeting with the heads of other families. There was no war going on. He simply drove to the building, got out, unlocked the door and disappeared inside for hours.



Casimir followed Luigi two nights in a row, and her uncle always went to the same place. The doors were firmly locked and the windows blackened out with bars on them. He couldn’t hear a sound and hadn’t yet discovered a way in. Once, Arturo had walked Luigi out to his car, so clearly the bodyguard was staying in that building. Their behavior made no sense to Lissa.



She couldn’t find sleep until Casimir returned, sneaking back into her bedroom, stripping as he came to the bed, reaching for her the moment he was there, as if he couldn’t stand being away from her. As if he couldn’t wait one more second to make love to her. Every time he touched her, it felt that way, as if he was making love. Sometimes he was gentle, other times rough and crazy, but she always knew he touched her with love.