Reign (The Syndicate_ Crime and Passion Book 2)(54)

She wanted me, liked me, but forever, love, I’d been less sure of, and I wouldn’t risk what we had in an attempt to get more.

But now, as she kissed me, I began to allow myself to hope. I worked her top up her hips and pushed her panties down. When I touched her hot sex, my fingers were instantly coated with her juices, proof of her attraction to me, just as her fervent kisses were proof of her urgency, her deeper feelings.

She broke the kiss and then went completely still, staring up into my eyes. “Sergei,” she sighed, and in that single word, she conjured the future I knew I wanted.

I put just enough space between us to work my pants open, and the instant I had freed my cock, I lifted her. She wrapped her legs around my waist, the warmth of her core calling me. I answered that call by thrusting up, my cock spreading her, entering her in one hard thrust.

She sighed again, wrapped her arms around my shoulders and buried her face against my neck. Surprised I could balance, I took a few steps forward, grunting at the warm tug of her pussy as she gripped me tight.

Her back against the wall, her legs wrapped around me, I pounded into her over and over again, my eyes locked on hers. She cried out and then stiffened above me, her body pulling tight and then falling loose in a fast and what felt like an intense climax, one that threatened to take me as well. But I held off, grabbed her face and stared into her eyes.

“This is real, Daniela,” I said, voice low and raspy with my effort to stave off my own orgasm. “Forever.”

And with that last word, I came inside her.





Twenty-Four





Daniela



“I’ll be back later,” Sergei said the next morning.

He kissed me hard, then gave me a smile that made my heart stutter.

“Good-bye,” I said, and then I stretched up and returned his kiss.

I stayed in bed for a while after he left, lingering, thinking. Last night had been a revelation, one that would change my entire life.

But unlike the day of our wedding, I wasn’t nervous or afraid.

I was happy.

Because I loved him. He hadn’t said the same to me, but I knew that his promise of forever suggested he did, or at least let me hope so.

Yes, I had only found him because of Santo’s machinations, but from this moment on, my life with Sergei would be one of my making, and I would devote myself to it completely.

But to do that, I needed to break up with the past.

I rose from bed, showered, and dressed in a dark purple sheath dress. My mother had loved that color.

I hadn’t been to visit her in over a year, something that I regretted. I pushed that aside though as I walked through the graveyard and found the marble mausoleum. I stepped through the short iron fence that separated her grave from the others and wiped away the thin layer of dirt that covered her picture.

The tears welled, but for the first time in this cemetery, my heart felt light.

“Thank you, Mother,” I said.

I wasn’t expecting a response, but I paused for a moment, let the feelings come. Then I continued.

“I tried to do what you would have, tried to live up to your example, but I failed. I can’t save him from himself, Mother. And now I have a chance to live my own life, maybe find some happiness. I’m sorry you never got to do that,” I said.

I wiped the picture again, let my fingers linger on it before I dropped my hand. “I’ll always be grateful for what you did for me, and I’ll always love you. But I have to do this.”

I wiped away the tears and then turned to leave.

I had another stop to make today.



* * *



Daniela

I walked up to the small porch again and again called out, “It’s me, Daddy.”

It would likely be the last time I said those words.

A moment later, Santo pulled the door open.

“Back so soon, Daniela?” he said.

I ignored him, unwilling to be goaded or distracted from my purpose. Instead I looked down the hall, watching Michael emerge. My father waved me in and then sat in his spot on the couch, Michael standing next to him.

Both of their expressions were hard, foreboding. No hint of the connection that only weeks ago I had been willing to sacrifice myself for.

“Michael. It’s just as well that you’re here,” I said.

His face quirked with surprise, as did Santo’s.

“Am I going to be a grandfather?” he said.

“Maybe one day,” I replied, choosing not to point out that Sergei would never allow him within five miles of his child.

Instead, I continued on. “Santo, out of respect I wanted to tell you this in person.”

“Go ahead. The suspense is killing me,” he said. Michael stayed silent.

“I’m with Sergei now,” I said.

I expected a reaction, but Santo’s calm was not one of them. “What does that mean?” he asked, voice not changing a bit.