Page 14 of His Sacrifice

I leaned toward him, lapping up the drop of pre-cum on his tip before he pushed me down on the bed. I raised my hands over my head and spread my legs, wanting nothing more than to touch him, but I didn’t know what the rules were.

He didn’t hesitate to push inside me, reaching up to pin my nipple between his fingers, pinching until a tear fell from my eye. He pulled out and pushed back in again before pulling my hands to his chest, giving me the permission I needed. I ran my hand over his tattoos, enjoying the roughness of his flexing muscles. He brought my leg up over his shoulder, making his thrusts deeper.

“Enzo, please,” I moaned through labored breaths.

He pulled out and flipped me around before diving back in as I supported myself on my hands and knees.

“You…” He thrust harder this time. “Are…” He grasped my neck, cutting off my next breath. “Mine.”

I felt warmth flood through me as my orgasm hit and he grunted through his own. He had claimed me in every sense of the word. I was his. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was him collapsing on top of me, rolling to his side, and pulling me to him.

Eleven

LORENZO

I stared at Giovanni Casella before my gaze moved to the head of the Agosti family and the Romano family. He was kicking me out of the room? Had I heard him right?

“Lorenzo, you will have the information when you need it, but for now,” my father gestured at the two men by his side, “this is ours to handle.”

Clenching my teeth, I spun on my heels and left the men in the drawing room. I was his right hand and had been running things while he enjoyed his retirement. I ran my hand through my hair and grumbled when I saw Aldo at the end of the hall.

“Sent to your room?”

I shook my head and headed through the house to where I knew she’d be. I'd spent the morning, even with it being two days till Christmas, with my father discussing business matters with our allies, but as soon as it came to Serafina’s marriage, I got kicked to the curb. I guess the positive was neither Tony nor Dante were there either. They'd disappeared overnight. They knew they'd be hunted after Tony’s admission. The Rosetta family had been well respected and loved. This was a betrayal for us all.

I stepped into our personal gym, careful not to draw attention to myself. Her jabs were quick and sure as she attacked the punching bag. She wasn't even pretending to be the quiet wallflower she'd been raised to be. I watched as her kick missed and she landed on the floor.

Without thinking, I moved to help her up, surprised to see tears running down her face. When I took her hand, she jerked away.

"Don't touch me," she cried and stumbled backward. Clyde, her bodyguard, moved to come to her rescue, but I glared at him and pointed to the door. He nodded and left the room.

"Serafina?" I offered her my hand again, but she looked at me like I'd hit her. It wasn't something I liked.

She stood, wiped her cheeks, and turned back to the bag. "I'm not in the mood to fuck right now."

The urge to grab her and pin her against the wall conflicted with the one that wanted to sweep her away from all of this. I moved around to steady the bag. "Is that how you're supposed to talk to me?" She swung and missed my face by less than an inch, but I refused to flinch. I wanted to tell her it was going to be okay, but I knew, even with my heavy handedness and sadistic nature, the families negotiating for her hand could be worse.

After spending the night before last and all day yesterday with her, I hadn’t wanted to let her go. When our father got home last night, it had been one meeting after another. It didn’t stop me from sneaking into her room and watching her sleep. It wasn't the first time.

I held the bag while she beat it senseless and watched her try to keep her face composed. Her hits came faster and faster until her shoulders shook, and she fell to the ground, sobbing.

I sank next to her and pulled her into my arms, smoothing down her hair.

She cried, clutching my shirt, and I was glad we were alone. Anyone else, and she’d have been reprimanded. It wasn’t appropriate mafia princess behavior.

When she looked at me with her glistening eyes, my heart sank at her pain.

“Don’t tell Father.”

I wanted to take her away from this, but I’d be the one to hand her over to her new warden. God, how I wished I could take that position for her.

“May I be excused? I have a big day tomorrow,” Sera asked from across the table with a smile not reaching her eyes. Weddings were supposed to be something to look forward to, but she knew what this was—a business transition, no more, no less.

She’d answered all of Giovanni Casella’s questions like the good daughter she was, but I knew it was an act.

“Yes, you do.” He nodded and gestured toward the door. I watched her leave and met his glare when I turned back. “What’s going on between the two of you?” he asked as he pushed his plate away.

"You told me to watch out for her. That's what I've been doing since she was sixteen." I gave a nervous chuckle. "I'll be glad to rid myself of her." My stomach sank as I picked up my dinner knife. It was a lie, and I knew it.