When He Takes: A Dark Mafia Romance (Fallen God Book 2)

Rafe drops me off at home and tells me to call him if I need anything.

I check my phone. No missed calls since Alessio this morning. Not even an angry phone call from Gino. I wonder how he reacted when Alessio told him I didn’t show up. Maybe he’s cutting me some slack because my wife got shot during a mission he sent us on, but I’m not under any fucking illusions.

He’ll expect me back on duty soon. Tomorrow, or the next day.

But not tonight.

With a groan, I sink into the sofa. I’ve drunk enough today, but the itch is still there. The whiskey bottle glares at me from across the room, daring me.

I try to resist. I really do. But after a few minutes, I give in and pour myself another glass. I take a long swig. I want the burn to chase away the edges of despair gnawing at my insides, but it doesn’t work. The alcohol doesn’t numb me the way it used to. The pain is still there, sharp and unyielding.

As I lift the glass to my lips again, Rafe’s words echo in my mind.

“You pushed her away prematurely in case she chose to leave. You probably thought it’d make your pain easier to handle—which is bullshit, by the way.’

I lower the glass and stare at the oscillating liquid. Was I really that fucking blind? Blake had been trying to tell me something, something I’d dismissed because I couldn’t—or wouldn’t—face it.

She’d been afraid of what she was becoming—afraid that loving me, being with me, was changing her into someone she didn’t recognize. And instead of facing that fear with her, I let her face it alone.

The thought slices through me like a blade.

I grab the remote and turn on the stereo, desperate for anything to drown out my thoughts. A few taps on my phone, and Dummy by Portishead streams through the speakers. It’s an album that always takes me places. I hope it’ll take me far away from here, because if my thoughts keep spiraling, I’m going to go after Blake, and I can’t do that.

I can’t undo the decision she made for herself, no matter how much it fucking hurts.

My body melts into the sofa, and my eyes drift shut. I’m more tired than I realized, because soon, sleep tugs at me.

In my dream, I’m at a restaurant having a good meal with Rafe, Sandro, and some of the other guys. We’re shooting the shit. The servers bring out the food, and it’s decadent. Perfectly cooked steak, crispy potatoes, sautéed wild mushrooms… They keep placing side dishes until there’s no space left on the table.

The food’s good, but the conversation’s better. We weave from one topic to the next, cracking jokes and busting each other’s chops. I’m electric, in my element, among my people.

A lightness fills my chest. This is what I used to love so much. The feeling of brotherhood. Of belonging.

We’re men who do bad things, but we also know how to be good to each other.

Light and dark. Yin and yang.

Suddenly, Rafe and the guys disappear in a swirl of smoke, and when the smoke dissipates, it’s her I see.

Blake stands in front of the table, her body poured into a stunning midnight-blue dress.

“Glory Box” comes on, the first few soulful notes resonating through the restaurant.

I reach for the glass of whiskey I’ve got in front of me and lift it to my lips. “I hate my own mind sometimes.”

She slides into the booth beside me. “Why’s that?”

“It won’t let me forget you, even in my dreams.”

Her hands come up to my chest. “Your dreams?”

“You’re a dream. A beautiful dream. But when I wake up, you’ll be gone.”

She steals the whiskey from my hand and presses her lips against the same spot mine just touched. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I cup her jaw. She feels so damn real in my hands. “Goddamn it,” I whisper. “Do you think I’m strong enough to withstand this? To have you here whenever I close my eyes? Taunting me with your beauty, your wit, your perfectly pink lips…”

She exhales a harsh breath.

I drop my hand and take my glass back from her. “I didn’t think you were so cruel.”

“Wake up.”

I swing my head from side to side. “No.”

“If I’m a dream, when you open your eyes, you won’t see me anymore.”

My chest heaves. She’s right. All I have to do is open my eyes…and see that she’s not really here…

I huff a defeated chuckle. “Never mind, then. There is no peace for me, not here, and not there. If I have to choose my purgatory, I may as well stay in the one that has you in it.”

The music stops.

My eyes snap open. “Hey—“

The living room comes into focus. I’m still on the sofa.

And Blake—the real Blake—is sitting beside me.

My heart skips a beat.

“Sunshine,” I breathe. “You came back.”

She smiles, her eyes glistening. “I did. I couldn’t get on that plane. I couldn’t leave you.”

I blink. And she’s still here. Warm and real. “Why?”

She climbs onto my lap and wraps her arms around my neck. “Because I realized something. A truth I’ve been fighting against ever since I was a kid. I’ve spent my life putting people into two boxes—good or bad—and it wasn’t until you that I realized people aren’t that simple. No one is. Not even me.”

I brush her golden hair away from her face. “That’s true, there’s nothing simple about you. Trying to fit you into a box would be like trying to contain all the beauty of the universe inside a single glass jar.”

Her teeth dig into her bottom lip. “Let me finish before you make me cry.”

A smile tugs on my lips. “I’m sorry. I’ll shut up.”

She takes a deep breath. “I never told you this, but I forgave you for what happened in Darkwater Hollow a while ago. I’ve learned to trust you again. And I’ve fallen for you. Again.”

For a moment, I just stare at her, unable to speak.

Fallen for me. Could that be true?

I swallow hard. “You know who I am…”

“Yes,” she says, her fingertips brushing softly over my cheek. “I do. I see all of you—the light and the dark—and I love both.”

My heart feels like it’s about to break out of my chest.

“I realized it when you took me to your beach house. I spent so long judging you for who you were, but all that judgment just melted away there. All that was left was the man I love. The man who knows me better than I know myself. The man who’d do anything for me.”

My throat tightens. “If you felt that way at the beach house, why did you leave?”

“Because I had to come to terms with my own darkness. My own sins.” She sighs, her voice trembling slightly. “I was scared, Nero. So scared of losing myself completely. When I killed Ekaterina, I didn’t feel guilty, and it felt like I lost my humanity. In the end, it wasn’t your darkness I was fighting, it was my own. Somehow, it was easier for me to love you than to love myself.”

I cradle the back of her head with my hand. “I understand now. And I’m sorry I didn’t give you the space you needed to process all that. I dismissed your concerns, pretending you could stay the same when everything around you had changed. You were right. That’s impossible. But, baby, while you change and grow based on your experiences here, I’ll be right there by your side, supporting you through it all. You never have to feel ashamed or afraid to show me any new part of you. I love it all—the dark, the light, the gray.”

A tear escapes and slides down her cheek. “I know.”

I wipe the tear away, a grin tugging on my lips. “Pinch me, will you? I need to know this isn’t an illusion. Men like me don’t get everything they could possibly want, do they?”

She doesn’t pinch me. Instead, she leans forward and presses her lips to mine.

Electricity surges through me, just like that very first time we kissed, back when we were both different people. I was Rowan, the man who’d lost himself, and she was Blake, the woman who would never fall for a criminal.

So much has changed.

But not this. Not our connection. It’s something that defies reason and logic and just is.

I slide my fingers into her hair and deepen the kiss with a groan. She moves closer, digging her nails into my shoulders.

I’m instantly hard. Having my wife back in my arms is all it fucking takes.

She breaks the kiss and presses her forehead against mine, panting against my lips. “God, I missed you. Just a few hours, and I missed you like crazy.”

“When you left, you took a piece of me with you,” I whisper. “The most vital one.”

“I know. And now I’m here to give it back.” She folds her hands over my heart.

A cocktail of emotions shoots up through my veins.

Exhilaration. Desire. Love.

She pulls back, meets my gaze, and gives me a breathless smile. “I love you, Nero.”

Fuck.

I can’t take it anymore. I need to feel all of her, to have her close, closer than this, closer than words can bring us.

In one swift movement, I stand up, gripping her by her thighs. She makes a surprised gasp, her arms clinging to my shoulders, her eyes locked on mine.

“I need to be inside of you,” I whisper against her lips as I carry her through the penthouse to my bedroom.

The bedroom where my wife belongs.

We fall onto the bed.

My mouth crashes onto hers, the kiss fueled by the need to make her feel every bit of desire that’s raging inside me.

Her hands roam over my back, my hair, pulling me closer, urging me on. I press my body against hers, savoring every curve, every inch of the woman who’s made me whole again.

I pull away just enough to peel off her clothes, revealing inch after inch of flawless pale skin.

When she’s completely bare on the bed, her hair fanned out on the sheets, I lift her leg and press a kiss to the inside of her ankle.

A blush spreads across her cheeks. “What happened to needing to be inside me?”

“I got distracted by the view,” I murmur, trailing my lips up her calf. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as my wife spread out naked on my bed.”

She grins. “You mean our bed, right?”

“Not until we christen it.” I put her foot down flat against the mattress and place the next kiss against her inner thigh. Goosebumps ripple over her skin. “So for now, you’re in my territory, and I get to do whatever I want with you.” I place a kiss right against her slit and drag my tongue through her folds.

Her taste—exquisite. Her moans—pure bliss. But fuck, it’s the way she clutches my hair when her orgasm sweeps over, the way she rubs her cunt against my face that makes me nearly lose it.

I shove my jeans off and move up her body, hovering over her as she catches her breath. Her expression is dazed but determined as she flips onto her belly, pushes herself up, and hikes up her ass.

The sight of her makes me groan.

“Inside, now,” she demands, but I’m already on my knees behind her, spreading her thighs and running my fingers over her slick core.

The moment I thrust into her, my mind goes blank. There’s nothing but us—just me, her, and this perfect moment. Slowly, I pull out, savoring the way she arches her back and pushes her ass up even more, as if inviting me back in.

“I can’t believe I get to do this for the rest of my life,” I mutter, entranced as I thrust back in.

She tosses her hair over her shoulder, glancing back at me with hooded eyes. “Same.”

A grin tugs at my lips. Mine. She’s all mine.

I reach for that hair—my obsession—and coil it around my fist, making her arch just a little more. “Hold on, baby.”

The second her hands wrap around the top edge of the mattress, I give her my all.

I pound into her, hard and fast, my balls slapping against her clit, her moans getting louder and louder. The ten-thousand-dollar bedframe, supposedly unbreakable, makes a worrying creak.

Fuck it. If it breaks, we keep going.

I feel her pussy start to spasm around me. “Oh God, Nero. So. Good.”

I release her hair, gripping her thighs as my own orgasm rushes through me—a wild, consuming force. My eyes squeeze shut, and I let out a low groan as my cum spills out of my cock in harsh spurts.

I nearly collapse on top of her but catch myself just before I crush her small form into the mattress, rolling us over instead. We lie there panting and trembling. It’s perfect.

After a long moment, she moves to tuck herself under my arm, fitting perfectly against my side.

She lays her hand flat against my chest. “I have to tell you something.”

I trace her spine with my knuckle. “Yeah?”

“I’ve been hiding something from you for a while.”

The tense note in her voice cuts through my blissful haze. “Okay. What is it?”

She exhales a heavy breath. “When I met with Vita for lunch that one time before we agreed to Gino’s plan, I asked for something in exchange for convincing you to do it. A favor. She said I could ask for anything. Initially, I was going to ask her to help me leave you.”

My lungs empty out.

“It tore me up lying to you,” she says softly. “I made it seem like the only reason I wanted to go through with this mission was to help you, but really, I had my own selfish motive.”

That’s what it was… The guilty look I noticed in her eyes when we were at the beach house.

“Will you forgive me?”

I press a kiss against her head. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

The tension that slipped into her body eases. “Well, she still owed me that favor. Before I came here, I went to see her.” She lifts her head off his chest and meets my gaze. “I asked her to get Gino to let you go so you can be Rafaele’s consigliere again.”

What?

The air seems to leave the room all at once. I stare at her, dumbfounded. “Baby, that’s—”

“It’s done.”

“No way.” Impossible. Gino would never.

A grin tugs on her lips. “It’s done. It’s happening.”

“How?” I choke out.

“Can’t you tell Vita’s got Gino wrapped around her little finger? Took a few hours of them talking, but she made it happen. You’re back.”

I sit up, turn to face her on the bed, and cup her cheeks. That world that seemed so gray just before she came back is fucking technicolor now.

“I love you so fucking much, Sunshine.” There is nothing, absolutely nothing in the world, I won’t do for her.

And when she smiles at me with that twinkle in her eyes, I know she knows it too.