By Virtue I Fall (Sins of the Fathers #3)(18)

I lowered my voice to a seductive whisper. “I think it’s because you’re pissed at yourself for wanting me. And you’re even more pissed that Clifford kissed me first.”

Santino looked ready to explode. “You—” He cut himself off. “Fuck it.” He grabbed my neck and jerked me toward his body.

Our lips clashed. All the air left my lungs. The kiss was overwhelming. A wild rollercoaster ride of teeth, lips, tongue. Santino demanded I let him steer this crazy joy ride, and I relinquished my control, knowing the ride would be worth it.

His eyes blazed with fury. He wanted to resist. But he couldn’t.

His grip on my neck tightened and the kiss became even harder. His body pressed into mine, forcing me a step back, toward my bed.

My mind went into overdrive, and my stomach filled with nerves and excitement.

Suddenly Santino released me and I almost fell back on the bed.

I gasped for air when his lips no longer held me captive. He glared, his eyes hooded and furious, his lips parted, breathing harsh. “That’s a kiss.”

“No,” I got out. This wasn’t just a kiss.

Santino narrowed his eyes.

“That was unbridled fury wrapped in a kiss. This was a revelation.”

Santino shook his head. “If you like angry kissing, you’ll love angry fucking.” He trailed off, a look of regret passing his face. But he couldn’t take the words back.

“I bet,” I whispered. Hearing Santino for once use the word in the actual sense sent an excited shiver through my body.

He stepped back, his jaw clenching. “It won’t happen again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“But you wanted it to happen, and what you really regret is that you didn’t get my first kiss. You didn’t want it, so Clifford got it.”

Santino took a deep breath. “He’s your future husband.”

“Clifford doesn’t care whom I kiss, or if I do more before marriage.”

“I don’t care what Cliffy allows or not. I’m a soldier of the Outfit and abide by our rules.”

I snorted. “Tell that to Mr. Alfera.” He banged the wife of a captain and he wants to tell me about rules?

“That’s irrelevant. I won’t be your plaything until you seal the bond with Clifford.”

“Why not? You’ve been the plaything of married women before but you can’t be my plaything?” I hated the word but Santino had started it. “Clifford is having fun before marriage, why shouldn’t I?”

Santino shook his head with a frozen expression. “Make sure you get your father off our trail. Make him believe you’re a good girl and I’m your dutiful bodyguard.”

“I probably would have been more convincing before you sexed my mouth.”

“Your lying skills are above par. You’ll do fine,” he muttered then turned on his heel and left but not before dropping my cell on the floor with a heavy clung.

I let out an enraged cry. Then I stared up at the ceiling, listening to my pounding pulse and racing heart, feeling the dampness between my legs and the heat in my belly. If this was what a kiss from Santino did to me, I understood why Mrs. Alfera had risked her husband’s wrath for a quickie with him. My chance at freedom had an expiration date. Whatever I wanted to experience, I needed to do it before I married Clifford. I needed to soak up all the adventures I could. Love wasn’t written in my stars. But I wanted lust and excitement, danger and joy. I wanted to collect a myriad of memories before my future caught up with me.





I was drawing in my room, playing around with different variations of an evening dress. The scratching of my pencil on paper always calmed me. Our kiss had left me restless.

I wanted more. I also wanted to pay Santino back for being a dick, which was at odds with my first want, or maybe not.

I crumpled the paper. I couldn’t focus on drawing.

“Anna!”

I groaned.

“Anna!” Steps akin to a charging rhino, thundered upstairs and toward my door.

“Anna!”

I sighed.

The door burst open and Leonas appeared in the doorway.

“What?”

He smirked and leaned against the doorframe, waving a letter in front of him.

I narrowed my eyes. “What is that?”

He shrugged with a triumphant smile.

I stared. If I gave him a stronger reaction, he’d only annoy me more. After the argument with Santino yesterday, I wasn’t in the mood for his games.

“It’s from France.”

I perked up.

“A fashion institute.”

I jumped off my chair and rushed toward Leonas. “Give it to me!”

His smile widened and he lifted the letter over his head while he held me at arm’s length with his other hand.

I struggled to get the letter but Leonas was taller and stronger than me. Gone were the days I could kick his scrawny ass.

“Leonas!” I hissed.

“I want something in turn.”

I stopped fighting with him and crossed my arms. “Spill.”

“I want to attend Clifford’s eighteenth birthday bash.”

“Dad forbade you from any parties. You don’t know when it’s enough.”

“That’s why he won’t find out. You’ll sneak me in.”