White Knight (Dirty Mafia Duet, #2)(24)

Challenge lights up her face. “Seriously, what I need most right now is you inside me. Hurry up and fuck me.”

A smile tugs at the edges of my mouth from her bossy words. “You’re going to get everything you need. Right fucking now.”

I lift her other leg to wrap around my hips, and using the door to brace her ass, I slowly lower Memphis onto my cock. Inch by goddamned perfect inch, I slide inside her tight, wet heat. Fucking perfection.

Her nails dig into my shoulders.

“Hold on tight, because this is going to get rough.”

Memphis’s teeth dig into her bottom lip, and I circle her waist with my hands and lift her up only to slam her back down on my cock. Over and over, until her cries and moans and whimpers bounce off the walls.

My orgasm is already tightening up my balls, and when Memphis screams my name, I can’t hold back any longer.

“Fuck me, Cannon.”

And I explode into her with a strangled yell.

Which is when I realize . . . we didn’t use a condom.

Well, hell.

Our chests heaving and foreheads damp with sweat, we stare at each other. She must have realized the exact same thing because her color fades.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve grabbed a—”

Memphis interrupts, saying, “It’s my fault.”

“It’s not. But I’m clean. I promise.”

“Me too. And for the record, on birth control. We should be fine.”

But I already know that too. Not the fact that she’s on birth control, but that we’ll be fine. No matter what happens, I would never not be a part of my kid’s life—or their mother’s. My mom raised me better than that.

“I know. Everything will be okay.” I lean down to press my lips against her forehead. “But it’s going to get a little messy for a second. You ready?”

Memphis nods and uncurls her legs from around me, and I lift her so she can find her footing.

I grab my pocket square, more decorative than functional, and hand it to her so she can clean herself up. Then I crouch down to grab her purse and the file, including the pictures that scattered all over my floor. I hate that her first instinct was to run, but I know that the shit she’s been dealing with is heavy. Whether she expects it or not, I’m here to lighten her load.

“No running. We’re going to talk about this because we need to get a few things straight.”

With her lips pressed together, she nods, and I move back to the couch.

I drop the file on the coffee table and wait for her while she ducks into the bathroom to clean up. When she reemerges, she crosses the room to stand a few feet away from me, and it’s too fucking far. I want her closer. I always want her closer.

“Come here.” I pat the seat beside me on the leather sofa.

Although I’m sure she hates being told what to do, she obliges without hesitation. I’ll do damn near anything to make sure she always knows she can come to me.

However, there’s still one thing we need to clear up when it comes to getting her vengeance.

“I’ll help you find whoever took out your father, but you’re going to promise me that we make the decision together as to what we do with that information.”

Her lips press together, and she stays quiet for a solid thirty seconds before replying. “Okay. But what if you’re wrong and Dom did it . . .”

“He didn’t. He hasn’t pulled a trigger or done wet work in over a decade, Memphis.” To her credit, and probably due to her research and investigations, she doesn’t ask what wet work is.

A single eyebrow raises, and she tilts her head. “But if he gave the order—”

“Let’s find out what the evidence shows first, and then we’ll go from there.” I push a stray lock of her dark hair over her shoulder. “If I told you right now that I’ll put him away no matter what we find, you’d know I was full of shit. Right?”

She inclines her chin, and I keep going.

“But I’m not full of shit. I’ve lived on the edge my whole life. The edge of crime. The edge of respectability. I know how to walk that line between two worlds, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do with you. Let me be your guide to this shit. Because I swear to God, I won’t let you risk yourself by rushing to Dom right now, demanding to know if he had anything to do with it.”

Looking for any way I can to ease her stress, I slide my hand to the back of her neck and knead her muscles. Her eyelids flutter for a second, and her body relaxes enough to confirm it was the right move.

“But what are you going to do if we find out he gave the order?” Her voice is strong, although her eyes are becoming hazy from my movements.

I’m glad she’s not cowed by me, because that’s the opposite of what I want. I want her to have every goddamned thing she wants, but only if we can do it safely. Her head rolls when I add a second hand and massage her collarbone and upper arms as we sit face-to-face.

“Then we’ll go to Dom, and I’ll give him an ultimatum.”

One curious eye peeks open. “What kind of ultimatum?”

“He turns over the name of the man who pulled the trigger, and that man will face justice one way or another. Then Dom steps down and retires.”

“Or else what?”

“Baby, the mob doesn’t give you options. If we make a move on Dom, that’s his only option.”