Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon (Criminal Seduction #3)(57)

Andros led her over to the chairs, and Lyra fell into one with a sigh. Her back ached from standing in the same position and she wanted nothing more than to rest her head against Andros’ chest and close her eyes. Maybe that was actually a possibility now? The thought both thrilled and terrified her in equal measure.

“We needed money,” she began. “For The Point. It’s a—”

“I know what it is,” he interrupted. “I read up on it while I was away. I kept tabs on you all the months, Lyra.”

“Why?”

“Because I missed you,” he said simply.

Her breath caught in her throat. Stupid tears threatened. “But you didn’t come back.”

“I wasn’t ready,” he said. “No, that is wrong. I was, but I did not know it. I was too angry, too insecure, too f*cked up. The thought that you were with me simply because you needed to be ate at me. I could not deal with it.”

He shook his head and Lyra’s heart flipped. She could see how much the confession had cost him and hurried to speak. “We needed money,” she said. “And we all had a mission to get it. Pen was supposed to rob Seb’s safe and get the money to buy the building. Of course that didn’t work out because he caught her in the act, literally, and…well…he sort of kept her prisoner. Anyway they married in the end so it all worked out.”

“And Rachel?” he asked.

“She was supposed to pick Dominic’s pocket,” Lyra replied. “After tying him knots. The plan was to get a key to his safe. But they ended up falling in love and he also asked her to marry him. There was some drama after that but it worked out, too. Carmen is so beautiful.”

“The bambino?”

“Yes.”

“And you, Lyra?” he asked. “What was your mission?”

“I think mine was supposed to be like Rachel’s,” Lyra admitted. “To make you burn and then rob you blind, but—” she added when he inhaled sharply, “—the moment I saw your picture—we had a whole bunch of them, potential marks—I knew exactly what I was going to do.”

“And that was?”

She shrugged. “I wanted you. The moment I looked into your eyes in that picture I wanted you so bad. And I thought, why not, why couldn’t I have something for me for once? All my life has been about looking after other people—and I have never minded,” she added quickly. “And of course I would get my portion of the money for The Point, but I could have you for a little while, too. I wanted that so much.”

“And if it had been another man?” he asked. “One of the other marks?”

“I would have just robbed him,” Lyra said. “It was only with you that I concocted the mistress idea. You were only ever the one I wanted, Andros. Those weeks with you were the best of my entire life.”

The moment the words left her lips he pulled her close. And for once it wasn’t a caress or a hug filled with desire. It throbbed with something else entirely, another emotion that made Lyra ache just to think of it.

“I have been an idiot,” he said, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her eyes to his.

“Yes.”

“You were always mine.”

“Yes.”

“And I was always yours.”

Their gazes held, the truth right there for them both to see, and it made perfect sense, obvious sense that they then spoke at the exact same moment, and both said the exact same words. Words that had been denied for far too long.

“I love you.”





Epilogue



The decision on where to spend New Year’s Eve was one that the sisters had discussed at length. Would it be a big fat Greek party at Penny and Sebastian’s, an Italian job in the townhouse Rachel and Dominic had recently purchased, or a Sicilian affair with Lyra and Andros in Grosvenor Square? Back and forth they went, considering, and the men stayed well out of it.

“We have no say in the matter anyway,” Sebastian had said just before Christmas over whisky and cards. “So, eh, why bother?”

“Agreed,” Dominic had muttered. “I will leave Rachel mia to work it all out.”


“And I do not argue with Lyra,” Andros said. “Not out of the bedroom at least.”

The men laughed and Dominic dealt the next hand. They were on their way to becoming fast friends the three of them, since the sisters would stand for nothing less.

It was Boxing Day that the decision was made. The family sat around a large table, the entire family. Not just the sisters and their husbands, but various mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, and children. Voices babbled in Greek and Italian, and of course English. Babies, especially Carmen, made their wishes known loudly, and small children ran around Sebastian’s dining room shrieking at the top of their lungs.

“So, New Year’s Eve,” Lyra said, her head resting against the broad chest of her fiancée. “What’s the plan?”

“Dominic and Rachel hosted Christmas,” Sebastian said. “We, Boxing Day, so I believe it is your turn, Andros.”

“Happily,” the Sicilian said. “Lyra and I can put something together.”

Penny pulled a face. “Rachel only got Christmas because she was too lazy to go anywhere with Carmen.”