His Mafia Prince
Chapter 260: Find a Way

Chapter 260: Find a Way

(TYLER)

The room is, even I have to agree, pretty spectacular. It’s got this classic Italian charm to it, everything built in cherrywood and marble, with rich red and gold trimmings. The suite has a living area and a bedroom, but my first priority is the bathroom.

I go straight into the shower and wash my ass, thanking any saints who might be listening in from the Naples next door for getting me out of that roach-infested room near the Colosseum and into the kind of place I prefer. I don’t have to dance around on my toes the whole time in the bathroom, worrying about athlete’s foot, and the towels are white and fluffy instead of grey and bald.

When I come out, Sasha has drawn the curtains in the bedroom only a few inches and is staring out at St. Peters. "La Contessa asked us to meet her at the obelisk at noon tomorrow in the square."

"Okay," I say. "We can sleep in, in that case."

There’s no reply, so I go to him, still damp from the shower, and wrap my arms around his waist. "What’s an Angelus? Apart from an angel, I mean."

"The Angelus is a prayer given to the crowd every Sunday." Sasha’s voice is hard.

I pull him away from the curtain and twitch them shut. "Sounds like there might be a lot of people around."

"Yes." He wanders over to the fruit bowl and chooses a pear, tossing it up and down in his hand a few times. "There will be a lot of people. A lot of potential for confusion." He sets the pear down again in the fruit bowl and goes back to peek out the curtain again.

The brooding, thinky side of him takes over.

At least Sasha is looking happier since we got in here, and I guess he doesn’t have those tingles at the back of his neck anymore, or whatever it is he feels when someone’s about to try and kill us.

"I need to work on my spatial awareness," I say thoughtfully and abandon the towel by throwing it over my shoulder. Fuck it, I can air dry. "I never noticed that guy following us," I say, pacing the room. I stop, put my hands on my hips, and stare at Sasha, who is sitting on the bed now, his back up against the wall.

"I mean," I continue, as Sasha looks me over with a slight smile of appreciation, "I think I might have been relying a little too much on Miles and Giulio and, of course, you."

"It’s their job to protect you," he tells me, "and it’s my privilege."

With a smile, I crawl onto the bed, and Sasha pulls me into his lap, cupping his hands around my ass. I wind my arms around his neck and lean in to kiss him.

"But," he continues, when our lips have parted, "if nothing else, these last few years have shown me that I am not infallible. Nor are my men."

"You want me to have a woman as a bodyguard? Sofia’s pretty good, they say."

"Both Luigi and Miles tell me she’s very effective. But no. She’s not ready yet. And in any case..." He cups my face in his hands. "We have all the lines of defense for you that we possibly can have in place, except one. The last one."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when everything else fails, I want you to be capable of defending yourself."

That stings. "I am capable."

He’s quiet for a while, and for once I can’t quite tell what he’s thinking. "I don’t know that you are," he says at last. "That’s what scares me the most, baby."

"I don’t understand what—"

"I don’t mean talking your way out of trouble," he says acerbically, and I chuckle. "I’m talking about taking a life to save your own. Do you understand me now, baby?"

I do. I’m not sure I like it, but I do.

"We’ll talk more about this later," he continues when I stay quiet. "But I also want you to understand that it’s not just your safety that I worry about. It’s your soul, too. I don’t want to pollute your soul, angel. I couldn’t stand the thought."

I look down. "I’m no angel, Sasha," I say in a low voice. "You call me that, but we both know I’m not—I’m not a good person, not really."

"Good. Bad. Those terms are meaningless. To me, you’re perfect." He gives a shrug, a smile. He’s done with the conversation.

But I’m not done. "I made a vow to you. You seem to forget that. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, and like I said the other day—in darkness and in light."

Sasha frowns a little, hesitating before he speaks. Eventually, he replies, "You say these things without really understanding what they mean. I don’t believe you’ve considered how this darkness, as you call it, will affect everything else. your charity work; your life—there is nothing that will not be touched by it. And more than that," he says, before I can get a word in, "I don’t want you to suffer for my sake. I know you don’t believe in Heaven or Hell or...anything, really. But..."

"But you do." "I do."

I stare into those cold blue eyes, deep into that soul he thinks is already lost, and I smile. "Honey, where you go, I go. What the fuck would I do in Heaven without you, anyway? It would suck donkey balls. I’d rather suck yours."

Sasha says nothing more. He lets his hands and his mouth do the talking for him until he’s worn me out completely, and I fall asleep held tight and safe in his arms.

***

I wake to find him already staring out a crack in the curtains again. Since we arrived in Rome, it’s been a whirlwind, and I feel like I have a hangover, even though I stuck to chinotto last night at dinner. "Come back to bed," I murmur.

He does, but I can tell from his manner that there will be no enjoying ourselves this morning. "What time is it?"

"It’s early enough. But we need to prepare."

I just grunt a reply and rearrange his arms around me. I can feel his cock thickening against the small of my back and give a hopeful wriggle, but he just kisses the back of my shoulder and holds me tighter.

"We’ll have to leave Rome quickly," he tells me. "As soon as we’ve met with the lady, or as soon as we can get access to the information that we need. I don’t want to give our shadow any time to catch up to us. I’d like to deal with her as soon as I can so we can focus on each other. Enjoy ourselves."

I bite back my unhelpful whining. I did tell Sasha I’d trust him, and even if I have my own doubts about whether we’re being followed, I will trust him. Besides, "Venice is gorgeous," I say. "Very romantic. If it goes well with La Contessa, we could stay there a while."

"Mm. It would give a little extra time for things to quieten down for us." He sighs and shifts in the bed. "I just wish I could have seen the Colosseum while we were here."

"I mean, it’s pretty boring inside." Off his tutting, I shrug. "I didn’t want to dampen your enthusiasm, honey, so I didn’t say so yesterday. But the truth is, it’s just a big ruin."

"That’s the point," he says drily.

"Listen, there are piles of ancient rubble all over Italy. We’ll go see all the other ones. I prefer the Renaissance shit, anyway. Florence, for example. Much more colourful. Those Medicis? They knew how to splash their money around."

"You know who else does?" He leans up on an elbow and tilts my face around to kiss me. "So let’s get ready to pay him a visit."