Chapter Seven
Shane
My fingers move down her waist of their own accord. I've always been helpless to resist her. And now that I don't have to, I can't stop touching her. She sleeps peacefully, her soft pink lips parted as she breathes, making my cock stir to life. I can't stop thinking about sliding it past her lips and fucking her face deep. She's everything I've ever wanted. I know my brothers and I will stop at nothing to make sure she's always taken care of and always safe.
She twists in her sleep, her short flowery summer dress riding up over her thighs and revealing her petal-pink panties to my greedy eyes. They are damp, the cotton wet from her release and my cum mixing together just hours ago. I can see the soft slope of her delicate pussy lips beneath the fabric and without thinking I drag a gentle finger down the damp crevice of her lips, enjoying the way she seems to be turned on by me, even in her sleep. A gentle surge of arousal dampens the cotton a little more and I inhale deeply, smelling the mix of our pleasure together in the air. Her nipples pucker under the cotton of her dress and I have to resist sucking one of her nipples into my mouth through the fabric and waking her up with another orgasm.
I need to talk to Gio about what he told me earlier. Someone was lingering outside our door last night, I don't know how they got through the security of the building. That's why we chose this building, because of the twenty-four seven security and concierge, to alert us when anything fishy happens. I briefly consider placing an angry call to the front desk, but that will have to wait till Monday when the manager is in. I already had a suspicion that the new guy they hired was a plant. I couldn't put my finger on it but the way the weasel holds my eyes every time I cross the front lobby makes me uneasy. I had to resist choking him out last weekend when Shelby came to visit and his eyes zeroed in on her tits through her dress. I had to resist the urge often, because Shelby draws attention whatever she wears and wherever she goes, from men and women alike. She's always been that girl, and the more she turns into a curvaceous woman, the more I've had to beat them off with a stick for my own peace of mind as much as for her safety.
I suck in a deep breath and leave her bedroom, thinking it's time we move her over to the master suite with me. I want her in my arms every night from here on out. I’ve thought of moving her in there countless times before now.
I also think of the secret I have to reveal to her before I ask her to marry me. That day is coming, I already have the ring stowed away in the safety deposit box, waiting for her to say yes. It was given to me by my grandmother years ago, one I thought about giving to Shelby's mom, but we spent as many of our days fighting as much as loving that it just never felt right. Now I know why. Because Shelby was put on this earth to be with me, it just kills me that her mom was collateral damage in my messy life.
"Rafe." I nod when I reach the kitchen, gesturing to Gio's room where I know he's probably poring over security footage on one of his many computer monitors. Rafe nods, following me into Gio's room.
"She's sleeping. Tell me everything you've found so far."
"It's definitely them."
"Fuck." The Selenskys–a large family that moved into our neighborhood two decades ago—have been nonstop trouble ever since. With known connections to the Russian mob, they've been a problem for my family from day one. They’ve taken to roughing up the small business owners that have been in this neighborhood for years, the very business owners we've liberated from paying a monthly stipend under the thumb of the Italian mob that still runs most of the sections of this city.
Except ours.
We made sure that business can go on as normal without the cloud of money laundering and other mob activity that so much of the city has suffered beneath for so many decades. Some of the business owners insisted on paying us for their gratitude for the security we provided. We were available all day or night if there was a problem, but in the last two decades we’ve been called on a lot to deal with them after the Selenskys infiltrated our neighborhood. Violence kicked up now and again because of this family, and what Shelby never knew is that we’ve long suspected that her mother was a pawn in the game their family was playing with the Andolinis. They have a mutual working relationship with the other Italian families in the area, but not ours. We don’t work with scum. The Andolinis are more concerned about protecting the neighborhood than getting a piece of the pie. The Selenskys, on the other hand, are quick to threaten violence if some of the business owners don’t pay up, and they don’t appreciate that we made a point of cutting them out of their monthly payments.
Life is ruthless on these city streets, but it’s my home and I will stop at nothing to keep it as safe and protected as I can. I knew my brothers feel the same way. We've always been on the same team, with the same values, raised by our incredible Italian mother and a strong and moral father figure to guide us through this ruthless life. And out of it. It only makes sense that we would all fall in love with the same girl, and I trust them with my life. As far as I am concerned, it’s the four of us against the world.
"I think they want her."
"What are we going to do?" Rafe falls back into one of the computer chairs and it rolls across the room.
I cross my arms, unsure of what to tell them. Beyond leaving the city, I’m at a loss. I’ve done everything I can to keep her safe. I did everything I could to keep her mother safe too, but Dolly was so stubborn she always refused my security. Said she hated being under a man's thumb. I should've hired one of the many jacked-up ladies I knew that were stronger than most men, and able-bodied enough to be security for her. But she would've refused that too–she was as stubborn as a mule and it was one of the reasons I loved her. But that's ultimately what killed her.
I won’t have history repeating.
"That guy at the club was a plant. I think the Selenskys hired someone in one of her classes to befriend her, follow her, take advantage of her…"
I rub a hand over my face. "I don't know what to do. Short of keeping her locked up in this building forever, as long as we're here, she'll always be in harm's way. How can I give her my last name if it's a death sentence? "
My brothers sit in silence until Rafe's eyes round and zero in on the doorway.
I turn to find Shelby, eyes still hooded from sleep, her small mouth popped open in a look of silent confusion.
"Shane?"
I pull her to me, embracing her before sitting her in the empty computer chair in the corner. "We have a confession."