Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Mason stared at her as she stood there in front of him. Her presence, a rare comfort that he couldn’t ignore. “Tell me about your father,” he said

Elnora’s response was immediate, her signature smirk curving her lips—a look that always said she wouldn’t give in easily. He loved that about her, this constant challenge she presented, a dance of wills that kept him on his toes. She didn’t simply bend to his desires, and that only made him crave her more.

“Since we’re sharing family secrets, why don’t you start with Amelia De Lauro? How does Leonardo De Lauro become Mason Dimitri, running the Castelli family?” She was smooth, but he could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

“I’m surprised you waited this long to ask,” he admitted. He had expected this question sooner, but perhaps the timing was right. There was a comfort in finally reaching this point, where the masks could drop, and the truths could surface. It made him believe in the bond they were forming, a connection that seemed to grow stronger every minute together.

“I never know with you,” she teased, her arms slipping behind her back in a casual stance. “I was trying to keep my pretty nose out of your business. But I guess we’re at that point where we need to play these cards on the table.”

He extended his hand to her, and she took it without hesitation this time, sliding into his embrace. Her body fit against his perfectly, and the warmth of her touch was grounding, even as her eyes held him captive. When she traced the line of his beard with her fingers, his breath hitched, and he found himself unable to look away.

“Are you going to talk to me, or just cast your spell wider?” he murmured, his hand finding her chin, pulling her closer until her lips were just a whisper away from his.

Her hazel eyes smiled into his, filled with a lot of mischief. She leaned in, brushing her nose against his before placing a delicate kiss at the corner of his mouth. It was enough to make his pulse quicken, his restraint fraying at the edges.

“You’re just begging for it,” she whispered. Her hands moved to his hair, her body pressing against his in a way that was both teasing and torturous. “I’ll answer you after you tell me about Amelia.”

Mason grinned. “I asked you first, you impossible woman.”

Her laughter was soft, and for a moment, he lost himself in the sound. She looked at him like she could see straight through him, and he didn’t mind the exposure. There was something liberating about being truly seen by someone who mattered.

“Well,” she began, her tone shifting as she leaned back slightly. “When I was nine, my father left for an overseas work retreat and never returned.” The light in her eyes dimmed, replaced by a shadow of old pain. “After a few months of silence, my mother went to the company where he supposedly worked, only to be told he had never been employed there. It broke her. It broke us. It was like watching her endure another betrayal.”

His hand moved to the small of her back, a subtle gesture of comfort. The mention of another betrayal raised so many follow up questions, but he held them back, focusing instead on her. “Did you ever find him?” he asked, knowing this was a wound that had not fully healed.

When Elnora just stared at him, Mason knew what her silence meant. The answer was written in the lines of pain on her face. He squeezed her hand, trying to push away the dark memory that had haunted him for years too—the image of his Amelia slitting his father’s throat in front of him when he was just eight. Twenty three years later and the memory still haunted like a stain he couldn’t scrub away, no matter how hard he tried.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he told her.

Elnora wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaning into him. “Don’t be. I won’t stop searching until I find something and get my closure.”

He admired her persistency. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Your turn, Mason,” she said, her voice softer now, but there was no mistaking the command behind it.

“Not so fast.” He pulled her closer, the warmth of her body against making him tense. With a sudden motion, he lifted her into his arms and stood up. The small gasp that escaped her lips made his skin tingle. “I’m curious about what your father has to do with the De Lauro family. Not to add that it’s been so long…do you really think you’ll find anything now?”

He carried her into the bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. She looked so delicate there, but he knew better than to mistake her softness for weakness. He walked over to his desk, retrieving the Xor Group files he needed her to look at.

“Mason, he may still be alive,” she said, sitting up against the headboard, her voice filled with a quiet desperation. “The only thing here is that I still haven’t found him. Every program I’ve written was designed to find any smidgen of evidence that he exists. If I can pull off a reverse Phantom to find what’s been deliberately scrubbed, I should be able to.”

Phantom? He wondered. “Is he the reason you built the program you used to scrub us?” he asked.

She nodded, her eyes meeting his. “Yes.”

Mason’s gaze hardened. “Some information may never be available on the web because they were never digitalized. Old school’s hard copies are the best way to stay off the grid and I think that may be the case with where he worked. If you want, I can look into this for you. Where did he work?”

“The Xor Group.”

His heart skipped a beat, a cold dread settling in the pit of his stomach. He slowly stood up from the computer, turning to face her. “The pharmaceutical company?” he asked, his voice low and cautious, as if he were trying to process the implications.

She stared off into the distance, her smile haunted by memories he wish he could see. “Yes. He worked for the De Lauro Xor Group.” She shrugged. “You’re right about the off-grid information. It’s the only explanation but their records have been hell to track. What are you going to do about it?”

A cold suspicion coiled in his chest, tightening with every word she spoke. Could this be why she was still here with him? Was it all a long con to get the information she needed? The thought scared him, planting seeds of doubt he couldn’t ignore. He had trusted her, let her in closer than anyone else, and now…now he wasn’t so sure.

Mason’s eyes locked onto Elnora’s. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s a chance Octavia was right about why you’re still here.” His voice was calm, almost too calm, as he waited for her response.

Elnora’s hazel eyes met his with an unsettling intensity that sent a chill through him. She didn’t flinch, didn’t look away—just held his gaze in silence, making his blood churn with unease.

“Well?” he pressed, his patience thinning.

“That’s how I came to know Enrico. He and Amelia were the De Lauro listed in the Xor database, and he was relatively easy to track, given his extracurricular activities.” She slid off the bed, her movements slow and deliberate. “I had no ulterior motive, Mason. I just wanted information. When I met Ric, I had no idea the De Lauros were mafia… at least not for the first few months.”

Mason leaned against his desk, folding his arms as he eyed her. “Do you feel guilty for playing Enrico?”

“No.” Her response was quick.

He arched a brow, sceptical. Elnora scoffed, shaking her head as if his doubt amused her.

“I never played him. This isn’t a black-and-white situation. The grey areas between Ric and me just happened. Our relationship was never the plan. I wanted information, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get it from him… a fair trade,” she explained. “It’s one of the reasons I agreed to use my Phantom program to scrub his entire family when he asked. Tit-for-tat.”

“Hmm.” His eyes narrowed as he studied her. “When you found out we were brothers, you didn’t think to try to find out what I knew—”

“Not once.” She cut him off before he could finish, her tone final.

They stared at each other, a silent battle of wills playing out between them. After a moment, Mason nodded and turned back to his desk, but his gaze lingered on her longer than he intended. Despite his doubts, he believed her. Elnora wasn’t the type to manipulate others for gain—at least not deliberately. Until Enrico reappeared in her life, she had no idea who Mason really was.

With a heavy sigh, Elnora returned to the bed, curling her knees up to her chest as she rested her head on them.

“El,” he called softly. She looked up at him, her eyes shadowed with a sadness that unsettled him. He hadn’t meant to accuse her, to make her feel like she had to defend herself.

Before he could say anything else, she climbed off the bed and walked toward him, her hands hanging on her hips as if she were holding herself together.

“Have you found out who Joe is yet?” she asked, her voice strong, masking the vulnerability he could see in her eyes.

“Do you have a fix for that?” he countered, knowing full well she did.

“Don’t I always?”

The answer was yes. Always. He reached for her, pulling her onto his lap. Her scent—something sweet, subtle, and entirely intoxicating—washed over him, making him want to lose himself in her. Her eyes locked onto his, blinking slowly as if trying to decide what to do next.

“All you have to do is ask me. I will find out who Joe really is. Donni got me a laptop earlier,” she said. “You should go take care of business, handle the Russians while I get a name and place for Joe.”

Just like that, something she’d said on the chopper ride snapped back to mind. “You mentioned something about a sure-fire way to deal with the Russians,” he recalled.

“That doesn’t come for free.” A sly grin spread across her lips, her gaze dropping to his lips before she slowly licked her own, making his mouth go dry. “I can think of a few things you could do to get me talking.”

His heart raced as he watched her, desire flaring hot and fast. Elnora leaned in, pressing her lips to his in a kiss so soft it left him craving more. She kissed the corner of his mouth, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous light that made his blood sing. When his hands found their way under her cardigan, feeling the warmth of her skin, she shivered, and it was all the encouragement he needed.

He held her hip and lifted her onto his desk as he stood, her legs wrapping around him as she pulled him into a kiss. The chair clattered to the side as they collided, her lips searing his, sending a rush of heat coursing through his veins. Elnora was like a storm—wild, fierce, and impossible to resist.

She bit down on his lower lip, drawing a moan from deep within him as his tongue slipped between her lips, tangling with hers. His fingers dug into her thick brown hair, holding her to him as the world outside disappeared.

She arched against him, her hands roaming over his body, and he felt her heart pounding in sync with his. He tugged her cardigan off, breaking the kiss just long enough to toss it aside. Her chest heaved as she breathed hard, her breasts rising and falling beneath the black lace of her bra.

When he caught sight of her boots, he smiled—a wicked, knowing smile. He only wanted to see her in those boots. Nothing else.

“Will this be another slow burn?” she asked, and he heard the impatience in her voice, her hands already reaching for him again.

Hunger gnawed at him as he kissed her deeply, letting his desire overtake him.

“Not this time,” he murmured against her lips. “But I need something from you first.” His grin was pure sin as he looked at her.

“Mason?” she asked, suspicion lacing her voice even as he kissed her neck.

She moaned, her hands fisting in his hair as she arched into him.

“I bet you’ll look stunning in just those boots,” he whispered against her throat, his voice rough with want.

Giggling, she eased back, her eyes glittering with challenge. “Well, get to work then,” she teased, stretching her legs out for him, daring him to make good on his words.

His blood sizzled with a youthful glee as his fingers went for the button on her jeans.