Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Chapter 445: Chapter 41 Stay For Good

Daniel’s POV

Lila had been away handling family business, and her absence had been absolute hell. I was on edge the entire weekend, my temper flaring at every minor inconvenience while my mind remained fixated on her being gone. By Monday, even the precinct felt suffocating.

The workday crawled by at an agonizing pace—endless reports about territorial disputes between rival families and minimal field action. My thoughts kept drifting to Lila, calculating every minute until I could race back to my fortified penthouse to hold her again. When I finally arrived home and found her already there, relief flooded through me like a drug. I couldn’t restrain myself—I swept her up in one swift motion, crushing her against my chest, desperate to feel her warmth and confirm she was real. Words seemed pointless as I captured those lips that had tormented my thoughts during our separation, holding the body that had become my obsession.

I needed a shower after dealing with the street filth that came with my double life, but I needed her more. I carried her toward the bathroom while continuing our kiss, my pulse racing when she responded with matching intensity.

”You have no idea how much I missed you,” I confessed between kisses, setting her down only long enough to strip away the barriers between us. Her smile illuminated her entire face, that innocent radiance that somehow survived in our dark world.

”Well, let me tell you something,” she replied with that playful tone that drove me wild, ”I was going crazy missing you too.” She hesitated briefly. ”But I already showered today.”

”So what, little one? Take another with me.”

I didn’t wait for further discussion. The need to reconnect with her was consuming. I guided her into the marble-enclosed shower, and as heated water cascaded over our bodies, I lifted her against the tile wall, joining us together in one fluid movement. Her kisses and soft moans erased the emptiness that had plagued me since she’d left on Saturday morning.

After our shower, I carried her to the bed, determined to worship every inch of her body, losing myself completely in her presence. Lila was my sanctuary in this violent world; there was nowhere else I wanted to be except with her. She brought me peace, filled me with something I’d never experienced before, and awakened desires I’d buried beneath layers of family obligation and street survival.

Once our physical hunger had been satisfied and our connection reestablished, we lay entwined, talking about her trip. She mentioned her mother’s ongoing threats, which sent ice through my veins—Claire Sullivan was unhinged and dangerous, causing my little one genuine distress that I was powerless to completely shield her from.

I noticed Lila growing contemplative, her expression becoming pensive as if wrestling with something weighty. Finally, she raised those beautiful eyes to mine.

”Daniel, I want to talk to you about something,” she said, her tone carrying unusual gravity.

Anxiety spiked through me instantly. In our world, serious conversations often preceded betrayal or death. ”Is something wrong?”

”No. It’s just that I’ve been here in your penthouse for months now, and maybe it’s time for me to go back to my own place,” she explained, making my heart race with panic.

My first instinct was that she had grown tired of the constant security measures, the bulletproof windows, the armed guards downstairs. Before I could pull away, she climbed onto my lap. This gesture reassured me somewhat—she might want to return to her apartment, but she wasn’t retreating from me completely. She had become more comfortable with my world over time, more uninhibited, touching me more freely despite knowing exactly what I was capable of. I loved when she sat on my lap during serious conversations like this. I wrapped my arms around her waist, studying her beautiful face for any sign of fear or deception.

”Are you tired of me, little one?” I asked directly, and she smiled.

”It’s impossible to get tired of you, big guy! But I don’t want you to get tired of me.”

”I’ll never get tired of you. Why do you want to go back to your apartment? Don’t you like it here? Don’t you like being with me every day?”

”It’s not that at all. Being with you is the best part of my day. But I have my apartment, and Gemma asked me to live with her since Aunt Jade moved in with Sebastian, that’s why I went to my hometown, for my father to sign the documents so I could hand over the apartment and—” She was rambling nervously, words tumbling out without pause. I decided to interrupt and speak from my heart.

”Come live with me, little one, permanently, stay for good. Bring all your things here, and if you don’t like this place, we can find something else. I want to have you with me every day, to fall asleep and wake up holding you. Come live with me,” I said, my tone almost pleading despite everything I’d been taught about never showing vulnerability.

Her expression registered surprise. In the Martinez family, arrangements like this were typically business transactions, not emotional appeals.

”Daniel, I want to be with you all the time too, but don’t you think we’re moving too fast?”

She had a point. Our relationship had accelerated rapidly, yet everything between us felt natural and right. I didn’t need time to recognize what I wanted—I had known from our first meeting during the Max rescue operation. I wasn’t impulsive in my emotions, and I knew time wouldn’t change my desire to have her by my side.

Still, I needed to consider her perspective. She was young and still adjusting to the realities of our world. Perhaps she needed more time to understand the intensity of what existed between us. What we shared transcended the typical arrangements in our families—it was too powerful to be treated as mere convenience.

Since Xavier had suggested I was in love with Lila, I couldn’t dismiss the thought. The more I considered it, the more I believed he was right. My feelings for her went beyond desire or the need for a suitable companion—they felt permanent and profound. Perhaps I truly was experiencing love for the first time, because I’d never felt anything remotely similar.

I’d had Sasha before and had believed that was love, a union blessed by both families for strategic purposes. I’d always thought she was my destined match, but when forced to choose between her and my position in the force, I hadn’t hesitated to choose duty. Now I questioned whether I’d ever truly loved her at all.

What I felt for Lila was entirely different—something peaceful yet constant, simultaneously tranquil and intense. Unlike my arrangement with Sasha, which had been convenient and politically advantageous, Lila captivated me with everything she was. For her, I would sacrifice anything, even my carefully maintained position bridging both worlds.

I didn’t want any distance between us. Lila brought lightness into my dark existence, displaying a maturity that belied her youth. Our life together had developed organically, as if she belonged in my fortress, as if we complemented each other perfectly. I treasured coming home to her each day.

I wanted her to live with me permanently, for however long fate would allow. I needed her to understand how desperately I wanted her presence in my home and my life—and I prayed she wanted the same.