Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Chapter 455: Chapter 51 I Love You

Lila’s POV

I couldn’t maintain my anger at Daniel despite how furious I’d been about his confrontation with Gemma. His concern for my safety in this dangerous world was genuine, even if his heavy-handed approach with the informant had been completely wrong. After just one night apart, I already missed him with an intensity that surprised me.

Entering our heavily secured penthouse with determination to make peace, I found it strangely quiet. The reinforced steel door clicked shut behind me as I searched each room—the kitchen with its bulletproof windows, our bedroom with its panic room entrance—but Daniel was nowhere to be found. The emptiness felt wrong since he should have returned from the precinct by now.

”This is weird,” I muttered to myself, checking the encrypted phone he’d given me for any missed messages.

After securing my purse in the hidden safe and removing my shoes, I took a long shower in our marble bathroom, trying to wash away the tension of another day navigating between my law studies and the Thorne Group’s legitimate front operations. I slipped into one of Daniel’s dress shirts afterward, needing his scent around me even if he wasn’t physically present. When the digital clock showed he was definitely late by his usual standards, worry crept in. In our world, being late could mean anything from a raid gone wrong to a family meeting called by his father. I reached for the secure phone and dialed his number.

”Hi, little one,” his sleepy voice answered after several rings.

”Big guy, are you okay?” Concern flooded through me at his groggy tone. In the Martinez family hierarchy, weakness was dangerous.

”Yes. I think I fell asleep. Where are you?”

”At home. And you?” I heard rustling through the encrypted connection as if he was moving, but then silence followed. ”Daniel?” The call suddenly disconnected, sending a chill down my spine.

”I’m right here, little one.” His warm hand appeared on my waist, making me jump slightly as I turned. Despite his position as a police inspector, Daniel moved with the silent precision his family had trained into him since childhood. ”I came home early because I missed you. I lay down in the guest room where you slept last night and fell asleep breathing in your scent from the pillow.”

”Daniel...”

”I was waiting for you to return,” he continued, lifting me effortlessly with the strength that came from years of both police training and family enforcement duties. His voice trembled with emotion. ”I can’t do this—having you sleep in another room, upset with me. I can’t function without you. Forgive me! I behaved terribly toward Gemma, but these threats against the families have me on edge. I’m terrified something might happen to you in this life we live. I love you, Lila. I love you in ways I never thought possible.”

”What did you say?” My heart stopped as he looked deeply into my eyes with that intense stare that had intimidated countless suspects.

”I said I love you, Lila. My heart beats only for you. I’ve waited my entire life for you—I was made for you. I can’t lose you, my little one. I love you!”

Tears streamed down my face without warning. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him, floating on those words I’d longed to hear. Joy overwhelmed me, almost too much to contain. His arms held me tightly against his powerful frame, his kiss giving me everything his guarded heart contained.

”Do you forgive me, love?” he asked again. My smile was so wide I could barely speak. ”Lila, talk to me,” he pressed, looking confused by my silence with that commanding tone he used when interrogating suspects.

”My love! You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words. I love you so much, Daniel, sometimes I feel it might overflow and consume me. You won’t lose me—ever—because I love you too, and I can’t exist without you.”

His dark eyes glistened with unshed tears as he smiled—a beautiful, genuine smile I rarely saw him display outside these walls.

”You love me?” he asked, and I nodded enthusiastically.

”It was torture keeping it inside all this time. I feared you’d leave if you knew, that you’d see my feelings as a complication to your work with the police and your family obligations.”

”I will never leave you, little one. You are my life.” His lips found mine again with the possessive intensity of a man who’d claimed his territory.

Time lost meaning as we embraced, absorbing the intensity of emotions flowing between us while the city’s dangerous undercurrent pulsed beyond our fortified walls.

”I don’t want to let you go,” he whispered in my ear as he carried me to the living room sofa, settling me on his lap. ”But I need to feed you.”

I laughed at his perpetual concern for my wellbeing, a protectiveness that went beyond normal boyfriend territory into something primal. He retrieved his encrypted phone and quickly ordered dinner from the Italian restaurant the Thorne family used for secure deliveries, then set it aside to hold me again.

After we ate, he took me to bed, clinging to me as though our brief separation had lasted years. I felt the same desperate need for closeness.

”Daniel, I’m sorry for pulling away yesterday,” I said, nestling against his chest. ”I never want that distance between us again. I promise that no matter how big any problem becomes, we’ll talk until we find a solution. No more silent anger.”

”That’s good, because I can’t bear it either,” he replied softly. ”Today was hell, thinking you might leave because I acted like the controlling bastard my father raised me to be. When I’m being stupid, please tell me. And no matter how angry you are, don’t go to sleep mad at me or away from me.”

”Never again,” I promised, having learned my lesson—punishing him only punished myself more.

”Oh, little one, how I love you!” Daniel scattered kisses across my face and neck, making me smile with anticipation.

”I love you, big guy.” His contented sigh preceded another deep kiss.

His large hands explored my body reverently while his lips followed, tasting every inch of my skin. Gently, he removed the shirt I’d borrowed, then discarded his own clothing. When he positioned himself above me, his eyes and smile radiated pure happiness.

”My little one, only mine,” he murmured as he joined our bodies with unprecedented tenderness, entering me slowly, allowing me to feel every sensation. When fully connected, he gazed into my eyes and declared once more, ”I love you!”