Page 70 of Fastest Kill

"When did you⁠—"

"An hour ago. You must have been sleeping very deeply." Giana's tone was entirely innocent. "Both of you, apparently."

Dario ran a hand over his sleepy face. "I just got Rodrigo's message that you were coming."

"We sent it three hours ago."

Dario grunted, pulled his robe off, and draped it over Frederica without fanfare. She shrugged into it and wrapped it closed. It came down past her knees, and the sleeves covered her hands.

Athena's eyebrow went up a fraction of a degree, which was Athena's version of a full 'what the fuck' lecture.

"Coffee isn't food. I'll make you some breakfast," Dario said. He opened the refrigerator and stood in front of it, assessing the contents.

"I didn't know you could cook," Giana commented.

Frederica met her eyes across the island. "He's actually a really good cook, but he likes to keep it a secret."

"Hardly a secret. You should have heard her moaning over the risotto last night."

"Yes, I'm sure it was the risotto," Athena said, miming pinching gestures at Dario's perfectly toned ass as he bent down to get things in the fridge.

"His risotto. So, so good," Frederica replied, and Giana snickered.

Dario put the ingredients on the counter, and the kitchen settled into the low clatter of a pan and the hiss of the burner catching. He took Frederica's cup, had a mouthful of coffee, and pulled a face.

"I'll make a fresh pot," he declared and tipped the rest out.

"Hey, I made that," Athena complained.

"Then Kon needs to give you lessons on how to do it right."

Frederica pulled the robe tighter around her and let the others chatter away. Dario turned from the stove and looked at her. "Are you okay?" he mouthed, quick and private, over the heads of the other two.

Frederica nodded. He gestured to the knight on his T-shirt and winked at her. She turned red and pretended to cough to cover it up.

Of course, he was going to hold her obsession with knights against her and make her horny when she could do nothing about it.

She let the others keep the conversation going, helped herself to the fresh coffee, and waited for her food to arrive. All things considered, there were worse ways to start the day.

30

Dario smirked as Rodrigo came in carrying his own groceries. They were paper bags from the market at the end of the Rio della Fava, condensation on the outside where something cold was packed, and flour on the sleeve of his jacket where something had shifted in transit.

It was the kind of small thing Dario would have bet good money against seeing a few months ago, when his brother had run the Colleoni operation with severe anal-retentiveness and had never been permitted to just be a person.

Rodrigo set the bags on the counter and glanced about the kitchen. Athena and Giana were already seated. Frederica was in Dario's robe with both hands around her coffee cup, Dario was at the stove, and Rodrigo's expression moved from surprise to a quiet kind of happiness. That was also new, and Giana was the one responsible for the softening in ll Mostro's guard again until he acted almost human.

Kon set two more bags down beside the first and looked Frederica over.

"You seem fine," he said, moving to kiss the top of Athena's head.

"I told you I was fine," Frederica replied.

"I'll double-check later, just to be sure. Altun's orders. You know what she's like." He opened the refrigerator and began putting things away.

Rodrigo pulled out a chair at the kitchen island and looked at Dario. "You look like you didn't sleep."

"I slept eventually." Dario moved the pan off the heat and hid a grin at the memory of Frederica's mouth sucking the anxiety right out of him.