The second Lucia's hand touched his face, he was a goner. She was pulling him closer for a kiss and he was helpless to resist. He wanted this way more than he should. But he should put a stop to this before things went too far. Although, with him and Lucia in bed, in his mother's house, with only a few layers of clothing away from taking things past the point of no return, did it really matter?

But If he was being honest with himself, he was gone long before she touched his face. Every time she dropped her mob princess rich bitch facade and showed vulnerability and fear, giving him a glimpse of the real Lucia drew him closer to her.

Lucia slid her leg between his, her hands wandering as his tangled in her hair. Lucia was pressed up against him, kissing him and he was becoming painfully aware that if the didn't stop things now, there would be no stopping. Lucia's lips left his, her breath escaping her in soft pants as she kissed her way to his ear, nibbling it softly. "I want you," Lucia whispered. Bringing her hands to his face, she forced him to meet her gaze.

She was beautiful. Her lips swollen from his kiss. Dark eyes, filled with lust. Desire. For him.

"You have no idea how much I want you."

Lucia smiled at him, "Good, we're on the same page then." She busied her hands, sliding them underneath his tank top.

He felt himself arching closer to touch, when he should've been pulling away. Lucia was Carlito's sister. A Solano. But not in the business. Lucia claimed she hated it. Wanted no part of it. He hadn't seen anything linking her to the family business. He had no reason to believe she wasn't telling the truth - aside from the fact that he wasn't being entirely truthful with her, so there was a chance that she wasn't being entirely truthful with him.

"You cannot mix work and life, especially something that's so off the books. Listen to me, man, if she's an asset, you can't get involved, period."

It was too dangerous. Too risky. Probably the worst idea he ever had. But what if Jakes was wrong? Why should what was going on between them affect his case? Lucia wasn't in the business. It was separate. And this wasn't like when he slept with Ashika Pearl. He knew what he was getting himself into then. But that was just a hookup.

Lucia was so much more.

Now he understood what Mike meant about wanting to be himself. Not that he wasn't ever himself. Even when he was a pilot or a photographer, he was still himself. But with Lucia it was different. She somehow slipped past his carefully guarded cover and he was able to be the real him, not just the thug with aspirations of working for her brother. Hell, he brought her home. Introduced her to his mother. As a friend. But his ma knew. She always knew. He couldn't remember the last time he brought a girl home. But Lucia was different. Special. There was just something about her.

"So what's your angle with me? Same thing? Help me in order to ingratiate yourself into my father's business?"

"Nah. Nah, with you I got no angle."

And Lucia was going to hate him when she found out she had been lying to him. Keeping her safe had nothing to do with solidifying his cover and ingratiating himself with Carlito. It was personal. Too personal. There was no way he could've left her behind. But that didn't change the fact that he was trying to bring down her family. But earlier tonight, at that exact moment, on his mother's front porch, there was no angle. The only thing on his mind was keeping her safe, even if it meant the possibility of putting his mom in danger, but he would make sure it never came to that. He'd tell his mom the truth, that he was an agent and get agents to monitor the house if he had to. But this night, just this one night - all he wanted was just this one night, then he'd make sure Lucia was somewhere safe where Carlito's enemies couldn't get to her.

Lucia fumbled with the zipper on his pants and that brought his mind back to the present. Noticing his hesitation, she pushed him off her, laying on her back staring up at the ceiling. He watched her for a few moments, her chest rising and falling as her breathing evened out.

"Is this too weird for you, because of Carlito? I still don't buy that you're gay, but - "

"Trust me, your brother is the last thing on my mind." He propped himself up on his elbow, moving his other arm to her waist, his fingers skimming the exposed stretch of skin. "It's just - " he paused, trying to think of anything he could say to salvage this situation, but not send her running out the door, " - my mom is right down the hall." He gave Lucia a shy smile, looking downward, hoping the combination of dutiful son and puppydog eyes would put a halt to this. Because if she persisted, he'd cave.

"I get it." Lucia pulled him closer and trailed her finger along his face before kissing him. "Besides, I have a feeling you're a screamer."

Johnny laughed and leaned over Lucia, "Is that a challenge, because I think you have me confused with you." He lightly brushed his lips over hers, teasing Lucia with short kisses.

Lucia turned her head slightly, pressing her hand to his chest, "We can't - not here. Now, I can't stop thinking about your mom being down the hall. I'm not trying to lose the great first impression I made. As much as I want this, no way am I giving up my source to getting good dirt on you."

Johnny took a deep breath, under ordinary circumstances he probably would've felt rejected. But considering he just turned her down for the same reason, he didn't have room to talk. Giving her one last kiss, he rolled off her, but pulled her close.

"This here, this is nice too." Lucia lightly ran her hand along his arm.

"I'm sorry that - "

"Don't apologize, Johnny. This right here - us - it's not something I saw coming. I'm not used to feeling like this, feeling like I'm more than my name."

As if he didn't feel guilty enough, hearing that made him feel even worse. He kissed her forehead and pulled Lucia closer, "You are so much more than that. You have no idea."

In the short time he had known Lucia, one thing was apparent - she didn't trust easily. But she trusted him. For all the wrong reasons. She was going to hate him when she found out who he really was. He should walk away from her now. Every logical part of his brain was telling him to walk away. For her own good, he should walk away. But as much as he knew he should, he couldn't.

THE END