She was his no matter what she was or wasn’t into. Whatever he actually did or didn’t do with her didn’t change the fact that he could do anything. That point had been made clear to her. He could have her destroyed at the point of Angelo’s gun at any time. And now she knew it.

* * *

When Leo reached the kitchen, he was surprised to find Faith already eating breakfast. Angelo kept a respectful distance.

Most of the family, in fact, was somewhat back to normal. Uncle Sal appeared to be assessing her in a wolfish way, as if determining if her head should go on his office wall, but Leo hadn’t expected Sal to back down overnight.

Gemma sat in the corner, whispering with Caprice. Great. The psycho and the sister who didn’t know what was good for her, both huddling together in conspiracy. At least they couldn’t be conspiring on getting him and Caprice together, unless Gemma wanted to punish him and realized Caprice was punishment. But as self-involved as his sister was, he didn’t expect her to have picked up on that subtext.

At the kitchen table, Gina was trying to fatten Faith up with second helpings.

“She’s not eating for two,” Leo said, approaching the table.

“Not yet,” Gina said giving him a conspiratorial wink.

Faith looked up, fear still in her eyes. She’d managed makeup to minimize the evidence of crying, but that stark look was still there. He hoped the family thought she was rattled from the previous night’s drama, rather than the truth that she was actually afraid of Leo now.

He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her neck. He lingered until her breathing went back to normal and her muscles unclenched themselves, then he sat in the chair beside her, and his mother’s attention went to loading up his plate.

“Admit it, Ma. You want us all fat.”

“Hush. It’s Christmas. One week out of the year isn’t going to take away your good looks.”

Leo took the moment of his mother’s distraction to steal a kiss from Faith. She gasped against his mouth when he turned her to him. He wanted to gauge the truth of what Angelo had said.

For all his faults, Angelo could read people. It was part of what made him such a good capo. He knew if someone could be trusted, if someone was fucking him over. He’d known immediately that Faith wasn’t having sex with his brother like he’d intended, something Leo didn’t want to know how he’d guessed.

In spite of her fear and the events of the morning, she melted into him like butter on a hot griddle. Interesting. He allowed his fingers to trail through her hair and used his other hand to touch the side of her neck. Her pulse was racing. Fear or something more?

Her face was flushed, her eyes glazed. She looked away quickly, back to her plate. That wasn’t fear, and she wasn’t a professional actress. Angelo was right. No matter how conflicted or terrified she was, she wanted him.