His eyes narrow, but they know all know the wrath of my old man and not one of them wants it directed anywhere near them or one of their buddies.And he’s no exception.“Flash the light in your room once you’re upstairs and settled in,” he barks.
I give him my best smile.“I’ll do it.Thank you,” I tell him to soften his worry.Now all I have to do is hope that Papa’s not up eating a midnight snack.Hopefully he’s fallen asleep during a good movie which is becoming more and more frequent these days.I peek into the small comfy den that he still likes to hang out in, the one place in the house he was permitted to smoke his cigars when Mamma was alive.And there he lies, sprawled in his recliner while an old black and white movie plays on the big screen over the fireplace.“Good night, Papa,” I whisper, turning quietly to walk softly over the marble floors of the great room while trying to prevent my heels from clicking on its hard surface and waking him up.
The minute I’m upstairs and in my room, I flash my lights for the guards.I really should feel bad about sneaking out.Any number of things could have happened tonight while I was out without my details.I’m lucky that I am alive.How many times have they tried to drill that point into my stubborn head?But yet, I go out to a club without any security at all, only proving their point.The worst almost did happen.And it would have too, if the dark-eyed god with intense looking eyes hadn’t intervened.The severity of just how close I came to being kidnapped sinks in and sends a shiver of apprehension snaking down the length of my spine.
I peel out of my clothes, far too tired to shower, emotionally drained and still almost numb.I switch into a strappy nightgown that reaches the top of my thighs before heading into the bathroom to brush my teeth and then retire for the night.Sleep should come easy.It’s not every day that I venture out into the world and getting drugged should have left me in a half comatose state.
Only my body hums with energy, but not the kind you can put out simply by going to sleep.No, those dark intense eyes focused on me, the way he rubbed the sensitive pads of my fingers, and then my arms.That man almost put me in the most delicious trance just by holding my hand.And the simmering heat at my center is simply not going away without some well needed care.
My finger slips past the lacy band of my panties, sliding gently over my mound, slowly exploring what I already know I’ll find.Pretending the fingers don’t belong to me, but to the dark-haired god who wet my panties just by the sound of his voice.This pure silky wetness is all for him.One light stroke over the sensitive bundle of nerves, and I know there’s no turning back, this is going all the way.My body knows exactly what it likes, over and over, gentle touch and then firm strokes, letting it build, thinking about nothing but the man who I woke up mesmerized by and has ignited my passion like no one else with only a single caress and a touch in the most decent of ways.
There’s nothing decent about what I want him to do, and I stifle a moan of pleasure.Dream, fantasy, call it what you will, but I can’t get the way he looked at me in the car out of mind.His brooding eyes all full of heat, smoldering for me, sinful… And that’s what I focus on as my finger slides through my wetness and sends me over the edge quicker than it’s ever happened before.His name spills from my lips while I’m still breathing hard, just lying in the quiet, thinking about the night as my body calms with release.“Massimo.”
The pace of my breathing slowly begins to return to normal.I gather my pillow to me, drawing it closer to get comfortable, hoping that now I will be able to sleep.But of course, my mind returns to him.Such an unusual name for someone in Jersey.Of course, there are a lot of people who came over from the old country, generations of people who hand down their names to children no matter where they are born, but I’ve only ever heard of one other person named Massimo.
My eyes blink open, staring straight at the wall, while my heart, just moments ago beginning to calm, suddenly begins to pound.
There’s no way.There’s no fucking way.Destiny would not be so cruel, but yet … those eyes.It’s as though a memory pulls me toward an image I recall.Think, think, think.Where did I see it?
I grab my phone from the nightstand and start searching frantically, page after page until I find an entertainment piece, one where he and his family made a charitable contribution.I scroll without reading, down, down, down to where a picture of Massimo Roselli and Desiree Amorte stand presenting a huge endowment to a worthwhile hospital charity event, just one month ago.
My heart pounds, and there is no fucking stopping it.Massimo fucking Roselli, the first-born son of our lifelong rivals had his hands on me, saved me no doubt from being kidnapped, and probably saved my ever-loving life.My chest heaves with the knowledge of what this means.What the hell am I supposed to tell my father if it gets back to him?I inhale small shallow breaths in an effort to remain calm.My father will be indebted to his age-old rival.
Maybe the fact that I got out will stay contained after what I told the guards, but if I know my own detail, once he learns I was out, he’ll have the guards give him the number from Jimmy’s plates which the perimeter guards no doubt took down.
And then we’re all absolutely screwed.
You don’t fucking bring a Cassone daughter home after midnight in a strange car without his soldiers tracking down just who you are so they can learn everything about you.And so they can beat you to within an inch of your life if you didn’t have Papa’s permission.If you’re lucky they let you live, if you’re not, no one will ever hear from you again.
I can hardly believe it, but then I look at the image again.The one that tells me there’s no doubt in the world.Massimo’s staring straight at the camera but it’s as though the dark-eyed devil himself is staring right through my very soul, taunting me with that famous smirk.What are you going to do now, Sophia Cassone?
5
Massimo
The sun glinting over the manicured lawn of my estate does nothing to alter my darkened mood after learning about the bartender’s little scheme in the Roselli club.Carnal Sins has barely been open, less than a month, and that’s all we need is rumors of snatching going on under our roof to keep the party seekers away.I still can’t believe the puke was running that scheme through my fucking club.Well, when and if he ever walks again, he sure as hell won’t be drugging and having girls snatched in this city, not after the lesson he and that fucker who had his hands all over Sophia got from me and my men well into the night.
My phone buzzes causing me to glance down at the tenth message from Desiree this morning.We’re through.I’m calling it off.I am sick to death of feeling smothered.I need a life.
I turn from the floor-to-ceiling windows and fold myself into the leather chair, still thinking about last night and the woman I can’t seem to erase from my mind, eager as fuck to get a report from Jimmy as to where he took her and her friends after they left the bar.My jaw locks with irritation at my anxious state, causing me to growl with irritation under my breath.
Instead, I try to focus on the emails in front of me, the business ventures that keep us sheltered from the real businesses we run, but nothing has my attention really, except learning about the dark-haired beauty who was so alive, innocent and vibrant at the very same time.
The clock on the wall hasn’t even hit the eight o’clock hour, but time moves too damn slowly this morning, and I have no patience for that.I hit the intercom to Jada, my personal assistant who’s just down the hall in her office at my estate.“Find Jimmy.I need to speak with him now.”
“He’s actually on his way up, sir.”
I disconnect, spinning the coffee cup on my desk slowly, impatiently waiting for the door to open.Jimmy’s barely made it through the door when I pounce.“Where did you take Sophia last night?”At least if I have an address my men can track her down.
He exhales a long sigh and slumps into the seat across from my desk.I wait for him to speak but he’s not talking fast enough.I know that look.He’s trying to decide how to tell me something I’m bound not to like.“Jimmy!”
My capo and good friend of years shifts in his chair, and my eyes narrow.“What’s going on?”
He exhales a sigh.“I took Sophia and the other ladies home, just like you asked Massimo, but I ran into a situation at the gate of her father’s place.You’re not going to fucking like it.”
Trouble finds us no matter where we go.Try to do the right thing, save some random woman from an asshole trying to drug her drink and snatch her from one of our bars, sober her up and give her a ride, and we run into trouble taking her home.Whatever it is can’t be that bad.“Tell me, my patience is growing thin.”
“Remember, you gave the order, right boss?”he drawls sardonically.
