Текст книги "Blood & Loyalties"

Автор книги: Ryan Michele

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

I laughed. “I don’t give a shit what we do. I just had to get out of there before the damn house blew up.”

We both laughed at that.

***

“Where are we going?”

Jag had finished talking to Scraper outside the car door while my curiosity was choking me. Hulk had already gotten in the passenger side, and I swear to Christ that man was going to break the car. We needed a semi to cart him around.

“It’s a surprise,” was his response as he flashed me his megawatt smile, making my heart constrict.

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, drawing in his scent. It was just the lust.  Now I was lying to myself, but I shook it off.

“When I said meet me at eight, didn’t you think I had other plans?” Like going in my room and fucking like rabbits then sleeping so I didn’t have to think of all these feelings you have swirling inside my head.

“I know exactly what you were thinking.” He winked. “Instead, we’re doing this first.”

He reached over and grabbed my hand, sending my body into a hyper-alert state from the simple touch. I closed my eyes, willing my heart to shut off—to lock down—but it didn’t help. It thumped loud in my throat and those little butterflies I haven’t felt in my stomach since I was younger started to fly rapidly.

He squeezed my hand, and I looked up into his beautiful, concerned eyes.

“Want to tell me what’s got those wheels turning so fast?”

I schooled my features and took a calming breath. Instead of lying, I asked him something I was curious about. “Were you going to tell me you were running everything in California?”

“It’s not a secret. I know your family shields you from it, but yes, I was going to tell you before I left.”

“What’s the big deal about me knowing? I don’t get it. What are you, Spiderman at night or something?” I joked.

Hulk chuckled from the front.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Jag sneered then turned his attention back to me. “Do you know much about the business?”

“I know my business damn well, but Daddy’s, no. That’s the way I want it.” I knew it was illegal at times. Yeah, I did watch the news. I knew more about the Soprano’s and The Godfather’s business dealings than my father’s though.

“Right. They do that shit to protect you.” His beautiful eyes penetrated me, sucking me in with their magnetism. I could do nothing, but suck him in. “Now, not only are you the daughter to Salvador Lambardoni, you’re being seen out with one of his right hands—me. The target just got a bit bigger on your head.”

Shit. That I got. “So I have to ask—though I’m sure you won’t answer—how did you get this position and not one of my brothers or cousins?”

He was quiet for some time, contemplating what to say. All I wanted was the truth, something more to help me uncover the man underneath.

“My father was Geovini Maratelli.”

I gasped, and his grip became tighter around my hand, not letting me move an inch.

Ten years ago, my father was accused of killing Geovini, his best friend. They knew each other growing up, but the Maratelli family moved out to California. According to the papers, Geo was found dead in his office, and several links to my father were found. Daddy happened to be in California at the time. It was one of the worst years of my life. I was in my late teens then and idolized my dad, still did. His being accused of murder was a tough blow.

I had met Geo a few times, but I was shielded from attending the trial and wasn’t allowed to step foot in the state. I wanted to be with my family more than anything, but nothing I said could convince my mom or even Uncle Vino. As a result, I cried with Kiera. I read the newspaper articles every day, trying to piece the puzzle together. When my father called and told me he didn’t do it, I believed him to my core. Every night, I prayed and prayed answers would be found.

After what felt like forever, Daddy was let off due to a lack of evidence, and the killer had never been found.

My thoughts flickered to the last time I had seen Geo. I had been about thirteen, and we had met for a family dinner. The young boy … “Geo Junior,” I whispered, the link clicking.

Jag chuckled. “I always hated being called that, but yes, that’s my legal name.”

“We’ve met,” I stated matter-of-factly.

He looked confused and tilted his head. “I don’t remember meeting you.” He studied me intently, no doubt trying to think back to all the years he had spent with his father.

“Once, at a family dinner. My family, Uncle Vino and his family, and yours. We were young, thirteen or so.” I knew it was him. He had the same exact eyes.

A slow grin laced his lips. “I remember. So I have met the infamous Catarina Lambardoni before.”

“I guess you have. Funny how things happen.” What in the hell was I saying? Stupid. “I’m so sorry about your dad,” I whispered, looking down at our entwined hands, loving the roughness of his touch.

“I know your father and your family had nothing to do with it. This is my family, too. While your dad was out on bail in California, he stayed with me.” He looked at me intently. “Did you know that?” I shook my head. “He taught me about the business one step at a time.”

That was news to me, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.

As the car slowed, my gaze moved to the window, seeing night had fallen. “Where are we?” I asked, to change the subject.

He didn’t answer, but when the car stopped, he pulled my hand, and I stepped out of the car, into the night. The night sky looked pitch-black with only small specks of glitter in the sky for stars. The moon was full, lighting up the ground around us.

“Check it out,” he ordered the guards, who began to walk into the darkness and came back with a head nod. “Come on.” His voice had softened when it came back to me.

We walked hand in hand in silence as we approached a checkered blanket with a wicker picnic basket sitting in the center of it. With the night sky shining above, it was like something you would see in a movie. The wide open space was only illuminated by the moon and the stars. No one could have torn the smile off of my face at this kind gesture from him. My stomach also twisted at it. Why was he putting so much effort into this when he’d already told me he was leaving? Why waste his time with something so romantic and thoughtful when he wasn’t planning on sticking around? Did he see this actually going somewhere? I broke from my musings.

“You did this?” I was in awe. I didn’t know how he had found this place. I hadn’t even known it existed. It seemed like a park with the flat open ground, though without any people around. The moonlight didn’t illuminate any playgrounds or benches for people to sit either. It was almost as wide as a football field without those huge white lines or numbers. All I could see was green grass that glowed in the moonlight. It was perfect.

“I had some help.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal, but it was a big deal for me. Antonio never did anything remotely this nice or sweet for me.

“Clear, boss.” The two guys came up, startling me.

“Good. Hang back,” he ordered them.

His strong hand grasped mine and led me to the blanket as the guards walked off into the distance. I sat, thanking the heavens above I had gone with jeans instead of a dress. I collapsed to the ground, feeling the softness of the cotton under my hand.

He bent down, opening up the basket and pulling out cheeses, fruit, bread, and wine. “Hope you’re hungry.” He smirked, taking a small piece of cheese and holding it to my lips.

I was stunned for a moment. Never had a man fed me before, and damned if I wasn’t leery about it. I’d seen my father do it for my mother before and it put a whole other spin on what was going on here between us. I didn’t think I could handle it. I couldn’t let my heart get any more wrapped up in this man than it already was. Allowing him to do this small task was opening up a can of worms that I didn’t know if I could put back in its container.

“I can feed myself.” I might have spoken a little too harsh, but this step was too much, said too much and I couldn’t.  Instead, I went with what I knew. I pulled out a bit of my bitch.

“Not tonight. Sit and relax. Let me do this for you.” He raised his brow in challenge and my gut twisted in knots. A huge part of me wanted to do this, to experience it just for a moment, but a bigger part knew there would be hell to pay for the consequences.

I relented and slowly opened my mouth, feeling a bit uneasy, but after the tenth or so bite, I began to relax. Emotions started swarming me like bumble bees ready to sting. With every bite, my heart opened a little more. There was no use fighting it, so for the night I rolled with it. I would enjoy every second with this handsome man who was bending over backward to feed me, to take care of me.

His movements were tender as he caressed my body every chance he got, my tanned skin burning with each brush. Of course I was turned on, but there was so much more going on here, I needed to make this about the physical and not the emotional. I needed to keep what happened here locked in a little vault.

He placed everything back in the basket, and I laid down, staring at the night sky waiting for him. My mom had always said, if a man was cleaning, wait until he was done, because you probably won’t see it again. Funny how random thoughts like that just streaked into my head at the most inappropriate times. But mom would be happy I listened.

When he lay next to me instead of making a move on me, I quickly moved because I couldn’t take more of his kindness, but his hand halted me. “Let’s look at the stars.” I gulped down the protest. He was not helping me out here.

I sighed then fell back onto the blanket. His arm wrapped around my body, pulling me close. I wiggled to get comfortable and ended up lying my head on his chest, looking up at the beauty above us. Millions of beautiful, little glowing stars danced around the night, not a care in the world. They had no hearts that could break, no feelings to be smashed to smithereens. Their only job was to glow.

Jag’s hand combed through my hair, massaging me as he moved. I tried to keep my eyes open, but his ministrations felt too good. My eyes fluttered shut as I relaxed, enjoying his closeness and compassion. Simply enjoying him.

A rough hand moved along my cheek, and I heard Jag’s words to wake up, but I didn’t want to. I was so damn comfortable, but I made myself come to life within the comfort of his arms.

“Sorry,” I muttered, kind of embarrassed I had fallen asleep on him.

I quickly moved my hand to my mouth, making sure I hadn’t drooled on him. How embarrassing would that be? Not feeling anything, I moved to sit up, and Jag followed.

“Feel better?” His voice was teasing, but I wished I could read what was going on in that head of his. Not that it would change the outcome of any of this, but it would be nice to get a glimpse of his inner thoughts. Was he feeling this with me? Was he twisted into a knot of balled up emotions that he was trying to hide?

“Yeah, I do.”

“Good.” He didn’t give me a moment to think as his body covered mine, pushing me back down onto the blanket. His lips attached to mine, and I gave in completely to the sensual pleasure of his kiss.

His hands touched every part of my body, and I was lost. His lips nipped and sucked my neck, coating my pussy with wetness. His hands skirted up my shirt, molding and kneading my breasts, and I arched my back, hungry for more.

I combed my fingers through his hair, moaning from every tug and pull his hands were torturing me with. My shirt moved quickly up my body, and in one swoop, it was ripped off and lying in the grass. His lips connected with mine again while one of his hands reached behind me, unclasping my bra, while the other pulled it from my body.

My hands returned to his silky hair, pulling him to me with all my might. I kissed him like I had never kissed another man. It was so rough our teeth clashed in the frenzy. He broke the kiss, and my eyes fluttered open to see his panty melting smile.

“Please…” I begged. I never begged, but in that moment I needed him to fix the burning ache that I couldn’t put out. I forgot about everything but him in that moment, and loved every second of it.

His hands glided down my body to the button of my jeans, and then they were ripped away before I could blink. Spreading my legs, his tongue swiped from ass to clit. I groaned loudly, my hands going back to his hair, trying to move him exactly where I wanted him, but he pulled back and growled.

“I control this. Remember that.”

I nodded, too much in my own deliriousness to argue with the man. As long as he put the fire out, I would let him have all the control he wanted.

His head dipped back down. I felt his hot tongue and sharp teeth along with the agonizing sucking of his mouth on every inch of my flesh. My pussy was quivering to the point of making it spasm when he pulled away.

My head shot up in shock. “Why did you stop?” I panted, my words coming out in a bit of a slur.

He laughed, which made me want to pull away and slug him.

“When you come, it will be on my cock while it’s buried deep inside of you. I want to feel every quiver. I want every contraction and every single squeeze of your pussy to tell me how much you want me. How much you need me.”

In that instant, a flood of juices flowed from my pussy and down my ass, and I tried to close my legs, feeling a little embarrassed at the amount of wetness, but he wouldn’t allow it. His hand smoothed over my core before he pulled his fingers up to his mouth and licked each finger clean. God, that was hot. I was sure I’d never seen anything sexier than that—than this man—ever.

He made short work of his jeans, removing them and kicking them to the side. Then I watched as he stroked his long cock roughly with his hand. I knew I would never do it that hard, but he grunted and groaned, so it must have felt pretty damn good. I needed to remember that.

His eyes bored into mine as he came closer, his gaze eating me alive. Then his lips crashed into mine, kissing me until I was breathless, making my lower belly quiver and ache. After he broke the kiss—way too quickly—I leaned up to take more and fluttered my eyes open when he wasn’t there.

His smile radiated down as he loomed over me, stripping off his shirt. The lines of all of his tattoos along his arms and chest begged to be licked and nipped. I made a mental note that it would be on my priority list. I couldn’t see them well in this light, but I damn well would soon.

“Turn over,” he commanded.

I shook my head for a moment, trying to clear the bit of fog that had decided to enter, then complied quickly. Rolling onto my stomach, I knew my large ass was on display, and I sucked in a deep breath. I had always been comfortable with my size, but in this position, I always felt a bit uneasy. My ass was hot as hell in jeans, but bare, it was a bit flabby, and my hips were pretty wide. Like this, Jag would see that.

I pulled my arms out to my sides then felt the soft caress of Jag’s hands on my legs. He wasted no time hoisting me up, putting me on all fours and raising my ass even higher. I tried to push away the self-doubt. There was no room for it, but it was still there, lingering in the back of my head. I could feel every callous of his hands as he dragged them up and down the globes of my ass.

I pulled my arms underneath my chest, giving me some sort of semblance of protection, though not really.

“You are so fucking hot.” He squeezed my ass hard, no doubt turning my flesh bright red. For me, it added fire and need.

I didn’t have time to respond before his tongue assaulted my pussy as he spread my legs open wide.

“Oh, God,” I moaned loudly, feeling every lick and pull of his teeth. God, it felt so damn good.

His tongue darted in and out between my pussy lips as if he was fucking me. Oh, God, he sure was.

I was right on the cusp of release when he pulled away.

“What the hell!” I yelled, turning my head to see his face.

The smirk that played on his lips told me he knew exactly what he was doing. Bastard.

His hand smoothed over my back, holding me in position. “Dolcezza, I know what you want.”

In one slow, deep thrust, he was balls deep, hitting that magical spot inside me and sending me over. I sucked in a breath, trying to regain some sort of sanity, as his thrusts became almost brutal. My body wanted more of him.

His dick left me in a quick move and my pussy cried out at the loss. I didn’t have time to think as he flipped me over onto my back, thrusting back inside of me, my eyes going wide. I felt his elbows come down on either side of my head, enclosing me. He stared into my eyes compelling me to look back.

My hands grasped his hard back, digging my nails in, trying to hold on. I knew he would definitely have marks, which I was actually pretty happy about.

Looking deep into his eyes with every thrust, I saw more that I wanted to in them. It scared the living shit out of me. Lust, longing, and more that I wanted to ignore, but it was there lingering in his depths.

I quickly turned away, not wanting my heart to feel it. His hand cupped my chin gently, turning my head so I connected with his eyes again. There was no way there was something more in them. No way. I was seeing things. Had to be.

“You look at me. Only me.”

I did, never looking away. The fire inside his eyes mixed with what I was hoping I was mistaking for only lust swirling around like a tornado inside those beautiful blue eyes. As his hips began to piston, my thighs dropped to the blanket and his penetration became deeper, so much deeper.

His arm hooked under one of my legs, pushing my knee to my ear. This time, his plunges were hard. So hard. Every muscle in his body must be on high speed. My pussy throbbed. I was so close, so fucking close. He started moving his hips in a circular motion that hit every fucking nerve connected to my pussy, and that did it.

I set off, flying high in the sky, and a stream of curses escaped my lips quickly until breathing was unbearable.

He continued to pump hard, not giving me a moment of reprieve. He lowered my leg to the ground. His fingers strummed my clit, squeezing, pinching, and rubbing over and over again.

“No, I can’t,” I whined, my body spent.

“Now,” he ordered.

Something about the command had fire racing through me again. I didn’t set right off, because who really did by a command? Yet within seconds I was shooting high with Jag right behind me, grunting my name.

As he stilled, he looked down at me and smiled, slowly pulling out. He crashed next to me, pulling me firmly to his body, my back to his front, my body loving the closeness of his. We laid there in comfortable silence for what felt like forever, my eyes slowly drifting closed, because in sleep I didn’t have to think of the connection we just shared.

“Ahh … not again, woman. Get up. Let’s go back to your place. You can sleep there.” He moved away, standing up and holding out his hand to help me up.

When I grabbed the blanket under us, wiping the remnants of his come off my thighs before getting dressed, he quirked his eyebrow in question.

“What, you think I’m gonna walk around with your come everywhere?”

He pulled me against him, slamming my breasts into his chest. “Nothing would make me fucking hotter than knowing I’m smeared all over your legs and inside that beautiful pussy of yours, dolcezza.”

My knees started to buckle, so I grasped his shoulder, trying not to fall over. He smiled, obviously loving the effect he was having on me. I shook my head, clearing out the thoughts and gathering myself.

We dressed quickly then threw everything in the back of the car. The car was quiet, and for the first time, I realized that both Scraper and Hulk heard and probably saw Jag and I having sex. Whatever.

“Boss, your phone’s been going off like mad, but I didn’t answer it ’cause of who was calling, but you might need to call her back.”

My body stiffened at the word her. Yeah. He had definitely said her. Shit, wife, girlfriend? Shit … Shit. I did not screw around with men who had significant others, let alone fuck them. Ever.

Anger rose as the happy feelings from only moments ago began to dissipate in a cloud of dust.

“Good going, dip shit.” Jag smacked Hulk upside the head then put his hand out for his phone.

I didn’t even bother glancing over. I kept my eyes trained outside the window on the darkness. He did realize what I had done to the first guy who cheated on me, and the same fucking went if I happened to be with a cheater without realizing it. We Italian women were a lot of things, but I would tell you right now, a pushover was not fucking one of them.

I could feel my face becoming fierce with fire as rage swarmed through me like angry wasps ready to sting. I tried to sit quietly, but even I could hear my heavy breathing reverberating through the car.

Jag’s phone rang, and he answered it while putting a hand on my thigh. I pulled away from his touch, not bothering to look at him. This was just sex right? Even with that my morals ran strong and deep. I didn’t play a damn game. I knew I shouldn’t have allowed him in.

“Maria, what the hell do you want?” He was very curt with her, so I knew for sure it wasn’t his mother, or she would have his ass hanging by his balls.

As much as I would love to hear the other side of the conversation, I kept to myself and tried not to let my heart feel the crush of what was falling around me.

“What do you mean? Zan came and said what?”

The air in the car changed quickly, and I looked around to see what was going on. Hulk’s shoulders were tense, and Jag looked as if he could spit nails and pound them into the ground at the same time. Something was definitely going to combust and I placed my guard fully up for the explosion.

“That son of a bitch. No. I’ll call Vinny and get him to stay with you. Can you keep your fucking legs closed while he’s there?”

My brows rose, and confusion was my main affliction. Who the hell was this chick?

“If I find out you fucked him, I’ll relinquish my protection and my fucking money. Got me?” He clicked off the phone, furious.

“Dan, call Brett and the boys. Meeting in the rush in thirty.”

Hulk nodded and made a call that was so hushed I couldn’t understand a word of it.

I was a glutton for punishment, so I asked, “Wife or girlfriend?”

Jag’s eyes flamed wildly. “Neither. Ex-wife. Been divorced for three years and she’s still a pain in my fucking ass.”

A small bit of the tension left, but not enough to relieve the coil inside me. Since I was just cheated on by Antonio, I was not a hundred percent certain I could believe him. That wound was a bit too fresh and whatever trust I had in him drifted away. Not to mention, he had just called a meeting in my house without asking me. I decided to focus on that instead of my dumb feelings.

The car pulled to a stop in the drive, and I opened the door. “Next time you call a meeting, you ask me to use my house.” I paused. “You may be high up with my father, but it’s still my home, so you ask.” I stepped out then walked quickly to the door.

Footsteps crunching behind me came up quickly before Jag grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Sorry. I should have asked. I shouldn’t have assumed it was okay.”

I nodded, brushing his hand off. After entering the house, I headed to the living room before turning to face Jag, Scraper, Hulk, Blondie, and Dune, who had all decided to join the party.

“Scraper, you and Dune make sure everyone leaves when it’s done.” With that, I turned to walk up the stairs, done with this bullshit. If he wanted to treat me like shit, he had another thing coming. I won’t stand for it.

“Catarina!” Jag yelled sternly from the bottom of the stairs.

I stopped and turned around, giving him my attention, but no expression. There was no smile and no frown on my face; it was completely impassive, but looking at him made my heart crack.

“I’m not done with you yet,” he said, walking up the steps.

My body went stiff. “If you’re lucky, I’ll see you tomorrow night. It’s late, and I have to work tomorrow.” Back again to the lying. I didn’t want to see him again. Even if what he said was the truth, this will help me build up my wall and resolve where he was concerned.

I rushed the rest of the way up the stairs to the sound of his loud growl. I didn’t stop, and I didn’t answer his calls as I shut and locked my bedroom door. Then I flew into the bathroom, turning on the hot water, and scrubbed myself clean in record time. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he wouldn’t pick the lock to my room and come in. Something told me he was very efficient in getting what he wanted. Right then, however, I didn’t want to be anywhere near him or his supposed ex-wife. He had business, so let him go handle it.

I dressed quickly and took the back walkway over to Kiera’s wing of the house. It was one of the best features. It was merely a narrow walkway that spanned from my side of the house all the way to hers. Dad said it was a safety feature. I just thought it was cool.

I quietly knocked on the door as I turned the handle and walked in. Kiera looked up from her book and smiled.

“Tell me all about tonight.” The smile instantly fell with one look of my face. “Wait. Why are you here and not with Jag?”

I locked the door and climbed onto her bed, burrowing myself under her blankets and stuffing my face in her pillow.

She set her book down on the table next to her then snuggled down with me. “What happened?”

“It was a perfect night. He fed me by hand. I fell asleep on him after looking at the stars, and then we had sex like lust-filled teens. Then”—I paused and shut my eyes trying not to let the pain eat me—“when we got back in the car, Hulk said Jag’s phone was ringing like crazy, but he didn’t answer it because it was her.” Kiera tensed. “Yeah. He says it’s his ex-wife, but who knows if he’s telling the truth? Anyway, he got pissed at something this Maria—that was her name—said and called a meeting. They’re having it right now in the rush, and I told Scraper to make sure they all left when it was over, so now I’m here with you.” The knife in my chest decided to poke in and out a few times, shredding my insides.

“You never know, he’s more than likely telling the truth.”

“Antonio’s a little too fresh for me to want to figure that out,” I snapped.

“Other than that, you had fun?”

I nuzzled into the pillow and looked at my best friend. “It was one of the best nights I think I’ve ever had in my life.” I felt the tears spring to my eyes and I tried to push them back.

“You’re falling for him.” She didn’t ask, she was telling me. She was right. When I didn’t answer, she said, “Sometimes our heart doesn’t listen to our head.”

Yeah, and then it ends up getting smashed like glass on concrete. No matter how this ended, part of me would leave when Jag did.

“Sleep,” Kiera whispered, and I did sucking back my hurt.