Page 7

I t’s been easy to evade my father for the past week since our confrontation at lunch last Sunday. He’s got a few jobs to handle around the region, having been dispatched as the Don’s enforcer. A woman from another Albanian gang came forward and blew the whistle on some drug trafficking operation going on just outside town. Word must be going around Don Rossi is a man who will protect girls and not abuse them.

And all this must surely be thanks to Kaya. It’s because of her the women the Don’s men rescued from Jasir Daku’s prostitution operation spoke up, and look at the legacy this is leaving behind now.

Kaya. A smile beams on my face when I think of her. I’ve missed her. Spending all my nights with her, I’ve been remiss in thinking about the people in my entourage. My poor cousin has been completely neglected—not that Valentino lacked feminine attention to soothe his woes—but the bro-code deemed we were overdue for some bonding time.

We’d already planned to head to the Vinovo, Juventus’ training grounds just outside Torino, to catch the afternoon training session of the players now that the Serie A will debut again shortly. Then my other cousin Franco, one of Val’s younger brothers, dropped in on a surprise visit from London.

He’d only be staying for about twenty-four hours, so we took him along, and no one ever says no to Parisian Le Cordon Bleu cookery school graduate Franco’s food. So we ended up back at my place, a convivial evening spent around good food, better wine, effortless conversation, and ending with Franco and me getting to our ongoing rivalry on the Xbox, purist Franco chiding me for not being into PC games. Good times, indeed.

But while it soothed a part of me, the one that’s always longed for siblings and a big family, I missed Kaya something fierce. I’ve been to sleep every night lately with her tucked in my arms and her head in the crook of my shoulder, her warm skin pressed against me and her rounded ass cradling my cock and balls.

That’s the place I want to be in every night now, and frankly, I’d thought such a notion would scare the shit out of me.

It didn’t. It even felt like something I was looking forward to, something I longed for.

Merda . This woman, she’s getting under my skin, like a splinter that’s burrowed but one I don’t want to expunge from my flesh. Instead, I want to grow around it, to take it in and make it a part of me, one that’ll always smart but which ultimately means I’ll feel. With her, I’m me, with no barriers up, no pretense ongoing, no persona to uphold.

So here’s me stalking into Demos tonight to find her. I don’t care what I have to do, but I’ll have her in some way before the hour is out, mark my words. She’s essential to me, as vital as the very air I need to breathe to remain alive.

Fuck, I’ve got it bad.

Fuck if I care.

Sandro, the bouncer, stops me with a nod and a grunt at the entrance.

“Stefano,” he greets. “Careful in there, man.”

He’s not one for words, usually, so I wonder what this means. Am I on Don Giacomo’s radar or something? What’s going on?

My confusion is compounded when I cross paths with Dino, the Don’s bodyguard, inside. He also nods at me, face grave.

“We need to talk, Stefano.” Then he glances over his shoulder. “Not now. Later.”

I’m curious what he’s getting at, but the way he looked back has me also peering to the side to see what caught his attention since he’d seemed on a mission to speak to me. And that’s when I notice it—notice her .

Kaya is dressed all in black today. The miniskirt is riding high on her limber thighs, the corset hugging her midsection to push her breasts up. Her hair in that tight updo again, her pillowy lips pursed even tighter. I’d even say it’s disapproval or disdain on her face. Had she been wearing knee-high boots instead of strappy stilettos, she’d totally have brought to mind a sexy dominatrix. Ooh, how I’d love to let her discipline me and my cock.

My gaze zeroes in on her mouth. I’ve yet to hear her speak really filthy talk to me, but I can totally picture those plush lips sinking down my cock as she mouth fucks me. I was surprised the first time she smiled—really smiled—because it showed me how wide her pillowy lips stretched when she let herself relax into her most natural smile. All that pursing she does makes them appear way harder. And that somewhat makes me hornier for her, because I’m the only one who gets to see that mouth in all its glory, and gets to experience it on my body in all ways possible.

But the way she’s tightened her lips today sends a little sliver of cold down my spine. Her whole body is tense, too, and even across the room, I can feel the recrimination in her eyes.

What’s going on? This draws me to her like a moth to a flame, and up close, the anger radiating from her is almost palpable as it hits me like a wave aiming to drown me under and possibly keep my head down so I’ll slowly choke.

“Kaya,” I say with a frown.

“Stefano,” she bites out.

I love the way she says my name. As an American, she always adds an extra f on the second syllable, drawing it out whereas Italians cut the name in two at this letter.

Tonight, however, that extra letter feels like a sharp slap landing on my cheek.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She shrugs, and is it possible, purses her mouth even tighter. “You tell me.”

It’s rhetorical, I can sense it, and also another slap. While I’m not averse to a woman actually slapping me in the heat of roaring passion to get me to play rougher with her, we’re so not in this kind of scene here.

“Kaya,” I warn.

She has the gall to shrug, then she’s turning away from me and strolling off. My hand shoots out to grab her wrist. When she tries to twist out of my hold, my blood catches fire. I’ll never force a woman to do anything, but right now, she owes me an explanation. And this can’t and won’t happen in the middle of the lounge floor with everyone’s eyes on us.

My eyes narrow on her, and she has the presence of mind to stop fighting. Good. I always knew she wasn’t an idiot. But whatever the fuck is going on here, I’m going to find out.

With my hand wrapped around her wrist, I pull her unceremoniously in my wake as I start toward the smallest of the private rooms at the back of the club. The door opens without a hitch, which means it’s unoccupied. Good. We need the space to get whatever the hell is happening right now out of our system, to take out that stick she’s got shoved up her ass.

She turns to me once we’re inside.

“What is it you require tonight?”

Her question slams into me like a fist to the gut. The only time a woman asks this is when she has a john who’s just paid for her services in front of her.

“ Che cosa ?”

She lifts her chin, braces her body tight, stands tall as she stares me down.

Or at least tries to. No one treats me this way, not because I’m some hotshot or whatever, but my own self-respect won’t allow it.

Something goes off in my head, like the deflagration of a bomb, its shock wave wiping away every shred of decency inside me.

“You want me to treat you like a whore?” I ask softly.

Her eyes grow wide, lips trembling for a second. I don’t miss that she’s scared, but the shit she was just pulling, it won’t fly. Kaya may be dressed like a sexy domme, but I’m the one calling the shots here tonight.

I step toward her, and she takes a step back, a small puff of air escaping her now parted lips. Good. She brought out the beast, and now, she’s going to get a taste of him. Before long, she’s got her back to the wall, and I’m caging her in with my body at her front. Her hands are flat against the wall, and I waste no time grabbing them and forcing them behind her back, snagging both wrists in my much bigger palm.

“This is what I want to do to you,” I mutter, my breath fanning her face.

Her eyes flutter closed, bursting open when, with my free hand, I palm one of her breasts and pull it out from the confines of her corset. When I pinch her nipple between my thumb and index finger, a small gasp flies out of her.

It sounds like desire, and I can see it in her deep brown eyes, as well. The pupils are so dilated, they’ve almost eaten up her irises, and the color on her pale cheeks is the flush of arousal. I’d bet she’s sopping wet, too.

Releasing her nipple, I etch a smile as she gasps again when my teeth close lightly around the erect peak. Oh, she is so not off the hook yet, she has no idea how far I’m going to take this. I’ll fuck her senseless slowly and carefully, then she’ll tell me what the hell’s got her panties in such a twist today.

And speaking of panties, she’s got just a scrap of a thong on her. My hand has forcefully pushed its way between her thighs and up her skirt, to indeed find her cream all over her sex. Her clit will be so engorged already, she’ll be yearning for fingers twiddling them or a mouth and tongue delivering tortuous licks and sucks.

I smile as I suck hard on her nipple then release it on a tug and small ‘pop’ before turning all my attention south of the border. Kaya’s not getting my fingers or my tongue anywhere close to her pussy for a while. My fingers slide under the placket of her thong on her mons, and I fist the small triangle hard. She keens a sharp moan when the string of the thong tightens between her lips and, I’ll bet, on her engorged clit.

Grinning now, I slowly pull and release the thong, torturing her softly and then not so gently until my hand is covered in her warm wetness. The smell of her arousal is heavy in the air, and though I inhale hard and drink it in, I don’t allow it to turn my head.

“ Bastardo ,” she grits out.

I don’t mind the insult, but the fact she’s used Italian makes my jaw clench. So she really wants the word to hit, eh? Smile all gone, I tighten my grip on the thong and rub it harder and faster between her labia. I wait for the small hitch in her breath announcing her pending climax, and once I hear it, having grown used to all the cues of her body now in my nightly attempts to make her come harder, I let go of the fabric and pull my hand out.

“ Bastar —” she starts.

“I know. You just said it.”

The way her face scrunches in rage, I almost expect her to spit at me. But she seems to have forgotten I still have her wrists in my hold, and I push my other hand back to clasp them harder all while my knee slides between her thighs.

“You…”

There. She almost spit at me, but didn’t.

“What, Kaya? What about me?” I grit with my lips a hair’s breadth from her cheekbone.

“You’re fucking with me.”

I shake my head softly. “Fucking you, yes.”

“You’re engaged, you jackass!”

Shock propels me away from her, a lightning bolt jarring throughout my entire system.

“No I’m not!”

“So the little girl who was here earlier claiming you’re about to be her husband is what? Delusional, like a crazy fan thinking she’s going to marry her pop star idol?”

Lorena Bruno. Fuck! She was here, and running her mouth, apparently. The stern looks on both Sandro’s and Dino’s faces earlier clock in, and a picture is starting to form. Lorena was mouthing off, God knows why, and everyone heard.

Kaya heard.

Must be why she was giving me the cold shoulder when I got in.

She’s hurt, and she’s still hurting. And a person wouldn’t feel this way unless strong feelings were involved. Strong feelings like caring, and possibly more? I don’t want to venture toward the L word, but my mind tries to go there nevertheless.

I slam the lid down that path. Now’s not the time. I need to reassure Kaya, bring us back on an even keel.

Forcing in a deep breath, I turn to her fully. “I’m not engaged, Kaya. I wouldn’t do this to you. Or to my fiancée, for that matter.”

The tremble of her lower lip almost shatters me, but I can’t rush to her. Not yet. She needs to be reassured first.

“Then what…”

I sigh. “It’s this twisted idea my father’s got going. He wants to set up an arranged marriage between me and her.” A snarl threatens to erupt. “She thinks it’s a done deal, apparently.”

Kaya gasps softly. “So you’re not engaged?”

“No. I’m not in any relationship at the moment.”

Her breath hitches, and now is the moment. I come back to her and place my hands on her bare shoulders, relishing the softness of her skin under my palms.

“Only you,” I murmur. “I’m just with you.”

“Stefano,” she whimpers.

She undoes me with this one word. Anytime my name flows from her lips, I can’t resist. And I don’t now. My head comes down, my lips find hers, my tongue is seeking entry…and I find all I need in the kiss she bestows on me as she opens wider and lets me sweep in.

My head can only wrap itself around this contact, until my senses start opening up. The scent of her arousal is still heavy in the air, and combined with the roses and juniper wafting from her skin, I’m craving her sweetness. One of my hands travels down to clasp her exposed breast while the other chases lower to those plump lips I just tortured with a thong.

She’s still so wet, it’s easy to slip a finger inside her and revel in how she clenches around the digit. Without breaking away from our kiss, I push in another finger and start to finger-fuck her slowly, making sure to rub against the small protrusion just ahead of her pubic bone.

She’s tensing against me now, trying to break from our kiss which is strangling her moan in, but I’m not done yet. I want her to…yes, that’s it. I want her to come all over my hand, and I swallow her cry of release as my thumb flicks hard on her clit.

My fingers are drenched, and I take them out only to stuff them into my mouth after breaking away from her, savoring the sweetness of her orgasm on my digits. My mouth is yearning for more, but I got a taste, so it can wait. My cock, however, is screaming obscenities at me because it’s yet to be buried in her heat since the day before last, which is an eternity.

I’ve never had her against a wall. She’s always been under me, on top of me, on her knees with her ass up in the air. This will be a new experience, and anyway, I can’t wait. I need to be inside her.

A thought flits in. I don’t have a condom. But fuck that. There’s no one else for me but her, and I know it’s the case for her, too. Let my seed erupt inside her. The idea of Kaya walking around the club with my semen slicking down her inner thighs is a huge turn-on, and my balls are now begging for release.

“Stefano,” she moans.

“Yes, ama .”

Just a few more seconds, until I can bring down my zipper and undo that button. I’m gonna fucking go without briefs now, because that extra layer—

I’m pushing Kaya against the wall, and she gets the idea. Her legs ride up mine to clasp my waist, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as I slam her into the wall and slam my cock even harder inside her.

I’m not going to last, and damn if I care. Kaya is panting against my ear, all the urging I need to come, to spill, to… Fuuuuck! Stars are erupting behind my closed eyes, my groan sounding feral and absolutely unhinged.

And that’s when it comes, the heavy pounding on the door.

Who’s the cazzo interrupting us? But a glance at the intercom screen next to the door has me cooling my jets. It’s Dino.

Something’s not right. Without releasing Kaya, I push the button to speak.

“What?”

“Boss wants to see you, Stefano.”